Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Happy Halloween!





Let's Get Out of Here! wishes you all a crazy mad
Happy Halloween!



I started my October 31st with the last run of horror programming that started on October 1st.  I have some crappy cellphone shots from the movies.


First up - 1977's Spawn of the Slithis


Second was 2008's Trailer Park of Terror




Next up a random Halloween shot I saw today that made me smile -







Then some lunch where the waitresses come to work in costume - ahh, Jasmine...

And how 'bout that shirt I'm sporting? Yes, I am in this picture.




A stop at my favorite used DVD store - Moviestop - added some new flicks to the video vault - including Zombie on Blu-Ray! Huzzah!


Then it was back to the film festival:



2008's Midnight Movie.
 
 
 
 
Then I saw another cool Halloweeny photo I liked:

 
 




2011's Killer Eye: Halloween Haunt was next.


Then another funny photo:



What was really funny is this was posted with the caption:
"Jason Voorhees gets really thirsty." Which led to someone
adding the comment "Look at Leatherface eating that Pepsi."
So of course I added "Wow, Pinhead is smashing that Dew."
Mysteriously, the picture disappeared moments later.




Next up was some dinner, and although I didn't think I would be this year, after dinner I pulled out a butcher knife worthy of Michael Myers and made this happen:


Camera flash off...

Camera flash on...


Finally, I settled in with the last movie of the month's all horror-fest:


2010's The Wolfman.


We didn't get a lot of trick-or-treaters - I'd say 15-18 kids across 6 or 7 groups. I have scads of candy left over.



We finished out Halloween night dropping by my buddy Ray's house for a moment to see his terrific scary setup all over his yard and in the windows of his two story house. This includes at least three skeletons, two full size figures, a coffin, a fog machine, lights, and Ray himself, decked out in a creepy caped Ghoul Man getup that must be pretty effective when he looms out of the dark at you as you approach his house. Here's a couple of pics of what he had up in his yard:






And here is the whole list of everything I watched all month:

2001 Maniacs: Field of Screams

The Horrible Dr. Bones

Tales from the Crypt: "Til Death"

Razortooth

Underworld

Thriller: "The Twisted Image"

The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll

Collinsville

Heroes of Horror: Lon Chaney Jr.

Zombies vs Strippers

A Cabin in the Woods  (repeat view)

Abominable

She-Wolf of London

Tales from the Crypt: "Three's a Crowd"

Stephen King's The Night Flier  (repeat view)

The Hills Run Red

Dead Man's Eyes  (repeat view)

Thriller: "Child's Play"

Captivity

The Killer Eye

Frankenstein  (repeat view)

Bride of Frankenstein  (repeat view)

Halloween (1978)  (repeat view)

Halloween II (1981)  (repeat view)

Waxwork  (repeat view)

Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein  (repeat view)

Halloween III: Season of the Witch  (repeat view)

Dawn of the Dead (1978)  (repeat view)

Amusement  (repeat view)

Dead and Buried  (1981)  (repeat view)

Bikini Bloodbath
Hatchet II  (repeat view)

Blood Cult

From a Whisper to a Scream  (repeat view)

Two Thousand Maniacs  (repeat view)

Feast

Tales from the Crypt: "The Thing from the Grave"

Creepshow 3

Gingerdead Man 2: Passion of the Crust

Wicked Lake

The Pack  (repeat view)

Mr. Sardonicus  (repeat view)

Spawn of the Slithis

Trailer Park of Terror

Midnight Movie

Killer Eye: Halloween Haunt

The Wolfman (2010)
 

41 movies (15 repeat viewings), 6 TV episodes. Not too shabby. I also read only horror - a few books, and some House of Mystery comics.


It feels weird not needing to have a post ready for tomorrow - I think I'll take a day or two off - probably next posting Saturday with a poster/trailer combo as usual.


Until then, you Can Poke Me With A Fork, Cause I Am Outta Here!

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Tales from the Script!

An excerpt from my scary screenplay Hospitality...





The story opens with a convenience store robbery perpetrated by a trio of ne'er-do-wells, Cory, Annie, and Vern. Things do not go as planned, and people die. This sequence is crosscut with the average morning of a man named Henry. Henry rises from bed, paints while the morning light is good, then gets breakfast for his aged father and himself. Everything sounds normal in Henry's house, doesn't it? Except it isn't. And in the early scenes it's nothing you can put your finger on. But something is "off."


The escape in the car is derailed by a flat tire, and the kids stop off in an empty field outside of town. Eventually, they decide to steal a car from a passing motorist. To accomplish this, Cory has Annie get all dolled up in a fairly trashy outfit, the better to lure middle aged men to a meeting with their insurance adjuster.

 
Of course, the person they stop is Henry, on his way back from town with some groceries. Annie plays her part well, and gets Henry to stop. But Vern is off sinking their car in the river, and Cory won't jump Henry alone.



WARNING - THE FOLLOWING EXCERPTS ARE R RATED. THEY MAY CONTAIN ADULT LANGUAGE AND ADULT SITUATIONS. READER DISCRETION IS ADVISED.

 

EXT. ROAD - MORNING

Annie glances up at Henry as she continues to massage her ankle.


HENRY
Are you all right?


ANNIE
Not really.


HENRY
What seems to be the problem?


ANNIE
Out late. Party. Met a guy, seemed all right.
He brought me out here. You know. When I
said no, he kicked me out of the car
and left me out here in the middle of nowhere!

 
The last few words she directs to the departed “guy.”


ANNIE (CONT’D)
I fell asleep over there by the river. I heard a car go
by a little while ago, as I was waking up, but I
couldn’t get out here in time.

 
HENRY
I guess that must have been me.
Not many cars out this way.
 
ANNIE
Well, I’m glad you came back. My ankle
is really hurting. Can you help me?


HENRY
I live close by, just got a few things in town.
Why don’t you get in? You could call someone
from my house?



Henry opens the side door. This is not going as planned. Annie looks off as though she is thinking this over. She is actually looking at Cory.

Cory mimes that he doesn’t know, looking around to indicate he has no idea where Vern is. Annie looks back at Henry.

ANNIE
How close by?

 
HENRY
You can almost see it from here. Come on.
Let me offer you some hospitality.


ANNIE
You’re not one of those crazies? You’re not
going to turn out to be an axe murderer?



HENRY
Absolutely not. I don’t even own an axe.
Scouts’ honor. I’m Henry.


Not knowing what else to do, Annie pretends to hobble to the car.


ANNIE
Uh, my name is An...gelina. I hope my
friends can find your place.


HENRY
Won’t be a problem. Angelina.
Such a pretty name.

Annie climbs into the car. Henry smiles as she closes the door. He rolls the window up, closing Annie in with him. She watches the window slide into place almost nervously.

[As the car drives off, Vern returns. Cory berates him with much profanity and they start walking, hoping to find Annie quickly.]



EXT. HENRY’S HOUSE - MORNING

Henry’s car pulls in along the driveway. The house is set back a good distance from the road. The car stops near the house, and Henry climbs out. Annie does the same, but slower, very on edge.

She looks back down the road.


HENRY
See, I told you it was close.


ANNIE
Yeah, but my friends still might have
a tough time finding the place.

 
Henry waves this off and opens the back door of the car. He reaches in and pulls out the two brown paper bags of groceries. With keys in hand, he turns and walks to the house, expecting Annie to follow him.

She doesn’t. He turns back and sees her still looking down the driveway.


HENRY
Aren’t you coming inside? You
still need to call your friends.

 
Annie casts one more look down the driveway, then turns and walks nervously to where Henry stands by the door. Henry maybe starts to realize something is hinky here. However, the curtain has risen, the play must go on. But Henry can’t resist one little prod.


HENRY (CONT’D)
Your ankle seems to be much better.


Annie realizes she forgot her limp.


ANNIE
Yeah, I guess it is better. Guess being off
it for a few minutes did the trick.

 
HENRY
I guess so.

 
Henry unlocks the door and gestures for Annie to precede him inside. She smiles anxiously, and goes in. Henry follows, and the door closes with an ominous click. Once again, we stay on the door just long enough to expect something else to happen. Finally, it doesn’t.



INT. HENRY’S KITCHEN - MORNING

Henry has taken the lead and walks in to the kitchen. He sets down the grocery bags. Annie looks the place over as she eases into the kitchen. There is a sign posted: “Enjoy our hospitality. We’re glad you came to see us!” There are also small paintings here, the lightest in tone of any we’ve seen so far.


ANNIE
This is a nice place. You have a lot
of paintings.


HENRY
They’re mine.
 
Annie looks at him like “of course they are.”

ANNIE
Well, sure they are. It’s your
house...

 
Henry grins.


HENRY
No, I mean I painted them.


ANNIE
Really? Wow. You’re really talented. I like
your sign too. Hospitality. You said that out
on the road.


HENRY
Thank you, Angelina. Yes, my father always
encouraged having guests, and treating them well.


ANNIE
Do you live here alone?


HENRY
No, my father lives here with me.

Annie starts slightly at the change in tense. This day started off bad, and just keeps adding more complications.


ANNIE
Uh, you can make that Annie, I guess.
Where is your father?


HENRY
Annie it is then. I’m afraid Father is not well. He
sleeps most of the time. Actually, I need to check
on him, and put these groceries away. Do you
need to freshen up?


ANNIE
Uh, sure. Yeah, that would be good.


HENRY
Bathroom’s first on the left down the hall.
But first, let me show you this.


Annie is not sure what he means as Henry steps over to a small fusebox looking box on the wall. He opens it and flips the switch inside.

We flash to the front door, the back door, and a shot of the windows. Each time, there is a soft CLUNK that sounds like a lock being thrown followed by a soft and steady electrical HUM.

None of this can be heard in the kitchen.



HENRY (CONT’D)
There. I just turned on the light over my mailbox.
Now your friends will have no problem finding this place.
And you can make your call as soon as I check on
Father. First door on the left in the meantime.

 
Annie smiles and walks down the hall. Henry smiles back, but the smile fades after Annie disappears and he starts to put away the groceries.

 

EXT. ROAD - MORNING

Cory and Vern walk along, scanning each side looking for some sign of Annie or Henry’s car. They come upon Henry’s driveway.

As they stop to look at it for a moment, the sharp eyed will see the mailbox, which is brightly painted to look like a rather strange fish, the first dimensional representation of Henry’s art that we’ve seen.

And no, there is no light over it at all.


VERN
Is this it?

CORY
Hell if I know. I don’t want to go to the
wrong place and get some nervous nellie
farmer calling the cops.

Vern calmly pulls out his pistol. Cory sighs and shakes his head.


CORY (CONT’D)
And I don’t want to leave a string of bodies
across the county. Let’s go further down,
see if we see the car.

Vern reluctantly agrees, puts his gun away, and they walk on.




INT. HENRY’S HALLWAY - MORNING

The door to the bathroom opens quietly. Annie peeks out, then slips out into the dimly lit hallway, trying not to let her heels clatter on the floor. The walls here are also covered with several framed pieces.

 
Down the hall, Henry putters and puts away groceries, humming to himself. Annie turns and walks down the hall the other way.


She comes to a closed door, and puts her hand on the knob. She watches back down the hall, but Henry continues to make noise in the kitchen. She debates opening this door, which could creak, or walking down to the last door, which is open.


She lets go of the doorknob and creeps on down the hall. She peeks carefully around the door frame.

Inside the room, there is a figure lying in the bed. It is very still, and does not show any signs of life. With another peek back to the kitchen, Annie slides into the room.




INT. HENRY’S SECOND BEDROOM - MORNING

 
Surrounded by Henry’s art, Annie’s eyes adjust to the even more dim light here, and Annie can see that the figure appears to be a very old man, with gray hair and an ample gray beard. There is still no sign of obvious life.

Annie steps closer, and finally, unable to resist, reaches out a hand to the figure’s foot and gives it a gentle shake.
 
Instantly the figure’s eyes snap open, startling the hell out of Annie, who reels back. The figure flops and writhes, absolute stark terror in the eyes. No speech, but a muffled mumbling can be heard. Now it can be seen that the figure is restrained in the bed. Annie turns to run away...

...and finds Henry standing right behind her, rage in his eyes. He grabs Annie and hustles her out into the hallway.


HENRY
(very angry)
What are you doing?
Why did you do that?


ANNIE
What’s wrong with him? Why is he
so scared? And why is he tied
up like that?


HENRY
(very angry)
He is a very old, very sick man. He is terrified
of just about everything these days, especially strangers.
And in his confusion he cannot be left to fall out of
bed, or wander around the house and hurt himself.

This explanation calms Annie somewhat. Henry also relaxes a bit.

ANNIE
I’m sorry, Henry, I heard a noise...


HENRY
It’s all right. I’m sorry I snapped. I need to
get him calmed down, and seeing you again
won’t help. Will you wait in the kitchen
for me?


ANNIE
Yes, of course.

Annie walks back down the hall to the kitchen. Henry watches her until she disappears around the corner, then he walks into the bedroom. The figure reacts again, still terrified.


HENRY
I’m sorry, Father.

He walks over to the dresser and picks up a small case. From inside he draws out a hypodermic needle, which is already filled. He squirts the air out as he approaches the bed. The figure on the bed mumbles incoherently again in the same muffled way.

HENRY (CONT’D)
But it’s for your own good.

The figure on the bed tries to jerk away, but cannot escape.




INT. HENRY’S KITCHEN - MORNING

Annie waits nervously. She eyes a butcher block full of knives, even slides the largest partially out, then decides against it and lets it fall back.

After a moment, Henry walks back into the room. He seems to have regained his composure, though maybe it is now a bit brittle.

HENRY
There, he’s settled down now.
 
ANNIE
God, I am so sorry, Henry.


HENRY
It’s all right. So much upsets him these
days. Now, how about that phone call?

Annie has no desire to make a phone call, but still doesn’t what to do.

ANNIE
Uh, sure.
 
HENRY
Phone’s right over here.

He gestures to an old cordless phone mounted on the wall. He takes the handset off and gives it to Annie.

It feels strange, and she hefts it as though the weight is off.

ANNIE
Henry, I don’t think there are
any batteries in this phone.

Henry slides closer as though to take a look.

HENRY
No, there aren’t. Oh, and Annie?
I was never a scout.
 
Annie tries to move but she’s let Henry get too close as he pulls the same hypodermic up from where he’s been palming it and slams it into Annie’s upper arm.
Annie turns and grabs for the knives, but only manages to get the largest back out and turn before crumpling. The knife clatters harmlessly onto the floor beside her.



Ooooh boy! That's gonna be trouble! From there, very bad things begin to happen. Who will survive, and what will be left of them?


That's about 8 1/2 pages out of a 98 page screenplay - if you have cash in the six figures range lying around you're not using, please let me know - there's an Executive Producer credit waiting for you on this bad boy!



Til next post, you Can Poke Me With A Fork Cause I Am Outta Here!

Monday, October 29, 2012

Maniacal Movie Poster Monday #92!

For the last MMPM of this Halloween Horrorfest - it's shaping up to be a theme week - featuring the monster with no shape!






The Blob  (Tonylyn Productions, 1958)




People make a lot of fun of this movie - and I can understand - the goofy theme song, the white bread TV sitcom presentation of 50's life - but I still say this is one of the best realized movie monsters from that decade - second only to The Creature from the Black Lagoon for realism. It's a creepy creature - it can ooze silently up on you and engulf you in a big red digestive acid bath - that is effective to me - not silly. I love this movie - always have and always will!







Beware! the Blob  (Jack H. Harris Enterprises, 1972)



Now this one is a goofy flick - Jack H. Harris's sequel to his 1950's hit directed by his neighbor Larry Hagman and featuring a crazy cast of Hagman's pals, with copious cameos thrown in for good measure. The monster is still effective, but the movie surrounding it is pretty silly. Still well worth a watch.










The Blob  (Tri-Star Pictures, 1988)


For whatever reason I missed this remake in the theater - and saw it on VHS when it came out. I liked it - but only saw it the one time - want to see it again and see how it holds up. It's got good names in front of and behind the camera though - so it's not a surprise that it actually worked.




Apparently there's been some talk of Rob Zombie doing another remake of this - probably off the boards now - but it sounded like it could be interesting - although I'm sure the Blob would have found itself engulfing plenty of white trash characters as played by as many genre faces as Zombie could hire - but the 1958 movie - despite being one of my favorite movie monsters - is not a sacred cow to me - so I was actually okay with this remake idea. Of course it doesn't happen.





Ah well - until next post, you Can Poke Me With A Fork, Cause I Am Outta Here!

Sunday, October 28, 2012

Exploding Beef!

Abominable  (Red Circle Productions, 2006)









Before the Camera:


Matt McCoy  (Police Academy 5: Assignment Miami Beach)
Haley Joel  (Crash Landing)
Christien Tinsley  (Felon)
Tiffany Shepis  (Dark Reel)
Rex Linn  (Rush Hour)
Karin Anna Cheung  (The Trap)
Paul Gleason  (The Breakfast Club)
Jeffrey Combs  (Re-Animator)
Dee Wallace Stone  (The Howling)
Natalie Compagno  (Life Happens)
Michael Deak  (Bad Channels)
and
Lance Henriksen  (Stone Cold)
as
Ziegler Dane




Behind the Camera:


Directed by Ryan Schifrin

Produced by Donna Cockrell, Theresa Eastman Schifrin, Paul Spadone, and Duane Trow

Written by Ryan Schifrin
Story by Ryan Schifrin and James Morrison







Here’s a horror effort that on the surface seems like a standard issue Syuh Fyuh Creature Feature mixed with Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window. Preston Rogers (McCoy) had a terrible accident six months ago – a fall while climbing Suicide Rock left him a paralyzed widower in one fell swoop. Now he’s been sent back to the area by his health care professionals so that he can get past the terrible events and find his will to live again. They probably also want him to think about the wisdom of climbing something called Suicide Rock, although that’s not brought out in the story. But I was sure thinking it. Preston is now confined to a wheelchair, and he’s accompanied by a physical therapist/assistant named Otis (Tinsley), a semi-sadistic jackwagon not looking out for Preston’s best interests. While these two gentlemen square off in their house – next door a quartet of lovely young women arrive for a weekend getaway.

Preston starts watching the girls – mostly innocently – just something to do – but as night comes on he starts to realize he’s not the only pair of eyes watching their house – there’s something else out there. Something big. Something furry. Something vicious. After one of the girls disappears, Preston is forced into the role of hero. But how much can one man do stuck in a wheelchair in the Great Outdoors?

That's not Avon calling...



I assumed going in that this was going to be a fairly dreary affair – poor acting; too much talk; and a chintzy CGI creature. I was surprised and delighted when instead it turned out that a fine cast with several familiar faces sparks some solid monster action – and best of all – that monster is a man in a nicely designed creature costume! McCoy leads the cast with a solid performance, utilizing the actor’s likability and sensitive side in good measures. The rest of the lesser known cast are fine - with Haley Joel standing out - but it's the veterans who give this some fun and some oomph - especially Combs - nearly unrecognizable in white trash mode - and Gleason - terrific spoofing his iconic Breakfast Club character in one of his final roles.

Matt McCoy tries to call in his Police Academy pals...

Director Schifrin is the son of super composer Lalo Schifrin - and brings an obvious love for this kind of movie to the table - he handles everything well - suspense, scares, some humor, a little gore - and he got his pop to provide a really nice score - had this been your run of the mill Syuh Fyuh flick it would have been a synthesizer or some death metal - the old school stuff from Schifrin senior is therefore most welcome. Co-star Tinsley is really good playing his jackwagon role - surprising then that he also worked behind the scenes as the lead special effects makeup artist, designing the creature and the really well done practical and graphic effects when it attacks.

If you like a good old creature on the loose flick - but have been numbed by all the computer generated versions lumbering around on cable - here's one that does it like they used to do it - and does it well. A high recommendation for this one - check it out!






Let's Get Out of Here ?

At around 1:24:51 Matt McCoy thinks the movie is over.




Eye Candy ?




Haley Joel

Tiffany Shepis and Haley Joel

Tiffany Shepis

 
Haley Joel and Tiffany Shepis are in! Welcome to the list, ladies!







Buddha Man's Capsule Review

Buddha Man says: "Abominable is anything but!"







Thank you BM - and until next post, you Can Poke Me With A Fork, Cause I Am Outta Here!

Saturday, October 27, 2012

Saturday Night at the Movies 10/27/12!

Who cares what picture we see?


I've met Joe Don Baker. Nice enough guy - but can't see he'd care...nonetheless - we're picking this one...













I saw this Nature Runs Amok (aka Chew 'Em Up and Spit 'Em Out) flick on Showtime way back when - and I remember thinking it was pretty tense and exciting. I mean, you have some cool actors, and you have several real dogs with not one pixel of CGI anywhere in sight!

So I asked Warner Bros to make me up a DVD of this one - and it now resides in the video vault ready to spin anytime - even tonight - should you care to come by!



Until next post, you Can Poke Me With A Fork, Cause I Am Outta Here!


Friday, October 26, 2012

Lobby Benson!

A cool set of classic lobby cards!



How to Make a Monster (American International, 1958)




After they had some success with I Was a Teenage Werewolf, and I Was a Teenage Frankenstein, American International did their own monster rally picture bringing those two groovy ghoulies together. Sort of.

A makeup artist for American International pictures is summarily fired. He promptly loses his mind, and mixing "hypnotic chemicals" into his makeup, he commands the two young actors playing monsters in AIP's latest production to commit murder!




Here he takes matters into his own hands, wearing his own disguise.
Apparently he wants to make sure no one at the studio will ever drink
coffee again! Die, java brewing guard! Die!
 





Here Dumond examines his work on the Teenage Werewolf (Gary Clarke, in
for Michael Landon) as a big headed special effects creature looks on. I mean,
as Dumond's assistant looks on.
 






Teenage Frankenstein (a returning Gary Conway) wants to borrow a coat.
It's chilly out.
 






The real American International's real makeup artist, Paul Blaisdell, worked
his magic on this flick. Here's two of Blaisdell's earlier creatures decorating
Dumond's home. That's one of the aliens from Invasion of the Saucermen
on the left, and The She-Creature on the right. I'm not sure what that is in
the middle, except for SCARY!
 






Dumond gives Teenage Frankenstein some extra makeup on his right ear.
 








As often happens after a murder, the pesky ol' police show up. Here they're
apparently looking for killers AND autographs.
 








Teenage Werewolf and Dumond console Teenage Frankenstein after their
audition for American Bandstand does not go well.
 








This is how you do the Watusi...oh...FIRE!!!!







The blurb on the cards that reads 'SEE The Ghastly Ghouls In Flaming Color!' refers to the climax of the black and white movie. Right in the middle of a shot, the picture blooms into color for the final 10 minutes or so! This is a fun little picture, and worth catching. But be warned: there's not a lot of real monster recipes in it.



Til next time, you Can Poke Me With A Fork, Cause I Am Outta Here!

Thursday, October 25, 2012

Buddha Man's Jack O'Lanterns!




I enjoyed both - but would you?




The Child (1977) This is an ultra low budget horror flick from distributor Box Office International, run by the amazing Harry Novak. Harry would scope out movies like this and put them on the drive in circuit throughout the 1960's and 1970's. In this rather odd little movie, pretty young Alicianne has been hired as a nanny for a girl named Rosalie. Little Rosalie lives way out in the boonies in an old house with her crabby old dad and much older brother. Alicianne finds Rosalie to be a strange little girl who spends a lot of time in the cemetery down the road. Don't feel too bad for Rosalie, though, because she does have some friends. Friends who hail from that very same cemetery. Soon, everyone who makes Rosalie mad starts to die horrible gory deaths. With no real explanation, it seems Rosalie has some kind of funky control over the dead, willing them to crawl out of their graves and attack those she feels are responsible for the death of her beloved mom, which is pretty much everybody, including the old neighbor lady, the gardener, her dad, her brother, and eventually even the new nanny.


It does say you're in danger too, my dear, right there...


I enjoyed this movie's modest charms, though there's seemingly not much to recommend about it. The script is more a series of scenes than a story, and that lack of flow is not helped by director Robert Voskanian who keeps the pace pretty slow for the most part. One scene ends, another begins and there's no feeling or connection between them. The passage of time in the movie is poorly communicated. It's day, it's night, it's day again, but no time seems to have passed. The acting is not very good, and it's not helped by the fact that all of the dialogue on the soundtrack seems to have been dubbed back in later. On the plus side, there is a Halloween scene involving the scariest Jack O'Lantern EVER, the last twenty minutes are pretty zippy, the gore and makeup effects are nicely done considering the money involved, and there's a general air of dread about the movie starting from the early scenes that gave me enough to mark this one on the positive side of the entertainment scorecard. I'm not sure most would agree with me, so approach this one at your own risk. Something Weird's DVD release features several fun extras as well, including another zombie movie, two old film shorts and some wonderful 60's and 70's era radio ads for horror flicks played over a gallery of movie posters for the same kinds of movies.





2001 Maniacs: Field of Screams  (First Look International, 2010)  Five years after director Tim Sullivan rebooted/sequelized Herschell Gordon Lewis's second gore fest Two Thousand Maniacs, the gang got together again for a sequel, with Bill Moseley stepping in as Mayor Buckman for a nowhere-to-be-found Robert Englund. This time, the ghostly town of Pleasant Valley has diced, chopped, and slashed so many Yankee tourists they've drawn the ire of the local constabulary. So, they take their act on the road, eventually setting up a Southern style carnival in a field in Iowa. What luck that moments later a reality TV show starring two spoiled rich heiresses breaks down right on the edge of that field! From there, it's business as usual, as the randy and evil Southern ghosts wreak vengeance for their deaths at the hands of Union soldiers during the Civil War by killing the cast and crew of the reality show in spectacularly gory - though definitely comedic - ways. Who will survive and what will be left of them?


Bill Moseley and Lin Shaye, flanked by a remarkably dverse group of Civil War era ghosts.


For a lower budgeted sequel that trades lead actors - this turned out okay. Moseley is a fun replacement as Buckman, and a returning Lin Shaye is worth double her weight in gold as Granny. The notion of a Simple Life reality show is a little behind the times - the series had been off the air more than three years when this was made - but it's still funny. I'm not as much on the filmmakers making all the TV people jackwagons so we want to see them die - you can achieve the same gory and humorous effect with characters you care about - plus then the audience cares about them. Still, that's a quibble. If you liked the original (that's the Herschell Gordon Lewis one) or 2005 flick, there's enough zesty graphic violence and completely un-PC humor here to warrant a look. Not sure they could get a third one out of it - but if they follow the same timeline they have three years to get it made...



Thank you for your time, and please always remember - Kibbles and Bits is not alphabetical, but it is ingredientical.

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Ghost Hunt on the Battleship North Carolina!

I've been champing at the bit...er, a bit...lately, wanting to go check out one of the many many horror/scifi/comic book conventions that seem to be happening every weekend not less than four hours drive from my home. My wondrous wife Suze says I'm wanting to "go among my own people."

She may be right.

The main obstacle to my going to these shows is the distance, and consequently, the cost. However, I had been eyeballing the Mad Monster Party in Charlotte NC in March - but was still holding out due to the cost of driving, hotel, admission, and then merchandise and autographs.

Then, I started to see notices of an event that was going to be occurring much closer to home - almost in my backyard. And who should be one of the celebrity guests at this shindig - why, none other than LGOOH's 2011 Official Blog Celebrity herself!









Yup, my buddy Adrienne King was going to be appearing at an event a couple of months after the Mad Monster Party convention – along with her Friday the 13th co-star Ari Lehman. Imagine my surprise when I read on and discovered they were going to be two of the celebrity guests at a ghost hunt on the USS North Carolina – a WWII era battleship now permanently docked as a floating museum right here in my hometown!

And it was happening on a Friday the 13th! Well, that was that – Mad Monster was out – Ghost Hunt was in! I purchased a VIP ticket and then started work on getting something cool for Adrienne and Ari to sign. I ended up purchasing a VERY cool piece – a 3-D Friday the 13th movie poster from McFarlane Toys!






I also decided to take my Friday the 13th DVD, original novelization (from around 1986) and my hardcover Crystal Lake Memories book. No point in missing any opportunities, right?








Of course, I already had several autographs from Adrienne – on some Crystal Lake wine bottles, and my prize poster from winning the first Crystal Lake Wines Coast to Coast Toast photo contest; but it was more about getting to meet her face to face – and adding Ari Lehman only made it more cool.


The Battleship North Carolina in her permanent home. Note the museum building and big gangplank on the left.





I arrived for the early VIP meet and greet – an hour of time with the VIP guests and the celebrities. Now, in addition to A-n-A – there was some guy who was supposed to have been on the special effects makeup crews of several movies in the 80’s…but I’d never heard of him. There were also several luminaries from the world of televised ghost hunting. There were two brothers with a show on one network – that’s as much as I gleaned from their introductions – and then a trio from Syuh-Fyuh’s Ghost Hunters International. However, these are not shows I watch, so I had no real interest in meeting them. I’ll also go on and say here that I’m agnostic about the existence of ghosts. I like to hear the stories of people who say they’ve interacted, getting chilled sometimes when the story is good and creepy. But I’m not sure a TV show tromping in and setting up is going to be able to get conclusive evidence, so the shows don’t interest me. But, I bring an open mind, shall we say. However, I will tell you this – when the doors were opened for the regular ticket holders to come in – there were some Truly True Believers in our midst. But that’s getting ahead.


Adrienne and Ari - friends to the end.





Showing my VIP ticket gained me access to a conference room in the museum building next to the battleship. At the back of the room there was a row of tables, and all of the celebrities were set up back behind the tables. There were probably 30 or 40 guests there, and they were scattered across the tables in the back. As I neared the tables Adrienne looked up and saw me – and grinned broadly as she waved at me. How awesome to be recognized! We greeted each other warmly – and she introduced my to Ari Lehman, who was right next to her. They both signed all the stuff I brought – and I took all that back out to the car. I hung out with them the rest of the hour – Adrienne introduced me to several of her fans as the Coast to Coast Toast Photo winner – and it was neat watching she and Ari interact with the other people. After the crowds had died down I got my photos with A-n-A and they agreed to shoot the endorsement videos for LGOOH – although I wish that could have happened away from the crowd as the background noise drowns them out a lot.



Sometimes when you ask others to take the photo - they do not have your eye for composition, and
consequently the machete in the picture gets cut off (pun intended). I still appreciate the help.






After the doors were opened to the regular ticket holders, they laid out the program for the rest of the evening – when the time came, everyone would break up into groups, and each group would be led by one of the celebrities. Then there was a Q+A with the celebs before the ghost hunt – but there were like two questions for the Friday the 13th people and then dozens for the ghost hunt celebs. Adrienne took this time to step out for a bite of dinner – I stepped out for some air and found her and one of the event people at a table outside the room. As she munched a salad, I asked Adrienne if I could be on her team for the ghost hunt – and she said definitely and asked how to do that to the event producer. He indicated she was going to lead the Green Group, so I should go with that group into the battleship when the time came. It also came out about this time that for some reason Ari Lehman was not actually going to participate in the ghost hunt. After the Q+A he was off to roam Wilmington’s downtown – surely a fun time for someone possibly hunting other spirits…








After the Q+A it was time to start hunting ghosts! The groups started forming up – and I joined the Green Group. However, Adrienne was being detained by the purported makeup effects artist – and suddenly the group was led out by an event producer – with Adrienne left behind. Not sure what to do – I went with the group. I was not real happy as we made our way into the bowels of the ship – I had hoped to spend the bulk of this Friday the 13th evening with the star of Friday the 13th – but that appeared now to be off the table. I settled in and got into the spirit of things after a bit.







And wow – what I said before about Truly True Believers? Oh yeah! We got one of the ghost hunters added to our group (things got a little ragged on the ship in terms of plans and such) and she had a gizmo just like Egon’s EKG meter from Ghostbusters – minus the flyout wings – but it was supposed to be measuring the same energy as Dr. Spengler’s device. Well, after we went into the depths of the ship and stopped in one room – the ghost hunter asked if anyone else in our group had one of the EKG meters – and eight people had them! There were people in my group with spy tech briefcases full of ghost hunting gadgets! I was boggled!







We worked our way through the ship – then stopped in the galley about an hour into the hunt to regroup and to trade ghost hunters. As we’re hanging out there – I hear a voice call out “Craig Edwards? Has anyone seen Craig Edwards?” And in through the door swept Adrienne – she’d spent all the time after the conversation with the makeup artist had ended looking for me – I was thrilled and honored.



Here's a crappy cell phone pic of some of my signed swag...




The groups kind of broke up a bit at this point – so Adrienne and I ended up a duo as we worked our way all around the ship. She’d had a couple of “feelings” about a couple of spots – so she showed them to me. We went up on deck at one point and made our way out onto the prow of the ship – at which point I bellowed “I’m King of the World!” spoofing Titanic - which Adrienne thought was hilarious. We had a marvelous three hours walking all over that giant battleship. We spent part of the time in the bowels of the ship back in the galley – working with the Ghost Hunters International group on a ghost detecting setup utilizing multiple gadgets spread all over a room. We talked with the ship’s caretaker who has some good ghost stories of his own to tell. Eventually the hunt ended, and people started leaving the ship. Adrienne and I found ourselves exiting the ship on our own. I walked around with her until we found the event producers – so they could get her a ride back to her hotel. With a warm hug we parted ways. It was a marvelous evening – I had a car full of signed Friday the 13th memorabilia, and Adrienne and I had cemented a friendship. Once again – had you told that young boy back in 1980 that one day he would be pals with Alice from Friday the 13th – he would have laughed you out of the room.



The Ultimate Final Girl meets The Ultimate Blogging Fan.




I’m not sure that we encountered any ghosts in the Battleship North Carolina – but I’d finally spent some time “among my people,” and it was just the kind of fun I was hoping it would be!




Until next post, you Can Poke Me With A Fork, Cause I Am Outta Here!

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

PSA A Go Go 10/23/12!

LGOOH and artist Rob Kelly bring the public some service through an announcement - along with a gentleman originally named Creighton,,,









And he did know about personal demons, the big lug.




Until next post, you Can Poke Me With A Fork, Cause I Am Outta Here!