From Zombos' Closet

LOTT D: Looking Forward To 2010

In this installment, those party-hardy members of The League of Tana Tea Drinkers ponder the vagaries of the future with a simple question: "What are you most looking forward to in 2010?" After they finish the chip and dip of course.

Day of the Woman: What Excites Her In 2010

The film was everything I wanted it to be and the exploding head was just the cherry on top of a perfect theatre experience.

Dinner With Max Jenke: 10 To Watch In '10

In considering what the future holds, it's worth remembering that some of 2009's most exciting films - like District 9 and Paranormal Activity - were completely off the radar right up to prior  their releases. So who knows what (hopefully pleasant) surprises 2010 might deliver?

Freddy In Space: Looking Forward To Conventions

My first thought was what movie i'm most looking forward to this year but this is a pretty broad question and so i'm not gonna go that route. What i'm most looking forward to this year, in terms of the world of horror, is pretty much the same thing I look forward to the most every year - the conventions.

Cinema Fromage: What I'm Vaguely Excited About

Here’s a quick glimpse at a few upcoming horror flicks for 2010 that has this nerd a bit excited!

Monster Land: Looking Forward to 2010's Horror-esque Movies

Now that we’ve entered 2010. it’s time to put together the list of horror-esque films I’m looking forward to in the New Year.

Vault of Horror: Looking Forward To The Walking Dead On TV

Well, I thought long and hard about it, and lo and behold, it turns out that the one thing in horror I'm most looking forward to is not a movie, but a TV show.

Unspeakable Horror: Looking Forward To The Wolf Man

I am most looking forward to the remake of the Wolfman with Benicio del Toro and Anthony Hopkins.  For me, the original Wolfman is a touchstone of the horror genre--not to suggest that it achieved cinematic excellence, but it did achieve far-reaching influence.

Zombos' Closet: What I'd Like To See In 2010

I'd like to see more supernatural horror in the movie theater. Stories like Paranormal Activity and Drag Me to Hell were a welcome sight in 2009; especially after too many Torture Horror entries were given screen time.

 

LOTT D: Horror Comic Crypt

The bells strike the midnight horror. Dare you enter the comic crypt with The League of Tana Tea Drinkers to dig up the dirt on horrifying comics (and those others)? Who knows what you may discover buried deep between the covers. Make sure your flashlight's batteries are strong, pack a good midnight snack, and mind the rats. Now let's go.

The Walking Dead (Cinema Suicide)

You see, everyone thinks that just because I’m a horror fan and I run a website where the bulk of the writing is dedicated to the genre that I am automatically a drooling zombie fanboy because they happen to be the monster of the moment.

The Evil Dead Rise Again (Monster Land)

With permission from Sam Raimi and Rob Tapert, writer Mark Verheiden set out to do what seemed like the impossible, and recreate the celebrated 80s cult film hit Evil Dead as a comic book.

Six Creepy Alt-Horror Cartoonists (Robot 6)

For my money, the most reliably disturbing and disquieting work in the genre over recent years has come from artists who produce what you'd consider to be "alternative comics."

Captain Kronos: Vampire Hunter (Love Train for the Tenebrous Empire)

I'd like to think I'd make a really kickass vampire hunter.  I've got a low tolerance for weepy Anne Rice melodrama and an array of fabulous hats that make me an ideal candidate for that role.

Majestic-XII (TheoFantastique)

MAJESTIC-XII is the story of a team of superheroes charged with fighting a secret war against alien invaders. One has to wonder how these aliens–who already control most of the universe–can possibly be held off by a handful of superhumans, who seem to do nothing but engage in chaotic fist-fights with other superhumans, and moon over each other in constant, maudlin interior monologues.

Peter Normanton Speaks From the Tomb (Zombos' Closet)

His love of the dissolute images and outrageous stories that spring from the unsavory pages of horror comics, to linger in our minds long after those pages have yellowed with age, makes him the kind of person we like to be interred with...for a little chat.

LOTT D: Golden Turkeys For Your Thanksgiving

You're stuffed more than the turkey was, the parade is over, and your relatives are still picking, just not on the food. Fear not. The League of Tana Tea Drinkers delivers some cinematic gobblers to make you smile even as Uncle Lloyd tells that same old story that same old way yet again, and everybody leaves with leftovers, leaving you with the bones and the bill.

Reflections On Film and TV takes us Home Sweet Home, where the horror isn't:

Conveniently, it's both Thanksgiving-themed and a turkey. Advertised with the ad-line "The Bradleys won't be leaving home. Ever," Home Sweet Home(1981) is the not-so-riveting story of a deranged serial killer and his holiday rampage.

Evil On Two Legs dares Twilighters' rage with his roasting of Twilight:

my apologies to any twi-hards or hard-lights or whatever twilight fans are called… but wow, this movie is bad. in my mind, it’s so horribly silly and overdone that it actually pushes the dial all the way around on the quality meter, breaking through to the other side… this is truly a movie deserving of the description “so bad, it’s good.”

Igloo of the Uncanny saves the drumstick and gives us The Giant Claw instead:

We don't have Thanksgiving in the UK ( or in Igloo Land) so I'd probably just nominate The Giant Claw as my Golden Turkey, which is rather apt because it's a big bird. I seem to recall that last Thanksgiving the classic Horror Film board had a banner of the Giant Claw served up as part of the feast.

LOTT D: I Know What You Did Last Halloween 2009

Although the streets have cleared of Jedi, ghouls, princesses, and zombies, as darkened jack-o'-lanterns rot through the season chill, the memories still linger.

 

Cinema Fromage tells us about a Halloween night spent with Batgirl!

Well here we are, sitting at November 1st and Halloween is already starting to fade into the past. While it could be considered a sad time for those of us that look at this holiday as the most anticipated of the year, I can be happy in saying that in looking back, it was the best in recent years! Cinema Fromage

Love Train For the Tenebrous Empire relives "Dead Snow!"

It's November 1st, which means that I've slept till post-noon after another truly epic Halloween debauch. Baron XIII and I have been troopers for the past several nights, cramming a year's worth of partying and fancy dress into a few days. We've learned a lot of things...Love Train For the Tenebrous Empire

Uranium Cafe doesn't stand a ghost of a Halloween in China!

The concept of Halloween is not a part of the Chinese culture and why would it be. The day was half over before I even realized it was Halloween, my favorite holiday for most of my life. There was nothing here to remind me of the fact. No card board ghosts or skeletons hanging from neighbors doors. No posters announcing costume parties. No horror movie marathons on the state run CCTV. I think the whole idea of kids here knocking on stranger’s doors and wanting candy is as alien as a two party political system.

In fact the candy here is not what I would want for Trick-or-Treat anyway. No mini sized Baby Ruths or Mars bars, or even candy corn. The candy is often some nearly sugarless jelly like substance you suck out of a little cup or a flavored rice cake. I can tell you a flavored rice cake will still taste only like a rice cake. I did a quick lesson over the history of Halloween for my classes and realized as I stood at the board, chalk in hand, that my actual knowledge of the holiday was not enough to do an unprepared lesson on. Realizing my students typically either do not listen to me or understand me anyway, I made some facts and drew some drawings of haunted houses and goblins on the blackboard and quickly shifted the topic to questions to keep them talking (and me to shut up).

Meet the Horror Bloggers: The Drunken Severed Head

Many fans of horror, amateur and professional alike, have devoted themselves to blogging about the thrills, chills, and no-frills side of the genre as seen in cinema and print. In this ongoing series that highlights the writers behind the blogs, we meet the unique personalities and talents that make the online horror scene so engaging. Up close and personal.

In this installment, Max Cheney of the Drunken Severed Head proves he's more than just a pretty face when it comes to horror.

I am a Siamese, or conjoined twin. My other half, separate--and certainly unequal--but seamlessly connected to my self via an e-thereal broad band, is a drunken severed head named Max. We share that first name--I am Max Cheney, Jr., and I love the weird and macabre.

My love for horror started when in 1964, when I was three. I was given the 5-inch high monster figures "Pop Top Horrors" to play with. Cast in Halloween-orange plastic, they were different from other solid figures, as they had detachable heads that could be popped on and off. I had great fun switching the heads! Making an impression on me that same year was being taken to see The Evil of Frankenstein which featured a toy-like makeup design for its Frankenstein Monster. I learned from watching that film that being scared could be fun. Being born (prematurely) into a blended family, with parents whose marriage was always filled with problems, I was always an anxious kid. Finding a form of anxiety that was thrilling was a revelation!

The following year, I was watching the programs "Milton the Monster" and "The Munsters," both featuring Frankensteinian monsters, and I adored both shows. As a present for my birthday in 1965, I was given a Herman Munster talking puppet. That set me for life as a fan of monsters, but of the classic Universal Frankenstein's Monster especially.

LOTT D: Pick a Post 19 Halloween Sensation Part Two

Fear has many eyes and can see things underground, said Don Quixote. And that was before he read the League of Tana Tea Drinkers' Halloween 2009 Pick a Post Sensation. Feel free to indulge yourself. Go on, it's almost Halloween!

 

Day of the Woman vents her wrath on those annoying couples' costumes!

The annoying costumed couple. We all know them, we all hate them, and we all avoid them like the plague.

Drunken Severed Head pokes a finger at the Hand of Glory!

When I was a kid, the magazines CREEPY and EERIE kept the spirit of Hallowe'en burning in me all year 'round. In one of them, I was introduced to the legendary device of dark magic, the hand o' glory.

Classic-Horror dares to let its staff loose on Shocktober Classics!

This year, we're letting the staff decide what they want to review, leading to an eclectic selection of titles, with something to please everybody.

Lost Highway finds 10 top movies for your Halloween viewing pleasure!

The season of ghouls and things that go bump in the night is upon us once again. This means Lost Highway is digging up another list of some must see horror films to check out when all your trick or treaters have gone to bed.

LOTT D: Pick a Post 19 Halloween Sensation Part One

I bid you welcome. Read freely, and enjoy this special League of Tana Tea Drinkers Halloween 2009 Special. But be warned; like reaching deeply into the bottom of a trick or treat bag after a long night of haunting for sweets, you never know what you may find...

 

Mad Mad Mad Mad Movies dives deep into their Halloween memory in search of the Creature From the Black Lagoon!

Every October I regress in age to that wide-eyed, still blessedly un-diabetic boy, with an insatiable craving for peanut-butter taffy and a strong desire to revisit those flicks that made me love horror in the first place. I've watched and re-watched them all over the years, and they never fail to return me to that innocent, enthusiastic place, where everything was yet to be discovered, and nothing--not even black-and-white films from the 30s, 40s, and 50s--was old.

TheoFantastique draws us a pretty picture of Halloween animation classics, from Linus to Bugs Bunny!

One of the great things that I associate with the fall and the Halloween season is a collection of animation that I have enjoyed over the years. As children in the not too distant past, viewers had to wait for the whims of the major networks to air these programs, but now with DVDs, the Internet, and YouTube it is possible to add these materials to a video collection, and to enjoy them any time the viewer likes. With this post I will share several animated programs that I have enjoyed over the years.

Dinner With Max Jenke scares up the Season of the Witch in Halloween III!

Rather than a thug in overalls slaughtering promiscuous teens, Season of the Witch instead offered up a certifiably zany plot involving no less than Stonehenge, pagan magic, killer robots, and Halloween masks with frigging laser beams. Far-fetched? Hard to swallow? Bat-sh*t insane? Yep, Season of the Witch is all of that.

Cinema Suicide provides us with mood music for a Halloween night!

The general Halloween aesthetic has a tendency to put the brakes on my wildly fluctuating taste in rock and for the entire month, a few days leading up to and a few days trailing out of, my playlist stabilizes and all I listen to is music inspired by or directly related to Halloween, horror movies, the spooky and the scary. To illustrate my point, I present to you the following 13 examples of Halloweeny or horrifying music.

Day of the Woman carves up the history of Jack O'Lanterns!

The Irish brought the tradition of the Jack O'Lantern to America. But, the original Jack O'Lantern was not even a pumpkin.

Igloo of the Uncanny wonders what if? with An American Werewolf In London!

This isn't the first time I've watched An American Werewolf in London. It's my favorite horror film, so I've seen it a lot since my first viewing aged 11. Back then, armed with a clunky VHS recorder and a taped copy of the film, I learned to recite all the dialogue (this was before puberty kicked in). But don't worry, I'm not going to do that today.

Moon is a Dead World gets graphic with Wildstorm's Trick 'r Treat!

Surprisingly, the comic adaptation of Trick 'r Treat feels fairly consistent considering the use of four different artists. I love how the aspect of using references to other scenes comes into play with the comic as well as the movie; the only problem I had with this was that sometimes the characters look drastically different than they did in the other chapters.

Freddy In Space does Halloween right with UNICEF!

Ya ever feel like you wanna make a difference, at least in some small tiny little way? Well I feel that way today and I feel like I just might be in a position to do so. Most of us may be too old to Trick or Treat For UNICEF, but we're never too old to lend a helping hand to those who need it, so I've decided to launch the first annual Freddy In Space Trick 'r Treat For UNICEF campaign and I need YOUR help!

And room for one more...until part two.

Drunken Severed Head shares the Halloween reminiscences of Joe Moe!

Known for many years as a caretaker to Famous Monsters editor, punster, film fan and collector extraordinaire Forrest J Ackerman, Joe is a beloved, friendly figure on the horror film convention circuit.

Pick a Post Sensation 18: Favorite Novels

Beware!

The members of the League of Tana Tea Drinkers dig six feet deep to uncover their favorite novels for your edification pleasure and horrific delight.

AttentionDeficitdisorderly conjures up The Stand and It for starters!

...A couple days ago I finished rereading Stephen King's The Stand for the fourth time, I think. If it's not his best book it's in the top two, and it has the added bonus of boasting the best film adaptation of any of King's works. That's not to say that the TV miniseries of The Stand is better than Stanley Kubrick's The Shining, of course, just that it's a better adaptation.

LOTT D: Pick a Post Sensation 17 Worst Horror Movies

Beware! The members of the League of Tana Tea Drinkers dig six feet deep to uncover their favorite worst movies. Beware!

 

Final Girl goes all ugly over The Cavern!

...You know, if today's movie, The Cavern (2005), had arrived with its other title, WIthIN, plastered on it, I may have skipped watching it on principle and saved myself some pain.

Mad Mad Mad Mad Movies doesn't find pleasure in Goregasm!

...Think of a GWAR video, only without the showmanship, musical proficiency, and insightful social commentary. Think of a Troma movie without the high production values and delightfully cosmopolitan sense of humor. Think of all those dead baby jokes you and your friends used to tell in junior high, but without the rapier wit. Got it? Formed a picture of that movie in your head?

Evil on Two Legs couldn't run fast enough from End of Days!

...the first thing one notices is that this film is dark. i don’t mean se7en dark, like in terms of “mood.” i’m talking doom3 dark without the flashlight mod kind of dark. this is what happens when you let the director be his own dp… (pun alert) in light of this, i’ve taken the liberty of brightening up the screenshots so you can actually make out what’s going on.

Love Train for the Tenebrous Empire wants its time back after Exterminator City!

...Disclaimer: The opinions reflected in this article are mine and mine alone and don't reflect the opinions of the fine, upstanding, and thoroughly delightful gentle people at "Ultra Violent Magazine." Even though those bastards sent me this movie and expected me to review it for their publication without any appropriate warning.

LOTT D: Pick a Post Sensation 16 Favorite Horror Movies

Beware! The members of the League of Tana Tea Drinkers dig six feet deep to uncover their favorite terror movies for your Halloween edification pleasure. Boo!

 

Dinner With Max Jenke says Let's Scare Jessica To Death:

No other horror film has given us a heroine as memorably fragile as the title character of director John Hancock's unusually sensitive shocker Let's Scare Jessica To Death (1971) and sadly, it's unlikely that we'll ever see her kind again.

Final Girl beams over The Shining:

It had been some time since I'd seen The Shining, and while I've always enjoyed it (and gotten some good creepy scares out of it), what struck me most while watching it today was the beauty of the whole thing. Visually, The Shining is one of the most stunning films I've ever seen- finding a horror movie to top it in that regard would be no easy task.

Fascination With Fear bites into JAWS:

It is known as the "father of the summer blockbuster", being the first movie to blow the pants off the box office in such a way that people lined streets in front of theaters just to see it.

Attentiondeficitdisorderly Too Flat conjures up The Blair Witch Project:

Let me say right off the bat that I don't expect to change anyone's mind here. This is a movie for which the phrase "you either love it or hate it" was invented. I remember seeing it on opening night in a theatre: Half the audience booed and yelled at the screen as the closing credits rolled, while the other half looked as though they'd just been eyewitnesses to a plane crash.

LOTT D: Pick a Post Sensation 15 Jennifer's Body Autopsy

Beware! The members of the League of Tana Tea Drinkers dig six feet deep to bring you the Jennifer's Body autopsy, to share their varied views on this girl-eats-boy horrorfest.

I Love Horror -- "While the plot certainly leaves something to be desired, nearly every problem associated with Jennifer’s Body can be directly contributed to Diablo Cody’s dialogue."

Kindertrauma -- "The trick is to not think of it as a horror film because the horror elements are really just decorative. This is more of a black comedy like HEATHERS with a bit of THE CRAFT thrown in..."

Dinner With Max Jenke -- "It doesn't reinvent the genre but it's distinctly different from its competition and that alone is commendable. The advertising campaign is totally misleading, though."

Day of the Woman -- "I seriously have always wondered what happens if someone sacrifices a girl to Satan and she wasn't a virgin." (And, on a tangential note, DOTW takes on PoppaScotch regarding the reality of feminist horror films.)

TheoFantastique -- "In the discussion Poole notes that Jennifer’s Body includes a subtle attempt ”to sneak a feminist message into the cineplex, subverting the paradigm of horror films in which women are merely the shrieking victims of male violence.”

Zombos' Closet of Horror -- "Jennifer's Body has artistic touches that come from how it uses dialog, its characters, and its story to create a familiar but stylish rhythm scored with traditional horror tropes."

Meet the Horror Bloggers: Groovy Age of Horror

Many fans of horror, amateur and professional alike, have devoted themselves to blogging about the thrills, chills, and no-frills side of the genre as seen in cinema and print. In this ongoing series that highlights the writers behind the blogs, we meet the unique personalities and talents that make the online horror scene so engaging. Up close and personal.

In this installment, Curt Purcell of Groovy Age of Horror reveals the influences, from Lovecraft to Eurotrash, that keep him in the groove of horror.

I guess having kids makes some people start going back to church. When my dad went back, pre-millennialist dispensational eschatology sank such deep hooks into him that his idea of a bedtime Bible story was reading me the freakiest prophecies and visions from Daniel, Ezekiel, and the Book of Revelation. Whatever religious lessons he meant to impart were lost on young me, but the frightful, bizarre imagery sure made an impression.  My enduring fascination for the weird and fantastic probably traces back in large part to that.

Two of the first books I chose for myself from the library and struggled through mostly on my own were companion collections of Greek and Norse mythology. They probably should have been way above my reading comprehension level, but they were treasure-troves of grotesque creatures and uncanny figures, and I was determined to mine them for all they had to offer.