Back in April (the 20th), we recorded a contribution for Canada's own The Smoking Screen Podcast. At first we thought we were going to be clever, and watch Reefer Madness, but as it turns out- it stinks. Thank goodness we recorded our running commentary and edited it down to the best parts.
New York Horror! or The Horrors of New York
The Rants Macabre vs The Big Apple! In this episode we cover Dark Water, Cloverfield, C.H.U.D., Clive Barker's short story and movie Midnight Meat Train, and Mulberry Street. From rats and monsters, to tunnels and haunted islands—we love everything about NY on film. Download it on iTunes, or on Stitcher here.
Short Story: The Call of Dunedin
For this short installment I read a scary short story, The Call of Dunedin. Inspired by a real town in northern Florida [and ocean beasts]. Mindy and I will be back with new full production episodes next Monday. Listen on the player above, or download on iTunes, or Stitcher.
Lunch Hour Reviews: Nightbreed
Mindy & Darren chat through the mess that is Clive Barker's Nightbreed: The Director's Cut. It's not all bad... Download it on iTunes here, or Stitcher Internet Radio here.
Lunch Hour Reviews: WolfCop!
On this Lunch Hour Reviews episode Mindy & Darren nerd out and love all over WolfCop. Well done Lowell Dean! Find it now on Netflix Streaming and download the podcast on iTunes here, or Stitcher here.
Destination: Horror, or Murder Takes a Vacation
It's that time of year again, travel season. Darren & Mindy talk about vacation horror movies where protagonists voluntarily leave their comfort zone for the chance at adventure. And of course for our enjoyment, everything must go wrong. We talk Turistas, The Ruins, Hostel 1&2, Wolf Creek 1&2, The Seventh Moon and the Clive Barker's In The Hills, The Cities. Get the podcast on iTunes Here, or Stitcher. Please leave us a review while you're at it.
Lunch Hour Review: A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night
We spent our lunch time loving Iranian filmmaker Ana Lily Amirpour's beautiful vampire movie A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night. Also Mindy loves loves loves The Jinx. Download the episode here, and please leave us a review on iTunes.
The soundtrack to A Girl Walks is outstanding and totally worth getting on iTunes, or Amazon.
Dawn of the Dead Screening
On Saturday night Mindy & I attended a screening of George Romero’s Dawn of the Dead at the Loews Landmark Cinema in Jersey City. The Loews is a gorgeous cathedral of cinema built in 1929. It’s a little beat up, but they’re constantly renovating it. Having survived a rough history, it’s still beautiful inside. Even without the zombies, it's worth a trip to New Jersey to experience.
Before the movie there was a Q&A with some of the actors who played zombies in the movie (notably the tall helicopter zombie, and the Hare Krishna Zombie), and a re-enactment of the opening scene's TV segment.
A few things we noticed when Dawn is up on the big screen:
The eerie priest at the beginning is completely missing his leg, but moves around swiftly with the crutch tucked under his arm.
Several shots are out of focus. (Seriously, George?)
A lady zombie in the mall has a lollypop stuck in her hair.
Stacking zombies in a freezer with your food doesn’t make any sense.
Ken Foree, who plays Peter is great, and delivers the great monologue about his Haitian grandfather saying, "When there's no more room in hell, the dead will walk the earth." A great actor, who I just saw pop up in a great Season 3 episode (“The List) of the X-Files with JT Walsh.
There are some pretty progressive, and feminist conversations about abortion (consider this was 1978), where Gaylen Ross (as Fran) asserts herself. She goes on to tell the men that she’s not going to be their den-mother and cook and clean up after the men.
Overall the experience of watching the film with a crowd, on the big screen intensified the gore, and the suspense, making it more effective overall. Not being a huge fan of this Romero installment, I found I enjoyed it way more than I have in the past.
