Zombos' Closet of Horror Blog

23 Hours A Vengeful Vampire In Maximum Security

Knives. Always with the knives. Half-deads loved knives, hatchets, cleavers, anything sharp. This was a hunting knife, six inches long and painted green--so the white-tailed deer wouldn't see it glint when you pulled it out in the woods--and had a nasty serrated edge and a wicked curved point. The half-dead brandished it with obvious pleasure and stepped inside the cell.

Laura Caxton, David Wellington's vampire-hunting Special Subjects Unit agent, is neck-deep in it again in 23 Hours: A Vengeful Vampire Tale. Not only is her vengeful nemesis Justinia Malvern, the world's oldest vampire (with decrepitude to match her age), looking to put the bite on her for good, she also has to deal with being locked up in maximum security while dozens of half-deads, those killed by Malvern and revitalized to do her bidding, take over the penitentiary. Complicating things further, Clara Hsu, Caxton's lover, turns up just in time to become a hostage, and persausive bargaining chip, for Malvern. With a jailhouse cliffhanger-styled pace and Caxton backed up against all four walls with only the questionable help from her stimulant-loving celly, Gert, the situation moves from bad to worse and then really bad.

Ponder This: Ludlow Needs Our Help

Stacie Ponder over at Final Girl needs our help...as well as a better watch.

"Alright, people, this is it. As you may well be aware because I won't shut up about it, Ludlow is finished. It's been slapped on a DVD and screened for some friends. In fact, I thought I'd reached a time when it would no longer rule my days and haunt my nights...and I'm sure you all thought you could just watch the f*cking thing and be done with it, right? That's nice, in theory, but...

"See, the final cut of the film turned out to be a whopping 63 minutes. 63 MINUTES, a result that was rather unexpected, to say the least. After all, the script was only 20 pages.

"Now, as you may notice, 63 minutes is quite close to the running time of a feature film, yes? And a wee too long a run time for a comfortable short, yes? Yes. Obviously, this only means one thing: I need to write some more, shoot some more, and make Ludlow longer. I need to expand the elastic waistband on the comfortable short(s) and make this into a feature, which will be easier to get into the grubby mitts of audiences. Stronger, faster, better!

"Shannon Lark (ze star) will be back here in Los Angeles in early August. Once more, we're going to truck out into the Mojave Desert and, barring any typical Ludlow-related shenanigans, we're gonna finish this puppy.

"Here's where you come in, o dear reader. We need to raise funds to complete our arduous task. Travel, lodging, FX, these all need to be covered, so we're asking for donations.

"Donate $10 and your name gets in the credits of the film. The person who donates the most by Friday, August 7th will also receive a 16" x 20" painting by me, subject matter of the donor's choosing."

Permuted Press Zombifies Pocket Books

News Flash...The undead will be reaching into everyone's pockets soon...Is there no stopping them!

Anthony Ziccardi, Vice President and Associate Publisher of Pocket Books, has announced a new co-publishing venture with Permuted Press, best known for horror, dark fantasy and science fiction novels . The seven book deal was brokered by Marc Gerald at the Agency Group. The books will be Zombie focused, with the first release, Day by Day Armageddon by J.L. Bourne, slated for October 2009.

Titles to be included in the joint venture are:

* Day by Day Armageddon and sequel by J.L. Bourne
* Plague of the Dead by Z.A. Recht
* Dying to Live by Kim Paffenroth (member of The League of Tana Tea Drinkers)
* Down the Road by Bowie Ibarra
* Empire by David Dunwoody
* The Zombie Chronicles: Escape by James Melzer

“I am excited to be the pioneer author for the Pocket Books and Permuted Press joint publishing venture. Horror fans are in for an absolute thrill and can expect to enjoy bold, fresh and riveting fiction as a result of this project. The journey with Permuted Press has been a great success and I know that success will be further enhanced as we shift gears into a new and exciting relationship with Pocket Books. Keep your doors locked!”--J.L. Bourne

Jacob Kier, Publisher, Permuted Press, said “I couldn't be more excited about teaming up with Pocket Books to bring some of Permuted's most exciting and thought-provoking tales of the end of the world to a larger audience.”

“We are thrilled to have the opportunity to work with Permuted Press and expand their very successful brand.” Said Anthony Ziccardi. “We feel the horror genre and zombies in particular, will be a growing category at retail. Even Hollywood seems to be focused on zombie tales and we feel that we are well positioned to capitalize on this trend.”

Summer Slaughter Horror Film Festival

Summer Slaughter
Horror Film Festival in Chicago!

"Oh yes, its time once again for another round of blood curdling, gut wrenching Independent Horror on the big screen. This time around its Summer Slaughter! Slashers, Psychos, and Serial Killers! We are showcasing some of the best indie slashers out there.

July 11th, 2009 at the historic Portage Theater
4050 N. Milwaukee, Chicago, IL

Doors Open at 4:30pm
Films begin at 5:15pm

"This time around its Summer Slaughter, featuring the best slashers, psychos, sickos, and serial killer filled movies that you will ever see!

"This summer you will witness some of the best special effects in the indie horror world. Horror Society is bringing you film festivals every 3 months in the City of Chicago, and in July we will be bringing you blood filled hours of Independent Underground Horror. We will have vendors, guests, giveaways, trailers, and more!

We will be featuring the world premiere of SERIAL: Amoral Uprising followed by a Q&A with the cast and crew of this new and disturbing film!!"

• Get bruised, cut up, and slashed by Makeup Artist Colleen Jones
• Grab your picture with our Serial Killer Photo Op
• There will also be a free raffle and contests with some brand new Official Halloween 2 Posters and Midnight Syndicate CDs

Lowdown on Mr. Lobo

These days, it is hard to pin the popular Mr. Lobo down. What with his involvement in one of the upcoming Plan 9 From Outer Space remakes (believe it or not, there are two remakes in the works), hosting of the documentary Virginia Creepers: The Horror Host Tradition of the Old Dominion, and his incessant verve as he guides us through all those bad movies we just misunderstand on Cinema Insomnia, I was lucky to get a few questions in edgewise. Of course, the first thing I had to know was how Miss Mittens, his houseplant, was doing...

I must ask you, how is Miss Mittens doing these days?

She's working with a private gardener and her leaves have "filled out"...she's looking better.

She's was transferred to a new planter after getting out of rehab. She also still has some personal problems that she's working out. She blames me for a lot of it. We're spending some "time apart". We almost thought she wasn't coming back to the show as my co-host. She wants to come back to work. To her credit she's willing to set that aside our differences for the sake of the show. She doesn't want to negatively effect the 10th Anniversary stuff and the new syndicated season.

Eye on the Prize

It was bound to happen sooner or later; some editor somewhere, reaching for his tenth cup of coffee in the dead of night spills it all over the towering slush pile of submissions. As he grabs a bunch of paper from the pile to wipe up the mess, his eye is caught by my superlative prose and cheeky wit and bingo!

Luck? Skill? Taking advantage of an overly-tired editor? Who knows. I'm now officially a soon-to-be-published author, typos and all. I've cleared my drawer space for the looming rejection slips to come.

My first professional submission, Terror Train: Masculinity Certain, Gender Unknown, will appear in the upcoming anthology, Butcher Knives and Body Counts: Essays on the Formula, Frights, and Fun of the Slasher Film.

Dark Scribe Press is the publisher. Their Unspeakable Horror: From the Shadows of the Closet anthology of short fiction snagged a 2009 Bram Stoker award. So they seem to know what they're doing.

I just hope they send the check before they come to their senses.

What Lives on Zoc's Desk Kong, Teddy, and More

There is always something endlessly waiting for attention in my attic office, or sitting, sadly neglected, on my cluttered desk, or just collecting dust; so let's see what's interesting today, shall we?

I found this bust of King Kong irresistible when I came across it at my favorite comic shop, 4th World Comics, recently. It is not elegant, nor is it an exemplary piece of sculpting, but it still charmed me enough to snatch it up, even though it is not accurate: the flared nostrils and eyes are more Mighty Joe Young than King Kong, and the forehead is too small for either of them. But I like it nonetheless. It is heavy, made in Thailand, and, according to the sticker on the bottom, licensed by Turner Home Entertainment.

Christopher Zenga at The Day After has an artistic thing going for zombears. While I am not a big teddy bear fan in general--sure, stick some neck bolts on it, paint it green, and put a sound chip that growls in it and I am hooked--I am a big fan of his work. Here's a print of one of his pieces, Tedd the Ripper, which I purchased a while back. Eventually I will have it framed, but eventually I will do everything I plan, eventually, to do.

His art is unpretentious, fun, and captures the essence of both teddy and monstrous character in charcoal grays or fairly muted colors. It would be interesting to see his illustrations captured in plush. Too many zombears and frightful teddies padding around on store shelves are either bleeding, blotched with puss, or wielding chainsaws. Zenga's more restrained approach keeps it fun and whimsical. Not all horror needs to be horrible, you know.

As you can see in the photo, I keep Tedd the Ripper next to Cousin Huet. And as you all know, he certainly did do it. Cousin Huet loved to wear his top hat, too. We buried him in it, though it was a tight fit.

This DeJur projector is one of my cherished treasures still remaining from childhood. As I grow older, I find myself thinking about those days more and more, which, for me, were in the 1960's. Back then--

Editor's ALERT! The following stroll down memory lane may be unsuitable for children under the age of thirty, and anyone who grew up with video, DVD, downloadable audio, CDs, NetFlix, Amazon.com, eBay, WalMart, Best Buy, King Kullen, 90210, and Twitter. It may contain prolonged scenes of maudlin nostalgia, violent tearful reminiscences, unsuitable "good old day" dialog, and questionable recollections.

--the only way to watch a movie when you wanted to was with a projector and an 8mm or 16mm Castle Film. Sure, they were abbreviated versions of classic (and not so classic) movies, but like seeing those first flickering magic lantern images projected onto walls, drapes, and wisps of smoke, it was special and thrilling and empowering to possess and watch Frankenstein or Dracula or The Wolf Man on a Saturday night, after the pool hall or bowling alley had closed, with your friends. Toss in a a bag of White Castle slyders and there you had it; more fun than watching goofy and overweight Wipeout contestants repeatedly bounce off big red rubber balls, head first, for a chance to win a measly fifty grand. With DVDs a dime a dozen these days, and digital downloads at your fingertips, it is just not so special anymore.

Wipeout just started! Got to go!

It's Not Halloween Yet But It Will Do Anyway 2nd Halloween Contest!

No Trick or Treat? Still tap those feet! It's time again for some really good treats!

Sure, it's not Halloween yet. No whiffs of candy corn, scent of creepy rubber masks, or sting of moonlit, chalk-filled, sock fights; instead, it is hot, steamy and sneezy, and too long a time, and depressing a wait, until the coolness of Autumn whips across your face again. So to get you out of the I-can't-wait-until-Fall doldrums, let's have a It's Not Halloween Yet But It Will Do Anyway Halloween Contest!

But what's the price? You must play a game. First, you must correctly answer the following devilishly difficult questions to win one of three splendidly horrifying prizes. Second, you must email those answers to me, whereupon I will place your name in the Skull o'Chance and perform the voodoo ritual of whatgotcha by the bright light of the morning sun. If the crow caws once, twice, or thrice, as I call your name out loud, so shall you win accordingly.

But is it worth it? Judge for yourself. I promise to make it worth your while. But you must do it quickly or live in regret for the rest of your life.

But beware, you have until July 29th, and you must be over 18 to enter, or else! Winners will be announced August 1st.

FIRST PRIZE -- Zombies, Gore, and More

• Tokyo Gore Police DVD
• Zombie Diaries DVD
• Experiments in Terror 3 DVD
• The Living Dead DVD (9 movies, 3 discs)
• Flight of the Living Dead DVD
• Slither DVD

SECOND PRIZE -- Superheroes and Adventurers (courtesy of Universal Studios!)

• The Incredible Hulk (Edward Norton version) DVD
• The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (Deluxe Edition)DVD
• Flash Gordon (Saviour of the Universe Edition) DVD

THIRD PRIZE -- Big Hairy Ape

• King Kong: Peter Jackson's Production Diaries DVD set
• King Kong (1933) 2-Disc Collector's Edition in Tin DVD set

Here are the questions:

1. Who said "A boy's best friend is his mother?"
2. In which film is the line "You're gonna need a bigger boat" heard in?
3. In which film is the line "You're telling me that I should take my daughter to a witch doctor? Is that it?" heard in?
4. In which film is the line "I've seen enough horror movies to know any weirdo wearing a mask is never friendly" heard in?

Bubbling Under

Matt Compton of Nefarious Films is shamelessly looking for your vote on his Bubbling Under short film, a tale of love, desperation, and most frightening of all, job-hunting. I cast mine, so check out the film and cast yours if you have a mind to.

The film is running in Film London’s Best of Boroughs competition and features Axelle Carolyn – shortly to be seen in The Descent 2, Blood and Roses and Centurion, and writer of It Lives Again: Horror Movies in the New Millenium.

"This is the first time a horror short has been included in the Best of Boroughs so it would be fantastic if we won!" Watch and vote here: http://www.filmlondon.org.uk/film_productions_details.asp?FilmID=4

Voting closes June 29th.

Night of the Living Dead Reanimated Poster

Art is dead... yeah, it's all messed up...

"Wild Eye Releasing is pleased to announce the release of the first TEASER POSTER art for the upcoming video art gallery experience Night of the Living Dead: REANIMATED in anticipation of the project's official DVD release in Winter 2009.

"Organizer/Curator of the project, Mike Schneider, designed the poster as a small glimpse into the dozens of styles on display in the project, which features over 100 artists from around the world. Working from the same source, George Romeros’ original Night of the Living Dead, each artist has taken scenes and 'reanimated' them through processes ranging from CGI to puppetry and oil paintings to tattoos. This creates a new viewing experience of a timeless classic."

OFFICIAL WEBSITE
http://www.notldr.com

TRAILER #3:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jeUn6CiJtVk

HIGH RES ART JPG:
http://www.notldr.com/last.jpg

WILD EYE RELEASING:
www.wildeyereleasing.com

Classic Horror's Ten Years and Counting

Nate Yapp over at Classic Horror is celebrating ten years of mayhem, terror, and sleaze with a new site design and more...

"Here we are, ten crazy years after a naïve sixteen-year-old started the website that would eventually become Classic-Horror.com. Back then, I just wanted a corner of the Internet to express my half-formed opinions on the genre that I loved. I had no idea that it would still be here ten years later or that it would take me to all the places it has taken me. I have no interest in rehashing the past decade, though. I would like to say that I am deeply grateful to the friends, family, writers, and readers who have helped make Classic-Horror what it is today.

"Over the next few weeks, we'll be running a few special features to celebrate this momentous occasion. However, the first thing you've probably already noticed is that we've changed our look. I wanted to give Classic-Horror.com a touch more visual pizazz, ensure the organization of the site was intuitive, and make the site overall easier to use and enjoy. I think I've succeeded."

Indeed. Happy Birthday Classic Horror!

Monster Mutt Shoots This July

Hollywood maven Scott Essman sends along this information on the upcoming Monster Mutt...

Writer-director Todd Tucker is slated to direct Monster Mutt, a family comedy following the exploits of a family dog, Max. Starring Brian Stepanek, Rhianna Leigh Wryn and Zack Ward, chaos ensues after an evil corporation tests their new energy drink on the lovable dog, which quickly begins transforming into the Monster Mutt. Harvey Lowry will produce as Green Pictures’ third film. Production will begin shooting in July in association with Seth William Meier’s Burnside Entertainment. Tucker and Lowry’s combined efforts of Academy Award-winning Drac Studios (Watchmen, Night at the Museum; Battle of the Smithsonian, and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button) will be providing all special effects.

Casting has begun with industry veteran Mary Jo Slater. The script was written by Timothy Dolan based on a story by Todd Tucker. The director of photography is Yaron Levy who shot Night of the Demons last year with Harvey Lowry and the Drac Studios team.

Raimi Returns to the Dead

By Scott Essman

Sam Raimi's career is nothing if not wildly dichotomous. The cult Michigan director started in the late 1970s with his underground classic short Within the Woods which led to his first feature, Evil Dead, in 1981. That film was renowned for its unrelenting violence, fast cutting, shaky camera, and no-holds-barred approach to horror. Coming after groundbreakers in low-budget slashers such as Halloween and Friday the 13th, Evil Dead went further with a slightly campier comic eye towards the genre.

Raimi's long-awaited sequel, released six years later, Evil Dead II, had more money and effects work to its name but held onto the same traditions as its predecessor, taking many of the advents of that film to a different higher level of cult comic-horror genius. Then, somehow, Raimi lost his way. Darkman, his attempt at creating an original horror hero in the vein of The Phantom of the Opera, sputtered in its methods, as did a third "dead" film, Army of Darkness, once called Medieval Dead, which lost the edge of the first two Bruce Campbell starrers.

New Wedding for the Monster's Bride

Yeah, I'd scream, too. Risky Biz Blog has a rundown on the--horrors!--remake of the Bride of Frankenstein.

“Bride” has had a series of stops and starts. About five years ago, “American Splendor” scribes Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini were attached to write the screenplay for the Uni/Imagine update. Their concept was to set the picture in contemporary New York, with a young woman dying and then unnaturally brought back to life (Burger’s version is expected to differ significantly from that concept). Jacob Estes, a writer on Spider-Man spinoff “Venom,” also at one point had been attached to write a draft.

Light a torch and storm over to Risky Biz Blog to read more...and be afraid; be very afraid!

Vampire Con 2009 Vamp It Up

Okay, stop looking at her...teeth...and pay attention to this press release. Vampire Con 2009 is winging its way to you August 14-16 in Hollywood...to get your blood boiling.

Vampire-Con 2009, the world’s first convention devoted to everything vampire, has announced its lineup of panel discussions and guests for Sunday, August 16th. The convention swoops into Hollywood, CA for a weekend-long event beginning Friday, August 14th.

Why We Love Vampires: A Brief History of the Undead is a discussion about our recurring cultural obsession with vampires between moderator Steve Biodrowski, editor of Hollywood Gothique and a panel featuring Leslie S. Klinger, editor of The New Annotated Dracula and David J. Skal, author of V Is For Vampire and Draculas, Vampires, And Other Undead Forms.

Things get steamy with Hot Blooded: Vampires & Sexuality, a titillating panel on the allure and sexuality of vampires, discussed by Pam Keesey (author of Dark Angels: Lesbian Vampire Erotica and Daughters Of Darkness: Lesbian Vampire Tales) and
Brian Nolan, David Moretti, Dylan Vox and Peter Stickles from the cast of The Lair, a hot new horror-drama on Here TV about a private gay club run by vampires.

More details about additional panel discussions and guests will be released as available. “Our selection of panel guests and moderators reflects Vampire-Con’s goal to include everyone who has an interest in vampires,” says co-producer Lotti Pharriss Knowles. “This is a subject that has the attention of everyone from literary scholars to pop-culture junkies, and there is something at Vampire-Con for everyone who falls within this spectrum.”

The panel discussions will be held on Sunday, August 16th at The Music Box Theatre @ Fonda in Hollywood, where guests will find their inner-vampire on two floors of vendors, SFX make-up demonstrations and contests. The evening will transition into Vampirella’s ® Ball, a heart-pounding 21 & over danse macabre.

From Dracula to Twilight, Vampires have provided an ageless mythology that taps into our cultural pulse. As new generations become fans, Vampire-Con celebrates these scary and sexy creatures that capture our collective imagination.

For more information, visit www.vampire-con.com.