From Zombos Closet

August 6, 2010

The Dead Matter (2010)

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Thedeadmatter

Zombos Says: Good

In director Edward Douglas’ The Dead Matter, the power of a scarab-shaped amulet brings back the dead. For Vellich (Andrew Divoff), a vampire who desires to control the dead, the amulet means power; for Gretchen (Sean Serino), it’s like the monkey’s paw that grants wishes, and her one wish is to bring her dead brother back to life. Two vampire hunters, McCallister (Jason Carter ofBabylon 5) and Pym (Bryan Van Camp get caught in the middle of these desires.

Vellich is an old world vampire, more traditional in his ways, with flowing long white hair and a strong taste for human blood. He’s not the Twilight kind (okay, except for the flowing long hair) and his patience is short, demonstrated when he rips the jaw off another vampire’s face. Nice touches of gore like this are added here and there, and, possibly due to the presence of Tom Savini (he plays the vampiric druglord Sebed) they blend with the action instead of the action stopping to admire them. A few CGI effects are also added, but at this budget they are at the level of an 80s to 90s movie’s effects. This doesn’t hurt The Dead Matter, but to Tony Demci’s pacing and plot that pits vampires Sebed and Vellich against each other for possession of the amulet, complicated by sibling love mixed with guilt: Gretchen blames herself for her brother’s death.

Thedeadmatter3 Eerie spook show CGI effects enhance a late night seance in the forest when Gretchen and her wiccan girlfriend Jill (C. B. Spencer) convince their skeptical boyfriends to join them. Gretchen  hopes to contact her brother. She contacts something else as the amulet beckons from where it was left hidden from Vellich by a dying Pym. While McCallister searches for it, Gretchen discovers it can raise the dead when Pym’s ambulatory body shows up unexpectedly. He’s more like a traditional zombie, not the brain-eating or body parts kind. Souless, unable to feel or think, or even move without Gretchen directing him through the amulet, he becomes her surrogate brother. She has him ‘eating’ ice cream and doing other things she and her brother enjoyed doing, like riding a carousel. It’s filmed not so much tongue in cheek, but with a macabre sense of humor and sadness. She thinks she’s found a way to reunite with her brother, but Pym’s bodily shell is telling her otherwise.

Her friends try to persuade her to give up the amulet and her ultimate goal, but she hangs an air freshener around Pym’s neck, tidies him up a bit, and continues working on raising her brother from the grave. Serino’s acting falls short during all this. She’s too soft when she needs to be firm, and too rational when she needs to be irresponsible. Bryan Van Camp’s Simon Garth-styled zombie is fun to watch and ironically gives life to her scenes with him. He simply is. No emotion, no motion unless asked for, no intellect; stillness that shows he’s just an empty shell. His utter silence is creepy as hell. McCallister tracks the amulet to Gretchen, but so does Vellich. By this time, the scarab-shaped relic has become a part of her, and the demonic presence in the amulet takes over, calling the dead to it. Moody scenes of the dead rising and shambling to the summons are done with restraint, showing atmosphere over carnage. The climax brings everyone, living or dead, back to the forest.

Thedeadmatter2 Carter dresses and acts the way you would expect a vampire hunter to, and Divoff as Vellich is vile enough to provide a sinister Gothic presence, aided by his abilities to turn into a dark cloud, or appear as someone else. Tom Savini’s Sebed chews up the scenery with gusto. He pushes a drug that replaces a vampire’s need for blood, but it’s addictive. It’s the new way, he tells Vellich. Maybe he’s a fan of True Blood, too.

Count Gore De Vol has a cameo in a bizarre nightmare sequence. You won’t recognize him without his makeup.

This straight to DVD 3-disc deluxe edition–the movie and two music discs, the soundtrack and Midnight Syndicate’s best of compilation– is a well thought out treat for Halloween, or really anytime the mood strikes you.

A copy of The Dead Matter was provided for this review. 

My Halloween: TheoFantasque

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IMG_0157Five questions asked over a glowing Jack o'Lantern, under an Autumn moon obscured by passing clouds…in between mouthfuls of candy corn…J.W. Morehead of TheoFantastique examines the Theater of the Fantastic through his academic eyes. He's also a nut for Lemax's Spooky Town collection. So if you're ever in a Michaels arts and crafts store around the beginning of August and you get knocked over by someone rushing to the Halloween section, odds are it's him. That's when Michaels puts out the latest Spooky Town additions. (Then again, it could be me, too. )

 

Why is Halloween important to you?

Halloween is filled with great nostalgia for me. I have fond memories of the holiday from my childhood, and since I've adopted Ray Bradbury and Ray Harryhausen's personal pact to grow old but not to grow up, Halloween allows me to give my inner ten year old a chance to experience the fear and festivity of my childhood. As an adult I've continued to look at the holiday as a scholar, and it includes a number of other facets as a cultural celebration that add to its intrigue for me.

Describe your ideal Halloween.

I don't know that I've had an ideal Halloween yet, but I've come close. I've got a friend who lives in Salem, and he gave me an opportunity to come out and stay with him during Halloween week. The place is amazing during this time of year, and I had an opportunity to visit the memorial for the executed accused Salem "witches," to visit the Pagan shops in the area, and to rub shoulders with other tourists, as well as real Pagan Witches and those who assume a vampire identity as well. The place has so much atmosphere, and it was a great experience. I hope to go back one year in the near future. If I could top this one year it would be setting up my own Halloween party for adults, as well as my own haunted attraction in my front yard and garage that would be the talk of the neighborhood.

IMG_0153 What Halloween collectibles do you cherish, or hate, or both?

I try to add to this each year, and my hunting begins in late July/early August. Each year I have a few stores I hit to find new additions. This includes Dollar Tree with their Disney Haunted Mansion-esque mini monster busts, Spirit Halloween for new home haunt decorations (this year I hope to add new tombstones, a rubber vulture and bat), and of course, new Lemax Spooky Town items. If I had more space I'd secure a few animated Halloween items for my home haunt, and would pick up several masks to start a collection.

When was your very first Halloween, the one where you really knew it was Halloween, and how was it?

IMG_0156 I don't know how old I was, but I remember growing up in the mid- to late-1960s and 1970s and the great sense of anticipation with new costumes from classic monsters. Perhaps my earliest memory is in early elementary school with my Universal Frankenstein's monster plastic mask which transformed me in my mind into the creature that I saw glowing on my television screen. When this experience is coupled with my fond memories of going to the pumpkin patch, selecting the perfect pumpkin, taking it home and carving it for the neighborhood to see, these are some of my earliest and fondest Halloween memories.

Oops. Our fifth question ran off to Michaels. I'll see if I can get it back…

Halloween Splats
Frankenstein Monster’s Head

/ Halloween Candy / 2 Comments

halloween splat frankenstein monster There’s something organically satisfying about throwing things against a wall, especially when they explode, shatter, or splat. Bouncing means too much work because you’ve got to catch the blasted thing on the rebound, so that’s not much fun.

But squishing and splatting does it best for me. With this nifty little pocket toy you can launch the Monster’s head–the splattee–with the cool skeleton arm–the splatterer. Notice on the bottom right of the card the words “Includes Splat and Launcher.” That’s important because without the skeleton arm to send your splat to the wall, it’s just not as much fun.

I just wished they didn’t make the little guy so cheerful-looking. Makes me feel guilty I’m about to squish him against a smooth, flat surface, face first. Better that he had a mean-looking or scary face, you know, like they do it in horror movies by making the victim sort of deserve what’s coming, even though it’s nasty as hell.

Now, I’m not sure how you’d carry this gem around with you: if you put the little head in your jeans pocket, well, I’d say you will wind up with an embarrassing situation to say the least.

 

Halloween Whistle Toppers

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halloween whistle toppers There’s this wonderfully spooky short story written by Montague Rhodes James called “Oh, Whistle, and I’ll Come To You, My Lad.” A solitary walk along the shore leads to the discovery of a whistle. That whistle calls something forth that were better left unsummoned. I think of his story every time I see Halloween candy whistles like the likable witch and skull-headed ghost here.

After all the candy is gone, you can either play with them, they’re finger puppets, or blow the whistle to summon forth your own nasty trickster; although today it would probably be an annoyed adult tired of all that noise telling you to quit or else.

The skeleton and Frankenstein Monster candy containers at the ends aren’t finger puppets, but still fun to play with. The skeleton has a suction cup on the bottom, and the skull is on a spring. You can wobble him but good as the mood strikes you. The purple Monster has such a ghoulishly giddy grin, you wonder why he’s so happy. Maybe it’s because he’s sitting on top of all that colorful, sweet candy, waiting to be picked up by his outstretched arms. Just for you.