Wednesday, October 31, 2012

It's Halloween!

Can't believe it is already Halloween!


Enjoy some randomness
to celebrate the big day!

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October goes by too fast!


This quote, from Ray Bradbury in Reader's Digest in 1975, sums it up so well.
Thank you to The Skull & Pumpkin for posting it.

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Party time with a
Halloween Light Show!


Thanks to The Daily What

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Michael Myers does the heavy lifting today,
so Jason is enjoying a coffee break.


coffee break Jason by Le Capitan Tanaka

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Speaking of Mr. Myers,


The Night He Came Home

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Here is a quote I love from Halloween,
which I made with yarn on plastic canvas:


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My daughter wrote this in anticipation of Halloween:

"Every night, the old teddy bear in the back of your bedroom closet wakes up and comes forward. He pushes the closed closet door open just a crack and watches you sleep for the entire night. When you wake up suddenly in the middle of the night, for reasons unknown, it's because you felt his blank marble eyes on you. His only movements are his slow, slight, stitched-on grin and his soft, plush grip tightening minutely on the edge of the door as he watches you. All night. Every night. He just wants to be with you again. 

Happy almost Halloween."

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Anyway, enough dilly-dallying!

Get out there and enjoy the day!


Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Tricked Out Halloween Treats

When I was a kid, my mom was into cake decorating.
She made some amazing cakes and had a few of the Wilton Cake books.
We'd go through them, cover to cover, admiring the amazing works of art
made using cake and frosting with a few plastic decorations.

This is from one of the books she had, which I read often.

Thanks to Neato Coolville for posting this.
Go there for more on Wilton cakes!

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Here are ten cakes I found that I think are amazing!

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 via Handfulofrubies on Flickr

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Hope you have enjoyed these!
Now I am hungry! LOL

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Want more?
Just do a Google search, there are tons of awesome
Halloween and Horror cakes out there!

If any of these links are wrong,
just email or comment and I will correct it.

Monday, October 29, 2012

So Pretty - A Horror Short Film



"A Halloween fright fest. Vampires in the modern world. What would it
really be like? Take a trip on the night train in this short film
produced for Stage 5 TV and find out why the cursed don't sparkle.

Al Lougher is a British writer, director and photographer currently
living in Miami and has produced and directed many music videos and
short films as well as corporate videos and commercials. Al won an
award in 2001 for his short "I Am Peter Cushing" and is currently
working on a feature to shoot and debut in 2013."


Thanks to Neatorama for the heads up on this great short.

Sunday, October 28, 2012

The First Halloween - Nativity Set

So happy this arrived in time for Halloween!

Several months ago, I joined in a Kickstarter program
for a great Halloween product,

The First Halloween - Nativity Set 2 - Electric Boogaloo!
by Tim & Kurt

Here is a pic of our set, all displayed:


Included are:

Frankenstein and his Bride
Baby Dracula in his little coffin
The Three Wise Zombies
The Wolfman
The Mummy
A Gargoyle
2 Demon Dogs
The Crypt
A Full Moon with Clouds!

Here's a pic from the website:


I love it!

For more information and pics,

Saturday, October 27, 2012

13 Friday the 13th Victims I Would Have Saved!

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Other blogs have done this over the years, but I haven't... until now!

I am going to pick a victim from each of the Friday the 13th films
that I would have liked to have lived to see the sun rise over Crystal Lake.

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Friday the 13th (1980)

Marcie (Jeannine Taylor)


Marcie was just cute and fun -
and did a pretty good Kate Hepburn impression -
and it was such a sad loss to see her
meet her end via Mrs. Voorhees' big axe!

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Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981)

Tie for this one:

Alice Hardy (Adrienne King)


I would have loved for Alice to have survived.
Why bring her back for this sequel just to off her in the opening?
Would have been great to get an F13 20 years later film, like Halloween H20,
where Alice returns years later to face down her demons.

&

Crazy Ralph (Walt Gorney)


Alas, poor Crazy Ralph, ye went too fast!
We only get him in the first two flicks, and that is not nearly enough.
Would have loved for Ralph to have been a recurring character for years.

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Friday the 13th Part III (1982)

Andy (Jeffrey Rogers)


Look out, Andy!
I chose him because I thought he was fun and free-spirited.
And he was a good friend to Shelly,
who sometimes really did not deserve it.

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Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984)

Rob Dier (Erich Anderson)


Rob was a good guy!
He was at Crystal Lake to avenge his sister's murder.
She was Sandra, who was killed in Part 2.
Rob was resourceful and was kind to Tommy.
And he worried for Trish's safety
AS he was being killed by Jason.

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Friday the 13th: A New Beginning (1985)

George (Vernon Washington)


He was Reggie's kind grandfather, the man
who was raising the young boy when no one else would.
He didn't deserve to die at the hand's of a Jason impostor.

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Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives! (1986)

Cort (Tom Fridley)


Cort was just wicked cool to me back in '86.
He was confident and fun and the kind of teenager I wanted to be.

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Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood (1988)

Maddy (Diana Barrows)


Poor Maddy.
She overcame her self-image issues and gave herself a 
makeover, determined to change her luck with the dudes.
Unfortunately, she chose the night she was to run into Jason.

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Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan (1989)

Colleen Van Deusen (Barbara Bingham)


All this good-hearted teacher wanted to do was help
her students have a good time on their graduation cruise,
and to maybe help Rennie overcome her problems.
When she needs help out of the police car about to explode?
Yeah, no one helps.

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Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday (1993)

Vicki (Allison Smith)


Vicki was a good friend, trying to clean up Diana's murder scene
before her friend Jessica walked in to see it.
She also watched over Jessica's baby for her, and when
"Jason" descended on the diner, Vicki stepped up and did her
damnedest to stop him, only to be killed in the process.

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Jason X (2001)

Janessa (Melyssa Ade)


Janessa was the wise-ass, smart-aleck, not-quite-bad
yet not-quite-good girl from the future.
And it really sucked when we lost her.

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Freddy vs Jason (2003)

Charlie Linderman (Chris Marquette)


Linderman was the nerdy kid who had trouble talking to girls.
But just when he started to find his self-confidence and
make some small progress with Kia, he ends up in the middle
of a war between Freddy and Jason!

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Friday the 13th (2009)

Jenna (Danielle Panabaker)


You know what they say, if it wasn't for bad luck,
Jenna wouldn't have had any luck!
First off, her boyfriend is Trent. Ugh.
Second, she goes off with Clay to help him find his sister
and what does she get in return?
Skewered by Jason!

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Let me know in the comments if you agree or have different choices!



Friday, October 26, 2012

F13:TS 25 - Hellowe'en



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Episode Recap #5: Hellowe'en

Original Airdate: October 31, 1987

Starring:
John D. LeMay as Ryan Dallion
Louise Robey as Micki Foster
Chris Wiggins as Jack Marshak

Guest cast:
R.G. Armstrong as Lewis Vendredi
Adrienne Pocock as Greta
Victoria Deslaurier as Evil Greta
David Matheson as Larry
Alan Watt as Howard

Written by Bill Taub
Directed by Timothy Bond

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We open on kids trick-or-treating, telling us it is Halloween!

Micki is in her room, putting the finishing touches on her amazing witch costume. We see someone is watching her. Micki hears a noise and moves the dressing screen to find a ghost-like creature sitting motionless. She touches the thing and it falls, freaking her out. Ryan rushes in and the creature laughs. He is a friend of Ryan's, helping him play a prank on Micki.

Micki is upset and still not thrilled with the idea of having a party at the store. Ryan, dressed as Robin Hood, I guess, believes it is a great idea and invited many people from the neighborhood to help the store's image. Seems everyone around was terrified of Lewis and what went on there in the past. Micki is worried about having strangers in the store. Ryan says he made a sign to keep people away from the vault.

Jack, dressed as Merlin, is having fun performing magic tricks for the guests. Ryan hopes the guest, and Micki, will be scared enough to let their hair down and just have fun. Larry and another guest slip downstairs. Seems Larry has always wanted to see what lay beneath the store. He ignores Ryan's "keep out" sign and soon enough they are close to the vault and Jack's assortment of occult items.

A guest is talking with Jack, saying how he saw things at the store that made him vow never to return. But he is impressed with how things have changed. Jack starts a Tarot card reading for the guests as Larry and his buddy continue to snoop around. Larry turns off the power to scare everyone, but when he goes to turn it back on, the fuses short out. Jack continues to calm the guests.

In the basement, Larry sees Jack's crystal ball glowing. Goofing around, he mockingly calls to the spirits of the night. The ball reacts to his words and they decide to leave just as Ryan comes down, scolding the pair for intruding. He gets the lights back on, then hears a noise in the basement. He sees the crystal ball glowing, now accompanied by and eerie mist and the sound of someone breathing. He rushes back upstairs.

Ryan tells Jack and Micki about the crystal ball right before a strange wind blows through the store. Part of the ceiling falls in and the wind grows more intense. Guests flee out the front door and Ryan locks it behind them. We hear the sound of galloping horses as the wind dies down. Jack tells Ryan to draw a pentagram and has Micki get his bag while he retrieves his crystal ball.

Jack says Ryan's friends accidentally threw out a psychic line and hooked something from beyond. He says Halloween is no kid's game, it is the one night of the year the spirits of the dead can roam the Earth with freedom. A Jack-o-Lantern on a shelf explodes as the eerie noise increases. Jack uses a spell to drive the spirit out fo the store and it appears to work. Ryan says they need a drink and Micki goes to help him.

Great costumes! Micki is no wart-wearing witch!

Jack hears a knock at the door and we see a black cat with a jewel-studded collar jump from a pumpkin out front. When Jack opens the door to investigate, he sees a little girl crying. She says she got seperated from her mother and is lost. Jack says he will see her home and they go off down the sidewalk.

Inside, Micki and Ryan come down with Halloween punch but can't find Jack. He is still walking with the girl, however he thinks they have gone too far. She insists her home is close by and pulls him along. Micki goes through Jack's bag, looking for ways to help in case the strange, supernatural wind returns. Ryan scoffs at her, but soon enough they hear it return, along with a strange, breathing sound.

Jack thinks the girl is playing a Halloween prank on him, but she pulls him along, further away from the store.

Micki and Ryan are frightened by the noise when a mist appears, quickly forming the ghostly form of their dead Uncle Lewis. The pair back away from the spectre, scared. He says he isn't their to harm them, he can't even touch them. Ryan says Lewis has done enough damage, not only tonight, but also since his actions have them chasing down cursed antiques from now until doomsday. Lewis says he is sorry and that he wants to pay for his sins. He says tonight, he has a chance to make ammend, that he has come back to undo the curse. Ryan and Micki look at him, skeptical.

The young girl leads Jack into an alley where he suddenly trapped by iron bars. The girl transforms into a little person whom Jack seems to recognize as someone connected to Lewis.

No treat here, Lewis is back to his old tricks!

Micki and Ryan are wary of their uncle, since they thought curses were forever. He says no, he can undo, but he has only until dawn. He needs their help though, and wants to start with his greatest sin: the murder of his wife. He waves a hand and a wall of shelves in the store moves to reveal a secret room.

Trapped in the alley, Jack searches for a way out.

In the secret room, Micki and Ryan find a fire burning in the fireplace and a woman laying on a bed, dead. Lewis says she is Grace, his wife. He says he killed her, not with his hands, but with his ambition and greed. He tells them he needs something from the vault to free her soul, the Amulet of Zohar. Ryan is reluctant to bring him anything from the one place the items are safe. Lewis begs them, for Grace's sake. If they help him, he will end the curse.  Micki and Ryan decide, for Grace's sake, to get the Amulet.

Jack berates himself for being a fool when two young guys drive up, looking for some Halloween fun.

Micki, holding the Amulet from the vault, says she is surprised Lewis isn't a monster. Ryan thinks Jack would say to give Lewis the Amulet, believing they have nothing to lose since Lewis can't even touch them.

Back in the secret room, Lewis tells Micki to hold the Amulet next to Grace. But it suddenly glows and Lewis is transformed into a flesh-and-blood human again. He grabs the Amulet and rushes out of the room, waving his hand to lock Micki and Ryan inside. He says he has something to attend to and meets Greta, the little person who tricked Jack, in the garage. They get in the car and leave the store.

At the alley, the men continue to mock Jack, who begins goading the pair. They want to hit him, but can't reach him, so they decide to get chains from their truck.

Micki continues screaming for help, but Ryan tells her to knock it off, since no one is out there. They hate that they fell for Lewis' scam. They look for a way out of the secret room.

The men use their chain and truck to bend the bars of the alley cage. Jack slips out of the opening but before the men can beat him up, he uses his magic to vanish.

Micki and Ryan find a vent to crawl through, escaping the room. Back in the store, they realize Lewis has left and Micki goes to one of Jack's books to look up the Amulet of Zohar. She tries to translate and it seems that the Amulet can help Lewis transfer his spirit into a recently dead body. Ryan finds a list of mortuaries in the phone book and runs to get the car, but finds Lewis took it. Micki leaves a note for Jack as the pair head out to find their uncle.

Greta is a creepy demon. Hope the gang put her necklace in the vault.

At the mortuary, Lewis and Greta view the bodies in the freezer, finding they have all died violent deaths and are therefore unsuitable for Lewis' plan.

Rushing back to the store, Jack manages to evade a persistant group of trick-or-treaters. Micki and Ryan make their way to the mortuary and spot their car out front. Just then, a hearse arrives with a new body. Lewis and Greta come out and greet the driver, smashing him over the head with a wooden crate when he questions what they are doing. They bring the fresh corpse inside. Micki and Ryan break into the mortuary and search for Lewis.

Jack arrives home and finds the note. He gathers up some of his supernatural items and heads out after the group.

Back at the mortuary, Micki and Ryan watch as Lewis and Greta begin some occult ceremony, having placed the body in the middle of pentagram with candles lit around the circle. They formulate a plan to stop Lewis. Micki goes and distracts Greta, causing the small demon to chase her through the building. Ryan uses the diversion to slip in and try and get the amulet from Lewis. Micki is caught by the demon Greta and put under a spell, levitating in the air and into a wooden coffin. Ryan attempts to tackle Lewis, but the man merely tosses his nephew away. Ryan runs out and is caught by Greta, put under a spell and into a coffin, like Micki.

Jack continues to rush to the mortuary.

Greta locks the pair in the wooden coffins and send them down the conveyor belt to the crematorium furnace. Lewis continues his ritual with the Amulet.

Jack finally arrives and slips inside the building. He looks around and finds Lewis and Greta working their spell with the dead body. Unnoticed, he slips out to find the others. Just in time, he finds the room with the furnace and pushes the coffin off the belt. Micki stumbles out, still in a trance. He slaps her, waking her finally. Ryan yells from the other coffin and the get him out, as well. Jack says they can't stop Lewis, but they can slow him down enough to make it to sunrise before he finishes.

Ryan and Micki cause a commotion to get Greta away from Lewis, which works. She runs after the pair.

Jack slips into the room and Lewis says he has been waiting for him to arrive. Jack tells Lewis it is too late, he has made his bed and no he has to lie in it. Lewis says Hell is horrible, he dies there, over and over, and he won't go back. Jack isn't frightened by his old friend and begins his own incantations as Lewis tries to continue his spell to transfer his soul into the dead body.

Micki and Ryan continue to try and escape the demon, running around the mortuary as she tries to attack them, tossing items about. A chair smashes into the electrical panel and Greta trips and falls, impaling herself on a sharp piece of the broken chair. She gasps and then vanishes, leaving behind just the jeweled necklace.

They rush back to Jack and Lewis and find Jack is exhausted almost all his strength keeping Lewis at bay. Lewis thinks he has beat them, and Jack says it is too late, the sunrise is coming. Lewis says there is still two minutes on the clock. But Micki opens the window, telling Lewis the clock has stopped. Micki pushes the shutters open, letting the sunlight in. Lewis screams as he slowly vanishes away into nothing. Jack says Lewis certainly can make an exit.

As the clean up the store later that day, Jack says he is amazed he never knew there was a secret room there. Micki asks how much of Lewis' story was true. Jack says some of it. Lewis was married to a woman named Grace, but she was never in that room. Grace died and was buried and he lost a good friend, that she was a wonderful woman. He reminices and describes Grace's beauty. When he sees them watching him, he stops. They ask how well he knew her and he says better than he ought to have, but not as much as he wished.

Ryan says he just wants to rest and is glad Halloween only comes once a year. But Jack reminds them that in two weeks it will be Friday the 13th!

Wonderfully framed shot of our trio at the store!

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My thoughts:

A great Halloween episode for a great horror show!

First off, I love that we get Lewis back for the Halloween episode - just perfect! We also get trick-or-treaters, costumes, Halloween decor, a party, a demon, dead bodies, spells - what more can you ask for!

I love the scene when they first meet Lewis and Ryan berates the old man for the fact that they now have to spend their lives getting back all the antiques he cursed. Damn right, Ryan - I'd be angry, too! But when their uncle offers them a way to undo the curse, adding the bonus of helping poor Grace's soul, they can resist. It would make their lives so much better if it was all just undone in one fell swoop. Naive? Yes, but remember, this is still fairly early on in their time at the store. After tonight, they learn just how much they can trust Lewis. As in, not at all.

Also like how Jack is willing to help the girl get home, but grows more and more suspicious the further they get.

Having the black cat become the girl and then transforming into Greta was great yet subtle. And it makes sense that someone like Lewis, so involved in the occult, would have a familiar. Love when Jack recognizes her, too. Some back story there we don't get to learn!

When Lewis and Greta are searching the morgue and finding all the bodies that met violent deaths, I had to wonder just how many were there because of some other antique Lewis let loose on the world.

Oh, and after the Halloween party gone horrible awry, will anyone from the neighborhood ever go into Curious Goods again?

The backstory of Lewis' wife Grace, and how Jack seems to have been quite close with her, begs to be shows as a prequel episode, to when Jack and Lewis were younger. We never get that, but it is quite intriguing.

Love the bit at the end, where Jack says Friday the 13th is in two weeks! He almost smiles at the camera!

The Obscure Hollow did a post on this episode. Check it out for many more pics!

Next week: "The Great Montarro"

Thursday, October 25, 2012

Scientific Explanations for Zombies

Want to know what's going on with your Zombie?

Tim Verstynen and Bradley Voytek of the Zombie Research Society
narrate this video helping to explain why a zombie is a zombie.



Thanks to Boing Boing for the heads up on this!

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Dumb Scenes in Horror Movies

Here are a couple of scenes from horror films I think are just stupid.

WARNING
Horror movie scenes.
Watch at your own risk!
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In Halloween: Resurrection, there are lots of scenes to shake your head at.
Here, Freddie Harris (Busta Rhymes) thinks he is berating
his crewman dressed as Michael Myers.
But it is the real Michael he is yelling at.
And what plays out is beyond stupid:


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The outhouse scene/serenade from
Friday the 13th Part 5: A New Beginning:


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Two I couldn't find YouTube clips for:

Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers,
the scenes with the two cops who are played for comedic effect -
complete with zany musical cues.
WTF?

and

Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan,
the next-to-final scene, where nightly the New York City
sewers are flooded with deadly toxic waste.
Waste which transforms Jason from a horribly disfigured adult
zombie-man into a non-disfigured young boy.
Yeah.

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So, do you have a scene that makes you cringe or
leaves you shaking your head in disbelief?

Let me know in the comments!

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Psycho Killer Arts and Crafts Time!

Here are four horror movie killers I made using plastic canvas and yarn,
from patterns by Reis O'Brien at Lair of the Dork Horde

Freddy Krueger
A Nightmare on Elm Street

Jason Voorhees
Friday the 13th

Michael Myers
Halloween

Leatherface
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre

Monday, October 22, 2012

Horror Houses

Houses from horror TV shows and movies!


The Addams' mansion
The Addams Family
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Curious Goods storefront
Friday the 13th: The Series
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Nancy's home
A Nightmare on Elm Street
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The barn
Friday the 13th: Part 3
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Hill House
The Haunting
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Haddonfield Memorial Hospital
Halloween II
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1313 Mockingbird Lane
The Munsters
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The Myers' home
Halloween
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The Bates' home
Psycho
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Jason's shack
Friday the 13th Part 2
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The farmhouse
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
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Frankenstein Castle
Young Frankenstein
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The sorority house
Black Christmas
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The Lutz home
The Amityville Horror
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The Deetz home
Beetlejuice
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The Ulman house
The House of the Devil
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The Cobb home
House (1986)
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The Freeling home
Poltergeist
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