Wanna see more of Stavanger? I’ve already uploaded some of these on my SmugMug, but okay, why not..
We’re heading for a city region called Storhaug. A somewhat forgotten part of the city that I simply call “The Ghost Town”, that’s rumored to be a dumping area of students, social clients and misfits. But if you’re interested in old houses, like I am, there can be some stimulating sights to spot. And just as The Old Town, which is the most known tourist spot in Stavanger, the houses in Storhaug is over hundred years old and well preserved. The most of them, at least.
Hetland Church, built in 1854.
Fredrik’s, Stavanger’s oldest bakery. Born in 1899, died in 2019.
A main door with some carved demon-looking faces. Just beautiful.
St. Svithuns Secondary School. Built in 1918-19.
Welcome to Stavanger. Now, let me show you something you definitely won’t find listed in the tourist guide: Our own, obscure murder house.
Mirza Ghulam Hussain was not a good man, to put it mildly. In July 2007 he killed his brother-in-law, Zahid Mahmood Butt (both originally from Pakistan). He chopped his body in pieces in which he buried in the flower bed in the garden. The body was buried in seven parts, and put in trash bags with the internal organs removed. They were found six months later by the police cadaver dogs. A pretty grotesque and messy case that could be something straight out from a song by Cannibal Corpse. At that time, this wasn’t a common crime scene to witness in tiny Norway (and still isn’t) and the police really struggled with the case. Other than family conflicts with money involved, the motives stayed unclear. Mizra was sentenced to 19 years by Stavanger District Court. In addition, he was also convicted for molesting young boys between 1989-2001.
Mizra died in prison a few years later (at the age of 59) and his daughter took over the property. She stated in an interview that this is still her dream house from which she refuses to move out from, despite the grisly murder that took place and the whole notoriety surrounding the area, hanging over it like a constant black cloud. Still, the house has just decayed and rotted away over the past 13 years. But at least someone placed some flowers in the windows, trying to make it a little more cozy, it seems. What happens next with the property is uncertain. I decided to snap some pictures before it might eventually get demolished.
Some articles about the case (in Norwegian)
- https://www.vg.no/nyheter/innenriks/i/poaO1/butts-lik-funnet-partert
- https://www.aftenbladet.no/lokalt/i/4r8j9/butt-saken-er-et-sprsmal-om-tvil
- https://www.vg.no/nyheter/innenriks/i/lpM9M/en-kald-kynisk-og-hensynsloes-person
- https://www.aftenposten.no/norge/i/gWGXL/drapsdoemt-mann-doede
Here’s some of my trailer reactions to the titles we didn’t get around to see, and some who just flew completely under our radar. Further reviews (for those of them that we’ll check out later) will be uploaded on horrorghouls.com
The Dead don’t die
Kylo Ren and Peter Venkman are two police officers who must fight against zombies in a sleepy American town. Doesn’t seem to have much of a plot.. but when an indie filmmaker like Jim Jarmusch, who’s primarily given us poetic dramas and underground art-house films, suddenly makes a mainstream genre film like this, well, it must be at least something unconventional. I don’t know what to expect, really..
Ready or Not
When you’re about to get married into a filthy rich elite-family where the mother-in-law gives you the death stare, and looks like the devil incarnate straight from The Illuminati, it’s probably not a bad idea to just run far, far away. I get some exploitation vibes here, especially by looking at the poster, and that’s a good thing.
Dr. Sleep
Here’s Dr. Sleeeeep… I’ve seen this trailer several times in the movie theater, and it just didn’t manage to hype me very much. When the archive footage from the Stanley Kubrick version looks so much more scary than Dr. Sleep itself, with the trailer ending with the classic bone-shilling synth track and all, that’s not a good sign. But Mike Flanagan is a talented filmmaker, and I really enjoyed his first season of “The Haunting of Hill House”, so I’m prepared to be surprised.
COuNTDOWN
Ooooh, you better watch out for that spoOOoky app… I just despise smartphones, hoarded with all these fucking, useless apps and all the irritating sounds they make. App this, app that, app in your apphole. So it’s no surprise that I can’t relate much to a cursed app that kills some dumb, degenerated teenagers. I doesn’t sound a bit scary, either. But I could be wrong. And for all I know, it could be an unintentionally fun film..
De Dødes Tjern (Lake of Death)
Haha, dear Lord, this just looks hilariously bad. Norwegian horror films has been a dead horse for many years now, and it doesn’t seem to get any better with this one. In this case it looks so funny-bad that Vanja and I was actually eager to see it for just the shits and giggles. Just look at that fake jump-scare at the end of the trailer. James wan should takes some notes. But since the film flopped so hard that it was pulled from the screen just under a week, we’ll have to wait for the DVD or streaming.
The Nightingale
«The Babadook» was a mixed bag for my part, but it clearly showed that the newcomer Jennifer Kent knew how to create melancholy atmosphere and give an insight into mental illness and severe depression in an rather unique way. And her second film, “The Nightingale” doesn’t look any more cheerful, to say at least. Some overwhelmingly positive things have been said about this movie, so yeah, I’m a bit curious.
Black Christmas
Uhm… No thanks!
