There are a couple of movies that come to mind that are worth watching, even though they are older and might not be as well known and lack the shock/gore factor. IMO, they are definitely worth looking at.

The two that come to mind are "Carnival of Souls" and "Don't Look Now"

How about suggestions for some more, possibly obscure, horror films that are worth seeing to get a good scare....You know, possibly a movie you've seen, thought was good, but can't find too many other people who have seen it.

Why is it that some things scare us more than others?  I guess it depends on our personal experience and imagination. 

For me, the things that scare me are the things I can't see, but imagine might be there, you know, the things that go bump in the night.  Which for me is not necessarily a good thing....

You see, being a flight attendant for the past 22 years, I spend a lot of time alone in strange hotel rooms.  Of course, the urban legends we were told when we started flying didn't help.  Seems there was a flight attendant who didn't show up downstairs to be picked up with the rest of the crew.  The captain called her room and she said she was having trouble finding her one shoe.  The captain went up and helped her look.  He started opening the drawers (which we never use on overnight trips) and in one of the drawers, there was her shoe....along with a note that said "thanks for letting me watch you sleep".  Yikes! that one still gives me goosebumps.

 

Are there any decent horror novels out there? I'm Clive Barker and Stephen King-ed out, I need something with a good scare that makes me sleep with the lights on at night. Any recommendations out there?? Has anyone seen 'The Orphanage' yet..... spanish movie....... have heard it's not bad

Hello all

 

After adjusting that previous entry (that was a good idea, Horror Czar), I realized something.  The way I listed my credentials before might make it seem like I'm a member of the Horror Intelligencia.  I want to make something very clear.

 

I'm not.

 

There were many things that drew me to this site.  One of the biggest, though, was that this is the only site I know of that has the balls to admit that the House of Wax remake was actually decent.  I saw that in theater and was literally floored with how much it exceeded my expectations.  Sure, it's true that Paris just stretches so far as an actress...playing a stupid spoiled whore who tends to generally serve no purpose other than to die horribly...such a jump for her.(BA-ZING!)  But the rest of the movie....if I had never seen it, all the reviews I had heard were so horrible I probably never would have.  I'm thankful I did, and thankful that someone else recognized it.

 

Same thing with another Honorable Mention on this site, Shocker.  Sure it's an attempt to create another franchise for Wes Craven.  Sure it's no Nightmare on Elm Street.  It doesnt mean the movie's not good.  The idea is a different style for a slasher movie, it has a nice sense of humor and doesn't take itself too seriously.  What more can you want?  There are definitely way way worse/more mediocre movies to spend your time with.

 

I think the problem is that some horror critics have fallen in with most regular film critics.  A film doesn't need to make some massive statement or be a BOLD NEW VISION in the genre to be good or recommendable.  If and when I become a pro critic, I'm hoping to change that perception.  Just because you get paid to watch movies and talk about them doesnt mean you have to act like a movie has to make some deep philosophical statement to be good.  What we need are more joe q. citizen film critics.  And I'm happy to do my small part to provide that service.  If the film has some psychological undertone, sure i'll mention it, but it doesnt have to to be good or memorable. 

The Strangers - read my review at www.best-horror-movies.com/the-strangers.html.  A Bloody Thumbs Up!  - Horror Queen

Okay, among other wacky things since I quit smoking I've been having these weird-ass vivid dreams. Last night I'm helping this old guy cut up and remove a tree that was blocking a small dirt road, and we look over to this building/tree (it was both, sort of a Giger-esque monstrosity of architecture) and these humungous sloths were cavorting around in it like monkeys, swinging from branches etc, and I turn to the old guy and say "c'mon, man, giant sloths don't exist!" and he looks at me very sagely and says "This is a dream, mate, they exist in dreams." And I thought, well fair enough then!

Okay so some dream-time later I'm walking around on a wet sports field, and I see this baby swan (the size of a real, adult swan) so I start patting it's head. Then all of a sudden I'm being chased by its mother, this GIANT swan that stood easily like 18-20 feet tall with a huge beak, it looked like some prehistoric beast, and i was fending off its violent pecks as it chased me around trying to kill me for daring to touch its offspring.

Why can't I just dream about naked chicks?

The caption above is from the flick "Home Alone" when Mac decides he's not scared any more, but it applies to me in the way I'm not scared of movies like I use to be. I just dont get that terrified can't sleep feeling...I guess its all a part of getting older and more cynical. The last thing that scared me was a book on a serial killer, BTK, who (among other terrible acts) threw a cinder block through a lady's front window, then killed her when she jumped out of bed to investigate. That sh*t scares me, the thought of a demented sicko throwing a brick through my window and topping me before I can reach for a weapon, actually had me lay awake for a few minutes before a combination of pills and booze ensured a restful night.

I do get scared...things make me jump, and I can always appreciate a well made horror flick. On the occasions when I can bring out that child in me, I do get the creeps watching a good horror movie. Even one I've seen countless times before. I just sometimes miss the days when I'd get into bed, the lights'd go off, and I'd lay awake in fear until sheer exhaustion had me nodding off. It used to happen after most horror movies, actually...but I guess the flipside is that nowadays I'm ecstatic when a flick can make me feel that way, I appreciate it all the more.

Yikes, I've just rattled on like a pratt again about nothing particularly interesting. Oh well. Its been fun.

Just a quick note here.

I used to read Fangoria for my horror.  I liked it at first, but I got this feeling that there weren't any true film reviews in it and it just seemed to say every movie was fantastic in excessively praising articles.  Plus the writing style made it a chore to get through an entire issue (I like reading cover-to-cover).

So I'd just finished writing that senior thesis, and I was in a Barnes and Noble and saw a magazine with Dakota from Grindhouse on the cover in one of the most striking pictures I'd ever seen.  The magazine had articles about grindhouse's history, tons of interviews with people invovled with the movie and grindhouse in general (Zombie, Rodriguez, H.G. Lewis, William Lustig, etc.)  They were showing a reverence to the past while looking toward the future, which Id NEVER seen in Fangoria (a fact which REALLY didnt help in writing a paper about past movies....).  Then I read the reviews and saw that they actually reviewed recent THEATRICAL FILMS!  I defy people to try and find print reviews in Fangoria of films that have come out that AREN'T part of random pieces of pointlessly praising fluff.  They also reviewed direct-to-dvd films and rereleases of classic horror.  There were even articles on movies from before 1950 which Fangoria wouldnt be caught dead publishing.

 

Not only that, but there were reviews of books, cds, games and comics/graphic novels; articles on culture and art that related to horro, darker music.  This was Rue Morgue, Canada's premiere horror magazine.  I couldnt get enough and have only missed one issue since then (because no one was selling it oddly....).  It's never been hard to get through the articles even on things I didn't really care about before.

 

What made me write this post?  Well after about 12 issues, I've decided to get a subscription.  I filled out the info, sent it away.  A couple weeks passed and I actually got a hand-addressed form letter from the magazine (actually signed by the editor-in-chief) thanking me for subscribing to their magazine.  I'm sure being a popular magazine, they get a good number of new subscriptions per month, but doing something like that is really special.  They really care about their audience much like this website cares about its visitors.  And just like I respect this site for that, I respect the magazine for it too.

 

Anybody else read genre magazines?  Fangoria's more for mainstream wider-release movies, so I have respect for them too, but I worship Rue Morgue.  lol.

Hey guys.  I've got my site Backwoods Horror up and runnin, sort of.  Do me a favor and go check it out!

 

boggy out

 

UPDATE: Made some changes to the site.  Doesn't look AS bad.  Plan on putting up some audio and video at some point.  I'm a big fan of the Deadpit boys over at Deadpit.com and have been inspired to do my own sort of show.  What I'd REALLY like to do is something along the lines of the old spookshows that'd come on local access channels, you know, with THE COOL GHOUL, etc.  And have a show that does reviews and news and maybe shows a public domain classic now and then with MST3K like commentary.  Anyhow...plans for the future.

boggy out.   again.

Before I begin this liveblog, I want to address statements I've seen in other reviews.  Many people on other sites claim that The Sacrifice from last week cut away from the gore and was obviously cut for network tv.  OF COURSE IT WAS.  IT'S ON NETWORK TV!  Even then, I defy you to show me another show on network tv that had some of the visuals seen in this episode. 

 

Also, they were annoyed about the commercials, claiming tension couldnt be built up.  A) Last I heard, these were going to be released uncut later on on dvd.  Just like Masters of Horror.  and B) I did not see a single time in the last episode where the commercial break killed tension.  If anything the commercials served as almost a afterthought after some moment in the plot or story where the action reached a crescendo. Once they were over, the action picked up right where it left off.

 

My favorite though...had to be the guy mad about the presence of the NBC watermark in the corner the whole episode.  I assume that person has never seen tv in the last 5-6 years since EVERY CHANNEL DOES THAT.

 

Now then.  On to the episode at hand:

 

1000 PM:  Well thats a hell of a lot darker than I thought Eric Roberts could pull off.  Nice scene.

 

1002 PM:  Hey wasnt that guy playing the criminal in "Pick Me Up"?  I could be wrong....

 

1006 PM:  I think I'm finding this exchange on Harry's methods way too amusing.

 

1007 PM:  I'm really surprised at the range Eric Roberts is showing.

 

1009 PM:  NICE!  Completely unethical....but nice!

 

1009 PM:  What the hell is up with those pants?....eh minor.

 

1010 PM:  Ep's movin slooooooow.  Comparatively with last week I mean, not that thats a bad thing.

 

1011 PM:  I take a similar amount of sugar in my coffee.  Just a random thought.

 

1013 PM:  Crime scene tape?

 

1014 PM:  I saw a review of The Incredible Hulk on a horror site today.  I have no idea what it was doing there.

 

1015 PM:  It occurs to me as I type this that Brad Anderson, the director of this ep, did the Sounds Like ep in Season 2.  I liked that ep, even though it moved very slowly.  This one, I'm not so sure yet.  Very little's really happened yet.

 

1017 PM:  Why is Nashville Star on this network?  What is this, like it's 4th network?

 

1017 PM:  Where have I seen his partner before......and the We will Kill you in grafitti on the back of the door and Bodies in basement written on the wall were nice.  Set design and props are the hallmark of this ep thus far.

 

1019 PM:  Surprising how little music is in this after last week's great sound work.

 

1021 PM:  And just as I say that, Anderson starts messing with the senses.  Well he does have a style....

 

1022 PM:  Seems to be a far more cerebral ep than last weeks.

 

1023 PM:  Are we really going the witchcraft route here?

 

1024 PM:  That was decent.....yet a bit lowkey...music was nice...and a decent buildup...but a bit much for pretty much a glorified jumpscare.

 

1025 PM:  ARE WE CGI-ING SHADOWS IN A WINDOW NOW????  REALLY????

 

1026 PM:  What the hell was that he stepped in....and i'm liking the continuously changing grafitti figures.....but this episode really is far too lowkey and ghost storyesque thus far.  Unless this changes fast, I'd think they shouldve moved this toward the middle of the season.

 

1029 PM:  Wow...that was a really really dumb ad for Secret flawless deodorant.  Just a thought.

 

1031 PM:  Social worker's a bit hammy.  Okay, no, REALLY hammy.  lol

 

1033 PM:  This had better be building to one hell of a climax and soon.

 

1034 PM:  I think the thing he stepped in had bullets, teeth, and FEATHERS??? in it....weird.

 

1035 PM:  And it doesnt occur to him that it's odd that Howdy Doody is playing on the tv.....OK THAT WAS GOOD.  The grafitti figures have been the best damn things in this ep.

 

1036 PM:  At least his partner's good comic relief.

 

1037 PM:  Was he just watching......?  Was that what that was supposed to be?  If it was, they couldve done it better.

 

1039 PM:  Anyone know why Snoopy shills for Met Life?  I'm just curious.

 

1041 PM:  WHAT IS THIS THE FREAKING PREDATOR?  IS HE A GHOST HUNTER NOW INSTEAD OF A P.I.?

 

1042 PM:  This climax is getting better......I liked the otherworldliness of his flashback.  And how his color just kinda blends into the background.

 

1043 PM:  OH NICE!  That explains the teeth and blood thing.  Feathers mustve been my imagination.

 

1044 PM:  Ok, im not so sure he was in Pick Me Up now, but I have seen him before.  I just don't know where.

 

1045 PM:  THATS WHERE WE'RE GOING WITH THIS?...3......2.......1........

 

1046 PM:  THERE IT IS.  We're recycling Masters of Horror sidetwists eh?  Nicely filmed but unless they surprise me...um, like now...that was totally irrelevant.

 

1049 PM:  GOD THAT GUY IS SO GOOD IN THIS EP.  please please show it.  please.....damn.  That would've been a fun visual for network tv.  Came close though.

 

1050 PM:  In commercial now, I can say that that was a very nice climax actually...it just took way way way too long to get there in an hour ep.  In this case I do think that these commercials hurt the ep, only because they pad out the running time and interrupt the slower part of the ep.  In the first ep, there were almost like, spaces for them.  like perfect slots that prevented loss of tension and atmosphere.  Here they just dragged the ep out with them.

 

1053 PM:  I like this ending thus far.  It's kinda lifting the opening a bit.

 

1055 PM:  Saw that part coming.

 

1059 PM:  I'm just gonna say it...after seeing that preview for "Family Man", next week, I bet you money I know what the "Twist you'll never see coming" is.  I'll say when I do this next week if I do.

 

Overall, a far smaller step back than I thought at the start.  Eric Roberts is very very good in this episode as is the criminal.  The social worker's very hammy most of the episode but calmed down at the end.  This episode is actually hurt far more by network tv, not by lack of gore but by commercials that make the episode longer.  For that reason, when they release this on dvd, the far quicker story will probably be better.  This didnt hurt the sacrifice because the action was constant.  The ending/climax lifts this ep big time.  But its nowhere near the standard thus far, The Sacrifice.  I will say this.  The atmosphere/props/set design are brilliant.  It's just set design doesnt carry an ep.  Worth seeing, and hopefully better without the breaks in the slower parts of the ep.  In fact, the last commercial didnt feel as bad.  Because there was action in front of it, not just random exposition.

 

And yes, I do realize the irony of mentioning a flaw related to commercials in the episode in the same post as lambasting people for it in another review.  Thank you.

So I just watched Diary of the Dead.  I didn't want to jump on the bandwagon of hate before watching it, so I just didn't pay attention to previous reviews.  Sad to say though, they were right.  This movie blew chunks.  I look at it like this: Say you're taking this really hot lady out on a date, things have gone sweet all night, and now you're back at home and she says she has to go powder her nose or something.  So she goes to the bathroom and you start to notice this horrible smell and all of these horrible sounds coming out of there.  I mean, she's still hot, but....

That's the best analogy I can make.  The first part of the date represents Romero's zombie canon up until Land of the Dead.  Then there's land of the Dead (the sounds) followed by Diary of the Dead (the smell).  I mean, its Romero, but...  This movie looked like it should've been released by Brain Damage.  I could find nothing redeeming about any of it.  Other than frying the zombie's head with the defibrillator, the kills weren't all that spectacular, the dialogue was atrocious, the acting was terrible, the list goes on.  It wasn't worse than the remake of Day of the Dead, but, I mean, that wasn't Romero so I expected it to suck.  It's all about expectations.  With Romero, the expectations are high, high, HIGH, so when I see something like this, it just saddens the heart.

So my recommendation.  Well...netflix it and make your own decision, but I wouldn't rate this one very high at all.  I guess it'd warrant a 1 out of 5.

 

Till next time boils and ghouls...

Wow.  I had no idea such a sick and warped mind was creating films for us.  I would see a foreign filmmaker and ask myself, "Do you really feel like reading all night?" because I tend to fall asleep or miss some crucial peice of information.  This Masters of Horror installment was perhaps the sickest storytelling I've ever seen.  The torture scene was unbelievably realistic...and the sound effects.  Holy crap...genius I say.  I went to my Netflix Que and ordered all the Miike I could find.

We'll get to the liveblogging in a second.....

 

BUT FIRST:  A sneak preview of a movie review I'm working on.  I'm reviewing a movie that's very very close to my heart and that I consider to be one of the, if not THE most underrated horror movie of the last 20-30 years, specifically by critics and the horror intelligencia.  How underrated?  Well....Compare it with the other things I've reviewed thus far.  From Rottentomatoes:

 

Tales from the Darkside:  The Movie:  Critics-38% positive, Users-60% positive.(underrated yes, but not as underrated as this.)

 

Disturbing Behavior: Critics-28% positive, Users-37% positive. (they mustve seen the edited cut.)

 

Poultrygeist:  Critics-68% positive, Users-66% positive.  (EVERYBODY LOVES ZOMBIE CHICKENS!!!!)

 

and...?????????:  Critics-35% positive;top critics-17% positive, Users- 70% POSITIVE!

 

HOW?  How the hell did the critics get this so wrong?  I'm sick of this movie getting critically eviscerated for no reason, and soon I'll prove why I think it shouldnt be.  What am I reviewing?  Well that would ruin the surprise wouldnt it......suffice to say that what Darkness Falls is to The Horror Czar, this movie is to me.

 

Now then.  Ahem.....

BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND!  IIIIIIIITS.......

 

 

So sue me, I was bored last night.  lol.  It's nothing special.  I just sliced the bottom off a desktop background from the nbc site, cropped it a touch, and added a text box of Chiller Text in Paint.  Easy.  The original had those weird lines in it, btw.  I dunno.

 

And away we go.

 

0959PM:  I'm sorry but Last Comic Standing was WAAAAAY better before they drove it into the ground....but that's neither here nor there.

 

1000PM:  Scenes of an intense nature?  Wow, now THAT's an unwieldy euphemism.

 

1001PM:  PANCAKES!!!!!....sorry couldn't resist....they really have nailed that idyllic suburbia look thus far.  I don't know if it's the church, the house, the costume....just seems....suburban.  That's a compliment btw.

 

1002PM:  Remember kids...distracted driving is dangerous.....seeeeee?  And that is a fantastic touch.  the blood, the amazing grace. That was really good and lightly eerie.

 

1004PM:  a crucifix?  really?  wow that's creepy....looks like we've got our patented haley joel osment creepy kid quotient intact.

 

1005PM:  See...this is what happens when you START eerie and unsettling.  You get an entertaining ep, thus far.

 

1006PM:  This'll prolly do what masters of horror did in season 1.  Namely, win the emmy for best opening titles.

 

1007PM:  "Wanted" has so much potential, and I really hope it fulfills it.

 

1009PM:  I really hate this hidden camera talking VW ad.....and I'm only going to say this once.  Re:  The Baby Borrowers:  LEAVE THE DAMN MAURY PLOTLINES ON MAURY YOU IDIOTS.  DON'T TURN THEM INTO STUPID REALITY SHOWS OR TAGLINE THEM "IT'S NOT TV, IT'S BIRTH CONTROL"!....cough....rant over.

 

1011PM:  Ronny Yu btw, is our director of the week.  I personally liked Freddy vs. Jason, btw, so I have very high hopes for this.....nice, "family man" is the newspaper headline alias of the serial killer.  Awesome.

 

1012PM:  "Spiritual transmigration is a stunningly crappy defense."  Outstanding...lol

 

1013PM:  I kinda like the intensity of him trying to convince the lawyer.  Very nice, and not quite overacted.

 

1014PM:  COOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL.....

 

1015PM:  Set design victorious again for the prison walls.

 

1016PM:  God's will?  and that closet line is awesome.

 

1017PM:  The chemistry between these two is amazing.

 

1019PM:  See that?  Tennnsion.  Build tension and suspense before the commercial, and I don't mind waiting for it to come back.

 

1020PM;  Did I just see a rabbit steal 7Up and a woman destroy her ex's stuff with her teeth?  GOD commercial's have gotten weird.

 

1022PM:  OK, I just saw Tiki Barber v. Ed McMahon, Ice-T v. Joan Rivers, Raven-symone v. Wayne Newton, and Kathy Lee Gifford v. Dog the Bounty Hunter.  Celebrity Family Feud will....survey says!.....SUCK.

 

1023PM:  Why do I get the feeling the "tapes" will make the dvd release? lol

 

1024-1025PM:  Oh awesome.....church.  lol.  This whole scene is a brilliant blend of humor and a dash of dramatic irony.

 

1027PM:  Wow, he's a niiiice man.

 

1028PM:  Well, that was a stupid thing for you to do, idiot.

 

1029PM:  Shreveport?  But....hes in ohio.........i'll let it go.  And that was nicely twisted.

 

1030PM:  Well thats an interesting wrinkle to the story.  It's a different way of telling it, and I think I like it.  Not everyone will, but I do. 

 

1032PM:  I'm loving this sense I'm getting of these two characters and their traits.  They work so damn beautifully together.

 

1033PM:  Oh yeah, that's helpful.  First you spoil the Robert Downey Jr. cameo in the trailers for Hulk, now in the new one, you ruin theLou Ferrigno one.  Keep it up.  Why don't you just show the dang ending and save us the trouble?

 

1035-1036PM:  Hmm...James Taylor at the PNC Bank center.....I don't think I can yell no loudly enough to convey my displeasure.

 

1037PM:  I'm loving the sense of tension that's just simmering throughout this whole ep.

 

1038PM:  This ep has a fantastic script......and abu ghraib references anyone?

 

1039PM:  "You're embarassing"  wow these fish out of water-esque scenes are really good and funny in a darkly comic way. 

 

1040PM:  Skabetti?  Ok, I'm not sure if I find the little girl more creepy...or annoying.  Cute.  But annoying.

 

1041PM:  God, I love these family scenes.  On some level this ep seems kinda like a kindred ep with Family from Season 2.

 

1044PM:  Ok, really.  Just stop.  I honestly think they've reached the bottom of the celbrity barrel, busted through it, and dug 8 feet into the dirt below with the people on the celebrity family feud things.  I could be wrong.  But jeez.  The kardashians?  The Girls next door?  REALLY?

 

1047PM:  Now that was a nice touch.  I honestly didn't see that coming....the public record thing.

 

1048PM:  Ok, I just think Amazing grace is an inherently creepy song when done right.  As like this.  Brilliant use of music/sound.

 

1050PM:  WOW that's twisted.  lol. *standing ovation*

 

1051PM:  I took that online challenge.  Got a 4 out of 10.  Questions were oddly specific.  Surprisingly good quiz.

 

1052PM:  I'll be seeing Get Smart tomorrow.  My mom saw it in sneak preview, said it was hilarious.  But I will be the judge of THAT!

 

1053PM:  If The Baby Borrowers is successful, I swear I will lose all faith in the American tv viewing public.

 

1054PM:  All right, lets see this twist that I'm supposed to not see coming.  I know what I think it is, but I'm thinking I'm gonna be wrong at the moment.

 

1055PM:  Oh THATS convenient.  Of course that's where he is.

 

1056PM:  I really hope they didnt just cgi those utensils.

 

1056PM 2:  I'm not really thinking I'm wrong anymore......lol.

 

1058PM:  Ok, not quite what I thought it was gonna be....but damn close.  lol.  Great ending.  Very Crypt-esque.

 

1059PM:  I'm liking the look of next week's Landis ep.  Preview had some good imagery.

 

OVERALL:  An outstanding episode.  As good, if not better, than The Sacrifice.  By having tension to begin with and a storyline with tension inherent in it, the commercial breaks mattered less as I was engrossed in the story.  This episode worked for me on just about every level. Good acting, good set design, great chemistry in the cast, a dash of dark humor, just a brilliant brilliant ep.  Ronny Yu should be very proud of this.

 

And, btw.  I'll be going to the Saturday and Sunday of the Fangoria convention this weekend and I'm planning to do a site report blog as soon as I can afterwards.

 

Until next time, I bid you dark dreams.

 

 

Yesterday was Friday the 13th. I had marked it on my calendar with yellow highligher and some aqua blue sharpy, so it pretty well stood out. I was counting down the days, waiting for the unholy day to come. Questions raced through my mind. What exciting thing was going to happen? What plans did I have? Where would I go, what would I do, and most importantly, what was the weather going to be like?

I woke up to my phone alerting me that I had a text message, interrupting strange dream I was having of me driving down the interstate watching in wonder at a police car moving sideways. "So early?" I thought.

It was my friend Allison. "Happy Friday the 13th!"

Ah, yes! A smile spread wide over my face. We exchanged what we were doing at the moment and left it at that. Conversation over.

Unfortunately, I did nothing yesterday. And it was nearly one hundred degrees and I was in no mood to step outside.

Before I go on, I will tell you a little about what Friday means for me. I don't usually watch TV except for 'Dr. Know' on the Science Channel. Fridays, however, are different. That is usually when most of the horror movies come on and AMC has their 'Fear Friday', a collection of random horror movies that seem to becoming rather predictable of late, I'm afraid. Every week after everyone goes to bed, I settle down with popcorn and assorted food and drink and watch whichever movie happens to tickle my fancy and 'The Soup' (a totally unrelated TV show).

As I said before, I was excited it was Friday the 13th. That's because, in my logic, it would be like Halloween, when all the sensible movie channels play nothing but the Halloween series. "Surely today will be the day everyone (the movie channels) decide to break out all their Friday the 13th movies!" I thought. "Yes! It must be so!"

Was that the case?

No, it was not. I sat there, on the couch, scrolling through the guide, looking, searching, hoping the word 'Friday' would pop up and the evening would be set. No dice. Nothing. Not even a non-Jason Friday the 13th related movie. I was quite disappointed. Curses for me that I never bothered to pick up Jason or his mother at Hastings!

I hate unemployment. So depressing.

Still here? I'm suprised, for I have it set in my head that I'm a rather dull and boring person, although no one has told me that I am.

So there were no F13 movies on the tv. Why should I care? Because. Would it not do Jason justice to show him chopping someone up on the day we all know so well, partly because of his series? This makes me fairly upset, even if it does seem a bit out in left field. I think I said it above, but I will say it again: we show Halloween on Halloween. Why can't we show F13 on Friday the 13th? I've seen it on when it wasn't Friday and it wasn't the thirteenth. Then again...

I never see April Fool's Day on April Fool's (to be quite honest, I never looked, but one of my friends would have told me, I'm sure). I never see Black Christmas, Silent Night Deadly Night, or any of those other winter horrors around Christmas (I've checked that one. Too many family classics: A Christmas Story, Miracle on 34th Street, It's a Wonderful Life, etc, etc, but come on AMC, you have Fear Friday!). My Bloody Valentine never plays around Valentine's Day. There are more, I'm sure...

Granted, yes, I have most of these on DVD, but I never see them on TV. It puzzles me. Sure, there's stuff that must be censored and such, but still. Have a little holiday horror spirit! By that I mean all holidays.

If you're looking for my point I'm getting to, I'm not positively sure I have an actual point. I'm just saying, so many holiday movies and no one wants to play them on their day. Yes, yes, I know, with the exception of Halloween. But you know that.

*sighs* That's my rant for today. I must bid you adieu.

I gotta stop writing such long posts...

Au revoir,mon amis, á la prochaine! Goodbye, my friends, until next time!

I've seen this done with award shows and stuff, and thought itd be interesting.  My feelings as I watch Fear Itself's premiere and its ads.:

 

1000PM:  I'm not sure how I feel about the blonde guy in the back's acting ability.  Guy in the red cap's pretty good though.

 

1001PM:  "We're Screwed."  "Ya think?"...there are so many better ways that line could have gone.

 

1002PM:  Music's nice....

 

1003PM:  A)Visually, this is a great open.  B) Auditorially, it isnt.  Serj Tankian's "Lie Lie Lie" is not...horror.  Nice try.  C)  Shed a tear for the fact that "Created By:  Mick Garris" pulled all further influence on the show after the strike.  Here's hoping it survives without it.

 

1004PM:  What is it with the comedies I know I'm gonna hate?  Trailer for Don't Mess with the Zohan's on.

 

1006PM:  What established credential does Breck Eisner have to be directing an ep of this btw?  I'm just curious.  I know he's doing The Creature from the Black Lagoon remake...but come on, you don't start the series with that.

 

1007PM:  Have to give credit for the nice atmosphere, setting and music (again) wise.

 

1008PM:  If I don't find out what the hell happened to the injured guy by the end of the ep, it's gonna bother me.

 

1011PM:  RELAX???  YOU JUST DID THE SAME DAMN THING WITH YOUR GUN!  At least the women are pretty.  And that's a great hippie line there.

 

1012PM:  Thank you Lemon.  River branch.  But did you just say you were looking for turtles?

 

1014PM:  Forgot to mention earlier, thankfully this is in HD.  And that also just answered my question about whether theyd try minor gore.  Stitching the open wound, that clears that fear right up.

 

1015PM:  Don't get me wrong, far more impressed with that being done in Pelts, but that was very nice for a broadcast network.  But the commercial breaks might get annoying if they put them in the wrong places.  Haven't yet.

 

1017PM:  It should be noted, that tomorrow, I'm waiting for the Parents TV Council to present a massively overblown and stupid angry campaign about this.  They don't appear to have watched this yet.  At least not from their website.  They're too busy getting mad at Applebees for advertising on shows that go against parent company IHOP's family friendly image.  (seriously.  im not kidding.)

 

1019PM:  OH JUST KILL THE HORNDOG ALREADY.

 

1020PM:  Ooo...instant service.  Nice.....

 

1021PM:  Lemonwall?  Lemmywal?  uh...what?

 

1022PM:  Oh please go there on the stew.  Please go there.

 

1022PM no. 2:  His flatscreen and his madden 08?  Product placement much?

 

1024PM:  Nicely done bloodless thrill, i must admit.  Creepy emasciated priest is a nice touch.

 

1025PM:  I'll be seeing Strangers tomorrow night hopefully.

 

1029PM:  I repeat for a third time.  Damn thats good music work.

 

1030PM:  No one ever listens to the DONT GO BACK OUT THERE....such a cliche....

 

1031PM:  OHHHHH LEMUEL!  GOT IT!

 

1033PM:  Is that blood or sweat dripping into that bucket?  Nice touch....

 

1034PM:  Really?  you're going there?  Unexpected, yes.....WHOA!.  Ok, thats a good way to change up that cliche.  That's a really good way.

 

1035PM:  I've gotten into this discussion elsewhere on the forums regarding ratings, but I gotta say...it doesnt exactly inspire confidence for me in "The Happening" that the main selling point is that it's M. Night Shymalan's first R-Rated movie.  Just a thought.

 

1037PM:  Love that garbage tree ad so much.

 

1038PM:  OH SHUT UP!  THAT HAS GOT TO BE THE STUPIDEST HULK PRODUCT PLACEMENT EVER!  GOD THAT EP OF AMERICAN GLADIATORS IS GONNA BE DUMB!

 

1039PM:  Now THAT'S a nice prop. (license plate mobile)

 

1040PM:  SWEET!  IT IS BLOOD DRIPPING INTO THE PAN!

 

1041PM:  I liked your stew?????  Lemuel is such obvious comic relief.

 

1042PM:  Ok, I gotta give credit here.  I didn't think theyd have the balls to go demon cannibalism far on network tv.  My faith in this show is now totally restored.

 

1044PM:  Well that'll be uncut on the dvd prolly...lol

 

1045PM:  I have no idea why I have such a good feeling about Get Smart.  I probably shouldnt.

 

1046PM:  Notice how it's Snapple Antioxidant Water instead of Sobe Life Water now?  Somebody got bought out.....

 

1047PM:  OK, someone's waaaaaaaaay too prepared for this.

 

1049PM:  Oh, of course you're from there, why wouldnt you be!

 

1050PM:  The head wound on lemon's hair's really nice for network tv....

 

1051PM:  Ok, that was nice.  lol.

 

1052PM:  SOMEBODY GIVE THESE PEOPLE A SOUND AND MUSIC EMMY!

 

1057PM:  Damn, I was hoping for a different twist...

 

1057PM no. 2:  Never noticed all those antlers.  Nice touch.

 

Overall:  Very very good episode, particularly for a network tv horror anthology show.  Acting was far better than I thought at first.  If lions gate keeps up the plan I've heard of releasing these with additional footage on dvd, i'll be adding this to my collection on its release.  I'm very very excited for the rest of this series.  Already was gonna watch them all, now I'm optimistic about watching them all.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After much hoping and schedule shifting and good old fashioned intuition, at the moment it appears that I'm headed to the Lower East Side on Saturday night to see Poultrygeist a second time.  Why you might ask?  Well, A)  It's that damn good, and B) I've managed to corral a friend or two this time.

 

Anyone who saw Grindhouse in theater (as I did) knows how important seeing a movie in a theater can sometimes be.  As an example, I'm not tremendously interested in The Strangers.  Something is bothering me about the trailers, specifically my faith in the two leads and their acting ability.  But that's neither here nor there.  What is important is I feel that I could watch The Strangers on my tv and get the same experience I'd get in the theaters.  I can't have that with Grindhouse and Poultrygeist.  Poultrygeist is fantastic on its own.  But it's even better in a decently packed theater of Troma faithful itching to see the blood and gore paint the walls.  In Poultrygeist's case, I now have a memory of being in a place where a theater collectively cheered as one when a person was killed in a meat grinder.  You can't get that stuff in the home theater usually.  Similarly, I have a memory of being in a far less packed theater (which was a crime.....) when those in attendance collectively cringed....when the tongue lesion popped in Planet Terror.  That's why I refuse at least at the moment to buy the two disc Grindhouse releases.  I have a sneaking suspicion that something will come out this Halloween that will reward my waiting, but I have no reason to think that other than that there have to be more people than me in this world who want to recreate their own experience of seeing the original with EVERYTHING intact.  (I could of course just import the 6-disc Japanese special with both american releases, the theatrical cut, and a bonus disc, but I don't wanna deal with the shipping fees or figuring out that dollars to yen thing.  Plus I doubt my dvd player can play it.)

 

Anyone out there choose to get the two-discs?  If you did, what are you gonna do with them if they release a special edition?  Incidentally rumor has it that Poultrygeist will, ironically, be similar.  A single disc in october, and a double disc with documentaries and stuff in 09.  Guess which one i'm waiting on.

 

Speaking of Poultrygeist, I'm going to soon link troma's Poultrygeist page to our Poultrygeist review here to both increase best-horror-movies traffic possibly...and to get myself out there more...heh.

 

Also, am I the only one who's started to become really careful getting dvds?  When Sweeney Todd and The Mist came out, I got them both in the two-disc version because I was 90% sure they couldnt upgrade those much.  We live in a time of too much double-dipping to not do that. 

 

I'm proud...ish...to say that I've only double dipped to completely upgrade a dvd I'd already bought a few times:  I had Nightmare on Elm Streets 1-3 when i dumped them to get the box set, Night of the Living Dead (no not the new release, I got shafted into getting that recut one in a sale and thus switched to a different one.  And when I get it signed in June, I won't upgrade it again), and Saw simply because the special features on the uncut version intrigued me too much.  I mean, as an example, I have the original pressing version of my favorite movie A Clockwork Orange, and I refuse to upgrade it....partially cuz I waited so long to get it, and partially cuz it's autographed by Malcolm McDowell.  :-D  Ditto for a copy of Cujo I have that I'm not upgrading.  That's just my opinion on the subject though.

 

Anyone else generally as a rule opposed to double dipping?

 

And finally, I'm gonna ask again. Is there some restriction on the lyrical content of the music we post on our profiles?  Yes or no?  Anyone?

 

 

I have received a lot of grief over the fact that I do not except certain movies as zombie movies even though they are advertised as such. Not that I really care about what others think I do feel that I owe it to my peeps to give some clarification on why I am so anal about the subject. So, let me explain.

 

A zombie is a reanimated corpse. Whether your flavor is voodoo, toxic substance, cosmic radiation, or someother form of inducing a zombie state, the cause must kill the body before it is reanimated. 

 

Films such as 28 Days Later, which I thouroughly enjoyed, and the god forsaken piece of filth that is the remake of Day of the Dead have humans that are not reanimated corpses but rather humans infected by a virus that causes changes while still alive.

 

Although I am not willing to alter my impressions on this subject, I am willing to say that I am more than acceptant of a new sub-genre where these films can be correctly labeled.

 

 

 

 

 

Hello and welcome to everyone's favorite Thursday-night-liveblog-of-a-horror-television-show-airing-on-NBC-at-10:

 

 

What can I say.  Know your audience.  Feeling particularly good about this week's.  Why you might ask?  Remember how I keep mentioning the unnecessary drubbing another site gives this show?  This is a quote from their review of this week's episode, "Eater" (by Stuart Gordon of Re-Animator, Dagon, and now all 3 seasons of Masters of Horror):  "While "Eater" isn’t quite the 360-turn this series needed, it’s downright Emmy-worthy compared to its predecessors."  So if the people  who've said EVERY episode is awful and terrible suddenly say that this one's actually good....this one is probably the greatest television show ever to air.  But we shall see shan't we.

 

Oh and sidebar:  It must be nice to get pre-screeners from a network when all you do is bash the show mercilessly.  The review on their site for this ep actually says that the other directors thus far have been (quoting) "repeatedly humping Rod Serling’s bloated corpse".  First, that's disrespectful.  Second, incorrect as I've tried to show.  And Third, just completely unnecessary.  If you think it's bad say so, but don't pointlessly bring up necrophilia.  But I digress.

 

 

959PM:  REALLY?  LAST COMIC STANDING IS DOING CONFESSIONALS IN A GRAVEYARD THIS SEASON?  OH COME ON.

 

1000PM:  Wow.  um....taallllll.  And nice boots.

 

1001PM:  Gotta admit the set's looking a touch subpar this time.  Or at least the cell is.

 

1002PM:  Anyone else realize that removing a prisoners handcuffs can be a really bad idea when you're in the cell with him?  Just a thought.

 

1002PM:  Oh we got a winner here.  nice laugh.

 

1003PM:  Are you telling me this guy's a shaman or something?  And this was creepy enough WITHOUT the dream sequence/flashback cgi over the chant.

 

1004PM:  All right, that's it.  Here.  The lyrics to Lie, Lie, Lie.  SEEEEE WHY I DON'T LIKE IT BEING USED AS A HORROR THEME THOUGH I LOVE THE SONG?

 

1005PM:  NO IT ISNT.  I'm sorry, maybe i'm jaded from having seen The Matrix and Shoot 'Em Up which are INFINITELY better as action movies, but Wanted, while good, was really really overblown for me.

 

1007PM:  Dear NBC:  Just because a show was popular in another country doesn't mean that it will ALWAYS translate over.  I will probably watch this as it has an Arrested Development feel from the trailer, but don't keep hoping lightning will keep striking like it did with The Office.

 

1008PM:  Death Dance?  SO THAT'S WHY FANGORIA'S BEEN COVERING THIS PARTICULAR EP SO HARD.  GOD I HATE ADVERTORIAL, CORRECT OR NOT.

 

1009PM:  Silence of the Lambs much?  good thus far, but derivative.  I mean come on she even has a male-esque name.  (And if anyone here knows about masculine-feminine characters, its me, but we've already covered that whole thing elsewhere)

 

1010PM:  Gotta admit I like this introduction to our prisoner.  The little flashback vid.

 

1011PM:  32?  wooooow he was a busy boy.  wait dont....OH JESUS.  For the love of God Mr. Gordon don't crib so hard from Silence of the Lambs, it's embarassing.  AND DON'T HAVE YOUR CHARACTERS POINT IT OUT!  JEEZ.

 

1012PM:  It's occurring to me btw, that having half your characters insult the character who's kinda like the viewer in personal tastes isnt so smart necessarily.

 

1012PM 2:  Nice photos.

 

1013PM:  Ok, I'm just gonna come right out and say this.  Geeez the other cops are unlikeable.  I imagine that's the point though.

 

1014PM:  now there's something you don't expect on network tv.  Blowup doll.  A decent boundary push.  And nice arm tattoos too.

 

1015PM:  WILL YOU STOP WITH THE DAMN WAVY CGI?

 

1015PM 2:  Oh the PTC is going to LOOOOVE this ep.  Nicely done on that one.  Very twisted.  I should mention I just watched Deep Red before this btw, so if I dont come off as easily impressed, thatd be why.  This is at least as good as the rest thus far though.

 

1016PM:  I really hope that wasn't a bad place to put the commercial.  There was serious tension builtup there that they just kinda shot.

 

1018PM:  Um what the hell.....JG Wentworth is doing an ad here....of an opera about loans.  I feel like I'm on acid.  And not in a good way.

 

1018PM 2:  Planning to watch the original very soon so i'll be ready to see the sequel as well.  (Hellboy 2 trailer)

 

1020PM:  It's snowing outside the station?  odd....

 

1021PM:  Oh that's beautiful.  ooooo tasty.  Pancreas, large intestine......the fake eye was nice too.  But wow that cop is slimy.

 

1021PM 2:  WILL YOU STOP REFERENCING OTHER MOVIES?  NOW YOU'RE POINTING OUT THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE PARALLELS!

 

1022PM:  I admit that the fat cop is very interesting.  creepy without being overtly so.

 

1023PM:  Someone's waaaaaaaaaaay too excited about this guy.

 

1025PM:  Now that I think about it, ironically, this cell looks just like the one in Nightmare on Elm Street.  Boy they're just throwing the references aren't they.

 

1025PM 2:  Nice jump scare.  WHY....would you drink what he gave you with how he's acting?  Seriously.  I'm gonna bet it's blood.

 

1026PM:  Ok, wait.  are we really sitting here criminally profiling....LIKE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS?  and also, I'm hoping I havent already pinned down the ending already.

 

1029PM:  Don't die on us?  What is this, E.R.?  Don't get me wrong, I get the point of the line, that thought just came to mind.

 

1029PM 2:  See, now that was an appropriate commercial place and a nice surprise.  And I cannot wait for Dark Knight.

 

1031PM:  Oh...MY....GOD!.  NOTE TO LOCAL NEWS!  I DONT CARE ABOUT THE STUPID PREGNANT MAN STORY AND "HIM" GIVING BIRTH!  That does not belong in top stories.

 

1034PM:  Why on earth is the damn cell unlocked in the first place?  I'm really not liking what I'm seeing coming here.

 

1036PM:  I love this psychological stuff in this ep.

 

1037PM:  Why is the fact that it's snowing so hard outside bothering me so much.

 

1038PM:  And there we go just kinda sorta like I thought.  We'll see if it leads to what I think it will.  You can do far better with the gore though if this wasn't network.  It's a good try though.

 

1039PM:  Oh if only giving a woman a bucket of hot wings were all it took to get a date.  God I hate hollywood sometimes.

 

1042PM:  We're running out of Dateline ideas eh?  A whole ep on tornadoes?

 

1042PM 2:  Again with the frigging wiggly stuff.  There are so many more original ways to convey black magic.

 

1043PM:  Thank you for verbalizing my theory about the ending!

 

1045PM:  I do want to make it clear:  I do like this episode a lot.  It's got a lot of tension and is very gripping.  But one thing's for sure.  It is annoying just how much it references other stuff in dialogue.

 

1046PM:  Coooooool

 

1047PM:  What the hell.............YES!  VERY NICE.  Theory's still alive.

 

1049PM:  As a side thought, in case people are curious since I doubt a trailer for Hancock will air here, I loved it and it continues to prove my theory that we need more specialized critics from the populace.  The critics hate it.  But the everyday people love it according to critic sites user reviews.

 

1050PM:  Still thankful that I don't watch America's Got Talent.

 

1050PM:  NICE VOICE.  GOD I LOVE PROPERLY DONE CAJUN.  Even though I'm thinking I called it.  Yeah, I called it.

 

1053PM:  I don't know why but I really liked that line.  and the eat your heart out line.

 

1053PM:  OHHHHH VERY NICE.

 

1054PM:  WILL YOU JUST BREAK THE DAMN GLASS?

 

1055PM:  HEY THERE WAS AN ACTUAL GOOD USE FOR THE CGI!  *APPLAUSE*

 

1055PM 2:  The Eater ranks up there with Moonface for me in Masters of Horror history btw.  Great villain who'd be good in his own full-length movie.

 

1056PM:  OH please say they're goin dark.

 

1057PM:  This is why you don't put a criminal like this in a minimum security prison.

 

1058PM:  YES!  For a minute I didnt think they went dark enough on that.

 

1058PM 2:  AND WE GET B*TCH ON NETWORK TV AGAIN.  NICE.  and nice ending.

 

1059PM:  According to the preview just now, Fear Itself will not be new next week so no liveblog till two thursdays from now.  Just a note.  Will still blog otherwise though prolly.

 

OVERALL:  *reads the other review fully*.  Uh huh....well they agree with me on the fact that the silence of the lambs references are way too heavy.  But then they can't even praise the episode right, saying it runs into a wall and ends with a conclusion that is:  "random, downbeat and just plain silly".  Look, here's the facts.  The degree of references to Silence of the Lambs and other films do get massively annoying.  And yes, I did predict the BIG twist in the story very early on.  BUT.  The gore's high, the tension's good and ratchets up very well, the atmosphere is fantastic, and I think the villain puts this episode over the top, beyond just a Silence of the Lambs clone.  A very good episode with a beautiful dark ending that overall ranks with Family Man and The Sacrifice as the best of the series for me thus far.

 

Until next time everyone.....Bon Appetit.  ;-)

 

So, I'm sitting now at the little glass table in the dining area off the kitchen, right next to three floor- to- ceiling windows that look out over the back deck. I like to sit here and work when I'm doing updates and such for the site because it is close to the refrigerator and there is easy access to the wine glasses and corkscrew.

 

Anyway, I noticed something strange a few minutes ago - strange noises coming from the windows. Since there is light inside and it is dark outside I can't see anything but my own goofy reflection when I look out the window, but still the noise continued to the point that I had to stop everything and stare for a while. Finally I saw the source of the sounds... a June Bug. I think that's what they are called - brown bugs about the size of a dime that are round and fly around in clumsy patterns, slamming against the glass and making quite a racket. Then I noticed another, and another... after a few minutes there were dozens of these little beasts slamming their brown bodies against the glass in a quest for the light. Seriously, I think there are a MILLION of them out there, all propelling their bodies against the glass. Are they really after the light???

 

This experience has made me think of movies like Hitchcock's The Birds and countless creepy-crawly type movies that never fail to freak me out. I hate bugs. No, really... those June Bugs are totally freaking me out.

 

I guess fear can take many forms in horror flicks with the raging psycho with a machete being only one facet. I remember The Descent creeped me out to no end before I ever laid eyes on the cave-dwelling monsters because of the close-quarters of the caves. Do people really go into caves for FUN??? The worst part of Slither was when that huge fat lady exploded and all of those slugs came out and tried to get into everyone's mouth... yuck.  And now, June Bugs.

 

If I don't come around for a while it just may be because a hoarde of June Bugs broke through my window and consumed my flesh until there is only a skeleton sitting at my computer screen. If that happens, please send help.

 

Don

Before I give my report on this past weekend's convention, I want to make something clear:  Take a look at this:

 

 

What you see here....is my notes from something at the convention.  If I can barely read it, I KNOW you can't.  lol.  So, if I seem like I'm kinda jumbled in this, that would be why:  bad penmanship.  So, let's begin:

 

SATURDAY:

(I didn't attend Friday because there wasn't much interesting and I have a job and didn't have enough reason to take the day off to go.)

 

So I got there(Secaucus.  This is their last year there, btw.  Next year:  Javitz Center in Manhattan) at almost exactly 10, when pre-registration for us lucky silver registration people began.  Or so I thought.  See:

Silver package.  It consists of a reserved seat with special metallic purple wristband, a complimentary autograph from many guests who most have to pay for, and admission to something I'll show later.  Oh if only it was that simple.  I didn't get that card when I was supposed to.  (you'll notice many unmarked)  I got it about 8 hours later.  After a series of autographs and a rather interesting celebrity encounter that probably almost got me arrested.  But again, I'm getting ahead of myself.

 

Ahem:  So I got in line.  With EVERYONE ELSE.  Never mind that silver package is supposed to be able to preregister, noooo...everyone goes in at once.  Not only that, but the vendor room didnt open for an hour, and many fans were mad at time changes from signs that were posted that led to them buying autograph tickets for people who werent going to be there until the next day.  Also, ALL tickets were available, which says something about the amount of people who showed up.  One might think the con was a bit low-key this time though since they're moving.  But come on.  I went to this con in 06, got a beautiful full-color glossy program.  This time, (Not pictured, I lost it), I got a photocopy one made of simple paper.  Thats just sad.

 

It should be noted this con is a bit different from most.  See, Fangoria is built on the PANEL.  So you're choices are 80 jillion panels, or movies, or the vendor room.  Most others tend to just be autographs mostly and some movies and a vendor room.  Maybe a couple panels.  Thus, you will be seeing many photos from their horribly lit panel room (thank god for the photo enhance button in easyshare.)  Anyway.  So I went to go to the vendor room to kill time.  Vendor room didn't open til 11.  Even though I had silver.  Rather annoying.  Finally opened, and I discovered....far fewer tables.  Maybe it's just me but the decline was really palpable.  Don't get me wrong, I had fun, but very surprising.  Anyway, I met up with some friends i'd met at another panel, and thought I couldnt hang with them because I was going to see a screening of Coralina-Cataldi Tassoni's new short film "The Dirt". 

 

REVIEW OF THE DIRT:  Sorry, not here.  Projector was broken.  So rather than wait, I went and hung with my friends in the vendor room.  Bought some nice asian dvds, an italian movie for later at the con, etc.  At 1230, I bid my friends farewell and headed to the panel room for:

 

SCREENWRITING 101 with John Esposito.  Mr. Esposito is the writer of Stephen King's Graveyard Shift, Tale of the Mummy, and the Masters of Horror episode "Right to Die".  (The guy in the chair on the left in the pic on the left is Tony Timpone, Fangoria's Editor-in-Chief).  A great panel once the guy operating the screen realized theyd MISSPELLED HIS NAME.  (Jon instead of John)  Mr. Esposito mentioned that he got his start at a Fangoria in 1985 where he met Tom Savini who was working on the Tales from the Darkside tv show at the time (btw, they're fielding dvd offers on that, he said).  That meeting and exchange of a script led to Savini calling him in to work on the show.  Regarding Graveyard Shift:  "No one realy sets out to make a bad story."  Said his original script had elements in common with the last 1/3 of The Descent and Unforgiven.  Said it changed because the studio wanted what was hot at the time (Alien...formerly would've wanted Fatal Attraction).  Stephen King understood though.  Esposito said King said:  "Great script kid, but wait till you see what they do with it."  And the rest is history.  His niece would call him, excited about his name being in the paper...but not connecting the dots to where they were putting his name with the "atrocious screenplay".  Tale of the Mummy-wise, he mentioned how much he enjoyed working with Christopher Lee who was "Like santa claus" to him when he was in school (his classmates thought he liked Bruce Lee).  Regarding Masters of Horror, he talked about how his episode came from a combining of Terri Schaivo and Scott Peterson in his head.  First though, he pitched them a version of the monkey's paw, which failed after an unimpressive meeting with producers.  Right to Die then hit because, at the time, they didn't have a ghost story and "were high on Homecoming".  I will mention his new project that I find VERY interesting, a new documentary coming to Starz in October on the history of makeup ("Fantastic Flesh") featuring interviews with Eli Roth, John Carpenter, Wes Craven, Mick Garris, etc.  Right after that, we had:

 

 

Tom Noonan(Manhunter, Robocop2, Monster Squad, Last Action Hero):  (Thank god for big-screens, eh?)  While I missed part of his panel while in line for Esposito's autograph, I did hear some interesting tidbits.  For example, he used to knock on the Robocop suit on the set of Robocop 2 just to annoy.(I would.  lol)  He talked about working on Last Action Hero and being near Arnold Schwarzenegger while he was on the phone with George Bush, Sr. (Really!) telling him that "we need to go to war".  Mentioned a story about working with Director Michael Mann on Heat and Manhunter, particularly stories of him firing people at random and being extraordinarily anal about a crack on a van (he fired the whole dept.)  He also fired a dolly operator, then gave the job to a gaffer who said he could do it, screwed up, and was fired as well.  I'd mention the plot of a movie he wants to write (Scatterbrain), but I don't know if he's actually gonna do it or not.  Also mentioned the craziness of being locked in a cage with a tiger for Manhunter.  After that, I found my friends again who headed off for lunch.  Me, I did something that is quite possibly the farthest extreme from that possible:

 

 

 

20th Anniversary Screening of SLIME CITY with Director Greg Lamberson:  The year was 1988 (DUHHHH...20 years).  And Greg Lamberson had been working on this movie for almost 4 years.  Wrote it at 19, filmed at 21, finished at 23.  Total budget: 50,000 dollars.  Here's the barest minimum plot I can give this since, some point way later, I plan to review this in full for this site:  Guy moves into a tenement.  Neighbor gives him Himalayan yogurt(not making that up).  Guy begins to ooze slime.  But killing people...returns him to normal.  Also, he feels conflict between his straightlaced wholesome girlfriend and his hot goth neighbor(see that girl in the picture on the left?).  Who will he choose?  Why is this happening to him?  Will he be able to stop it?  WILL HE WANT TO?

-My feelings:  Everyone needs to see this forgotten classic.  Is it particularly good, visually speaking?  No.  Point of fact, I've never seen a more abundantly clearly low-budget b-movie in my life.  BUT.  This is quality B-movie.  You can feel the love that Lamberson and cast put into the movie and its zany lines and crazy intentional/unintentional humor.  It is a brilliant, hilarious, disgusting movie. (Now the movie I saw Sunday on the other hand....but I digress)  Lamberson was also super nice, loves this movie very much.  He's finally gotten proper dvd distribution through Retro Shock-O-Rama, after getting screwed numerous other times.  He's also planning a sequel, Slime City Massacre because "I want to make a good film too."  A noble cause, a great director, a fantastic movie, that I bought 5 minutes after leaving the screening room. 

 

After this, I headed to the vendor room where I got Ken Foree to sign my copy of From Beyond, and bought a copy of Diary of the Dead for George Romero to sign while in line with my friends I've previously mentioned.  Then I headed to the panel room again for one of the marquee panels and best ideas I've ever seen (I ran a bit late though but caught almost all of it)

 

The Masters of Italian Horror Panel:  ROLL CALL:  (L-R in pic on left)  Sergio Stivaletti(far right in pic on right), special effects coordinator for numerous italian horror classics such as Mother of Tears, Demons, and Phenomena; Corlina Cattaldi-Tassoni(off camera in pic on right), actress from Mother of Tears and Opera; Lamberto Bava(far left in pic on right), son of Mario Bava and director of Demons and Demons 2; and Ruggero Deodato(dead center in pic on right), director of that classic of controversy, Cannibal Holocaust.  This would be what those notes up there are from so...GOOD LUCK TO ME!  Ahem.

 

Facts learned at this panel:  Lamberto Bava dislikes the current remake mania.  Ruggero Deodato thinks it's impossible to remake Cannibal Holocaust.  Cannibal Holocaust sprung from Deodato's desire to make something independent.  The things that the masters believe define their careers:  Deodato:  The impalement in Cannibal Holocaust during which the camera is shaking while someone laughs which he calls the message of the movie; Bava:  In Demons and Demons 2, scenes in which characters come out of screens, crossing over from fantasty into reality; Tassoni:  Dying in many elaborate ways on screen; Stivaletti:  Same scene in Demons as Bava and the work of Tom Savini.  Motivations:  Bava:  Dario Argento; Tassoni: Opera maestros; Stivalleti:  an old creepy house in which he lived.  What do Italian Horror directors do better than any other:  They're better chefs, meaner, and they try to capture realism.  Sergio Stivaletti's favorite effect:  A stomach rip in Mother of Tears.  Deodato on Blair Witch:  He was too late to catch it in theater, said the story was "nothing", had an issue with people saying their treatment was the first since he'd made Holocaust, but was thankful in the end as it drove people to his movie.  Deodato and Umberto Lenzi were not exactly genial with each other, with Deodato saying there was a "war" between them; Bava has reason to be mad at him too since he did Demons 3 without consulting him.  Deodato on the response to Cannibal Holocaust:  he was told to come see the film because it was a hit, he quickly was arrested; a sound guy claimed he really had killed the actors; the French began referring to him as Mr. Cannibal; He would not kill the animals were he to remake the movie, called the act "stupid"; the pig died in the movie because the crew had eaten nothing but fish for days and he agreed to have the pig killed so they could have different food.  Bava on his father:  He liked practical jokes; once told him "Never do movies, do a serious job."; Mario was happy Lamberto decided to do it and did it on his own without much of his help.  Deodato on cameoing as a butcher in Hostel 2:  Tarantino was squeamish at Cannibal Holocaust (which he showed him during the production); Roth didnt tell him what the role was until he got there; he had fun, and when he got there the whole crew was wearing Cannibal Holocaust t-shirts which moved him considerably.

 

Holy hell, I actually managed to decipher it all.  Wow.  Um....after that, I went to the vendor room to get their autograph.  Here I will mention that card again.  See if you'll notice I mentioned I got Ken Foree, but he's not marked.  Thats cuz I didnt have the card, so I had to pay.  Youll notice none of the directors are.  Didn't have the card.  But they understood....but I'm pretty sure Sergio wanted to punch me.  I kinda lost my cool and had him sign three things (Phenomena, Demons, Opera) rather than my plan of one...I only got one for free supposedly...But he didn't charge!  He understood even though it was frustrating!  And in that photo, he actually smiled, if you notice.  They were all great.  I then gathered myself, and went back to the panel room to meet up with the panel my friends were waiting for:

 

 

Steve Gonsalves of Sci Fi Channel's "Ghost Hunters":  I don't know tooo too much about Gonsalves's show but I do have tremendous respect for him.  As he mentioned in his panel, he and his team investigate paranormal claims.  But they don't push for supernatural causes.  They scientifically analyze them and make ABSOLUTELY sure they can't find any scientific explanation for certain things, which I appreciate in a show like that.  I may start watching as a result.  He also mentioned how he dislikes TV psychics because they can't read you without seeing you or without asking questions.  His favorite investigations:  For Activity, The Bedford Armory, For history, The Birdcage Theater.  He also mentioned that his team does some work with EVP, but they tag EVERY sound that they make so that they dont confuse themselves later and trick themselves into thinking something they did was a supernatural occurrence.  A great guest.  Went out into the crowd and everything.  After my friends got a photo signed, I bid them farewell and headed back in to see another reason I came:

 

 

Angus Scrimm (Phantasm Series, Incident On and Off A Mountain Road):  Yes, THE TALL MAN himself, Angus Scrimm.  Or...at least at first...he said Scrimm couldn't show up and he was an english professor.  He read horror poetry and haikus before returning to himself.  He mentioned his upcoming projects (Automatons, Satan Hates You, I Sell The Dead, and Phantasm V(they're looking into that one)).  He said he thought Reggie could beat the Tall Man if it came to a fist fight, Said Don Coscarelli's sequel to Bubba Ho-Tep (Bubba Nosferatu) is on ice since Bruce Campbell doesn't want to.  Coscarelli's next project is an adaptation of "John Dies at the End".  Said that his role in Subspecies was fun, but the wig he wore was absurd.  Said Phantasms 1, 3 and 4 were independently financed while 2 was bigger budgeted and got swallowed up.  Anchor bay, according to him, tried to get Phantasm 2, but Universal is asking too much.  They're planning a Phantasm 1, 3, and 4 boxset he said.  Also, he said he loves doing conventions and got a lot of offers this year.  He joked that he was going to claim that this was his last year, then come back for a retirement tour or two like Cher.  lol.  At this point, I was FINALLY given a ticket.  Entitling me to one free autograph.  So what did I do?  I got him to sign both Phantasm and Incident.  They really werent watching close enough.  lol.  Which brings us toooo....

 

                     

 

COSTUME CONTEST:  We have here(left to right) zombies from a special effects group(third photo for detail), the joker and his clown posse (my favorite.  He interrupted Tom Noonan's panel and asked Tom if he knew where he could find Harvey Dent.  second photo for detail), another zombie from another special effects group, Columbia from the Rocky Horror Picture Show, and (i kid you not) Cloverfield's ex-lover.  Finishing together in last:  Solo zombie and Columbia.  Finishing third:  Cloverfield's ex-lover.  Finishing Second:  Joker and posse.  Finishing first:  the zombie duo!  Be happy for them as they won money in decent amounts.  Be sad because they gave away dvds as prizes.  And by "prizes" i mean the Day of the Dead remake and Swamp Thing, the series, so interpret that word as you will......

BUT WAIT!  THERES MORE!  For as I mentioned earlier, on Saturday, the silver package gives you admission toooooo:

 

 

Dessert and Cocktail Party:  Let me guess.  You're thinking the room looks empty.  Thatd be because everyone's behind me.  They're in line getting ice cream.  I had a better photo of this, but you KNOW it's bad when even enhance looks awful.  Ice cream was