As If Going to the Bathroom Isn't Scary Enough...

Check this out.

Now you can read your horror and wipe yourself afterwards with it.

The Japanese Got It Right Before We Did

Not only are the Japanese masters of horror movies, they've also been doing graphic horror in comics (manga) for decades. I found this bit at the blog Same Hat! Same Hat! Enjoy, and keep clicking to find out more!

ADDENDUM: I already hid this post ready to release when I got my copy of RUE MORGUE #89, and it has a whole article about Bloody Ukiyo-e!

Happy Memorial Day

Horror 4 Sale CHEAP!

I have lots of old magazines I want to get rid of, but the content is too good to just throw away. (Nothing's been torn or cut out.)

So I'm opening up a webpage where you can buy these back issues As Is for the simple price of $3.00 per mag, AND THAT INCLUDES POSTAGE and tax! (New, Rue Morgue normally costs $9.95, Fangoria for $8.99)

Think of it! For $3 flat you get a great read!


You can access my horror site HERE. There I've listed a brief table of contents for each magazine I'm offering up.

My site takes Visa and MasterCard, to make it even easier! (No PayPal, sorry!)

So check it out and see if something strikes your fancy. These mags are not in pristine condition. But, as I mentioned, the content is fantastic if you love horror as much as I do!

I will post notifications on this blog when I have more issues to offer.

I Heart Bumper Stickers

If you think the sticker is cool, check out the site!

Movie Review - MARTYRS

It's rare that I see a movie that blows me out of my seat. I don't mean that in a good way, either.

Martyrs is one of those movies.

This French film (with subtitles) has been causing controvery ever since its debut. I read a lot about this film before I Netflicked it. (Hey! I just invented a new verb!) I wanted to see if all the hoohaw was up to snuff.

Oh. My. God.


Let me see if I can give you a relatively spoiler-free synopsis.

Imagine there's a group of fanatics who want to know if there really is a heaven. Or, if there's any plane of existence after death.

But in order to find out, they resort to kidnapping and systematically torturing young women in the hope that one of these women will achieve "martyrdom".

The title is taken from the Greek definition "witness". In other words, these women, once they reach the edge of death, are able to achieve a plateau in which they can literally see past death and into the "other plane" that these fanatics are certain exists. And those fanatics will do everything it takes to get a first-hand account of a description of that next plane.

The film opens with Lucie running from where she had been held captive and tortured by a group of these fanatics. Fifteen years later, her and her only friend Anna are out to get revenge on those people who literally shredded her life.

When this story begins, you don't know the whole story. So when Lucie goes on her rampage, you don't understand the background. You get the full story in the second half of the film, which will tear at you without mercy.

This movie's subject matter is sick and depraved. Nothing is slicked over. The last fifteen minutes will give you nightmares. And the ending is left to your own interpretation.

My final verdict?

Got Cake?

Just when you think you've seen just about everything horror-related...

Ta-dah! How about a horror cake?

Details can be seen here.

FREE READ!

Just saw this at Dear Authors!

Free Read of SERIAL by Blake Crouch and Jack Kilborn from Grand Central Publishing and Minotaur Books.

To download the PDF, go here.

Or here (Konrath's blogspot.)

Or here (Crouch's website.)

Horror Tunes!

Ya gotta love XM Radio!

My hubby has a subscription. If you do, too, and log into XM Satellite Radio (www.xmradio.com), you can use your password to get the internet player. Loverly!

Channel 76 is CINEMAGIC, "Escape into the Movies". I love to listen to soundtracks when I'm writing. And I discovered by accident that Wednesday nights they have a Sci-Fi and Horror show, starting at 11:00 p.m. est.

Last night was "zombie night", and it featured the soundtrack music from all of George Romero's Dead movies. (Right now I'm listening to that funky little marching band ditty from Dawn of the Dead, written by H. Chappell.) You also hear clips from the movies.

So if you get XM/Sirius Radio, why not give Channel 76 a try?

(Addendum: While net-surfing, I went to Channel 75 is ON BROADWAY, "Broadway and Showtunes", and they were playing excerpts from Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street!"

Happy Mother's Day!

For Those of You Who Don't Want Their Guests to Overstay Their Welcome...

Nothing like a little bloody serial killer shower curtain for your guest bath. Or, if you'd like to go with the original, put up the one from Psycho.

Kurt Russell - A Masterful Actor in the Horror Genre

I have a confession to make. I love Kurt Russell. Not the Kurt Russell who made his mark in acting in Disney movies, but the Kurt Russell who grew up to make his mark in sci-fi and especially the horror genre.

I'll never forget the first time I saw the man wearing those snakeskintight breeches and the eye patch in Escape from New York. And when he took his shirt off, and you got to see that huge cobra tattoo that coiled so provocatively down into the waistband.
"Hey, Snake! I thought you were dead!"
"Don't call me Snake."
And then, twenty years later, to reprise his role in Escape from L. A. In an interview with Carpenter, the director lamented the fact that when they pull those pants from storage, Russell still fit in them!


Then came Carpenter's remake of The Thing. People screamed about someone daring to re-do a "classic". Then they screamed at the monster that totally blew away every critic, and invariably rewrote the book on alien movies. Again, Russell's character of MacReady was you -- the poor schlub caught in the middle of this unending nightmare in the arctic cold. You rooted for him, suffered with him, and tried to second-guess with him.




Russell's forays into the horror genre have been sparse in the past few years, but I was thrilled to learned he'd teamed with Tarantino for Death Proof.

No longer the hero, this was a different Russell that you loved seeing getting his butt kicked big time. Yet, you still couldn't help but admire the fact that this man was playing the bad guy this time, and doing a hell of a great job getting you to hate him!

Russell uses no mask or specialized weapon to make his mark in the horror genre. He can be the man with the white hat, or the devil's son in black. Either way, you'll believe what he tells you, and you'll remember his performance long after you forget the details of the movie.

Dead Slow Children

Found this at Failblog.org and couldn't resist sharing. If you haven't signed up for it's daily dose of hilarious sign-age, do so now! (No, I don't know where this sign is located, but I can guarantee it's a real sign.)

My 2 Cents... For What It's Worth

For What It's Worth regarding the state of horror movies today...

The slasher flick really hasn't changed that much since the 70s when Friday, the Thirteenth and Halloween took the genre and turned it on its ear. In fact, slashers are pretty much formulaic.

* Slasher originally "died" or went into hiding, and came back.
* Add group of high school/college kids/young adults
* Put kids in abandoned building/countryside/cave/choose isolated location.
* Add a dash of sex,
* And slasher begins to off the kids one at a time.
* Hero and heroine are the only survivors...barely.
* They manage to get rid of/kill the slasher.
* End of movie...maybe.

We've seen a resurgence of zombies and vampires with new and exciting results. Just look at the "rabid" zombies of 28 Days Later, or the vamps in Let the Right One In or 30 Days of Night.

My question is this: when is the slasher genre going to get a reawakening like the others have?