Vintage Video Of The Week : 'I Vant To Bite Your Finger' Board Game Commercial!

Back in 1981, Hasbro released a board game titled "I Vant To Bite Your Finger", which essentially promised kids the luxury of getting bitten by Dracula (as in, "Look mommy!  Dracula sucked my blood yo!!!!").  How the game worked was that you essentially moved a game piece (rat, snake, bat or spider) on a board into any spot you wanted to move it to.  Depending on how many spots ahead you moved your piece, you then had to spin the clock that loomed high above the game board, the caped vampire looking over it to make sure you didn't cheat.  You spun it ahead the same number of hours as the number of spots you moved, and at random times upon spinning, the clock would 'wake up' Dracula, who would draw open his cape.  The unlucky spinner then had to place their finger inside of Drac's mouth and press a button on the backside of the game, where a little piece fitted with two red marker tips resided.  Sometimes when the button was pushed, nothing would happen.  Other times, the piece would lower down onto your finger upon being pressed, leaving two red marker 'vampire bites' on it, thus making you return your game piece back to the start of the board ... and in the process leaving you with very concerning marks all over your hands.

It was essentially Russian Roulette meets Don't Wake Daddy ... if your daddy was Dracula!

Head back into the Freddy In Space time machine and check out this vintage commercial for one of the coolest board games of all time!

Vintage Toy Box : Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - The Universal Monsters Line!

With the geek community abuzz with pure hate since Michael Bay recently announced that his upcoming Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie will reimagine our beloved pizza eating turtles as aliens (gasp!), now seems like as good a time as any to spread some Ninja Turtle joy around the interwebs.  So let's put all the hatred aside for a brief moment and dig into the Freddy In Space Vintage Toy Box, which this time around takes us back to the early 90's, when the turtles were fused with the equally beloved Universal Monsters!

By the time the 90's came around, Ninja Turtles toy manufacturer Playmates had pretty much ran the line into the ground, their first few years of owning the property spent putting out as many figures as they possibly could of the characters as they appeared on the cartoon.  Being that the turtles pretty much always wore the same outfits, the pickings were kinda slim.  So Playmates decided to venture outside the norm and started thinking way outside of the box, in an effort to sell more Turtle toys.  Soon store shelves became lined with very strange incarnations of the rad reptiles, everything from a clown version of Michelangelo to Leonardo as a 'classic rocker', farmer Donatello to space cadet Raphael.  Ya see, Playmates knew kids would want as many different versions of their beloved turtles as they laid eyes on, so they took advantage in a big way.  Can ya blame 'em?

In 1993, they came up with the genius (if I may say so myself) and totally oddball idea to merge the worlds of the Turtles and Universal Monsters.  Though the two worlds never actually met anywhere but in the wildest imaginations of geeks, the idea was obviously that the merger of two beloved properties would help rake in the dough.  I'm not sure how this particular line performed in stores at the time, but I do know that an initial run of only four in the series soon turned into eight, with most of the turtles pulling double duty and becoming two different Universal Monsters.  So I guess it must've done fairly well.

Without further yapping, check out the full line below.  The first four pictured are from the original line, which all featured glow in the dark action!

















Soon after these came out, the Turtles were then fused with the Star Trek universe.  Equally odd.  Equally geeky.  Not nearly as cool!

Universal Monsters Ninja Turtles, you are hereby inducted into the Freddy In Space Hall of Fame of Awesomeness!!

Warning : Clay Boobies & Testicles Below!!

I think that may be my new favorite post title. Can't wait to see how many people Google search for clay porn and come to my little horror blog. Muahaha. Sorry to disappoint!!

Our old pal Barry Crawford, AKA Clay Guy, has just recently released his first batch of new clay sculptures for 2012 and yep, they contain both male & female horror icon nudity. Clay dicks and tits ... what more can ya ask for?!

Check out Barry's newest creations below!


Meg Halsey - Re-Animator









As always, these and many others are available over at CLAYGUY.COM in both painted and unpainted varieties, with varying price tags depending on the figure. Go browse around!

Giveaway Time (Again)! Win The New Book 'The Return Man'!

Every so often an advanced copy of a new book arrives on my doorstep and honestly, my heart kinda sinks. Why? Because though it's awesome to get free books, I unfortunately can never seem to find the time to actually read them. Between work, life's daily chores, blogging and movie watching for the purposes of blogging, it just never seems to fit into my schedule. Then again, I know that plenty of people who are a whole lot busier than myself find time to read, so maybe that's just an excuse. I admit that I never quite loved to read, at least not nearly as much as I love to watch movies, but I have always desired to set aside more time in my life to read books every so often. It just ... never seems to happen.

Anyways, rather than let new books that I'm sent sit on my shelf, unread and unreviewed, I've decided that it'd be better to give those books some press and find good homes for them, being that after all I am being sent them for free with the hopes that I will talk about them. So, from now on, whenever I'm sent a book that I know I'm simply not going to be able to read/review while it's still fresh and new to the market, I will instead host a giveaway for it here on the blog. According to the feedback I've heard on Facebook when I mentioned this, that sounds pretty damn good to you guys, so I won't even ask ya how that sounds!

This first book giveaway is for V.M. Zito's The Return Man, which will be released this Thursday, March 29th. Here's the press release rundown of the plot, and then we'll get to the entry details!



Before the outbreak, Henry Marco was a doctor, doing his utmost to save lives. Now his job is to end them.

The outbreak of the Resurrection has torn America in two. In the West, the Evacuated States are a bleak wilderness - not a single living soul, except for Marco. But in the East, the Safe States are a different matter, crammed with 50 million refugees, not enough food and jobs to go around. Half the population relies on welfare and government assistance to survive.

In the days immediately following the outbreak, Marco remained hidden in his home, avoiding the search and rescue teams, despondent that his infected wife Danielle had disappeared into the chaos. Now, the Evacuated States are under quarantine, and Marco faces the grim prospect of a permanent life out in this wasteland, left behind and alone to fight for survival against the infected.

But he has found a purpose - hired by grieving relatives in the Safe States to seek out their infected loved ones and deliver peace. Marco is good at his job. And yet ... he cannot find the one person he wants to find the most. Danielle.

Now, the Safe States Homeland Security has a new job for Marco. His mission: Travel to Sarsgard Medical Prison in California, and track down a mysterious doctor named Roger Ballard. To succeed and survive, Marco must return to where the outbreak started, where the secret of its conception is hidden...

The Return Man started life as a serialized novel on the author's site www.thereturnman.com. The film rights have been optioned by The Ink Factory.
______________________________________

If you want to win the book, simply leave a comment below with your e-mail address and the name of the last book you read, horror themed or otherwise, along with your brief thoughts on it. Deadline for entries is next Tuesday, April 3rd, at midnight. Good luck!

Rotten Cotton Opens Up The Gate ... Unleashes Vampires, Ghosts & Even Chop Top!

The Gate is one of my favorite horror movies of all time, a frequent childhood watch that for many years I honestly didn't even know the name of (that is, until I stumbled upon a tattered VHS copy at my local Blockbuster several years back). I just remember watching it on TV several different times throughout my youth, always being completely enamored with the incredible stop motion effects and dark yet somehow kid friendly subject matter (that scene with the dead dog, anyone?!?). There's just so much to love about that movie (#LouisTripp) and I can't tell you how happy it makes me to see that as of late, many horror fans have been embracing the flick and discovering/rediscovering its joys. Not only was it finally released onto DVD a few years back, but Fright Rags even made a super awesome t-shirt based on the movie*. All seemed right with the world.

And now, all seems even better, as fellow horror shirt company Rotten Cotton has given the same honor to The Gate, along with several other personal favorites of mine. Check out Rotten Cotton's latest designs below, which were just recently added to their shop!











For more new designs (including Black Devil Doll & Death Wish 3), and to pick up any of the ones featured above (for $14.99 a piece), head over to Rotten Cotton!

*The Fright Rags Gate shirt is not currently for sale, but you can vote it up from 'The Graveyard', to be reprinted in the future. The next digging up of past designs takes place on April 1st, so GO VOTE FOR IT if you want it back!!

Punk Band The Objex Channel Shot On Video Horror With Their Latest Music Video!

My buddy Peter Podgursky just directed a music video for Las Vegas based punk band The Objex, where he essentially put the band into their own shot on video horror flick. Not only is the gory action ripped straight out of an 80's/90's shot on video splatterfest, but Peter actually shot most of the video with a VHS camcorder. Yep, he's a man after my own heart.

Check out all the carnage below, which features everything from anal rape with a knife to a baby being ripped from a woman's womb, all wrapped inside the beautiful bouquet that is The Objex' latest single Lethal Lips!



Speaking of Podgursky, he recently produced a short film called Night Of The Little Dead that I've been meaning to post for a while now. The midget monster mini masterpiece features a delightfully oddball cast, including Bill Moseley, Penn Jillette and one of the dudes from Mythbusters. Sound good to you? Check that out over on YouTube if ya get the chance!

Stinky Little Trash Monsters : The Latest In 80's Gross Out Revival!

I guess it's no surprise, given the remake happy world we live in, that toy companies and filmmakers alike are attempting to revive an entire decade; the wonderful and whacky 80's. That decade's 'Gross-Out' fad in particular, which included everything from Madballs to Garbage Pail Kids, is experiencing a big time revival of late, with not only the Garbage Pail Kids & Dr. Dreadful's mad scientist food labs making a return to store shelves, but entirely new toy lines even sprouting up, with clear 80's influences. What's old truly is new again. And I for one am loving it. A lot. A whole whole lot.

Following last year's debut of little rubber monsters called The Trash Pack, comes a new line of plush toys from Jay at Play International that have been dubbed Stinky Little Trash Monsters, which I found this past weekend over at Toys R Us. Even though the little guy above was a whopping $9.99, I knew the experience of picking him up and bringing him to the counter would make me feel like a kid again, so I figured that was a small price to pay for a trip through the ole time machine. Besides, he made for a nice little gift for Jen, who's got a birthday coming up this week.

Let's pop this sucker out of his soap-on-a-rope tube and take a closer look at him!


Something tells me Oscar The Grouch is gettin' ready to sue some motherfuckers...

This little scoundrel's name is Gloppy, friend to fellow Trash Monsters the likes of Shabby, Yucky, Sludgy, Gooey & Grimy. They're a ragtag bunch of delinquents that spend their time playing around in the garbage, getting as filthy and stinky as they possibly can. Unfortunately, no information is provided in regards to their origins or who they truly are deep down on the inside, but I'm sure if Michael Bay made a movie about them they'd be ass kicking aliens with a taste for LaBeouf blood. Oh snap.

Now the cool thing about these little guys is that they actually flip inside out, with a flip one way putting them into their included trash can, and a flip the other way setting them free ...


If Jewish people wore trash can lids on their heads instead of Yarmulkes, they'd be a lot cooler. Just sayin'.

Pretty nifty little trick there, but I can't help but feel like the ball was dropped big time by not giving these things foul smells, unique to each character. I mean come on, they do live in the trash, after all. And, uh, I was promised they were gonna be 'stinky'. This bad boy would've been kicked up about 10 notches if he actually smelt like the rotten pizza that his body is adorned with. And I really wish some character information/back stories were provided for these guys. Hell, even the little rubber Trash Pack'ers were honored with unique personalities. Meh.

That said, these things are pretty cool even if they kinda reek of 'slapped together' and 'cash-in', especially given they're totally new and yet exude 80's awesomeness. The geek that rung me up told me they were one of the hottest new items in the store, which either means he was lying to me so I would look past the $10 price tag (little did he know...) or that kids these day truly do have a desire to play with trash dwelling creatures again, which the mere thought of puts a huge smile on my face. Geeks don't lie to other geeks, so I'm gonna take his word for it. One of the other hottest toys on the market today? Monster High Dolls. Is it just me or are kids getting cool again?!

The Stinky Little Trash Monsters come in small 5" sizes as well as larger 8" and even full size 15" dolls, all of which can be purchased over at Toys R Us or online at places like Amazon. Fuck Pokemon, collect them all!

I'll wrap this up with a small side story. While being rung up for Gloppy by the aforementioned geek at Toys R Us, I came to the realization that cool people just aren't for me. I'm a total geek and that was never more evident than when this guy and I immediately launched into conversation about everything from the Garbage Pail Kids to the Ninja Turtles. Gotta say, I kinda wanted to be that virgin's best friend right then and there. There's a serious kinship that geeks share with one another, and it's a pretty damn beautiful thing.

I also came to the realization that geek hate for Michael Bay is totally universal, as our conversation took mere minutes to turn into full on hate for the man (RE: his recently announced 'raping' of the Turtles' origin). Though it's fun to hate on him, my personal opinion on that matter is essentially this; nothing he or anyone else can do could ever take away from me memories like shooting pizza pies out of the Ninja Turtles Pizza Thrower Van at family members on Christmas morning, so I really couldn't care less. Lay off the dude and just let him do whatever the hell he's gonna do. It's not gonna ruin our childhoods in any way, shape or form. It's just gonna make us love them even more.

Anyways, ya, Stinky Little Trash Monsters ... get 'em today!!

Pre-Order Trick Or Treat Studios' Halloween 2 Masks Today - Save $6!!

I feel like I've been waiting forever to own a well made Michael Myers mask. It's been on my collectibles bucket list for as long as I can remember, but with mass market affordable Myers masks all looking like complete shit, and without the funds to afford a custom $200+ one from an independent artist with real talent, such a mask has remained out of my grasp all these years. Until now.

Trick Or Treat Studios mask maker Justin Mabry has teamed up with Universal Studios to create two Halloween 2 inspired Myers masks, made with the same talent and care that Mabry makes all of his masks with. What does that mean for us? Well, it means that in just a few months we're all going to be able to own an incredible looking Michael Myers mask, one that looks like the $200 ones you find around the net and yet will be selling for a mere $60, due to the fact that it will be mass produced by Universal. To that I say, HALLELUJAH!!

Check out the two H2 Myers masks below, which are now available for pre-order!





Head over to Trick Or Treat Studios to pre-order one or both of these today, which will ship to your home this coming July. And be sure to enter the coupon code TOTSPC to receive 10% (about $6) off your order! Not sure how long that code will be valid, so get on that as soon as possible!!

Vintage Video Of The Week : Attack Of The Helping Hand!

Before they became horror icons as a result of a little trilogy called The Evil Dead, Sam Raimi, Bruce Campbell and Scott Spiegel (writer of ED 2) were merely friends who farted around with their Super 8 camera, making goofy short films purely for their own amusement. One of those shorts (1979's Within The Woods) would eventually turn into the first Evil Dead movie, and the rest is of course genre history.

The same year they made that short, the trio also made a little five minute Super 8 extravaganza titled Attack Of The Helping Hand!, a spoof of Hamburger Helper commercials that were airing at the time. Naturally, given their love of horror movies, the guys turned the iconic white gloved smiley face Hamburger Helper mascot into an evil villain, terrorizing a young woman in her kitchen. Directed by Spiegel, lensed by Bruce & Sam and starring Sam as a milkman, the short would end up finding its way into Evil Dead 2, with Ash's evil possessed hand clearly being foreshadowed in it.

Enjoy 1979's Attack Of The Helping Hand! below, a tiny glimpse into the horror comedy brilliance the team behind it would soon unleash!!

Cool Shit : Senior Citizen Horror Icons!

I don't know much about these incredible images I'm about to share below, because the site they come from isn't in English, but I did manage to gather that they were taken by a photographer by the name of Federico Chiesa, who I'm proud to say I know must be Italian because chiesa is Italian for church. Why do I know that? I owe it all to Argento!

Anyways, check out Chiesa's awesome photographs of some of the biggest and baddest big screen villains, depicted as not so big and not so bad senior citizens whose days are numbered!











To see bigger images of these, head over to the German site where they were found. And to see more of Chiesa's photography, take a trip over to his official website!

**Huge thanks to reader Craig Stafford for bringing these to my attention!**

Netflix Instant : Hit Play Or Stay Away? The Reef

^^ Love that tagline ^^

When their yacht capsizes in the shark-infested waters of the Great Barrier Reef, five friends grow increasingly wary of the fact that their ship is sinking. But swimming to safety with a great white among them could be even more treacherous...

Well hot damn. Just when I thought it was safe to give up on shark attack flicks!

As a huge fan of shark attack horror, I've been quite unhappy about what has become of my beloved little finned sub-genre in the last several years. Jaws really kicked things off with an animatronic bang way back in the 70's, but since then sharks have become nothing more than fodder for cheesy B grade creature features, full of CGI and lacking in any real bite. As much as I love to get drunk and laugh at/with shit like Sharktopus, I'm kinda at the same time crying on the inside while I do, seriously bummed that nobody seems to have any interest in making scary shark movies anymore. Sharks are one of the scariest goddamn things I can think of (hell, I even have a totally irrational fear of sharks attacking me in swimming pools), and yet their ferocious asses have been made a joke of for far too long in the genre. Me no like.

Enter The Reef, Australia's answer to 2003's Open Water, which was made in 2010 and released here in the states on home video last summer. I had heard a lot of good things about this one in the past year or so but admittedly kinda wrote it off based on the lack in quality of other recent shark attack flicks. Totally unfair and prejudicial, I know. Turns out I was also totally wrong about my hunch.

Two words : REAL. SHARKS.

One of The Reef's biggest strengths is that there's not an ounce of CGI in sight, nor is there even a fake looking animatronic or rubber monster. Much like the aforementioned Open Water, the sharks in this one are completely real the whole way through, and man oh man does that go a long way in helping to convey a palpable sense of fear and danger. There aint nothing scary about a computer generated creature that you know wasn't actually there when the actors were in the water. Writer/director Andrew Trauck understands that, as so few do, and as a result has created the first genuinely scary shark movie to come along in quite some time. I bow to you, Mr. Trauck. Always nice to see a killer animal movie that's made with some respect and care. So thank you for that.

The other thing that makes this one float high above other shark attack films is that it's very character based, focusing much of its run time on the three dimensional characters and their own personal fears as they're stranded in the water, knowing that they can be devoured whole at any moment. The film does a great job at conveying that fear, as we as an audience, right there alongside the characters, have no idea when a shark is around or when it's going to strike. That's really the main idea of the film, that sense that an attack is always present but you never quite know when it's gonna come.

When that shark does strike, it's pretty damn effectively conveyed, with a great deal of restraint shown so as to avoid having to bring in a rubber monster or lay in a CG effect in order to show something that couldn't actually be pulled off with real sharks and real actors. That said, there are a couple great moments where the sharks and the actors are dangerously close to each other in the same shot, which I'm honestly not sure how they even pulled off. There are times when I kinda wished more was shown, and that the attacks were more vicious, but at the same time I'm aware that doing so would've likely resulted in the film being cheesier and less effective. It's all about realism with this one. And again, the focus on character and fear over 'sharksploitation' attack sequences make this thing feel damn real, and never corny even for a second.

The Reef truly makes sharks scary again, shedding their goofy B movie image of late and once again making you afraid to step foot in the water (not that I ever wasn't). For me, it ranks right alongside the recent crop of exceptional Aussie horror flicks like Wolf Creek, Rogue & Nature's Grave, and there's really not much negative I can say about it. In fact, really the only thing I didn't dig was a little text addendum tacked onto the end of the film, which explains some things that would've been better left unexplained. But that's a pretty damn minor complaint to have.

Gotta go with a big HIT PLAY on this one, especially if you were a fan of Open Water. The Reef is essentially that film with double the victims and a beautiful Australian setting ... what's not to love?!

Giveaway Time! Win Freddy Krueger Soap From Spellbound Soapworks!

A few weeks back I posted a picture of a unique bar of Freddy Krueger soap on the Freddy In Space Facebook page, teasing that it would soon be given away here on the blog. The response was overwhelmingly positive, but I wanted to hold off on the giveaway until all the Walking Dead giveaway fun was over. Now that it is, it's finally time I part with the coolest bar of soap of all time. Damn you for splitting us apart!!

I don't remember exactly how I discovered Spellbound Soapworks, but I somehow stumbled upon the site several weeks back, during my nightly travels around the web. I immediately knew I had to make a post about the company, but I decided to take things one step further and e-mail the owner, Maura Buckley, to see if she'd be up for supplying a bar of her handmade soap for a giveaway (giving away shit = always cooler than merely telling you about shit). As you've probably gathered by now, she said yes. So let's all send out a big thank you to Maura for her generosity. Thank you, Maura!

It was after a visit to a horror convention in 2003 that Maura started her company, inspired by the thick clouds of geek fan body odor. She figured that maybe if she crafted delicious smelling bars of soap in the likenesses of our favorite horror & sci-fi icons, we'd be motivated to get clean. And thus, Spellbound Soapworks was born. Ever since, horror conventions have smelled just a little bit better.

OK so that's not true at all, but Maura did launch the company in 2003 and she does specialize in handmade bars of glycerin soap sculpted in the likenesses of geek icons, everyone from Leatherface to The Toxic Avenger, Jack Skellington to Regan MacNeil. Sculpted by her sister Chris, hand-painted and infused with trademark scents such as 'All Hallows Eve' & 'The Power Of Spice Compels You', the unique bars of soap are truly unlike any you can get anywhere else, both beautiful display pieces as well as delicious smelling cleaning implements. In other words, you can prop Toxie up on your sink counter or use him to clean your balls ... the choice is entirely up to you.



Maura asked me which bar of soap I wanted to do a giveaway for and naturally, I chose Freddy Krueger. Part of Spellbound's 'Cinema Slashers' line, Freddy is infused with a scent called 'Elm Street', filled with "notes of geranium, bergamot, and rich Indian spices; well rounded with notes of amber, woods, and musk." I don't know what the hell a bergamot is but I will say that this bad boy has been sitting in my room for a couple weeks and let me tell you, it smells absolutely delicious, even just sitting here on my desk in its shrink wrap. Leads me to believe that even if you just want to keep Maura's soaps as display pieces in your bathroom, they will still do their job of making you and your home smell that much better!

OK enough babbling. You want the Freddy soap? All you've gotta do to enter is leave me a comment below with your e-mail address and your personal answer to the following question ...

- Which horror icon do you think smells the absolute worst, and why?

Entries will be accepted through next Thursday, March 29th, at midnight, so make sure to get your comments in by then. Good luck to all!

Head over to Spellbound Soapworks for more "sinister suds for sullied souls." If you just want regular shaped bars of soap, Maura's got ya covered there too, with unique scents including Ectoplasm, Graveyard Dirt & Swamp Thing. She's truly got a little something for everyone, whether you love horror or just want to smell good enough to eat!

Cover Art Wars : The Innkeepers

**If anyone wants to make a graphic I can insert here in future posts of this sort, be my guest!!**

It's time for another brutal round of Cover Art Wars, the always exciting competition that pits Region 1 DVD cover arts against their Region 2 counterparts in a bloody battle to the death! Or, in less exciting terms, it's that post I make every once in a while where we all talk about the mindless topic of which of two cover arts looks prettier. It's all about tackling the important stuff here on Freddy In Space.

On this installment of Cover Art Wars, we put the focus on The Innkeepers, which hits DVD here in the states on April 24th and then over in the UK on June 25th. Whoa, how's that for a new one; the US getting a home video release before the UK!

Let's check out the two arts and then we'll force them to engage in an epic battle!


REGION 1 - PRE-ORDER IT!


REGION 2 - PRE-ORDER IT!

My pick? Region 1, by a long shot.

Though the Region 2 cover art is admittedly more eye catching, it really doesn't suit the film at all. It's a fairly bloodless movie and the Region 2 art reeks more of a bad slasher film set in a hotel than it does the film that The Innkeepers truly is; a slow burn that focuses more of its time and energy on characters and setting than it does horror. On top of that, UK art tends to be chock full of quotes of praise and this one is clearly no exception, with both quotes oddly cut off by the images laid over them. Nope. Not for me.

Now the Region 1 art on the other hands totally nails the feel of The Innkeepers, with the haunted hotel featured prominently and the faint image of a creepy ass ghost looming above. The cemetery made of old hotel keys is but the icing on the cake of what is a simple and yet totally effective art. This is one Cover Art War that proves that less is sometimes much much more!

... That said, the Region 1 art is just lucky it doesn't have to compete against the incredible art Tom Hodge whipped up for the film.

So which art do you prefer? Leave a comment and let me know!!

Hey, while you're here, head back in time to read my review of The Innkeepers (I quite liked it) and, if you dare, come along with me on a journey to the Yankee Pedlar Inn, the hotel where the film takes place (it was fun)!

I Aint Got Money To Burn ... But This Predator Shirt Makes Me Want To Rob An Old Lady

Define brilliant; a t-shirt company making a shirt that features a design that looks like a children's drawing of his family, if the child were Dutch from Predator and his family were the rest of the characters from the film. Yeppppp, Dark Bunny Tees has got ya covered.

Check out their new Predator inspired tee, which ships next month and is now available for pre-order!


CLICK FOR A CLOSER LOOK AT THE DRAWINGS!

The shirt is available in men's and women's sizes, with a price tag of 18 pounds (Dark Bunny is based out of the UK) plus shipping and handling. That translates to about $28.50, with the shipping jacking the cost up to nearly $40. Shit, can that be right? That's pretty goddamn expensive for us Americans. But it's a cool shirt nonetheless, and it's a limited run of only 350 worldwide printings. So, uhhh, that almost makes it worth it, no? Don't look at me, I didn't make up the price!!

Have You Gathr'd Behind The Mask Yet?!

A couple weeks back I talked a bit about a new On Demand platform called Gathr, which is the brain child of Behind The Mask director Scott Glosserman. Glosserman is bringing Leslie Vernon back to the big screen, at a theater near YOU, on April 11th, and I wanted to talk a bit more about what Gathr is and how it works, so that all of you fellow fans of the film get the chance to see it back up on the big screen. So let's get into that a bit, shall we?!

Glosserman refers to Gathr as 'Theatrical On Demand', a way for fans of movies from the past to bring their favorite flicks back to the big screen, at a theater in their area. The idea is that a lot of these never made it to too many theaters when they first came out, and many never got to see them on the big screen when they did, so what Gathr does is give us all the chance to finally see some of our favorites at the theater, with an audience. In the future, Gathr will also be used to bring new movies to the big screen, movies that otherwise would never have a chance at playing in theaters.

So that's in a nutshell what it is, but how does it work? Well I'm tickled that you asked!

Whether or not any given film that's a part of Gathr gets into any given theater is entirely up to us, the fans of those movies. How it essentially works is that we log into Gathr, select a film from a provided list that we want to see with an audience, and then we demand it come to a theater in our general area. We also make a promise that we will pay to see the movie in the event that it does, by pre-authorizing a credit card payment for our ticket. If enough people from that same area demand that same movie come there, a specific theater in the area is then chosen for the movie to play at, our card gets charged, and we simply show up to that theater and enjoy the show.

So how many people will it take to bring any given movie to any given location? Depending on the size of the theater, it'll take between 40 and 60 demands to 'tip' a screening. So if you really want to see Behind The Mask come to a theater near you, make sure you not only demand it yourself, but also spread the word to your friends and anyone in the area who may be interested in checking it out!

Now go forth and browse around Gathr and see if Behind The Mask has already been requested in your area. If it has, toss your demand into the pot. If not, take matters into your own hands and be the first to demand it in your area. There's also a bunch of other movies available to be Gathr'd, everything from Suspiria to Romancing The Stone, but you can look around at those after you've demanded Behind The Mask!

And to anyone who lives in the New York City area, please demand the movie come there so we can hang out and watch it together! If it does end up coming anywhere in the vicinity of NYC, you can bet your ass I'll be there come April 11th!!

Oh and I've just been told that whatever theater is the first to get enough demands needed to get the movie played there will have the distinct honor of having Scott Glosserman show up to the theater for a little Q&A, which will be moderated by the fan who first requested the screening at that location. And please also know that all money made through the big screen return of Behind The Mask will go directly to funding Before The Mask : The Return Of Leslie Vernon!

One last thing! There are still a handful of the above posters left, which were created specially for this theatrical re-release. Get yours while they're still around for only $20 from the Before The Mask webstore!

What Makes Foreign Horror So Superior To Hollywood Horror?

I think it's pretty safe to say that nobody reading this right now would disagree with me when I say that horror movies made outside the states are generally better than those made here in the states. Though that's a pretty bold statement, one that obviously doesn't always ring true, it's one that can be strongly backed up by many of the better horror films in recent years, films like the French made High Tension, the Japanese made Audition, the Swedish made Let The Right One In, and the list goes on and on.

But have you ever thought about what exactly it is that makes foreign horror superior to the majority of American horror, aside from just saying things like "Uh, well, foreign filmmakers are smarter than ours are!"? This is exactly the topic I was pondering as I laid in bed last night, fresh off of a viewing of the Spanish home invasion flick Kidnapped, which by the way fucked my night up something fierce. I awoke this morning hungry to spew forth my opinions on the matter, so now that I'm finally home from the 9-5 and able to do just that, I'm gonna do just that.

I can really sum up my whole theory on the issue with one single word ...

MONEY.

In America, it's all about the almighty dollar when it comes to the movies, moreso even than the quality of those movies (Michael Bay, anyone?). If a particular movie lacks the star power or subject matter necessary to make millions off of the mass movie going public, that movie either isn't getting made or isn't getting released in the event that it already has been made, plain and simple. What does that mean for the horror genre? Well, that need for movies to make shitloads of money in order to even get made or released is unfortunately killing the genre here in the states. Aside from an exception here and there each year, the sad fact of the matter is that true horror movies don't get put out by the major studios these days. And even if good horror is made by indie filmmakers, outside of the studio system, they oftentimes never see mainstream release, or a release at all. Trick 'r Treat, anyone? All The Boys Love Mandy Lane, anyone?

American horror is dominated by unoriginal ideas, jump scares and lame teen star power. Why? Because, unfortunately, that's what makes money at the box office. Horror movies made in Hollywood aren't made for people like us, the true horror fans. They're made for teenagers who want to take their dates out to see 'scary movies', and who are lured into the theater by familiar faces and familiar ideas. The incredibly sad truth is that a PG-13 3D vampire movie starring Justin Bieber would make millions upon millions of dollars, while something like Stake Land wouldn't even make back its small budget at the box office. Thus, a film like that is relegated to a quiet straight to home video release, while the remakes and shitty PG-13 horror flicks make bank. Don't blame the studios, they're just being smart and churning out the shit that the masses want to see. If they catered to folks like you and I, well, they'd be out of a job real quick.

Bottom line is that mass accessibility makes money. Familiar and safe ideas, such as remakes and rehashings of tired concepts, make money. Truly brutal and well made original horror does not. Simple as that.

Because of this sad reality, many horror fans all around the net inevitably say things like this at the end of each year; "Well, no good horror movies came out this year. Fuck my life". But those of us who know better know the truth. Incredible horror movies come out every single year. You just have to know where to look to find them. And most times you have to look either outside the states, or at least outside the studio system.

Now when it comes to both foreign and indie horror, that need to make enough money off any given movie to buy a yacht and a time share in the Caribbean simply isn't there. If you're asking me, this is exactly why those two groups of filmmakers are the ones making the really great horror movies these days. It aint about the money for them, it's about truly delivering a solid horror movie. Nothing more, nothing less.

Foreign made horror movies in particular tend to be very dark and extremely violent, exploring the deepest and darkest sides of humanity. These are personally my favorite kinds of horror films, the ones that truly unnerve you and have a genuine sense of real danger about them. To me, that's what horror is all about, and it's something that most American filmmakers have no interest in exploring. Again, they just want, and need, to make money.

Without that pressure from a Hollywood system, foreign and indie filmmakers are totally free to do whatever the fuck they want, without worrying about turning off their audience or appealing to as wide a group of people as possible. And thus, we end up with films like Martyrs, repellant and utterly horrifying films that truly embody the word HORROR in every sense of its meaning. You would simply never find something like Martyrs in a mainstream American movie theater, as it's quite frankly just too damn horrifying. It's too raw, it's too real, and nobody but folks like ourselves would ever look at it as anything more than a worthless piece of trash, made by and for sick twisted individuals who should be locked away from society. Of course, we feel the same way about those who get off on a Justin Bieber 3D vampire flick, so who is anyone to judge anyone?

Horror movies made outside of the American studio system are really the only horror movies that seem to have the balls to bring any new ideas and concepts to the table, which in my opinion has everything to do with the fact that those filmmakers are not inhibited by appealing to society at large and in turn, making a shit ton of the green stuff. As a direct result, we get horror movies that actually bring true horror to the screen, palpable and raw. If you're asking me, it's all about filmmakers being able to just let go and make the movies they want to make. Unfortunately, with studio interference dictating you keep things PC as well as familiar and appealing to the masses, there's just no room for that in Hollywood.

Alexandre Aja made High Tension independently in France. Came to Hollywood and made Mirrors. I rest my case.

Just one other thing I want to touch on a bit that makes foreign horror movies more effective to me personally. That being the lack of familiar faces in the cast, both wielding the weapons and getting their organs punctured with the weapons.

For me, for a horror movie to truly creep me the fuck out and totally get me to suspend disbelief and buy into it being real for an hour and a half, it pretty much has to have a cast of actors that I know nothing about, and preferably have never seen before. This is something that rarely happens in Hollywood horror because again, actors that lack established names don't make money for the studios. While a big named star in a horror movie may help rake in the dough at the box office, it can only hurt my enjoyment of any given genre film.

I always like to reference Mary Shelley's Frankenstein when I'm trying to get this point across to people, the one from 1994 that featured Robert DeNiro as Frankenstein's monster. I don't know about you, but I can't get into a Frankenstein tale for a second if I can clearly recognize the man behind the makeup. That's fuckin' Robert DeNiro, says I, not goddamned Frankenstein!

The bottom line is that we just know too much about American celebrities to really get into being scared for them or by them in horror movies. We know what they last ate and who they last fucked. We know that they give money to the kids with flies on them in Africa. Why the hell are we gonna be scared of them when they're wielding a knife?!

When it comes to foreign (or once again indie) horror movies, the actors are for the most part unrecognizable to most of us here in the states. We've never seen them before and we know nothing of what they're like in real life, so we can really buy into the idea of being scared of them or fearing for them as victims. When I was watching Kidnapped last night I found myself truly scared of the bad guys, fully convinced that they were actually evil human beings. If those bad guys were Taylor Lautner and Shia LaBeouf ... not so much.

Obviously what I just said sounds a bit silly because we know at the end of the day that any given movie is just a movie, and that nobody is really hurting anyone or getting hurt, but that ability to suspend disbelief while watching a horror movie really goes a long way when it comes to this particular genre.

I really don't mean to criticize American studios or filmmakers here. I understand that the studios need to make money to stay in business and I get that the filmmakers just want to keep working too. It's not their fault that Hollywood is an entirely money driven system, it really isn't. All I'm saying is, if you want true horror, you're probably not gonna find it inside of an American movie theater. But I'm pretty sure you've figured that out by now.

Anyways, I think I've rambled on enough about this topic. Feel free to do the same in the comments section below. Would love to hear your thoughts!

Melissa George Is In Skin Tight Pants, And She Wants You To Take Her Home

Just a quick reminder, for those who still care about physical media (high five!), that the UK thriller A Lonely Place To Die was released onto DVD & Blu-ray today. The movie has been available for rental On Demand for a couple months now, which is where I caught it back at the tail end of last year. You can go back and read my full review by clicking here, but I'll briefly sum up my thoughts below in the event that you don't want to read a long winded review. First though, check out the trailer!



OK, on with the quick summary of my review.

A Lonely Place To Die was one of my favorite movies I saw last year. It's a totally intense edge of your seat thrill ride that grabs you by the throat and doesn't let go for nearly two hours, presenting you with a group of characters you like and then brutally ripping them from your grasp one by one. Think The Descent, but high up on a mountain instead of down below in a cave, and with human villains rather than bat-like creatures. Throw a little Deliverance and a little Cliffhanger in there and you've essentially got yourself A Lonely Place To Die.

If I had to quick sum up why I dug the movie so much, with one main thought, it'd be because of the fact that it has the highly impressive ability to truly shock you at every twist and turn, as no character is ever safe and none of the expected horror movie cues are ever around to let you know when someone's about to bite it. Just like in the real world, bad shit just happens as it happens, rather than in typical movie fashion, and any main character is as likely to die next as any other main character. That's really the brilliance of the movie to me, as that unpredictability really creates a foreboding sense that anything can happen, which you don't find all that often in the movies.

A Lonely Place To Die is beautiful to look at and horrific to endure, and I cannot recommend enough that you seek it out. Blind buy it if you must ... you won't be disappointed!

So ya, it's out there and it's waiting for you to discover it. Pick up the Blu-ray or DVD from Amazon today, for the currently low prices of only $14.99 & $12.99!

One last thing. For those that have a Region Free DVD or Blu-ray player, you might want to pick up the UK release of the film rather than the US one. While the US disc comes with only a trailer attached to it, the UK disc is packed with a 70 minute making of documentary, a commentary and more. Definitely worth investing in if you are already a fan of the film!

New Trailer Of The Week : Chernobyl Diaries

It's Monday, which means it's once again time to put the spotlight on my favorite new trailer released last week. This week, that spotlight shines brightly on Oren Peli, the creator of Paranormal Activity, who next fuses fact with fiction and takes us on a journey into the radioactive wasteland known as Chernobyl.

Enjoy the first look at Chernobyl Diaries and then we'll chat about it afterwards!



What is it about this one that has me excited? As the old saying goes, it's all about location, location, location. And the setting of this one alone is gonna get my ass into the theater on opening night.

I've long been fascinated by the town of Prypiat, which is where Chernobyl Diaries takes place. Prypiat is a real ghost town in the Ukraine, near the Chernobyl Power Plant, which was completely abandoned after the 1986 radioactive meltdown. It's oftentimes featured on "Creepiest Places On Earth" lists around the web, and for good reason. Just like you see in the trailer, the town still stands as it once was, only with a whole lot of decay and not a human being in sight. Creepy? I sure as fuck think so.

CHECK OUT SOME SUPER EERIE PICTURES FROM THE JOINT!

Is it just me or is this a brilliant idea for a horror flick? Sure, a bunch of American dolts going on a tragic vacation to a foreign land is nothing new (by any means). And Wes Craven tapped into the whole radioactive fallout horror thing way back in the 70's. But the idea of a group of friends heading off to the site of the real life Chernobyl nuclear disaster, and encountering something fucked up and evil there, sounds pretty damn awesome if ya ask me. I've gotta commend Peli for dreaming up the idea of setting a horror movie in this location. It just seems so right and I'm kinda surprised that nobody ever thought of it before.

Now obviously the big thing here is that we have no idea what, or who, is terrorizing these kids. Are they Hills Have Eyes style mutants that stayed behind when everyone else fled? Vengeful ghosts of power plant workers? The trailer really offers no clues and I for one hope we're kept totally in the dark about that until we sit down in the theater to watch the movie. Of course, this being the age of the internet, the chances of that happening are slimmer than Angelina Jolie's wrists, but this totally looks to be one of those movies that you should go into knowing little to nothing about. I'll do my best to do just that.

Though the film will be directed by first timer Bradley Parker, who has previously done visual effects for films like Fight Club & Let Me In (the latter of which he served as 2nd unit director on), the story is from the mind of Oren Peli, who I've got a whole lot of faith in. Though I gave up on The River after only a couple episodes, I am a huge fan of what he did with Paranormal Activity and I for now remain excited for any film his name is attached to. So there's another check in the right box for this one.

Will this be another win for Peli or merely another bad horror flick set in a great location? We'll have to wait until May 25th to find out, once the Chernobyl Diaries are opened up for our viewing pleasure. I'll see ya at the theater!

And hey, even if you're not excited about this one like I am, at least you can appreciate the fact that it tosses Jesse McCartney into a radioactive wasteland. We've all been craving that, have we not?!

Quick thoughts on some other trailers released last week ...

ABRAHAM LINCOLN: VAMPIRE HUNTER (Trailer #2) - Much like the first trailer we saw a couple weeks back, this looks absolutely epic. Johnny Cash + Lincoln slaying vamps with his trusty axe = <3. Now if we can only insert Honest Abe into the next Twilight flick.

DARK SHADOWS - Want to know a secret? I am not familiar with the Dark Shadows TV show. At all. I've known of its existence for many years, and I've caught a few minutes here and there back in the day when my brother used to watch it, but I've honestly never seen a single episode. So you won't find me bitching at Burton for deviating from everything that show was about. That said, this really doesn't look all that appealing to me. Kinda bored with the whole Burton/white faced Depp whimsical collaboration thing, so I'll probably skip this one. Oh and for those who are so angry over the fact that Tim Burton turned Dark Shadows into a Tim Burton movie ... ummm, duh?

THE DEVIL'S CARNIVAL - Hmmm, no. I love Darren Bousman, and most of his films, but I just cannot get into musicals. At all. I tried with Repo : The Genetic Opera. I wanted to love it. But I could barely stand to watch it. Seeing as how I know I'm gonna feel the same way about this one, I'm likely gonna stay away. For good. Musicals just aint for me. I'll stick to shit like Mother's Day instead, thank you very much. Speaking of which, Bousman's ass kicking Mother's Day remake finally hits stateside home video on May 8th!

PROMETHEUS (Trailer #2) - Do I even need to say anything? The geek world experienced a collective tightening of the pants the day this first extended look at Ridley Scott's pseudo Alien prequel was released last week, and I was certainly not left out of the pants tightening party. The way I see it, there's simply no way that this will be anything short of amazing. BO to the NER.

Walking Dead Death Pool Winners! *Spoiler Free*

So the second season of The Walking Dead went out in pretty glorious fashion last night (katana!), gone again for who the hell knows how long. However long it is, it's too long, that's all I know!

A few weeks back, when there were still three episodes left in the season, I started a little Walking Dead death pool here on the blog, where I chose 13 main characters and randomly assigned each of them to the first 13 readers to e-mail me saying they wanted in. The idea being that if your randomly selected character died by the end of the season, you'd win a prize. Tonight, I'm here to share the results of the pool. So as not to spoil anything for anyone who hasn't yet watched the last few episodes, or any of this season for that matter, I wont reveal the names of the characters that died, only the readers who won prizes for them dying.

I was quite surprised to see that not one, not two, not three and not even four of the members of the group died in the final three episodes, but a whopping FIVE, three of them being main characters that were a part of the death pool. Didn't really plan on more than one or two of those characters biting it but I'm a man of my word and so I am going to award prizes to all three readers whose characters died in the final three episodes, according to the order in which they died.

So here are the prizes that I just ordered off Amazon and will be shipping out to the winners as soon as they arrive on my doorstep!



JEREMY LOGSDON - Walking Dead Season 1 Special Edition Blu-ray



CLINT ERARDI - 'Zombie Biter' Action Figure
**Fun Fact : The zombie this toy is based on was played by Greg Nicotero, the 'N' in KNB EFX and executive producer of The Walking Dead!**



JASON GERARD - 'Zombie Walker' Action Figure

Though this was a costly venture for me personally, I had fun doing it and I hope that it made for an even more exciting viewing experience for those of you who made it into the pool. So again, thank you all for taking part and congratulations to Jeremy, Clint & Jason, who benefited from the deaths of some of our most beloved characters. Don't know how you guys sleep at night, profiting off the dead like that!

Until next season, Walking Dead, I bid you a fond farewell!

Billy Polard Animates The Freddy In Space Short Film!!

If the name Billy Polard sounds familiar to you, it's likely because I blogged about his work several months back. Polard, an artist and musician, came to me as a fan of my blog sometime last year, and I soon thereafter became a big fan of his work, to the point that I made a post about it even though it doesn't have all that much to do with the world of horror. Sometimes, when I dig something a whole lot, I can make an exception. And I dig Billy Polard a whole lot.

To create his highly unique music videos, featuring his own original songs, Polard painstakingly creates animations by hand on his Nintendo DSi, which he lays over the music. The results are pretty damn impressive, with little animated monsters and ghosts colliding with Polard's beautiful songs to create truly memorable, touching and one of a kind works of art. Before you read any further, I highly recommend you watch some of his videos over on his YouTube channel or Facebook page. Check out 'Losing Light' in particular, a personal favorite of mine.

Now the reason I'm here tonight is because I got an e-mail from Polard this past weekend, which contained inside his greatest work yet (OK, so that's a bit of a biased opinion...). I honestly can't believe that he took the time to do this, but Polard took to his DSi recently and created an animation for me and the blog, which features Freddy Krueger taking an actual rocket ride into space, bringing to life the title of my blog in that same animated glory that his music videos revel in. 54 seconds after hitting the play button, my jaw hit the floor and I lost the ability to speak.

I now invite you to the world premiere of the Freddy In Space animated short film, hand made by the incredibly talented Mr. Billy Polard. Enjoy this silent journey into space, Freddy by your side!!



Billy, I honestly cannot thank you enough for taking the time to do this for me. The fact that someone as talented as you took time away from your own music and art to make a video for my little blog is truly touching and amazing. I actually feel kinda bad that you did, because you surely have better things to do with your time(!), but from the bottom of my heart, thank you so very much for this. I will cherish it always.

Again, be sure to check out Billy's work on his YouTube channel and go give him a 'like' over on his Facebook page to keep up to date with his latest projects!

Dear Haters Of The Walking Dead,

**This post contains a few major spoilers here and there, so if you haven't seen the last couple episodes of this past season, perhaps you should stay away**

I've been meaning to go on a bit of a rant in regards to all the people who have been spewing hate about this season of The Walking Dead, and the last season for that matter, so here goes that. And no, I'm not gonna get on your case simply because you don't dig something that I love so much. I'm not like that. Though I personally see absolutely no reason why any horror/zombie fan would not be as in love with the show as I am, it's one common gripe that I hear all over Facebook all the time that I want to comment on. That gripe generally goes a little something like this ...

"Holy shit, this show sucks. It's so boring. There are barely even any zombies. It's just people talking. Fuckin' lame. They should rename it 'The Talking Living'. Har har."

And here's my translation of that ...

"The Walking Dead sucks because it wastes time telling a good story, when it should just focus on mindless nonstop zombie action. I don't want to care about any of the characters, I just want them to get eaten."

Or, in simpler terms ...

"This show is so good that it sucks really bad."

This sentiment reminds me a lot of Roger Ebert's reviews of horror movies he hates (which are most of them), wherein he says things like "You want gore, you get gore. Hatchet 2 plays less like a slasher movie than like the highlight reel from a slasher movie." In other words, dude's bitching about the one aspect of the material that anyone who that material is made for should be 100% embracing. And in doing so, he's ironically giving the utmost compliment to the movie, when he's trying to bash it.

Now the difference here is that while a film like Hatchet 2 isn't meant to be enjoyed by a dude like Roger Ebert, a show like The Walking Dead is totally made for folks like us, the horror and zombie enthusiasts of the world. And yet, there so many horror/zombie enthusiasts are, bitching and complaining about a show that each and every one of us should be thanking our lucky stars for. After hundreds upon hundreds of shitty zombie movies in the last several decades, rife with one dimensional characters that are nothing more than zombie food, here we have a classy show run by some of the most talented people in the business that truly taps into the idea of what it'd be like to be a survivor in the zombie apocalypse. A surprisingly human (how much do I owe ya for that, Animal Planet?) show that's title is as much a reference to the zombies as it is the survivors that it mostly centers around. Gadzooks, this is the kinda zombie material we've been waiting for, isn't it?!?

And yet, so much hate. Soooo. Much. Hate.

To those who find the human drama boring, do you even realize how boring and shitty the show would be if it focused entirely on the zombies, and people one after another being eaten by them? Of course you'd probably hate on the show if they went that direction too but come on, that just would not make for an interesting show, nor would it be possible for the show to even exist if a character were devoured every episode, like you seem to desire. If you want that shit, stick to your crappy low budget zombie flicks that are made by people who lack the talent to do anything but show zombies rip sausages and blood filled condoms out of people's stomachs for an hour and a half. Be my guest.

Now I think one thing all of us, even the haters, can agree on is that the last few episodes of Season 2 were absolutely epic, rife with zombies and character deaths. It's funny because even the people who have been hating on the show all season have been posting things on Facebook and Twitter saying things like, "Ya these final episodes have been good, since shit's finally happening, but that doesn't make up for the previous nine episodes." First off, why the F did you even make it this far into the season if you hate the show so much? Secondly, why can't you realize that the only reason the shit hitting the fan has any impact or meaning whatsoever is because so much time was spent investing us in these characters and this situation? They could've killed off Dale and/or Shane earlier in the season or had the farm get overrun the day after Rick and the gang arrived, sure. And zombie Sophia could've been found the night they went looking for her, yes. But that would've been poor writing, plan and simple. The only reason Sophia being found to be a zombie or Rick finally killing Shane meant anything or had any dramatic impact at all was because it was built up so much, to the point that we were nearly as invested in the outcome of it all as the fictional characters themselves were. The farm going up in zombie surrounded flames was so tragic and meaningful because we really understood how much that place meant to Hershel and what the end of that era meant for the hope of him and the remaining survivors. Same goes for Sophia. Same goes for Shane and Dale biting it. It's called building up to a payoff. It's something good movies and TV shows do.

If you don't care about the characters, and the situation they're in, then the show or movie or book or whatever the hell the material is just isn't any good. Kirkman and company have gone out of their way to give us a fully fleshed out world, filled with fully fleshed out characters, and people bitch about how there's not a zombie seen every two seconds? Pardon my language, but give me a fuckin' break.

I personally believe that the main reason so many horror fans don't like the show is because it's so mainstream. To see even non-horror fans the world over embracing a horror themed show pisses a lot of diehard horror fans off, which is really silly if ya think about it. If anything, it's really cool that zombies have been made so accessible to the masses, which is again all thanks to the focus on the human drama over the gut munching (...of which there is plenty of for us gorehounds, anyway). To see people who have never seen a Romero movie or have no idea what the hell a Lucio Fulci is embrace a show about zombies is really fuckin' cool, and a total testament to how good the show is. So get over it.

Oh and speaking of Romero. If you want to hate zombie material that focuses on humans and human issues, perhaps you should be hating on his movies too. Just sayin.

Again, I don't mean to condemn anyone for not liking something that I personally do. If you just don't like the show, that's totally fine. But if you continue watching it and continue bitching about how boring it is because there's too much humanity in it, then you either need to just stop watching altogether (there's an idea!) or come to the realization that you're bitching about the one aspect of the show that makes it so goddamn good. As far as I'm concerned, The Walking Dead is a gift from zombie heaven to all zombie fans, and it just really bums me out to see any horror fan not fully embrace it. I know haters are always gonna hate, but there's just really nothing about this show to hate, as far as I'm concerned. You haters out there are essentially hating on the show for being good, and incredibly well written and made, so just think about that for a second.

Not surprisingly, there's already a lot of hate being thrown around for Season 3, which hasn't even begun filming yet. I've already heard things like, "Michonne doesn't fit in with the other characters. Her and the other new characters are gonna ruin the show" and "Ugh, I bet they stay at the prison for the whole season." Good god, give it a rest will ya?!

Anyways. End rant.

I love you and I miss you already, Walking Dead.

Where's My Cake?! Shrunken Head Studios' Creepshow Action Figure Now Available For Pre-Order!

Founded by Brian Dooley, Shrunken Head Studios has one simple goal; to be "the best Horror/Sci-Fi toy company in the industry". Dooley, who has in the past worked with Jim Henson's Creature Shop and toy company Sideshow Collectibles, started the company in 2007 to deliver to fans the kinds of action figures the big toy companies likely never will, using his expertise and experience to make each and every one look like something you could very well find on the shelf of your favorite toy shop. In other words, these aren't just one shot custom figures slapped together from parts of action figures past; these are the real deal, hand sculpted works of art that Dooley gives us all the chance to add to our collections.

Earlier today, Brian put up for pre-order his latest offering; the rotten animated corpse of Nathan Grantham from the Creepshow segment Father's Day. Limited to only 400 pieces, with over 100 already gone, the 1:6 scale action figure is screen accurate and comes complete with the old man's trademark birthday cake, topped with Aunt Sylvia's severed head, which features candles that actually light up(!). Mr. Grantham has 30 points of articulation as well as a posable jaw, allowing you to move him around and let him have his cake ... and eat the brains of your other toys too!

Check out some images of this limited edition Shrunken Head Studios exclusive!!









To see more pictures and pre-order your very own Mr. Grantham, for a price tag of $98, head over to Shrunken Head Studios ... while supplies last!

Oh and here's another little added incentive ... as if ya needed one! Brian will soon be whipping up a figure of Fluffy from Creepshow segment The Crate, and all who pre-order the Father's Day figure will be entered into a drawing to win that one once it comes out. Huzzah!