Sunday, July 31, 2011

Sunday Smackdown



Harvey Dent was Gotham's White Knight D.A., until his face was badly burned and his fiance was blown to tiny bits. That didn't sit well with old Harvey. Dent flipped his wig and then his lucky coin and took vengeance on those that had betrayed him.

Anton Chigurh is a hitman who has no remorse or compassion. Hired to recover missing drug money, he ruthlessly dispatches anyone who stands in the way of his goal.  He is just as prone to philosophical musings as he is extreme violence. Believing  himself  to be an instrument of fate, destined to bring about the end of his victims. He likes to use a simple coin toss to determine his victims fate.

 Vs.
Let the coin flip off commence!

Last weeks winner


Just edging out Jessie by a couple of votes Erin and her wet t-shirt comes out victorious.

Monday, July 25, 2011

"We're just typical victims of a society gone beserk!"



You may remember Mark from my interview a few weeks ago. Well that went off so good he asked if he could drop by once and awhile and review some films. He brings a little different flavor to the reviews. Up first, one of my favorite slasher films.

Girls Nite Out (1984)

Written by Joe Bolster.

Directed by Robert Duebel.

Tagline: The next time you go to a Fancy Dress Party....check who's going with you.



I decided that, as a reviewer, I'm going to focus on those little unseen forgotten gems from the 1980's. The era of the greats, if you will. Back then, horror movies were being churned out like handouts at the welfare office. And the lines to see them were just as long.

I have a few of these gems lined up ... But today, kids I'll present what I call the Citizen Kane of campus slasher films Girls Nite Out.

Yes, the misspelling is intentional.

SUMMARY FROM THE IMDB: In an insane asylum, an inmate commits suicide. Days later, the day after the big homecoming basketball game and the victory party, an all-night scavenger hunt is held on the campus of a small Ohio college. Also engaging in the hunt is a killer, wearing the dancing bear costume of the school mascot. The killer's hunt however is stalking a number of cheerleaders and killing them with a variety of sharp knifes. The campus chief security officer Mac whose daughter was a victim of a similar killer, the inmate thatcommitted suicide, tries to find out whose behind it before more killings happen.


MY SUMMARY: The IMDB summary pretty much says it all, so I'll just go into production back story. The movie was made in 1982, but sat on the proverbial shelf for two years. When it was made, it was called The Scaremaker. It was re titled in '84 in order to sell it to a different crowd. New title, old title...whatever. This movie is actually a great piece of film. It "stars" Hal Holbrookof Designing Women, Magnum Force and Fletch Lives fame. The quotations mean that, although he was top billed, he only shows up for about 5 minutes in total. His real life son appears also. It also marks the big screen debut of Julia Montgomery who later went on to play the female lead in Revenge of the Nerds.

MY THOUGHTS: This movie captured the zeitgeist perfectly. For you uncultured swine out there, zeitgeist is German for Spirit of the Times. It was like a Grease remake with a crazy killer chasing the Pink Ladies. The killer wears a big bear suit throughout the film which doesn't scare anyone at first, but the killer has modified it to suit his needs. The cast was great. Their dynamics were perfect. The addition of Holbrook, albeit sparingly, was nice too. He brought a slight level of class, even though you could tell he really didn't want to be there.



AUDIO: 7 / 10. The sound was good. At times the music and dialogue wasn't mixed properly, especially the party scene. And the killer talked (witch doesn't sit well with me) and it was hard to hear them. The soundtrack was good...a lot of 50s and 60s rock and R&B. I wonder how much the rights to those songs cost?

VISUALS: 9 / 10. The campus setting was creepy. A nice partner to the killings. I personally love the 'killer on campus' sub-genre. In the 80's it was all about atmosphere, not just gore. Even though this movie had enough of that, too. The blood effects were good and the bear suit was a classic. Oh, how I'd love to remake this film.


ACTING: 10 /10. Back then, productions like this (while low budget) were taken very seriously. The were planned out way in advance and when it came time to film, the acting was perfect. Everyone involved was on top of their game. And, in the case of Hal Holbrook, seriously, but obviously through an alcoholic haze. All in all the cast was perfect. Julia Montgomery cut her movie chops here and was very believable in her role. The killer, when unmasked, was amazing. Craziness is hard to pull off. Anyone can act weird, but to make you actually believe you're insane, that takes talent. You can tell, through the various performances, that the cast was having as much fun as their characters. The performances were very real and free flowing.

WRITING: 10 /10. This script was perfect. I love campus slasher movies, as stated above. Again, the campus angle is by far my favorite sub-genres. Joe Bolster wrote perfect lines for perfect characters. The story and sub plots held true to the main story. Plus, he threw in more red herring's than a seafood platter at your local Chinese restaurant.


DIRECTING: 9 /10. As was the case in old school film making, nothing too flashy shot wise. No smash cuts, or cutting to close ups at weird times. Not that there's a problem with any of those things, but sometimes they take away from the action and story. A lot of contemporary film makers think that crazy shots and editing is what puts their stamp on a film. It does, don't get me wrong, but to put your stamp on a film while shooting it traditionally is a lost art. In the shots, mostly medium, the director was able to set up suspense and show the isolation in a place that was crowded with people. That's not an easy task either. Scorsese did it with Taxi Driver, and Duebel did it here. I know...it's blasphemy to mention Taxi Driver in comparison to an 80's slasher film, but I was proving a point.


OVERALL: 10 /10. This movie is a perfect look at the era that defined slasher. While the Italians were making New York Ripper and A Blade in the Dark, we were making Girls Nite Out. It holds up to the European counterparts. Watch it. You won't be disappointed. It's relatively easy to find...usually in a box set. If you're older like me and never got a chance to see it, do so. If you're younger and want to see where it all came from, watch it. And love it.

- MARK -

Sanctuary - A Star Wars Fan Film


Sanctuary Pitch Video from Brock Chandler on Vimeo.


A good friend of the site Brock Chandler is trying to make the greatest star Wars fanfilm ever made. Help him out right here:
http://www.indiegogo.com/Sanctuary-A-Star-Wars-Fan-Film, and become part of Star Wars history!!!

Sunday, July 24, 2011

Sunday Smackdown



Jessie (Eliza Dushku) and her friends intended go camping in the mountains of West Virginia. One car accident later though they're stranded in the middle of nowhere. Even worse they get hunted down by cannibalistic mountain men who have been in-breeding for generations and are quite ugly.

Erin (Jessica Biel) and her friends pick up a female hitchhiker. The disturbed young woman commits suicide in their van. Going for help they run afoul of Leatherface and his deranged family.

 Vs.

Both ladies are very good at kicking psycho butt while wearing white t-shirts and tight jeans, but only one can emerge the winner.

Last weeks winner...


That was totally unexpected. Who would think that Harry Potter Jr. could win it. But he did.

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Fractured Time



You may remember my interview last July with writer Alan Draven. He's got a new book out, Fractured Time and it sounds awesome!

Fractured Time by Alan Draven
BOOK DETAILS
Title: Fractured Time
Author: Alan Draven
Publisher: Black Bed Sheet Books
ISBN: 978-0-9769947-8-7
Format: TPBK (print), Kindle, PDF, Sony and MS Reader
Genre: Urban Fantasy/Horror/Dark Suspense
Dimensions: 9” X 6”
Page count: 385 pages
Price: $17.95
Publication date: July 2011
Availability: Everywhere online

Link: http://blackbedsheet.goshopper.net/i/225670/fracturedtime.htm

SYNOPSIS
Donovan Vicar is a “feeler”—a man who feels the vibrations of
people around him. One October evening on his way home, he
bumps into a man that he senses to be particularly evil. The
man is heading to Dallas, Texas. Donovan embarks on a late
bus ride to seek him out. As the empty bus leaves the station in
foggy Bitternest, Louisiana, Donovan falls asleep. When he
wakes up, he is disoriented by what he sees—he is still in
Bitternest, only his surroundings seem more primitive and
unfamiliar. He is shocked to realize that he has traveled back in
time to the year 1957 and that the city is plagued by the
mysterious disappearances of numerous young women.
Everything points to Timothy Crane, a man alleged to have
many shady associations and rumored to be dabbling in black
magic. Aided by Ritchie Campbell, a young man with his share
of dark secrets, and his old friend Edgar Ward, Donovan finds
himself caught up with the events unfurling in Bitternest. He is
slowly coming to terms with his gifts as a “feeler” and only
begins to get a glimpse of all the power brewing inside him. The
stakes are raised and everything culminates into one fateful
night leaving them less than a week to figure out what Crane is
really up to and how to stop him. It might also be Donovan’s
only chance to ever get back home...

AUTHOR BIO

Alan Draven was born the same year KISS's first album was
released. He lives in Montreal, Canada. His stories have been
published online, in magazines and anthologies. He is also the
founder of Pixie Dust Press. His first novel, Bitternest, was
published in 2007. In 2008, he edited the gothic anthology
Sinister Landscapes which went on to become a number one
Amazon bestseller. In 2009, the novella collection Creeping
Shadows was released featuring his novella “Vengeance is
Mine”. In 2010, his short story and novella collection titled The
Bitternest Chronicles was published. His screenplay for his
short story “Breaking and Entering” was adapted into a short
film to be released soon. Fractured Time is his second novel.
His books can be found everywhere online. He can be reached
24 hours a day on Facebook and via his blog at
http://bitternest.blogspot.com/

PRAISE FOR ALAN DRAVEN
Bitternest (2007) — Alan Draven’s first novel
“Draven's down-to-earth writing style makes this book an easy read
and the ever-changing plotline keeps up an invigorating pace.
Bitternest delivers the chills and thrills.”—Dark Realms Magazine
“Bitternest is a scarily timely tale that beautifully weaves its storylines
together in a fast-paced, expertly written manner through the use of
short chapters that keep the reader glued to the action and turning
the pages as quickly as possible.”—Dread Central
Sinister Landscapes (2008) — Gothic anthology edited by Alan
Draven
“Sinister Landscapes [...] is such a welcome relief. Overall the book is
an admirable mix of mostly dark and unsettling tales with enough
variety to keep the reader's attention from start to finish.”—Dread
Central
“Draven has compiled some utterly amazing stories for this
anthology. From ghosts to demons to serial killers and beyond, [...]
some of the finest modern-day, Gothic-tinged stories.”—Fatally
Yours
Creeping Shadows (2009) — featuring Alan Draven’s novella
Vengeance Is Mine
“Creeping Shadows is a three-ring circus of horror and you definitely
get your money's worth! Ranging from grisly hauntings to
psychological dread and supernatural curses, Alan Draven, Jessica
Lynne Gardner, and Brandon Ford bring it on home with wicked
imaginations, razor-sharp writing, and plenty of grue and gore that's
done with style and remarkable control!”—Tim Curran, author of
Skin Medicine and Resurrection


“Alan Draven’s Vengeance Is Mine offers a chilling, unique twist on
this legend of history’s most infamous serial killer. His own twist on
the enigmatic stream of violent murders is refreshing and inspired
from a horror standpoint.”—Bruce Brown, author of Howard
Lovecraft & the Frozen Kingdom
The Bitternest Chronicles (2010) — Alan Draven’s short story
collection
“The Bitternest Chronicles is a fun read that tells me we have only
good things coming in the future from Alan Draven.”—Dread Central
“If you are a fan of mystery, suspense, or horror, or are just looking
for a book that is hard to put down, The Bitternest Chronicles will not
disappoint.”—Disdeinen
* * * * *


Wednesday, July 20, 2011

That house

Daniel Th1rte3n aka our very own indrid13 new novella, I've read it and it kicks ass! if you dig Poe, Lovecraft, Barker or 70's horror comics then you'll want to check it out!

Dan says: "Cheaper than a cup of coffee, with the same amount of jitters...."

Product Description:
For young Joanna, an invitation from the enigmatic fashion designer 5 to visit his opulent studio seems like a dream come true, but all is not as it seems in the secluded Victorian mansion 5 calls home. Like an unholy combination of a fever dream and a traditional gothic thriller comes The House of Thirteen Doors.






Hump Day Posters: Sale Pending



























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