Horror Guy

Pieces, 11/29/2008

Ug. I've eaten twice my weight in holiday goodies, been back and forth to east Texas, am gearing up to turn 40 and faced other various real-life horrors; time to take a break and sort thru a big pile o' pieces...

...no, I have not seen Twilight, nor do I intend to. At least, not until I can rent it on disc. Thinly-veiled abstinance-only education disguised as teen horror fiction is just not my cuppa tea.

...so you've heard me rant an rave about the horrifically skilled writing of Brian Keene and thru Keene I've discovered a couple of his contemporaries like Geoff Cooper, Ray Garton and JF Gonzalez, but I gotta say that Edward Lee, my most recent 'discovery', is driving me nuts with City Infernal. His writing is like watching a really good street fight, where both guys are getting in some really good punches and things are moving really fast and the cops could show at any moment but you feel thrilled and exhilerated to be alive and able to witness such a breath-takingly painful spectacle! <whew!>
Can't wait to bite into the next book in this series, Infernal Angel.



...blood brother Vault of Horror recently ran a poll among the "Cyber-Horror Elite" to determine the top 50 horror flicks of all time. Check it out; yours truly was among those polled for this survey.

...one of my favorite flicks of this year, Midnight Meat Train, is about to hit Blu-Ray! I'll be snatchin' this one up on February 17th.


...looks like I'll be out a bit of cash that day, as Feast III: The Happy Finish also gets the DVD treatment.

...speakin' of Blu-Ray, I just got my rented disc copy of The Strangers and will finally get to sit down this weekend and watch this flick I've heard so much about. Of course, I'll let ya know what I think.

Pieces, 06/12/2008

Ug. It's been way too long since I got to sit down and bang away on the keyboard about my favorite subject. Spent the past couple of weeks position-hopping at the Soul Crushing Day Job and have landed in a spot that is much more to my liking. Now that it's become simply The Day Job, I can get back to doin' fun stuff. Stuff like sortin' thru all the pieces that have accumulated around this joint...

...after devouring Dark Hollow, Brian Keene's tale of a sinister satyr preying on the women of a small town, I picked up my first Ray Garton story, Serpent Girl. Very, very impressed. The best description I can come up without giving away any of the story elements is 'horrifically touching'. If yer much of a reader, you'll probably like this one.

...checked out the unrated director's cut of AVP: Requiem on Blu-Ray last night. Ya know, for all the bashing that flick got on the 'net I really didn't think it was that bad. I mean, I was prepared for a complete, anger-inducing stinker but it had some really cool Alien impregnation sequences that really kind of entertained me. I've certainly seen worse fare lately.

...on the recommendation of Miss Elizabeth, I checked out the docu-flick American Movie and all I gots to say is this is a bittersweet, side-splitting must see for EVERY fan of horror. If you ain't seen it, track it down now my friend.

...rented the indie horror flick Shrooms and enjoyed it so much, I bought a copy to watch again. This story of vacationing 20-somethings in Ireland on a very twisted and lethal psychedelic trip is a chiche-ridden romp thru the land of 'is it real or is it part of the trip' but still manages to be very entertaining in a goofy fun sort of way. This gets a thumbs up from the horror guy.

...gonna get together with Miss Mary and E-Rock tomorrow night to check out M. Night Shyamalan's The Happening and see if he follows the same "what a twist!" formula or actually manages to reinvent his style. Of course, I'll let ya know what I think afterward.

Hanging Shadows - A New Italian Horror Documentary

Check it out giallo fans! The horror fiends at First Fright are reporting that Italio-horror documentary Hanging Shadows is coming to DVD. From the press release at the First Fright homepage:

Hanging Shadows - Perspectives On Italian Horror Cinema
Now it's possible to discover all the secrets of the horror cinema narrated by the Italian masters of horror.

Finally
on DVD everybody can see HANGING SHADOWS - PERSPECTIVES ON ITALIAN
HORROR CINEMA, a documentary directed by Paolo Fazzini. A precious
document shot and edited with great sensibility in which we can see the
most important directors, screenwriters and professionals of the
Italian Horror Cinema.

"Italian terror movies, and more generally
speaking genre cinema, no longer exist in Italy," said the director
Paolo Fazzini, "so I had the feeling that I wanted to put this state of
affairs on record. We can think of the documentary as a kind of
physical and psychological journey in search of directors,
screenwriters and critics, at times filmed at their workplace. With
their skill and intuition these directors have been able to transpose
our fears onto screens all over the world."

HANGING SHADOWS
presents an informative historical overview of the giallo genre,
exploring its genesis and chronicling the films, directors, and
personalities that made up its golden age. Featuring interviews with
Dario Argento, Lamberto Bava (director and son of Mario Bava),
Antonella Fulci (daughter of director Lucio Fulci), Franco Ferrini
(co-writer of Sergio Leone's Once upon a time in America and numerous
Argento films), Ruggero Deodato (Cannibal Holocaust), Giannetto De
Rossi (make-up artist on Fulci's films), and many others.

Hanging
Shadows is a fascinating study of a group of films and filmmakers that
redefined the horror genre and forever changed the way we think of
horror films.

60 minutes (with subtitles in english) of full immersion with the Masters of Italian horror!

"Film
school is a waste of money when you can learn about film history by
watching documentaries such as this." (The coroner's report)

"The
documentary situates Italian horror films in terms of the work of other
Italian directors and Italian film history: There is thus a sense of
learning from earlier directors." (Educational Media Reviews)

DISTRIBUTION:
In U.S.A. Hanging shadows is distributed by The Cinema Guild Inc.
In Europe is distributed by Beat Records Company

A Sick House Preview

So check it out....the folks over at BP Media were kind enough to drop me an advance copy of New Line Home Entertainment's upcoming release The Sickhouse to view and review here on Horror Guy. Haven't had a chance to pop it into the player just yet but the synopsis sounds pretty freakin' cool....

"While excavating the depths of a condemnded 17th century plague hospital, archaeologist Anna (Gina Philips of Jeepers Creepers) unknowingly unleashes the evil spirit of a doctor who brutally tortured and murdered his patients. Trapped inside the hospital with four trespassing teens and the malicious phantom lusting for their blood, Anna must find a way to escape before the sun rises in this heart-stopping descent into horror!"

                                       

This beast hits DVD on March 18th. Back here tomorrow evening for a Horror Guy review of The Sick House.

Pieces, 03/10/2008

Wow--just look at all these pieces laying around...

...sometimes the simplest answers are the best ones. During a recent chat with Cridafer about squeezing reading time into the day, he informed me that when it comes to reading fiction he will usually only pick up the Hugo and/or Nebula award winners (dear Cridafer is probably as big a Sci-Fi freak as I am a horror hound) and is rarely disappointed or feels like he wasted time on a crappy novel. What a fantastic idea! I've always felt trepidation over trying a new author or just randomly picking up something off the shelves in the hopes that it won't be a steaming pile of dog shit, of which there is much to be found in any genre, much less horror. Since chatting with da Crid, I've picked up a handful of Bram Stoker award winners from the past few years and every one that I've read so far has been an absolute terrifying joy! I've managed to discover some fresh, freaky perspectives amongst the likes of Al Sarrantonio, Jonathan Maberry, Richard Laymon and several others.

...Brian Keene!!!!! This guy is unbelievably good in the most horrific ways! I've had a couple of his books sitting on the shelf for the past couple of months and finally got around to readin' The Rising. Hokey smokes, I haven't been this utterly blown away by a genre author since first discovering Stephen King's The Stand in my young, 4th grade days. For me, The Rising and its sequel City of the Dead is unquestionably the most interesting take on the zombie uprising schtick since I first saw Romero's creations shamble across the silver screen. I was fortunate enough to have purchased a limited edition of The Rising: Selected Scenes from the End of the World, a collection of Keene stories set in the world of The Rising that is somewhat sort of a final book in the "trilogy", and finished that gruesome piece of literature off in a single evening. I'm making my way thru The Conqueror Worms now and lovin' every page of it so far. If you are any kind of fan of splat lit thrillers, you gotta check this guy out.

...upgraded the living room theater system with our very first high-end A/V receiver, an Onkyo TX-SR805 that pretty much handles any kind of audio or video signal you throw at it. Watching 28 Weeks Later on Blu-Ray with this thing actually made me like the movie more!!! Now I have an excuse to watch all my fave flicks yet again.

...I finally watched Flight of the Living Dead last week and the less said about that complete waste of brain space, the better. So I'll stop here.

Horror Guy's Review of Hatchet

I recently asked myself, "Horror Guy....how can you squeeze even more fun frights into yer already terrifyingly busy life?" Well one answer has been during my morning jaunt on the treadmill. If I can squeeze 30 minutes of exercise in before prepping my cadaver for the Soul Crushing Day Job, I can pop a flick into the player and watch a full-length flick in three or four sessions. Genius!
The first film I started my mornings with this week was the unrated version of Hatchet from debut director Adam Green. Billed as 'old school American horror', the basic plot follows a diverse group of New Orleans tourists as they
take a late night swamp tour and end up running afoul of local
legend, deformed madman Victory Crowley, aka 'Hatchet Face'.
Great godz, what a completely entertaining movie this turned out to be! Some of the outrageous over the top kill scenes almost had me tripping over my feet as I tried to stay upright on the treadmill. Fans of '80s slasher flicks will definitely want to check out this one. A throwback to the formula that made them so popular at the time, Hatchet does not skimp on the blood, guts, drugs and tits. It's also chock full of genuine shrieking scares and plenty of gut-busting gallows humor. This one is definitely worth 84 minutes out of yer weekend.

Pieces, 11/28/2007

Just got back from a holiday stay in East Texas and found all kinds of pieces laying around. Let's check 'em out, shall we?

...that Jason Voorhees 'guest appearance' on Supernatural that I was all excited about? Not gonna happen.

...just started reading David J. Skal's The Monster Show: A Cultural History of Horror and it is quite a fascinating read. It starts with the earliest horror flicks (before the phrase 'horror movie' was even coined) in America and from there proceeds to dissect how the industry was started and why people seem so attracted to the genre. For an in-depth look at the origins and current state of all things fun and terrifying, I cannot recommend this one enough.

...a Horror Guy 'scream out' to Brian over at Vault of Horror; glad you like my li'l site Brian! Welcome to the list of Horror Guy Blood Brothers!

...caught a showing of The Mist a few nights ago. I'm a big fan of the original Stephen King short story and knowing that Frank Darabont of Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile was at the helm led me to have all kinds of high expectations for this flick. Well....kinda let down. It was all right as monster movies go, but still kinda blah. I won't spoil it for ya but the 'bold ending' that I had been hearing about didn't really work for me. I'll likely pass on getting the DVD unless the studio releases some radical 'Director's Cut' or something significantly different than what is currently playing in the theaters. Speaking of Director's Cuts...

...December 18 brings us the DVD release of the unrated director's cut of Rob Zombie's Halloween. Anyone who read my previous review of this flick knows that I was underwhelmed by the theatrical release, but I think it may be more enjoyable as watch at home flick.

...if you were a fan of Freddy vs. Jason, you might want to check out the 'sequel' currently being co-published by Dynamite Comics and WildStorm Studios--Freddy vs. Jason vs. Ash. Picking up where the original movie left off, this is said to be what we fright fans would have been treated to had the treatment made it to the big screen. Freddy and Jason are buttin' heads again, but this time gun-totin' Ash from the Evil Dead and Army of Darkness flicks is joinin' the fray! The guys over at MyComicShop.com might still have some copies of the first issue available.

Pieces, 09/28/2007

We've been back from Europe for a couple of weeks now, settled back into everyday life and now it's time to sort out the pieces...

...the H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival is next week right here in beautiful Portland! I missed it last year, so I'm really looking forward to attending this one.

...during the trip to Europe, I managed to finish up World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War and also read Nightwatch, the first volume of Sergei Lukyanenko's horror/fantasy trilogy. The movie adaptation was exceptionally entertaining, but I was surprised to find that it is almost nothing like the books. The only real similarity is the characters themselves. Still, I recommend both the movie and the books as they are fantastic in their own ways. Look for a full review of the book trilogy once I finish off the other two in the series.

...it's almost October, the greatest month of the year! That means it's almost time for Horror Guy's annual HorrorFest, the yearly all day horror movie marathon that we put on for our friends and loved ones. If you are going to be in the Portland, OR area on October 13th, drop me a line if you'd like to try and wrangle an invite, but space is limited.

...checked out Perfect Creature this past weekend 'cause I'd heard it was a good vampire flick. Don't know who is spreading those lies 'cause this one is dull as dishwater. Bad acting, slow pacing and ridiculous plot. Steer clear unless you are suffering from insomnia.

...I just finished off the second season of Supernatural on DVD so I'm ready for the premiere of season three next week. This thing is still rockin'! I enjoyed season two even more than the first season. It is consistently better than 95% of the schlock that is pushed on us horror fans in the theaters these days. Highly recommended!

Horror Guy's Review of Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon

Was sittin' at home alone and decided to pop this one into the player and see if it was as enjoyable as I had been told. It was. Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon is about as 'fun' of a horror flick as you're bound to find these days. It's not only pays homage to the slasher greats of films past, but directly references them as if they all exist within the same, self-contained, serial killer-ridden universe. We see shots of Crystal Lake, Springwood and Haddonfield as the voice over narration recaps the events of the franchise slasher flicks we've grown to love and loathe over the years as tho they were reading from the evening news teleprompter. From there we are introduced to Leslie Vernon, a man who claims to be the next big serial slasher and who has invited a camera crew to film his exploits as he sets out to make a name for himself. As one might guess, horror and hilarity ensue. Think Christopher Guest turning his mockumentary style loose on Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer. The flick has it's ups (most notably the casting coup of Robert Englund as 'the Ahab') and a few downs, but overall it's a solid, entertaining film that this Horror Guy would recommend to any fan of the genre. It's far and away better than a lot of the sludge being pumped out on the big screen lately.

Pieces, 7/22/2007

It's been a while but maybe yer ol' pal the Horror Guy can finally get back on a regular writing schedule. Been a lot going on lately in the fun world of all things horror, so let's filter thru the pieces....

...I finally finished reading Stephen King's fantastic Dark Tower series. I saw the ending coming about one page before I got to it. A lot of folks were apparently disappointed in how the whole thing wrapped up, but it made sense to me. I don't know if it was the *best* ending, but it made sense.

...I was intrigued enough by the recent reveal that newbie horror novelist Joe Hill is actually one of Stephen King's kids, that I picked up a copy of his debut novel, Heart-Shaped Box, and am completely enthralled. Word has it that Warner Bros. has already picked up the feature film rights. Full review to come after I actually finish it up.

...finally got around to watching Pan's Labyrinth; what a beautifully terrifying, phantasmagorical fairy-tale of a flick that turned out to be! Hands-down, this one has the creepiest monster this fan has seen since having my young mind assaulted by visions of C.H.U.D.

...as fate would have it, Rob Zombie's re-imagining of the original Halloween is slated to hit theaters August 31st, the same day that Cridafer and I leave for a two week vacation, starting in Amsterdam and ending up in Paris. Anyone know of any good theaters in Amsterdam that I could catch this one at?

...check out the trailer for Fido; this is another one that the Horror Guy is really looking forward to.