Starcourt Mall, the safe on the surface but secretly sinister setting for the villainous threat of the new season of STRANGER THINGS is, as I have previously reported, actually Gwinnett Place Mall in Duluth, Georgia. The latter has sadly returned to a large extent to its pre-STRANGER THINGS existence, which is to say it’s mostly…Continue readingThe Ghost of Starcourt Mall
Month: July 2019
Guillermo and SCARY STORIES
When trying to figure out how to properly adapt SCARY STORIES TO TELL IN THE DARK as a movie, Guillermo Del Toro looked to his own oeuvre for inspiration. Said Del Toro while sitting on a panel at the recent San Diego Comic-Con: “When we started talking about…this about five years ago, I had to…Continue readingGuillermo and SCARY STORIES
This movie doesn’t show things the way they really happened in our mundane world. It shows them the way I wish they had happened. And I’m betting you will too. If only there’d been a boozy actor named Rick Dalton living next door to Sharon Tate and Roman Polanski in 1969. How different things would…Continue readingMovie Review: ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD
Read this review here of the new Tarantino flick ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD. Read it a second time if you like. Now I ask you, honestly, did this guy tell you or me anything concerning the quality of the movie? Or did he spend a lot of time and words explaining to us…Continue readingWhat Happens When Politics Get In The Way Of Professionalism
With his latest movie ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD making news (and big box office), talk has resurfaced among those who feel that Tarantino ought to be run out of Hollywood on the proverbial rail. You may be wondering why. The answer, despite what some would tell you, appears to be complicated. We know…Continue readingWhy Some in Hollywood Want to Tar-and-Feather Tarantino
I’ve been to the fabulous and homey Monster Mart in Fouke, Arkansas. I drove to Arkansas specifically to visit Fouke, home of the legendary Boggy Creek and its resident Monster. I bought a plaster footprint of the Fouke Monster, waded in Boggy Creek, met and unintentionally offended local Monster expert Smokey Crabtree. I had a…Continue readingNew Fouke Monster Mannequin at Monster Mart
THE HUNT Part 2
“Well, I guess we won,” Pete Corelli said. “What do you mean?” Arly asked. “Nobody’s gonna be digging for old bones here,” Pete said, “not now, regardless of the Court’s ruling.” “No,” Arly agreed. “Not the way I would have wanted to win it, though.” Pete and Arly stood a little ways back and away…Continue readingTHE HUNT Part 2
The Big Bad Wolf from Wolf’s
Last week I reported on the resurrection of Wolf’s Museum of Mystery. After a horrendous fire destroyed most of their artifacts and exhibits (and tragically killed numerous pets), Wolf and Ali Mertz purchased a historic, decommissioned church building in Friendship (formerly Bloody Corners) New York. Along with the few pieces that managed to survive the…Continue readingThe Big Bad Wolf from Wolf’s
Giving Demons a Bath
Christian wackjobs today wonder why people can’t take them seriously. Pressuring school boards not to teach Science because it conflicts with *their* beliefs (Note: mainstream Christians in general have no problem with Science or evolution.) Refusing to bake wedding cakes for sinners—and by “sinners” they mean only people who are having sex without their approval,…Continue readingGiving Demons a Bath
Getting’ a Wild Hair
These new figures from Wild Hair Creations are adorable. Which one is your favorite? I already ordered my favorite of the lot, Mothman, but they’re all cute. I don’t like so much the design they used for the Jersey Devil figure, leaning a lot more on the “devil” part of it instead of trying to…Continue readingGetting’ a Wild Hair
Oldest Human Remains Discovered
Not the oldest in the whole world, but the oldest ever discovered outside of Africa. How old? 210,000 years’ worth of old. And where were these ancient bones located (since I’ve already told you they weren’t found in Africa)? In a cave in southern Greece. And they weren’t “just” discovered, either. They were unearthed in…Continue readingOldest Human Remains Discovered
WIZARDS AND WEREWOLVES
I received an offer a few weeks back to try out this new game called WIZARDS AND WEREWOLVES. While I didn’t have the time to take them up on the offer, I did find the premise of the game intriguing. Here’s what the message I received had to say: “Would you like to be among…Continue readingWIZARDS AND WEREWOLVES
I had completely forgotten that this movie existed, until I saw a mention of it online. This rekindled a memory for me: I was a wee laddie, and a promo for the movie came on TV. I remember it scared me. In the intervening years, though, this slipped into my subconscious. Right up until this…Continue readingRevisiting the Classics: THE BOOGENS
THE HUNT by Wayne Miller, Part 1
[As promised, here’s the first entry to my novella. Enjoy!] The place stank. If a prison should have a common smell, the kind of stench one would expect of such a place, Abbeville State Penitentiary had it. Like a cesspool of human sin, Garret Roth mused. It looked as ugly as it smelled, too, a…Continue readingTHE HUNT by Wayne Miller, Part 1
Let’s Go To The Mall!
Not since George Romero’s 1978 DAWN OF THE DEAD has a mall featured so prominently as the backdrop for a Horror story. (Unless you count 1986’s CHOPPING MALL, which we really should, since it’s a wonderfully cheesy 80s Horror “classic”.) Like too many malls today, Gwinnett Place Mall in Duluth, Georgia, wasn’t doing so well.…Continue readingLet’s Go To The Mall!
Wolf’s Museum of Mystery – Reborn!
It’s still in the gestational stages, but I’m so glad to see that a new sprout has started growing from the scorched stump of the Museum of Mystery. Readers may recall how the MOM was destroyed by fire after relocating from St. Augustine, Florida to New York State. As the days passed and the grief…Continue readingWolf’s Museum of Mystery – Reborn!
The Area 51 Gate Three Incident
For what it’s worth, I don’t put much stock in this one. I think it’s a good story but that’s about it. That’s not to say I discount the whole Area 51 phenomenon. Much the opposite, in fact. But this particular story, involving an “escape” from the restricted government facility, or an attempted escape, has…Continue readingThe Area 51 Gate Three Incident
Horror vs. the Tentpoles
“Clutter.” That’s the new term du jour when it comes to describing the current box office. It means simply that there are a lot of movies you want to see in theaters all at the same time. And, with time being a precious commodity, choices must be made. Why didn’t the masterful MIDSOMMAR do better…Continue readingHorror vs. the Tentpoles
Movie Review: CHILD’S PLAY
I typically don’t cover the slashers here on this site, relegating them to our sister site darkness.com. But since I mentioned the all new CHILD’S PLAY last week in regards to the film’s fictional feud with the *other* killer doll movie out in theaters now, ANNABELLE COMES HOME (which has a werewolf in it!), I’ll…Continue readingMovie Review: CHILD’S PLAY
Forget Waldo. Where’s Pazuzu?
First Annabelle appeared in blink-and-you’ll-miss-it cameo in last winter’s AQUAMAN. Now we have the statue from THE EXORCIST hidden in a film frame in GODZILLA: KING OF THE MONSTERS. (Which, if you haven’t seen it yet, you really should before it leaves theaters. This movie is the reason they made movie theaters in the first…Continue readingForget Waldo. Where’s Pazuzu?
THERIOPHOBIA: FEAR THE BEAST Finale
TOMORROW: WANING MOON Hank Frye nodded to the trio of uniformed policemen standing, sipping coffee from their Styrofoam cups, and stepped through the sliding glass doors of the lobby, out of the air-conditioned coolness and into the morning humidity. 95 degrees already, and not even lunchtime. Just a morning like any other in Ironwood. Except…Continue readingTHERIOPHOBIA: FEAR THE BEAST Finale
Introducing THE HUNT
This week will mark the final installment of my novel THERIOPHOBIA: FEAR THE BEAST posted here to this site. I hope you’ve all enjoyed reading it. The clicks say that you *have* been reading, and since I’ve received no harsh yet witty criticisms I can but assume that you’ve been digging it. I’m pretty proud…Continue readingIntroducing THE HUNT
Don’t pick that fight, Foukey!
Y’all, I love the Fouke Monster and THE LEGEND OF BOGGY CREEK about as much as anybody can love ‘em. The movie is an out-and-out classic, a drive-in masterpiece, as well as a vintage slice of shadowy Americana, and I’m thrilled that, with its full digital restoration and time currently being spent on the theater…Continue readingDon’t pick that fight, Foukey!
Skeptical of the Skeptics
Skepticism is good. Everyone should be skeptical, of anything and everything. Especially where claims of the paranormal are concerned. This allows people to avoid being duped, taken advantage of. One should always look to the dictum of Occam’s Razor when assessing any purported case of the paranormal. Occam’s Razor, coined by medieval scholar and theologian…Continue readingSkeptical of the Skeptics
The Warrens’ Werewolf
All the THE CONJURING movies have ostensibly been based on true stories, but some of them are a step removed. For example, the origin story for Annabelle the doll provided by the first two ANNABELLE films (The first one fell short, so why not retcon it with a sequel? And it worked.) was entirely fictitious.…Continue readingThe Warrens’ Werewolf
Remember back when John Logan prematurely pulled the plug on PENNY DREADFUL? Sure you do. I gave him all sorts of hell over it, at the behest of fans of the series who felt royally screwed over by Mr. Logan. I offered proof that Logan lied when he said the ending had been planned in…Continue readingPENNY DREADFUL: CITY OF ANGELS – John Logan Gets Desperate
Marley came through the woods by the light of the Moon alone, as it bled down through the branches of the pine trees. Her eyes had adjusted to the darkness; she could see well enough. She did not know in which direction she moved or even her destination. Just that she must find Lucas Vale.…Continue readingTHERIOPHOBIA: FEAR THE BEAST Part 58
Movie Review: MIDSOMMAR
As was the case with Jordan Peele after the success of GET OUT, when I said that his follow-up effort would prove whether or not he was for real or just got lucky (and I need not have worried, as US is brilliant, even better than GET OUT), I felt that Ari Aster’s sophomore effort…Continue readingMovie Review: MIDSOMMAR
Chucky Vs. Annabelle
I’ve found those posters depicting Chucky, the new Chucky from the CHILD’S PLAY remake (expect my official review over at our sister site darkness.com as soon as I get a free moment to go see it), offing all the toys from the TOY STORY franchise to be quite funny, and a clever form of advertising.…Continue readingChucky Vs. Annabelle
The GHOSTBUSTERS Terror Dogs
Over at our sister site vampires.com I’ve been talking about the 30th anniversary of GHOSTBUSTERS 2, waxing all nostalgic and stuff. But there’s some GHOSTBUSTERS-related news to report this week on this site, too. The Terror Dogs in the original 1984 film aren’t werewolves in the sense that they don’t ever transition from human beings…Continue readingThe GHOSTBUSTERS Terror Dogs
This post is for the guy who sent me a message a coupl’a three weeks back bitching about my coverage of STRANGER THINGS on this site. ‘Cause, y’know, there isn’t a werewolf in STRANGER THINGS. (Yet.) I’m sorry, Fred, but most of our readers dig on STRANGER THINGS and like to read about it. But…Continue readingSTRANGER THINGS Shoes and Ice Cream, And Pissing Off That One Dude
A Swamp Thing Movie?
A more cynical person might think the whole thing was done as a publicity stunt. If it were, it certainly worked. The mysterious cancellation of the new SWAMP THING television series, or streaming series, as it were. The various reasons put forward and then argued over as to why the cancellation occurred. It got us…Continue readingA Swamp Thing Movie?
The Fouke Monster Meets The Blob!
Did the tile of this article cause your pulse to quicken, just a little bit? If so, you are a true blue Monsterkid! I don’t wanna be a tease, though. This isn’t a forthcoming movie I’m talking about. You’ll see. By all accounts, the Fouke Monster Festival held last weekend in Fouke, Arkansas was a…Continue readingThe Fouke Monster Meets The Blob!
Somehow, Leland made it back across the living room floor. *Don’t wanna die! Don’t wanna die!* The pain had driven him to a point past suffering. Each breath came out as a whimper, each movement a squeal of anguish. *Please!* He crawled to the front door, which Marley had not bothered to close. He pushed…Continue readingTHERIOPHOBIA: FEAR THE BEAST Part 57
Movie Review: ANNABELLE COMES HOME
There’s a werewolf in this one! A real, honest-to-goodness, bona fide werewolf! It only gets a little screen time, but still, we take our werewolves where we can get them, don’t we? ANNABELLE COMES HOME received the lowest score of the three ANNABELLE movies from theater-goers, which is ironic (yet predictable) since it is the…Continue readingMovie Review: ANNABELLE COMES HOME