Tuesday, October 19, 2010

12 Days Left........Halloween Countdown 2010

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 Finally!!!!!!! I've been telling you about the "Trick or Treat Studios" contest that I've been planning on holding for weeks now!  Well come one, come all, here it is!  I bet you are wondering what the prize is, well I kind of gave it away yesterday but you probably didn't know it.  Yesterday I posted this seemingly random image at the end of the "Trick or Treat Studios" interview
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Well "ghouls" this was not a random image but a preview of the prize itself! Yes, "Trick or Treat Studios" has given HalloweenOverkill the chance to award one of you lucky readers this mask! To win the "Devil" mask all you have to do is tell me who sculpted it. Here's a clue: http://trickortreatstudios.com/devil_halloween_face_mask.html Answer the question in the comments below and you could be the lucky owner of this mask just in time for Halloween this year! (I really hope the winner will actually use this as part of their Halloween cosutme)  Oh yeah and another thing you get with this mask is the official "scent" of Halloween.  You know what I mean, this mask just has that "smell" that we all remember as children smelling right around Halloween. (No it's not a gross smell but that rubbery smell that we all love and remember)  A huge thank you goes out again to "Trick or Treat Studios" for partnering with HalloweenOverkill to bring you "ghouls" this amazing prize
Some official rules for the contest;
1. Winner must live in the U.S. (due to shipping costs)
2. To be eligible to win you must answer the question: "Who sculpted the Devil mask?" the answer can be found here - http://trickortreatstudios.com/devil_halloween_face_mask.html
3. an Email address must be left with your comment/answer so I can contact you.
4. The mask will be shipped as fast and safely as the post office allows.
5. This contest ends Saturday, October 23rd at 11:59 P.M.
Not a rule but to show a little appreciation to the fine folks over at "Trick or Treat Studios" please head over to their Website, Blog, Facebook Page, or send them an email to thank them or just tell them how awesome they are!  Also click here to read yesterdays interview with Mr. Zephro from "Trick or Treat Studios"
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Monday, October 18, 2010

13 Days left................Halloween Countdown 2010

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 Unlucky number 13.  Fortunately for you this number will prove to be very lucky, for today with 13 days left until the great day of days we have an amazing interview with Mr. Christopher Zephro, from "Trick or Treat Studios".  We also have what I believe to be one of the best giveaways we have held here at HalloweenOverkill! (Which will be posted tomorrow) If you haven't heard of Trick or Treat Studios they are a mask making company and in my opinion one of THE best ones out there!  Before you read the interview I'd like to tell everyone out there that keeping in contact with Mr. Zephro has been nothing short of fantastic!  The response time and professionalism of his responses have been great and I really feel this is shared in his endeavors with the company.  Without further ado here is the interview with Mr. Chris Zephro from "Trick or Treat Studios".


1.  So why Halloween? What is it about that special holiday that made you want to open your business with that one single night in mind?

That’s an easy one, Halloween is my favorite holiday.  Ever since I was a kid, Halloween has always been the one night of the year I couldn’t wait for. In fact, I put up all my decorations in September so that I get to enjoy the vibe for a couple of months.  I love look of Halloween, the smell, the feel--everything about it.

2.  And as far as being in the Halloween product industry: there are so many different things for us to buy, so why did you choose masks to be your focus?

I chose masks because I felt the biggest market opportunity was there.  I did a ton of research before I started this business and talked to a number of retailers and distributors.  Almost all of them expressed a frustration with the quality and originality of masks. In fact, they said the mask business was all but dead and expressed disappointment regarding that fact.  When I heard those comments, it was clear to me that there was potential for a mask company that, for lack of a better phrase, could “bring back Halloween.”  In other words, a company that could bring back the classic designs, high quality and good pricing of the Golden Age of mask making, which took place during the '70s and '80s.  Everything seemed to drop once those great companies decided to move production to China.

3.  Do you have a personal collection of masks yourself?

Yes I do.  I love masks and I’m very passionate about them.

4.  If so, what are your favorite ones and what is it that you love about them?

Well I’m a big fan of the Halloween franchise and I think it's pretty safe to say that I have one of the best collections of replicas from each of the movies.  There is something about the simplicity of that mask that makes it so cool.  I also have quite a few Don Post masks from the '70s, Topstone and Distortions Studios masks.  All of those masks bring back a classic look and feel that I liked so much as a kid.

5.  Some movies now have gone the way of CGI, but tell us a little about your favorite practical masks from cinema.

Michael Myers takes the cake for sure, but I also like the Jason's hockey mask.

6.  Speaking of masks in cinema, some of my favorites are the ones from Halloween 3: Season of the Witch. Any hope of you guys doing some reproductions of these Don Post classics?

Those masks are fantastic.  I have all of the originals except the Pumpkin, so if you know anyone selling one tell them to email me at chris@trickortreatstudios.com.

I would love to do those masks and I’ve made a number of inquiries about them, but there seems to be a lot of red tape regarding who actually has the licensing.  I’ll stay on it though, and maybe one day we'll come out with them.

7.  So I read in Horror Hound that you were working on a Universal Monsters license. Do you have any updates for us on that?

We should have something done with them soon.  There are a handful of B-Level horror movies they’ve done that we’d love to do masks for, but unfortunately I can’t publicly announce the names because my competitors would try and grab them from us (something that has already happened once before).  But I should have the deals inked soon and we’ll make sure to tell you.

8.  What about some new licenses -- any exclusive juicy bits of info you'd like to bestow upon HalloweenOverkill?

Sure, we recently signed a deal with Mr. Scenes to do the first ever mask based on Dr. Deadly.  He is a very famous character from line of horror model kits series from the '70s.  We’re going to be doing a mask based on Michael T. Gilbert's Mr. Monster, the world’s greatest monster fighter.  And just tonight we signed a deal to do masks based on the famous characters of Johnny Ace.  We're also going to be releasing a handful of new Eric Pigor's Toxic Toons and David Hartman's Sideshow Monkey Characters.

9.  For the fans who have no idea how masks get produced, once you have the idea down on paper what are the next steps?

Justin Mabry, our Art Director, would probably be better at answering this one than myself, but I’ll take a stab at it.  After the concept has been drawn out from all angles, the mask is sculpted in clay.  Once the clay sculpture is finished, a tooling master is made so that multiple molds can be made.  From there, latex is poured into the mold and we develop a paint master of what the finished mask is going to look like.  Both the tooling and the paint masters are shipped off to our production company and they deliver three production samples for us to approve.  Upon approval, we place schedule production and the finished masks are shipped to our warehouse, waiting for delivery to our customers.

10.  Do you have any plans to get into facial appliance type masks or are you guys sticking with the actual full face and head masks?

Appliances are not on the calendar right now, but we’re definitely going to get into full costumes and props.

11.  So where should us “Ghouls” (what I call my followers) be looking for your products this year?

This year we are in a handful of costume stores across the world.  Next year that number will expand significantly.  Of course you can always go to our website, www.trickortreatstudios.com and order them directly from us.  We’ll even throw in a couple of cool stickers ;-)

12.  Anything thing else about Trick or Treat Studios that you'd like to mention?

Just want to thank all of our customers, fans and supporter.  These masks are for you and as Ozzy Ozbourne would say, “I LOVE YOU ALL!!!!!”
-Chris Zephro-

There you have it!   An amazing interview with Mr. Zephro from "Trick or Treat Studios".  Please click on any of the links or the banners above and below to visit their website.  Check out some of their awesome masks and order one in time for Halloween!  For the sake of length I will be posting the contest as a separate post tomorrow afternoon.  But as a word of warning I will say if you want to win this contest you better be back here tomorrow because this is going to a very short contest.  Why you ask?  Well you'll see when we post it tomorrow, but let's just say we need to shorten this contest so that the winner receives his/her gift in time for Halloween.
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Saturday, October 16, 2010

15 Days left.........Halloween Countdown 2010

Who doesn't love an awesome t-shirt? Everyone has their favorite, you know the one that guarantees a comment from the local Target employee ringing you out? Seriously who has had that happen to them? Anyways the people over at Crazy Dog T-shirts.com have informed me that because you "ghouls" are fans of HalloweenOverkill they would like to pass on a deal to you. Enter the code "HALLO5" sans the quotations at checkout and receive an awesome five dollars off of your already insanely cheap orders. That's right 5 bucks off just for checking out my little crypt here on the web. The folks over at Crazy Dog have crafted some mighty fine horror and Halloween related shirts such as these,
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You can click each of those shirts to be taken to the actual page where you can order each one! Or if you just wanna browse the other sweet shit that they have just click right here or on their name up above. Besides the awesome horror/Halloween t-shirts, they also have other types of shirts sporting funny movie quotes and some other comedy related shirts. In addition to their awesome selection of shirts they also have a mini Halloween store where you can orders shirts and costumes! Head on over to Crazy Dog T-shirts and order yourself some sweet ass shirts, use your code "HALLO5", and don't forget to tell them thank you! That promotional code will expire on Halloween so go now! Also don't forget to click over on the right for the BloodyDVDs.com Contest!

Thursday, October 14, 2010

17 Days Left............Halloween Countdown 2010 CONTEST!!!!

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Who doesn't like a great deal on DVDs?  Well in case you haven't heard of them yet, you need to head on over to CrazyApe.com  These folks have some seriously crazy deals on DVD packages.  Oh and by the way they have BluRay titles as well!  After watching a few of the films on the "Pure Terror" 50 Movie Pack, I cannot stress enough how awesome of deal CrazyApe DVD packs really are.
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The Pure Terror Pack contains classics such as "Dr. Jekyll and the Werewolf" (starring the amazing Paul Naschy), "The House by the Cemetery" (which by the way was the first movie I jumped into on this set, and if you haven't seen it, buy this pack and watch it now-- you have never seen a crazy bat scene like the one in this movie), and "Scared to Death" (with the absolutely always terrific Bela Lugosi).  These are just some of the names of big stars found on these 12, yes I said 12, discs of DVD terror ranging from downright cheesy to pretty damned terrifying.  As far as the quality of the transfers on this disc I don't really have any complaints. The audio was off on one of the titles but I believe that probably extends all the way back to the original.  The quality actually gave them a bit of that "old school" horror vibe to them and actually enhanced the experience if anything.  I also had the chance to check out their Cult Terror Cinema 12 pack which really took me back to the days of my youth.  I swear this collection had some of the exact movies I would sneak out of my bedroom after midnight to watch on after hours cable.  The sweet thing about this deal is that you get all 12 of these Cult Terror Cinema films in one pack for just $8.99 (price at time of writing, list price is $14.98)!!!  I have to stress yet again how great of a deal you get with these folks.
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 I highly recommend you head over to BloodyDVDs.com to check out trailers for some of these Horror and Cult DVD movie packs.  Another thing to keep in mind is that CrazyApe doesn't just sell horror packs, but they also have holiday packs including Christmas movies, cult cinema, drive in movies, bombshell collections, and documentaries as well!
 Now for the big announcement!  I bring to you the first contest in the inaugural HalloweenOverkill Halloween Countdown 2010 being brought to you by CrazyApe.com & BloodyDVDs.com!!!  The fine prize up for grabs is their "Blood Suckers" 12 Movie Collection.
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 As found on the back of the case, this set truly is "A fangtastic pack of films with bite!"  Included in this pack are titles such as: Blood Bound, Blood Sucking Babes from Burbank, Hollywood Vampyr, Lifeblood, Strange things happen at Sundown, and others.
   Here are the rules for this contest:
  1.  Comment on this post below with your email addy and your favorite quote from a vampire flick.
  2.  Head on over to BloodyDVDs Facebook page here and "like" it.  (I'll confirm this with the winner)
  3.  Winner will have this shipped to them as safe as the post office can provide.  (No guarantees, but I promise I'll try to ship fast and safe.)
  4.  Winner must live in the continental U.S. (sorry folks, I'm not rich----yet)
Again you really need to head over to Crazyape.com or Bloodydvds.com or BloodyDVDs Facebook page and order yourself some of their awesome DVD sets in time for a Halloween Horror Marathon, or just plain out thank them for being so fuc%&ing awesome!  I'd also like to thank CrazyApe.com for providing the reviewing copies and the contest giveaway set.
By the way this contest ends Friday, October 22nd.
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Saturday, October 9, 2010

24 Days left.........Halloween Countdown 2010

Per Request......My Favorite Fake Blood Recipe!

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 This is, in my opinion, is the best and most affordable fake blood recipe that I've used. Some words of warning before you go out and start slinging this shit all over the place though.
1. It can and will stain your clothing/furniture/skin
2. It is not edible (please see notes at end)
3. Adults only
4. Recipe is very sticky!

OK so here's the recipe:

1. Mix Karo Syrup, chocolate sauce, and some clear dish soap in a bucket or bowl. The chocolate sauce is a must, the dish soap is not, but I've always seen it added to the recipe so I included it. Also make sure you are using more Karo syrup than the other two ingredients.
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2. Add several drops of red food dye. Next add a few drops of purple, brown, and blue food dye. You may have to play with the colors a bit to achieve realistic color. Remember blood isn't necessarily fire truck red, it tends to look more brownish with a blue tint sometimes.

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3. Mix all of the ingredients together, adding more color as needed.

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If you want an edible blood, or blood used around the mouth or near (not in) the eyes then a spoonful of peanut butter (not chunky) should be used in place of the chocolate syrup and dish soap.

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Another optional ingredient I have seen added to the recipe is to mix in a photographer's solution. The website I will reference below suggests Kodak Photo Flo.

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What this does is allows the blood to seep into clothing much better than the traditional recipe, and it will also look more realistic on the fabric. Remember if using photography wetting agent, the recipe will again become inedible.
One site that I would like to reference is, http://www.ehow.com/how_6226972_make-blood-using-karo-syrup.html (original recipe was not found here, however they are almost exact replicas) visit this link if you want more detailed instructions, and thank you ehow.com for some inspiration.

***HalloweenOverkill and the writer/owner of HalloweenOverkill assume no responsibility for damaged skin/furniture/clothing, etc.  Please make and use at your own risk.***

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

See that new link above?

Yeah, well you need to head on over there right now! Seriously, go now! Oh and by the way "Trick or Treat Studios" and HalloweenOverkill just might have the best contest of any Halloween Countdown this year. You're going to want to keep your eyes glued to HalloweenOverkill because it could pop up at anytime. (that sounded way more dirty than I meant it to.)

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Simon Pegg fans unite!

Simon Pegg AND Andy Serkis, count me in! That is exactly who will be starring in the new film by the legendary John Landis of "An American Werewolf in London" fame. Also listed in the movie are; Tim Curry (Anything can happen on Halloween, haha!), Isla Fisher, Christopher Lee, and Tom Wilkinson. Sporting an all-star cast it looks as if Burke & Hare should be quite the little horrific comedy film we have all been waiting for. Check out the trailer below.

After watching it however, I do agree with what most are saying online, and that is that the trailer is not the greatest to ever hit the net. But how can we discount the track record of Mr. Landis, Mr. Pegg, and other greats like Christopher Lee? I'm pretty sure once this hits the big screen we will all be cheering these two buffoons on as they create some pretty hilarious scenarios involving body snatching. Oh yeah did I mention that earlier? The duo of Burke and Hare were known for selling the dead to science for a paycheck. But what happens when they start running out of fresh dead bodies to sell, they make their own! Sounds like comedy gold.

Monday, October 4, 2010

Scared Stiff Tv has made a Halloween masterpiece, and you really must check it out!  Seriously, check out Tiny's Halloween below and then head over to their website, Scared Stiff TV.  Once over there you can watch other shorts films which Scared Stiff describes as, "Scared Stiff is a new horror anthology show that is created by horror fans, for horror fans."  Watch this and then read on for my take on the film.

Wasn't that amazing?  Seriously, the production values were slick as hell, the atmosphere was spot on, the sound fx were perfect, and the actors/actresses really brought it home.  The thing that really stood out about this production was the tension it created.  You really thought that each person Tiny visited was going to be his victim but essentially he was just there for some treats.  I love how they waited until the last scene to give us the "treats," again the tension was one of my favorite parts of this production.  Do yourself a favor and head over to Scared Stiff TV or their youtube channel here.  Well, another great piece of Halloween memorabilia for you on HalloweenOverkill's 1st Annual Halloween Countdown (2010) and up next for you we have.......... lets just say you're going to want to be here tomorrow for something special.  Does the word "giveaway" excite anybody? 

Friday, October 1, 2010

Celebrate Peanuts!!!

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 This year is Peanut's 60th birthday party!  October 2nd to be exact.  To celebrate this momentous achievement Charles Schulz’s family has put together a pretty neat website that works much like a social networking game.  Once you go to site (click the banner below) you can sign up to begin the game.  The goal is to earn points to use in different sweepstakes.  To earn these points toward winning the prizes such as, a custom Peanuts iPad all you have to do is link one or all of your social networking accounts.  These can be twitter, facebook, myspace, youtube, or foursquare.  Once you have done that, you can begin earning points by completing the to-do list on the website.  Like I said these points can be used to enter a drawing for a custom iPad, $25,000 sweepstakes, and other great Peanuts prizes.  Check the site out by clicking here or the banner below and join in the countdown to the Great Pumpkin!
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