Movies At Dog Farm III - Day One - Location Report For 5/23/14

May 24, 2014, 2:59 pm

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     Well, folks, I was hoping to do some recording "in the field" for a podcast chronicling Movies At Dog Farm III, but logistics squashed that plan.  Maybe next time.  Instead, here are some notes and pics.

12:30 p.m. - I picked up an Epson video projector, a Yamaha sound projector, and a PSB subwoofer, all on loan for the weekend from my accommodating employer. I arrive at the Dog Farm about forty-five minutes later after a pleasant drive through some lovely Virginia countryside.  I'm nervous as always, though at least I'm not battling a raging infection this time.  I was very, very sick for the last Movies At Dog Farm.  I couldn't find any Shock Top Raspberry Wheat for the weekend, though, so I have to make a substitution.  I drink once a year, and my beer of choice has vanished from the face of the planet.  I thought I had one left in my fridge at home, but my mother beat me to it.

1:30 p.m. - Upon arriving at the Dog Farm, I'm greeted by Phil Neff - our host for the weekend - and my buddy Herb Miller, who arrived the preceding evening.  They're about to clear out the carport storage building, which has served as a what I'll politely describe as an archive of ephemera since the last Movies At Dog Farm event two Octobers ago.  Herb and I decide that Phil has only concocted this event  as a means to dispose of some unwanted clutter.  I'm not complaining, though.  In addition to some peculiar old signage, I came away from the excavation with a couple of Super 8mm film reels - Bride Of Frankenstein (1935) in a proper film tin and When Dinosaurs Ruled The Earth (1970) in an illustrated cardboard box.  Now I have to acquire a Super 8mm film projector, but I'm pretty stoked about experiencing these old flicks in about the only way movie aficionados could in their homes prior to the advent of VHS.

When Dinosaurs Ruled The Earth Super 8 film reel box.

     I initially want to move the projection screen and equipment outside, but I note that several of the guests who've arrived over the course of the afternoon are already donning sweatshirts and jackets even before the sun goes down.  It's a beautiful day, but it's breezy and cooler out in the woods than in town.  We opt to keep the screen indoors rather than have everyone too uncomfortable to enjoy the movies.  I do, however, continue to harbor the notion that we'll move things outdoors tomorrow for Beyond The Valley Of The Dolls (1970) and The Sentinel (1977).

8:30 p.m. - SHOWTIME!  Sadly, Herb and I are driving around greater metropolitan Timberville looking for the pizzas we were sent to pick up for the guests back at the Dog Farm.  The collective brain trust failed to ask where the order was placed.  Who woulda guessed such a tiny little speck on the map would have four pizza places?

9:15 p.m. - Herb and I make it back with the pizzas, and the movies commence less than an hour behind schedule.  Starship Troopers (1997) is first up, and the UK Blu-Ray I ordered looks and sounds fantastic.  It seems to be well received.  Most of the guests hang in there throughout the run of the movie, though we lose a couple to travel fatigue. 

11:30 p.m. - Movie #2 begins - Saturn 3 (1980).  This is also a brand spanking new Blu-Ray copy, which looks and sounds far better than the previous no frills DVD release.  Those of us who didn't crash prior to the start of the second movie make it all the way through.  There will not, however, be an "After Midnight" selection this evening.  Tomorrow is another day.

     So over all, things go swimmingly on the first day of Movies At Dog Farm III.  Day two promises to be even better.

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Day Two Of Movies At Dog Farm III - Final Chapter Or A New Beginning?

May 27, 2014, 8:03 pm

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The projector warms up for night two of Movies At Dog Farm III.  All images in this post by Herb Miller.

      So why, exactly, do I do what I do here?  To what end?  There's no shortage of movie blogs on the Internet curated by passionate and well-informed movie aficionados, so what purpose does the Dog Farm serve?  I had a moment of clarity while driving home in the wee hours of Sunday morning, prompted by an impromptu bullshit session that broke out as I was preparing to leave the Dog Farm following our viewing of The Sentinel (1977).  I should begin at the beginning, though, so let's rewind just a bit further . . .

The Beyond The Valley Of The Dolls menu on the screen at dusk.

     For some inexplicable reason I always feel compelled to actually schedule showtimes for these events, and this one was no exception.  Beyond The Valley Of The Dolls (1970) was scheduled to begin at 8:30, just as daylight waned and the woods grew dark enough to fire up the projector.  We had watched our movies indoors on the preceding night, but I decided at the eleventh hour to move things outdoors for the second.  I was reminded of countless childhood trips to the drive-in, when the air would grow crisp at dusk and the projector would spring to life as the final light of the day gave way to nightfall.  Anticipation welled up inside me.  Then . . . the start of the show was delayed for roughly an hour as the guests milled around and chatted, waiting for Phil to finish preparing a vat of chili for everyone.  As is always the case, the schedule was blown before the first movie began.  Lesson learned.  I waited patiently while everyone drew their conversations to a close and settled in with their piping hot bowls of chili.  We were starting late, but everyone seemed ready now to direct their full attention to the screen.

Our makeshift outdoor theater before the start of the show . . .

     I harbored a lingering doubt about sharing Beyond The Valley Of The Dolls with an audience, and the initial twenty minutes or so made me sweat.  Everyone was too quiet.  I felt self conscious about laughing at bits of dialog that no-one else seemed to find amusing.  BVD is an odd bird, and I began to fear that perhaps I'd chosen the wrong movie for the crowd.  Then there were signs of life.  I began to hear politely subdued discussion around me.  I began to field whispered inquiries about what we were watching.  After a slow start, everyone finally seemed to be tuning in to the campy vibe of BVD just as the character of Z-Man Barzell exulted, "This is my happening, and it freaks me out!"  Apropos, really.  The audience became less discreet about commenting on what was unfolding before them, and by the time the movie careened into its frenzied final act BVD had managed to win over the audience completely.  My gamble had paid off.

. . . and again after the movies commenced.

     After a brief intermission between films I started the evening's second feature, The Sentinel.  Though considerably less outrageous, high spirits engendered by BVD carried over.  The evening had grown chilly, but everyone bundled themselves up in sleeping bags and blankets and settled in.  The Sentinel played out like the champion B-list horror show it is, and the audience was engaged throughout.  The final credits rolled at around 1:30 in the morning, after which the lights came up and a line formed for the bathroom.  I took that as a victory.  The audience had been sufficiently involved with what they were watching to hang in there until the bitter end, bursting bladders be damned.

     As the crowd started to gather their things and disband, I began to disassemble the AV equipment and load my car for the ride home.  Phil Neff and Herb Miller lingered for longer than the others, and we began to talk excitedly about what had just transpired.  Herb had enjoyed The Sentinel, a movie about which he'd been previously unaware, more than he expected.  Phil shared with me some details of the crowd's enthusiasm for Beyond The Valley Of The Dolls earlier in the evening.  We started to reminisce about previous Movies At Dog Farm successes - Pieces (1982) and Suspiria (1977) in particular.  We began to spitball ideas for the next Movies At Dog Farm then and there, even hatching a plot to throw a "movies only" fundraising event later in the summer to finance acquisition of our own projector for future gatherings.  I was gratified.

     As I drove away, the theme for Suspiria played on my car's CD player, a perfect sound cue to end Movies At Dog Farm III.   I spent most of the hour long drive home chewing on ways to set up that fundraiser we had discussed, and I began to think of all the other cinematic obscurities I still wanted to share.  It occurred to me that my usual mode of movie consumption - home alone on the couch watching the movies unfold on a regular old television - is lacking.  There's simply no substitute for enjoying a movie on the big screen in the company of an appreciative audience.

     I don't really fancy myself a critic, and I tend only to write here about the movies I love.  I spend a little too much time watching these flicks, and I relish the opportunity to share the best of them with friends both old and new.  Nothing can convey the satisfaction of hearing a group of otherwise normal individuals enthusiastically sharing their best dramatic renditions of movie quotes like, "You will drink the black sperm of my vengeance!"  Presenting these odd little cinematic gems to an audience not predisposed to watch such things is why I do what I do here.  That's a simple motive, but I think it's a worthy one.  Thanks, everyone, for affording me the opportunity to do so.

We Interrupt These Posts For An Important Message From The Horror Blogger Alliance . . .

June 3, 2014, 11:43 pm

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      Check it out!  The Horror Blogger Alliance is revamped and ready to rumble!  If you have your own horror blog, contact Jeremy at the HBA and join now!

Blood Sucking Geek Presents The Second Annual Ultimate Gore-A-Thon

June 9, 2014, 6:53 pm

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      Jonny Dead at Blood Sucking Geek is kicking off the Ultimate Gore-A-Thon 2014, and the bloodbath begins on June 15th.  At The Mansion Of Madness,Blood Sucking Geek, Candy-Coated Razor Blades, The Info Zombie, and Movies At Dog Farm are all coming back for the second time, and new participants  90s Horror Movies, Love Horror, Midnight Cinephile, Slasher Studios, Wide Weird World Of Cult Films, and Terrorphoriaare bringing the new blood.  The Ultimate Gore-A-Thon 2014 runs through June 21st.

     Be sure to visit all of the participating sites, be generous with the "Likes" and "Shares", and leave lots of comments.  Horror bloggers love that.  Clicking on the Gore-A-Thon badge in the sideboard will take you directly to a regularly updated index of new posts from all of the sites.  Hats off to Blood Sucking Geek for taking the time and effort to organize the event.

The Convent (2000) - An Overlooked And Underappreciated Comedic Gore-gasm By Director Mike Mendez

June 14, 2014, 5:55 pm

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A demon gets back in the habit in Mike Mendez's The Convent (2000).

       As a general rule, I like my gore served with a side of humor.  Photo-realistic depictions of violent atrocity just don't entertain me.  Luckily, the comedic gore movie is almost a sub-genre unto itself.  I originally committed to posting about Leatherface: Texas Chainsaw Massacre III (1990) for this year's Gore-A-Thon, owing largely to the fact that I covered The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (1986) last year.  Then I re-watched Leatherface, and I reminded myself that it's actually not very gory.  Worse, it's not very entertaining.  I proceeded to pore over my movie collection looking for a moist and meaty alternative.  Fortunately, I unearthed my copy of director Mike Mendez's The Convent (2000), a riotously entertaining throwback to the comedic gore greats of the eighties.  I'm pretty sure I heard a choir of angels singing as I pulled the disc from my movie vault.

The nuns at the St. Francis Boarding School want the students to pledge allegiance to their Dark Lord.

      Director Mike Mendez is a talent I wish was afforded the opportunity to be more prolific.  Though I've yet to lay my hands on Killers (1996, aka Real Killers), his recent Big Ass Spider! (2013) is exactly the kind of gleefully silly and entertaining B-movie the SyFy channel wishes it could deliver.  The Gravedancers (2006), one of the best-selling releases from the first After Dark Horrorfest, is also a solid spook show, albeit more serious minded.  Sadly, those two flicks and the Showtime documentary Masters Of Horror (2002) are the extent of Mendez's directorial filmography since The Convent.  Meanwhile, hacks like Uwe Boll seem to release a new movie every other week.

Monica (Megahn Perry) is bound and gagged in preparation for her sacrifice to Satan.

     The Convent is a textbook example of a familiar premise well executed.  Its story revolves around a group of college kids who break into an abandoned convent and unleash hell.  Only a reclusive older woman named Christine who quelled a similar incursion in the past (Adrienne Barbeau, absolutely bad-ass as always) can restore order.  What really sets The Convent apart, though, isn't the shopworn premise, but the frenetic visual stylings and wickedly funny performances.  Chief among these is the acerbically funny Megahn Perry as a goth chick named Monica.  When confronted with a self proclaimed Prince of Evil (an equally funny David Gunn) making a theatrically inept attempt to sacrifice her to Satan, Monica calls him out:  "Prince of Evil?  You work at fucking Dairy Queen."  Actual scripted humor is a refreshing change from the unintentional comedy and winking homage that litter so many like-minded B-movies.

A cheerleader with her face peeled off accompanied by a two former weekend Satanists. Go Team Demon!

     In fact, The Convent is defined more by its comedic elements than its horrific ones.  Aside from a stylish opening segment depicting the young Christine laying waste to nuns and clergy accompanied by the Leslie Gore song You Don't Own Me, the movie never really tries to be genuinely disturbing.  The Convent aims instead to be a cinematic love letter to the over-the-top gore fests with which director Mendez grew up.  Think Evil Dead 2, and you'll have a pretty good idea of what's in store.  Mendez even throws in a cameo by rapper Coolio and genre vet Bill Moseley as dickish local cops, lest viewers fail to recognize the tongue-in-cheek tone Mendez is cultivating.

Monica (Megahn Perry) gets demonized as the Prince of Evil and his minion watch from across the room.

     Rest assured, though - even if The Convent is never truly frightening, the gore runs deep.  There are plenty of stabbings, face peelings, shotgun blasts, genital mutilations, and decapitations to sate even the most ardent gorehound.  Though Mendez trimmed a few seconds of the most gratuitous splatter to secure an R rating for the stateside DVD, he's been quoted as saying The Convent is still a "hard R".  Genre fans won't be disappointed.  With any luck, Mendez's prequel to The Convent, currently listed on IMDB as being in pre-production under the title The Devil's Convent, will arrive sooner rather than later.  Until then, grab a copy of The Convent, gather a few friends, and enjoy one of the most overlooked and underappreciated comedic gore-gasms around.

Movies At Dog Farm Reaches 100 Posts, A Handful Of Which Might Be Worthwhile Reading For Others

June 18, 2014, 10:19 pm

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"Happy is he who . . . writes from the love of imparting certain thoughts and not from the necessity of sale - who writes always to the unknown friend."

Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)

 


     Maintaining Movies At Dog Farm often makes me feel like a precocious child being indulged by bewildered parents.  Many of my friends and acquaintances don't really seem to understand my compulsion to spend so much of my time curating my own little corner of the web.  Adrienne often catches me surreptitiously scribbling ideas on scraps of paper and teases that I'm writing diary entries.  My co-workers primarily monitor the Dog Farm by way of posts on Facebook and Twitter, where I undoubtedly rank well below the latest grumpy cat pic or dog shaming meme.  Every once in a while one of them will say,"Hey, I saw that thing about that thing that you posted."  Then there's my mother, who thinks I'm some kind of Internet rock star.  Of course that's only because she doesn't really understand anything about the exotic and unknowable land of Internet.   

     The Dog Farm does get visitors from around the world, but many of them land here by way of keyword searches like"farm dog porn."  I always feel bad about how disappointed those people must be when they click on the search result and find a movie blog.  Occasionally I receive a request from a stranger seeking promotion, and I usually end up feeling guilty about that, too.  The Dog Farm has far too little traffic to offer any significant exposure, and so I generally decline. 

     I have a crisis of faith on an almost weekly basis, what Douglas Adams called "a long dark teatime of the soul."  I ponder why I sweat bullets in front of the laptop doing something I'm neither obligated nor compensated to do.  I suffer bouts of paranoia.  I'm certain everyone is whispering about me, as though I'm a cracked but harmless lunatic who believes he's building a rocket to the moon in his basement.  

     I get panicky when I can think of nothing to write about, and I get irritated when I spend ninety minutes watching a movie about which I'm not sufficiently inspired to comment.  I obsess over the tiniest details of my page layout, even though no-one really pays any attention to those details.  I feel obliged to remind myself regularly that I do this primarily for my own gratification and not in the interest of garnering wealth and fame.  It's good, at least, that I have clarity on that point, because nothing that I've done here has made me a dime or landed me on a magazine cover.  

    I'm sure many will see the blocks of uninterrupted text here and immediately bounce, but that's okay.  If you've read this far, you're probably a blogger yourself.  You understand.  Perhaps some of what I've written even struck a chord with you.  If so, that's likely just an indication that you care about what you're doing.  Your willingness to share certain thoughts with the world is commendable and brave.

     If, however, you've read this far and aren't a blogger yourself, you're most likely the unknown friend for whom I've been writing.  I'm pleased to meet you, friend.  Let's discuss movies.  I've got ninety-nine talking points archived and ready.

Fancy A Drive-In Movie With The Dog Farm And Eight Other Strangers?

July 2, 2014, 6:12 pm

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     How would you like to watch a drive-in movie with me and eight other drive-in movie fans right in your own luxuriously appointed living room?  I'm all in favor of any plan that has the potential to go disastrously wrong, so here's the first Movies At Dog Farm Virtual Drive-In!  Follow the three easy steps below to get a front row seat!

     Step 1 - Sign up for Google+ to gain access to Google Hangouts.

     Step 2 - Send an email to bwearly8888@gmail.com telling me you'd like to participate.

     Step 3 - Log on to Google Hangouts 1/2 an hour before the scheduled showtime,
                  put the selected movie in your Netflix queue, and wait for your invite.


     I'll be choosing a movie readily available on Netflix streaming this time since there's not yet a good solution that allows me to stream my own movies to you.  Using Netflix also allows everyone to watch the flick on the big screen instead of in a pop-up window on the laptop.  We'll sync playback once everyone has checked in.

     Google Hangouts can only accommodate ten individuals per hangout, so don't miss your chance to participate.  In the unlikely event that more than ten people want to participate, I'll be maintaining a "stand-by" list.  If anyone that registered in advance doesn't respond to their invite at showtime, I'll issue an invite to the first name on the stand-by list.

     Our first movie selection, the day, the date, and the showtime will be posted soon under the Movies At Dog Farm Virtual Drive-In header in the sideboard.

     EDITED JULY 3:  The movie for July will be Mighty Peking Man (1977) on Sunday, July 13 at 8:30 pm.  That info is now posted under the Virtual Drive-In header in the sideboard, as well.

Why Is Horror Underperforming At The Box Office? Should I Be Scared?

July 9, 2014, 10:00 pm

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Could this be the savior of  the horror box office in 2014?

         Horror on television has never been more popular, and what horror fan isn't happy about that?  The Walking Dead, American Horror Story, Bates Motel, and scores of other genre shows are consuming cable and broadcast like creeping dread.  Horror shows are everywhere, and even more are coming.  In addition to the shows already airing, the coming year will most likely see new ones based upon the Friday The 13th and Scream franchises, as well.  I recall a day a couple of years ago when I read online that new episodes of The Walking Dead and American Horror Story were the two highest rated shows on cable the preceding week.  I never imagined I'd see the day that horror was the most popular thing on television.  I actually got a little verklempt about it.

     You see, I grew up at a time when horror shows on television were watered down and doomed to cancellation.  Unfortunately, even the handful of horror themed shows that stuck - Tales From The Crypt, Monsters, Tales From The Darkside - were of little interest to me.  They were either crippled by poor production values and censorship or, in the case of Tales From The Crypt, just too hokey and simplistic to actually be scary.  Crypt, in particular, always irked me.  Most episodes of that long running anthology were built on the same hoary framework utilized in the old EC comics the series was based upon.  It was a labored set up for a horrific punchline telegraphed far too early in the proceedings to actually be scary or surprising.  Why bother? 

Why, Shane?  Why!?!

     At least now the anthology format has largely been abandoned in favor of ongoing stories with recurring characters and complex narratives.  That sturdier dramatic framework makes it a lot easier to actually care enough about what's happening each week to return for the next.  Both The Walking Dead and American Horror Story whiff the ball almost as often as they knock it out of the park, but I'm sufficiently engaged by both to keep coming back for more. I was actually incensed when The Walking Dead killed off Shane at the end of season two, and I was little bit tickled when Lori bit the dust in season three.  I'm not always happy with the narrative choices the show makes, but I'm not indifferent, either.

     Why, then, when horror is so healthy on television, has it been failing so miserably at the box office?  Granted most wide release horror aims for the lowest common denominator, but even a slow year generally  yields at least a couple of flicks that somehow manage to be financially successful and not blow monkey nuts.  So far this year, Oculus is as close as we've gotten, and even that ended its domestic run with a relatively modest $27 million.  That's a great return on a $5 million dollar budget, but it's chicken scratch compared to the $137 million The Conjuring scared up last year.  What's even more disheartening is that I don't see anything on the horizon likely to turn the tide.

Why, Dracula?  Why!?!

     The Purge: Anarchy (releasing July 18th) seems like a sequel no-one really asked for to an original that, though financially successful, left many viewers underwhelmed.  Annabelle (October 3rd) seems promising, but am I the only member of the audience getting a little burnt out on all the ghost stories?  That's precisely why I couldn't care less about Jessabelle (August 29th) or Paranormal Activity 5 (October 24th).  I'm not very enthusiastic about yet another retelling of the Dracula tale, either, so Dracula Untold (October 17th) is also a pass.  I'm more interested in Eli Roth's cannibal movie The Green Inferno (September 5th) than anything else scheduled for release in the back half of 2014, and that's mostly just because I haven't seen anyone take a stab at a cannibal movie for a while.

     If it turns out I'm wrong about any of these upcoming releases I'll gladly eat crow, but things are looking pretty grim to me.  I know better than to fret prematurely about the death of the horror genre, because that particular passing has been predicted - and then failed to materialize - too many times in the past.  We will always be scared of something, and some enterprising young filmmaker will always be willing to exploit our fear in hopes of making a splash with an inexpensive first feature. Horror does go in cycles, though, and I'm convinced we're heading for a fallow season.  What do you think?

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Noteworthy On Netflix - 7/18/14 - Digging A Little Deeper Than Usual

July 17, 2014, 9:24 pm

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     I'm watching movies on Netflix less and less now, as the diminished frequency of these posts attests.  For my own purposes I decided to dig a little deeper than usual this time.  What I came up with was - different.  There were a couple I was surprised to find, a couple that are actually really good, and a few that are only entertaining if you're in the mood for an undemanding, brain-dead B-movie. 

     Remember that availability changes often, but all of the following titles were available from Netflix at the time of this posting.  Each movie's capsulized description is taken from the its Netflix listing.  The genre listed after the title (Horror, Cult, Thrillers, Classic, Action & Adventure, or Sci-Fi & Fantasy) indicates where you'll find each movie in your onscreen groupings.  Try doing a manual search if one seems to be missing, which is more likely than usual this time. 

     If you have recommendations of your own, please share in the Comments section below.  You can watch a trailer for each movie by clicking its title, though a few are pretty rough looking this time.

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Wolf Creek 2 (2013)
Horror / 1hr46min / NR

     A couple's dream vacation turns into a nightmare when they run into a bloodthirsty serial killer with a penchant for sadistic games.

     I'm sure you've probably already noticed the prominently displayed Wolf Creek 2 on Netflix, but maybe you've skipped over it thinking it was just a lazy rehash.  I understand.  Though I enjoyed director Greg McLean's 2005 original, I really didn't see any likelihood that this belated sequel would be anything more than a cash grab trading on name recognition.  Luckily, McLean's directorial skill and an incredible performance by a returning John Jarratt as charismatic serial killer Mick Taylor combine to make Wolf Creek 2 one of the most unexpectedly entertaining horror releases of the year.

     As much as Wolf Creek 2 is a showcase for Jarratt's performance, the tense game of cat and mouse played out by Mick Taylor and would-be primary victim Paul Hammersmith (Ryan Corr) wouldn't be nearly as engrossing if  Corr didn't contribute such a fine performance himself.  It's been a while since I found myself actually rooting for the protagonist in a slasher movie, and I'm sure it wasn't easy not being steamrolled by the larger-than-life Jarratt.

   As a bonus, Wolf Creek 2 blindsided me with easily the funniest and most cinematic use of indigenous wildlife in a high speed car chase that I've ever seen.  Only in Australia...

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Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy (2010)
Cult, Horror / 3hr58min / NR

    As Freddy Krueger is reborn for a new generation, it's time to return to where it all began. Join star Heather Langenkamp for a rare journey down Elm Street, with film clips, rare photos, storyboards, and more treasures from the entire series.

     If you've ever enjoyed any project involving the Bastard Son of 100 Maniacs, Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy (2010) is sure to give you sweet dreams.  This impressively exhaustive documentary covers every movie in the Elm Street franchise and then some.  Its intimidating length notwithstanding, Never Sleep Again is well worth your time.  If it gets you fired up to watch one of the movies afterward, franchise black sheep A Nightmare On Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge (1985) is currently available to stream, as well.

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Mighty Peking Man (1977)
Action & Adventure, Classic, Cult / 1hr30min / PG-13

     Captured and brought back to the big city, a mysterious, giant apelike creature proves he can never be chained as he runs amok in Hong Kong.

     You could have watched Mighty Peking Man (1977) with us at the first Movies At Dog FarmVirtual Drive-In.  If you missed that opportunity (and most of you did), then here it is for your own shameful private delectation.  It's not hard to imagine why Quentin Tarantino is a big fan of this. 

     Mighty Peking Man was produced by Shaw Brothers Studio with the intent of capitalizing on the success of the 1976 remake of King Kong.  You get a hot blonde jungle girl in an off-the-shoulder animal skin, "natives" that are actually Asians painted brown, a televised event featuring a guy in a giant ape suit chained to toy trucks, and big game hunters stomping through the jungle in polyester leisure suits.  It's almost indescribable, so I'm not even going to try. Mighty Peking Man is the cubic zirconia of giant ape movies.  Only you can decide whether or not that constitutes a recommendation.

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Gothic (1986)
Cult, Horror / 1hr27min / R

     The poet Lord Byron turns his estate into a haunted and horror-filled playground in this film that purports to tell the story of the night that inspired Mary Shelley to write Frankenstein.

     Gothic (1986) is yet another movie on this list that's almost impossible to describe to someone who isn't already familiar with it.  It was directed by Ken Russell, the same visionary lunatic who brought us The Devils (1971), Altered States (1980), and The Lair Of The White Worm (1988).  Though I strongly suspect that Russell's tale of hedonism and debauchery takes more than a few liberties with the actual facts, it does make for a breathtakingly screwy piece of cinema.  I find it amusing that the Netflix capsulization describes Gothic as a film that "purports to tell the story..."

     It's worth noting, too, that Gothic has only ever been released on Region 1 disc in a spectacularly awful, sub-VHS full-screen transfer.  The stream on Netflix is at least presented in the proper aspect ratio.  Maybe someday we'll see an HD box set of Russell's entire filmography, but I'm not holding my breath.  Russell's adaptation of Salome by Oscar Wilde, entitled Salome's Last Dance (1988), is also currently available on Netflix - and also long out-of-print on DVD.

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Ravenous (1999)
Cult, Thrillers, Horror / 1hr40min / R

     In 19th-century California, soldiers at an Army outpost treat an injured man who tells them horrific tales of resorting to cannibalism while stranded.

     Ravenous (1999) was one of the first indications to me that the 1990s hadn't completely squeezed all of the life out of the genre, and though it has since built a solid fanbase, I'm still at a loss to explain why it has never garnered wider acclaim. Ravenous is a truly unique and well executed gift to genre fans, and you should move it to the top of your Netflix queue immediately if you've never seen it.

     Ravenous is bolstered greatly by fantastic performances from all involved, with Robert Carlyle as the cannibalistic Colonel Ives and Jeffrey Jones as Colonel Hart being particular stand-outs.  The unusual score, which features banjo, squeeze-box, and mouth-harp, is fittingly eerie, as well.  It's in the same league as Goblin's score for Suspiria (1977) insofar as how integral it is to the overall effectiveness of the movie.  A welcome pinch of pitch black humor is sprinkled liberally throughout, and the late director Antonia Bird does a commendable job modulating the disparate elements so the delicate balance of pathos, horror, and humor gels perfectly.  Highly recommended.

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Fantastic Voyage (1966)
Action & Adventure, Classic, Sci-Fi & Fantasy / 1hr40min / PG

     A group of medical experts miniaturize themselves to enter the body of an ailing scientist, but a traitor seeks to undermine their dangerous mission.

     Fantastic Voyage (1966) is a fine example of what used to pass for an "event" movie back in the day, and it still stands up pretty damn well as a solid popcorn movie.  All of the youngsters familiar with the movie's gimmick by way of pop culture osmosis or Joe Dante's comedic reworking of the premise in Innerspace (1987) should find plenty to like here.  Even the once cutting-edge FX - which earned Fantastic Voyage the Oscar for both Best Art Direction and Best Effects back in 1966 - still hold up well today.  Add in the presence of  film icons like Raquel Welch, Edmond O'Brien, and Donald Pleasance, and Fantastic Voyage emerges as one of the more entertaining streaming options on Netflix now.

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The Evictors (1979)
Horror / 1hr32min / PG

     Shortly after moving into a quaint Louisiana town, a couple experiences disturbing events suggesting that someone -or something- wants them dead.

     If you enjoyed director Charles B. Pierce's The Legend Of Boggy Creek (1972) or The Town That Dreaded Sundown (1976), then you might be curious about The Evictors (1979), the last - and least financially successful - of his ad hoc seventies horror trilogy.  But is it really horror?  The twist at the end effectively transforms The Evictors into a Scooby Doo mystery that ultimately renders all suggestions of a supernatural reading moot.  Still, Pierce does succeed in delivering convincing forties era period detail, and he uses his locations to good effect, as well.  You've got to love a movie that was made back when "old-timey" was still depicted by shooting in sepia tone.

     Your curiosity may also be piqued by the movie's cast.  It stars Michael Parks, most familiar to younger viewers as the foul-mouthed Texas Ranger Earl McGraw who appears in a number of movies by Quentin Tarantino and/or Robert Rodriguez.  It also gives us the lovely Jessica Harper just a couple of years after Suspira (1977), as well as Vic Morrow (Twilight Zone: The Movie) playing a shady realtor.  As a bonus, you'll see character actor Dennis Fimple, whom you may recognize as Grampa Hugo from House Of 1000 Corpses (2003).  That's not a bad who's who for a lazy Sunday afternoon, the perfect time to watch a movie like The Evictors that functions more as a curiosity than anything else.  Seriously, I just used some form of the word curious three times in two paragraphs.

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Horror Movie Advocacy - You've Gotta See This Movie Because It Earns My Own Personal Seal Of Approval

July 21, 2014, 8:10 pm

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Slightly better than a rooftop antenna . . .

     While shopping for a few new Blu-rays to order in anticipation of Pre'Ween, it occurred to me that I rarely ever purchase movies on disc anymore.  I view movies almost exclusively by streaming or media server.  That's not really news, because increasingly, that's how most people view movies at home.  What was interesting to me was how my criteria for what warrants a "buy" rather than a "stream" has changed along with my altered viewing habits.

     Like many movie aficionados, I am by nature a collector.  I'm just old enough to remember a time, though, when even movie fans rarely owned their own copies of their favorites.  The tech wasn't as widely available, and the movies themselves - because they were exorbitantly expensive - weren't as commonly purchased to own.  We rented instead.

     Once upon a time, Mom and Pop video rental stores were almost as ubiquitous as Redbox kiosks are today.  The good news was that the cost of rental was well within most families' budgets provided they could make the initial investment in a VCR.  Even better, all of those video stores (and their customers) were so eager for new content that store shelves overflowed with movies of every stripe.  Of course, such a wealth of choices was a movie fan's dream, but rental did not scratch the itch to collect one's favorites.  If you were really enterprising you could purchase a second VCR and dub copies of your rental tapes, but it was only a matter of time before the movie industry plugged up that hole by widely adopting Macrovision copy protection.

LaserDisc - It's Portable!

     All things must eventually pass, however, and the arrival of new format called DVD eventually drove the last few nails in the VHS coffin.  I'm intentionally glossing over LaserDisc because it was never widely adopted in North America - or anywhere else save Japan and South East Asia, really.  DVD was the giant killer, and the format popularized the idea of sell-through pricing so that many of us were finally able to start our own movie collections in earnest.  Many of us went a little ape-shit on that point, too.

     Throughout the first decade of the new millennium I purchased an absurd number of DVDs.  Curating my own collection even took precedence over actually going to the theater, since for the cost of a movie ticket and some popcorn I could actually own my own copy of each new release just a few months after it was in theaters.  My rule of thumb:  if I entertained the notion of venturing out to the theater to see a new release, I just bought a copy of the DVD a few months later instead.  My DVD collection grew exponentially in a very short period of time based upon this somewhat specious reasoning.

My first Limited Edition DVD purchase

     Of course, new releases were only the tip of the iceberg.  It was the catalog titles that really broke the bank.  Distributors like Synapse, Code Red, Anchor Bay, and Blue Underground were releasing old favorites at a brisk clip, and I was buying most of them.  Not only was I finally able to own my own copy of movies like Lucio Fulci's Zombie (1979) and Dario Argento's Suspiria (1977), but I was awash in a sea of special features that augmented these releases.  Now even the most obscure titles were getting the Collector's Edition treatment.  It was truly a wonderful time to be a movie fan.

    Not surprisingly, though, I soon found myself with a sizable collection that housed far too many disappointing catalog releases and watch-it-once-and-forget-it new releases.  I had to institute some buying parameters to insure more judicious purchases.  I stopped buying new releases sight unseen, and I began to be far more selective about my catalog purchases.  A DVD did not warrant a purchase unless I was certain it was a title I'd watch multiple times.  Catalog titles did not warrant a purchase until after reviews hit the internet to tell me whether or not it was a quality release.

A bigger priority than Jaws

     Perhaps most importantly, obscure titles, long out of print titles, and titles that rarely aired on cable or satellite were always the priority.  For example, to this day I don't own a copy of Jaws (1975) on disc.  Jaws is always on television and will never be out of print in my lifetime.  It's a brilliant movie, but it's not a priority purchase.  I do, however, own a copy of The Manitou (1978).  What the f**k, right? 

     Since my purchases were now required to be titles that were previously difficult to obtain,  or difficult to see elsewhere, or - in my own humble opinion - worthy of multiple viewings, it almost goes without saying that the discs I did purchase were usually titles that I would enthusiastically recommend to others.  One more parameter, perhaps more important than all the rest, began to govern my purchases:  if it's a title that I want to share with others, it's a buy.  It was the birth of my horror movie advocacy.

     At the same time, it was essentially the death of my spend-crazy ways.  That's not necessarily a bad thing, I guess, but it did mean that my purchases became fewer and far less frequent.  Since by that point I already owned copies of most catalog titles worth owning, my buying began to revolve only around newer titles that made the grade.  When I consider now my purchases over the course of the last several years, I find that there have been distressingly few of those.

     I've been vocal here at the Dog Farm with my advocacy of Pontypool (2008), a movie I still frequently loan out to others.  I continue to share Trick 'r Treat (2007) with as many people as I can every Halloween,  because I'm determined to do my part to make it a perennial staple.  I frequently loan out [REC] (2007) because it kills my soul that American audiences are still more familiar with the inferior English language remake.  Attack The Block (2011) is one of my more recent causes.  I just can't understand how this relatively big and wildly entertaining release managed to fly beneath so many radars.  There have been others - Laid To Rest (2009), House Of The Devil (2009), John Dies At The End (2012) - but still too few to warrant more than a trickle of new purchases.  I still see plenty of movies that I enjoy, but I don't see that many that inspire my whole-hearted advocacy.

My Pre'Ween shopping list for 2014

     For what it's worth, every movie I've chosen to purchase for Pre-Ween this year is a catalog title.  The Director's Cut of Nightbreed (1990) is a must have, as is Without Warning (1980).  I'll also be picking up Sleepaway Camp (1983) and Curtains (1983), neither of which have previously enjoyed decent releases.  I'll probably also purchase Blue Underground's bargain priced release The Complete Blind Dead Saga since I never purchased The Blind Dead Collection Limited Edition from 2005.  That's it, though - not a new movie in the bunch.  It looks like this horror movie advocate is stumping exclusively for the oldies this year.

     Which newer movies have you really gone out of your way to recommend to others recently, and what makes them deserving of special attention?  If you consider yourself a horror movie advocate, what qualities are most likely to earn a movie your own personal seal of approval?

Movies At Dog Farm Remembers . . . The Dixie Theater In Staunton, VA

July 29, 2014, 8:21 pm

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     When I was growing up, my hometown of Staunton,Virginia had three theaters: the Plaza Cinema (now The Staunton Mall Cinema 6), the Visulite Cinema, and the Dixie Theater.  All three were still open for business until Sunday, July 27th when the Dixie Theater presented a final showing of Raiders Of The Lost Ark (1980) and then closed its doors.  This historic theater that first opened over a century ago was forced by a weak economy and rising operational costs to shut its doors for the last time.

The New Theater, 1913

     The Dixie, originally known as the New Theater, first opened those doors in 1913.  It was gutted by fire in 1936, after which it was remodeled in Art Moderne style by architect John Eberson and rechristened the Dixie Theater.  The Dixie was reconfigured into a four screen multiplex in 1982, and then slowly fell into disrepair over the course of the next two decades.  That's the era in which I visited most often, and I actually liked that it seemed just a little seedy.  The Dixie was slated to close in 2009, but it was instead taken over by Adam Greenbaum, who still operates the Visulite Cinema just a few blocks away.  Only last year the Dixie converted two of its four projectors to digital formatting at a cost of over $50,000 per projector.  Sadly, it seems that wasn't enough to boost attendance.

     At least the Dixie went out with a flourish this last weekend by screening the classic blockbusters Jaws (1975), E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (1982), Back To The Future (1985), and the aforementioned Raiders Of The Lost Ark.  Of course, any one of these titles would have been a treat to see again on the big screen, but I opted only for tickets to the last showing of Jaws on Sunday.  It was the only one of the four I'd never seen in a proper theater.  As great as it was to see Jaws on the big screen for the first time, I found myself preoccupied with the ghosts of movies I'd seen at the Dixie in the past.

Time Walker (1982)

     In the early eighties the Dixie was a haven for the kinds of movies that more often turned up on the bottom of the bill at the drive-in.  I distinctly recall seeing The Grim Reaper there, which was a retitled and heavily edited American release of director Joe D'Amato's infamous cannibal flick Anthropophagus (1980).  For some inexplicable reason I have a very clear recollection of seeing future Mystery Science Theater 3000 fodder Time Walker (1982) at the Dixie, as well.  At the time (I was only twelve years old) I thought the defiantly B-movie conceit of an alien "mummy" buried in King Tut's tomb was pretty clever. 

     I also recall a few screenings made memorable primarily by virtue of who accompanied me.  My first apartment was in downtown Staunton within walking distance of the Dixie.  My grandmother crashed at my place while visiting from Minnesota one summer, and we walked to the Dixie together to take in a matinee of Pump Up The Volume (1990).  The R-rated story of an angsty teenage loner (Christian Slater) broadcasting a pirate radio station from his parents' basement was a bit of a shock to my grandmother, who professed to have no idea how difficult things were for the youth of the day.  We then spent the evening back at my apartment bonding over one of our first real adult conversations with one another, an evening that defined the tenor of our relationship from that day forward.

South Park: Bigger, Longer, And Uncut (1999)

     Of course, not every trip to the theater was fraught with such heady import.  I remember seeing South Park: Bigger, Longer, And Uncut (1999) with my dad at the Dixie.  My father is the kind of moviegoer who sees whatever happens to be popular at the time, but I'm pretty sure he had no idea what to make of this particular bit of bawdy pop culture.  I ended up watching his reactions more intently than I watched the movie.  I nearly lost him when Saddam Hussein, in bed with his lover Satan, whipped out an over-sized dildo.  Whereas Pump Up The Volume brought my grandmother and I closer together, the South Park movie only served to illustrate the generational divide between my dad and me.  Curiously, our bonding moment came later in the same year when we both had to remain seated long enough to regain our composure as the credits rolled at the end of American Beauty (1999).

     Not surprisingly, though, my most vivid recollection of the Dixie actually involved a horror movie screening nearly fifteen years earlier.  You see, the Dixie is where I saw Friday The 13th: The Final Chapter (1984).  The first two Friday The 13th movies had been seminal viewing experiences for me, and at the ripe old age of fourteen I actually believed that The Final Chapter would be Jason's swan song as well as the end of the Friday The 13th franchise.  I hadn't yet become the cynical and jaded curmudgeon I am today.

Friday The 13th: The Final Chapter (1984)

     Despite the popularity of the franchise, The Final Chapter had been booked into one of the two tiny theaters upstairs, each of which were one half of what used to be the balcony.  It was opening weekend, standing room only, and the crowd was rowdy and animated.  Everyone hooted and cheered for each successive gory demise.  The audience erupted when Jason slid slowly down the length of a machete planted deep in his head at the movie's climax.  There was no way in hell Jason would recover from that deathblow, right?  Of course, we all know better now, but at the time it seemed pretty definitive.

     Now, some thirty years later, I found myself watching a movie at the Dixie Theater for the very last time.  It didn't really hit me until the shark had been vanquished and the end credits rolled.  The capacity audience broke into applause at the end of Jaws, but in this one instance I'm pretty sure the applause was for the Dixie Theater itself rather than the movie.  A friend had teased that I would probably cry when I saw my last movie at the Dixie.  She was right.

A few more disappointing snapshots of the Dixie Theater in Staunton, courtesy of my crappy TracFone.

     Please visit Cinema Treasures for a gallery of fifteen higher quality Dixie pics as well as a street view of the Dixie you can manipulate to get a closer look at the arches, terra cotta tiles, and laughing theatrical faces that adorn the front of the building.  The property is owned by the Staunton Performing Arts Center, which has plans to restore and renovate both the Dixie and the adjacent Arcadia Building.

     At least the building itself will be restored to an approximation of its original glory.  Sadly, however, the Dixie Theater I knew is gone for good.

The Dixie Theater
1913-2014
R.I.P.

The Movies At Dog Farm Virtual Drive-In Won't Stay Down - Join Us For The Stuff (1985) This Month!

August 4, 2014, 8:23 pm

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     The Movies At Dog Farm Virtual Drive-In is coming back this month just like a horror movie slasher that won't stay dead.  Click here for details on how to participate.  The selection for August is Larry Cohen's The Stuff (1985).   

                                                  Are you eating it . . . or is it eating you?

An FX head of Garrett Morris (I hope) in The Stuff (1985)

     Scheduled showtime is Sunday, August 10th at 8:30 pm Eastern Standard.  I'll open the Google Hangout at around 8:00 pm just in case anyone wants to chat for a while before the movie.  Don't wait until the last minute to sign up, since thehangout can only accommodate ten participants at once!

All Cheerleaders Die (2013) - The Dog Farm Gets Its Panties In A Twist

August 8, 2014, 5:49 pm

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     So many horror movies revolve around teenagers, and as a viewer grows older it becomes increasingly difficult to relate.  Teens have a tendency to be overly dramatic and self-involved.  An ultimately inconsequential exchange often seems to have an import far out of proportion to its true significance.  Every social interaction has the potential to completely ruin a teen's life.  Social standing trumps all in the relatively uncomplicated hierarchy of high school.  Everyone has a role to fill, and only an elite few - the jocks and cheerleaders - get to set atop the pyramid of social relevancy.  The goths, metalheads, stoners, geeks, academics, loners, and outwardly awkward and unattractive kids make up the broad base of that pyramid upon which the privileged few rule from the pinnacle on high.

    Of course, the preceding is a somewhat inaccurate worldview.  High school is really more of an inverted pyramid wherein the majority of the kids feel disenfranchised and misunderstood, even those jocks and cheerleaders.  The true social pariahs, the kids with the real problems, are the ones beneath the narrow point of this inverted pyramid.  Sadly, those kids often end up crushed beneath its weight, unnoticed or unheard until they either collapse or erupt into violence that compromises the base of this unstable, top-heavy construction and has serious and far-reaching consequences for all.  Unfortunately it's often not until then, when the surviving teens are left to pick through the ruins and try to make sense of the tragedy, that they begin to understand what it means to really have problems. 

All cheerleaders...

     What does all this philosophical contemplation have to do with the new horror movie All Cheerleaders Die (2013)?  Not much, actually.  All Cheerleaders Die doesn't address these serious and weighty issues at all.  Should it?  Hell no.  It's a friggin B-movie.  It deals in the stereotypes that populate the high school social hierarchy as most teens imagine it, and that's as it should be.  It's an entertainment, for Pete's sake.  It's a horror/comedy that pretty much states its intent with its exploitative title.  No one expects a movie called All Cheerleaders Die to be a cinematic treatise about the tragedy of teen-on-teen violence.  My point is this: why does it seem so many reviewers have  taken this movie to task for not being more thematically profound or socially incisive when it plainly just wants to have a little fun rearranging the stereotypes that serve as the building blocks of so many teen horror movies?

     In particular, it seems many critics are disappointed that All Cheerleaders Die doesn't do more with the subversion of the gender objectification that's part and parcel of far too many genre movies.  All Cheerleaders Dies is so obviously intended first and foremost as an entertainment that I can't for the life of me understand why so many reviewers are determined to be disappointed or outraged that it isn't a full-bore feminist declaration.  Where does that expectation come from, and how is that any more reasonable an expectation than thinking such a movie would boast a serious examination of teen violence?

...one cheerleader...

     Even if, for argument's sake, that was one of the primary objectives of the filmmakers here - and to be fair, it may well have been* - then what All Cheerleaders Die accomplishes is arguably far more subversive and effective than what its critics seem to have expected of it, anyway.  Everyone knows that horror movies are targeted primarily at a young, male demographic, right?  Surely the promise of sex and violence implied by that blunt title will bring all the boys running.  If that doesn't, a few promotional stills of the undeniably attractive young female cast members will.

...a date-raping jackass...

     And what will those impressionable young boys find when they actually watch the movie?  They'll find a movie that tweaks their expectations by knowingly subverting them at almost every turn.  They'll find a movie that pokes fun at the way guys are conditioned by our gender-biased society at large - and horror movies in particular -  to see females only as victims or conquests.  They'll find a horror movie told from an almost entirely female perspective that cleverly forces them to identify with the female protagonists by depicting almost all of the male characters as violent, stupid, one dimensional, date-raping jackasses.  Most importantly, they'll find a movie that entertains them for ninety minutes - a sly spoonful of sugar that helps the medicine go down.  I think that's pretty good for a modest, low budget horror movie.

     If ever a male working in the horror genre has earned the benefit of the doubt insofar as his intended message regarding gender politics, it's co-writer/co-director Lucky McKee.  He presented us with the complex and believable female characterizations of The Woods (2006).  He challenged us with a bold and uncompromising tale of female objectification ultimately punished by violent retribution in The Woman (2011).  His directorial debut May (2001), the sublime and haunting story of a troubled young woman making increasingly desperate attempts to connect with the world around her, may just be one of the most touching female-centric narratives the genre has ever produced.  So how about everyone just calm the f**k down, not be quite so eager to hang the man in the village square, and recognize All Cheerleaders Die for what it is?

...and a dead cheerleader.

     All Cheerleaders Die is clearly the most blatantly commercial movie with which McKee has yet been involved, and kudos to both him and his co-writer/co-director Chris Sivertson (The Lost, 2006) for managing to make a popular entertainment that still manages to knowingly circumvent the conventions propagated by most other movies of its type.  Lest I be misunderstood, I don't mean to imply that All Cheerleaders Die is some kind of misunderstood masterpiece.  It's not.  It is, however, a rollicking bit of B-movie entertainment that kept me engaged throughout by flinging a little gore around, boasting better than average performances, and keeping me guessing from beginning to end.  It still manages to get in a few well placed jabs at the leering male gaze that dominates horror without being heavy handed about it, and it's not rife with the rampant misogyny that often characterizes the genre.  I think that should have been good enough for the high-minded critics who seem to have expected more.  All Cheerleaders Die isn't going to single-handedly alter anyone's views on gender inequality any more than it's going to ignite a serious discussion about the tragedy of teen violence, but I'm pretty sure it wasn't meant to.

Scream (1996) And Scream Again - Movies At Dog Farm Commands It

August 19, 2014, 6:03 am

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     The horror genre had a hard row to hoe in the '90s.  Sure, there were good horror movies to be found, but you had to cast a pretty wide net.  In particular, mainstream horror releases were all but extinct by the end of the decade.  The horror genre has always been cyclical, but there's no debating that it was about as close to occupying its own pine box by the end of the 90's as it's ever been.  Then a funny thing happened - literally.  Aspiring screenwriter and horror buff Kevin Williamson wrote a script called Scary Movie that paid knowing homage to the threadbare conventions of the slasher movie genre.  His screenplay became the subject of a bidding war, and Miramax ultimately won said war.  Iconic horror movie director Wes Craven was persuaded to direct, a talented group of attractive young up-and-comers was cast, and Miramax brass decided to change the project's name to Scream (1996) at the eleventh hour to better reflect the nature of this unprecedented hybrid of horror and comedic satire.   

     Scream was released on December 20th, 1996 in a bold attempt to counter-program the typically family oriented Christmas season.  It seemed initially that the attempt had failed, as Scream opened to a relatively soft $6 million take and finished second behind Beavis And Butthead Do America.  That's when the funny thing happened.  Rather than falling off sharply in its second weekend of release - the historically proven norm for horror releases both then and now - Scream began to gather steam.  It's box office actually improved in its second week, and it continued to improve for several weeks thereafter.  When all was said and done, Scream worked its way to a total U.S. gross of over $100 million.  Not coincidentally, the long moribund horror genre finally came off life support at roughly the same time.

Ghostface trying to get the damned garage door opener to work in Scream (1996)

     If you don't think Scream almost single-handedly resuscitated the horror genre, you either weren't around at the time, or you weren't paying attention.  Scream is plagued by the same oddly horror-centric scenario as Halloween (1978).  Namely, it's a stunningly original and successful release that's remembered more for the scads of inferior copies it "inspired" than for its own considerable merit.  That's the price trailblazing horror movies often pay for doing something so indisputably right that all the hacks see only dollar signs.

     For reasons I've never fully understood, Scream is often derided by genre fans.  Is it the self-reflexive humor that prompts the abuse?  Maybe some serious horror fans just can't take a little good-natured ribbing at their own expense.  The clever, airtight script was clearly written from a place of love, so why the offense?  Scream is certainly more respectful of the genre it reverently mocks than dross like the seemingly never ending Scary Movie franchise that appropriated the name.

Casey Becker (Drew Barrymore) losing a high stakes game of trivia in Scream (1996)

     Maybe Scream is maligned by taste-makers because it isn't scary.  Well, I call shenanigans on that.  The opening segment featuring Drew Barrymore's character Casey Becker being terrorized by the perversely playful Ghostface killer is still as effective a chunk of horror as the genre has ever produced.  The already savaged and dying Becker crawling unheard across the grass toward her still oblivious parents is chilling.  Director Craven doesn't pull any punches with the horrific elements of the script, and if you think otherwise then you owe it to yourself to revisit Scream.

     Scream revitalized a flagging horror genre when it needed it most, and hat's off for that.  It put a fresh spin on one of the most hackneyed and trivialized sub-genre's in horror.  It delivered a subversive blend of winking self-awareness without sacrificing the horror at the movie's core.  Best of all - in what I think is one of Scream's most overlooked accomplishments - it made us all give a damn about the good guys again instead of just rooting for them to be struck down by the masked killer.  I love the fact that different individuals don the mask in each successive entry, and it's the good guys that won't stay down rather than the bad guys.  David Arquette's stalwart  Deputy Dewey should rightfully have died several times throughout the course of the franchise, and yet he always shows up again for the next sequel.  And because we love the character, we allow it, just as we allow the bad guys like Michael, Jason, and Freddy to keep coming back even though we know better.  That completely flips the script, and the Scream franchise is the better for it.

     If it's been a while since you last watched Scream, do yourself a favor and pick up the first three movies on Blu-Ray.  They're packaged together in a single set that's only ten dollars at your local Target.  If your a completist, you can pick up Scream 4 (2011) for only five bucks more.  Seriously, where else are you gonna get that much entertainment for only fifteen bucks?  Turn down the lights, pop yourself some popcorn, and let yourself enjoy a horror movie again.

The Virtual Drive-In Selection For September Is Speeding Toward Us

September 3, 2014, 9:15 pm

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     I've been so busy slacking lately that I let the Virtual Drive-In sneak up on me this month.  If I need to be reminded, then I'm sure everyone else does, too.  The selection for September is Paul Bartel's Death Race 2000 (1975), and you can click here for details on how to watch with us.

                Scheduled showtime is Saturday, September 5th at 9:30 pm Eastern Standard. 

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Demon Resurrection (2008) - The Dog Farm Wrestles Its Own Demons Regarding Movie Screener Reviews

September 5, 2014, 6:37 pm

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     The indie horror movie Demon Resurrection (2008) first came to my attention by way of a review posted by Steven Shaw at Watching The Dead.  Steven's review piqued my interest, and I left a comment on his post expressing my desire to see the movie for myself.  I was surprised when shortly thereafter writer/director William Hopkins contacted me to offer a screener of Demon Resurrection for Movies At Dog Farm to review.  How could I possibly refuse a guy stumping for his own movie at a grassroots level, right?  Why would I?  Well, here's the rub...

     I made a choice early in the development of this website not to accept or review movie screeners.  I'm too lazy to keep up with solicitations, and I feel obliged if I honor one to honor them all.  There aren't that many, mind you, but enough that I can imagine spending a disproportionate amount of time feeling obliged to accommodate them.  Plenty of websites choose to promote new movies almost exclusively, and God bless 'em.  It's just not my thing.

      Also - and perhaps more importantly - I'm not qualified to review movies anyway.  I've never made a movie, I've never helped anyone make a movie, and I've never been on the set of a movie.  I've never even taken a class in film studies.  I'm not above sharing my unschooled opinion of the oldies, but I'm not comfortable with critically assessing the merits of a new release, particularly not an indie.  Ripping on thirty year old horror movies is one thing, but dumping all over a struggling filmmaker with my ill-informed evaluation of a project into which he only recently poured his heart and soul is another.

     Having established via this absurdly long-winded intro why I don't review movie screeners - and further, why I'm not really qualified to review movies at all - the time has come for me to review Demon Resurrection anyway.  You see, I got lucky.  I had difficulty getting the screener link to play on my PC's media streamer, and so I ultimately purchased a download of Demon Resurrection.  My reservations about reviewing a free screener were greatly diminished once I ponied up four bucks and became a paying customer.  Guess what?  It turns out all of my hand-wringing about accepting that screener and then feeling obliged to review with kid gloves was unnecessary.  I had a blast watching Demon Resurrection.

     I don't like tap dancing around spoiler territory, so I'm going to attempt instead to describe how viewing Demon Resurrection made me feel.  You see, Demon Resurrection took me back to a simpler time when low budget horror was content to just have fun with a premise.

     In this case, that premise revolves around a young woman named Grace (Alexis Golightly) who has unwittingly found herself ensnared in the machinations of a cult.  Lest I be misunderstood, Demon Resurrection has fun with this premise in the most sober, stone-faced fashion imaginable.  Low budget be damned, it makes you wait for the good stuff  - nudity, graphic violence, rubber monsters, magic -  while it laboriously sets the stage with an initial thirty minutes or so that doesn't quite avoid playing out like the exposition dump it is.

     Still, even at this stage one can't help but notice the professionalism underlying the delivery of that exposition.  Demon Resurrection looks like a real movie.  It was obviously made for pocket change, but it was made by a cast and crew that knows how to make the most of the resources available.  I've got almost no tolerance for the do it yourself  "we'll figure it out as we go" vibe that micro-budgeted movies often display.  I've got better things to do with my time than watch someone's home movies.  Thankfully, Demon Resurrection does a fine job of side-stepping that vibe by properly lighting, framing, and editing the obligatory exposition.  It's still dry as dust, but it's handsomely assembled.

     More importantly, though, Demon Resurrection ultimately delivers on the promise of the set-up.  Once it finally gets rolling, it's a non-stop gallop to the end.  The gory set pieces and choreographed action never lets up.  I was reminded of the first time I saw Evil Dead (1981), another movie that meanders a bit before finding its footing.  Demon Resurrection never quite reaches the hysterical highs of Evil Dead, but it's made with the same kind of creativity and ingenuity that shines through its limitations.

     I said earlier that I would describe how Demon Resurrection made me feel, and so I will.  It made me feel like a kid again, a horror loving kid still unsophisticated enough to look past the shortcomings as long as the movie ultimately delivers the goods.  Demon Resurrection delivers.  I felt as though I'd happened upon a particularly good late night horror flick on TNT MonsterVision.  I didn't keep track of the numbers for the obligatory Drive-In Totals,  but I'll guarantee Demon Resurrection has enough general Horror Fu on display to make it a worthy addition to your watch list.

     One final note: I've repeatedly referred to Demon Resurrection as a new release despite its 2008 production date.  Owing to what director Hopkins describes as "a less than entirely successful attempt at self-distribution", the movie is only now beginning to enjoy a wider release.  You can purchase Demon Resurrection on DVD at www.demonresurrection.com, or you can opt instead for instant gratification and get the download.

     Thanks, Mr. Hopkins, for sharing Demon Resurrection with me.  Though I still harbor reservations about accepting and reviewing screeners, I have no reservations whatsoever about recommending an entertaining movie.  Well done.  Just don't send more screeners.  I can't bear the pressure.

Barking At The Vacuum Cleaner - Phantasm Exhumed, Pre'Ween 2014, And My Second Podcast Guest Shot

September 18, 2014, 7:22 pm

≫ Next: The Dog Farm's Pre'Ween 2014 Video On Demand Wishlist - Why Is It So Hard To Find A VOD Release Schedule?

≪ Previous: Demon Resurrection (2008) - The Dog Farm Wrestles Its Own Demons Regarding Movie Screener Reviews

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     I had already prepared a post about Dustin McNeill's fantastic new book Phantasm Exhumed: The Unauthorized Companion about a week ago, but then the text mysteriously vanished.  The labels and the title remained, but it seemed as though the body of the post took a trip through the Spacegate.  Cue the Phantasm Theme as you contemplate that...

"Dude, where's my Phantasm post?"

     Random thought: how cool would the Phantasm Sentinel Spheres be in 3-D?  Hell, even the halls of a mausoleum would translate pretty well in three dimensions.  I'm not greedy, though.  Just get Phantasm V: Ravager to me before year's end and I'll be tickled to death.

     But now back to the topic at hand...  

     Phantasm Exhumed: The Unauthorized Companion is quite simply one of the finest books of its kind I've ever had the pleasure of reading.  Author Dustin McNeill is the proprietor of the Phantasm Archives as well as the moderator of the Phantasm Community forums, and his new book covering the entirety of thefranchise was clearly a labor of love.  Just check out the bullet points below from the jacket copy for a preview of all the goodies buried within.

 •An Introduction by Angus Scrimm 
•Exhaustive coverage of the film productions 
•More than 250 rare photographs, many never-before-seen 
•Information on deleted scenes and script changes 
•Unprecedented insights into effects, props & set construction 
•Rare letters, memos and production artifacts 
•Excerpts from Angus Scrimm's 1977 set journals 
•Sections on Phantasm 1999, the remake and Phantasm Forever
•New details and photos from the upcoming Phantasm: Ravager! 
•Tips and tricks for better embalming (just kidding)


     Phantasm Exhumed: The Unauthorized Companion is deserving of a spot on any fan's bookshelf.  It's so detailed, well-researched, and enthusiastic that it might even convert a few non-fans.  My only complaint is that I would have liked to see this in a hardcover edition with a few of those 250 rare photographs in color.  The good news, though, is that the softcover edition keeps the price down to a modest $18.89 on Amazon, so there's no excuse not to order a copy for Pre'Ween.

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     Wait...what?  Pre'Ween has crept up on us again?  Why yes, it has.

     What is Pre'Ween, you may ask?  In simplest terms it's a month long celebration of Halloween, but there's more to it than that.  Take a moment to check out Ghoulish Gary Gatorbait And The Horrible Truth About Pre'Ween from last year's celebration for info about the origin of Pre'Ween, then check the link at the end of that post for a deeper examination by Carl at The Info Zombie.  You can also just click the Pre'Ween badge to the right to see a listing of all the posts - mine and Carl's - from 2013.

     We're planning on having some fun with Pre'Ween again this year, and I'll keep that badge link updated with all the new posts from this October.  It seems likely that Matt at Midnight Cinephile will be joining in this year, too.  If anyone else would like to participate, just let me know in the Comments below, or shoot me an email at brandonearly8888@gmail.com.

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     ...and speaking of The Info Zombie, Carl has graciously requested that I join him again for my second guest shot on The Info Zombie Podcast somewhere around the start of Pre'Ween.  In my first guest shot Carl and I discussed the Phantasm franchise.  Odd coincidence, huh?  I'm tellin' ya, it's that friggin' Spacegate swallowing its own tail.  I will, of course, be sure to mention the new episode here as soon as it becomes available.  Until then you can catch up on all of the recent episodes of Carl's podcast by visiting The Info Zombie website or downloading them for free from iTunes.

     I'm sure one topic of conversation on that upcoming episode will be why Carl never mentioned to me that he was about to publish his new book Defying A Diety: The Chronicles Of Harold Pringle.  Believe me, folks, if I ever actually publish anything, you will never hear the end of it.

     Defying A Diety is available now in a Kindle Edition from Amazon, so click the link above to add it to your cart!

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The Dog Farm's Pre'Ween 2014 Video On Demand Wishlist - Why Is It So Hard To Find A VOD Release Schedule?

September 23, 2014, 7:34 pm

≫ Next: Lost In The Forest, All Alone - Fear Forest In Harrisonburg, VA Haunts Pre'Ween Again Throughout October

≪ Previous: Barking At The Vacuum Cleaner - Phantasm Exhumed, Pre'Ween 2014, And My Second Podcast Guest Shot

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      I'm an audio/video snob when I watch movies at home.  Given that I never see most of the movies I watch in a proper theater, I do my damnedest to insure that I'm seeing as good a presentation as possible.  I have a reasonably nice home theater set-up, so the bigger issue is usually poor picture and sound from the source.  That being the case, I don't watch many movies that I actually give a damn about seeing via streaming services.

     That is, I didn't until I recently treated myself to a new renderer.  At last the picture and sound quality - though still not as good as a pristine Blu-ray - is usually pretty solid.  I've been burning through loads of movies on Netflix recently, and when it came time to make my stack of movies for Pre'Ween this year I decided I'd try something new.  Rather than going the traditional route of spending way too much money on discs this October, I've chosen instead to watch most of this year's new releases via video-on-demand.  Now that so many genre movies see release on VOD before disc (and in many cases either prior to or concurrent with their theatrical runs), it seemed a good plan.

     What I didn't count on was just how difficult it would be to find release dates for upcoming VOD premieres.  While it's possible to find release dates piecemeal on a title-by-title basis, almost no one curates a complete release calendar.  The best I came across for genre movies was at The Horror Club, which the site's administrators do an admirable job of keeping updated.

     Since they're already doing a fine job of it, what follows is simply a truncated version of their release calendar encompassing only the upcoming releases I'm jonesin' to see.  Each entry offers a release date and key info, and you can click the movie's title to check out the trailer.  Please remember, what follows is only a list of movies that captured my attention.  I've not seen any of these movies yet, so don't mistake a title's inclusion as an endorsement.  I suspect many of these titles, as well as my thoughts about them after I actually watch, will turn up in this year's edition of Diary Of A Movie Watchin' Madman near the end of October.

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Motivational Growth (2013)
Available 9/30
Director: Don Thacker
Stars: Jeffrey Combs, Adrian DiGiovanni, Danielle Doetsch

     A depressed, reclusive thirty-something finds himself taking advice from a growth in his bathroom after a failed suicide attempt.  Is the growth helping the troubled man, or does it actually have less than altruistic motives?

     I can find almost no substantial information about Motivational Growth online save for a handful of early reviews that I'm determined to avoid until after I've seen it for myself.  All I do know is that horror icon Jeffrey Combs voices a sentient bathroom fungus in this dark and disturbing festival darling.  Honestly, though, that's all I need to know.  Shut up and take my money already.

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Open Windows (2014) 
Available 10/2
Director: Nacho Vigalondo
Stars: Sasha Grey, Elijah Wood, Neil Maskell

      An actress refuses to have dinner with a fan who wins a date with her in a contest. The shunned fan is persuaded by a man posing as the star's campaign manager to begin keeping tabs on her from his computer.

     Nacho Vigalondo, director of the segment entitled Parallel Monsters in the upcoming V/H/S: Viral (see below), tackles his own full-length feature starring porn star Sasha Grey and budding horror icon Elijah Wood.  The hook here is that the story unfolds in real time, with the titular open windows referring to the open windows on a computer screen.  Early reviews have been harsh, but I'm intrigued by the concept as well as the casting.  

     And yes, I am familiar with Ms. Grey's other work.  Attention must be paid to any actress who goes from a starring role in Anal Artists (2012) to a starring role in an Oscar nominated director's mainstream horror movie in just two short years.

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Housebound (2014)
Available 10/17
Director: Gerard Johnstone
Stars: Morgana O'Reilly, Rima Ti Wiata, Glen-Paul Waru

     A young woman is forced to return to the house she grew up in when the court places her on home detention.  Does she have an overactive imagination, or is the house actually possessed by a hostile spirit who's less than happy about the new living arrangement?

     Housebound earned universal praise when it premiered at the SXSW festival in March, and it went on to claim the audience award at the Dead By Dawn festival in April.  New Zealanders have displayed a knack for comedic horror in the past, so let's hope Kiwi director/writer Gerard Johnstone's first feature film lives up to the hype.

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See No Evil 2 (2014)
Available 10/17
Director: Jen Soska, Sylvia Soska
Stars: Glenn Jacobs, Danielle Harris, Katharine Isabelle

     A group of friends pays a late-night visit to the city morgue to surprise a morgue employee on her birthday.  The one-eyed corpse of a brutal psychopath unexpectedly rises from the slab and resumes his savage rampage using hooks, surgical knives, and power saws. 

     The first See No Evil (2006) could elicit only a shrugfrom me, and it seemed like it must have been a franchise non-starter given how long it took for talk of a sequel to materialize.  Then came the announcement that Jen and Sylvia Soska, hot off the success of the fantastic American Mary (2012), had signed on to direct See No Evil 2.  Suddenly I'm interested again.  

     Have the Soska sisters just taken the paycheck, or will they succeed in injecting some new life into the tale of Jacob Goodnight's ongoing killing spree?  The presence of genre stalwarts Danielle Harris and Katherine Isabelle in the cast seems encouraging.  The Soskas will either be credited with reviving what appeared to be a moribund horror franchise solely on the strength of their own prowess as filmmakers, or they'll ruin their well-deserved genre cred with one high profile flame-out.  No pressure, ladies. 

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V/H/S: Viral (2014)
Available 10/23
Director: Justin Benson, Gregg Bishop, Todd Lincoln, Aaron Moorhead, Marcel Sarmiento, Nacho Vigalondo
Stars: Lots of people - it's an anthology, man.

     This third entry in the successful series of horror anthologies follows fame-obsessed teens who unwittingly become stars of the next internet sensation.

     Is there still gas in the V/H/S tank?  New directorial talent for each successive entry keeps things fresh, but anthologies are notoriously hit-or-miss.  So far though the good has outweighed the bad, so the franchise earns at least one more look.  Never mind the fact that video cassettes don't go viral.

     This year's iteration offers segments featuring the story of a deranged illusionist who obtains a magical object of great power, a homemade machine that opens a door to a parallel world, teenage skaters that unwillingly become targets of a Mexican death cult ritual, and a sinister, shadowy organization that's tracking a serial killer.  That final segment, entitled Gorgeous Vortex and directed by Todd Lincoln, was not included in the movie's early screenings, and so it remains to be seen whether or not it will be included in the V/H/S: Viral VOD release. 

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[REC] 4: Apocalypse (2014)
Available: 10/31?
Director: Jaume Balaguero
Stars: Manuela Velasco, Ismael Fritschi, Maria Alfonsa Rosso

     A television reporter is rescued from the quarantined building featured in the franchise's first two entries and is taken to an oil tanker for examination.  The soldiers manning the tanker are unaware that she carries the seed of the mysterious demonic virus within her.

     Will [REC] 4: Apocalypsebe available on VOD this Halloween?  Truth is, I don't really know.  The Horror Club says yes, but I've been unable to confirm that elsewhere.  The movie releases theatrically on October 31st in Spain, so...maybe?  I suppose the bigger question is whether or not we should even care after the hugely disappointing [REC] 3: Genesis.  It's a testament to just how good the first two entries are that they engendered enough goodwill to insure that I do.  

     Director Jaume Balaguero returns, as does the narrative thread that follows Manuela Velasco's traumatized television reporter Angela Vidal.  That's promising.  The found footage angle that made [REC] and [REC] 2 so viscerally compelling is still absent, though, so who knows?  Reviews from the premiere at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival are encouraging, so I still maintain hope that this is a satisfying conclusion to the now somewhat tarnished franchise.  If [REC] 4 does, indeed, show up on VOD this Halloween, I'm there.

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     A handful of other titles caught my eye, as well:  The Houses October Built (2013) - available 10/10, The Town That Dreaded Sundown (2014) - available 10/16, Life After Beth (10/21) - available 10/21, and Horns (2013).  The Alexandre Aja directed Horns is listed as being available on VOD either 10/3 or 10/31 depending upon the source.

     EDIT 9/30 - It appears as though the VOD release date for Motivational Growth has been pushed back to 10/21, and  [REC] 4 has been removed entirely from the VOD release schedule at The Horror Club.

Lost In The Forest, All Alone - Fear Forest In Harrisonburg, VA Haunts Pre'Ween Again Throughout October

September 30, 2014, 9:00 pm

≫ Next: Dog Farm Takeover - The Info Zombie Celebrates Jeffrey Combs

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The entrance to Fear Forest in Harrisonburg, Virginia

     It may seem surprising, but I don't care much for haunted attractions.  They're great in theory, but I'm a big ol' wuss when it comes to actually visiting one.  It's incongruous, I know, but there's just something too tangible about the scares in a haunted attraction.  I need my scares once removed by way of a video presentation so I can deal with the horror intellectually.  I once literally ran screaming from a haunted attraction in Virginia Beach and then out into the traffic in the street beyond.

This thing spins in person, folks...

     Even so, every Pre'Ween celebration demands at least one trip to a live haunt.  When the day grows short and the air grows chilly, my inner child - wuss though he may be - craves it.  Fortunately, I have Harrisonburg's Fear Forest just a few miles away each and every October.

     Fear Forest - where they say only the trees can hear you scream - is a spooky trek nearly half a mile long through haunted woodland dotted with thrills, chills, live performers, and ghoulish attractions every step of the way.  There's just something irresistible about walking a dark woodland path by moonlight as the screams of others echo through the trees.  Plenty of other haunted attractions operate nearby here in Virginia, but Fear Forest has earned my allegiance.  I'm sure it helps that it's outdoors, and I can always run screaming without the need to dodge oncoming traffic.

     I'll also be taking my first trip through Fear Forest's second attraction this year, an interactive zombie laser showdown called the Fear Crops Zombie Harvest.  It's an interactive haunted hay wagon ride through a cornfield crawling with the undead.  This isn't just target practice, tough.  These zombie gunslingers are shooting back!

Fear Forest hours of operation for October 2014

     Fear Forest is open to the public beginning Friday, October 3rd.  You can check the Fear Forest website for complete details.

     Admission is $12.00 per person per attraction, or $17.00 per person for admission to both attractions.  If you can't stand spending too much time dreading the horrors that await, you can opt for a Fast Pass Admission to both attractions for only $27.00.
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     Fear Forest co-creator Brandy Nesselrodt generously made time in her busy Pre'Ween schedule recently to answer a few questions for Movies At Dog Farm.  She tells us a bit about the history of her haunted attraction, and she also hints as to what might be lurking in those haunted woods this October...

How did Fear Forest come into being, and was its creation initially your brainchild?

     Fear Forest actually started as an ATV trail.  My husband Chad Nesselrodt, a few friends, and myself sometimes would ride the trail at night followed by a campfire in the field.  One night Chad and I were talking about how spooky it was in the dark...and that's where Fear Forest was first imagined.  We were actors in a haunted cornfield attraction when we were younger, so we thought it would be a fun idea we could do together.  We never imagined that we would still be going bigger and better nine years later.

How many volunteers do you typically get for the Fright Crew?

     We have two attractions at Fear Forest - the haunted woods trail and Fear Crops Zombie Harvest.  The haunted woods trail usually is occupied by forty-five to fifty "monsters" a night.  Fear Crops is a laser tag attraction where the attendees get to shoot twenty or more of our walking dead.  Then there is ticket staff, tractor drivers, tech support members, and security.  That adds up to a full staff list of about eighty people a night to make our show operate.  Our volunteers do receive a cash bonus for participation at the end of the season.

Have any of your volunteers every been a little too into it?  

     We've been very fortunate that most of our Fright Crew love to scare, and have what it takes.  I would say more volunteers join thinking it is going to be easy and a lot of fun.  The exact opposite is true!  Haunting is hard work, and it takes a special person to do it.  They have to be level-headed, willing to try different techniques, and not afraid to put themselves out there. 

Have you ever had an idea for the event that you ultimately decided was too intense or inappropriate for the general public? 

     My mom actually monitors some of my ideas!  "Nothing to do with babies, religion, ordevil worshipping!"  We do have church and youth group organizations that attend.  We want to keep our show on the verge of extreme, but refrain from being offensive.  I think that is why it is so well-perceived.  It's like the good old scary movies I grew up on, intense startles without having to be graphic or...(laughs) I don't even know what to call some scary movies these days!

How many visitors did Fear Forest host last year? 

     Weather is a big factor in our attendance.  Weekend nights we could have between eight hundred to a thousand attendees, while weeknights average four hundred to seven hundred attendees. 

What was the origin of your second attraction, Fear Crops?

     Zombies are a big thing right now.  We attend a trade show for haunted attractions every year.  Zombie paintball was a new thing that some vendors were promoting.  But considering how cold it gets here in Virginia in October, we felt none of our zombies were going to want to get pelted by over a thousand frozen paint balls a night.  So we took what we saw and altered the idea to suit what we wanted to offer our customers.  

     We switched it up to laser guns, and we thought it would be cool if our zombies got to shoot back!  Also, we made it a ride on old transformed ensilage wagons.  It's sort of like a safari, but the wagons suit our theme much better.

What new and exciting additions can visitors expect to see this year at Fear Forest/Fear Crops? 

     This year we've added several new scenes to Fear Forest, and we've switched some of our more popular scenes.  We have added some pneumatic props this year and some awesome visual effects our attendees have never seen at Fear Forest.  There's more detail and a lot of hard effort.  I think after nine years our guests will be pleasantly surprised by what is waiting for them.  We've also made the trail a little more tolerable for those who had a phobia of exercise.  At four-tenths of a mile, a steep climb in the middle wasn't the brightest decision in our initial trail plan.  Now the path gently follows a less strenuous curve. 

     We are hoping to continue to build an audience for Fear Crops this year.  The western theme continues there this year.  But what's more fun than an old country shoot out? 

I have to assume you probably like scary movies.  What are a few of your favorites, and why? 

     I'm really into the horror I grew up on!  Carrie, Friday The 13th, Halloween, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and Fright Night - the ORIGINALS, of course!  There was something about those horror movies I loved when I was a kid that makes them my favorites still today. 

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     Thanks again to Brandy Nesselrodt for taking the time to give us a peek behind the curtain!  Be sure to visit www.fearforest.net for more info!  NOW KEEP SCROLLING...

 

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Welcome, Pre'Weeners, To The Heart Of Darkness - The Return Of The Dog Farm To The Info Zombie Podcast #84

      In what is an almost unheard of circumstance, I find myself posting twice in the same day.  Pre'Ween just makes everything craaazy!  Carl at The Info Zombie was kind enough to invite me back for my second guest shot on The Info Zombie Podcast for episode #84.  Check it out, because he may not make the same error in judgement a third time.  You can listen to the episode below or by downloading The Info Zombie Podcast #84 on iTunes.  Be sure to subscribe to Carl's podcast while you're visiting iTunes, and check out The Info Zombie website, as well.

     I also wanted to take a moment to welcome Carl and all the other bloggers helping the Dog Farm celebrate Pre'Ween this year.  Following is a list of participants already on the roster, with hopefully even more to be added later.

Giovanni Susina at At The Mansion Of Madness
Jonny Dead at Bloodsucking Geek
Bob Smash at Candy-Coated Razor Blades
Barry Cinematic at Cinematic Catharsis
Matt St. Cyr at Midnight Cinephile
Carl Boehm at The Info Zombie
The Vern at The Vern's Video Vortex
Steven Shaw at Watching The Dead
Kev D. at Zombie Hall 

     I encourage everyone to visit each of these fine websites, and you can stop by here at the Dog Farm for updates on all of the most recent posts, as well.  Just click any of the Pre'Ween 2014 graphics that currently litter the site for all of the latest!

    "Just one more thing..."
     

     This month's Movies At Dog Farm Virtual Drive-In is scheduled for Saturday, October 4th at 9:30 pm Eastern Standard.  We'll be watching Invasion Of The Bee Girls (1973).  Yeah, that's right... Invasion Of The Bee Girls.  If you're interested in joining us - and I know you are - click here for details.
    

Dog Farm Takeover - The Info Zombie Celebrates Jeffrey Combs

October 9, 2014, 1:17 pm

≫ Next: Diary Of A Movie Watchin' Madman, Vol. II, Part 1 - Bride Of The Madman

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      Greetings to all the fine pooches of Movies at Dog Farm.  This is your temporary (g)host, the Info Zombie.  There is nothing wrong with your web browser. Do not attempt to adjust the picture. I am controlling transmission. If I wish to make it louder, I will bring up the volume. If I wish to make it softer, we will tune it to a whisper. I will control the horizontal. I will control the vertical. I can roll the image, make it flutter. I can change the focus to a soft blur or sharpen it to crystal clarity. For the text below, sit quietly and I will control all that you see and hear. I repeat: there is nothing wrong with your Dog Farm. You are about to participate in a great adventure. You are about to experience the awe and mystery that reaches from the inner mind of The Info Zombie to — The Outer Limits. 
 

     Or at least the Dog Farm, anyway.

Jeffrey Combs as Dr. Herbert West, Re-Animator

     In true Halloween fashion, Brandon and I are switching bodies.  Bodies of text, that is.  I am submitting this to the Dog Farm readers, and Brandon will cook up something good for those hungering for brainy stuff at The Info Zombie.  Since Brandon does such an admirable job examining horror movies, I will not try to emulate the outstanding work he produces.  Instead, I will celebrate a horror movie icon.

     Let’s give a strong, Dog Farm bark to Jeffrey Combs.

     Trained on the West Coast, Combs graduated University of Washington’s performing arts program and transitioned to the stage.  In 1981 he appeared in his first film role as the drive-in teller in Honky Tonk Freeway.  From that nominal role grew a career of being the most recognizable face in horror films.

     Combs, best known for the Re-Animator series, has appeared in five adaptations of H.P. Lovecraft works.  Splitting time between stage, television, and film, the actor has portrayed some of the great authors including Edgar Allan Poe, Lovecraft, and even L. Frank Baum.  He’s been in space on Star Trek and even animated in several forms including The Question of The Justice League, and the Autobot Ratchet.

Jeffrey Combs has portrayed (from left to right) author Edgar Allan Poe, the alien Shran on Star Trek: Enterprise, and the voice of The Question on The Justice League

     A go-to actor for Stuart Gordon, others including Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson tapped the actor for some small roles made big courtesy of Combs.  He often plays the determined, quiet type with a severe intensity.  Combs’ portrayal of Herbert West crafted the archetypal performance of the eccentric genius.  Even his delivery in the forgettable Would You Rather (2013) comes off with an undercurrent of odd that causes hairs to stand erect.  Watch House on Haunted Hill (1999) to get Combs delivering a nightmare generating performance sans dialogue.  His stare from behind Dr. Vannacutt’s surgical mask holds the intensity of a bullet in the chamber on a one-way ride.

As Dr. Vannacutt in House On Haunted Hill (1999)

     Although his career has since shifted to voice overs for cartoons, the star has performed in short films, video games, and theme park rides.  As of this article’s production, Combs will be appearing in films like Art School of Horrors (2015).  This yearwill mark the thirty-third of film work for this actor celebrating six decades of quality living.

     We can’t get Jeffery Combs an Academy Award©, but we can do the man a solid by visiting his website, renting his movies, and giving the man some notice on social media.  Don’t let someone who has entertained us so well go on without some slight recognition.  If you catch him at a Horror Con, let him know how you appreciate his work.  Best of all, a spike in his movie sales and rentals will show the industry that we know how to treat our valued actors.

     We now return you to your regularly scheduled Dog Farm.  As we say over in the scholar’s cemetery, Keep rising from the graves of ignorance, my Zombies!

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     Thanks for sharing with the Dog Farm, Carl!  My post for The Info Zombie is forthcoming...