Horror Purchase of the Week

Got the new Horrorhound today and an old school classic.  I thought it would be fun to do some old school reviews of books from my youth, so I picked up Goosebumps: The Haunted Mask, by R.L. Stine.  I'm sure the book will not take more than an hour to read so I should have a review up very shortly.

HalloweenOverkill's First Giveaway!!!

WARNING: Prize photos not safe for work or children.  No total nudity but pretty damn close, just a warning!

Come one, come all to HalloweenOverkill's first fantastic, freakish, fiendish, frightful, f-in giveaway!  On the menu today we have some epic trick or treats for you to sample from the awesome guys over at Wild Eye Releasing.  Here's what you can win in this giveaway and how to do it.

1.  Become one of my followers of this site (following me on twitter would be sweet too, but not required) over there on the right -------> (If you don't know how, then you aren't eligible. Just kidding! Throw me an email at halloweenman666@gmail.com)

2.  Comment on this post and tell me what your favorite death scene in a horror movie is. You must also leave your email in the post to be eligible.

3.  Go visit the guys over at Wild Eye and check out their catalog of films including the upcoming Night of the Living Dead: Reanimated (this is not a must but it would be nice to check their site out anyways).

4.  Everyone who becomes a follower and then comments on this specific post right here will be entered and drawn at random for the grand prize using Random.org to ensure fairness.

5.  Contest ends June 6th, 2010 at 11:59 E.S.T.

Now on to the good stuff, here is what is up for grabs in this giveaway:

1. Two Goth Kill stickers

2.  A Wild Eye logo button (about the size of a nickel)

3.  A set of big promotional photos from the Wild Eye film The Bloody Ape. This set also includes a nice shot from a scene in the film which was autographed by the director Keith J. Crocker and the star of the film George Reis (the 2nd photo is the one not safe for work or children in case you were wondering).

4.  A copy of Goth Kill on DVD!

Here is a description of the film straight from the back of the DVD case:

When Catholic priest and inquisitor Nicholas Dread finds out that innocents are being burned as witches he decides to do something about it.  Unfortunately for him, his superiors don't agree and he is burned at the stake along side two women he forced confessions from.  While dying, Nick curses God and makes a pact with Satan to reign over his own kingdom someday at any cost.

Now in 21st century New York City, Dread has returned to finish the deal.  His end of the bargain with Satan must be fulfilled, and many will die so Dread can take the throne in his kingdom of over 100,000 corrupt souls.  He just has to find the right bunch of victims...  And it just so happens the best goth club in the city is ripe for this bloodthirsty butcher bent on revenge!

Can a group of Goth's and wannabe vampires hold their own when the real thing arrives?

The winner of this giveaway will have these items shipped to them in a padded envelope. The picture cards including the autographed one are inside of a plastic slipcase.

Abandon All Hope Ye Who Enter! (And good luck also.)

Crystal Lake right around the corner!

The other day I realized that an opportunity had finally come to post pictures of something that is literally right in my backyard.  I've been holding on to these pictures with hopes that one day I'd be able to share them with poeple who may actually be interested.  Well what better group of people than the followers of HalloweenOverkill!  I literally live less than 2 streets away from "Crystal Lake."  Creepy isn't it?  Actually what is way more frightening is the fact that another horror landmark is only about another mile the other way.  What is this creepy landmark you ask.  Well I'll give you a clue.  Every town has one of these.  For now check out these pics of Crystal Lake and if you look real hard in the background of one you just might see a little boat full of unsuspecting victims.

Jack Chop

So is it too early to start writing Halloween themed posts?  Of course not!  It is HalloweenOverkill after all, isn't it?  Well I wanna share something with everyone out there who doesn't already know about the greatness that is Ariescope, the film company of one Mr. Adam Green who is the amazing filmmaker behind such fantastic films as Hatchet (a must see!), Spiral, and Frozen.  On Ariescope.com every year Mr. Green and co. make a short halloween themed film to celebrate the holiday, and this year's entry was the best ever!  As they put it on Ariescope.com, "Step aside Slap-Chop and move over Sham-Wow...there's a new game in town." WARNING: the video below does include some salty language so keep the kids away.  After watching this clip go out and trick or treat yourself to Hatchet on DVD--you will not regret it!  Also, be sure to visit Ariescope.com for more of their awesome Halloween shorts.

Scratch that idea

So the watermelon carving idea for a contest, not gonna happen.  My wife pointed out the astronomical price of watermelons right now.  This is what happens when you post after your editor has called it quits for the day.   So anyhow  I'm canceling that idea.  The giveaway is still goin down though.  Since it's the first one it will probably just be a giveaway with a stipulation that maybe you are a follower and have to comment on the post.  Sorry about that folks, I still consider myself new to this so I'm still working out all the kinks of being a proud blog owner. 

Jolly Jack-O-Lantern Rating Scale

Ok ghouls so in preparation for the first big review (coming soon) I have decided upon a rating scale I will use so that you have some sense of how good or bad the movie was besides just the worded review. Plus every one loves a rating scale right? So here goes with the explanation
1 Jolly Jack-O-Lantern = Abysmal, the worst of the worst, not even worth a rent.  Any movie receiving a 1 JJOL will also receive the seal of suck which is this right here


















2 Jolly Jack-O-Lanterns = Not the worst of the worst, but pretty much SYFY channel material
3 Jolly Jack-O-Lanterns = Decent, run of the mill horror film, worth a rent, maybe a purchase
4 Jolly Jack-O-Lanterns = Very good, fun to watch, worth owning
5 Jolly Jack-O-Lanterns = Gold!, HalloweenOverkill Hall of Fame, A must own! Epic!, Legendary!
So what do you think?  Is there something I should change?  Love it?  Hate it?  Also I wanted to point out that I added a twitter feed so you can follow me on twitter now as well.  It should be over to the right, so click on join the conversation to see my twitter page.  One more thing before I close the night out folks.  Do any of you enjoy carving pumpkins?  Do you also love eating watermelon?  Is there any way those two activities may fit together?  If not lets just say you may want to buy a watermelon and bust out your pumpkin carving tools early.  If you're wondering why, its all connected to the Wild Eye contest that will be running next week.  I will drop the details this weekend so stay tuned and keep your eyes peeled.
p.s. This was another late night post without the editor so it may look like a total catastrophe.

Time to get things rollin........

I have decided that the blog must be energized!  Not sure how I went from posting everyday to just once in the past few days, and lets be honest those birthday posts weren't very exciting were they?  I'm sure we've all had these crazy weeks before right?  Finishing up school (Dean's List again!), Grandpa recovering from a nasty infection which left him in the hospital for a week, birthday celebrations (my Sister and I are a day apart, so this weekend was crazy), and getting ready for the big move, have all put the blog on the back burner.  Sorry Ghouls!  Anyways all is well and much of that is in the past now (except for the move) so what better way to get this summer started than to do my first few movie reviews!  I'll have plenty of those reviews coming up soon for you followers out there complete with a rating scale that will be implemented with said reviews.  Also keep your eyes glued to Halloween Overkill because coming next week I will finally be having the blog's first giveaway!!!  That's right the amazingly astonishing wonderful folks over at Wild Eye have provided me with some goodies to giveaway (the picture above is of one of their titles, Gothkill).  The giveaway/contest (haven't decided what to do yet) should take place around sometime next week or maybe even this weekend.  So overall these things should get the blog moving and I myself promise to keep them moving form here on out.  Also if you're interested, my wife and I are about halfway through Alan Wake, the new psychological thriller for the xbox 360, so I should be doing a review for that soon as well.  So, what do you think, sound like a decent kickoff to summer?  Also I'd like to note that my editor (a.k.a. wife) is already sleeping so there will be no editing of this post, terrible right?  I know.

B-day Update

I know you're probably thinking "why the hell do I give a s$%t what this kid got for his birthday?" Well you shouldn't but I thought that at least sharing my horror or genre related gifts may be of some inspiration for you to run out and purchase them yourselves. Well needless to say here are some of those genre related gifts.

1. Carnivale: Season 2



2. Y The Last Man: Volume 4 Safeword



3. Alan Wake


4. The Penumbra Collection: Black Plague, Requiem, Overture


5. The Whispered World


6. Immortal

Happy Birthday to Me

Well folks today I turn the big 28.  I can still remember my youth like it was yesterday, watching horror films late at night, long after I should have been in bed. It seems like those foggy Halloweens spent carving jack-o-lanterns and going out trick or treating (when I was still young enough) were just days past.  Oh the memories (I'll post some of those younger Halloween memories caught in photographic form later).  Anyways maybe today I will be receiving a delicious smattering of horror treats to share with you, or maybe not.  Either way I'll be sharing throughout the day.  Also, I must say one amazing birthday gift I've gotten today was the honor of waking up and reading a shout out to me over on the Blogging around Friday post on Zombo's Closet of Horror.  Thank you so much for the kind words about the blog Sir, you made my day!  Check out one of those vintage Halloween memories of my youth below as I sit and reminisce about days gone by.
 P.S.  How many of you thought this was a review for that little gem above (and below) hahaha.  I have to be "dead" honest and tell you that this is one DVD that has actually not found its way into my tomb of DVDs yet.  Weird I know.
P.S.S. When did Count Dracula acquire a lightsaber?

An open letter to Hollywood

Dear Hollywood,

The readers of Halloween Overkill have decided that it is time for you to kill the 3D madness that you have decided is an absolute must for every single horror movie that you choose to make and "remake."  Thanks for your time.

Sincerely, 

The readers at HalloweenOverkill.com

Another overwhelming response to the "do you like the 3D horror trend" poll of the week.  Thanks again to all who voted and those who didn't and just checked the blog out.

Horror Purchase of the Week

Hit the jackpot today folks!  I'm certain I know of one blog out there that would be proud of me.  I picked up A Val Lewton Horror Double Feature: I Walked with a Zombie, and The Body Snatcher for $3.00 at Big Lots.  I make a trip to Big Lots about once a month because you can always find cheap horror dvds in their bargain bin, and this trip did not disappoint.  There were several other Val Lewton Horror Double Features as well as other horror movies, but since I will be moving in about 2 months figured I'd better keep my purchase as lean as possible.  Anyone ever seen either of these? If so, what did ya think?

Tim Seeley draws for me!

So I was gonna save this one for the Halloween countdown coming up later this year but I just can't keep it hidden any longer.  I was working one Saturday back home in Michigan when I got a call from my cousin who said, "You'll never believe who is at my local comic store!" He was right, I never would have believed it, but Tim Seeley himself was there and was offering to draw anything you wanted if you waited in line to see him. For those of you who don't know Tim Seeley, he is the author and part time illustrator of the comic Hack/Slash.  Hack/Slash is a horror comic from Devil's Due Publishing that centers around a girl named Cassie Hack who is a tortured by various horror villains known as "Slashers."  She also has a sidekick who carries around two giant meat cleavers, wears a gas mask, and goes by the name "Vlad."  The Hack/Slash series even had a crossover event that starred Re-Animator (Amazing!).

Anyway, my cousin hit the jackpot that day because he suggested that Tim draw Jason Voorhees (my favorite horror icon, maybe it has something to do with the fact that we share a name).  Tim then went to town on that little drawing canvas and the picture you see below is what he created.  That's right, he drew a one of a kind Jason Voorhees just for me!!!  My cousin said that as Tim was creating this drawing, he told him that it was one of his favorite fan-suggested drawings ever.  I didn't get to see the actual image until a few months later since my cousin decided to keep the content of the drawing a secret. When he finally unveiled the artwork my spine tingled and my jaw fell right off my face onto the floor.  I looked like Geena Davis from Beetlejuice!  I was speechless.  If you ever read this Tim I want to tell you thank you so much for bestowing upon me this epic piece of artwork that will forever hold a featured spot in my horror "man cave" for all to see!

Advice needed

Hey Ghouls and Ghosts I need some help!  I'm trying to add a little color to the site and picked a deep purple as the color for the post titles.  I chose this color because it matches the Halloween color scheme I'm going for.  My question is does it blend in too much with the background or make the titles hard to read?  Let me know in the comments.

Horror Purchase of the Week

This week I found Extreme Halloween written by Tom Nardone in the bargain bin at Borders for $1.50. How, you may ask, was it that cheap?  Well all bargain bin books were 25% off this week and they were buy 1 get 1 free. The book is a nice little collection of extreme ways to decorate your yard and also contains extreme party decorations and ideas (check out a few of my favorites: how to make your own fake blood and fake blood on a budget, Halloween hangman, anatomically correct invitations, and the haunted lavatory [an amazing set of tricks to creep out your bathroom for your Halloween party]).  The great thing about the book is that, while you may not follow the author's exact instructions, the book is so chock full of projects that you may just use his ideas as inspiration for your own little Halloween projects.  Sir Nardone has also authored Extreme Pumpkins: Diabolical Do-It-Yourself Designs to Amuse Your Friends and Scare Your Neighbors, and Extreme Pumpkins II: Take Back Halloween and Freak Out a Few More Neighbors.  The sweet thing about the author is that he lives in my home town, Detroit (at least he did at the time of publishing this book)! You can also visit his website at http://www.extremepumpkins.com/

Guess where I might be moving?

Monroeville, PA!!!  That's right ghouls, my wife and I looked at some living quarters near Monroeville, PA this morning.  The town is really nice and well kept, and there are tons and tons of retail spaces there.  But the thing that is most impressive about Monroeville is it's incredible mall.  I don't know what it is about it but it just seems like I've seen this mall somewhere before. HAHA  I'm really sorry I didn't get pictures of the mall, but we were in such a hurry this morning that I just didn't have time, but you can bet our next trip there in the upcoming weeks will result in ample pictures of this amazing iconic mall.

Horror comics

I'd like to mention two new horror related comic books that I picked up this week.  The first one was actually suggested to me by my lovely wife.  The title is iZombie, and it revolves around Gwen who is a new zombie but this comic has a twist to it.  Without spoiling too much lets just say Gwen has to eat one fresh brain a month lest she becomes a more generic type zombie.  After she eats her monthly cuisine.... well I'll let you read to see what happens to her.  This one starts off kind of slow but finds itself by the end of the book and I fully expect this title to be a must purchase every issue.  Vertigo published I,Zombie, which is DC comic's mature line of comic books.  Visit Vertigo by clicking the link.

The second title I picked up this week was Bram Stoker's: Death Ship, the Last Voyage of the Demeter.  Yup that's right folks this comic tells the untold story of the Russian ship that transported Dracula from Transylvania to England.  The comic starts off with the loading of the precious cargo and quickly moves to the first part of the voyage at sea where several strange occurrences and sightings begin to happen on the Demeter.  Death Ship issue 1 was fairly short but did what it intended to do and that was set up this harrowing horror adventure and begin the tale of Dracula's transport on the Demeter.  This one was published by IDW, which you can visit by clicking the link.

The Banner Stays!

Another landslide victory.  I would like to thank everyone who took the time to vote and those who didn't as well.  If anyone does ever have any new suggestions for a banner let me know please I'd love to hear any and all ideas.

Dawn of the Dead vs. Dawn of the Dead - Theatrical poster face-off

                           VS.

Which poster do you prefer the original Dawn of the Dead (1978) or the Dawn of the Dead Remake (2004)??
Don't let your decision be based on the movies themselves but rather use the images to tell me which one you like better.  Also if I may impose my thoughts on the subject.  I think a lot of these types of contests are influenced by your generational preferences.  For instance someone who grew up in the late 70s, early 80s looking at the old poster plastered all over old video stores  will have a much greater affinity for that poster.  Likewise some of the new generation of horror fans who have been exposed to the newer poster much more than they would have the old one have a greater affinity for that poster.  I think this goes without saying but just wanted to inject my opinion into the conversation.  Anyways comment below on which POSTER (not movie) it is that you prefer.

Halloween Overkill's Hidden Horror Delights

Sorry for doing two hidden horror delights in two days fans.  I also apologize for the lame posting I've been doing this week as I am still recuperating from being done with school.  Beginning this weekend I promise you that I will be bringing the thunder down and posting much more epic reads.  But moving onward I believe that this is another hidden horror that may have flown under your radar.  Being that this site will be featuring not just film but all sorts of horror treats, today's hidden delight comes from the world of video games.  The featured delight is Theresia, a Nintendo ds game published by AKSYS games.  I highly recommend this game for it being one of the most disturbing games I have ever played, and that includes Silent Hill 2!  The first part of the game is titled "Dear Emile".  Theresia's story revolves around a young woman who is captured by an unknown woman who reeks of blood.  When our young heroine wakes up she is trapped in one of the most disturbing labyrinths ever constructed.  Throughout the first part of the game you will hit certain checkpoints and the game will play short little videos that tell the tale of what happened to this girl.  The videos are very confusing and left me in a state of awe.  Eventually you can make some sort of sense of what happened although there may be room for interpretation.

  A nice little feature within this game is that after you complete the game you unlock a whole new game entitled "Dear Martel".  This second scenario involves a man who creates a cure for a disease that is ravaging an orphanage in his care.  This is not a spoiler as you find out in the beginning of the game, but his treatments work, but something far more evil rises from the corpses that the disease did destroy before the cure.

So basically you get 2 games for the price of 1!  The gameplay in Theresia is very reminiscent of the old school Doom.  You view the game in a first person perspective and use the stylus to point to the place you want to advance to next.  The top screen of the ds also features a map of where you need to go and where you've been.  The graphics are pretty amazing for a ds game, and the still shots of the the disturbing rooms you will enter and the graphic scenes of gore and mutilation will have you cringing.  Play this one with the lights on!  Buy this game at your own risk at Amazon.com.  Also let me know if you're interested in playing or have already played in the comments.

Halloween Overkill's Hidden Horror Delights

Once a week I will recognize films that may (or may not) have flown under your radar.  These are films that have not received very much mainstream press or reviews on the big sites.  To make up for this I will dip into my tomb of horror DVDs and feature one that I feel didn't get the big push that it should have.  That is not to say that these movies will gain much critical acclaim from you guys but you may just expose yourself to a movie worth laughing at or find a hidden gem that you never knew existed.

The first movie on this list comes from the "Fangoria present's Gorezone Video" series.  Skinned Deep is the name of this little piece of cinema bizarre.  The movie was directed by Gabe Bartalos, the special f/x mastermind involved with such classics as: Friday the 13th VI:Jason Lives, Gremlins 2: The New Batch, Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, Dolls, Darkman, Leprechaun 4: In Space, From Beyond, and the list goes on.  This is one movie you have to see to believe. 

The story goes that a young girl's family is massacred but she is kidnapped by one of cinema's most bizarre families of all time.  Characters such as Plates  (you'll understand his name if you see the movie), Surgeon General, Mom, and Brain are all part of this freak-show family that kidnap the young girl.  The movie is very gory, a little bit disturbing, and sometimes even a bit funny.  I don't want to spoil the plot too much for those that haven't seen it yet, but again you must see it to believe it.  Oh and by the way the character Plates is played by everyone's favorite little person, Warwick Davis of Willow and Leprechaun fame!  Head over to Amazon (just click Amazon) to buy it at your own risk for only $9.95.  Let me know in the comments if you've seen this little gem.

Top 6 Horror flicks

I've seen a bucket o' horror films in my day, but these 6 are the ones that I would choose to keep if I had to sell my entire horror DVD collection (which consists of over 300 horror films). It was a grueling process to decide on just 6 and there will be honorable mentions at the end but these 6 (in no particular order) are the films that I enjoy watching the most and have had the most impact on my taste in horror films.

1.Dawn of the Dead 1978

This was actually the first horror movie I ever remember watching. I don't remember exactly what year it was but I do remember it was Easter Sunday. How inappropriate is that! The whole idea of being stuck in a mall while the zombie apocalypse occurred around us struck me as one of the most terrifying things anybody could come up with and still haunts me to this day.

  

2. Nightmare on Elm Street 1984

Total f$#%ing classic! This was a "Movie Mania Classic" in other words a movie I rented from our local movie mania video store so many times, the tape began to wear out. I also remember right after seeing this film my cousins telling me Freddy lived in their basement, and because I was like 6 at the time believing them. When I'm coming up from the basement in any house I still zip like the flash up the stairs without looking back because of this movie.

3. Evil Dead II 1987

Not much I can say about this classic that hasn't already been said other than I was a little late to the Evil Dead party. I didn't see this movie until high school. I remember thinking ugh how bad is this shitty sounding movie going to be? Little did I know that I would be watching the legend himself Bruce Campbell in his greatest acting role to date!  The one-liners and over the top gore and special fx were what mad this movie stick in my head for days after the first viewing. It wasn't long after watching this that I went back to movie mania to rent and catch up on a lot of the classics that I had skipped out on up until that point.

4. Friday the 13th 1980

OK to be honest I still wonder if this movie have any impact on my horror fan parents decision in naming me Jason? They won't fess up to it but the horror fanatic in me can't help but believe its true. This is one of those movies that whenever I watch totally brings me back to my youth. I can remember sitting in my living room scared shitless, eating potato chips, inhaling bowls of ice cream, and drinking Faygo, staying up way past my bedtime. Another inappropriate movie viewing was of this movie on the night that my family put up our Christmas tree one year!

5. The Return of the Living Dead 1985

This is another one of those films where I don't quite remember my first viewing but I do remember watching it over and over on HBO. Linnea Quigley may have been one of my first scream queen crushes and this was the movie that introduced me to her. The Tarman absolutely freaked my mind when I was just a kid.

6. Halloween & Halloween II* 1978/1981

*The reason I list these together is that the very first time I saw these movies they were one after the other and I feel that they should be watched as one viewing experience.

Again late to the party. I do remember my first viewing of these two movies was my freshman year of high school when I purchased them from one of K-Mart's old school much missed Halloween budget bins. I came home that night and watched them along with Halloween III all right in a row. Again these are films I can't say too much about that you haven't already heard, and I really do owe it to these films to give them full blog postings which will come at a later date.

Honorable mentions: Halloween III:Season of the Witch 1982, Phantasm 1979, Re-Animator 1985, Trick r' Treat 2008.

So there it is, my top 6 Horror films and some honorable mentions. Let me know what you think of my list by clicking the comments tab right down below.