Entries Tagged 'Slashers 101' ↓

Always a slasher bridesmaid…

Over yonder at My New Plaid Pants, our pal Jason wrote a piece today lauding the oft-unlauded 1981 slasher flick Just Before Dawn, and you know what? He's right in his a-laudin', and Jason's done got me fixin' to give it another watch. I'd been thinking about it recently along with a few other films that are essentially the bridesmaids or second stringers of the slasher genre. Let's face it, "slasher" conjures up images of Jason Voorhees and Freddy Krueger and Michael Myers and Leatherface, right? Maybe a few others have worked their way into the major leagues–dudes like Harry Warden of My Bloody Valentine. But there's a whole tier of films that have never quite achieved the status afforded to the Fridays and the Halloweens even though...hey, some of them deserve it. Like Just Before Dawn!

I mean look at these guys

Maybe it's because they never spawned a zillion sequels, or maybe the killers were unnamed or not as "compelling" as the icons. Maybe they weren't gory enough, or they misfired just a tad. Who knows why they're neglected in the big picture! What I do know, however, is that I'd pit House on Sorority Row, Hell Night, He Knows You're Alone, and April Fools Day against any number of the Halloween, Friday, or Nightmare sequels and they'd be better, more interesting films. Sure, you can feel differently if you want to be wrong about things, go ahead! That's not my business. But it is my business (and part of my community service requirements) to give these second stringers some respect, goldurnit. They deserve their moments in the sun, so watch a slasher bridesmaid today!

Always a slasher bridesmaid…

Over yonder at My New Plaid Pants, our pal Jason wrote a piece today lauding the oft-unlauded 1981 slasher flick Just Before Dawn, and you know what? He's right in his a-laudin', and Jason's done got me fixin' to give it another watch. I'd been thinking about it recently along with a few other films that are essentially the bridesmaids or second stringers of the slasher genre. Let's face it, "slasher" conjures up images of Jason Voorhees and Freddy Krueger and Michael Myers and Leatherface, right? Maybe a few others have worked their way into the major leagues–dudes like Harry Warden of My Bloody Valentine. But there's a whole tier of films that have never quite achieved the status afforded to the Fridays and the Halloweens even though...hey, some of them deserve it. Like Just Before Dawn!

I mean look at these guys

Maybe it's because they never spawned a zillion sequels, or maybe the killers were unnamed or not as "compelling" as the icons. Maybe they weren't gory enough, or they misfired just a tad. Who knows why they're neglected in the big picture! What I do know, however, is that I'd pit House on Sorority Row, Hell Night, He Knows You're Alone, and April Fools Day against any number of the Halloween, Friday, or Nightmare sequels and they'd be better, more interesting films. Sure, you can feel differently if you want to be wrong about things, go ahead! That's not my business. But it is my business (and part of my community service requirements) to give these second stringers some respect, goldurnit. They deserve their moments in the sun, so watch a slasher bridesmaid today!

urgh! (a new blog post)

I say unto me, woe, my friends, for October has come and gone with nary a peep from yours truly. NARY A PEEP I SAY! It's a sad state of affairs, to be sure, when my most favoritest time of the year fails to spark a fire in me. But spark it did not! I've been experiencing...not exactly writer's block, per se, but rather, perhaps, writer's blah...as well as watcher's blah. Supreme unmotivation. I've hardly watched anything lately, and when I have managed to park it ("it" meaning "my ass") in front of a movie, it hasn't been horror-related. Sure, the recent Lifetime Movie Network Tori Spelling double feature got me all ten kinds of pumped (umm...back-to-back Co-Ed Call Girl and Awake to Danger, y'all...that's some mid-90s primo Tori action right there! Oh my god, I love Co-Ed Call Girl, especially when Tori's pimp starts talking about the incredible power she seems to have over men...), but that's not really Final Girl fodder. Or is it?

Meh. Though I haven't been jazzed enough lately to put cyber-pen to cyber-paper, I suppose it's time to get back on the cyber-horse. Maybe November can become the new October or something, and my love affair with horror movies will burst into passionate flames once more and I'll wonder why we ever spent a moment apart. Recommend something for me in the comments and maybe sparks will fly.

Lest you think I've simply been sitting here staring at the wall instead of posting, let me assure you: that's only 68% true. I've still been giving AMC their weekly dose of me...I just haven't been talking about it here. But today is the first day of the rest of my life, yes? Yes! So here are links to all the columns I've neglected to mention in recent...holy crap, in recent weeks. Fucking A, I suck!

- I wrote about William Castle and the lost art of gimmick movie-making.

- I created a DIY slashers guide, expanding a bit on my original Slashers 101 series.

- Great moments in gore, y'all.

- Resident Evil! I love Resident Evil!

- A wee recommendations guide.

- I reviewed Roger Corman's The Haunted Palace, starring Vincent Price and Lon Chaney, Jr. It's currently available to watch at amctv.com.

So, I've been writing. I've also been working some Ghostella's Haunted Tomb "magic"; I'd finished and uploaded the season finale, only to discover a need for reshoots. It's totally my fault and it's not really a big deal, but it's a pain in the arse all the same and the episode won't be up until next week, most likely. I can totally tease you about it, though, by saying this: I've got a special guest star! My special guest star is Lena Headey! Yes, the same Lena Headey who stars as Sarah Connor in Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. Yes, the same Lena Headey who starred as Queen Gorgo in 300. Yes (and perhaps most importantly), the same Lena Headey who starred as a super-sexy cave-diving scientist in The Cave. Lena Headey in Ghostella's Haunted Tomb? As the kids today might say, WTF? I wouldn't believe it either if I were you, but here's some photographic evidence in the form of a "screen" "cap" from the film.

I don't know why I put that in quotes; this really is a screencap.


I know; I still don't believe it, either.

So there's that. I've also been painting a bit. For all my fellow BioShock nerds out there, I made this set: a Little Sister and a Big Daddy:


FYI for all you citizens of Squaresville out there, BioShock is a video game.

I made this dizzazzling set for a friend's birthday: it's 4 glass coasters that double as picture frames, featuring Television's Greatest Geriatric Detectives!




Neat, huh? The pictures are about 1.5" square, and they come in the sweet-n-spinny holder rack thingy. If anyone is interested in...say, a set featuring horror type folks or what have you (I mean, like, coasters featuring Freddy, Michael, Jason, and Leatherface? Or Universal Monsters? Fuck yeah!), just get in touch with me. I'm open for coaster commissions and painting commissions, and I've got galleries on my MySpace and Facebook pages for you social networking goons out there.

Anytinkle, that's about that. Yeah, I think it's high time I made out with Final Girl again, don't you think? I've been so lax I have nary a clue as to what's going on in the horror world at all; I haven't checked the news in weeks. What have I missed? Have they remade the remake of Dawn of the Dead yet? Is Saw MCMVII due anytime soon? I'm so out of the loop; let's catch up over a coffee, preferably one from Dunkin' Donuts.

Oh, and one more thing before I go: You probably haven't heard much about it, but tomorrow is Election Day here in the US. I don't know what your political stripe is, and (aduh and adoy) Final Girl isn't about politics. Regardless, I'm urging any Californians out there to vote NO on Proposition 8. Let's not make discrimination legal, okay?

Here's one particularly eye-opening TV spot, which just so happens to star someone you're probably familiar with by now, Bridget McManus (stand up comedian, talk show host, Final Girl Film Club member, Ghostella's Haunted Tomb star, and my pal).



Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go find something to watch.