Halloween Fright Flick Frenzy: Round 3

Here's an update on the Halloween Fright Flick Frenzy. I have continued to celebrate Halloween month with horror movies that run the gamut from black and white classics to brutal, modern day entries to the genre. I even included a couple of horror/comedies, one of which is a personal favorite. 

Bela Lugosi as Igor

SON OF FRANKENSTEIN (1939) with Karloff & Lugosi (as Igor). Young Frankenstein fans will recognize a lot from this movie. A little slow, a but good climax. I give it a wooden thumb up from a wooden arm.

GHOST OF FRANKENSTEIN (1942) Doubled down on Frankie tonight. Igor is the brains and the brawn in this one. Fast paced fun.

TERROR IN THE AISLES (1984) The CliffsNotes of horror movies hosted by Donald Pleasence. Clips from a number of horror movies and a look at what makes a movie scary. “Remember, it's only a movie."

AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON (1981) Watched one of my all time favorites and what I think is the best werewolf movie ever. Funny, scary and incredible special effects.  ("it's still too 'eavy.")

FIDO (2006) Zombie/comedy fun. Walking Dead meets Pleasantville. Billy Connolly will melt your heart or eat it. And Carrie-Anne Moss never looked better.

THE DEVIL’S REJECTS (2005) Round two with Rob Zombie with his twisted sequel to House of 1000 Corpses, and big improvement over it. This movie is not for everyone. Let's face it, Rob Zombie is an acquired taste. A brutally violent flick peppered with lots of demented comedy, and a ton of familiar faces. Not for the squeamish. (Bonus points for the soundtrack.)

Remember to use hashtag #Terrortober to follow my picks on Twitter and to post your own.

The 2012 Monster Men Halloween Episode

It’s the Monster Men Halloween Episode and the debut of the great new Monster Men theme song by musical Monster Man, Steve Capalbo. 

  

Join us as we celebrate our favorite holiday. We discuss some off our favorite Halloween specials and TV shows like The Great Pumpkin and forgotten gems like The Paul Lynde Halloween Special.

Then we review the many horror movies we are watching during the 31 days of Halloween, and we take a detour to Danvers State Hospital & Insane Asylum, a haunted landmark in Massachusetts and the location of the movie Session 9. 

Use hashtag #Terrortober to follow our horror picks on Twitter, and have a Happy Halloween.

Halloween Fright Flick Frenzy: Round 2

Blood of Dracula

Happy Halloween Month!

The Halloween Fright Flick Frenzy continues. Check out hashtag #Terrortober on Twitter to see what movies the Monster Men are watching this month along with other Halloween related activities. Join the fun and tell us what you are watching by tagging your tweets with #Terrortober.

Follow us on Twitter at @backinjack and @huntershea1.

Here are a few more films I’ve watched with a quick review.  (You can see more in my earlier post too.) 

• Blood of Dracula (1957) This movie does not actually feature Dracula, but a girl's school headmaster who can transform one of her students into a vampire. This movie even has a dreamy musical number. You can skip this one.
• 30 Days of Night (2007) I re-watched this one. A pretty good movie based on a good comic book. Worth watching. Great concept of vampires rampaging in Alaska. Plus, Melissa George is gorgeous.
• House of 1000 Corpses (2003) Rob Zombie trying way too hard here. A convoluted mess. Has some good visuals but no substance.  I was surprised to see Walton Goggins (Justified) and Rainn Wilson (The Office) pop up in this one.
• Evil Dead 2 (1987) The original cabin in the woods. I revisited this must see classic after a very, very long time. Still groovy after all of these years.
• Mad Monster Party (1967) The Christmas Special of Halloween shows. It’s party time with Rankin and Bass! An animated cult classic that features all of your favorite monsters in a stop-motion romp. A bit long, but worth a look. More violence and sexual innuendo than they would ever allow today on a children’s program. Every Halloween fan should watch this at least once.
  
• Walking Dead (2012) I also watched a number of season 2 episodes of the AMC marathon along with the fantastic Season 3 premiere. I highly recommend watching this show and reading the comic books too.

And if you are thinking about watching a Freddy or Jason movie, here’s a Monster Men episode dedicated to those two horror icons to help you choose wisely.

Stay tuned for more horror picks as the frenzy rolls on.  
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My favorite number from Mad Monster Party

Evil Dead 2: Dead By Dawn Trailer

Monster Men Ep. 28: Horror Books Not to Miss From Samhain Publishing

In this episode of Monster Men, we celebrate the release of Hunter Shea's latest novella, Swamp Monster Massacre. It's his ode to the Skunk Ape, sometimes referred to as Bigfoot's southern cousin. This one promises to be a fun ride. 

Then we review some of the other books you'll find at Samhain Horror. Samhain has an exciting and upcoming group of authors that is well worth discovering. Writers like Brian Moreland, Russell James, Frazer Lee, David Bernstein, Damien Walters Grintalis, Kristopher Rufty and W.D. Gagliani.

If you are looking for some original, quality horror instead of the usual mainstream drivel, you have come to the write place. 

Check them out at www.samhainhorror.com

Halloween Fright Flick Frenzy

It’s October and that means it’s officially Halloween season. One of the things Hunter Shea, my Monster Men podcast partner, and I like to do is watch as many horror movies as we can all month.

One of the fun aspects of this is watching a wide variety of films from the old classics to those brutally graphic slasher flicks from the seventies… and everything in between. It's amazing to see the fluctuation of tone, quality and subject matter from era to era and film to film.

Here’s a list of what I have seen so far along with a short review.

• A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors - My favorite Elm Street movie. Great kills, lots of humor and Freddy's best one liners.
• Session 9 - Filmed at the Danvers State Mental Hospital, the creepiest, real life location for a movie. A hidden gem worth finding.
• Cabin in the Woods - A love letter to horror fans and Joss Whedon fans alike. An original, humorous and incredibly entertaining movie with nods to all the great films that inspired it.
• Piranha (2010) - A silly but fun romp. Blood and bikinis. Turn off your brain and enjoy.
• The Woman in Black - Harry Potter goes horror. A great throwback to the old Hammer flicks and a genuinely creepy ghost story.
• Night of the Living Dead: Reanimated -  Over 100 hundred artists collaborate to animate George Romero's classic film. Tough to sit through the whole thing, but very interesting. 
• Dracula (1931 - Bela Lugosi) - I always make it a point to watch one of the Universal Monster Movies. This year it was the Count's turn. Was reminded just how nutty Renfield was.
• I Spit on Your Grave - The feel good movie of 1979. The classic, brutal revenge flick that has aged, but still packs a punch. Not for the squeamish.
• Cannibal Holocaust - The feel good movie of 1980. Also the mother of "found footage" movies. If you think I Spit on Your Grave is rough, wait until you see this one.
• The Mummy (1959 – Hammer) - Stalk like an Egyptian. Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing's take on the classic monster. The image of the Mummy rising from the swamp is worth the price of admission. Two mums up.
  

I’ll keep updating the site as I continue my Halloween Fright Flick Frenzy. Also, recently Hunter and I started using the hashtag #terrortober on Twitter to track and review our selections. Check it out and feel free to join in.