Category: Horror

Steve Niles is Quite a Writer

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Steve Niles is quite a writer.

I guess he should be though since he’s been making a living at it for about fifteen years. What? You haven’t heard of him? Sure you have! I wrote a ZONE piece on Steve way back on January 4th, after I read his novel, Guns, Drugs and Monsters.

I was so impressed with Guns, Drugs and Monsters that I immediately bought Savage Membrane, the first Cal McDonald novel. It was just as good! There are more Cal McDonald novels in the works, as well as a series from Dark Horse Comics.

Steve is also the author of 30 Days of Night, a vampire graphic novel that Ben Templesmith illustrated. It has just gone into it’s third printing, and was optioned [for a cool million bucks] by Sam Raimi‘s production company! Plus Steve get’s to write the screenplay!

You might think that all of this has gone to Steve‘s head. You’d be wrong. I got to meet Steve at MegaCon and he was very kind, gracious, and appreciative of his fans. Read this interview with Steve, check out his website [tell him I sent ya!] and then order his books. You’ll be glad you did because…

Steve Niles is quite a writer.

John Carpenter

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I learned about another classic that CARPENTER had created even earlier in his career. That was the cult classic “Assault on Precinct 13.” In the following years CARPENTER went on to direct “Escape From New York,” “The Thing,” “Big Trouble in Little China” and even “Starman.”

After that his movies began to be hit or miss and mostly miss.

Still when I go back and watch one of JOHN CARPENTER‘s early films, like “Assault on Precinct 13,” it’s obvious why he was one of my favorites!

Below Rises to the Top

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Way back on October 5, 2002, I told you about a movie that I couldn’t wait to see. And I wouldn’t have to since “Below” was scheduled to premiere the following week.

Funny thing was, it never got a theatrical release.

“Below” came out on dvd and video this week. I went to Blockbuster to rent it and all copies were gone. I called Best Buy and Circuit City and they were sold out. I went to Wal Mart and they had three copies left. Now they have two.

“Below” is the story of an American submarine crew facing Nazi war ships on the surface and something worse below. It’s not just a war movie though, it’s a haunted house movie as well… and there’s no leaving the house! After watching it, I can tell you it’s GREAT! David Twohy co-wrote and directed it just as it did on another favorite of mine, “Pitch Black.” Keep an out for him – he’s the real deal!

If you like scary movies, you’ll love “Below” and unlike me you won’t have to wait five months to see it!

Leviathan

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“It is the greatest beast to walk the Earth, a beast without equal. A beast without fear. It has not ruled the world of men for six thousand years.

Until now.”

Trapped on an island, a handful of people must find a way to kill the beast before it kills them… and to make matters worse, an atomic bomb is set to explode there in a just a few hours! James Byron Huggins has written another winner.

Sammy’s Pleasant Nightmares!

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Everybody loves Sammy Terry. Well, everybody that knows him.

If you’re a longtime reader of this blog, then you probably remember that I wrote about Sammy Terry not a year ago. [Here’s the link if you want to catch up.]

Sammy hosted Nightmare Theater  on Friday nights at 11:00pm. Sammy would rise from a coffin, introduce himself and after a brief monologue about many things [including the movie we were about to see, would invite us to watch – if we dared!

So there we’d be, huddled in the dark, with our popcorn waiting for the monster of the week to appear and scare us! Sammy would return before the movie after commercial breaks with more of his dry humor… and then again, at the end of the movie, Sammy would make his final appearance. Before returning to his coffin, he would always wish us “Pleasant Nightmares!” followed by maniacal laugh.

What’s really cool is that Jerrald Hawkins has created a fan site and movie club dedicated to Sammy Terry. Jerrald has remastered old tapes of Sammy presenting movies. On the last Friday of each month, club members start their tapes at 11PM. Not only are members watching the movies “together” but at the same time they’re also able to take part in a live chat via Jerrald‘s site!

What could make this even better? Well, the tapes are professionally produced. They come in plastic cases with labels giving details of the movie, pictures of SAMMY and his logo… plus Jerrald sends them to members for the cost of the mailing! If this sounds like something you’d like then check out Jerrald’s site!

Even if you’ve never heard of SAMMY TERRY, you’re gonna love him because…… Everybody loves Sammy Terry! [“Until next time… Pleasant Nightmares!]

Guns and Monsters

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STEVE NILES writes a mean hard-boiled novel. He also writes a wicked horror novel. What makes NILES unique is that he does this in the same book! Guns, Drugs and Monsters is actually the second in a [hopefully long-running] series featuring Cal MacDonald. Cal is a human with the gift / curse that he knows that monsters walk among us. He knows this because he hunts them. Well, a guy has to make a living somehow, doesn’t he?

NILES skillfully combines the best elements of CHANDLER and HAMMETT along with a dose of KING, plus a good bit of humor as well. I read through Guns, Drugs and Monsters in nearly one sitting [it’s that much fun]. It also features spot illustrations by ASHLEY WOOD that are the icing on the cake. I’ve already ordered Savage Membrane [the book that started the series]. If it’s just half as good as Guns then I’ll still have a winner.

New Years Means Twilight Zone

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One of our New Year’s Eve traditions [in addition to running movies, having good food, and setting off fireworks for my sons, nieces, nephews and well, myself] is to catch several episodes from Sci-Fi‘s Twilight Zone Marathon. I really love the idea of a TZ Marathon. Even though I rarely catch more than a few episodes, knowing that they’re available makes me smile.
For the last TZ Marathon, I recommended  Terror at 20,000 Feet and To Serve Man. They’re my favorites. If you can only catch two, then they’re the two.

Looking for more? The Invaders starts at 9:06pm on December 31st. An old woman alone, in a remote cabin with no neighbors or electricity is attacked when a small spaceship with invaders arrives!

The Shelter airs at 10:45 the same night. Several good friends who are also neighbors have gotten together to celebrate Dr. Stockton’s birthday. Everything is swell until there is an emergency announcement: the U.S. is in danger of an attack! The President warns everyone to seek immediate shelter — just the kind of shelter that Dr. Stockton has. Unfortunately there’s not room for everyone. Just what will friends do to each other in order to get a chance at survival? You’ll know if you watch!

  • Updated 5/14/23

Anomalies Unlimited

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As you’re probably aware, if you read my Zablo Zone commentaries, I enjoy unexplained phenomena, conspiracy theories and the like. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a fanatic but I do enjoy them from time to time.

If you do as well, then check out Anomalies Unlimited. It’s a site dedicated to strange stuff… UFOs, Aliens, Conspiracy Theories, the missing link… You can find all kinds of interesting stuff here.

Some will amuse you [optical illusions], some will surprise you [Disney secrets],some may intrigue you [aliens, ufo’s, etc.] and some will gross you out [odd pics]. And some items, like the one about the Evolution of Michael Jackson’s Nose will do all of the above.

Don’t say I didn’t warn you!

Da Goon

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Eric Powell writes and draws “The Goon” which is published by Albatross Exploding Funny Books. The Goon combines horror, sci-fi, humor, zombies, ufos, humor, gangsters, humor, werewolves… well, let’s just say anything that Eric wants to write or draw about would work in the series. And did I mention that it’s fun and funny?

Right now the second issue of the second series is out. But don’t worry, you can still get all of the back issues and a trade edition is coming in January. I’ll be getting it, even though I already have the issues off the stands. That should tell you just how much I enjoy Eric‘s work. I’ll bet you would too.

So check out his site, and tell him I sent ya! [If ya don’t expect a visit from The Goon — and I ain’t talking about Big Beatty or myself!!]

“Signs” starring Mel Gibson / Z-View

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The signs were all there.

M. Night Shyamalan was back.  He had already written and directed the oh-so-cool “Sixth Sense” and the well done “Unbreakable.” Mel Gibson and Joaquin Phoenix were to co-star. The trailers were suspenseful. They left you wanting more. Yeah, the signs were all there.

But you never know.

I saw Signs yesterday and it’s been on my mind. The story involves aliens.. but not in the way I was expecting. It’s as much about family, redemption, and faith as it is aliens. And it is scary. Very scary! It will also make you laugh, move you to the verge of tears, and more than likely leave you feeling happy.

Signs rates a solid 5 of 5 stars.

I think you’ll enjoy it.  The signs are all there.

Rating:

Join the TZ Marathon

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When I was a kid one of my biggest pleasures was watching scary movies or tv shows. I still get a big kick out of ’em in fact. What’s even cooler is that now my kids enjoy them just as much as I do.

I’m not talking about today’s gory bloodfests, but instead shows like the old Universal Monster movies and American-International Films. As far as tv shows, none is better at this genre than the original Twilight Zone!

The Sci-Fi channel is running a two day marathon of Twilight Zone episodes starting at 7AM today. If you plan to check out any, let me recommend two.

The first, pictured above, is “Terror at 20,000 Feet.” A man who has just been released from a mental institution sees a creature on the wing of a plane trying to destroy the engine… only no one else sees it. Is he having a relapse?

The second, pictured above, is called “To Serve Man.” Aliens arrive on Earth and all indications are they come in peace… but do they really?

These are just two of many excellent episodes.

Even if you can’t watch them all [and who can?], maybe you can plan to tune in to see an old favorite or one you’ve never seen before. I know that I will…

And for just a little while I’ll be a kid again, up on the couch hoping that someone else besides me and Bill Shatner sees the creature on the wing!

Dark Shadows – Those Were The Days!

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When I was a kid, there weren’t many things that I enjoyed more than a good scary movie. Most of my friends felt the same. We’d look forward to the weekend when we’d stay up late, turn off all of the lights, and watch Sammy Terry’s Nightmare Theater.

What could be better than a weekly fix to satisfy our horror craving?  How about a five days a week fix?

Dark Shadows was the first and only soap opera I’ve ever watched on a regular basis (if you don’t count professional wrestling). It told the tale of the Collins family… what a mess they were. Vampires, werewolves, ghosts…. whew! And we ate it up!

Dark Shadows was the must see show of it’s time. It spawned a series of novelizations, trading cards, and more. There are annual Dark Shadows conventions that continue to this day!

A new collector’s series of Dark Shadows DVDs are going to be released shortly. The price is right, so get your friends together and turn down the lights!

“Hellboy” Next for Del Toro

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According to Countingdown.com, director Guillermo Del Toro said “I hope Hellboy is my next movie… It’s difficult for me to get a $60 million dollar movie financed with Ron Perlman as the star, but I’m not giving up, since Mike Mignola and I think he is perfect for the part. If you want to know what the movie will look like, just go get the comic book. I will be as faithful as I can…Abe Sapien is such a characteristic figure, that we will basically have to do him completely artificial through puppetry and CG, to make him *exactly* as Mignola drew him. But I think his voice could either go the Kevin Spacey way or the Steve Buscemi way. Two total opposites that would nevertheless make the character interesting”.

Although there was some speculation early on that Vin Diesel would get the role of Hellboy, I think that Pearlman is also an excellent choice. He won’t bring in the initial crowd that Diesel. would, but if the movie rocks, the audience will find it!
Updated 5/14/23

Del Toro Wants Perlman for “Hellboy”

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Countingdown posted an item from director Guillermo Del Toro who said…

“I hope Hellboy is my next movie… It’s difficult for me to get a $60 million dollar movie financed with Ron Perlman as the star, but I’m not giving up, since Mike Mignola and I think he is perfect for the part. If you want to know what the movie will look like, just go get the comic book. I will be as faithful as I can…Abe Sapien is such a characteristic figure, that we will basically have to do him completely artificial through puppetry and CG, to make him *exactly* as Mignola drew him. But I think his voice could either go the Kevin Spacey way or the Steve Buscemi way. Two total opposites that would nevertheless make the character interesting”.

Thanks also to Dark Horizons.

Although there was some speculation early on that Vin Diesel would get the role of Hellboy, I think that Pearlman is also an excellent choice. He won’t bring in the inital crowd that Diesel. would, but if the movie rocks, the audience will find it!

Sammy Terry: Indiana’s Horror Host!

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The scary looking guy to the left is Sammy Terry. If you grew up in the mid-west, there’s a good chance that you watched and enjoyed him as he hosted “Nightmare Theater” out of Indianapolis back in the mid 60’s through the 80’s.

I used to love staying up late to watch the monster movies that he presented. Thanks to Sammy and his “Nightmare Theater,” I discovered the classics (“Bride of Frankenstein,” “The Thing,” “Creature from the Black Lagoon” and many others]. Sammy would come on to introduce the movie and tell bad jokes… he would then be back after commercial breaks with more bad jokes… and of course, he would end each show wishing everyone “pleasant nightmares.”

I was happy to find a site dedicated to Sammy, the scariest guy that we all loved!