Night Gallery

As a wedding gift to ourselves, Pumpkinrot and I bought the first season of Night Gallery on DVD. We've both seen every episode, but it's nice to occasionally put in a disc and rediscover them together.

I always wanted paintings from the show to hang on my walls. Never tried to copy one for myself, but one of these days I just might.

Paintings from Night Gallery:



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Best Movie Poster of 2009? So Far...Yes.

I so dig this poster for the upcoming Ti West film The House of the Devil. Unfortunately I couldn't find a larger pic.


Ti West also wrote and directed The Roost.

Ode To Haunted Houses

I love haunted house stories. They are my all time favorite of the horror genre, in literature and in film. The dark wood, the creaking stairs, the dust, the stale air of the attic, the long hallways....pure heaven to me. The quiet, subtle moments are what I love most. The idea that a house is a living being with feelings and intentions is one that is ever intriguing, as well as the notion that a house can replay and echo the horrors that happen within them over and over. In a haunted house time stops, and the connection (and safety) to the outside world is lost. For some reason I find that comforting. Perhaps it's the timelessness of it, or because the rules of the world no longer apply, or because it is a final destination and there is no more work to be done. I don't know.

There are many haunted houses that I revisit often: The Shining (novel & film), The Haunting (the 1963 film), The Legend Of Hell House (novel & film), The Haunting of Hill House (novel by Shirley Jackson), The Haunting of Julia (novel & film), and others that I will remember after I publish this post.

I've a new one to add to the list - a short story that appeared in Weird Tales Magazine. It's "Renovations" by Matthew Pridham. You can read the story here.

Screencap from The Legend Of Hell House.


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Don't Be Afraid of the Dark

Pumpkinrot and I spend alot of time talking about and watching horror movies. One of the most enjoyable things we do is revisit movies that scared us when we were kids - the movies that, later that night when it was time to go to bed, transformed the closet door cracked open in the dark to a chasm filled with horrible monsters and the 2 feet on the floor next to the bed a "no foot" zone. It's often a challenge to find these movies (and sometimes hard to remember the titles), but once in a while we track them down. Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark was a made for TV movie that Pumpkinrot remembers. We managed to find it on YouTube.

I'm into any movie whose description begins, "A couple moves into an old mansion..."

It was so much fun to watch.

Screencap from the film.


I'm totally going hide a little demon doll in the medicine cabinet for Rot to find.


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The Night No One Came Home

Sure wish I owned these beauties.



From here.
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VHS Lives!

I got my #2 issue of LUNCHMEAT a few days ago, and I love it. The magazine is dedicated to the love of VHS horror...something near and dear to my heart. I've always said that pre-1990 horror is best experienced on VHS. I'm glad others feel the same way.

Here is a list of all the movies they review in the issue. I was surprised to find that I've only seen about half (a few of which I own)...which demotes me from Horror Badass to Puny Wanna-Be.

Dang it.

LUNCHMEAT #2:
I Was A Teenage Frankenstein (1957)
Primal Scream (1987)
Spare Parts (1979)
The Asphyx (1973)
Eyes of Fire (1983)
Creepy Classics (1987)
Terror In The Swamp (1985)
Maneater (1979)
House Of The Long Shadows (1983)
Murder Weapon (1989)
Girlfriend From Hell (1990)
Night Of The Demon (1980)
Mortuary (1983)
Endgame (1983)
Razorback (1984)
Blood Link (1982)
The Night God Screamed (1971)
The Rejuvenator (1988)
The Muthers (1976)
Who Killed Teddy Bear? (1965)


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Oh, That's Just Wrong. Can I See?

I really want to see this movie, Nekromantik. I've heard all kinds of wonderfully bad things about it - like even hardcore horror buffs and gorehounds find this one hard to stomach. Copies on eBay run an average of $100, so I guess it will be awhile before I'll get my hands on it. Perhaps I'll get lucky and find an old VHS at a garage sale. One can hope.


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A Must For The Holiday Season

I finally got to show Pumpkinrot (who as of a week and a half ago I can now call husband) a damn fine horror film titled Black Christmas. (And I do NOT mean that god awful remake from a couple of years ago.) It was made in 1974, well before Halloween, and to this day still is one of the most original and well made horror movies out there. It was well before its time in how the story is crafted, and holds up supurbly even 34 years later. If you are serious about your horror and have not seen this one, you really should get it.


Screencap from here.
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Splinter

Loved this movie. We watched in on Comcast On Demand, so it isn't on DVD yet. If you have the chance to see this, you should check it out. Very original and well made.



Splinter Official Site

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The Roost

Revisited an old friend tonight - The Roost. Pumpkinrot hadn't seen it, though he was familiar with some of the score (I'd used some songs on previous Halloween cds). I'd fogotten what a joy this movie is - original, beautifully shot (the use of negative space is awesome), and some of the best and most unexpected scares I've seen in a while. The movie takes its time and does it well - something that I adore in horror but rarely see. Sure, it has its flaws (what low budget movie doesn't?), but the gems more then make up for the minor mistakes.


The score is by Jeff Grace, who went on the do the haunting & somber score to The Last Winter. Both are purchase worthy.


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Electric Halloween

Happy Halloween

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It Is Almost Here

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Batty

Watching AMC's Fear Fest. Gotta love horror movies 24/7.


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Let The Right One In

I can't wait to see this.





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The Wee Hours

After staring at the ceiling from 1:30 a.m. to 3:30 a.m. I decided to give up and get up. I'll work on the 2008 Halloween cd while watching an old black & white horror:

I'll probably fall face first asleep in my waffles come 8:30 a.m.



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We Don't Need A Cat In The Hat On Our Rainy Day

It's a rainy, dreary day today. Pumpkinrot and I will spend it making all sorts of little creatures to go up on our Pumpkin Hollow Etsy Shop. While we do that, movies will play and Halloweeny candles will be burning. In today's queue:

The Tempter, 1974. I've actually had this one laying around for quite some time and have yet to watch it. I bought it when the little video store I worked at occasionally was getting rid of all its VHS. I paid 99 cents... a much better bargain than the $59.95 list price on the box. The back of it reads:

"Picture this: a beautiful young woman becomes devilishly possessed, and after committing a series of unspeakable acts - shown in graphic detail, of course - a priest is called in to exercise some exorcism. Sound familiar? Well, move over Linda Blair, 'cause there's a new demon on the block!..."

It goes on to say that its "titillating scenes" include an "orgy in hell." Should make for some good rainy day viewing, no?

**Follow Up: Wow...that really, really sucked.

After that it's The Nanny, 1965, starring Betty Davis and my latest obssession, Pamela Franklin.


It's shaping up to be a pretty good day.

*Follow Up: The Nanny was fantastic!*

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Haunted House Day

Yesterday was one of the first true days of fall. For some reason the crisp, cool air always puts me in the mood for a good haunted house story. So, I watched three old favorites in a row: The Legend of Hell House (1973), The Haunting (1963), and The Haunting of Julia (1977). Clove candles burned as the movies played and autumn air blew in through the open windows. It was a good day.


The Legend of Hell House (Awesome screencaps by a75.)

The Haunting

The Haunting of Julia



If you happen to come across this blog and know of any really good haunted house or ghost movies, please let me know. Thanks. :)


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Ginger Snaps

Watched an old favorite of mine this morning, Ginger Snaps. Two sisters and a werewolf - this is some good stuff. I absolutely love the characters, their wicked backtalk and wisecracks, and how they relate to one another. The opening credits are some of the coolest I've seen. If you haven't watched it and are a fan of the wereworlf genre, you should check this one out - a new twist on an old tale. (And the whole metaphor for becoming-a-woman-thing is pretty damn interesting too).

Images from the opening credits.

Bridgette


Ginger



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Horror Convention Follow Up

The horror convention with Pumpkinrot over the weekend was loads of fun. I picked up some soundtracks and two movies that have been on my wish list for quite awhile.


I also got to meet Johnny Butane of Dreadcentral.com. That was fun because I've been reading the site for a very,very long time now. Oh, and meeting Tom Savini was pretty fucking cool too. :)


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Horror Convention

Pumpkinrot took me to my very first horror convention today. We had a blast and got some cool stuff. I'll post more later.



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