31 Days of Horror--Day 28 Robert Morgan's THE CAT WITH HANDS (2001)

While I stand firmly by my motto "no kids, just kittens," one has to be careful about kittens.  They can grow up to be very naughty cats.  British animator Robert Morgan introduces us to a creepy cat in this live-action/stop-motion hybrid.  I recommend his other films, especially Monsters (2004).

"The Rifle's Spiral"--The Shins

This stunning image of a lone magician girl, created through stop-motion animation, is from the new video by The Shins, entitled "The Rifle's Spiral," directed by Jamie Caliri.  This director has done the credit sequence for the Lemony Snicket film (very cool), and some other short form animated commercials and music videos, which you can watch on his site.  His work is reminiscent of The Quay Brothers films crossed with Czech animator Jiri Trnka, with a dash of steampunk thrown in for good measure.  He would be great at bringing Erin Morgenstern's The Night Circus to the screen.  Beautiful and unsettling work.  Check out the video here.