Yeah, um, sorry you guys. I know I've been a bit out of touch but I actually started a 14 month program at the Aveda Institute right here in Portland and it has been keepin' my ass busy. Hasn't been much time for my favorite pass time in a while but now that I'm thru the Freshman part, things might be loosening up a bit. Still, posts here on the blog might be few and far between until I finish up school in May 2010. I'll pop in and out of here as I can but you'll likely find me most often on Twitter (link right there in the sidebar). Back to life, back to reality...
It's no news that the FRIDAY THE 13TH franchise of films is this Horror Guy's very favorite horror flick series and that I was very excited by the prospect of it being 'rebooted' for today's fear-starved audience. I had my doubts and my fears, but more than this I had my hopes. I was made even more hopeful by the fact that director Marcus Nispel had impressed me with his remake of TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE in 2003. After much anxious anticipation, I got the chance to see the re-envisioned FRIDAY THE 13TH this weekend and I gotta say it surpassed my expectations in every way! This is not to say it's a perfect film as there are a couple of things that just don't make sense, (I'll refrain from going into spoiler-ish detail) but overall as a modern horror flick, Mr. Nispel made this one work. It's been several years since I've felt moved to see a movie more than once during it's initial theater run, but I'm gonna try and squeeze it in again one day this week. Treat yerself to a fun scary time and check this one out!
Wow! I go away to the Hawaiian islands for a couple of weeks and all kind o' shit happens! A new president was inaugurated, that My Bloody Valentinere-do came & went and a cool new social network for fans and pros in the horror community was hatched. It's called The Haunt and it's pretty freakin' cool. The Horror Guy's very own Haunt 'badge' is displayed below and they've also earned a spot on the list of Horror Guy's Blood Brothers. Click on thru and have a look-see. Maybe you'll see me lurkin' around.
It all started with that blasted VH-1 reality show SCREAM QUEENS . If ya missed it, it was basically a handful of attractive young gals participating in various horror flick-related challenges in order to land a role in the upcoming SAW VI. I dug around on YouTube and found The Soup's take on a couple of clips from the show: [UPDATE: Sorry folks; looks like the vid had been removed.]
Anyway...I was really impressed with out-of-nowhere winner Tanedra Howard and was curious as to how she might do in the coveted role. I had only ever watched the original SAW and really didn't like it...but couldn't really remember much about it. So I loaded the first two in the series into the NetFlix queue (on Blu-Ray disc, of course) and then sat down with the flicks shortly after they showed up in the mailbox. I watched SAW and SAW II back to back...and was really impressed. I can't for the life of me figure out why I disliked the original so much on the first viewing. Anyway, I've now ordered the entire series on Blu-Ray and am looking forward to seeing Miss Tanedra in SAW VI later this year. I'm actually hoping she does really well and is successful in the industry as she seems really sincere and actually exhibits a bit of raw talent. Go Tanedra!
A special new year Horror Guy Scream Out to Joanie for dropping me a line and making me aware of the cool blog and online shop at I Love Werewolves, a space dedicated to all things lycanthropic and Horror Guy's newest blood brother. It's a fairly straightforward type of blog and shop, but they do a fine job of keeping their hairy little paws on the pulse of all things werewolfy. Give 'em a look, why don't ya?
Finally got to sit down with Cridafer and watch THE STRANGERS on glorious Hi-Def Blu-Ray...and loved it! I was hooked right from the creepy opening foreshadowing the terror to come. With our home theater system turned up to LOUD, it sounded like the home invaders featured in the flick were actually at our door. Knowing that the story is based on a true account only enhanced the creep out. This is one film that, based on the ending, I'm actually hoping a sequel is produced for. If yer lookin' for a decent scare, check it out!
Ok, so I wasn't too impressed upon the initial viewing of Rob Zombie's HALLOWEEN when it hit screens last year, but subsequent viewings at home on Blu-Ray disc have led me to appreciate the film a bit more. And now I'm thrilled as all hell to learn the Mr. Zombie will be tackling the sequel! I'm all for any flick featuring my favorite slasher, but here's hoping Rob does a smidge better this time around.
Hey Portlanders! If yer of the artistic persuasion and lean toward any sort of Goth, macabre or horror themes, then this special Horror Guy scream out is for you. Dragonwitch is putting together a contact group for Portland-area artists that wanna show 'n share their work. Check out the group's Yahoo! page here and drop DW a line if yer interested in joinin' up. Fright mongers unite!
Holy crap on a crutch! Ok, so yours truly is about to creep into the realm of being '40-something' for the next few years and to mark the occasion, Cridafer and I are jetting off to probably my favorite place on the planet other than Portland -- AMSTERDAM!!!! But that ain't all! Cridafer sent me a group of links pointing to places to go and things to do that we haven't already done on past trips and it turns out that on the big day (December 10th), we will be visiting Amsterdam's historically horrorfic Dungeon. I'll just let the link speak for itself but needless to say, there will be pictures and tales aplenty for the ol' blog.
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