QUOTE OF THE DAY - FRIDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2014

“The allotted function of Art is not, as is often assumed, to put across ideas, to propagate thoughts, to serve as an example. The aim of art is to prepare a person for death, to plough and harrow his soul, rendering it capable of turning to good.”

- Russian filmmaker Andrei Tarkovsky.

MATT'S LOST MONEY SITUATION

My good friend Matt Pollack lost a large sum of money when a hidden stash of cash slid down the back of the chimney in his apartment. He and his Run Run It's Him partner-in-film Jamie Popowich filmed Matt's subsequent (somewhat ludicrous) preparations and attempts at retrieval, turning it into a short film of sorts, entitled The Lost Money Situation. You can watch it at the link, for free. You can also download Run Run It's Him from the above link, but you have to pay for it (a review is forthcoming). Enjoy!

FLASHBACK 2007! OUR FIRST HALLOWEEN FILM SHORT!

Most of you have watched - and some of you have enjoyed - The Last Halloween, the latest film from my circle of creative partners, chief among them being my lifelong best friend, editor/director Marc Roussel. You can scroll down this page to find information on The Last Halloween, which has played - and is still playing - in competition at numerous prestigious film festivals around the world, and has won a few awards along the way. But did you know that TLH wasn't our first cinematic ode to our favorite time of year? 

In late October of 2007, Marc and I (and a team of five others) entered the Toronto 24 Hour Film Challenge, during which time we had to write, shoot, edit and score a 5 minute horror film in LESS THAN 24 HOURS! 

Out of dozens of participating teams, only 30-something managed to finish their films on time. Our film, Sweet Tooth, came in 3rd according to the judges - winning us thousands of dollars worth in movie equipment rental vouchers. We were also clearly an audience favorite at the gala event where all the competing films were screened... which took a lot of the sting out of losing to two teams that were made up (or so we were subsequently told) by friends of the contest organizers and judges. 

Here's a link to the finished film - or, you can watch it right here if you'd like. Fair warning! As previously mentioned, we wrote, shot, edited and scored this sucker in ONE CALENDAR DAY, and it kinda shows. Still, it's a good bit of fun... and I, yer old pal Jerky, actually try to ACT in this one!

MONSTER MAYHEM THURSDAY - DAGON THE SEA-KING!

I guess you could say this is second in a series of re-imaginings of various Lovecraft deities. A few weeks ago, I did Yog-Sothoth (a personal favorite), but in the Kenneth Grant mode, rather than Lovecraft's visually uninteresting "iridescent bubbles". Today, I take a crack at Father Dagon! He's got a Devil Ray as a cloak. ENJOY!

"THE LAST HALLOWEEN" COMIC, NOW ONLINE!

You've watched the short film, now enjoy the illustrated story upon which it was based!

QUOTE OF THE DAY - MONDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2014

“If you put fresh cucumbers into a barrel of pickles, they will soon turn into pickles.”

- The new mayor of Kiev, Vitali Klitschko, uses a colorful metaphor to explain the gravity of the situation in post-revolutionary Ukraine.

MONSTER MAYHEM THURSDAYS... THE MAD DOCTOR FROM ROBOT CHICKEN!

This week's "monster" isn't very monstrous, but he was a special request from a friend, and he took up my Thursday afternoon, so he's all you're getting, you greedy frickin' bastids...

THE LAST HALLOWEEN - NOW ONLINE FOR YOUR VIEWING PLEASURE!

It's been over a year since we set up cameras and shot our 10 minute paean to our favorite holiday - with some much needed help from the wonderful people at BravoFACT - and now we are at long last allowed to share it with anyone fortunate enough to have an Internet connection... just in time for the most appropriate seasonal setting we can think of!

And so... behold... The Last Halloween!

MONSTER MAYHEM THURSDAY - "Z MOVIE" MINI-POSTER!

This week's Monster Mayhem Thursday is brought to you by ZaAt! - also known as Blood Waters of Dr. Z - as memorably mocked by the Mystery Science Theater 3000 gang a few years back.  In fact, you can watch them tear apart this were-catfish abomination in the attached video, below!

Before you start watching though, allow me to repeat the point that the monster in this film is, indeed, a were-catfish. Half man, half catfish. And the crazed scientist who has managed to do this to himself - for reasons that are never quite made clear - is an escaped Nazi, to boot! Then again, aren't they all?

Anyway... Enjoy! And "keep circulating the tapes!"

ANOTHER EXCELLENT REVIEW FOR THE LAST HALLOWEEN!

I'm very pleased to report that The Last Halloween continues to accrue excellent reviews from the people that matter... horror fans! 

This time, UK HORROR SCENE writer Will Roberts writes:

There is a wonderful blend of gothic, mediaeval and futuristic horror on display throughout and the story resonates like a dystopic Brothers Grimm tale – especially when the mini-harbingers , each representing a symbol of the season, dispose of their festive attire, resulting in a spectacular achievement in monster and prosthetic design, and a fantastic new spin on familiar imagery. 

The cinematography, production and costume design are impressively bleak and in places this visually stunning ten minute film is reminiscent of other non-horror (but nonetheless terrifying) post-apocalyptic classics such as ‘Delicatessen’ and ‘The Road’. 

A story riddled with a dreaded plague is impeccably timed to this particular Hallow’s Eve and this short , produced by Red Sneakers Media, is consistently tragic and wonderfully grim right up until it’s harrowing final shot. 

Written by Marc Roussel and Mark Thibodeau, and based on a comic book by Thibodeau, The Last Halloween is currently being screened at prestigious film festivals such as Raindance Film Festival and Screamfest and is destined for (well-deserved) widespread praise and attention come October 31st.

You can read the full review (including Roberts' star rating) at this link.

THE BEST END OF THE WORLD FILM YOU'VE NEVER SEEN IN YOUR LIFE

With 1998's Last Night, Canadian director Don McKellar created a work of transcendent beauty and almost unbearably intense emotional poignancy.  The end of the world has never felt so intimate, so possible, so viscerally present as it does in this film. 

If you consider yourself an aficionado of apocalyptic cinema and you have yet to see this film, be prepared to make room in your personal Top Ten list. 

It's incredible to me that McKellar was still in his 30's when he directed this. The thing that he seems to get, and convey so eloquently, is that, in such a global endgame scenario, regret would loom just as large as dread, and that all our emotions - bad and good - will be heightened to an almost supernatural degree. 

Anyway, I've said too much already. Watch, experience, share. This film deserves to be seen by everyone... starting with you.

MONSTER MAYHEM THURSDAY DOUBLE-SHOT!

Last week, I brought you guys my take on the Typhonian occultist Kenneth Grant's unique descriptive variation on H.P. Lovecraft's original creation, the evil Elder God Yog Sothoth. This week, I figured I might as show you guys how the inked version turned out.

Also, seeing as the above image is essentially a repeat, I thought I'd also show you guys my latest exercise in color marker doodling... the tragic, murderous living tumor Belial from Frank Henenlotter's infamous Basket Case series of low budget exploitation horror films. Enjoy!