Horror Extreme Blog
Interview with Ghoulish Gary Pullin
Any horror fan worth their salt would have at some point picked up and read a copy of Rue Morgue magazine, and I’m sure that one of the first things that would have grabbed them the by the collar and given them a shake, would have been the amazingly intense art that graces its covers and accompanies its articles. These beautiful illustrations are thanks to Rue Morgue’s Art Director, ‘Ghoulish’ Gary Pullin. Gary’s designs are saturated with such luminous colours, twisting lines and macabre details, you cannot fail to be drawn in to his highly detailed and inventive imagination.
Lips: Do you have any formal art training, and do you belive that it helped or hindered you in becoming the kind of artist you wanted to be?
Gary: I didn’t really know what kind of artist I wanted to be until I went to college. I applied for graphic design and animation at two different schools. But drawing had always been a hobby. It sounds made up, but when I was very young our family priest gave me my first set of markers and much to his dismay, I immediately started drawing monsters and villains. I kept up with drawing as a hobby and after I graduated high school, I spent two years taking specialized art courses. My majors there were animation and printmaking. I really enjoyed it but I was just working shitty jobs and generally just screwing around. It soon dawned on me that I had better make a career out of something because factory life in London, Ontario wasn’t going to cut it for me. So I started applying for art and graphic design courses all over the province. After looking at my options, I decided to try a three-year graphic design and advertising program in Kitchener, Ontario,
about an hour away from London. I think the art training has helped me quite a bit. It honed my skills and it gave me a strong work ethic. I mean, college was like design boot camp! But I stuck it out, graduated and moved to Toronto to find a design job.
Lips: Do you consider yourself to be a ‘low-brow’ artist? Who are your art heroes?
Gary: This is a tough question for me. I know that my work can be cartoonish and humourous at times and I’ve been a sub culture junkie all of my life so my artwork reflects that. I also love horror films, underground comix and punk rock, which are all themes of that movement. But do I consider myself a ‘low-brow’ artist? I don’t know, I think that is something for other people to decide for themselves. Some of my art heroes could be considered “low-brow” like Pooch, XNO, and Coop. But I also love Charles Burns, Basil Gogos, Robert Crumb and Joe Coleman. I love the Tales from the Crypt guys like Ghastly Graham Ingles and Jack Davis. I love the classic movie poster artists like Saul Bass, Reynold Brown and Norman Sanders… the list goes on and on and on…
Lips: You have a long-standing relationship with Rue Morgue magazine, how did that come about?
Gary: That is a long story but basically I met Rue Morgue’s founder Rodrigo Gudino at a screening of Fulci’s The Beyond the only year the Fantasia Film Festival came to Toronto. He was in the lobby selling the first three issues of the mag. I had already seen issue number three and I was really impressed with the academic stance it took on the horror genre. At that time, I had started working at a commercial design firm, designing packaging for beer, Cadbury chocolate, cereal stuff like that. I told Rodrigo how much I loved Rue Morgue and that I was an artist that would love to get involved. I gave him a card and two days later he called wanting to see my portfolio. We really hit it off and talked about the direction and vision of the magazine at great length. He immediately commissioned me for some artwork and I left feeling really inspired. I started doing little stuff here and there but it wasn’t long until I was redesigning the Rue Morgue logo, creating issue covers, t-shirt designs and whatever else he needed. I was busting my ass at the design firm during the day, and moonlighting for Rue Morgue in the evenings and weekends. The magazine just kept getting more and more attention from readers and the industry, the advertising was getting bigger and things really started cooking. After a couple of years of working both jobs, Rodrigo knew I was getting tired of my day gig and asked me not to take any job offers until he could afford to hire me full-time. I did just that and true to his word, a year later, I came on as Art Director and haven’t looked back since. Actually, Rod ended up meeting several key people at that screening of The Beyond and many of them still contribute to the magazine after all these years.
Lips: I have always felt that Rue Morgue continued the feel and aesthetic of Famous monsters of Filmland, in regards to its use of in-house artists and painted cover designs. Is Basil Gogos an influence on how you work and the type of art you produce?
Gary: Any nods you see towards FM are totally deliberate! Famous Monster’s
and Basil Gogos have had a profound impact on me and the artwork that goes into Rue Morgue. From the first issue of FM I laid eyes on when I was a kid, I was mesmerized by the beautifully horrific artwork staring back at me. The influence Basil has had on artists, not only in the horror community, is immeasurable. Back when I started at RM, I felt horror mags had become a bit stale, not only editorially, but visually as well. There were a few exceptions for sure, but I really wanted to re-introduce dynamic design and those illustrated covers to horror mags again. Not only is it an intentional homage to FM, Creepy and Eerie but it was also a hope that Rue Morgue could hang with some of those classic mags and that maybe our readers would collect our issues. I like to think that Rue Morgue is sort of monster hybrid of all the past horror magazines but still has a life and look of its own. But, it’s almost impossible to thumb through those old issues of FM without feeling profoundly inspired by the incredible work of Basil and even the infectious way Forrest J Ackerman wrote about monster movies.
Lips: What has been your favorite Rue Morgue cover to work on?
Gary: I gotta say I really enjoyed doing the Ray Harryhausen tribute cover. I tried some new techniques and I think I pushed my style with it a bit. It’s up
for a Rondo Hatton award this year, so I’m pretty happy about that. I’m also really happy with the way the Paul Naschy cover turned out.
Lips: Considering your close relationship with Rue Morgue, do you have much free time to work on your own art ? What are your current personal projects?
Gary: It can be a tough balance, no doubt. I love it at the mag but much like my co-workers there, we all have outside interests and personal goals. I’m willing to sacrifice my evenings and weekends to do some of those things. Right now I’m working on a t-shirt design for Fright Rags, a Roller Derby logo and a couple of gig posters.
Lips: You’ve worked with Anchor Bay Entertainment in the past, What releases would we have seen your work on, and are there anymore in the pipeline?
Gary: It’s funny because usually I’ve already done the artwork and they’ll call and say that it’s perfect for their release! I’ve worked with Anchor Bay Entertainment in Canada on their Hilarious House of Frightenstein box sets. They commissioned me to add some of the shows characters onto a poster I had already done. And late last year, Anchor Bay UK wrote and asked for permission to use the Coffin Joe illustration I did for Rue Morgue on their box set. I was totally blown away, so how could I say no? I was lucky enough
to meet the man and he said he loved the artwork. I was on cloud 9 for a few minutes there!
Lips: Do you have any desire to become involved in animation or films? I think that your style of art would lend itself very well to 2-D animation.
Gary: Well thanks! I just watched the Charles Burn animated episode on Fear[s] of the Dark and loved it. I have a friend who does animation and we’re always talking about collaborating on something I wrote back in college, but It’s really just finding the time to pour my all into it. I have a great love for Animation and it was one of my majors when I was in art school so I’d like to revisit that again one day.
Lip: You’ve designed some wonderful pieces for bands and musicians. Who has been your favorite and is there anybody you’d like to work with?
Gary: I’m inspired by music just as much as I am movies, that’s for sure. I have had the chance to work with a few psychobilly and punk bands and I always enjoy working on their posters or t-shirts. I’ve also done a ton of stuff for The Creepshow, they are great to work with and they’re good friends so maybe I’m a bit biased. I’m finally getting the chance to work with 
Ghoultown, a great band from Texas, so I’m stoked about that. There are lots of bands I’d like to work with for instance I’ve been on a Mastadon kick for the past couple of years. They’re music is steeped in atmosphere, I’d love to do something with them.
Lips: Do you have any plans to visit the UK, be it at a signing or a convention?
Gary: Actually, my wife and I were in Scotland and Ireland for our honeymoon and we absolutely fell in love with it. We wanted to see more of it and one day we’ll go to England. No plans right now but I’d love to attend a con and meet horror fans over there!
Lips: Are you currently working on any exciting projects that you’d like to tell us about?
Gary: This May marks Rue Morgue’s 100th issue and in this day and age, that’s a big deal for a print magazine! So we want to make it really special for the readers. We’re working on some really cool things for it. One of which is an art collective and we’ve got some amazing artists on board for that, so I’m really jazzed about that. There’s also a really exiting music project the editors have been working on that’s going to be a lot of fun. We’re throwing a big event for the launch as well. Keep your eyes on rue-morgue.com for any
updates on that. Personally, I’m working on another art show and just having a lot of fun creating in the genre I love.
Artwork copyright Gary Pullin 2010. Used with kind permission.
You can find out more about Gary’s amazing work at the following links.
www.ghoulishgary.com
www.twitter.com/ghoulishgary
www.myspace.com/ghoulishgary
www.ghoulishgary.etsy.com
“Ghoulish Gary Pullin pulls you in and makes you abandon the reality you know in favor of the reality that he suggests.” – George Romero (Night of the Living Dead, Dawn of the Dead)
Interview with Eric Pigors
Welcome to the sick and twisted world of Unkle P. AKA Eric Pigors. His designs are that of sugar induced coma, full of macabre, ghoulish, and comic creations which never fail to burn themselves on to your retinas. Mixing mediums from hand drawn sketches, computer manipulation and collage, his disturbed progeny just jump off the page. A total fiend for the ‘Monster Kid’ culture, it is easy to see where Eric’s inspiration comes from. Unkle P. takes time out of his extremely busy schedule to talk to Lipstattoo for Horror-Extreme.
Lips: Hi Eric, how was it working back at Disney?
Eric: It was a lot of fun seeing and working with old friends. They rehired a lot less which meant we had to do a lot more work. And once we were done with the project we were let go which sucks since you get into a groove drawing and now it looks like it could be a few years until we get another picture, If it even happens again?
Lips: I know that you’re quite passionate about 2-D animation, are you 
feeling more positive about a resurgence in interest in 2-D animation due to “The Princess and the Frog” having great success at the cinema?
Eric: Well unfortunately the film didn’t do quite as well as they were hoping. You have to make about $200 million these days for executives to get excited. It cost $100 million to make and made $105 million domestically. It made millions on merchandise and it’s now just starting to play in Europe and comes out on DVD in March over here. So I’m sure they aren’t going to lose money at all!
We just heard they don’t think it did so well because boys didn’t want to go see the film because it had the word Princess in it. So the next film, Rapunzel which is a computer film, has had its title changed to “Stranded.”
They are starting a “Winnie the Pooh” hand drawn film right now but are only hiring 12 of the 45 artists in my department back whom I worked with on Princess film.
The next hand drawn feature we were to work on in 2011, called “SNOW QUEEN”, has been cancelled because they feel it’s too many girl films in a row. It’s too bad the company is second guessing every film these days. They used to be the leaders in animation and they haven’t been for many years. Luckily they have PIXAR films which make huge amounts of $’s for Disney. They can’t stray too much from what Disney is known for in their hand drawn films and now computer films. And these days the audience I think just wants the kinda films like Shrek and Ice Age.
I don’t think hand drawn films will ever see the days like the ones in the past 70 years. It’s funny, the first animated films were more adult themed like Tex Avery, Bugs Bunny, Popeye even the early black and white Mickey Mouse cartoons, now it’s just a dumbed down medium to babysit your kids and sell toys. There are a few good T.V shows being made now, but nothing like those good old days.
It feels like the USA seems to look at animated films and comics as kids stuff. I think Europe has a more open-minded attitude about the artistry that goes into making these things.
So actually I don’t really feel good about the medium of hand draw films these days at all.
Lips: You also worked on ‘Hercules’ and the animation of the films’ villain, Hades. Did you feel
that Hades’ design was the closest to your own style you got to work on at Disney?
Eric: Yeah that film was a blast and Hades was my favorite character I drew at Disney.The film was based on the designs of Gerald Scarfe who designed Pink Floyd’s ‘The Wall’ album art and animation in the film. Plus Hades felt like you were working on Warner Brothers Cartoon.He had lots of fun poses and snappy animation like the Bob Clampett cartoons.
Lips: How do your bosses and colleagues at Disney react to your pet project Toxic-toons?
Eric: Some thought I was a weirdo and some dug it. It’s to be expected. Most people would tell me after actually meeting me that I was a lot more normal then they expected from looking at my drawings. I’m sure Tim Burton must have gotten the same reaction when he was working there. When I started in 1987 , I had an art show and I was banned from the venue afterwards from having anymore. The guy in charge of shows just didn’t get my work and said to many people thought my art was negative, my art wasnt anything like it is now.
Maybe it was the Ronald Regan head I stuck out of one of my T-shirts saying “Wake me when it’s over”. The higher-ups used to have meetings in this room and I can only imagine what they were saying during the month my weird art graced the walls, Hahaha!
ED ‘Big daddy’ Roth , who created Rat fink, had lunch with me a year later and wanted me to do a short Rat Fink Cartoon. I told him I was banned from having art shows at Disney, and he said “I’d rather be known as the artist who didn’t get to have an art show at Disney then the ones who did”.
Lips: How much of your art is influenced by movies, music and general pop culture?
Eric: Well most my art just comes from what has influenced me through my life and then it’s is kinda blended up in my mind. Mostly stuff from when I was a kid I feel is what you see in my art. Things like The Munsters, Addams Family, Groovy Ghoulies, Halloween time, Monster masks, Monster movies, Frankenstein’s monster, Horror hosts like Vampira, and also things such as Mad magazine, stickers, Odd rods, Wacky packages, Plop and EC comics.
Lips: Your gory ghouls have been featured on many bands merchandise, from Metallica to The Murderdolls. What was your favorite to work on and do you have any more band art work lined up?
Eric: Well they all fun to draw. I really liked working with Wednesday 13 and The Murderdolls,
they are on the same wave length as me. Metallica was fun just because James and Kirk were so nice and supportive of my art. They were wearing my Toxictoons line of shirts all tour and even on a few Magazine covers like Rolling Stone. I also love designing art for The Ghastly ones and Psychocharger. One of my favorite CD covers is for The Creeping Cruds album ‘Tennessee Bloodbath’.
I just did some art for The 69 Eyes which was a lot of fun. I met Jykri the singer of The 69 Eyes at Fangoria convention last year. I don’t have any band art lined up at this moment. But things change day-to-day. I’m working on some new art for ‘Netherworld’a Haunted House in Atlanta. My wife and I have gone there for the past 3 years and sell my merchandise a few days and then get decked out scare the crap out of people inside the haunt. I have designed a few shirts for them and other Haunted Houses in the USA. I love the Halloween season.
Lips: Do you have any thoughts on making Toxic-toons in to an animated feature or comic book?
Eric: Well I would love to see a Halloween animated show, but it’s tough to sell stuff out here in Hollywood as they usually want all the rights to it. I did draw some characters on the Ed, Edd, and Eddy Halloween special called ‘Boo haw-haw’ Back in 2004. I drew the neighbourhood kids so they looked like my monsters but still resembled the kids.
Lips: Are you working on any new projects involving Toxic-toons?
Eric: Yes I just signed a contract with a brand new monster mask company. They plan on making 1-4 masks based on my art this year. They are attending the Transworld Halloween trade show at the end of February and then their website goes up. So lookout for Toxic-toons masks this Halloween on my website www.toxictoons.com.
Lips: Who are your own personal heroes in art, music or films?
Eric: Jack Davis, Bill Elder, Don Martin, Harvey Kurtzman, Basil Wolverton from Mad magazine, Frankensteins monster, Herman Munster, Vampira, Charles Addams, Ed ‘Big Daddy’ Roth and Al Jorgensen of Ministry.
Lips: What are your favorite horror movies? How do you feel about current horror cinema?
Eric: I love the old horror films, like Frankenstein, Vincent Price films, Children Shouldn’t Play with Dead Things, Night of the Living Dead. I like some of the new horror films, but films like Saw and torture films I’m not really a huge fan of. I like ones that are more spooky and campy like Munster Go Home, Premature Burial and Tim Burton’s films. Shutter Island looks like it might be good from the previews I have seen.
Lips: You’ve worked will Bill Moseley and his musical project Cornbugs, how did that come about?
Eric: Well speaking of Bill I just did a shirt design for his new band called ‘Spider Mountain’ and they are now on MySpace. I met Bill at a Fangoria show about 8 years ago, he was in a booth behind ours getting made up as Chop Top and we just hit it off. He then asked if I would design a CD cover for a Cornbugs and I ended up doing 3 for him and now this shirt design.
Lips: You have an amazing tattoo flash set for sale on your website, how do you feel when people get your gruesome designs inked on themselves? Would you have any of your art tattooed on yourself?
Eric: Thanks, I have one tattoo of my art, a Frankensteins monster with bat wings on my forearm. It’s great seeing people come up to me or email me pictures of tattoos they have of my art, I mean it’s the highest compliment to an artists when someone likes your work enough to have it permanently inked on them. A few fans have both arms sleeved with my designs.
Lips: Do you have any plans to release another DVD after the very successful Unkle Pigors Spookhouse?
Eric: Not at this time. I put everything but the kitchen sink in that one, like my animated cartoon I drew back in 1990, The children’s day at the Morgue video and a nice interview my horror host friend Ormond Grimsby put together.
Lips: As a huge fans and admirers of your work, thank you for taking the time to talk with Horror Extreme. Any final thoughts?
Eric: Sure, come on down to WWW.TOXICTOONS.COM and grab some goodies if you like what you see, I have a great special deal on my website for my 3 books, and who knows, you might even end up getting a Toxic-toons tattoo!
www.toxictoons.com
www.myspace.com/toxictoons
www.twitter.com/toxictoonspigor
*All photos used with kind permission of Eric Pigors
We have a bunch load of Toxic-Toons swag to give away to one lucky winner.
You could win:
Ltd Ed SIGNED ‘Netherworld’ poster
Rare SIGNED ‘The Ghastly ones’ print.
Two button/badge packs
A super rare pumpkin witch pendant (Not available to buy ANYWHERE)
Stickers
Send an email to toxictoons@horror-extreme.com to be entered into the competition with the subject “Toxic Toons Competition” and be entered into the draw. The winner will be picked randomly on 27th March 2010 and contacted via email for address details.
Small print:
Interview with Monique Dupree
Tromette, Fango regular, pot zombie and singer. Monique Dupree has one of the most diverse C.V’s in cult cinema. She is a constant on the horror convention scene and the darling of ‘B’, indie and horror movies. Monique currently has at least a dozen projects waiting to be released, and is probably most well known for her roles in The Skeleton key 2, Pot Zombies and Bachelor Party in the Bungalow of the Damned. Not adverse to exposing her triple D ‘talents’ in the name of her ‘First black scream queen’ moniker, Monique also has the ability and the personality to back that title up.
Lips: I know this is something you must get asked lots, but how do you personally feel about the term “The first black scream queen” being used to describe you? Do you wish people would stop using it, or have you embraced it?
Monique: Well, I’ve had worse terms used to describe me, lol. But really, at this point, I try to focus on the work and let everything else sort itself out. I love what I do..and no matter the genre, acting is my passion.
Lips: You’re a very striking looking woman, do you find that works to your advantage when auditioning or against you?
Monique: Why thank you much 
I find it difficult to get the roles that I want unless I’m working with a director that’s already aware of my abilities and willing to put me in a role that no one else might think to. I get a lot of offers involving nudity or eye candy..things like that. But I work really hard to showcase my versatility in the acting realm and I’m finally starting to get more offers suited to challenge my abilities. I’m very blessed and thankful to have worked with the talented directors that saw something more in me than just a “face”
Lips: I know that your first break was “Lean on me”, but what was your first foray in to horror movies?
Monique: My first appearance was actually in Pot Zombies. It was such a small part, but a large doorway into horror for me. Working with Lloyd Kaufman himself and really immersing myself in Troma (well, because they’re the best!) It opened so many doors for me in both acting and horror films.
Lips: Being that it is currently Women in horror month, do you feel that there are enough strong female role models in horror?
Monique: Yes, I do. It always comes down to personal opinion and what you FEEL a strong female role model IS in horror or anything else for that matter. But in horror as a whole, I’ve seen plenty of strong female role models and I expect that it’ll only get better with time.
Lips: As most fans of the genre would know and expect, there is all most always a little T&A in horror films, but do you feel that it is a required element to make a horror movie work?
Monique: First I have to say, I don’t frown upon T&A in ANYTHING at all. Having said that, I don’t think that there always HAS to be an element of it in order to make a horror film work. I don’t see where it hurts though, lol. My only critique with that is that sometimes its just too much. I like when some films give you a taste of T&A….to tease if you will.
Lips: You’ve been involved with a few Troma titles, which haven’t been so warmly received as some of you other work. Do you feel they deserve the bashing they get? (The team here at Horror Extreme are big Troma fans).
Monique: Well, I’ll say this if I may: opinions are like assholes, everybody’s got one. I’ve heard some fans tell me how they LOVE Troma films and others that say they suck. Some reviews will be good and some won’t, but all in all, I try not to pay attention to any of it. It clouds the focus..
Lips: Pot zombies looked like a riot, how was it to film, and do you have any plans to work with Lloyd Kaufman and the Troma team again?
Monique: It really was a blast!!! Troma is like my family now. Any chance I get to team up with Lloyd and/or spread Troma’s message to keep independent film alive, I do. I’m teaming up with Brenna Lee Roth & Troma Entertainment to do a workout video called “Scream Your Ass Off” so watch out for it!
Lips: Would you be interested in acting in new wave exploitation/grindhouse films (Such as Death Proof, Planet Terror, Run bitch Run)?
Monique: Oh most assuredly. I’d jump at the chance for that! (hint, hint!)
Lips: What film projects are you currently working on?
Monique: I’m working on quite a few projects including a couple that I’m not allowed to talk about as of yet. I’m doing a film project in a couple of weeks called Avantgarde and the scream queen workout video called “Scream Your ass off” Other projects include: Plan 9 (remake of plan 9 from outer space), Haunting Kira, Love don’t love me, Reptilians and many more.
Lips: Is there anything else you would like to add or promote before we wrap up?
Monique: I’d just like to thank Horror Extreme for taking the time to chat with me a little. It was a pleasure.Anyone wanting more information about me, convention appearances etc. can check out these websites:
http://www.imdb.me/moniquegatadupree
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monique_Dupree
http://www.moniquedupree.com
http://www.twitter.com/originalgata
http://www.facebook.com/theoriginalgata
Interview by Miss Lipstattoo
Check Out Miss Lipstatoo’s Etsy Store for some gorefilled goodies
Ghouls on Film
Just a quick post (mostly for UK people)… GO TO GHOULS ON FILM!
Here’s the Press Release:
‘GHOULS ON FILM’ TO CELEBRATE INDEPENDENT HORROR FILMS MADE BY WOMEN
On February 20th the first ever ‘Ghouls on Film’ festival comes to The Mixing Bowl theatre in Birmingham, to celebrate horror films made by women. As part of Women in Horror Recognition Month, the event will include short films, two feature-length films and very special guest, cult star Emily Booth.
Ghouls on Film will play host to the UK premiere of the acclaimed Soska Sisters’ debut feature film, ‘Dead Hooker in a Trunk’, as well as a screening of Kate Glover’s outback slasher ‘Slaughtered’. The short films include a brand new short by Maude Michaud and the award-winning film ‘Pop Art’ by Amanda Boyle. Emily Booth, best known for her TV presenting and roles in films such as Evil Aliens and Doghouse will be talking about her career in horror, as well as leading a discussion on the role of women in the horror industry.
The event begins at 3pm. Entry costs only £6, which can be paid on the day or beforehand. This is a not-for-profit event: if any profit is made, it will be donated to charity. For full details, please visit http://ghoulsonfilm.blogspot.com.
Celebrate Women in Horror Month by watching a stereotypical bloke being a douche-bag (that’s how you’ll recognize me). See you there. MWAH!
A Smattering of Butt-Kissery
I feel the need to make this post as I’ve been infected by the Kreativ blogger virus/chain-letter but I have been wanting to give some love to the plethora of remarkable horror bloggers that I have come into contact with (mostly via Twitter) and am also secretly quite proud that my site has been noticed! Yes I’m late but I’ve been quite busy procrastinating about life recently. I have to stress that choosing seven horror blogger that I feel the need to pass this onto has been one of the most arduous task that I have ever had since I started this site and I also feel very undeserved of being passed this “award” as I would never consider myself in the same league as the people about to get mentioned. But here’s what I’ve got to do:
- Thank the person who nominated you for this award.
- Copy the logo and place it on your blog.
- Link to the person who nominated you for this award.
- Name 7 things about yourself that people might find interesting.
- Nominate 7 Kreativ Bloggers.
- Post links to the 7 blogs you nominate.
- Leave a comment on each of the blogs letting them know they have been nominated
- Massive thankies to Bloofer Lady from Horror Crypt, I think you passed this on to me because you couldn’t think of anyone and I happened to tweet when you were writing your post, but I am ignoring that possibility and being proud and feeling honoured that you thought of me because you are an avid reader of my drivel. I love reading your articles and love your rebellious attitude, you have an awesome viewpoint and I frequent your site often. Also please don’t post “Guess the Movie” and then go to work as I am fed up of sitting in front of Twitter pressing F5 for eight hours wondering if I have guessed correctly!
- Done that ages ago.
- Shit… don’t wanna do this as I may lose that mysteriousness I have been credited with and have had enough wine to unleash a copious amount of “destined for regret” honesty… for but here goes…
- I started my site as a spam site to profit from Amazon Affiliates but as soon as I got a few compliments for my reviews I felt dirty trying to exploit my horror passion and canned most of it and now do it for the love of horror movies.
- I mostly listen to hip-hop and feel totally surrounded by metal-heads in the horror world.
- I have an honours degree in Computing and Mathematics and am a total nerd by day.
- The most influential movie in my life is “Fight Club”… and I consider it a bad influence.
- The first time I visited a physiotherapist I didn’t expect her to ask me to strip down to my boxers and soon regretted wearing “Mr. Blobby” Christmas underwear.
- I could totally beat Edward Scissorhands in a game of “Rock, Paper, Scissors”.
- I haven’t read horror fiction for over 15 years but I do read books about physics, genetics and mathematics. (NEEERRRRDDD)
- Nominate 7 blogs… this was tough… also I have been mentally battling as to what is considered a blog and a normal site. I understand from a technically-nerdy point of view but non-nerdy people have differing opinions so sorry if you are a blog and I have dismissed you because I consider you a website. (PS I consider Horror Extreme a website with a blog in it so personally I doubly don’t consider myself worthy of this award)… I nominate:
- Dollar Bin Horror is more than just a nicely written review blog, it is driven by a really cool concept of affordable horror for budgetary constrained horror fans. This concept is what makes it stand out for me. Follow DollarBinHorror on Twitter
- TheAvod is once again driven by a cool concept in that it is an audio blog. Count Vardulon and The DiveMistress also provide an immensely entertaining commentary on horror movies and TV and a cocophany of infectious giggling. Follow TheDivemistress and Vardulon on Twitter
- The Paradise of Horror is Mr. Johnny Sandman sometimes known as FreddysFingers is one of the first people to make me realize that the horror blogosphere was such a friendly place. He is also a blogging machine and maintains a very frequently updated, intelligent and creative blog and I would definitely credit him with having inspired me to take my website more seriously! Follow FreddysFingers on Twitter
- The Screamstress is another blogging machine with a passion for horror and the latest horror info that appeals to a person like myself, plus a self confessed Argento addict, so what’s not to love!!! Follow TheScreamstress on Twitter
- Yes, I’m gonna butt-kiss now but The Vault of Horror is one of the first blogs that inspired me to pursue the writings of horror fans on the internet proving to me that the real quality horror sites are created by the die hard horror fans. This guy also has an amazing horror community spirit and has highlighted to me a multitude of high quality horror blogs that I now frequent often. Follow b_sol on Twitter
- The Horror Digest is a witty and really enjoyable writer with a great taste in movies and an awesome attitude plus she has an amazing ability to think up post titles that make it impossible not to read the whole damn thing! Follow thehorrordigest on Twitter
- Zombies DON’T Run is another witty blog covering a whole host of horror related subjects with a really relaxed and comforting writing style. Awwww! Follow chuckconry on Twitter
- See Above… Will be giving you all a link in the links section if you ain’t there already (See Below)
- My modesty forbids me to go spamming these talented people, that could change next time I’m sat infront of Twitter with a bottle of Scotch wanting some attention… but for now… Shhhh! My new year’s resolution is to become a bit more interactive with these sites and I expect I’ll be leaving comments about articles rather than helping propagate the awards virus. Also as the internet is swamped with awards at the moment I don’t expect anyone to go through passing this on!
I have only scratched the surface of the massive amount of horror websites I have encountered since starting this little venture and am working hard on the links section on this site to show some more love but having 3 full time jobs to support my twelve children whilst maintaining a home for 100 orphaned kitty cats doesn’t leave me with much time nowadays. Some of that last sentence was a lie… I’m just really lazy!
Thanks for stopping by!
Coffin Rock Competition… Wanna Win It?
COMPETITION IS NOW CLOSED. THANKS FOR THE ENTRIES. WINNERS WILL GET AN EMAIL SOON!
We have 3 copies of Coffin Rock to give away to lucky UK peoples.
What’s it about?
Coffin Rock is directed by Rupert Glasson (Real Thing) and is from the producer of the 2005 hit Wolf Creek. Robert Taylor (Ned Kelly) stars alongside Lisa Chappell (Stingers) and upcoming Australian actor Sam Parsonson (Double Trouble). The film was shot on location in South Australia and Premiered in the UK at Frightfest 2009.
“This tense psychological thriller tells the story of a woman unable to conceive a child with her husband, despite years of trying. In a desperate and drunken mistake, she sleeps with a young stranger. Determined to prove his paternity, his intentions soon become terrifyingly psychotic and the young woman finds herself at the centre of a psychological and brutally physical battle which she must win if she is to survive and have the family she longs for.”
What’s it look like?
What ya gotta do?
Just send an email to coffinrock@horror-extreme.com with your name, AGE and address and the subject “Coffin Rock Competition”. Three winners will be picked at random on 30th December 2009.
Small print:
Abertoir: The National Horror Festival of Wales
Now in it’s fourth year, Abertoir festival will provide much more than horror movies and sheep (sorry)… it will be a fun packed horror party crammed with fantasticness including music, theatre, book signings, special guests, prizes, bar promotion, and of course an abundance of films from premieres to cult viewing plus a few classics.
Here’s the Press Release:
Abertoir, the National Horror Festival of Wales, will run at Aberystwyth Arts Centre from Wednesday 4th – Saturday 8th November 2009. Now in its 4th year Abertoir has grown from its humble beginnings to become one of the genre’s most vibrant, credible and recognisable festivals. With support from the Film Agency for Wales, Abertoir has grown to become an internationally acclaimed festival and a premiere event of the year for horror fans.
Over the past years Abertoir has not only hosted premieres and international genre stars, but also helped to launch the careers of directors such as Marc Price. Marc juggled making his debut film – Colin – with his job at a courier firm and he wrote, directed and produced the entire film for almost nothing. Colin was screened at Abertoir 2008 and as a result came to the attention of sales agent Helen Grace. Helen urged Marc to take the film to Cannes where it wowed the critics and won a deal for nationwide release: Colin will be released in UK cinemas on the 23rd of October and on DVD three days later.
This year Abertoir will screen over 20 films, and will open with a rare screening of the cult 80’s movie The Keep, filmed in Wales at Blaenau Ffestiniog and Llanberis, this film is not available on DVD and shouldn’t be missed in its original 35mm glory.
Abertoir guests this year include the legendary director Herschell Gordon Lewis. Herschell will present a rare filmmaking masterclass exploring the ins and outs of low budget movie-making and also premiere his new film the Uh-Oh! Show, starring a previous Abertoir guest, Lloyd Kaufman. Doug Bradley, aka ‘Pinhead’ in the Hellraiser movies, will return for a second year running with his presentation – The Man in The Mask – an entertaining talk about masking and film makeup effects. Abertoir will also be screening the latest edition of Doug’s Spine Chillers talking visual book series with Edgar Allan Poe’s The Tell-Tale Heart, as well as his new movie Umbrage.
And what Welsh horror festival would be complete without a look at the iconic film An American Werewolf in London? The evening will also feature a movie-length documentary about the making of the film, and writer Gavin Baddeley, a Reverend in the Church of Satan, will present a fascinating talk on the history of werewolf hunting. Abertoir will also present An Evening at the Grand Guignol, a special theatre performance of three classic Grand Guignol plays from early 20th century France. An Evening at the Grand-Guignol offers a rare and exciting opportunity to experience a recreation of this unique and influential theatre form. Live music will be provided by the cult band Zombina and the Skeletones. Zombina and the Skeletones have been wrenching 100% pure rock n’ roll genius from the very pits of their tortured, vampiric souls since 1998.
You can get all of this for just the measly price of £40! Tickets for Abertoir events can be booked by contacting the Aberystwyth Arts Centre Box Office on 01970 623232 or online at www.aber.ac.uk/artscentre. Individual tickets are also available. For more details, please visit http://www.abertoir.co.uk
GO BUY TICKETS NOW!
Mark Macready and the Archangel Murders
Mark Macready and the Archangel Murders is a British independent horror comedy from CM Films with the objective of flipping the whole UK horror short scene on it head… and that is what it will certainly do. Armed with a small crew of very memorable characters, some funky filming techniques, innovative and colorful lighting and a well tuned soundtrack it’s difficult to find something bad to say.
Mark Macready (also producer and writer Ryan McDermott) is the male Mancunian Buffy Summers of the force policing the demon infestation currently terrorizing the area. With less charm and more wit than the Hitman in Sin City and an eyebrow more talented than Roger Moore’s eyebrow when it was cast as the eyebrow of James Bond, Mark Macready AKA The Midnight Warrior is the most unfuckwithable butt-kicker of the supernatural North of Watford Gap.
On the trail of a shape shifting psycho-sexual incubus with a penchant of stealing the heart of women via the lady love tunnel, it gets personal for Mr Macready when his picturesque wife Christina (Charlotte Fellows) goes missing, with all fingers pointing to the Archangel as the kidnapper. The reckless and wild Macready and his crew, with the help of the demonic informant Friday, arm themselves and prepare to release some “Ya Bastards” on the supernatural underworld.
Impeded by higher authorities taking umbrage at his zealous irresponsibleness but determined to save his wife and the city, Macready is unwavering on his mission but will his natural demon awareness protect him from the shape-shiftyness of The Archangel?
The production and direction of The Archangel Murders is reminiscent of a number of recent Neo-noir comic book movie adaptations and manages to capture the atmosphere in a graceful manner and then manages to add a layer of parody over the top without damaging that vibe. The visuals throughout are more stunning than deep-throating a cattle-prod in a puddle, with some exquisite coloring reminiscent of Argento’s creative era and considering the low-budget a lot has been achieved effectwise within the financial constrictions.
Hopefully this movie short will lead on to more opportunities for the cast and crew as they deserve some serious airtime. Check out the official website or Mark Marcready and the Archangel Murders and check out the trailer below.
Mark Macready and the Archangel Murders: Trailer from CM Films on Vimeo.
The Duty of the Living
It’s recently been brought to our attention by the lovely people at Panopticon Films about their upcoming zombie flick called The Duty of the Living. The movie has just ended its pre-production period and is due to drop on the festival scene in early 2010.
Starring Juan Riedinger (Hardwired, Jennifer’s Body, The Day the Earth Stood Still) and about a young soldier’s return home after leaving to go to war during a National Outbreak, it looks like one to watch out for. The trailer doesn’t give away too much but we will be watching out for it with bated breath! (and yes it is bated not baited… from the verb to bate, which has nothing to do with self pleasure… although we are quite excited!)
Check out the official website of The Duty of the Living for the latest news and more information on the cast and crew, and take a peek at the trailer below. We’ll keep you updated as we hear more… you never know we might even get a screener (hint, hint…)
The Duty of Living – Official Trailer from Brandon Hunt on Vimeo.
Surprise!
Another horror short that recently jumped out of my monitor, grabbed my attention and made it smoke a thought-provokingly-enhanced tobacco stick was Surprise! from the limey and hick duo Mike and Ike.
Surprise! is a six minutes of fuckedupness from the perspective of a floor based and accidentally left on camcorder watching a distraught female having an personal moment with that which is behind the door. What is behind the door sounds like a conventional undead or a chronic meat-beater trying to knock out the fifth one of the day, but as the film progresses suspicions are introduced via the choice of blood splattered clothing that the woman is wearing.
Once again I was amazed that six minutes could leave me in the thoughtful silence sometimes an intense horror movie can inspire (although it was a short silence because it was a short movie). Possibly due to the aforementioned happy-stick, I didn’t get the surprise that I was expecting, it wasn’t the kind of surprise that you get when a Chinese businessman jumps out of a bush and tries to sell you supplies!, it was more of a thoughtful surprise that sneaks up on you after the movie finishes and you realise that subliminal messages on the right of the screen made your malleable mind jump to conclusions too early on… or I’ve totally jumped to a conclusion that involves a greater amount of wrong.
Another whole story captured in a few minutes that has inspired me to investigate further the short horror movie scene that I’ve ignorantly ignored.
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