From Zombos' Closet

Dracula Commemorative Gold Stamp

Rummaging through the closet I came across this First Day Issue Dracula Gold Stamp issued by USPS. 22k gold, but doesn't sell for much on eBay; still priceless to me, though.

 

 

Movie Review: The Dead Matter (2010)

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.

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.

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

Five 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.

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?

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

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

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.

 

Halloween Dracu-Lite

I love the orange and black motif on this Kidmark Dracu-Lite card. And what do you suppose the kid has illuminated with her vampiric flashlight? She certainly looks startled by what she sees. It can't be Dracula? Or maybe the Dracu-Lite is a detection device?

Green seems to be a favorite color for the Count and Frankenstein's Monster for toys like this. I wonder why. It does contrast very well against the black cape and red outline, but I can't imagine Bela Lugosi or Christopher Lee wearing green makeup.

My Halloween: Cinema Suicide

Five questions asked over a glowing Jack o'Lantern, under an Autumn moon obscured by passing clouds...in between mouthfuls of candy corn...

Bryan White of Cinema Suicide says it best: "At the bottom line, Cinema Suicide aims to reach beyond the shallow interactions of your typical blog and create a community that can come together around a concept that we all have in common: A love of really crappy movies." (Bryan's the one on the left.) You can also see him fight humans and monsters in the How to Survive the Strange series of self-help videos.

 

Why is Halloween important to you?

Aside from the obviously spooky parallels between Halloween and horror movies, I'm not entirely sure what it is that makes me so gonzo for the holiday. When I was a little kid, I would go freakin' nuts for Halloween before I'd ever laid eyes on a horror movie. I was going crazy at the prospect of a giant bag of candy but over time, the creativity of putting together a costume was a huge draw. I'd think of it for months and assemble the parts over time. These days I don't have all that much time to make a kick ass costume but I try. I'm already thinking of what I want for this year and I'm going to be experimenting with latex and makeup to see if I can make it look like my head was cut off and then crudely sewn back on. So you see the appeal. I plan on going out in public like this. A lot of people make like Halloween lets you put on a mask and anonymously run wild for a night but I think it's the opposite. By coming up with a gruesome costume, I get to put on a mask and be the person that I really am in public. As a kid, this doesn't mean squat but as you get older, you build up walls around the parts of yourself that aren't necessarily acceptable in public adult life and Halloween lets me break those walls down for a little while. It's incredibly juvenile and a weird sort of art therapy but I'll take it.

Describe your ideal Halloween.

My ideal Halloween has a couple of layers and it all sort of came together last Halloween. My daughter was old enough to really understand what was going on so this year, Halloween kicked ass. We all dressed up in similar costumes (devils), which I admit is pretty hokey but I don't care. We had a lot of fun. My daughter was cute as hell, even though she thought she was some kind of red Tinkerbell (we couldn't find a Tinkerbell costume in her size), my wife looked hotter than hell and I looked smooth in horns and a suit. We did the trick or treating thing on two nights since we go trick or treating the night before in our town and then the night of in the town my in-laws live in. Two nights of Halloween, y'all! Then we went over to some friends and hung out with the kids in costume while sneaking drinks in the kitchen. It was pretty cool, lots of fun and a whole hell of a lot more relaxed than Christmas which is really just a giant pain in the ass now that I'm older.

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

I don't really have any collectibles related to Halloween. Most of the stuff that comes out seasonally is cheap crap and isn't worth keeping around. As a matter of fact, most of the things I see laying around as the day draws near drives me nuts. You still see a lot of those splattered witch props kicking around. You know, the ones that make it look like a witch flew her broom into a tree. 'F' that noise.

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

The earliest Halloween I seem to remember, I may have been four or five. My mom made me this Jack O'Lantern costume. I think my sister was a butterfly that my mom also made. This was in Binghamton, New York and we all rolled out to a Halloween parade. This was right around the time of The Empire Strikes Back so I remember all these Star Wars themed costumes roaming around. I saw a Darth Vader that I remember being really cool. This was way before you could just hit the internet and buy replica costuming, so a quality Darth Vader was a hard thing to pull off. We then strolled over to the Oakdale Mall and went store to store for candy. Binghamton, itself, was pretty urban but it's surrounded by vast expanses of nothing and farmland. Trick or treating out where we lived would have been fruitless. At the mall, we made off like thieves!

What's the one Halloween question you want to be asked and what's your answer?

Q: What are your thoughts on candy corn?

A: Digusting. What are they even supposed to taste like? Corn? I'll take a Clark Bar before I take a bag of candy corn. Man, that stuff is nasty!

Professor Kinema On Horror Cinema

Film historian and ardent horror fan, Jim Knusch (Professor Kinema) steps into the closet to discuss his passion for the Cinema of the Fantastic. Be amazed. Be very amazed.

Tell us how your mysterious alter-ego, Professor Kinema, was born.

In the beginning (of the origins of the Movies, that is) the earliest functioning motion picture camera/projectors were named with words that began with the letter K. The K was for 'Kinesis' which translated to 'movement.' Kinematography was the creation of the synthesis of photographic movement with devices like the Kinetograph, Kinescope and Kino-Phonograph.

When the focus of the continuing development of Movies shifted to France at the end of the 19th Century, innovators Louis and August Lumiere reworked Edison's design for the Kinematograph and re-christened it the Cinematograph. This was simply because the French language doesn't contain many words that begin with the letter K - thus the Cinema was born. However, the Germanic countries continued to develop motion picture devices and named them Kine/Kinema-machines. To this day, theaters in Germanic countries (as well as a few left over theaters in the USA) are named 'Kinemas.' So, being an active Cinema Historian and Folklorist I decided to return to the roots and find a use for the word 'Kinema.' My last name begins with the letter K (although a silent one) and is of Germanic roots.

I occasionally teach on a college level and have functioned within the status of Professor. Combining these elements;I concluded that the nom de plume of Professor Kinema could be appropriate. The steady usage of the name truly began in the late 1980s when I launched my public access TV show, titled, appropriately; PROFESSOR KINEMA.

Halloween Self-Adhesive Frankenstein Accessory Scar and Neck Bolts

Being a mad scientist is always daunting. What with digging up cadavers, piecing them together in the dead of night, and having your fiancee always dragging in some old teacher or such to interfere with your work--not to mention those numb-skull assistants the Goldstadt employment agency keeps sending you--you can never seem to get your work done.

Never fear; Steptoes of England steps in to lighten your burden with their Self Adhesive Frankenstein Accessory. Even Wolf Von Frankenstein would appreciate the workmanship. And look at that wonderful black and yellow image of Boris Karloff's creation happily demonstrating the effectiveness of this wonderful suturing appliance with the all-essential neck bolt hardware.

You'll have a Happy Halloween with this one for sure.

 

 

My Halloween: Strange Kids Club

Five questions asked over a glowing Jack o'Lantern, under an Autumn moon obscured by passing clouds...in between mouthfuls of candy corn...Rondal Scott, founder of Strange Kids Club, combines a wickedly fun visual sensibility with his sweet tooth for horror, cool toys, comics, and popping culture. Yum.

 

Why is Halloween important to you?

Halloween is that one time of the year where everyone equally relishes in the strange, offbeat (and ancient) customs that draw power from the mythology of monsters, madmen and mutants. It's the one day of the whole year where no one makes judgments on what you look like or how you act. I think that Michael Dougherty perhaps captured the more sinister, adult-oriented side of the Autumn festivities in Trick 'R Treat while Ernest Scared Stupid serves as the heart of childlike wonder that still resides in each of us during that time of year.

Describe your ideal Halloween.

My ideal Halloween consists of a full night of trick or treating door-to-door with the occasionally well done garage-fitted haunted house. Afterward it's straight home for a marathon mix of Halloween fright flicks and classic scary cartoons while devouring the nights sugary treasures until exhaustion (followed by morning-after regret) sets in.

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

I have two ceramic Halloween decorations that my grandmother hand painted and passed down to my mother, who has herself recently passed them along to me. One is a twisted Halloween tree with a black cat and a witch while the other is a giant luminescent jack o' lantern with a black cat keeping watch.

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

The first Halloween that I can actually remember involved me dressing up as a bumble bee (yeah, the pudgy fuzzy kind). My father was still in the Marine Corps, so a group of family friends and I went with our mothers door to door collecting our bounty. It was an okay experience, definitely not the trend-setter for future experiences, but apparently it wasn't enough to dissuade me either.

What's the one Halloween question you want to be asked and what's your answer?

Q: What's the best Halloween movie you've ever scene?

A: This one is kinda tricky as there are so many ones to choose from, but I have to admit that I've got an unbroken streak with watching Hocus Pocus every year. It's funny and charming with just enough scares (zombies, witches) to appeal to both the adult and strange kid in me. An honorable mention would have to be Night of the Demons, which a friend of mine and I have seen 4 years running now. Not the greatest film ever, but a fun one nonetheless.

Zoc Note: Watching Hocus Pocus every Halloween is a tradition in our household. Fun, great song, and wonderful story. And it has Sarah Jessica Parker. Yum.

Halloween Flashing Button Frankenstein Monster

This Frankenstein Monster's flashing button caught my eye while I roamed an old party goods store in New Jersey, some years back, for Halloween goodies. It was made in China for The Diploma Mill of Denver Colorado (which could explain the lack of the word Frankenstein anywhere on the package as it appears to be unlicensed merchandise).

The Boris Karloff image of the Monster is what made me drool. The eyes light up and it makes that annoyingly familiar Halloween sound that could irritate you enough to commit bodily harm to the person wearing this stylish button.

 

 

My Halloween: Day of the Woman

Five questions asked over a glowing Jack o'Lantern, under an Autumn moon obscured by passing clouds...in between mouthfuls of candy corn...for Day of the Woman's Brittney-Jade Colangelo, Ms. Horror-Blogosphere 2009, "Horror isn’t just a passion or an obsession; it’s a lifestyle.  Horror lovers are this weird sub-species of humanity that can bond together over the love of something so strange to love."

 

Why is Halloween important to you?

Halloween is by far my favorite holiday of the year because it brings me back to a comfort zone of my childhood. My mother is a diehard horror nut and my father gets sick pleasure out of terrifying other people. My fondest memories with my parents were setting up haunted houses in the front yard or running the haunted hayride in the community.  There was nothing better than leaving Trick Or Treating an hour early just to be home in time to watch Halloween on AMC with my mom as we decided which houses gave crap candy.  I can only hope that someday I have the opportunity to spread the love of Halloween to my children.

Describe your ideal Halloween.

The ideal Halloween for me would include copious amounts of liquid courage and a party set to the soundtrack of the very best in horror movie songs/scores.  There would be only candy given during trick or treating hours and no children would be covering their costumes with oversize winter coats.  Screams and laughter would fill the air and everyone would pass out long after the witching hour to the sight of a horror classic.

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

I absolutely hate overly punned Halloween decor from chain stores. If I never have to see one more decoration with something to do with a "Ghouls Night Out" cheap manicure set, it'll be too soon. I don't know why people like this crap.  I'd rather have a subtle ghost in the tree or blood stained sidewalk instead of putting a sign in my yard with the word "spooktacular" on it.

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

My very first Halloween that I was excited for was when I was 6 years old. My parents used to run the haunted hayride around the Halloween season for the community. Every night, dozens of people would hop onto the back of a trailer pulled by a madman on a tractor. As ghosts, zombies, vampires, and werewolves came out of every corner and horrific scenes were put on display to frighten the audience, a tall hockey masked man wielding a chainsaw would hop aboard and horrify everyone in sight. I hid underneath a blanket and screamed as Jason Voorhees held a chainsaw to my face, when suddenly, I burst out into tears uncontrollably.  The Jason Voorhees knelt down to me and lifted his mask up and said "Brittney, It's Daddy. It's just Daddy".  I glued on to him and he carried me off the trailer.  Seeing the mask removed really showed me what Halloween was really about, and I wanted to be a part of it.

What's the one Halloween question you want to be asked and what's your answer?

Q: What would I be if I could be anything for Halloween?

A: I'd want to be the 50 Foot Woman.  I'd make a little city to hang from my shoulders and stand by my feet so I'd look gigantic.  I've always wanted to figure out a way to make it without my city getting destroyed.