Horror Guy

Horror Guy is on the Move!

To a new web host, that is. After using TypePad for several years, I've found that Google's Blogger service suits my purposes just fine and at the awesome price of free! It's taking me a bit to get everything set up and until I can get the archives moved over and get the domain pointed to the right place, the temporary URL for the new home of all things fun and terrifying will be http://horrorguywillie.blogspot.com.

Seeya there!

The Dead Will Walk!

I so cannot freakin' wait for AMC network's Walking Dead series, based on Robert Kirkman's comic book of the same name. The book centers around the ongoing story of a handful of survivors trying to scratch out some semblance of a life after the zombie apocalypse. It's a real-time pull-no-punches tale where no one is safe, so it's best not to get too attached to any of the characters. I'm curious as to how closely the TV show will follow the original story. I'd actually prefer that it deviate a bit in order to maintain suspense for us faithful follows of the comic. Check the uber-cool extended trailer for the series below and then enjoy the debut on Halloween night on AMC.

The Melodic Sounds of Wednesday 13

I recently discovered horror rock artist Wednesday 13 and the various bands he works with and have to wonder, how did such a prolific horror-related artist slip under my radar for so long? Since 1996, he has released more than 13 albums under his own name and his side gigs such as Murderdolls, Bourbon Crow, Gunfire 76 and Frankenstein Drag Queens from Planet 13. Unlike a lot of the horror rock/punk stuff I've sampled, W13 actually puts together clever, catchy hard rock tunes that seem to revel in the 'fun' side of all things fun and terrifying. Please to enjoy this video for one of my W13 favorites: I Walked With A Zombie!

 

The Horror Guy Stirs....

It's been a while, but things are settling down nicely with the new career and I actually have enough time in the day to once again start posting my irregular thoughts about all things fun and terrifying. 

As is my usual yearly custom, I've started my October Horror Movie nights with bang! Every October I attempt to watch a different horror flick every night of the month. So far I've entertained myself with Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon, The Blob (1988), Trick 'r Treat, Dog Soldiers, A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010), the Feast trilogy, Land of the Dead, and Paranormal Activity. As always, I'm open to both of my readers for suggestions on flicks to watch this month, so feel free to drop me a line.

Horror Guy Update...and Some Trailers

Well freaks and fiends, I did it; the Horror Guy has completed enough school hours to take my tests to become a licensed Hair Guy. But enough babbling about li'l ol' me. Here are some trailers to enjoy while I clean up the clutter around here...

First up, the red band trailer for George Romero's Survival of the Dead. 

Now enjoy the newest trailer for the new reboot of A Nightmare on Elm Street

And while it's not what you might usually consider as 'horror', Kick-Ass is based on one of the most violently gory comic books ever produced. Check out the red band trailer for the upcoming film adaptation.

One Nation Under Cthulhu

I don't know who is behind this riff on Jon McNaughton's 'One Nation Under God' painting, but this awesome image is now my new desktop background. This may be an even more apt commentary on the current state of our country than the original painting. Click the pic for a larger version.

An October Triple Feature

This being the greatest month of the year, I decided to kick back last night and celebrate the October-ness of it all with a triple feature of entertaining flicks. I kicked off the evening with Elvira, Mistress of the Dark, a movie that has never failed to captivate me ever since I saw it in its original theatrical run in small town Texarkana, TX. If you haven't seen this gem from 1988, now is a great time to check it out and learn how Elvira earned her 'Mistress of the Dark' title. 

I followed up Elivra's ample talents with my brand spankin' new Blu-Ray edition of Trick 'r Treat. I've been waiting for what feels like forever to see this much-delayed Halloween-themed anthology flick. Was it worth the wait? Well...I'm gonna say 'yes'. The stories were interwoven in clever, if sometimes a tad predictable, ways and it has a handful of good scares in it. While it certainly was not breath-takingly entertaining, it was a quietly enjoyable horror flick (I guess maybe 'sleeper' might apply here?) that I get the feeling I'm going to enjoy more and more with repeated viewings. This is a good one that horror fans can share with their friends/family that are too feeble to handle the more hardcore stuff.

My final flick o' the night was the often-maligned Halloween III: Season of the Witch. Having no connection to the previous films beyond the title, this installment in the Halloween franchise is generally considered to be the worst in the series. Maybe it's because the first time I saw it I was still young enough for it to give me nightmares, but for whatever reason I actually like this film. I've taken my fair share of shit for saying so, but this one is a true guilty pleasure of mine. I'd say check it out if you've never seen it and decide for yourself. 

Zombieland Rocks!

Caught a late showing last night and I gotta say, Zombieland is one of the best flicks I've seen this year so far. It's certainly the funniest one! While the zombie theme certainly qualifies it for discussion here in my dark, dank li'l corner of the Web, it's not really a horror flick in the strictest sense of the word. There's plenty of over the top gore and zombie action but not a single real scare in the whole movie. But damn, is it a great flick! The opening credits alone are worth the price of admission. Horror Guy definitely recommends you stop what yer doin' and see this as soon as possible.

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Happy October everyone!

Pieces, 09/30/2009

I went away for a while to focus on my studies and now there are pieces lying all over the place! Let's sift thru 'em and see what we can find...

...I caught Rob Zombie's Halloween 2 a few weeks back. I wish I could say I really enjoyed it, but Sheri Moon's presence in the film really got in the way. It would have been way creepier and much more entertaining if every scene with her in it were excised from the film. Other than this one big flaw, it was actually an interesting take on the franchise. I'll be interested to see if there is any sort of director's cut when this one comes out on Blu-ray.

...on a related note, Patrick Lussier (director of the delightful My Bloody Valentine 3D) was set to helm the next flick in the Halloween franchise, Halloween 3-D, but it looks like the Weinstein company has shuttered production on this one. They seem to think that production was moving way faster than they were comfortable with. I really enjoyed Lussier's take on Valentine, so hopefully we'll get to see this one completed at some point.

...Brian Keene's newest novel, Urban Gothic, is fantastic! It's similar in theme to Castaways, his previous paperback offering, but takes place in an urban setting rather than an allegedly uninhabited island. If yer into gory, intense horror fiction, you'll probably really enjoy this one.

...Frank Darabont is bringing Robert Kirkman's apocalyptic zombie comic book series Walking Dead to the small screen! If the themes and storylines from the comic are maintained, this is going to be a hit. If you haven't checked out the book yet, what're you waitin' for?!!?! Kirkman is crafting an epic tale of a small band of survivors that learn over the course of the story that there are worse things in their lives to deal with than undead flesh-eaters. Walking Dead is set to air on the AMC network, but no news of an actual date yet.

...HorrorFest 2009 is set for October 18th. If you are in the Portland area and would like to attend, drop me a line and I'll see if I can wrangle you an invite.

...my favorite fright flick of 2009 so far -- Sam Raimi's Drag Me To Hell, hands down. This is some old school occult horror with lots of fun 'jump-scares' and just the right amount of gore. If you missed it during it's theatrical run you can grab it on disc on October 13th. Don't let this one pass you by!

...there has been quite a bit of criticism regarding the number of horror flick reboots coming out of Hollyweird in recent years, but I gotta say that a good flick is a good flick; just because it's a remake doesn't mean I'm going to immediately dismiss it out of hand. Here's hoping that Marcus Nispel's remake of A Nightmare on Elm Street is one of the better ones. The recently-released trailer certainly looks promising. Check it out!