Pics of my stash...you asked, I delivered.

Okay, so here's my recent VHS haul. I promised pics, so here goes...

For those that don't know, I recently had a windfall of luck when an entire horror section of old VHS movies got thrown in my lap. When I mentioned it online, I had some interested folks wanting to see just what came my way.

As of now, they are all in boxes in my basement, because I have no idea what on earth I'm going to do with all of them. So amongst our recycling, birdseed, and Harley gear sit a whole shit load of VHS movies...with more on the way.



First up, above are the ones I grabbed up and took upstairs to watch first. I don't have any of these on DVD so I was jazzed to see them.



So I'll be expecting some recommendations of what to watch....some of these movies, quite a few of them actually, I've never seen. (And I think every 'Howling' movie is represented above...)



And honestly, I don't have much of a mind to pull out these "Critters" movies and watch them, so please....just no.



In the Mouth of Madness! It's been years. And The Terror - an early Jack Nicholson flick.



Was rather psyched to get The Blob! One of the better remakes out there.



The Relic and Dead Calm.... interesting.




All the Psycho flicks on VHS (to match my collection of each one on DVD, lol) and low and behold, The Evil Dead - in a hard case. And in FINE condition. Yay!




Some good shit here. Evil Dead 2, Pumpkinhead, Bride of Re-Animator....etc, etc.



Return of the Living Dead in a hard case. Nice. Also - Bad Taste, The Hitcher (original), and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Sweet.



April Fool's Day, a couple of Child's Plays, Demons 2, and four Curses.



I laughed when I saw all those Puppet Master flicks. And Basket Case 2. Did I even see that?




Dracula & The Mummy: both the originals.

So anyway, that's the stash so far. Someone give me a clue what's good that I may not have seen!!

Sunday Bloody Sunday

Bride of Re-Animator



Phantasm



House of Wax (2005)



The Relic



The Blob (1988)

Sunday Bloody Sunday

Night of the Demons



The Burning



Maniac



Frozen



Demons

Horror's Sentimental Journey

In the world of horror, there isn't much tenderness or expression of feeling. Why not? Because it's a damn HORROR movie, that's why.

But there are some instances of actual emotion and warmth.
Behold, my favorite sentimental scenes in horror:



Frankenstein (1931)
Never mind that he's going to throw her in the water five seconds from this moment.
Frankie met a friend, and couldn't we all use one of those?



The Village (2004)
My favorite romantic scene in a horror movie comes at this moment of quietness on a porch.
Not a lot of dialogue, but a boatload of emotion. Well played, and yes, I did tear up during this scene.



Pumpkinhead (1988)
Aww, this scene is so poignant. Poor little Billy Harley. As his daddy holds him one last time, it's hard not to choke up a bit. And wish for vile vengeance against those a-hole teenagers.



The Others (2001)
Grace's husband comes back from the war - or does he? The two share a long overdue reunion, only to discover he may have never been there in the first place. A sorrowful bit of film that always gets to me.



The Sixth Sense (2001)
I still get a lump in my throat when Cole finally tells his mom about his ability - and then proceeds to mention something that was said by Lynn's (dead) mother that only she would know. A powerful, yet tearful few minutes in film.



The Evil Dead (1981)
Who else thinks it's hokey yet sweet when Ash gives his beloved the necklace? Try to forget you've seen the rest of the film, in which Ash has to kill Deadite Linda when she succumbs to Kandarian demons. Yeah, makes that necklace seem all the more important.



Let the Right One In (2008)
When you love someone, age isn't usually a barrier. But being alive usually helps. In Eli and Oskar's case, however, love knows no bounds. This scene above is proof, even though the entire movie is a love letter to sentiment - you just have to know where to look.



The Shining (1980)
In a rare moment of tenderness, Jack Torrance (already under the influence of the Overlook) gives Danny a loving hug. Danny, however, does not seem to reciprocate. Hmm....



I Am Legend (2007)
Because I couldn't put a pic of the moment when Sam died - because it gets me right in the gut - I instead chose this pic of the two friends bedding down for the night, to the sound of the roaring Darkseeker crowd outside.



Stephen King's IT (1990)
"Your hair is winter fire. January embers. My heart burns there, too."
Enough said.



Ghost Story (1981)
After a lovely sundae for two and a stroll in the rain, Alma and Don come back to her place for a little rendezvous. Too bad she is a vengeful ghost. Always spoils the fun.



From Hell (2001)
In a movie as dark as this one, it's really hard to see anything even remotely affectionate, but Johnny Depp and Heather Graham manage one steamy moment in a grungy alley, and it's the only true emotional moment in the film.



Friday the 13th (1980)
Steve likes Alice. See the way he touches her face when he says 'thanks, Alice'. What a tender moment... Too bad Alice has the hots for Bill instead. Too bad both Steve and Bill end up dead anyway.



Carrie (1976)
Didn't you just for a minute....think things might work out okay? That Carrie and Tommy might just fall in love and everything will be coming up roses? When they stand on stage, holding hands and accepting the king and queen crowns... And then all hell breaks loose.



Dawn of the Dead (2004)
One of the calmest moments in the thrill ride that is DOTD is Frank, accepting his imminent death and saying good bye to his daughter. Touching, depressing, intense, and hard to watch.



Psycho II (1983)
My favorite moment in one of my favorite movies is when Norman, realizing he is slipping into insanity again, turns to Mary for comfort. He relays a story about his mother making him toasted cheese sandwiches, which sounds ridiculous, but it works. Cue the violins.



Jaws (1975)
Winner of my Most Sentimental Moment in a Horror Movie award, this scene from Jaws is what got me thinking about this post to begin with. It's such a touching segment in the film, when father and son do their little copycat routine, and end with Brody asking for a kiss, to which his son asks why? He responds with "cause I need it". And he does. After all, he's got one big mother of a shark to hunt.

Sunday Bloody Sunday

Hatchet



Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me



Masters of Horror: Sick Girl



Bad Taste



House by the Cemetery

Random Notes For A Late Monday Evening...

So here we are again with more rambling nonsense from yours truly.

First things first, I now have over 200 followers. That may not seem like much, but to me it's crazy. To imagine that 200 people actually (pretend to) give a shit about what I write - well, that's pretty exciting. After all, I started this blog in March of 2008 as an outlet for myself to write about what I was most passionate about. Not only did I have no clue yet how many blogs about horror were out already there, but I didn't expect anyone but my family and friends to read mine. And lord knows only a select few of them even care about Pirahna 3D or the upcoming fourth Scream installment.

Horrorblips is dead. This does sadden me, not because I believed in their ratings system. It was pretty much crap (even though I did at one point hit number 3). But because many of us bloggers went there on a daily basis to see what was new, to find what our favorites were blogging about at the moment, and to discover new blogs. It is disappointing that one day it's there, the next - kaput. I don't know of any other sites that list individual posts/articles like that one, and if there is one, kindly let me know.
For now, discovering new blogs must be left in the capable hands of the Horror Blogger Alliance.

I've been asked to write for Fangoria.com!
I didn't want to start this post out by saying that, at the risk of being completely pretentious and obnoxious. But there it is. Thanks to my very good friend Kristy Jett (who took it upon herself to hype me) I am lucky enough to now be associated with one of the biggest names in American horror journalism. No, I will not be in the print magazine (that's a dream for another day) but I will be adding my two cents to the Fango Flashback section of the website. Hopefully my first review will be up soon - a nostalgic trip down memory lane to...
Nope, not gonna tell you just yet.

In another fantabulous, awe-inspiring, and certainly shameless self promotion: I've been asked to contribute to an upcoming issue of Paracinema magazine.
Now this one really means a lot to me, because I am so taken with this magazine you can't imagine. It's so well written and has truly unique and interesting articles about cult films, horror, exploitation cinema and much more. There is no way I'm leaking what I'm writing about, so don't ask. I only hope to live up to the talent and brilliance of the other contributors of this fascinating publication.
If you've never read an issue, get off the couch and get your credit card - cause now is the time. Go here and get them before they are gone!

I have actually been to three movies in the last month - at the theater. This is an amazing feat to be sure. I've been working too many hours at my day job (they took my day off away from me, dammit!) and it's been hard to find the time. I hate the movies on the weekends, it just drives me mad to sit with an entire theater full of numbskulls (read: ignorant teenagers) and have to watch their cellphones flashing the entire time or the inappropriate laughter which fully indicates they aren't watching the film, they are getting their rocks off. Ugh.

Anyway, I've been to see Piranha 3D, The Last Exorcism, and my favorite of the three, Machete. I have a review of Machete in the wings, I just can't seem to formulate the right words about it yet. Suffice it to say I think it's been my favorite film so far this year, and it isn't even a horror film. Exploitation to the max, and Danny Trejo kicked major ass!
Oh, and drifting away from relevancy somewhat: Robert Rodriguez is one hot property. Whoa.

Recently The Mike, over at From Midnight, With Love, did a feature on his blog about The Most Essential Cult Films Of The 70's. He actually asked anyone who was interested to send him a list ranking their top five cult films of that decade - and the votes/rankings came pouring in. Being a mostly straight forward horror fan, my list was pretty much all locked into that genre, and you can view it here. There were some great votes out there - and some differing opinions on just what makes a film "cult". But I stand by my list, and in the end, I think the final results speak for themselves. Great job, Mike. Highly entertaining!

Over at Zombo's Closet of Horror, the illustrious John Cozzoli ran a month-long+ feature called "My Halloween", in which he asks five simple questions about the favorite holiday of most of us bloggers out there.
To read my answers, click here. But definitely check out the answers of the vast assemblage of contributors as well, to find out just what makes us love October 31st so much.

Oh dear lord, this Sunday brings a sadness upon me that I only feel once a year. The season finale of True Blood. Despite what others have said about it being an uneven year for the wildly popular vamp & tramp show, I think it's been a whoo-yea type of year, and I'm looking forward to season 4 more than ever.

Unanswered questions abound, like what kind of trouble will this whole "fairy" revelation bring to Sookie's life? Will Lafayette succumb to the voodoo that his boy-toy obviously has him dabbling in? Will Sam ever catch a goddamned break? Have we seen the last of his wayward redneck family? Does Bill's secret ever come out? Will Jessica and Hoyt live happily ever after - or not live, as the case may be? Will Arlene's child be the spawn of Satan? Will Tara ever stop whining? Does Jason turn into a were-panther or simply another pussy? Will Pam get a love interest or just another new pair of Christian Louboutins? What happened to Lettie May? Who will replace the soon-to-be-toast Russell Edgington as the go-to villain? Will Eric finally bed Ms. Stackhouse? How long will it be till Sook sleeps with the hot (literally) werewolf Alcide and realize he is by far the nicest (and most alive) of the bunch?
And my biggest question? Did I really see Godric in the season finale trailer?

And lastly, I have to thank Unkle Lancifer over at Kindertrauma, one of my favorite blogs by the way. Upon his gracious invitation, he and I recently did a two-part post about our favorite (and least favorite) horror homes.
So if you think you might like the house from Let's Scare Jessica to Death as much as the two of us do, or if you get chills just thinking about Cabrini-Green, then follow the links and check out our lists. Go here now: Kindertrauma / Fascination With Fear .

Okay, I'm done rambling for now.