Remembrance Day

Thank you to all the veterans who have fought for our freedom.

Mark sings the Mr. Belvedere theme

My good friend, Lindsey, was bored and looking for some entertainment today. I went a little nuts and decided to sing the theme to Mr. Belvedere for her.

Now what?!!

October is over so I’m not blogging about 31 days of terror anymore.

I don’t feel like writing a novel this month.

The election is finally over.

What the hell do I do now?

1 Day of Terror: Halloween

Happy Halloween!

What other film could I possibly watch on Halloween? This is it. It doesn’t get any better than this.

In Halloween, Michael Myers terrorizes Haddonfield, Illinois. That’s all you need to know. Now go and watch the greatest horror film of all time!

What did I learn from Halloween?

• everything I know about horror movies
• this is the grandaddy of horror films
• you will never see a better horror flick
• Michael Myers is terrifying
• Donald Pleasance is fantastic
• Jamie Lee Curtis is manly
• PJ Soles is cute
• Nancy Loomis is cuter
• John Carpenter’s score is the freakiest score of all time

Do I recommend this film?

YES, YES, YES!!! If you have never seen the original Halloween, run to the nearest store that sells DVDs and pick it up today!! I cannot stress the importance of this film. It is amazing. The end. Please don’t bother with Rob Zombie’s awful remake. You will hate yourself.

Watch the trailer here:

2 Days of Terror: Halloween: 25 Years of Terror

This documentary chronicles the Halloween franchise. It’s a fairly decent look at the franchise.

What did I learn from Halloween: 25 Years of Terror?

• to be honest, not a lot
• features interviews with:
  John Carpenter
  Clive Barker
  Moustapha Akkad
  Rob Zombie

Do I recommend this film?

Meh. You could go either way on this one. It’s really more like watching the behind the scenes footage on a DVD rather than a standalone documentary. Fans of the franchise of will be interested in checking it out.

Watch the trailer here:

FFundercats: My new podcast

In addition to watching all kinds of great movies during the month of October, I took some time out of my busy schedule to participate in a new podcast called FFundercats.

FFundercats is a podcast devoted to FriendFeed, the social networking site that is taking the Internet by storm.

I’m joined by my good pals John Worthington of Brisbane, Australia and Josh Haley of Houston, Texas.

On the inaugural episode, we introduce ourselves, talk about how FriendFeed has changed our use of the internet, and pick our top 3 favourite stories of the week on FriendFeed.

For detailed show notes, please visit our official site at ffundercats.com.

Download the episode directly (right click and save).

Contact us via email:

Or call our voicemail line and leave us a message:

3 Days of Terror: Halloween III: Season of the Witch

Halloween III: Season of the Witch is a misunderstood film. It’s hated by almost everyone. Halloween fans hate it because it has nothing to do with Michael Myers. It was a risky move to make the third installment with Michael Myers. The gamble did not pay off.

Don’t think of this film as a part of the Halloween franchise. It’s a great standalone film with Tom Atkins. What more could you ask for?

What did I learn from Halloween III: Season of the Witch?

• Tom Atkins looks like he’s about to die from a heart attack
• despite his appearance of a middle aged slob, he bags a chick that’s 30 years his junior
• the Silver Shamrock theme song is the catchiest tune ever written
• John Carpenter’s score is very underappreciated (I consider this one of the best horror scores ever)
• “Season of the Witch” was the original working title of Martin Scorsese’s Mean Streets (1973)
• The voice of the operator that Challis keeps getting when he tries to call out of Santa Mira is Jamie Lee Curtis

Do I recommend this film?

Absolutely. Most fans hate Halloween III. It is a brilliant film. This film is a standalone film and should be referred to as Season of the Witch. Tom Atkins gives a great performance in one of the cheesiest films of all time.

Watch the trailer here:

4 Days of Terror: American Movie

American Movie is not a horror film. So why is it on my list?

American Movie documents the struggles of aspiring writer/filmmaker Mark Borchardt and his attempt to finish an independent horror film called Coven (pronounced co-ven not c-oven as Borchardt aptly points out). Along the way, we meet Mark’s best friend and compatriot Mike Schanks and Mark’s family. It’s a touching story of one man’s willingness to keep pushing through every obstacle that is placed in his way. Despite his hardships, Borchardt keeps his dream alive.

What did I learn from American Movie?

• his whole life is making this one film
• Mark Borchardt says the word “man” 151 times
• Mike Schank is a pretty decent guitarist
• Uncle Bill was a zen master
• you get to see Americans and American dreams and you won’t walk away disappointed

Do I recommend this film?

Yes. This is my absolute favourite documentary of all time. Mark Borchardt’s story will make you laugh, make you sad, and end up making you feel better about yourself.

Watch the trailer here:

5 Days of Terror: Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon

Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon is a great little indie horror flick from 2006.

Behind the Mask follows a young serial killer named Leslie Vernon. A documentary film crew follows Leslie around on a daily basis documenting his attempts to become the greatest serial killer of all time.

What did I learn from Behind the Mask?

Do I recommend this film?

• in Leslie Vernon’s world, Jason, Freddy, and Michael Myers are real people not just fictional characters
• Zelda Rubenstein (the creepy midget woman from Poltergeist) is still creepy
• Nathan Baesel need to become a bigger star
• watch for a quick cameo by Kane Hodder who walks into 1428 Elm Street
• serial killers have to do a lot of cardio to stay in shape

Absolutely. This is one of the best horror films to come out in a very long time. The writing is clever, the acting is phenomenal, and the story is engaging. The main character, Leslie Vernon, is charming and charasmatic. He’s unlike any slasher you’ve ever seen.

Watch the trailer here:

6 Days of Terror: Going To Pieces: The Rise & Fall of the Slasher Film

Going to Pieces is a documentary about slasher films.  Based on Adam Rockoff’s book of the same name, this is a somewhat interesting look at a genre that is often misunderstood.

What did I learn from Going To Pieces?

• nothing
• John Carpenter looks like a skeleton and likes to smoke (wait, I already knew that)
• features interviews with:
  John Carpenter
  Wes Craven
  Sean S. Cunningham
  Betsy Palmer
  Tom Savini
  Stan Winston
  Rob Zombie

Do I recommend this film?

No. Horror fans will want to check it out but there is nothing of major consequence in this film. Fans looking for deeper meaning into the genre would be best to read Rockoff’s book instead of watching this shabbily thrown together documentary.

Watch the trailer here: