October 1

60 degrees outside today. Windows cracked. Watched The Thing, Suspiria, & Halloween. It has begun.


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Haunted

I'm a huge fan of the short lived series Dead Like Me. I loved the concept and grew to adore the quirky, troubled characters. I've seen every episode at least a few times, and was delighted when the straight to DVD movie came out. (While I wasn't too happy about the new Daisy, I was more than happy to be back in their world.)

The episode "Haunted" takes place on Halloween night. I'm particularly fond of it because you get to see all the houses decorated for Halloween - something that doesn't happen all that often in TV shows or movies. Kids are running about in costumes, candy is flowing, and pumpkins and jack o'lanterns abound. There are spider webs stretched across doors and windows, giant spiders, skeletons hanging from trees and even a yard haunt or two. Also, the story of the episode is pretty damn cool.


You can watch the episode here. I hope you do.

Also, look for Emily Perkins from Ginger Snaps. She has a brief part.


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Oh Amazon Box, How I Love Thee

Packages make me very, very happy, especially when they are from Amazon.com. The one that arrived yesterday had the above beauty inside, along with The Changeling (the George C. Scott one, of course) on DVD, and the novels Candles Burning, The Amulet, and The Winter Vault. All are horror related except for the last - a book by Anne Michaels, a Canadian poet and author whose novel Fugitive Pieces and books of poetry had a profound and life changing effect on me. This is only her second novel and I have waited 13 years for it. (Please note I have no intentions of seeing the film they made from the book Fugitive Pieces because I believe it is not an experience that can be translated to film.)

I read about The Pleasure And Pain of Cult Horror Films in the latest edition of Rue Morgue Magazine. I've linked the title to its Amazon page for a description because I figured they'd do a better job than me. I am so looking forward to curling up with a different essay each night before bed. Hopefully they will bring nightmares. :)

I adore my copy of The Changeling on VHS (as evidenced by this month's blog header). Something about that fuzzy, colors-going-wonky at times, scratchy images that I find mesmerizing. For me, horror before 1990 is best experienced on VHS. But Pumpkinrot and I got to talking and wondering what a nice, clean copy of the movie would look like. Think of the details that would pop out...things I've missed in my countless viewings of the tape. So, we ordered it. No extras on it which is a bummer, but no surprise. At least it's wide screen. And it only cost, brand new, $5.98. I was happy and insulted at the same time.

Candles Burning is a novel that Tabitha King finished when the original author (and my latest literary obsession) Michael McDowell died. The Amulet is also by Mr. McDowell whose genre is Southern Gothic Horror (which is also my genre). I first read The Elementals (which sports one of the best paperback covers ever) by him and loved it so much that I have decided to read every single one of his works. I just finished Cold Moon Over Babylon. I've many more titles to go and will be so sad the day I finish his body of work.

I won't write about Fugitive Pieces here as it isn't horror...though it is in a very fundamental way. But the main reason I won't is because it would be too complex, too personal, and in all honesty something that is ultimately, for me, ineffable. Feel free to check it out on your own, but do remember that engaging the written word is a highly subjective experience and it may not be to your liking.



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Squidbillies....You Must Watch

Ok, so....it's not horror. But at least this episode has a horror-ish theme: Mephistopheles Traveled Below To A Southern State Whose Motto Is “Wisdom, Justice, and Moderation."

You see, I am a HUGE fan of Adult Swim's Squidbillies. It's a show about squids who live in Goergia. I know...just go with it. I'm from the South (and boy are there ALOT of references that I get...or I should say git), but you don't have to be from the South to love it, or enjoy the witty, intelligent, and hilarious writing. Plus the background art work by Ben Prisk is simply stunning. Also the original music by Shawn Coleman is awesome (and I'm not specifically talking about the songs featured in this epsiode, though they are brilliant spoofs) and Rot and I often let the original music section of the dvd (Season One) play while we work. And Unknown Hinson as Early Cuyler (the daddy squid) is the most dead on casting ever.

Do yourself a favor and go watch Mephistopheles Traveled Below To A Southern State Whose Motto Is “Wisdom, Justice, and Moderation" or any other episodes on Adult Swim. And even better, go buy Seasons One and Two. It's "gooder than hell!"




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Nostromo, Up Close

Found this very, very cool site that has behind the scenes photos and reminiscences from the crew of Alien. The good ol' days when people made models and monsters for movies. What a cool job that must have been.

There's all kinds of interesting stuff on the site, so be sure to explore.


Image source and site.


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Schooling

Spent the last few days visiting friends in my hometown of Memphis, Tn. While there I hung out with my good friend Bryan who owns Black Lodge Video - the coolest, most awesome video store that ever was. If you want it chances are they got it. Their VHS collection is strong, and they don't shy away from adding to it. They've everything from the latest titles to the incredibly obscure thought-you'd-never-find films. This is where I learned horror. This is where all the movies came from. (And because I know the owner, all the rentals were free.) Thanks, Bryan, for my education.


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Bad Day At The Beach

This looks like it has promise.






Salvage


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