Those We Don't Speak Of

Hilarious costume.
I bet this person got tired of being asked "What are you supposed to be?"
And I wonder how they answered:  "The creature from The Village...well, they were costumes really...but...oh never mind.."

 Image by amex101.

And click here for my favorite track from the soundtrack.  It should be called 'October Music.'

The Strain

I know nothing of this project.
But the trailer looks really interesting.

Final Exam

Cemento Mori

Grotesques and Gargoyles. 
I've always dug the fact that for the most part gargoyles aren't really for people to enjoy.  They're really high up (and sometimes barely visible), and when they're in their glory, acting as a gutter and spitting out streams of water, no one is really seeing them in action, beings it's raining.

More here.

The Grinning Corpse

From The Devil's Workshop.

Late Night Halloween

Or at least it feels that way...

Click below to watch a short video:

Street Witches

Image by tonypreece.

Exit Golden Age

Spent a lot of time ranting about movies yesterday with my brother.  About how we were lucky to have lived through the golden age, and how it's very unlikely that there'll be a renaissance.  How we've lived long enough to see how things we loved would look if they were made today (Raiders of the Lost Ark vs. The Crystal Skull), (Star Wars Episode 4 vs. Star Wars Episode 1), (Alien vs. Prometheus), (Star Trek: Into Darkness vs. Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan).

Found this great article on the topic...
The typical American used to buy 20-30 tickets a year. Today, she buys about four. Fittingly, studios make fewer movies today, and they have to spend more money marketing them (about $35 million per film), since they've lost their guaranteed weekly audience. At the same time, the box office has globalized. U.S. and Canadian box office grosses are large but flat. The future of ticket growth is overseas.
 

What does all that mean? Fewer movies, bigger movies, louder movies, and safer movies.

Now that the studios are making fewer, more expensive films, there is much more risk riding on each project. Hollywood mitigates that risk in two ways: safer subjects and more testing. First, it relies on sequels and adaptations that it knows have a built-in audience, not only at home, but also abroad, where explosions translate easier than wit. The formula works, too. Thirteen of the 14 biggest movies of 2013 were adaptations and sequels.
Read more... 

Real sets.

Real Model.

Indiana Jones' Son Swinging with Monkeys.

Test Audiences

Been reading about the forgettable prequel/remake of Carpenter's The Thing.  About how a boat load of practical effects were cut.  Really amazing work, gone.

I found this quote on the awesome Monster Legacy blog:
The Pilot was the Thing perfectly replicating the species of aliens that built the saucer. It was replaced after a screening that apparently confused viewers as to what the Pilot was. It was felt that, since the audience had only been shown iterations of the Thing that were asymmetrical, split open and grisly, to present a creature that looked like it evolved through normal biology was a violation of what had been seen in the 2011 film as well as the John Carpenter film. It was then decided that the Thing in the climax needed to be more ‘Thing-like’. We designed the Sander-Thing as a maquette that was scanned and animated.

Alec Gillis, co-founder of Amalgamated Dynamics
 

Anyone who saw the remake of The Thing and who remembers that dreadful CG chill-inducing nonsense at the end can thank a test audience.  Imagine creating something and then asking your coworkers and family members if they liked it and how would they make it better.  It's the bad idea of bad ideas.  Reminds me of the time my dad told me I should make all of my props with glowing red eyes, or the time a coworker told me I should build props with wings - though he used the word "figurines."
The test audience should be a tool only.  If it's to be used at all.


But here's a more patient view:
I like test screenings.  I like to see a movie with an audience of strangers.  I think it tells you a lot.  It’s very difficult to lie to yourself about certain things.  I’m not necessarily convinced about how information is gathered and I don’t think the credence that’s given to it is valid.  When you ask a bunch of people to see a film, and then invite them to comment on it and tell them it’s a work-in-progress, they feel bound to offer an opinion.  Also, the kind of people who go to test screenings are people that have time to go see a free movie.  What they object to is anything that’s unusual about a film.  Anything that’s memorable about a movie is often what a test audience will object to because they’re being asked to be experts.  They just compare the film they finished watching to all of the other films that they’ve seen.  Films that score very high with test audiences generally tend to not be so great.  But, there’s a lot of money involved in making movies and it’s a way for people to reassure themselves, who have spent money, and it’s also a way to work out how to market a movie.  It’s also a way to really clear up confusions in a film.  That’s important.  As a filmmaker, it’s important to sit there and feel embarrassed.  If you feel embarrassed by something, you cut it.

Andrew Dominik

Text source.

Thanks, Alex, for sending the LINK that got me thinking about this stuff.
 

Cauldron Smoke

Totem Smoke

July 4th Photos (Smoke Bomb Day [apparently]).

Hell House

Brewing

Image source.

Seance Table

Leslie Flint was tested by many scientists. Experiments would see him tied to a chair, gagged and holding a mouthful of coloured water, which he had to empty into a glass at the end of the test to prove that he was not a ventriloquist. A Dr Louis Young invented most of these tests and, along with members of the Society for Psychical Research, carried out further tests in infra-red light with a microphone attached to Leslie’s throat. Still the voices were recorded.

Photo by Corinne May Botz.
Text source.

Long Shadows

Image by Monica Riney.

Beware The Gravedigger

And do as the sign says...

Image by elliottzone.

The Modern Ghost Story: Emily

Em had been dead for approaching thirteen months when she first messaged me.

Click below:

Begging For Candy

Halifax Gibbet

Image from Playing Chess with Pigeons.

Now Playing: This Is A War Universe

By Espectrostatic.

Click below:

Image from Espectrostatic's tumblr.

Nightbreed: Cabal Cut Vs. Director's Cut

There's a version of Nightbreed called the Cabal Cut that's more to what Clive Barker wanted (and filmed), and it looks like a new director's cut is getting released this October by Scream Factory.

Here's some information on that:
"The Cabal Cut was created by us in-house from the footage we found in the storage rooms.  This 160-minute beast has every bit of Nightbreed footage we had access to incorporated into the cut.  We put everything we found back in a) just to be able to say we'd seen that version and b) because we needed as much of the proverbial scultpor's rock to chip away from for what would become the finished masterwork: The Director's Cut." 
Read More... 

And click below for Scream Factory's Nightbreed release page:

And click here for an $80.00 Deluxe version (I remember when VHS movies were that much).

Thanks, girl6, for requesting a post.  Never heard of the Cabal Cut before.

Crickettes

I've often joked that the people who heat up disgusting-smelling food at work (violating laws of etiquette, human-decency, and the Universe) must logically eat crickets (assumption).

A coworker brought in a box of prepared crickets because her kids wanted her to snap a photo of me eating one.  For, you see, I'm the Halloween guy, so naturally I must eat bugs.  I found myself offended.  And disgusted by the notion of sour cream & onion crickets.

My brother and I used to have a few tree frogs as pets in a really cool vivarium.  This required the purchase of dozens of crickets over the years.  So you get to know what they smell and feel like.  And what squishes out of one when a sloppy frog starts to chomp one with its toothless mouth (not technically toothless, btw), similar to how Cookie Monster eats cookies.  Vile and gross.  Putrescent.

I hear we're one of the only nations on this planet who don't embrace the notion of consuming bugs as a food source.  And I'm perfectly fine with that.  I'm sure Renfield would say that I don't know what I'm missing.

Imagine eating these?
God, bacon & cheese crickets.

Nightbreed Series

Confession:  I've never seen Nightbreed.
And it seems a television series is in the works.

Click below for the story:

Click here for a cool scene (with great music[not safe for work]).

Mr. Plinkett And Star Wars

Really enjoyed this video featuring some of Red Letter Media's Mr. Plinkett reviews for the Star Wars prequels and some film critic who actually tries to compliment the prequels.

Click below (totally not work safe):

Rustic Things In The Woods

More great images here.

Cowboy Cauldron Fire Pits

For the modern witch.
An instant hit with chefs, architects, designers, and discriminating individuals nationwide, the Cauldron will change the way you live and entertain. 

I'd eat cereal out of this thing.
I want one.


Click below:

Bone Rattling Ride Of Terror

Great Old School commercial for Akron's Haunted Schoolhouse and Laboratory.

Click below:

And click here for their site.

Thanks, HalloweeNut!

Now Playing: The Visitor

Soundtrack by Franco Micalizzi.

Click the nice little girl:

The Hamlin Haunt

Click below:

Revisiting Rogues Hollow

Click below:

Visiting Hours

Fall Scents From Yankee

A bad omen of things to come for the Halloween season?
Five new Fall candles from the Yankee Candle Company.


Such a refreshing way to welcome the season. . . an aromaticblend of bay leaves, orange, and cedarwood. 

Autumn is in the air. . . the slight crispness of an early fall breeze mingles with the spicy dryness of just-turning leaves.  

Click here for the rest (which have nothing to do with Autumn).

Davis Graveyard Summer Workshops

Click below:

Just Like Being There

Click below for a short video:

The Visitor

Found this On Demand last night.  Each passing minute became more and more bizarre.

I'm still not sure what I saw.

Click below for the trailer (which gives an exact impression of what the movie holds):