New On Vinyl: Soundtracks for Basket Case 2 / Frankenhooker
Published on July 5th, 2016 in: Horror, Music, Soundtracks and Scores, Underground/Cult |By Tim Murr
You know, I don’t talk enough about Frank Hennenlotter. He made six insanely funny body horror/exploitation films including the cult favorites Basket Case, Frankenhooker, and Brain Damage. If you take the heady, wet horror of David Cronenberg and the gleeful sleaze of John Waters and drag them through the gutters of 1970s 42nd Street, you’ll still be surprised at how crazy a Frank Henenlotter movie can get.
TV Review: Lucha Underground, S2 E16-21, “The Prelude To Ultima Lucha Dos”
Published on June 22nd, 2016 in: Current Faves, Horror, Pro Wrestling, Science Fiction, TV, TV Reviews, Underground/Cult |
This arc of Lucha Underground is the beginning of the drive to Ultima Lucha Dos, the second season finale of the show. It’s where all the established storylines are set to climax and, in some cases, converge. Last year’s two-part finale was the best episode of Lucha Underground so far, and did a great job of setting the wheels in motion for Season Two. Ultima Lucha Dos should be at least as explosive, based on the pieces being put into place.
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Don’t Sleep: Scary Stuff To Watch In 2016
Published on June 16th, 2016 in: Horror, Listicles, Movies, Trailers, Upcoming Movies, Upcoming Releases |
We’re halfway through 2016 and it’s already been a pretty good year for horror. Films like Robert Eggers’ The Witch, Mike Flanagan’s Hush, and anthology horror Holidays have already given us our fix to get us through the winter, but the second half of the year has some of the horror releases I’m most excited for.
Movie Review: Dark
Published on June 9th, 2016 in: Horror, Movie Reviews, Movies, Reviews, Upcoming Movies |
I thought I caused the 2003 blackout.
It was the end of a day at work, and just as I hit “save” on the document I was working on so I could leave for the day, everything went dark.
Comic Review: B.E.K. Black Eyed Kids #1
Published on June 9th, 2016 in: Comic Reviews, Comics, Current Faves, Horror, Reviews |By Tim Murr
What’s creepier than creepy kids? Children Of The Damned, Children Of The Corn, The Brood, Pet Semetary—these are unsettling movies, because the epitome of innocence becomes the epitome of terror. Those cute little creatures that say silly things, making funny observations about a world that’s all new…to have them murderously turn against you is still one of the most fertile concepts in horror. It is not only the idea of killer kids, but also the idea of fighting them, or God forbid, killing them. It’s such dark and taboo territory.
Fulci’s Zombie Lives On In New Comic Series From Eibon Press
Published on June 8th, 2016 in: Comics, Horror, Movies |By Tim Murr
We’re lumbering ever closer to the launch date of Eibon Press’s Fulci Comics! Preorders begin at midnight on June 10. The legacy of the Italian godfather of gore lives on in a new ongoing series based on the 1979 classic Zombie and 1980’s City Of The Living Dead as well as an original series called Bottomfeeder.
This is one of the most unique approaches to comic publishing I’ve ever seen and there is clearly a lot of hard work and love being poured into the production. These comics will be produced in full color, distributed in sturdy sleeves (like records), and are limited to 1,000 copies, with the first 250 being accompanied by signed art plates.
And if that wasn’t juicy enough, just wait until you see all the grindhouse legends “starring” in Bottomfeeder, like Zoe Lund from Ms .45 and Joe Spinell from Maniac (for starters)!
For more background on this production, check out this interview I conducted with writer and creator Stephen Romano on the Stranger With Friction blog.
Music Review: Voyag3r, Are You Synthetic?
Published on June 7th, 2016 in: Current Faves, Horror, Music, Music Reviews, Reviews, Science Fiction |By Tim Murr
Following up 2014’s Doom Fortress (review), Detroit, Michigan’s Voyag3r returns with a spaced-out concept album called Are You Synthetic? Artist and Acid Witch singer Slasher Dave provides the gorgeous album cover, outdoing his iconic cover for Doom Fortress. Musically Voyag3r continues to give fans what they want while growing and evolving.
TV Review: Lucha Underground, S2 E11 – 15
Published on May 10th, 2016 in: Current Faves, Horror, Matshifter, Pro Wrestling, Reviews, Science Fiction, TV, TV Reviews, Underground/Cult |
Hey, I just met you,
and this is crazy,
Robert Rodriguez
loves lucha libre!
It’s been a few weeks since we’ve visited the Temple, and with Dario Cueto back in control and his feral brother Matanza as champion, the whole show has a different feel. Gone is Mil Muertes looming over the Temple on his throne and the candles and other spooky touches Catrina put in Dario’s office. Instead we’re back to having live bands play us into the shows and a general feeling that chaotic violence can erupt at any time. I have to say that I’m glad to have Dario back in the backstage vignettes in particular, because he’s a much better actor than Catrina and has his sadistic douchebag character down pat.
In Case You Missed It: May 1 – 7, 2016—Word To Your Mother
Published on May 8th, 2016 in: Comic Reviews, Critics/Criticism, DVD/Blu-Ray Reviews, Feminism, Horror, ICYMI, Magick, Movie Reviews, Music Reviews, Podcasts, Top Ten Lists, TV Reviews |
Happy Mother’s Day! Wondering how to pay homage to your mother, pop culturally speaking? Why not enjoy one of these films or TV shows featuring the Top Ten Best Moms in Pop Culture! If you want to feel better about your problematic family dynamic, you could always try the alternative: Here’s a list of the Top Ten Worst Moms in Pop Culture. (Thank Laury Scarbro for the lists, while you’re at it!)
Is Alicia Florrick a good mom in addition to being The Good Wife? The Hairpin pays tribute to this soon-to-be-over TV show with a series of fantastic and funny articles.
One thing a good mother shouldn’t do is leave her kids with a babysitter like Emelie. Tim Murr takes a look at the perils of childcare in the film of the same name, out now on home video.
For another kind of mother, you might be interested in this list of The Best Witch Cinema You Haven’t Seen from Alison Nastasi on Flavorwire. I haven’t seen or even heard of any of these films, so naturally I’m totally excited to watch all of them.
I might not be a part of the Alliance of Women Film Journalists, but I can assure you that film journalism is definitely, as Women and Hollywood puts it, a “dudeocracy.” What can be done about it? Read the article for some ideas on how we can smash the patriarchy of film criticism.
Although critics complain that the roles of women in horror movies are often meaningless or exploitive, I take a different approach in my review of the 1976 flick The Premonition over at Everything Is Scary, called “Mother Of Fears.” Diabolique Magazine has an excellent, feminist analysis of Andrzej Żuławski’s Possession in which the filmmaker seems to ask “Do you liberate in order to destroy?”
What if you had a bong that allowed you to travel through time? Sort of like an updated Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure but with more incisive sociopolitical commentary (sort of), three-part miniseries Time Traveling Bong is worth watching, according to Sachin Hingoo. For something that poses less of a problem to quantum physics, but is perhaps even more bizarre, you could check out the newest episode of the TV OR GTFO Podcast that tackles Stephen Bochco’s infamous Cop Rock. The latest episode of Outsiders, the approrpriately titled “All Hell,” is a short but fitting first season finale, says Laury.
Is the sequel to The Texas Chain Saw Massacre truly superior to the original? That’s the compelling argument made by Justin LaLiberty at Paracinema. And how do you feel about Jared Leto as Lestat in the proposed remake of Interview with the Vampire or a sequel to The Craft?
Saturday was Free Comic Book Day! Frankenstein fans should check out ExMortis, while those who were disappointed by Hawkeye’s secret life reveal in Age Of Ultron, will enjoy this article from the newest addition to the Popshifter staff, Christine Makepeace, called “The Trouble With Hawkeye.”
Musicially speaking, Melissa Bratcher asks if there’s anything Jimbo Mathus can’t do and then decides there isn’t, in her review of his latest EP, Band Of Storms.
But seriously: let’s talk about the difference between dependence and addiction and what they have to do with chronic pain.
Comic Review: ExMortis #1 – 4
Published on May 6th, 2016 in: Comic Reviews, Comics, Current Faves, Horror, Reviews |By Tim Murr
I’d love to meet Mary Shelley’s spirit and find out what she thinks of how far her creation has come in the two hundred plus years since she released it into the world. Doctor Frankenstein and his monster are two of the most enduring characters in the history of literature and fit any number of genre interpretations. Not unlike much of Shakespeare’s work, Shelley’s Frankenstein can easily be adapted to any time period and any given version can emphasize the dramatic, the horrific, or the comedic.