This week the comic book I am most excited to read is...
MARVEL ZOMBIES RESURRECTION #1
THE HORROR SMASH-HIT LIVES AGAIN! When Galactus' corpse appears at the edge of Earth's solar system, the Avengers, X-Men and Fantastic Four investigate. Too late, they discover that Galactus' body is now the vessel of an interstellar terror, which one-by-one transforms Earth's Mightiest Heroes into the universe's most terrifying predators! As our heroes try to escape the superpowered, cannibalistic aberrations that were once their friends and family, will any survive? And even if they do, can they hope to protect Earth from the infestation that has already claimed half of the known universe? Don't miss the FIRST ISSUE of this terrifying new vision of the classic Marvel tale!
(W) Phillip Kennedy Johnson (A) Leonard Kirk (CA) In-Hyuk Lee
Every October me and my wife hold a "Scary Movie Marathon". This year was no different. We try to pick a new movie or show each day that gets us ready for the Halloween season. This year the majority of movies we watched were on Netflix. Here is another short list of some of the films we have watched and what I thought of them. Please don't be upset if I didn't like something you liked, we all have our own opinions and tastes in horror movie cinema. Here comes part 2 of my Halloween movie recap 2017!
Cave (2016)
This movie was watched because of confusion. Let me tell you now this is not the movie "The Cave" where Morris Chestnut and Piper Perabo get hunted by monsters while exploring underground! No, this is dubbed foreign film about a guy who wants to kill his best friend so he can get with his friend's wife! A total let down not only because there were no monsters, but because it just wasn't very good. It was boring, slow in some spots and some of the suspenseful moments never really paid off. I do not recommend this one!
The Babadook (2014)
I had heard a lot of hype around this movie and it was one of the first movies we watched this year. I really do have to say that I was impressed with what was able to be done on such a small budget. The story revolves a round a young boy who is being terrorized by a supernatural being called The Babadook. Things get a little crazy when a book about the monster shows up at the child's house. The scares were satisfying and the story was actually pretty solid. I just think it was a little slow in some parts and the ending was not what I expected. Not terrible, just not what how I would have ended it. I say give it a watch, it won't be a waste of your time!
The Veil (2016)
I was a little disappointed with this movie. When I found this on Netflix and saw that it starred Jessica Alba & Thomas Jane, I was in! I have been a fan of these actors for a while and to see them together in a supernatural scary flick should have been AWESOME! The story actually had some promise as Alba played a documentarian who brings the lone survivor of a cult murder back to the scene of the crime. The story unfolds as Alba and her team discover some old movie reels that show Jane's cult taking part in some crazy rituals. Once again "The Veil" had some great promise, but the final act and ending was a let down. This could have been a good one.
Death Note (2017)
First off I have to say that I have never seen the anime version of "Death Note" so I really have nothing to compare it to. That being said, I actually enjoyed this movie. The premise is cool, where a bullied boy named Light Turner discovers a book that can cause death to anyone whose name is written in it. But even when Light attempts to use the book for good a demon named Ryuk changes the game and things start to unravel for our would be hero. The effects were solid, the pace was good and the ending left me wanting to see more. I will definitely check out the anime soon!
The Rezort (2015)
This was another horror movie with a great concept and this time it was carried out competently! Years after the zombie apocalypse, humanity is starting to rebuild the world. One enterprising person has decided to turn a zombie inhabited island into a vacation destination where people can live out their revenge fantasies and hunt these creatures for a small fee. It's like a zombie safari. Things get flipped upside down though when sabotage leads to a high tech security system breach and now the zombies are on the loose! At this point the film kind of becomes a zombie version of Jurassic Park. If you are a fan of the undead genre, I truly recommend this film. The acting is solid and the twist at the end of the film is a pretty sweet payoff. Needless to say, I enjoyed this one!
Last year my wife and myself went to the Magic City Monster Con where Linnea Quigley aka Trash from Return of the Living Dead would be making an appearance! We met her and she was a really nice person. I wrote all about it in a past post that you can read by clicking HERE. Seeing her reminded me of my childhood trauma of witnessing the Tar-man eat a punker's brain. I'm pretty sure I was around 10 years old at the time! Well, it had been years since I had seen the movie and my wife had never seen it at all! I was on the hunt to find a copy of Return of the Living Dead!
I had heard that it would be re-released along with a slew of other great horror movies. Then I found it at Wal-Mart for the amazingly low price of $5! I love the new special edition packaging these movies are sporting. They have horror icons from Chucky to Carrie done up in a sort of "Day of the Dead" style. Very cool! We watched the movie this past weekend as part of our Halloween movie fest, and it had more humor than I remembered.
I mean how could you not chuckle when the zombie asks for them to send more paramedics...for them to eat! And damn, that Tar-Man still scares the crap out of me! I guess that's the point of these movies to have fun and enjoy the ride! Here are 3 moments that I loved from Return of the Living Dead! These clips are not for younger viewers. Viewer discretion is advised!
After two bumbling medical supply warehouse workers named Freddy & Frank accidentally open a military canister containing a reanimated corpse, all of the dead things in their office start coming to life! This includes cadavers for medical research, 1/2 dogs used for vet studies and even pinned butterflies start flapping their wings! It's crazy and funny watching these two try and contain the latest zombie outbreak especially when they smack a reanimated dog with a crutch!
UGH! This is another scene that terrified me as a kid! While Scuz, one of the punks in the film is being attacked by a zombie, the rest of the team manages to pull him back through a busted window and into their mortuary sanctuary. Unfortunately the zombie that was attacking him is pulled in also. Ernie, the guy who runs the mortuary thinks it would be a good idea to strap the zombie down and ask it a few questions. This is where I learned that eating brains eases the pain of being dead!
The damn Tar-Man! The actor who portrayed the Tar-man did an amazing job with the body movements and really gave the feeling that this guy was ready to fall apart at any moment, but that wouldn't stop him from ingesting some brains first!
Well, those are some of my favorite moments from Return of the Living Dead. If you have never seen this movie I highly recommend it for the Halloween season. Now that I own a copy, it will be a staple of my fall viewing for years to come! Now take some time and enjoy this coloring page of the cover art!
This week the topic for the Pop Culture League to write about is "Zombies: The Dead Have Arisen!". This topic could not have come at a more perfect time as this past Sunday I met an actress from the one movie that really terrified me as a kid..."TheReturn of the Living Dead"!
I had seen Friday The 13th, Nightmare on Elm Street, It, Ghoulies and countless other scary movies as a kid, but for some reason seeing the gory imagery from Return of the Living Dead at a young age (around 9 years old) really scared the hell out of me!
The character that probably gave me the most nightmare induced nights was the damn Tar-Man Zombie. He was so disgusting and his decomposing face yelling for "More Brains" just really terrified me. If there was one monster that could still creep me out today and make me go running for the covers, screaming like a little girl, it would be the freakin' Tar-Man! As a youngster I remember flipping through channels on TV and seeing the Tar-Man Zombie pop up and quickly scrolling past it, only to have my brother grab the remote and continuously go back to the movie to see my freaked out reactions. Such a jerk, but I still love my big brother anyway...because my mom says I have to!
My wife had never seen the movie before, so I'm sure she was enjoying listening me try to describe how 2 bumbling medical supply warehouse workers accidentally broke open a chemical vat that turned a half dog and cadavers alive again, which then led to a cremation of reanimated dead things, which then led to a rain that mixed with the chemicals to cause a Zombie outbreak. I also tried to explain the parts that really scarred me as a kid. This included the scene where a strapped down half of a Zombie explains that eating brains makes the pain of rotting go away!
Anyway, it had been years since I was brave enough to watch this film again. So why would I bring up the most traumatic movie viewing experience of my life? Because my wife had won us tickets to go to Magic City Monster Con where Linnea Quigley aka Trash from Return of the Living Dead would be making an appearance!
I explained to my wife that her part in the movie was pretty much to get naked and dance in a grave yard. Even though that is what I remember her for, she seemed very nice and was up to discuss everything from her movie roles to dinner recipes.
I was surprised that she did not have any copies of Return of the Living Dead at her table to sign. So after the Con, me and the misses went looking for a copy at Wal-Mart & Target with no luck and since Hastings has closed near us, there are no other options to look for this flick in town. Amazon, here I come again!
So in closing the Tar-Man is my worst nightmare, my wife listens to my crazy feverish ramblings about old Zombie movies, Linnea Quigley was a nice lady and I am on the hunt for a copy of Return of the Living Dead on DVD! Happy Halloween and try not to have your brains get eaten!
Enjoy these other Zombie tales while I go hide in the closet:
