See the first part of this article here.Ellen Ripley (ALIEN/ALIENS, 1979/86)
Warrant Officer Ellen Ripley is just hanging out on the intergalactic transport ship Nostromo, leading the often-dull life of a Space Teamster, when all of a sudden, out of nowhere, her idiot captain decides to land on the remote planet LV-426 to investigate some stupid distress signal emanating from a crashed spaceship. Now, as we all know, responding to distress signals is one of the top five most insanely boneheaded tactical decisions any science-fiction/horror space traveler can possibly make, but this doesnt stop Captain Numbnuts from ordering his crew to get their asses down there and dope out the spooky alien wreckage.
Of course, once they go down to investigate, some dumbass crewmember decides it would be totally hilarious to stick his face in one of the strange egglike things he finds in the smoldering wreckage of the derelict ship. He subsequently winds up with some crazy xenomorphic crap stuck to his face, which serves him right for being a moron.As if the fearless leader of the Nostromo wasnt doing enough to ensure the complete annihilation of his crew through his own encyclopedic incompetence, when a nasty hideous bloody parasite creature busts out of the doomed guys chest and starts running around the ship burning everything with acid and doing bong hits in the broom closet, the captain still doesnt show the appropriate level of concern. Instead, hes just like, WhateverIll handle this little bastard, and starts climbing around the oxygen-ventilation ducts like a jackass looking for this stupid little 2-foot-tall animatronic teddy bear, when all of a suddenPOWhe comes face to face with a 7-foot crazy as hell bug-monster that bites faces, spits acid, and (in the sequel) detonates even the most kickass robots into a cloud of gross white cyborg juice with its prehensile spiked tail. When this beast starts running around waxing the entire crew one by one, Ellen Ripley proves shes the only person on board with the stones to grab a blowtorch, rescue Jonesy the cat, activate the ships self-destruct system, get into the escape pod and kick that bastard bug creature in its football-shaped head Pele-style like 50 times until it breaks its skull and flies out into space.
Ripley is such a hardcore ass-kicking chick that as soon as she wakes up from hypersleep after her first adventure, she turns right around and burns rubber back to the xenomorph-infested LV-426 with a bunch of tough-ass Colonial Marines and Paul Reiser to investigate why weve lost contact with the colonists (read: kill everything that moves). Crap hits the fan pretty much immediately. Marines are eaten by Aliens, stuff pops out of half-dead colonists chests, face-sucking monsters scurry aroundand through it all, Ripley is fragging bugs and driving APCs through walls like the goddamned Kool-Aid Man. When Reiser is all like, Hey, we need to study these Aliens and not kill all of them, Ripleys like, Screw you, Paul Reiser, you can just go get eaten by them (and he does). Bill Paxton starts acting like a little bitch, so she slaps some sense into him and tells him to stop being such a damn woman all the time and grow a pair (he eventually does, but its too late).
Eventually, crap finally starts getting out of control, so she decides to nuke the entire planet from orbit and call it a day. The Alien Queen decides it doesnt like Ripleys bad xenocidal attitude, so the face-crushing heroine responds to this complaint by jumping into a mech and robo-punching the bitchs lights out with a couple of titanium knuckle sandwiches before launching it out into the vacuum of space to join its idiot friends. Thats just what happens when you mess with Ellen Ripley.
Sidebar: DEATH BED: THE BED THAT EATS is a movie about a omnivorous demonic bed that waits for people to come have sex on it so that it can eat them. I have nothing to add to this.
Peter Washington (DAWN OF THE DEAD, 1979)
A lot of people dont have the stones to make it through the zombie apocalypse. When the crap hits the fan and everyone starts eating each other all over the place, you can basically count on your life expectancy dropping harder than X on a X. Whats left is the cream of the crop, the constantly and consistently lucky and the total wackjobs who have been stockpiling Gauss rifles and Mossberg shotguns since the start of the Cold War in a triple-enforced nuclear-warhead-proof steel bunker buried in their backyards. Its Darwins natural selection, only with more brain-eating and fewer manners. Only by finding a guy like Peter Washington (played by Ken Foree in George A. Romeros masterpiece DAWN OF THE DEAD) do you have even the most remote chance of making it out of this situation alive. Basically, he is the Cade Courtley for situations in which theres no more room in hell.
Petes a badass because he does what needs to be done and saves a handful of people who, in all honesty, would probably have died from a fatal shaving accident (apocalypse or not) without him. When he finds a basement full of zombies chowing down on some unprocessed Soylent Green, he caps the whole lot of them while everyone else is off praying and crying or burying their heads in their hands and bitching about the weather. He fights bikers, kills zombie children and does what needs to be done to keep on kicking undead balls. When everyone starts freaking out, he verbally bitch-slaps them back into the game, and does it all with a cool, laid-back attitude. Eventually, he decides hes had enough of saving all these dillholes from their much-deserved slaughter and sends them on their way so he can go off and die in peace without all the crying and whining, but the badass hero instinct in him wont let him die like that, so instead he fights his way out, flies off into the sunset and lives to rock faces another day.
Sidebar: All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.
Jason Voorhees (FRIDAY THE 13TH, 1980, et al.)
Young Jason Voorhees drowned during a summer stint at Camp Crystal Lake because his jacknut camp counselors were far too busy drinking old bong water and fornicating like wild animals in heat. Totally ripcrap pissed that he died in such an un-badass manner, Jaso
I’m generally opposed to lists. I think people go overboard with them. Best of this, scariest that, coolest so-and-so, etc. But rules were made to be broken, including my own self-made rules, and today I caved and wrote this list. It’s not a best-of list, it’s not a scariest list, it isn’t a coolest so-and-so list. The following list is full of what I like to watch during the Halloween season to get me in the mood. (Well I don’t need to be enticed into the mood, I’m usually there all year long, but these flicks are awesome anyway.)
For me, more important than outright scariness, is atmosphere. You need to have movies around that help evoke the proper Halloween atmosphere. Everyone has their own idea of what Halloween should be, and those ideas are usually formed in our childhood. I have my dad to thank for my concrete ideas on what Halloween should feel like. I grew up in Michigan, so I was given the proper fall weather thanks to Mother Nature, but my dad was always very theatrical and creative on Halloween. He even carved pumpkins with my sister and I even though he hated the smell.
Best pumpkin carving memory was in our garage, with the door open so the smell wouldn’t overcome my father, with a big Michigan thunder storm raging outside. You can’t ask for better circumstances for pumpkin carving.
Back to the list…
I also need to give a quick shout out to the Disney channel for helping me gain a proper appreciation for Halloween. They have some of the best Halloween cartoons, and back in the day they didn’t have marathons of Wizards of Waverly place, they showed the pinnacle of long lost Halloween television traditions: Disney’s Halloween Treat. For those of you in the know, I ’m not talking about the lesser foam Jack O’ Lantern host version, I mean the one from 1983 with the Magic Mirror (Hans Conried) who hosted. That guy was awesome! Okay, let’s get back to it.
Evil Dead 2: Evil Dead, as a series, is just an ingrained part of me now. The whole cast and crew are from Michigan, so I always felt a kinship with them, and I love the same things everyone else loves about Evil Dead: the low budget effects, Bruce fucking Campbell, the cabin in Tennessee (that has since burned to the ground), the dialogue, Bruce fucking Campbell. Evil Dead 2 is more polished than number one, but still retains the gore and humor…in fact it stepped up the humor to a zany cartoon-like level that carried on into Army of Darkness. (Army of Darkness is also a must-watch for the season.)
Hocus Pocus: Laugh all you want. This movie is fun and the sets and costumes are great. For a non-scary Halloween movie, it’s one that is more along the lines of comfort food for me. Plus you have three good actresses playing the witches and they are just having a ball doing it. I like watching a movie where the infectious glee that went into its making can rub off on you while you.
The Wicker Man (1973): I know that no one likes this movie but me…because I’ve never met anyone who actually does. Also anybody that I show this to never lets me recommend anything again. This movie has Christopher Lee and lots of fun songs and cult imagery and lots and lots of nudity. It is a weird flick, but it’s got a great low budget feel that puts it up next to any Hammer movie for me. It kind of feels like a long-lost secret film that you discovered. It also feels like it could be a documentary. P.S. The remake sucks hard.
Sleepy Hollow: Tim Burton has contributed much to our collective enjoyment of the dark and macabre, and Nightmare Before Christmas is also a favorite, but that one is more of a Christmas movie to me. Sleepy Hollow is so highly stylized that it makes me sad that every bit of woods was a soundstage. The movie looks amazing, has a killer score and makes darkness palpable. Burton does a wonderful job of creating colder scary feelings outside, while keeping the interiors safer and warmer. Next to Disney’s cartoon of this story, this is my favorite movie version of it. (I also like reading it, so I recommend you do that too.) If you get a chance, visit Sleepy Hollow in New York at Halloween. They have a ton of great activies including the Great Blaze with over 4,000 Jack O’ Lanterns.
An American Werewolf in London: This is pretty much the best movie for this season, although I can watch it any day of the year. The actors in this movie are great. Thankfully, but not to them, they didn’t make it very big and thus their performances have not been marred by star power. This doesn’t happen when big stars make scary movies. Interview with a Vampire might be a fun flick, but it’ll always be Tom Cruise doing the blood sucking. David Naughton is a perfect every-man and I have a thing for ‘70’s era Jenny Agutter. If you want to see her in another horror film you can rent Child’s Play 2. It seems superfluous to mention the jaw-dropping (to this day) special effects, but I will anyway. Rick Baker, you da man! And for extra credit, go to New York City and grab a Boddington’s at The Slaughtered Lamb, which has some pretty great horror décor and posters from the film.
Trick r Treat: It’s a little cheap of me to include this movie as I just watched it today for the first time, but I feel that it will keep making itself known for years to come. I had a lot of fun with this movie, and even though I expected more from it in terms of actual scares, it provided the perfect atmosphere that I keep bringing up. Anna Paquin…was this a conscious nod to True Blood? You can tell that the makers of Trick r Treat care a lot about Halloween and they have shared their feelings of the season with us.
Any Jason flick: My horror movie vice is Friday the 13th. I like those movies, no matter how shitty they continue to be. The reboot was watchable and it had its moments. My personal favorite is Final Chapter (#4), but the shots of Jason walking through NYC in Jason Takes Manhattan are priceless.
Halloween (1978): I don’t think I have to explain this one at all.
The Thing (1982): Also does not need an explanation.
The Halloween Tree / It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown: More animated fare that cannot be overlooked. You all know The Great Pumpkin, so I’ll just say that nothing beats those water-colored skies. As for The Halloween Tree, it’s based on a story by Ray Bradbury, and is narrated by him as well. Leonard Nimoy voices Carapace Clavicle Moundshroud. It’s about the history behind Halloween and is a great story that will make you wistful for trick or treating like no other. Also, you should read the book so you can take in the chapter that didn’t make it into the movie.
Anything Hammer: I don’t have to tell you that Hammer films have the best atmosphere, from the way they were shot to the colors and actors used. Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, Oliver Reed, and all those fantastic nubile young women make these movies classics of their own category. The Satanic Rites of Dracula, Dracula and his Vampire Brides, Curse of the Werewolf, Night Creatures, etc are all great examples of Hammer Films. Honorable mention goes to Amicus for The House That Dripped Blood and Scream and Scream Again. Pretty much anything British tends to get thrown into this category though. I just watched Die, Monster, Die the other night…great Karloff performance.
So there you have it, an incomplete list of things that I must watch annually. In October I only watch horror/Halloween movies, so new ones get added all the time. This year so far I’ve watched (among others) Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead, C.H.U.D., Tokyo Gore Police, Saw 4 and 5, and Ginger Snaps. I hope you all celebrate the holiday in style and in what way seems most proper to you. Costume ideas anyone? I can’t be Ash or Patrick Bateman again. I know there are tons more stuff I could’ve put on this list, but how many of you actually read the whole thing at its current length anyway? Add to this list in the comments.
Given man's unwavering fascination with woman, it's no surprise that the female star acts as the anchor to a dominant portion of horror pictures. I mean really, who wants to see a bare chested man tearin ass through the woods screaming at the top of his lungs while a bladed assailant nips at his heels? I don't - I know that much, although I'm certain there are plenty of men who would disagree (and that's okay with me, to each his own!). The simple fact remains however, women bring a unique appeal and certain sensual atmosphere to film that no man ever could. And it's not all about gratuitous T&A. 
50. Ami Dolenz: Still hard at work these days, Ami may always be remembered as one of the 90's most prolific scream queens. During her stint as screamstress Ami landed key roles in such films as PUMPKINHEAD II: BLOOD WINGS, WITCHBOARD 2: THE DEVIL'S DOORWAY, INFESTED, and CHILDREN OF THE NIGHT, amongst others.
49. Winona Ryder: While Winona hasn't invested much time in the genre as of late, horror fans like myself will always carry fond memories of the quirky Lydia Deetz of BEETLEJUICE. Factor in quality performances in such works as BRAM STOKER'S DRACULA, and EDWARD SCISSORHANDS and it's apparent Winona is rightfully deserving of a place on this list.
48. Fairuza Balk: Fairuza got her start in the early 80's, but didn't really crash into the horror landscape until the mid 90's when she was cast as lead bad girl Nancy Downs in THE CRAFT. She appeared in the shaky THE ISLAND OF DR. MOREAU remake, and recently appeared in Larry Cohen's excellent MASTERS OF HORROR offering PICK ME UP.
47. Nancy Loomis: While Nancy's résumé may not be the beefiest in the biz, she's landed a few roles that will be remembered for decades to come. And in truth, she owes that to John Carpenter, who cast Nancy in multiple pictures including cult classics THE FOG, HALLOWEEN, and ASSAULT ON PRECINCT 13.
46. Juliette Lewis: Juliette may spend a good chunk of her time kicking ass on stage with The Licks these days, but long before carving her way in the world of rock, Juliette was busy thrilling horror fans around the globe. Amongst her many genre appearances, CAPE FEAR, KALIFORNIA, NATURAL BORN KILLERS and FROM DUSK TILL DAWN remain serious fan favorites today. 
45. PJ Soles: PJ's rebellious swagger and pleasant looks landed her an assortment of genre work throughout the 1970's. In her prime Soles landed gigs such as CARRIE, HALLOWEEN, BLOOD BATH, and THE POSSESSED. Time has been kind to Soles however, as she's continued to flaunt her (matured) good looks throughout the years adding such films as INNOCENT PREY, THE DEVIL'S REJECTS and ALONE IN THE DARK II to her already impressive ledger. 
44. Sheri Moon Zombie: Mrs. Rob Zombie is pretty much Mrs. Horror. With the exception of a single episode of CALIFORNICATION, Sheri Moon has stuck to the horror genre exclusively. Her credits include both HALLOWEEN reboots, THE HAUNTED WORLD OF EL SUPERBEASTO, HOUSE OF 1000 CORPSES and THE DEVIL'S REJECTS.
43. Kate Beckinsale: This brunette bombshell has appeared in an assortment of high quality genre offerings as of late. Most noteworthy are VACANCY, The UNDERWORLD pictures and my own guilty pleasure: VAN HELSING. A fourth UNDERWORLD film looks to be in the works.
42. Vampira: The 50's just wouldn't be the same if not for 'the worst film of all time' PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE. The hokey invasion flick shot by the infamous Ed Wood is now one of most recognized films ever made. Vampira herself deserves a bit of credit for that, as the image of the films curvy villainous still remains synonymous with the picture itself. Even flops produce icons.
41. Susan Sarandon: Here's another beauty who earns herself a spot on this list as a result of landing an iconic gig. THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW may be one of Susan's only trips to the dark side (and it's obviously not a pure horror film), but I'll be damned if Janet Weiss (yes, that was intentional) isn't one of the most memorable heroines to ever grace the big screen.
40. Piper Laurie: Perhaps best remembered as Margaret White in CARRIE, has never really ventured far from the beaten path. Over the years she's done work for such television shows as THE TWILIGHT ZONE and TWIN PEAKS, while she's also squeezed in a few feature length pictures such as Dario Argento's TRAUMA, Dean Koontz's INTENSITY and Robert Rodriguez's THE FACULTY.
39. Angie Dickinson: With arguably more classic pictures under her belt than anyone else on this entire list, Angie Dickinson deserves a nod for GP alone. Factor in the legendary Brian De Palma picture DRESSED TO KILL, and THE NORLISS TAPES and a number 39 ranking is irrefutable, unless of course you vie for higher positioning.
38. Kari Wuhrer: Kari's been invading terror territory since the early 90's when she popped up in BEASTMASTER 2, and enjoyed a 10 episode run on the SWAMP THING television show. Kari continued her assault on the genre with appearances in THINNER, ANACONDA, EIGHT LEGGED FREAKS, THE HITCHER II, HELLRAISER: DEADER, yeah, I could keep goin'?
37. Famke Janssen: While Famke may end up best remembered as the beautiful mutant Jean Grey from the hugely successful X-MEN trilogy, she's contributed quite a bit to the horror genre. The former model played key roles in Clive Barker's LORD OF ILLUSIONS, DEEP RISING, THE FACULTY, the HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL remake, HIDE AND SEEK, and most recently 100 FEET.
36. Natasha Henstridge: This prototypical Scream Queen burst onto the scene with the creepy alien flick SPECIES back in 1995. Since then she's had a hand in the first two SPECIES sequels, ADRENALIN: FEAR THE RUSH, and John Carpenter's often overlooked, but enjoyable GHOSTS OF MARS. 
35. Alice Krige: Often cast in the shoes of the antagonist, Alice Krige has made a fine career chilling genre fans. An early appearance in STEPHEN KING'S SLEEPWALKERS may not have won Alice any major awards (it did earn her notice at the 1992 Fantafestival), but it sure did lead to more horrific (I mean that in a good way) roles. THE CALLING, REIGN OF FIRE, STAY ALIVE and SILENT HILL are amongst her better works.
34. Marilyn Burns: While Marilyn may only have half a dozen films on her résumé, five out of six are horror, and one happens to be the legendary Tobe Hooper picture THE TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE. Marilyn would reunite with Hooper three years after the making of TCSM for the directors third picture EATEN ALIVE, and later revisit the TCSM franchise with a cameo in THE RETURN OF THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE.
33. Barbara Crampton: Ahhhh, it all started with RE-ANIMATOR. It didn't end there however; Barbara's remained close to the genre all these years appearing in CHOPPING MALL, FROM BEYOND, and PUPPETMASTER in the 80's. TRANCERS II, CASTLE FREAK and a series of Sci-Fi work followed in the 90's. Most recently, Barbara showed up in the indie chiller THE SISTERHOOD. Look for Barbara to come full circle next year, as she's slated to appear in the upcoming HOUSE OF RE-ANIMATOR.
32. Jennifer Jason Leigh: Ms. Leigh has been a staple of the horror genre since the 80's when she was cast as Nash in the classic THE HITCHER. She's since appeared in BURIED ALIVE, SINGLE WHITE FEMALE, DOLORES CLAIBORNE, David Cronenberg's EXISTENZ and the criminally under-appreciated THE JACKET.
31. Betsy Palmer: Betsy's been a cinematic regular since the 50's, but horror fans will likely always remember her best as the demented child murdering Pamela Voorhees of FRIDAY THE 13TH. While the role, which she reprised her FRIDAY role in flashback sequences on multiple occasions, she also appeared in THE FEAR: RESSURECTION, and BELL WITCH: THE MOVIE.
30. Meg Foster: The prolific Meg Foster has had quite a dynamic career. If you can think of a genre of film, she's been cast - horror of course included. Among Meg's noteworthy genre appearances are THE LEGEND OF SLEEPY HOLLOW, John Carpenter's THEY LIVE, LEVIATHAN, and one of the greatest sequels the genre's produced STEPFATHER II. 
29. Jennifer Connelly: Jennifer's horror ledger stretches quite farther than some may realize. PHENOMENA, WITCHCRAFT V: DANCE WITH THE DEVIL, DARK CITY, 9 and the late Jim Henson's LABYRINTH are just a few of the quality genre pieces Jennifer has had a hand in.
28. Adrienne King: Here we have the greatest heroine to completely disappear from cinema. Why King chose to steer away from film is unknown to me personally, but I can say she was absolutely brilliant in FRIDAY THE 13TH. Too bad her survival came to an abrupt halt in the early frames of FRIDAY's first sequel. Fans can look forward to a long awaited genre return as King stars in the upcoming WALKING DISTANCE, which also features genre favorites Debbie Rochon and Reggie Bannister.
27. Asia Argento: Daughter of famed Italian filmmaker Dario Argento, Asia has appeared in a slew of quality chillers dating back to the mid 80's. DEMONS 2, 3, TRAUMA, THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, and LAND OF THE DEAD highlight a still growing résumé crammed with genre offerings. 
26. Hazel Court: If Jamie Lee Curtis was horror's Queen of the late 70's/early 80's - then the 50's/60's clearly belonged to Hazel Court. GHOST SHIP, DEVIL GIRL FROM MARS, THE CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN, THE INVISIBLE MAN, THE RAVEN, and THE MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH mark just a few of Hazel's frightening features.
Freddys at it again. Theres no surprise there as the real world doesnt understand that he basically exists in both worlds, yet if you try to throw a punch at his face, youre not likely going to hit him. And if you do, you might break his jaw or peel some burnt flesh off his cheek, but a minute later after unleashing a humorous quip, hell laugh it off and slice you for the trouble. Thats our beloved Freddy Krueger though. No matter how bad you think you are... hes badder.
FREDDY VS JASON VS ASH: THE NIGHTMARE WARRIORS Issues #2-4
WildStorm Comics/ Dynamite Entertainment
Written by Jeff Katz and James Kuhoric | Art by Jason Craig and Cruddie Torian
Jason Voorhees is a bad boy too. Theres no argument, no debate on who gets the last Oreo cookie. Hell cut your hands off and stomp on the cookie because he really doesnt give a frack about anything. Hes a killing machine from the get-go, and theres no rhyme or reason about it. Hes just not a people person. So what happens when you have a crazy lunatic in an offseason red and green striped sweater team up with man-made killing machine that thinks machetes are for hacking up teenagers? Hell on earth AND in your dreams. On top of that, Freddy has the power of the Necronomicon and gives Jason the gift hes been wanting since Tommy Jarvis hacked him up... a new body! Good luck in defeating this unstoppable WWE tag team champs!
THE NIGHTMARE WARRIORS is definitely for the fans. Jeff Katz and James Kuhoric construct the story using the survivors from both A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET and FRIDAY THE 13TH franchises, and its a little bit sweeter knowing who these characters are rather than a stereotypical teen getting a machete to the gut. Youve got the popular Tommy Jarvis back again to take Jason out, along with telekinetic powerhouse Tina Shepard from FRIDAY THE 13TH PART 7: THE NEW BLOOD, almost-forgotten empath, Rennie Wickham from FRIDAY THE 13TH PART 8: JASON TAKES MANHATTAN, and little known Stephanie Kimble from the forgettable JASON GOES TO HELL installment. On the dream warriors side, youve got the Dream Master Alice Johnson, her son Jacob from A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET 5: THE DREAM CHILD, the forgotten counselor Neil Gordon from the popular A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET 3: DREAM WARRIORS, and the daughter of Freddy, Maggie Burroughs from FREDDYS DEAD. All have gathered together to take down these two monsters of mayhem, but somethings missing. Someone that likes to carry a boomstick at all times.
Thrown in the middle of it all is Ashley Williams, aka The Chosen One to battle the Necronomicon. And after successfully defeating the two monster machines in the first comic book series, poor old Ash finds himself back at square one after Jason Voorhees finds out where he lives, and takes care of his girlfriend. (WARNING: Ladies, do not date Ash. Your chances of dying are pretty high and full.) So its an all out war now with FREDDY VS JASON VS ASH: THE NIGHTMARE WARRIORS. But is it good amidst all this chaos in characters in and plotting?
Get the popcorn out and maybe some nacho cheese because this series is pure entertainment. Not looking to win any prestigious awards or be listed as the greatest book ever, THE NIGHTMARE WARRIORS instead delivers a non-stop ride into memory lane, taking most of the survivors from each film franchise and creating something new... A finality using the final girls and guys. If its one thing that kind of frustrates me with horror films, its left wondering what happened to the survivors of each film, especially when sequels are made. Its kind of like, Why doesnt Jason go back and take on Tina now that hes back? Well, hed probably get his ass kicked again, but I dont have to wonder about that anymore because shes in this book! Katz and Kuhoric have thrown away the rule book, and have gone completely nuts with this sequel, and the fans are truly rewarded for its crazy, breakout fun. The art is catchy too, as Jason Craig loves to draw them ladies with better than perfect bodies, making tanning oil scream with delight before touching these bodies. Especially Maggie when she lets loose and Freddy starts getting sick with her. Its weird, but hey, its a comic book. And since it cant be a film, why not pull out all the stop signs and just go for it? Katz, Kuhoric, Craig, and the rest of the team sure did, and if youre not smiling at least once during this series, then go back to Sleepaway Camp.
GRADE: All Three Issues 
Actor Derek Mears confirmed at this past weekends Rock and Shock convention that hell be joining the cast of the Robert Rodriguez-produced PREDATORSbut what about reprising his role of Jason in the 3-D FRIDAY THE 13TH PART 2, for which Warner Bros. (which distributes for New Line Cinema) has announced a debut of Friday, August 13, 2010? Fango chatted briefly with the actor at the con about where that sequels at.
So what would Mears like to see Jason do in the second film? Murder teenagers! the actor laughs. I really dont know. Thats a great question; Ive never been asked that before. Im not sure right now.
He knows a little more about what hell get up to in PREDATORS, but is under a studio-imposed cone of silence right now. All I can say is that Im part of the cast, and thats it, he notes. I just found out, and I felt bad because it leaked out on the Internet and so many fans were asking me, Hey, whats going on with you and PREDATORS? and contractually I couldnt say anything. But I got the OK two days ago to say I am officially part of the cast. Well let you know more about both projects as we find it out!
Halloween is coming, and fright flicks are everywhere at repertory houses and special showings. Joining the screening events we previously listed here and here are more big-screen revivals of classic fear films, plus a couple of East Coast Zombie Walks!
This years official New York City Zombie Crawl takes place Sunday, Oct. 25, beginning at 5 p.m. at Beauty Bar (231 East 14th Street) and continuing through several Lower East Side watering holes (therefore, participants must be 21 or older). The final destination is back at Beauty for an open bar between 10-11 p.m., and a Zombie Beauty Pageant. The folks behind this one have a whole slew of undead events going on this month, also including a Zombie Prom Party in Brooklyn on Wednesday, Oct. 21; the Splatterhouse: Fake Blood Party at Philadelphias 941 Theater on Friday, Oct. 23; Zombiecon 2009 and Thrill the World NYC on Saturday, Oct. 24; Zombie Prom 2009 in Manhattan on Thursday, Oct. 29; and a RESCUEZombie Invasion Dance Party on Manhattans Lower East Side on Friday, Oct. 30. In addition, the Zombie Crawl invades Greenwich Villages Halloween Parade on the 31st, and the Disgraceland Hook Squad will terrorize visitors to the Blood Manor haunted attraction all month. For more info on all of these, click here.
Los Angeles American Cinematheque has a bunch of frightful big-screen treats coming up through the end of October. The fun at the Egyptian Theatre (6712 Hollywood Boulevard) starts off with writer/director Fred Dekker accompanying his cut of NIGHT OF THE CREEPS tomorrow, Thursday the 15th at 8 p.m.. Saturday, Oct. 17 sees a Haunted Hollywood Movie Scavenger Hunt from 3:45-6 p.m., followed by a double feature of the Corey n Corey favorites THE GOONIES and THE LOST BOYS beginning at 7:30. And the 50th anniversary of THE TWILIGHT ZONE is celebrated on Friday, October 30 at 8 p.m., as some of the series best-known episodes are accompanied by discussions with THE TWILIGHT ZONE COMPANION author Marc Scott Zicree and talent from the show.
Over at the Aero Theatre (1328 Montana Avenue), the Cinematheque welcomes venerable genre author Ray Bradbury to a showing of SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES on Saturday, Oct. 24 at 7:30 p.m., preceded by a reception and book signing at the Every Picture Tells a Story gallery from 4-7 p.m., where a new, limited-edition print of his painting The Dark Carnival will be unveiled. On Friday, Oct. 30, the Universal 40s faves HOUSE OF FRANKENSTEIN and HOUSE OF DRACULA will be screened beginning at 7:30 p.m., followed by a Halloween Dusk-to-Dawn Horrorthon the next night. This one presents THE PEOPLE UNDER THE STAIRS, the original DAY OF THE DEAD, SOCIETY, THE BROOD, MANIAC (with director William Lustig in person) and Norman J. Warrens TERROR, with trailers, shorts, giveaways and free snack food! Check out the Cinematheque site above for more details on all of these.
Media Blasters gives its new horror anthology LATE FEE its Philadelphia premiere this Sunday, Oct. 18 at 8 and 10 p.m. at the 941 Theater (941 North Front Street). Written and directed by John Carchietta and Carl Morano, the movie starts at a strange video store where a young couple rent some horror DVDs for Halloween-night viewing, little knowing that their fear wont just be inspired by whats on their TV screen. Members of the cast are scheduled to appear, and the feature will be preceded by Anders Eriksens surreal short SILENT NILS: EXPERIMENT 136C. More info can be found at the 941 Theaters website here.
New York Citys Film Forum (209 West Houston Street) celebrates Halloween by hosting a one-admission-price double feature of the 1973 classic THEATER OF BLOOD, directed by Douglas Hickox and starring Vincent Price as a hammy actor who murders his critics in Shakespearean ways, and (in a new 35mm print) 1961s British psychochiller SCREAM OF FEAR, whose creators include such Hammer horror stalwarts as director Seth Holt, scripter Jimmy Sangster and star Christopher Lee. The movies play Friday-Thursday, October 30-November 5, with THEATER at 2:35, 6:10 and 9:45 p.m. and SCREAM at 1, 4:35 and 8:10 p.m.
Then from Friday-Thursday, December 4-10, Film Forum presents a retrospective on James Whale, the legendary director best-known for his landmark Universal monster movies. The scary stuff is showcased in the first two days: Dec. 4 is a double bill of 1931s FRANKENSTEIN (1, 3:50, 6:40 and 9:25 p.m.) and 1933s THE INVISIBLE MAN (2:25, 5:15 and 8 p.m.), and Dec. 5 pairs 1935s BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN (2:30, 5:30 and 8:30 p.m.) and 1932s THE OLD DARK HOUSE (1, 4 and 7 p.m.). You can catch both double features for a single admission each; BRIDE also shows as a single feature on the 6th at 1 and 10 p.m., and Bill Condons Oscar-winning Whale biopic GODS AND MONSTERS will be presented on the 5th at 10 p.m. only.
Sacramento, CAs Trash Film Orgy presents a Halloween Double Feature Shock Show on Saturday, Oct. 31 at the historic and haunted Crest Theatre (1013 K Street). Joe Dantes THE HOWLING and Robert Rodriguezs FROM DUSK TILL DAWN will be presented in 35mm prints, and there will also be classic cult/exploitation trailers and shorts, live performances, audience interaction and more for a full night of scary fun (for attendees 18 and older only). Doors open at 10 p.m., and admission is $9.50; you can get $1 off the ticket price if you come dressed as your favorite classic monster. For more on this and other Trash Film Orgy events, click on the link above.
SATANIC PANIC (out on DVD next week from Celebrity Video) is named after the wave of paranoia that swept across the U.S. in the early 80s, inspired by reports and rumors that adults and children were being kidnapped by devil-worshipping cults and subjected to torturous rituals and sacrifice. Its a potentially provocative and eerie premise for a filmmaker to build onbut here, writer/director Marc Selz doesnt really try.
Portions of the movies first third have the right idea, beginning in vérité/interview style as a fruity self-confessed Satanist defending his own nonviolent lifestyle is intercut with survivors recounting their ordeals at cultists hands. The most evocative material follows, as a man shows the camera around his neighborhood of abandoned, boarded-up homes, the residents all having fled in fear of local satanic activities. Sadly, Selz then goes schlocky, cutting to the same guy hanging naked in a basement, at the mercy of an unseen cultist who shoves a metal pipe up his butt.Its a signpost of the bait-and-switch to come. The movie then takes us to 1980, where a young boy is sacrificed on an altar in the woods while his sister Cindy flees to safety, and she is subsequently interviewed by the authorities. Flash-forward to the present day, and the now-adult Cindy is still clearly haunted by the experience. The scene appears to be set for an exploration of how the traumas of the past influence the present, and the evils that adults do unto children who cant defend themselves. Instead, Selz abandons this promising plotline, and the remaining 50 minutes or so are one more saga of a group of vacationing friends (with no connection to any of the people weve seen before) who set out on a camping trip and wind up running afoul of Bad Stuff.
They come across the usual suspectsa caricatured hick with bad hygiene (played by co-writer/composer Karl Sundstrom), an odd, vaguely threatening general-store owner, etc.before night falls and cultists in cheap robes and hoods come out to play. Its quite a generic comedown from the intriguing setup, and while Selz strains to come up with creative murder scenarios, they come off as simply contrived. In a particularly pointless flourish, one victim is tied up on a boat in a lake, and a fully garbed worshipper pops out of the water beside her to plunge the dagger in. And if that strikes you as not making much sense, wait till you get to the ending, which attempts to tie up all the narrative threads but comes across simply as a rather incoherent excuse to bring on a literal monster.
Selz makes a good stab at explaining his climax on an audio commentary he shares with Sundstrom, but it remains easy to understand when he reports that a number of people came up to him with questions after an early screening. SATANIC PANICs widescreen transfer (sharp and clean, though numerous daytime scenes appear overexposed) is also supplemented with Norvilles Outtakes, which amount to less than two minutes of Sundstrom clowning around on set, and a slideshow and featurette on the FX, but the commentary is the most substantial extra. The duo share a decent amount of production information and anecdotes over the course of their discussion: where they found those streets with the shuttered houses, the fact that both the 1980s siblings were played by the same child actress, the inevitable difficulties of finding a church whose owners would allow them to shoot there, in-references ranging from FRIDAY THE 13TH PART III to NIGHT OF THE DEMONS, etc.
The filmmakers yen to pay tribute to 80s fear fare also informs a more unfortunate running theme in this track, however, as they repeatedly refer to SATANIC PANIC as a textbook horror movie designed for short attention span theater, whose target viewers arent going to care about things like characterization. Despite moments where they note attempts to inject a little extra drama into the proceedings, too often they come off as apologizing for making a silly fright flick intended to replicate the formula of B-chillers past, hewing to established conventions instead of venturing into more distinctive territory. Its especially frustrating since SATANIC PANICs first act strongly suggests that something much more impactful could have been achieved here, rather than what Selz describes as an 80s-style slasher movie based on something that creeped us out as kids. At one point, Selz makes reference to a potential prequel, which would offer a much more interesting, deeper story than weve given you here. Need it even be said that thats what he should have gone for the first time around?
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