Please help!

How many of you play Rock Band?  That's great but even if you don't you can still be a part of history by helping HalloweenOverkill spread the word about getting "Werewolves of London" into Rock Band 3!  There is absolutely no reason this Warren Zevon classic hasn't been added to the Rock Band catalog yet.  To add this song would also be a tribute to the late Warren Zevon, an amazing songwriter who left us much to early.  Now with Rock Band 3 dropping this holiday season and the addition of the keyboard peripherel to the game this should be the perfect time for Harmonix to add this all around (not to mention Halloween season) classic to the library.  I am asking everyone to sign this petition so that Harmonix will realize its folly and add the song to the game whether it be by adding it to Rock Band 3's new playlist or giving it to us as a dlc song. (downloadable content for those non-gamers out there)  Please support this movement by clicking either here or the Warren Zevon album covers seen above or below.  Also I need each and every one of you to recruit as many people as you can to sign the petition also.  The more people we get to sign this the better chance we have of Harmonix listening to us, and Harmonix DOES listen to their fans!  So please whether you are a gamer or not, play Rock Band or not, or just plain do not care please help those of us who crave this classic to be added to our set lists by signing the petition!!!

Presenting the new HalloweenOverkill creature feature

Well I figured it was time to create a little feature on my blog that I could call my own. Some of my favorite blogs out there each have their own little feature that they have created and I figured it was time to throw my hat into the ring. So without further ado here is the new HalloweenOverkill feature of the week. (scroll down to see the title card!)



(a little further)








Some of you are probably wondering "all the hype over that!?"  But you must understand that Are You Afraid of the Dark? was THE show to watch as a growing child-young teen in the '90s.  The show featured a creature of the week style format and had tons of guest stars on the show before they were big time celebrity faces.  While each of the episodes had a certain "cheese" factor to it, many of the episodes oozed atmosphere and mood that other shows we had growing up just couldn't capture.  I will be reviewing each and every episode--from the show's pilot until the very last aired episode--which believe it or not span a complete decade.  That's right: the show was good enough to be kept on the air for over 8 years.  I'll start tomorrow with a brief rundown of the entire series and then we'll go from there reviewing an episode per week, or more if you're feeling up to reading them.  Something else I'll be reviewing will be the AYOATD? computer game. That's right folks, this little gem was something I kept from all those years ago and still is a pretty pricey catch on Amazon and ebay.  The going price looks to be about $35.00 which is pretty costly for a PC game from about 15 years ago.  Hopefully I'll have some other little surprises to write about concerning some more Are You Afraid of the Dark? juicy goodness.  So there it is, the show that holds a special place in my heart for keeping the spookiness alive each and every Saturday night during my youth now has its own little corner of the web here at HalloweenOverkill.
This special feature is not to be confused with the long abandoned afraidoftheblog blog site, and yes the idea for this feature and it's title was created by my wife and I before we knew that site existed.  If you are the author of that blog and are reading please email me.

This trailer will Sucker Punch you right in the teeth

This isn't really horror related but it is very interesting and will probably appeal to horror fans or any fan of cinema alike.  Here is the trailer for Zack Snyder's "Sucker Punch" courtesey of screencrave.com.  For those that don't know Zack is the director of several of Hollywood's latest blockbusters including; Watchmen, 300, and Dawn of the Dead. (Come on it was pretty decent for a remake)  He is also writing and directing a sequel to 300 entitled Xerxes and a project that has been in the works forever called "Army of the Dead".  If I remember correctly a while back Zack stated that Army would have more zombies on screen than any other zombie film before it!  Let me know what you think of the trailer for his new upcoming film "Sucker Punch".

Hmm, got a question for all you ghouls out there.

So I have a new feature planned for my blog, I took the time to make a cool little picture for it and everything and then I start doing some research.  Blam!  Someone has used the same name I have for this feature for the name of their blog.  Here's the thing though this blog has only had one post in its existence and it was well over a year ago.  Do I keep the feature title, or do I change it out of respect for this blog with one single update?  I wish there was a way to contact this person but there are literally no emails, followers, or anything on this blog other than the one update and a pretty nifty self designed logo.  So again please tell me what should I do?

Ready for a new feature to HalloweenOverkill?

Well whether you are or aren't it's coming, but you'll have to wait until tomorrow to see what it is.  In the meantime check out this oddly narrated little video I found on the Walt Disney World blog, a place I frequent daily.  Do you think each and every little one of these intricate props such as the bending doors, the knight in the hallway, the self knocking doors, and all the other gags in the mansion that we've all come to love will find their way into the new Guillermo Del Toro Haunted Mansion reboot somehow?

Reliving my childhood through blogging or Monsters of the Gridiron return!

I'm still not quite sure why there are things from my childhood that I can't let go of.  Maybe it's just that comfort that it gives you when remembering the old times.  These kinds of memories help to get over realizing that those time are gone forever and we can't bring them back.  I'm sure all of you ghouls feel the same way about many things from your childhood as well.  One of the things that I fondly remember while growing up were the amazing promotions that the larger companies used to do.  I can still remember going to Vegas Food Center and just standing in awe at the cutouts of Frankenstein and Dracula and Elvira. (I think I stood and looked at hers the longest, you with me gentlemen?)  These were the signs that my favorite day of the year was upon us and that in the time waiting for that day to come we could enjoy the splendors of free Halloween goodies - with the purchase of several unnecessary food products.  One of the promotions that stands out the most in my head was the Coca-Cola Monsters of the Gridiron promotion.  Now growing up an athlete and sports fan along with being the world's biggest Halloween/Horror fan (we all have that title right?)  this one really struck a cord with me, I mean come on Coca-Cola had the marbles to mix two of the greatest things on the planet for us!  The effort that went into the makeup on some of these guys was on some serious Hollywood shit.  Instead of listing them all you can view them here in the full set.

Since I was born and raised in Detroit and will always be a Detroit fan, Pat "Chillin" Swilling (as seen above) was my favorite card in the set which I sadly no longer own.

 Sorry about the small size ghouls but I couldn't get them to fit properly at any other size.

I love how the two new teams at the time received no love and just got their logos stamped on the cards.  Another cool thing I totally forgot about the promotion was that you were also given a number and code with some of the Coca-Cola products that you could call and listen in on some of the player's pre-recorded messages for a chance to win a trip to the super bowl.  They also came with scratch off cards to win extra prizes such as pre-paid long distance phone cards.

In addition to the set seen here there are people on ebay who claim to have completed a set with different numbered cards and cards featuring totally different players.  Was this another set altogether or some set of rare variance chase cards?  If anyone knows please let me know.  Wow, this is really bringing me back to the better days.  Anyhow, Emmitt Smith seemed to lead the commercials if I remember correctly and I believe was even featured on the radio ads that were used to promote the cards themselves.  Speaking of the TV commercials and radio ads, I believe I should get credit for finding the only thing to not exist on the internet.  You'd think someone, somewhere would have posted either the TV ads or the radio commercials somewhere, but to the best of my knowledge they do not exist at present.  But back to the story.  I really wish Coke would either bring this back with some modern players and costumes even though they were well ahead of their time when this promotion came out in 94', or at the very least some of the bigger corporations out there need to start doing massive Halloween marketing campaigns such as this again!  I really do miss Halloween of yesteryear.  Look for more old school Halloween marketing and promotions in the HalloweenOverkill Halloween Countdown coming soon!
I would like to thank photobucket user eef97, I used his pictures of the full set and could not find a proper way to contact him.  If you are reading this thank you, and let me know if you want them taken down. (I uploaded them to my own account to save your bandwidth.)

UPDATE!!!!!!!

So you know that alternate set of cards I was talking about, I did find some photographic evidence on photobucket to prove that a THIRD type of card exists with a different Monsters of the Gridiron logo up in the top corner that was holographic instead of just a color print.  I know I sound like I should work for Coca-Cola promotions as much as I'm obsessing over this but like I said I really loved this promotion as a child so it really brings back some fun old memories to write about it.  And please if anyone can explain or investigate the difference between the three different sets that would be awesome and please email to let me know any information on this.  So we have the original set of player monster cards, we have a second set featuring some different players and monsters (or at least this is what is claimed) and a third set with a holographic Monsters of the Gridiron logo also seen above, what gives?

Credit for the photo above goes to Arrowheadchief found on photobucket again let me know if you want these taken down or if you yourself have any info on these magnificent Halloween collectibles.

One of the Cardboard stand-ups used in the promotion - credit for this photo goes to the Redskins Blog over at http://blog.redskins.com/

Billy loves Stu horror blog meme response!

So Pax Romano over at Billylovesstu created this great little horror blogger meme which is spreading around the net like wildfire, don't believe me?  Go check out the list of sites that have participated over at his site, it's a pretty large list.  Anyhow on with the chlorophyll.

1: In Ten Words or Less, Describe Your Blog:  

This is my little crypt of halloween and horror deliciousness.

2: During What Cinematic Era Where you Born?

A: The Classic Horror Era (late 30's to 40's)

B: The Atomic Monster/Nuclear Angst Era (the late 40's through 50's)

C: The Psycho Era ( Early 60's)

D: The Rosemary's Baby Era (Mid to Late 60's)

E: The Exorcism Era (Early to mid 70's)

F: The Halloween Era (Late 70's to Early 80's)

G: The Slasher Era (Mid to late 80's)

H: The Self Referential/Post Modern Era (1990 to 1999)

    

Answer for me is F.  The Halloween Era (Late 70's to Early 80's) 1982 to be exact, was there any better era to be born in?

3: The Carrie Compatibility Question:

 (gay men and straight women - make your choice from section A)

 A: Billy Nolan or Tommy Ross, who would you take to the prom?

 (straight guys and lesbians - make your choice from section B)

 B: Sue Snell or Chris Hargensen, who would you take to the prom?

Hmmm between Sue Snell or Chris Hargensen I'm gonna have to go with Chris Hargensen.

4: You have been given an ungodly amount of money, and total control of a major motion picture studio - what would your dream Horror project be?

Damn this is a tough one but I'd have to say that I'd go with a project I've had in my head for a while.  It's a Trick r' Treat style anthology type movie with 4 or 5 little stories I've had ideas for, one of them being a retelling of the Legend of Sleepy Hollow, another based off of a short story I read involving two parents whom are kidnapping local trick or treaters.  Another tale where a mother who has recently lost her child is haunted by a vision of her lost daughter, and finally a creepy little  tale involving a local witch who has had enough of the local children playing Halloween pranks on her.  Probably sounds pretty shitty, but on film I think it works.  It's all pretty standard Halloween fare but done with my little touches and vision.  If this project isn't appealing than I'd spend that ungodly amount of money resurrecting London After Midnight so that we could finally see the damn thing on the big screen or DVD.  It has to exist somewhere right?

5: What horror film "franchise" that others have embraced, left you cold?

Mine would have to be the Child's Play franchise.  Do I own them all on DVD yes. Are they the least watched franchise in my collection, yes.  Don't ask me why, just never struck a chord with me.

6:  Is Michael Bay the Antichrist?

I'm gonna have to go with no on this one.  I wish he wouldn't have touched some of the remakes but they aren't absolutely terrible.  By the way David Blaine is the antichrist.

7: Dracula, The Wolf Man, The Frankenstein Monster - which one of these classic villains scares you, and why?

Dracula scares me the most.  Wolf Man is only dangerous about once a month so the easy solution is just make sure you're in your house with your silver bullets on that night.  Frankenstein as much of a powerhouse as he is just isn't to quick so as long as you're keeping tabs on him you should be alright.  Dracula however can turn into a wolf, some mist, and a bat!!! That pretty much means you're fuc&*$.  Oh yeah and he can seduce my wife with but a simple stare, that's more than I can say.  Dracula is scariest end of debate.

 8: Tell me about a scene from a NON HORROR Film that scares the crap out of you:

The opening scene from Red Dawn. Oh....My....God.... scary  and most of the scenes from Boxing Helena are pretty f'd up as well.

9: Baby Jane Hudson invites you over to her house for lunch.  What do you bring?

Pinot Noir really brings out the flavors of Parakeet doesn't it?  But I admit I haven't seen this movie in a REALLY long time so forgive me.

10: So, between you and me, do you have any ulterior motives for blogging?  

 Come, on you can tell me, it will be our little secret, I won't tell a soul.

Honestly no.  The reason I started blogging was because of all the great blogs that I read (give them a visit by clicking on the links over on the right) and wanting to express myself and hopefully have someone listen as well.  Hearing what others have to say about my opinions and maybe making a few new friends along the way doesn't hurt either!

11: What would you have brought to Rosemary Woodhouse's baby shower?

Damn you got me.  Here is another moment where they come to take away my horror blogging license.  I've never seen Rosemary's baby!  However my parents have told me more than once it was spectacularly disturbing back in the day.

12: Godzilla vs The Cloverfield Monster, who wins?

Does the Cloverfield monster get to use his little parasites as well?  If so then I say the Cloverfield monster.  Oh and by the way stop calling the monster "Clover" and "Cloverfield" the Cloverfield monster is the only proper way thank you.

13: If you found out that Rob Zombie was reading your blog, what would you post in hopes that he read it?

To please reunite White Zombie!  Oh how I miss White Zombie.  Oh yeah and please don't remake the Blob, just stick to the redneck white trash horror which is what he does best, and that's a compliment Rob, House and Rejects were amazing in my opinion, don't touch the classics anymore!

14: What is your favorite NON HORROR FILM, and why?

It's too tough to pick just one, but for the sake of ending my incessant rambling I'd say Tombstone.  Val Kilmer absolutely kills it with his performance of Doc Holiday.

15: If blogging technology did not exist, what would you be doing?

Probably just enjoy watching the genre that I have obsessed over for 28 years without the need to express every little gripe I have with modern horror films.  In other words I'd do what we all do when we aren't blogging and that's immerse myself in all that is the world of horror.

Oh dear god

I'm not scared of much in this world, but growing up this was the bane of my living existince.  Even as a grown man just watching this takes my very soul and twists it and spits it right back out into oblivion.  Yea, it's that scary.

Finally

It must be getting close to that time of year now!  Look at the surprise my wife brought home for me yesterday!

This is actually the first box of FrankenBerry I have ever owned.  Came a little late to that party didn't I?  I know, I know all you guys probably own at least 4 or 5 different versions of these badboys right?  I don't know what has kept me from ever buying boxes of this horror related cereal but now I can proudly enjoy a few bowls of spooky breakfast deliciousness and then add the box to my horror museum. (now located in the spare bedroom)  I was going to do a comparison but realized somebody already has so I won't steal their thunder but take a look at the box and tell me that FrankenBerry doesn't have a totally unholy likeness to Al Franken.  On a sidenote if anyone from General Mills is reading this will you please take that terrible information bar off of the front of our collectible cereal box please!  Do they not realize that us horror fans even collect horror themed cereal boxes?  I guess not. Here are some of the different FrankenBerry box covers over the years.

Credit for these photos goes out to the original photographers.

Did you also know that other than the 3 famous current versions of the General Mills Monster Cereals; Count Chocula, BooBerry, and AlFrankenBerry (Al, if you are reading this I'm sorry, love your work but you do look too much like him!) there were 2 discontinued flavors of the cereals as well?

Fruit Brute

Fruity Yummy Mummy

Did you also know that several other promotional products have been made featuring the monsters themselves?  This is not a complete rundown but just some of the select FrankenBerry products seen on the net.

OK so I have to say it, Holy Santa Claus Shit!  There were actually cds made with songs based on the monster cereal characters or were these just the songs that each monster chose to be representative of themselves on each cd?  I guess I'll never know because these cds are like the holy grail of monster cereal collectibles.  I don't have them but if you do and are willing to inform me of whats on them or at least somehow put them somewhere where I can listen to them that would be epic!  So is that enough FrankenBerry and crew for you?  No you say?  Well as we get closer to the upcoming holiday I fear you may be seeing more of these bad boys in the upcoming HalloweenOverkill Halloween Countdown!  Oh and by the way did you realize we are actually in double digit countdown days now, 98 as of today to be exact!  It wont be much longer until the the weather starts cooling down and the leaves start changing, and then...... well you get it. (This post was written very early in the morning and was not shown to my editor haha so please excuse any errors)

Update on the Versatile Blogger award

I was also awarded the Versatile Blogger award by Melissa over at Little Miss Zombie!  Click here to check out her amazing blog with some awesome movie reviews and a little old school flavor with her Goosebumps reviews.

Another piece of concept art from the new Haunted Mansion movie

Here it is, another beautiful piece of concept art from Guillermo Del Toro's new Haunted Mansion reboot.  I found this one over at the official Disney blog on the article here.  I love the way these new pieces almost look as if they are "glow in the dark" artwork.

Ya know that Haunted Mansion reboot we talked about yesterday

Well here is the first official concept art from the film! The picture has the "hatbox ghost" featured up at the top, and again if you don't know the hatbox ghost story go look it up, its an interesting one. Also if you take a look at the shape of the poster, (you can't really tell because the outline blends in with my backround)it is very long almost as if it was meant to replicate one of the "stretching room" posters.

 Credit for this photo goes to www.shocktillyoudrop.com You can read their exclusive coverage of the new artwork by clicking here. Also the artwork was done by the fabulous Brandon Ragnar Johnson, you can see more of his stuff over at littlecartoons.com

To those who won the Versatile Blogger award

Whoops I forgot to attach the picture of the award so you could proudly display it on your blogs.  If anyone needs the jpeg let me know or you could just save it from right here on my blog and use it that way, sorry ghouls I messed up again.

Guillermo Del Toro is rebooting the Haunted Mansion movie!!!

 Welcome Foolish Mortals!  

This news was just recently announced at this years Comic Con, which is taking place in San Diego.  Is this the project that Guillermo left "The Hobbit" for, if so it could be one of the only ones that will actually make it worth his absence from the The Hobbit.  Apparently the new Haunted Mansion movie will feature a mythology which centers around the Hat Box Ghost.  Those that don't know of the fabled legend of the Hat Box Ghost should go google it right now, you aren't a Haunted Mansion fan until you know the whole story anyways right?  Also Del Toro states that this time when the movie shifts into scary mode it will actually be scary.  He also said it will still be a fun movie, but insists that it will also be scary as well.  The movie will be live-action and in 3D, of course. (Which new movie wouldn't be touted as a non 3D movie right?)  Anyways how pumped are you guys for this news, I know I am extremely excited to see the finished product which is probably a long way off.  Lets all sit patiently and discuss while we wait!  Comment below about this awesome news and a ghost will follow you home!

HalloweenOverkill has been awarded theVersatile Blog award!

First off I would like to give an enormous thank you to iZombie over at http://izombielover.blogspot.com/ for giving me this award!  Head over there to check out his amazing zombie artwork and photos.  There are some rules for receiving this award and they are as follows;
1. Thank the person who gave it to you
2. List 7 things about yourself
3. Share the award with 15 other blogs that you think are delicious
4. Let those blogs know they have been awarded the versatile blogger award

So again I would like to thank iZombie for this award.  And here goes on 7 things about myself that you hopefully find interesting.
1.  I am obsessed with all things "Monkey Island"  for those that don't know this was a series of "point and click" adventure games from the early 90's that have recently been given the HD update.  Anyone looking to rid themselves of any Monkey Island junk let me know!
2.  I'm a total germaphobe
3.  My Fave TV shows are: Home Improvement, King of Queens, Lost, Are you Afraid of the Dark?, and Count Duckula
4.  I love Disney!  The movies, the toys, but most of all the parks!  Walt Disney World is my favorite place on planet earth. (especially the Haunted Mansion)
5.  I love Terry Pratchett and the Discworld novels (I also love The Goosebumps series and any novel or book taking place on Halloween, if you know of any drop me a line!).
6.  Several people have told me I look like Adam Sandler with a goatee
7.  I secretly love the movie Love Actually (shhhh don't tell or I might have my horror blogging license revoked)
Wow that was probably way more than 7 but oh well.
And last but certainly not least the blogs who I feel deserve this award are
http://www.freddyinspace.com/
http://autumnforestghosthunter.blogspot.com/
http://spookyvegan.blogspot.com/
http://horrordigest.blogspot.com/
http://thehalloweentree.blogspot.com/
http://thehalloweenblues.blogspot.com/
http://cavalcade-of-perversions.blogspot.com/
http://livingdeadgirlnicoleart.blogspot.com/
http://dayofwoman.blogspot.com/
http://dollarbinhorror.blogspot.com/
http://strangelittlegirlblog.blogspot.com/
http://shellhawksnest.blogspot.com/
http://lovemanor.com/blog/
http://khpinson.blogspot.com/
http://www.zomboscloset.com/
Well there you have it, the 15 blogs that I chose to bestow the Versatile Blogger award upon!
Again thank you iZombie for the award and huge thanks to the 15 blogs I chose above for giving us all inspiration and keeping the Halloween/Horror spirit alive 365!
EDIT: sorry about the winner's links not working for a while, I fixed them and they should all work correctly now.

Finally the move is complete!

 Sorry about the lack of posts lately.  My wife and I just moved to Monroeville, PA and things have just been insane lately.  Do not fear, for I do plan on getting right back up to speed with some fun new posts coming soon.  We may even try that contest for Darkwalker again since I had the comments turned off by accident during the contest.  You Ghouls have any suggestions for some new content or ideas let me know in the comments.

Weekend Update

Sorry about the lack of posts, things will pick up once the move happens on Thursday morning.  We should have internet at our new place by Friday morning so this might be the last update until then, sorry.

UPDATE! It was brought to my attention by iZombie that I had my comments settings all messed up, so it was actually my fault nobody could comment on the last few posts including the contest.  I am really sorry about this and hopefully it won't happen again.  I am new to this so hopefully everybody will cut me some slack haha
Also thank you iZombie

 
     1.  Since nobody ( not even 1 of you wanted some free stuff? ) signed up for the contest, I have no winners to announce, guess I'll have another contest in a month or so.

    2.  I don't know how many of you are sports fans, but being one myself I thought it would be fun to have just one more fantasy football team ( 1 is never enough, I have 5 )  I was wondering if any of you fans wanted to join a fantasy football league?  It would just be my wife and myself and any of you fans that wanted to play, pretty much a league just for ourselves.  Anyone interested??  We would need at least 8 other people to properly run a league and you'd have to sign up for a free account over at espn.com let me know in the comments or email me at halloweenoverkill@gmail.com if you wanna play and leave your email address so I can contact you about online draft dates and such.

   3.  I added a HalloweenOverkill facebook page and my personal page, please become a fan of the page and go to my personal page and friend me if you would so desire.

   4.  I also put up my xbox 360 gamer tag, again send me a friend request. ( the gamertag is Halloweenman666 )  I'm on my xbox way more than I should be so there could be several nights of over the top gaming haha.  Just another way to bring all us Horror/Halloween fans closer together.

  5.  I added a live chat on the sidebar as well.  All you have to do to chat with myself or other fans on the blog is pick a random guest # and sign in, or you could head over to chatroll.com and get yourself a dedicated account so we all know who you are.  Again I'm on the blog's mainpage way more than I should be, but I thought this would be yet another way for all of us to communicate and have some fun on those boring nights after all the old blog posts have been read.

  6.  Any questions/concerns/comments about the blog so far?  It's been going pretty well for the first 3 months or so but I want all the input I can get so that it can become as fabulous as the blogs I list over in my sidebar.  Those are the blogs I go to most and the blogs that provided me the inspiration to want to do this blog thing in the first place.

Annual 4th of July Scavenger Hunt and a lost treasure from my tomb of goodies!

Happy 4th of July!  I'd like to first thank everything and everyone that makes this country so great, including all the troops who risk their lives everyday to uphold our beliefs and the freedom we sometimes take for granted.

So before we get to the contest I'd like to share something I found in my closet yesterday while packing up for the move to PA. I believe most of you share my fondness of Adrienne Barbeau, the legend from such classics as The Fog, Swamp Thing, and Creepshow! Well as I was packing up my book collection I found the book featured above, Vampyres of Hollywood, which was co-written by Adrienne and Michael Scott.  The book is a tale of murder and mystery involving the deaths of several people connected to a Hollywood scream queen who also happens to be a 500 year old vampire.  I took a second to flip open the cover and guess what I found? An aunthentic autograph from Adrienne Barbeau herself!!!

This must have been one of those copies that Borders Books sometimes has hidden on their shelves that has been actually autographed by the authors. So unbeknownst to me I was the owner of an autographed copy of Adrienne's book. Crazy the things you find when cleaning or packing up your apartment.

OK now for the first annual 4th of July contest/scavenger hunt.  Hopefully this blog will be around for many more Independence Day celebrations so that we can actually say that it's an annual thing.  Up for grabs this time are two copies of Darkwalker!

Here's the lowdown on Darkwalker from the back of the DVD case: It's Halloween at Hobb's Grove.  Seven teenagers start working as tour guides in a haunted amusement park.  When they begin to disappear, one by one, they discover an unspeakable monster that walks the grounds.  Can they unravel the mystery of the Dark Walker before it's too late?  Directed by Danny Draven and produced by Chuck Williams, this film begins a new chapter in terror. 

To win this contest you're going to have to work a little bit more than the last giveaway. (Hopefully not too much work, but hey it's a free DVD right?) Here are the rules and legal mumbo jumbo for the contest.

 HalloweenOverkill's 4th of July Scavenger Hunt Contest

1.  You must be a follower of this blog.  If you aren't yet just click the follower tab up at the top right.
2. You must have a mailing address within the US (due to cost restraints, I can't ship the DVDs outside of the US).
3.  You must answer these three trivia questions correctly and post your answers in the comments section:
                 *  Which Hollywood summer hit movie featured the mask from Darkwalker? Hint: the answer can be found at the official Darkwalker site by clicking here http://www.darkwalkermovie.com
                 *  Earlier somewhere on this blog I reviewed another Chuck Williams produced film. Find the post that featured this film's review and tell me what Jolly Jack-O-Lantern rating this film received. Hint: click on the DVD button on the sidebar and go from there!
                 *  Finally, find the badge/link to my new HalloweenOverkill Facebook page and click on it. Once you're over at the new page, find the Super Secret Password and that is your answer to this third and final question. Of course, it wouldn't hurt to "like" the HalloweenOverkill facebook page as well although it is not required for this giveaway...

4.  Don't forget to leave your email address in the same post that you answer these questions in so I can contact you if you win.
5.  If more than two people answer all questions correctly then they will all be entered into a contest winner generator and drawn at random.
The deadline for this contest is Saturday July 10th at 11:59 P.M. ESTWinners will be contracted by email and DVDs will be shipped to the address provided by winners. I take no responsibility for damage during shipment but will do my ultimate best to make sure they get to your doorstep in as good as condition as they left my home.  I'd also like to thank Chuck Williams for providing these DVDs for the giveaway, you can visit his official site at http://www.chuckwilliamsfanclub.com/  If anyone has any problems posting their answers in the comments section, email me at halloweenoverkill@gmail.com

Alan Wake Review

 So I finally got around to finishing the new thriller/horror game title from Remedy entitled Alan Wake.  If you ghouls remember way back I had a post talking about the upcoming game and how excited I was for it.  Well do you wanna know if it lived up to my expectations?  I have to say that the game did indeed live up to what I was expecting, however I could understand how some may be a bit let down by the finished product.  The game was originally intended to be a "free roaming" type game where you were free to roam about Bright Falls as you pleased during the day and the action and story would unfold during the night sequences.  However during the development cycle Remedy decided to do away with the free roam and instead set the game up as different episodes, each ending with a giant cliffhanger, and doing away with much of the actual "free roaming."  During each episode you are still roaming around different parts of the town, but there are boundaries set up as to not let you stray too far off the beaten path.  The only thing I could see as a let down for some fans is the decision to do away with the "free roaming" portions of the game.  In my humble opinion I think it actually helped the game and gave it some very nice pacing, which is what really keeps this game going as each episode ends on a huge cliffhanger and just begs you to come back and play the next one.  Another advantage to the episodic content is how each are presented so much like a show that you don't even have to be playing the game to enjoy it.  My wife actually sat with me and watched as I played through the whole thing.  She said it was like watching a TV show. A rather nice touch Remedy also  made when crafting this game was that, after each episode ends, the game shifts to a credits scene while some very appropriate licensed music plays including songs like "In Dreams" by Roy Orbison and "Haunted" by Poe, among others.

 The story is quite difficult to explain but involves the disappearance of  Alan's wife from the cabin they rented to help get him out of his writer's block.  Alan then begins to question his sanity, and as the viewer/player you soon begin questioning his sanity too as you go through each episode.  At some points in the game I wondered if Alan was just dreaming, at other points I wondered if what I was watching was some twisted TV show that Alan himself wasn't aware he was in, another thought I had was that I was watching a book that someone was writing if that makes sense. Finally I started to think he was just plain old insane in the membrane.  I won't spoil the ending, or if any of these scenarios are what is actually going on but I will say that most but not all things are wrapped up, though not in a very explanatory way.  Hopefully the next two episodes which are downloadable content should help to explain some of the mysteries left open.

The graphics and sound were both exactly what you would expect from a 360 game, which by the way is the only system this game is available on.  The only complaint I had about the graphics, which you will also read about on other game review sites is that there was a lot of screen tearing.  Screen tearing is when the screen gets all fuzzy and distorted at points during the game.  The gameplay was again a very strong part of the game and though it is quite repetitive I never found myself getting bored.  Alan doesn't have access to machine guns or laser pistols as seen in other games, but what little he does have comes in handy.  You can use a basic pistol, hunting rifles, shotugns, even flareguns to take out your enemies, AKA "The Taken."  Another tool you have at your disposal are flashlights of different varieties.  These are used to weaken the Taken until the point at which they can be shot.  Ammo isn't really a problem when playing the "Normal" mode of the game and I have yet to experience "Nightmare" mode which is unlocked after beating the game on normal so I can't really tell you how much harder it gets.  One more cool note about the game is that while you are adventuring through the Pacific Northwest which is where this game takes place you will find pieces of a manuscript which helps to explain exactly just what is going on.  A tip for anyone reading this is as you find the manuscripts don't actually read them until you beat the game because they can spoil upcoming events before they actually happen.  You will also find coffee thermoses hidden throughout each episode as well which is an obvious reference to Twin Peaks, and fans of the show will understand.  I highly recommend a rental of Alan Wake at the very least, but if you enjoy Thriller/Horror action style games on the XBox 360 then you just might want to go out and purchase this one.

4 Jolly Jack-O-Lanterns
Jolly Jack-O-Lantern Rating Explanation 

Oh and by the way I added some Facebook badges over there on the right so go ahead and click them and become friends with me and "like" the official HalloweenOverkill Facebook page which you can link to from another Facebook badge a little bit more towards the top of the blog.  I will be doing exclusive posts and giveaways over there, but don't worry this is still your HalloweenOverkill home and should be the first place you check for some wonderful Halloween deliciousness!  Also check back tomorrow for my 4th of July giveaway which actually has nothing to do with the noble holiday, and I will also show you ghouls something I discovered in my closet as I was packing today (what was it?  you'll have to come back tomorrow to see, but it's pretty neat) as we get ready for the big move to Monroeville, YES you read that right Monroeville, the home of the Monroeville Mall from the Romero classic Dawn of the Dead.

The Perfect Halloween

 OK so first off I wanna give credit to "pumpkinman" over at halloweenforum.com for posting this great question.  Now to ask it again, you have just woken up on October 31st ( let's say it is a Saturday) it's 6:30 A.M., what is your idea of a perfect Halloween?  You can just give the general idea or give me the hour by hour rundown!