GGB Reno’s “Febru-Eerie” Brunch

The Reno Geek Girls return to Biscotti’s inside the Peppermill Spa & Casino (which has rocketed to the top of our list of brunch locations because FREE EXTRA BACON!) to talk about all things creepy, kooky, mysterious, and spooky!

Officer Julie, rocking an awesome Supernatural shirt and hair bow, kicks this brunch off with an awesome story about how the Porta Potty scene from the X-Files (S02E02) left a lasting impression on her (the Porta Potty scene from Jurassic Park was just hilarious though). Cabin in the Woods gets its first (and certainly not last) mention of the brunch, she says the title screen was the only scary moment for her. An avid gamer, some of her favorite games, both digital and board, are Mansions of Madness, Betrayal at House on the Hill, Eternal Darkness, and Fatal Frame.

Tangential Discussion #1: The Geek Girls far prefer the Monster of the Week set-up over the conspiracy arcs and lament Hulu‘s interface that makes it harder to navigate through the episodes.

The Exorcist scarred Sarah for years and she avoided horror movies for a long time after that. When she does watch horror films, she prefers the paranormal and psychological kinds – the latter probably because she’s a psychologist. Some of her favorite shows are: Haunting of Hill House, Twin Peaks, and Carnivàle.

Nuriko enjoys a wide variety of films and books and games. One of her earliest memories is watching Gremlins on the TV in early mornings. Ted Neifah and Kouta Kirano are her ink gods. She recommends Bad Ben and Badder Ben (both on Amazon Prime Video), Marrowbone, Quest for Glory 4, Corpse Party (there is also a four-episode anime OVA), Until Dawn, and anything directed by Guillermo del Toro. The one movie that actually scared her is Hereditary, especially the scene where it doesn’t show what happens but viewers can infer it from the brother’s reaction. This recap is keeping it vague because…

Tangential Discussion #2: Crimson Peak and, more importantly, Tom Hiddleston (minus the “I ❤ T. S.” incident – the Internet never forgets!).

Horror isn’t something Janet seeks out but she does watch a lot of it. She thinks Alien vs Predator is kind of fun (she got a super cute Alien Chestburster Plush at our “Christmas at Hogwarts” brunch last December). Shout out to Jhonen Vasquez, creator of Johnny the Homicidal Maniac and Invader Zim and I Feel Sick. She also likes Curse of the Were-Rabbit, Hellsing (manga and anime), and Perfect Blue. She’s the first to mention music, listing Ozzy Osbourne, Rob Zombie, and Rammstein as some of her favorites.

Ami is rocking a Vincent Price shirt so it’s no surprise when she says that he is one of her favorite actors; Last Man on Earth is on the top of her list with Theater of Blood a close second. Hereditary is also the scariest movie for her. Sound plays a big role in horror films and she cites Paranormal Activity as a prime example of creepy effects. And The Shining is creepy enough on its own but in surround sound is even more so! She also loves Silent Hill.

Second-time brunchette Chenetta (woohoo, two brunches in a row!) grew up watching Tales from the Crypt but it didn’t prepare her for Stephen King’s It, which she says messed her up as a kid. Amityville Horror is another movie that scared her and so did Aliens. The love for horror runs in the family! She watches a lot of stuff with her cousin, Latoya, who joins us for her first brunch!

Latoya has been in love with horror since reading her first Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark book (which, in retrospect, is totally NOT suited for children – see photo). Rosemary’s Baby is her favorite movie and while she loves Supernatural too, Dexter is her favorite show. She is not a fan of remakes.

Tangential Discussion #3: The Geek Girls (Geek Mamas?) talk about the shows/movies we grew up watching but wouldn’t show to our kids and awkward questions like “what’s a virgin?” that we really have no answers for. Thanks a lot, Hocus Pocus!

Anna is not a fan of horror and gets scared easily. She had tons of dolls as a child but her brother made her watch Child’s Play and, well…enough said. The last horror movie she saw in theaters is The Ring (the American version, which the brunchettes all agreed isn’t as scary as the original). She loves Buffy the Vampire Slayer (Spike > Angel), Goosebumps, Nightmare Before Christmas, and Strange Things (on Netflix).

Tangential Discussion #4: The Geek Girls take a quick (or perhaps not-so-quick) to detour to discuss the timing of remakes, whether a remake actually “ruins” the original, and how none of the American remakes of Asian/European horror films are better.

Officer Vanessa, repping Ghostbusters though she originally wanted to wear her Svengoolie shirt, grew up watching Universal Monster movies, horror films like Poltergeist, and stuff like the Silly Symphony animated short subject The Skeleton Dance. Her mom, Jan of the impressive Boushh costume from our October Cosplay Brunch, was pretty obsessed with the macabre. Vanessa loves fun horror like Dead Alive, Evil Dead trilogy, and Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein. Season 2 of Millennium is one of her favorite seasons of television ever because it’s the one that elevated the show into its own original storytelling arc.

Not a fan of gore or jump scares (absolutely hates the Saw series), Officer Angela prefers the psychological kind of horror that lingers. Donnie Darko, Black Mirror (on Netflix), and Blindness are prime examples of that. Fringe is another favorite of hers though it’s not really scary or spooky – it just has a lot of feels…and a cow named Gene!

Tangential Discussion #5: The Geek Girls discuss true crime as a genre and how the truth is scarier than fiction. Seriously, the Hello Kitty Murder is more terrifying than any horror movies.

Instead of the usual quiz, we played a game of Febru-Eerie Bingo to win some cool swag. Thank you Vanessa for organizing the activity and absolutely crushing it!

Tangential Discussion #6: The Geek Girls have multiple moments of “how did I not mention <insert show/movie/book/director>?!” Hitchcock! Beetlejuice! Sleepy Hollow! Penny Dreadful! Sixth Sense! Arachnophobia!

The Reno Geek Girls will meet again for our “It’s Not Easy Being Green” brunch in March, hope to see you there!