Zombos Closet of Horror

Night of the Demon (1957): It's in the trees! It's coming!

Iconic Demon in Unabashed Supernatural Horror Makes Good
1950's Movies

So...this guy, Hal Chester, messed up the screenplay quite a bit. It was so good, the screenplay, that it couldn't be completely destroyed, only half destroyed. It's still considered a good movie. I think the job Jacques Tourneur did with what Hal Chester gave him was awfully good. Hal Chester, as far as I'm concerned, if he walked up my driveway right now, I'd shoot him dead.-- Charles Bennett (screenplay, Night of the Demon, quoted in Backstory 1: Interviews with Screenwriter's of Hollywood's Golden Age)

It's funny how the same mainstream script-to-screen development journey is undertaken again and again: script gets written, then gets rewritten by Hollywood-type (sometimes plural) who sticks his or her two cents in while pinching every other penny out of production, usually creating a penny-wise but pound foolish cinematic disappointment. In the case of one film, Night of the Demon (or the shortened Curse of the Demon in America), the script actually survives "improvements" by said Hollywood-type--Hal E. Chester--and the vexing Bureau of British Film Censors, to become an effective supernatural chiller in spite of the Woolworth's bargain basement special effects involving a beautiful-in-concept, godawful-in-execution, puppet demon, and bad-boy drinking habits of one American actor determined to climb inside an empty bottle of booze head first. Of all the remakes, reworks, and re-imagines circulating Hollywood these days, this little cult gem of supernatural horror really deserves attention.

But did Hal E. Chester or the censors really hurt the film? Or did they inadvertently help polish it into a tidy, tension-mounting story showing how psychologist and paranormal debunker John Holden steps into it, only to realize what's sticking to his shoe is real and hairy and cannot be rationally explained away by science?

Jack Pierce's Hollywood Star Petition

I received this important note from Scott Essman at Visionary Media:

Friends, Fans and Others:

This takes about 10 seconds of time but can correct an injustice that's been going on for 60 years since Jack Pierce "left" Universal.

You can help get pioneering make-up artist Jack Pierce his long overdue recognition by signing the petition requesting Universal Studios and it’s parent company to fully fund a Star on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame for the man who created many of the classic monsters that firmly embedded the horror genre into our cinematic and cultural psyche.

View and Sign Petition

IRON MAN (2008): A Superhero with Heart

A Superhero with the Greatest Powers: His Brain and His Heart
Marvelous Superheroes

Robert Downey Jr. and Gwyneth Paltrow make Iron Man more than the sum of the boilerplate screenplay by Mark Fergus, and the cover-the-basics villains and action directed by Jon Favreau. As Tony Stark, playboy billionaire (and former Long Island native), and Pepper Potts, his personal assistant handling his professional and personal affairs with equal efficiency--including his hubris-sized ego--both bring a twinkle-in-the-eye charm to this first tent-pole movie of the summertime box office season. And this tent-pole is made solid iron strong because of it.

From the opening salvo of Stark's bloody capture by terrorists, to his revelation his weapons of mass destruction actually kill more than the enemy, Downey keeps the balance of humor and drama in proper comic book movie perspective. While motivations and characters are measured in black and white to keep the action neatly moving, it 's Downey's cheeky delivery and attitude riffing against Paltrow's dry, no-nonsense, manner in between the slam-bam fisticuffs, and Stark's humorous outcomes when developing his suit of armor that delights more than the expected rousing rock music score and flashy explosions; but those are not too shabby either.

Between the exploding tanks and humvees, and bullets ricocheting, his development of Iron Man's armor from early prototype to uber-gadgetized, mechanized, Jarvisized (a very personal and proper speaking computer net), and hot-rod red splashed alloy chick-magnet, the special effects kick in bigtime but still take a backseat to Downey's over-eager robotic helpers, his insistence on testing features not quite ready for prime time, and a chest implant keeping him alive, but glows like a Burger King sign and requires more upkeep than he can carry out alone. Ms. Potts rises to the occasion here, but sends him into cardiac arrest when she accidentally pulls the plug on this mini-power plant, which keeps the shrapnel scattered around his heart from moving any closer. It also powers the suit of armor, and provides the impetus for a mine-is-bigger confrontation between Iron Man and a very hostile corporate take over.

The movie stays true to the original comic book storyline, but updates it from Vietnam to Afghanistan. There's also S.H.I.E.L.D. For comic geeks (like myself) who grew up on a steady diet of the Avengers and Nick Fury's gadget-topian secret service, I'll only say you need to stay seated past the credits. A teaser shows the possibilities for the sequel, and they are Marvel-ous indeed. This beginning franchise is running on all thrusters, and if Downey and Paltrow stay the course, it will remain so.

Joshua Hoffine: Horror Worth a Thousand Words

Little Girls and Big Monsters: Joshua Hoffine's Photographic Horrors
Icky Illustrations

One of the greatest pleasures derived from writing a horror blog is meeting so many interesting people involved creatively with the horror genre and how they express themselves through the moving image, the written and spoken word, a chilling melody or ominous sound, nightmarish illustration, or a fiendish photograph that freezes horror for one lasting moment in time, somewhere between our feet dangling into the deepest pit of our fears and the tips of our fingers holding fast to the shorn edge of our reason.

I'm not quite sure whether photographer Joshua Hoffine has lost his grip yet, but let's chat with him while we still can about his morbid curiosity getting the better of him, and his nightmarish visions clouding his better judgment; in other words, his freaking-me-out photographs of horror.

HOW DID YOU GET STARTED IN PHOTOGRAPHY AND MUTATE FROM WHOLESOME SUBJECTS TO FANTASTIC HORROR?

I started making photographs shortly after graduating from college with a degree in English Literature. My original portfolio of photographs was very dark and disturbing. At that time, I was interested in Frederick Sommer and Joel Peter Witkin, and was creating proto-horror assemblages that sometimes included animal parts. I landed an internship with Nick Vedros, who is the biggest photographer in my hometown of Kansas City, and Nick encouraged me to make my work more palatable to survive as a commercial photographer. From Nick I moved onto Hallmark Cards, which is also based in my hometown.

At Hallmark I mastered the art of making things pretty. I left after only 18 months, and started shooting weddings. With the free time and resources that wedding photography afforded me, I began my first project as a mature photographer, a series of horror photographs called After Dark, My Sweet. Without a gallery or an agent or an audience of any sort, I drove my family into poverty time and time again as I self-financed this costly work. My images are not photoshop collages, but meticulously lit performances caught on camera. I build sets, and use costumes, elaborate props, special effects make-up, and fog machines to bring my ideas to life. I am only restrained by budget.

WHAT IS YOUR CREATIVE PROCESS? HOW DO YOU COME UP WITH THE SITUATIONS YOU DEPICT?

From my own memories and fears, as well as the fears of my children. There are sometimes allusions to specific horror films or fairy tales. I am especially attracted to any fears that might be considered universal - like the fear of a monster or boogeyman lurking under your bed.

I FOUND 'CELLAR' PARTICULARLY DISTURBING, AND EVOCATIVE OF J-HORROR NIGHTMARE. HOW DID YOU COME UP WITH THIS ONE?

That image is directly inspired by Henrietta bursting out of the earthen floor of the fruit cellar in Evil Dead 2.

MANY OF YOUR PHOTOS HAVE A LITTLE BLOND-HAIRED GIRL IN THEM. WHO IS SHE? WHY NOT USE A LITTLE BOY INSTEAD?

The Little Girl is played, alternately by my daughters Shiva or Chloe. I chose to use a Little Girl because it carries more archetypal power, and references other Little Girl characters like Goldilocks, Little Red Riding Hood, Alice in Wonderland and Dorothy in Oz. In my work, like everywhere else, the Little Girl symbolizes innocence and wonder. Simultaneously, the work possesses a subtext about child predation - which is more easily conveyed, I feel, by using a little girl rather than a little boy. I am interested in the operation of subtext and metaphor in Horror.

I'LL ASSUME YOUR A HORROR FAN IN GENERAL. WHICH ARE YOUR FAVORITE MONSTERS AND WHY?

My favorite monsters include Rob Bottin's work on The Thing, the original Nosferatu, Chris Cunningham's Rubber Johnny, and the child-devouring ogre in Pan's Labrynth. Because they are perfect.

DO YOU DO COMMISSIONED WORK; FOR INSTANCE, TAKE SOMEONE'S NIGHTMARE IDEA AND PHOTOGRAPH IT FOR THEM?

I do commissioned work all the time, mostly for bands and musicians with independent record labels. There is no art director with small labels, so I'm able to write an original piece tailored just for the musician. My most recent work was done for a Detroit rapper named Prozak. Some of his work has a political streak through it, so I wrote 'Uncle Sam' for him to use as artwork on his CD. Other times, he just had a prop he was interested in, like a gas mask or a chainsaw - and I'd hammer out a scenario to go shoot. We're gearing up to do another one in fact, based on The Slumber Party Massacre.

WHAT'S THE ONE QUESTION I SHOULD BE ASKING BUT DIDN'T? AND WHAT'S YOUR ANSWER?

Question: Do you still shoot weddings?

Answer: About 20 a year. But under a fake name.

Now that is truly frightening, indeed! You can shudder at Joshua Hoffine's photographic horrors at http://joshuahoffine.com.

The Forbidden Kingdom (2008)

Chan, Li, and the Monkey King
by Black Iron Paw

Jet Li and Jackie Chan on screen together for the first time generate entertaining chopsocky mayhem in this light-hearted actioner fantasy from director Rob Minkoff and writer John Fusco. Get a big bucket of popcorn, add liberal amounts of salt and butter flavor, and just enjoy this fairytale story that's short on logic but long on fun and mind-blowing kick-ass artistry between Li and Chan.

From the opening over-the-top credit roll parading martial arts movie posters in all their pulp-saturated color glory,  highlighted by upbeat heart-thumping music, to the whimsical, so bad it's charming wirework of Sun Wukong, the Monkey King's aerial combat on a mountain top against the Jade soldiers sent by the evil Jade Warlord (played by Collin Chou with suitable evilness), this movie doesn't take itself too seriously, but relishes the frenetic Kung Fu energy generated by Li and Chan as part homage to the countless kick-block-punch-jump-fly movies that have brightened up many a Saturday matinée.

Young Jason Tripitikas (Michael Angarano), martial arts dreamer and fanatical fan, visits his favorite hookup for bootleg, undubbed Kung Fu films, a pawn shop run by an incredibly old Chinese gentleman with a penchant for drinking a lot and keeping the golden Jingu Bang, the Monkey King's magical fighting staff, in his back room. Telling young Jason the staff needs to be returned to its owner, the story is set and put into action when Jason is bullied by the neighborhood bad boys to rob the pawn shop. The staff and Jason connect big time, sending him through the gate that has no gate to an ancient and mystical China, complete with understandable natives after he meets up with Jackie Chan, who promptly slaps some language speaking skills into Jason's head when Chan tells him to pay attention and listen.

Eternal Vigilance Signing and More

A quick sip from the cauldron from Gabrielle Faust...

Just a reminder to mark your calendars for the massive book signing, including ETERNAL VIGILANCE by yours truly, Gabrielle Faust, next Friday, April 25th!

This event, a part of the Nebula Awards and sponsored by BookPeople, is going to be one signing you are not going to want to miss!

Confirmed Authors Signing:
Neal Barrett, Jr., Michael Bey, Jayme Lynn Blaschke, Michael Capobianco, David Chang, Rosemary Clement-Moore, A.C. Crispin, Shirley Crossland, Sarah Beth Durst, Scott Edelman, Michael Ehart, Gabrielle Faust, Steven Gould, Joe Haldeman, Candace Havens, Kij Johnson, Ellen Kushner, Joe R. Lansdale, Alexis Glynn Latner, Christina Leicht, Lee Martindale, A Lee Martinez, Ardath Mayhar, Jack McDevitt, Chris McKitterick, Paul Melko, Laura Mixon, Elizabeth Moon, Michael Moorcock, John Moore, Nancy Jane Moore, Vera Nazarian, Jennifer Pelland, Lawrence Person, John Picacio, Christine Rose, Patrice Sarath, Stanley Schmidt, Delia Sherman, Shanna Swendson, Mary Turzillo, Gordon Van Gelder, Elizabeth Wein, Steve Wilson...

Where & When:
Friday, April 25th
Omni Hotel Downtown
Longhorn Ballroom
700 San Jacinto Blvd.
Austin, Texas

More Information About the Nebula Awards

Eternal Vigilance Website 

Remembering the Beloved Gill Man

BIG BEN CHAPMAN
Remembering the Beloved Gill Man Actor
By Scott Essman
Undying Universal Monsters

Yes, there was Ricou Browning for the underwater scenes and suit performers on land who followed, notably Tom Hennesy and Don Magowan, but for millions of “creature feature” fans, Benjamin F. Chapman, Jr. was the “reel” Gill Man from the original 1954 classic, CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON.  On February 21, he sadly passed away in Hawaii at the age of 79.

Certainly, the Bay Area native had the advantage of being a player on the Universal lot in the early 1950s and his 6’5” size and relative youth – in his late 20s – made him ideal for the part of the creature who stalks North American invaders of his native Amazonian lagoon in the beloved film, originally filmed in 3D.  But Chapman brought a grace and several nuances to the performance of the first Gill Man, which made him one of the great icons in the Universal Studios canon of classic monsters.

In preparations for the creation of the titular character, Universal’s makeup department, headed by Bud Westmore, cast Chapman’s and Browning’s various body parts to fabricate the Gill Man costume, which was realized in foam rubber. Different sections such as torso, arms and legs, were taken off of impressions of Chapman’s body, then the team, including stalwarts such as Tom Case and Jack Kevan, created individual sections. The memorable Gill Man face was designed by artist Milicent Patrick and sculpted by Chris Mueller. Chapman was suited up on a daily basis by Bob Dawn for his exterior scenes, filmed on Universal’s backlot. Footage of Browning in a duplicate suit was achieved on location in Florida.

Though Chapman never played the Gill Man in the sequels, he did reprise the creature for the Colgate Comedy Hour’s TV episode with Abbott and Costello, a program in which they comedy duo first encounters Glenn Strange as the Frankenstein Monster, then reveals the Gill Man to the public for the first time anywhere. Though only three films all in, the CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON series rates with any of Universal’s monsters from the 1930s and 1940s for sheer fan adulation.

Chapman had long been retired from acting but made regular personal appearances at conventions and autograph signings over the years. He maintained a website, The-Reelgillman.com, and was the focus of fans’ love since magazines such as Famous Monsters of Filmland made the character popular again for new generations of fans in the 1960s and 1970s.  Always good natured and happy to talk about his 1953-1954 Gill Man performances, Chapman will be fondly remembered by fans of the original film and all who had met him since.

Special thanks to Dan Roebuck plus Sam Borowski & Matthew Crick, creators of the documentary CREATURE FEATURE: 50 YEARS OF THE GILL MAN

Watch Horror Films – Keep America Strong

Watch Horror Films– Keep America Strong:
A New Creature Features Documentary
Horror Hosts

Just received this press release from John Stanley. The DVD of this event will be available this summer!

 

Thursday, May 15th at 7:00 PM

The Grand Lake Theater
3200 Grand Avenue Oakland, California

Presented by Creatures At Large. Conceived and Produced by Tom Wyrsch, Written and Directed by Michael Monahan. Camera and Sound by Eric Yee, Edited by Anthony Cava and Robert Napton.

Featured interviews: Bob Wilkins, John Stanley, Bob Shaw, Ernie Fossellius, August Ragone, Sally Wilkins, Erica Stanley, Rob Wilkins, Nancy Wilkins, Scott Moon, and Tom Wyrsch

Watch Horror Films – Keep America Strong, a new feature length documentary celebrating the unique and lasting contributions of hosts Bob Wilkins and John Stanley to Bay Area broadcasting, makes its premiere at Oakland’s historic Grand Lake Theater in a benefit screening for the Bob Wilkins Foundation. Special guests at this event will include one-time San Francisco Chronicle entertainment writer John Stanley, Sally Wilkins, Bob Shaw, Ernie (Hardware Wars) Fossellius – with others yet to be announced.

KTVU’s Creature Features (1971–1984) remains the most-loved, best-remembered local program in Bay Area broadcast history. "Watch Horror Films – Keep America Strong!" was the rallying cry of host Bob Wilkins as he lured unsuspecting audiences into viewing the type of film usually found clinging to the bottom of the cinematic barrel.

After nearly eight years enticing viewers with the irresistible promise of the awful, Bob Wilkins passed the torch to John Stanley, author of six editions of the Creature Features Movie Guide, who expanded the creative boundaries of the program, offering a singularly ambitious vision of Creature Features for many years after. John's latest book, I WAS A TV HORROR HOST, is now available and recounts the history of this fabulous Bay Area-based TV series.

Blending newly filmed interviews with crew, family and fans with rare footage unseen since originally aired, Watch Horror Films – Keep America Strong recalls the strange and wonderful era of local television. The film is an affectionate tribute to a special time and place – and to the special people who entertained and inspired a generation of viewers.

In recent years, Bob Wilkins has struggled with the advanced stages of Alzheimer’s Disease. Proceeds from this film will go directly to the Bob Wilkins Foundation to assist in his care.

Tom Wyrsch is the author of The Bob Wilkins Scrapbook and The John Stanley Scrapbook. He is also the Creature Features Archivist.

Michael Monahan is the Associate Producer and Researcher for American Scary (2006) and author of an upcoming book on the national history of the TV horror movie host.

For additional information, please contact:

Tom Wyrsch
(707) 769-1506
tpw1705@aol.com

Michael Monahan
(510) 843-9457
doktorgoulfinger@gmail.com

Prom Night (2008)

Why Rework a Slasher Classic Into a Lesser Movie?
Bad Movie Drive-in

Prom Night's life-size promotional cardboard standup of a door, strategically placed in theaters to pique the potential audience for this teen thriller, is a good indication of how much effort went into this movie. Opening the door produces a half-hearted, single scream. A hearty laugh would have been more appropriate.

My mind wandered a bit when Donna (Brittany Snow) and her boyfriend, Bobby (Scott Porter) exchange corsages as Donna's aunt and uncle look on, beaming with happiness. I imagined a prom night filled with monster corsages devouring boyfriends, Carrie-like J-horror prom night ghosts seeking vengeance, or tuxedoed zombies crashing the prom night party. Anything else but this unnecessary reworking of Jamie Lee Curtis's more violent 80's slasher. In my defense I will say I didn't attend my senior prom. Perhaps I have unresolved issues with that. Or perhaps this movie has unresolved issues with terror, tension, and thrills.

Director Nelson McCormick has done a large amount of episodic television work, so maybe this is why his movie is paced around imaginary commercial breaks. Each time tension builds he moves away from the action to show people dancing or crowning the prom king and queen. Like an episode of CSI, nothing appears out of control or erupts into hysterical terror. He also has a fetish for closets. I lost count how often someone opened, reached into, looked in, or hid in, a closet. Donna hides under a bed twice, but I didn't find that as annoying. Not much tension builds from opening closets. You can sum up the entire story this way: give sinister look, slash a victim, show dancing in slow motion, show someone opening a closet, give sinister look, slash a victim, show more dancing, show someone else opening a closet, slash a victim, stop the dancing long enough to show prom king and queen crowning, show someone opening a damn closet again, slash another victim.

Hammer's Beyond the Rave on MySpace

This exciting press release comes from Hammer Film Productions' MySpace blog...
Quick Sips From the Cauldron

Hammer Films and MySpace today announced a joint venture which will see Hammer’s first horror movie in 30 years broadcast exclusively on MySpace. 

The movie, entitled Beyond the Rave, is MySpaceTV’s first UK co-production. It will broadcast episodically on MySpaceTV in Spring 2008 as 20 ’webisodes’, before being released as a full length movie on DVD, and available for download.

Hammer Films, the iconic film studio, and MySpace have teamed up to create Beyond the Rave specifically for the internet, signifying a dramatic new opportunity in the way traditional media companies are creating content exclusively for the internet in addition to conventional platforms.

Ben Grass and Tom Grass from Pure Grass Films, creators of the award-winning movie When Evil Calls, will produce the film.

With an exciting British cast including  Jamie Dornan (Marie Antoinette), Nora-Jane Noone (The Magdalene Sisters), Tamer Hassan (The Football Factory, Eastern Promises) and Sadie Frost  (Dracula, Shopping), Beyond the Rave promises to deliver all the ingredients of a Hammer classic made for a 21^st Century audience: vampires, blood, death and suspense throughout.

Simon Oakes, Chairman and Chief Executive, Hammer Film Productions Ltd said:

"This is a bold venture creating horror for the 21^st century through a variety of technologies. When Hammer Films first started it was an innovative production company and this new venture marks the beginning of a journey to recalibrate the DNA of Hammer Films for a new audience.  MySpace is an innovative and exciting distribution platform to enable people to watch and interact with movie content in a whole new way. To relaunch with MySpaceTV’s first UK co-production is perfect for a company originally born out of a culture of risk-taking and creativity."

James Fabricant, Director of Entertainment  and Head of Video, MySpace Europe, said:

"This partnership demonstrates the power of MySpace and how traditional media is being turned on its head: for Hammer to make their first movie in 30 years specifically for the MySpace community is a phenomenal development and shows the dramatic change in how consumers want to access content."

Hammer Films launched in 1934 and went onto produce more than 150 movies over the next four decades.

For further information and to see the first trailer, please visit Hammer on MySpace.

Will Uwe Boll Ever Be Stopped?

markwilson12 on Twitter brought my attention to a hilarious hair-raising article on Ingram 2.0: Sign here to stop Uwe Boll.

While I have found his movies to be creativity-free zones so far, I certainly don't want to keep anyone from making a living. And bad horror movies make the good ones stand out even more. Sort of like taking that long intake of air after being strangled for a minute; not that I'd know anything about that, mind you.

But if he keeps it up, I may have to reconsider my neutral position. At the end of the article is a link to the Stop Uwe Boll petition. I doubt it will help, but it can't hurt.

Read Sign here to stop Uwe Boll.

Read markwilson12 on Twitter.

Permuted Press's Best Selling Titles for March

Here's Permuted Press's Best Selling Titles for March. I've read Dying to Live and highly recommend it. I'm proud to say that Kim Paffenroth is a member of the League of Tana Tea Drinkers, horror bloggers par excellence. Way to go, Kim!

Watch for my reviews...

---

USA:
1. Plague of the Dead by Z.A. Recht
2. Day by Day Armageddon by J.L. Bourne
3. John Dies at the End by David Wong
4. Dying to Live by Kim Paffenroth
5. History Is Dead edited by Kim Paffenroth

UK:
1. Plague of the Dead by Z.A. Recht
2. Dying to Live by Kim Paffenroth
3. Day by Day Armageddon by J.L. Bourne
4. John Dies at the End by David Wong
5. History Is Dead edited by Kim Paffenroth

Worldwide:
1. Plague of the Dead by Z.A. Recht
2. Day by Day Armageddon by J.L. Bourne
3. John Dies at the End by David Wong
4. Dying to Live by Kim Paffenroth
5. History Is Dead edited by Kim Paffenroth