Category Archives: Misc. Ramblings

Is What We Do Important?

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Not to get too philosophical on a Monday, but with the way the world is right now, where it seems to be the norm for politicians to blatantly lie over and over again without worry about being held accountable, to a dozen other world crises going on, it makes me wonder every now and then that the time I spend writing, reading, and talking about the horror genre, if it is really important. Shouldn’t I be spending that time helping to better the world in some sort of way?

My father was not a fan of movies. In fact, I know of only one time my stepmother dragged him to a theater (which he quickly fell asleep and snored through the whole thing), and I don’t think I ever saw him stay awake for a movie on TV. But if he were alive today and saw what I am doing, even more so on the convention circuit, he’d lose his mind because he would see all this as people wasting their time and money and such stupid things.

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The Rebane Exhibit Report

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As I reported a few days ago, on Saturday the 22nd, myself, along with Aaron Christensen, Dave Kosanke, and Gavin Schmitt, made the trip up to Merrill, Wisconsin for the Bill Rebane’s Hollywood Midwest: A Retrospective on Wisconsin’s First Feature Film Studio, an exhibit being held at the Merrill Historical Society, put on by Brandon Johnson. Because it opened at 9am and we wanted to be there right when it opened, it meant that I had to leave at 3am, drive into Chicago to pick up Aaron, then head north to pick up Dave, and then meet Gavin at the Museum as close to 9am as we could. We got there at 8:55am. Pretty good planning if I do say so myself!

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I Do NOT Collect Toys! Well . . .

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I made a choice years ago, right before Sideshow decided to make the horror toy market explode. I realized that if they started to bust out a ton of different figures, if I started collecting them, I’d have to get them all. I decided that, for the most part, I was not going to collect horror toys. They are cool and would be great to have, but that is not where I want to put my money. No judging, just a personal choice.

Granted, I have taken the plunge every now and then and picked up one or two, such as the Waldemar Daninsky figure from Night of the Werewolf from Distinctive Dummies, since, I mean, it is Paul Naschy, after all. And then there is the Emily & Dickie figure from The Beyond that Pallbearer Press & Distinctive Dummies put out, and then all those Hammer Horror figures from Mego, and a few Funko Pop figures, but that’s it!

What amazes me is the custom figure market that has developed over the last few years and has seemed to explode. These amazing and creative creations, as well as the obscure characters they decide to produce is just stunning. Which brings me to one figure I recently came across that almost had me busting into my wallet.

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Terror Tuesdays Continue at the Sulzer Regional Library in Chicago

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Last Tuesday, my partner-in-crime Aaron Christensen (Horror 101 with Dr. AC), were at the Sulzer Regional Library to discuss the first part in our month-long discussion of the horror genre. Last week’s subject was vampires, where we started with Nosferatu that came out 100 years ago, through history to the modern-day bloodsuckers. If you were at the event last week and wanted the list of films that were covered, look at the bottom of this post.

But this coming Tuesday, Oct. 11th at 6:30pm, we’re going to be diving into the zombie sub-genre, from the very beginning where they were mind-controlled slaves to the more popular flesh-eating types. So, if you’re in the area, feel free to stop by. It is a free event and what better time of the year to hear about some of our favorite monsters!

The next two subjects for this series will be Giant Monsters on Oct. 18th, and Ghosts and Haunted Spaces will be on Oct. 25th. For more information about these events, just click HERE.

For those that were interested, here are the list of vampire films mentioned in our discussion last week. These are listed by release date of the films.

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More Naschy on Blu-ray and UHD!

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I’ve been wanting to post something about this earlier but have been too busy or maybe just too giddy to type comprehensive sentences! But last weekend, Vinegar Syndrome announced that they would be releasing Paul Naschy’s 1971 film The Werewolf vs the Vampire Woman. Anchor Bay had originally released on DVD back in 2002 under the title Werewolf Shadow, followed by another release by BCI in 2008 under the same title. But it had never been released on Blu-ray here in the states, let alone in 4K UHD! This Vinegar Syndrome release will have 3 different cuts of the film: the international export version (which has the nudity) that runs 87 min, the Spanish clothed version, which runs 94 min, and an integral “nude” version. that runs 95″ min.

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Terror Tuesdays at the Chicago Public Library

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In the past, my partner-in-horror Aaron Christensen (aka Horror 101 with Dr. AC) and I have given some little seminars at the Sulzer branch of the Chicago Public Library, giving an overview of the horror genre. This year, however, not only did they ask us back, but they wanted MORE! So now, we’re taking over every Tuesday in October with TERROR TUESDAYS!

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A Colossal Release of Albert Glasser!

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Dragon’s Digital Domain Records have unleashed another CD of the work of composter Albert Glasser, another entry of the work he did with director Bert I. Gordon. This time out, we get both scores for The Amazing Colossal Man (1957) and its sequel War of the Colossal Beast (1958)! The release has 23 tracks with a total running time of 67 minutes! The release was mastered by James Nelson of Digital Outland, and also contains lineal notes from film music journalist Randall D. Larson.

Glasser worked on a lot of films, starting out by doing a lot of westerns. But once he got to the ’50s, he composed the scores for a lot of sci-fi/horror films. Thanks to the folks at Dragon’s Digital Domain Records, we’re able to enjoy Glasser’s music on their own. Composers have a lot to do on how the film plays for the audiences, and Glasser’s work is a good example of that.

Priced at only $17.95, you can order your copy from Screen Archives Entertainment by clicking HERE.

Why We Need to See Films in the Theater

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Last night, I ventured into Chicago to the Music Box Theatre for The Creepshow, a Stephen King film festival, where they had a bunch of King movies being screened over 3 days. Friday night, they were screening the original The Shining (1980) and Doctor Sleep (2019), which I had originally planned to go but didn’t make it. Which kind of worked out for the best, since I heard it sold out early in the day. But I did go last night because they were screening Creepshow (1982), which happens to be one of my favorite films of all time. They were also screening 1408 (2007), and Christine (1983), which we planned on staying for as well.

When we (myself and my partner-in-crime for the evening, Brian Martinez) drove up to the theater, we could already see a huge line outside the theater. I lucked out in finding a parking space right in front of the theater. Any locals know just how lucky you are when that happens. In fact, we were so excited, I completely forgot to pay the parking meter. So, after over 30 years of coming into the city for movies and such, I ended up getting my first parking ticket! But back to the real story.

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Last Voyage of the Demeter

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We all know there has been countless versions of Bram Stoker’s Dracula over the last 100 years, some pretty good and others . . . eh. Some of them try hard to stick to the novel, which is always a difficult task for any fiction adaptation just due to the size of the content, while others take a few liberties with the storyline and leave Stoker’s tale far behind. But I recently came across a new film that is due to come out next year that is based on a single chapter in Stoker’s novel, which is the journey the count takes from his native land in the Carpathia to England, on the Russian ship the Demeter. The film is called Last Voyage of the Demeter.

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Alive and Kickin’

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Sorry for the lack of updates, besides a few RIP notices, which are never fun to post. We were at Flashback convention last weekend, and it honestly took a few days to recover. We’ve been there since the very first show and haven’t missed one yet, and always have a great time and so glad to be there to help celebrate their 20th Anniversary show! Mike and Mia and all the Flashback crew make it look easier than it really is, with the staff being so nice and helpful.

It was great to see so many horror fans coming through the door all three days of the show. There was a time at most conventions when Sundays were just for a few stragglers wandering around, but they were still lining up to come in that last day. Always a good sign for vendors! But it really is the afterhours conversations that is the highlight for me at these conventions. Getting to talk about our favorite genre with other friends is so much fun and always a great time.

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