Sunday, October 31, 2010

Exhumed!


Well, we made it. It's Halloween, so grab a Silver Shamrock shake & enjoy what's left.

Of course, by "we made it", I also mean that my friend Dan and I survived the 4th annual Exhumed Films 24 hr Horror-thon. It was a long, wild ride, but we did it. And then there was sleep.

I really don't have the energy or brainpower for a full-on review of each film, but here's a list of what was screened (all on 35mm, to the best of my knowledge - they don't do video):

A Nightmare on Elm Street part 3: Dream Warriors
The Mighty Peking Man (aka Goliathon)
Vault of Horror
It Lives Again
Dawn of the Dead (1978)
Deadly Spawn
Phantom of the Paradise
Five Elements Ninjas
The Funhouse
The Howling
Boarding House (which really must be seen to be believed)
Friday the 13th part 2
Bug (1975)
House By The Cemetery

In between things, they also showed a bunch of slasher movie trailers, a short film based on Fall of the House of Usher, and a Mr. Magoo cartoon. And they served Monster cereal early this morning.

There was also an art exhibition, entitled Video Violence, which displayed a couple dozen artists' takes on 80s VHS box art.

The poster for this year's event was a beautiful thing too, designed by Justin Miller of Haunt Love. He may have a few prints left, so contact him if you need one. You probably do.



So that's that. Time to get some sleep. But not before I check out the last episode of Dead Set and the first episode of The Walking Dead. Hopefully my eyes won't melt.

Happy Halloween!

Thursday, October 28, 2010

Nosferatu

Sure, you've seen Nosferatu before, but have you ever been to a screening with musicians performing a live, original score? You have? Oh. Well, you probably haven't heard this one.

If you're in Philadelphia tomorrow night, come check out a screening of the original 1922 Nosferatu, with a live score performed by members of the West Philly Orchestra, Rhinoceri Trio, Normal Love, and the Oscuro Quintet. I designed the flyer below.


It's happening at The Rotunda (4014 Walnut St. in West Philly/University City) on Friday, October 29 at 7pm. 5 bucks gets you in.

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Audio Horror

Looking for the sounds of horror this Halloween season? Need a few suggestions?

Glass Eye Pix launched their Tales From Beyond the Pale audio drama series today. I haven't heard the first episode just yet, but I've been anxious for this series since it was first announced a few months back, and I will be checking it out very soon... Like later tonight.


If you're a Lovecraft fan, the Dark Adventure Radio Theater series of audio dramas by the fine folks at the H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society is absolutely essential. These are modern productions, done as if they were created during the Golden Age of radio. If you buy the CDs, they come with some great extras (in the form of objects, that is - not DVD-like extras)


And if zombies are your thing, you could certainly do worse than We're Alive. This longform audio series is available for free as a podcast on iTunes (and other audio outlets, I'm sure) - or you can purchase the entire first season in a remastered 12-CD set here.



(And while we're on the subject of zombies, feel free to check out what I had to say about the obscure 1970s radio drama The Peoria Plague right here. Great stuff.)

Monday, October 18, 2010

Horrorfind - Human Centipede

All three parts of The Human Centipede were at Horrorfind too. Akihiro Kitamura had this with him, which he told me a friend of his in London made:


The fine folks from Fright Rags were there too, and they had a couple of these for sale, alongside their amazing horror shirts:


Eww.

Sunday, October 17, 2010

Horrorfind - George Romero

Back in September, I was lucky enough to attend Horrorfind Weekend, where I was able to get this shot of Mr. George Romero, just before meeting him.


Saturday, October 16, 2010

Survival

This poster was prominently displayed in the theater where I saw Survival of the Dead back in June...



Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Carrie


Last weekend my wife and I attended a performance of Brat Productions' "Carrie" - a dark comic take on the novel by Stephen King. It was, to use Brat's own words, "bloody funny". Really great stuff, actually - wonderful dialogue, great special effects, and very nice sets & transitions.


Some nice attention to detail too - Carrie's gravemarker sits at the entrance to the performance space, there was a setup for getting your own prom picture taken before the show, and the play's program was designed to look like a 1979 yearbook.


If you're in Philadelphia, try to check out a performance. The show runs through November 7. And if you go this week (tonight through Sunday), use the code "PROM5" online, or the phrase "there's no place like prom" in person, and you'll get $5 off tickets.

Monday, October 11, 2010

Creepyface

Yes, more Philly street art! I found this stenciled onto the side of a pay phone. No idea who the artist is, but I'd love to find out, and I'd love to have this on one of my own walls.


Saturday, October 09, 2010

Bird food

A friend of mine spotted this in South Philly a few months ago. I unfortunately never got to see it in person, but I wish I had. I wish I knew something more about it too, but at least there are pictures...



Friday, October 08, 2010

John Russo's Undead

I was in a bookstore today. As usual, I found my way to the seemingly-slowly-shrinking horror section. Something caught my eye, and I grabbed this book off the shelf:


When I read the back, I couldn't believe what I had stumbled upon - Kensington Books has re-released John Russo's long out-of-print novels "Night of the Living Dead" and "Return of the Living Dead", combining them under one cover, with the new title "Undead".

I had no idea this was happening. I've been wanting both of these for a looonnnggg time, but have never been able to find reasonably-priced copies. This has now changed, and I'm a happy man.

Sunday, October 03, 2010

Spider!

Here's a creepy-cool spider sculpture we found in the Roppongi section of Tokyo. It's entitled "Maman", by Louise Bourgeois. Would love one for the roof.





Saturday, October 02, 2010

Alcatraz ER

Alcatraz ER is an odd little prison/hospital theme restaurant located in the Shibuya district of Tokyo. Our experience there was a little tricky, as we are non-Japanese speakers, but we still had a lot of fun.