Happy Birthday, Lucio!

I guess I can’t let the day go without wishing my favorite Italian director a birthday wish. It’s been 25 years since we lost this great talent, but it thrills me to know that not only do his films live on (which then keeps him alive) but that his fan base seems to keep growing with each year. Of course that means that every new year, we have more movie fans dedicating more of their time to the horror genre, wanting to learn about history of the genre, and the masters of horror that have already left us. As an older fan, that gives me such hope for the future of the genre when the younger ones embrace the past.

Buon compleanno, Lucio! You may be gone, but never forgotten!

Visiting the Dead … with Friends

This last weekend, we drove over 500 miles to go to a drive-in to see movies that we have already seen.

Why?

Well, first of all, the question should be why not? But it really comes down to because of doing something out of the ordinary to have fun and spend time with friends and other like-minded monster fans.

Monster Bash usually has their convention in June, but that couldn’t happen because of the pandemic. Instead, they decided to hold Monster Bash: Under the Stars at the Riverside Drive-In, in Vandergrift, PA, where they screened 6 classic films from the ‘50s over two nights. Since we would have normally taken those days off from work, we decided we might as well use that vacation time and go out and have some fun. Especially when we heard that some other friends decided to do the same thing.

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40th Anniversary of Dead & Buried

Many years ago, apparently like decades or so, when perusing the video store aisles looking for a great film to spend your evening with, there was always Gary Sherman’s Dead & Buried (1981). It never failed to hit all the marks, from being creepy, even scary, having some incredible special effects, but also a very interesting and captivating story that was played out by some very talented actors, from veterans like Jack Albertson or James Farentino, or up-and-coming ones like Melody Anderson, Lisa Blount, or even a guy named Robert England, just a few years from becoming a huge star. I really loved it back then and still remains as one of my favorites and unfortunately one that doesn’t seemed to get the recognition it much richly deserves. But now, with a stunning new transfer coming out, maybe it will change all of that.

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Horrors at the Skyline Drive-In!

We had posted before about this year’s Super Monster Movie Fest at the Skyline Drive-In, taking place on Aug. 27th & 28th, with the theme being The Devil Made Us Do It, but they have a few other events coming up that might be of interests. For the Devil marathon, they still haven’t listed any titles yet, so we are still waiting, but I’m sure it will be another fun selection of titles. But in the meantime, check out below for some very interesting events they have scheduled.

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Little Shoppe of Horrors Takes on Dracula

Orders are now being taken for the latest issue of the magazine that has been running to close to half a century! Issue # 46 will be covering Hammer’s Dracula (1958), or as known in the states here, The Horror of Dracula, with the making of article by Bruce G. Hallenbeck. There will also be a tribute to Barbara Shelley, the Making of the Men Who Made Hammer series for Shout Factory, and so much more.

If you’re not familiar with this amazing magazine, I couldn’t urge you enough to look into it. If you love Hammer and British horror in general, there is no better magazine than this one. Always filled with amazing articles, incredible artwork, and so much information. Once you start, you’ll be like me and be hooked!

For all the ordering information, just head over to their website HERE.

Howlin’ Wolf Gives Us The Prowler

I’m always excited when someone decides to release the soundtrack from a film that you wouldn’t expect to ever see happen. Well thanks to Howling Wolf Records, you will now have the chance to get a release of the 1981 slasher film The Prowler!

With the flood of slasher films coming out in the wake of Friday the 13th, Joseph Zito’s film about a revenge killer is one of the better ones, especially due to Tom Savini’s makeup effects. But Richard Einhorn’s score also helped. And now for the first time, the complete score will be available on CD, with over an hour’s worth of music! It has been assembled and masters for CD from the 15 ips master tape, and will contain 35 tracks, liner notes by Ian Zapczynski, and a 16-page full color booklet.

For all the ordering information, head over to Howlin’ Wolf Records by clicking HERE.

Winterbeast Comes to Blu-Ray!!!

In a world where you don’t think that miracles can happen, here is your proof that you are wrong.

Vinegar Syndrome is releasing their first volume in a (hopefully) new series called Home Grown Horrors. This first set contains 3 low budget films, that as all cinema lovers know, that doesn’t mean they aren’t damn entertaining, right? The titles are Beyond Dream’s Door (1989), Fatal Exam (1990), and finally Winterbeast (1992)!

Now, if I tell you that this set is worth buying just for Winterbeast alone, I honestly can say that I would not be lying. Winterbeast is a sheer masterpiece of low budget filmmaking, that has gore, stop animated monsters, and so many W-T-F moments that you’ll just love it. But that movie aside, the amount of extras for all three of these titles is just staggering, and shows the love that Vinegar Syndrome has for the films they put out. All three films have been newly scanned and restored in 2k from 16mm original camera negative, with some footage taken from Super 8mm or tape inserts, but all looking better than they ever have before, with new and archived commentaries, and plenty of new features and interviews.

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Night Gallery Store!

Last month we posted about receiving our copy of Rod Serling’s Night Gallery: The Art of Darkness book, that is filled with all the amazing images from the gallery itself from the original TV show. For those of us that grew up on this TV show, to be able to browse through this volume just brings back so many great memories.

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Boris Karloff: The Man Behind the Monster

I will watch any movie that Boris Karloff is in, no questions asked. Even if he in in there in a small role or cameo, I will watch it. He has always been my favorite actor and the movie that made him famous, James Whale’s Frankenstein, remains in my top ten films of all time. I also can never get tired of reading new books on him and his life, or seeing documentaries on this talented man. Now with this new documentary coming out from director Thomas Hamilton, we have the opportunity to maybe learn even more about this unbelievably talented actor.

You will get to hear from a wide range of filmmakers and scholars and why Karloff is important to them and film history. Names such as Guillermo Del Toro, John Landis, Joe Dante, Christopher Plummer, Peter Bogdanovich, Ron Perlman, Leonard Maltin, Christopher Frayling, Sara Karloff, Gregory Mank, Roger Corman, Stephanie Powers, Ian Ogilvy, Norman Jewison, Orson Bean, Caroline Munro, Stephen Jacobs, Dick Miller, Peter Asher, David J. Skal, Donald Glut, Lee Grant, Sharyn Moffett, and more.

Check out the trailer below and make sure to look for it when it does become available.

Weird Wisconsin: The Bill Rebane Collection!

If you would have told me 20 years ago, that filmmakers of the likes of Al Adamson, Andy Milligan, or William Grefé, were going to be getting a special box set of their films, I’d think you’re just plain nuts. But not only do those exist, we now have one coming on Wisconsin’s own Bill Rebane. Probably best known for his epic The Giant Spider Invasion (1975), he was one of these independent filmmakers that stayed away from Hollywood, making his own little version in Gleason, Wisconsin, producing films for over a 20-years. And now, thanks to Arrow Video, you’ll have the chance to witness 6 of these titles on Blu-ray in all new restorations in the Weird Wisconsin: The Bill Rebane Collection!

Now I will say that I have seen most of the films in this collection and while some are fun and entertaining in a low budget sort of way, one of them is barely watchable. In fact, back in the VHS days, I ended up watching it twice, under two different titles before I realized it. That film would be Invasion from Inner Earth, also released under the title simply as They. But you know what? I’ve already pre-ordered my set anyway! Because that is what we do as film fans. It is simply a way to look a little deeper and closer at someone’s work, maybe seeing it a different way. Not to mention there is so much bonus material in this collection that for me, it is simply a must have. Continue reading