Showing posts with label Monster Mash. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Monster Mash. Show all posts

Monster Mash - Eggs, Worms, Monkey Gods & The Lizard Boy - Strange, But True!

Written By: Ken Hulsey
Sources: i09 / Undead Backbrain / Twitch / Avery Guerra

We are all guilty of sneaking a peak at the supermarket tabloids from time to time. I honestly dare anybody to come forward right now and try to say that they don't. What's the harm in reading a little 'trash' journalism once and a while right? Besides how are we going to keep up with who Bigfoot has married or what reality TV star is cheating with what other reality TV star, if we don't. Honestly, what's the harm? It's all in good fun.

This week I was blessed enough to be inundated with a good number of interesting stories from around the film industry, and around the world to be honest, that from the outset, sound like they where ripped straight from the headlines of "The Weekly World News." As odd as these films sound on their own, they sound even better all lumped together. Hence is the reason why I just didn't do write ups on them individually.

Besides, the title "Monster Mash - Eggs, Worms, Monkey Gods & The Lizard Boy - Strange, But True!", just sounds great. how could I pass up the chance to use such creativity, I ask you, how?

The Worm

Interestingly enough, this little gem was inspired by tabloid journalism.

Film maker Austin Young and comedian Margaret Cho have combined talents on a very bizarre film called "The Worm". At present the feature is being shown episode style on Youtube.

The subject of the film, a strange white creature with red lips, is the grotesque product of the essence of Cher, Britney Spears, Winona Ryder, and Madonna. The creature rolls around town menacing the locals, making strange almost erotic looking mouth movements, consuming baked beans by the truck load.

Kinda what you would imagine Cher, Britney Spears, Winona Ryder, and Madonna would be doing someday down the road when their looks an popularity fade and they completely drive their 'train-wreck' lives off into the abyss.

I guess as a whole, this all really makes for good social commentary?

Undead Backbrain and i09 have done a really good job covering this one! Check out their stories - http://roberthood.net/blog/index.php/2009/07/09/worming-its-way-into-our-hearts/ & http://io9.com/5316658/the-weirdest-giant-worm-monster-you-have-ever-seen

Photos and one the episodes of "The Worm":




Giant Egg Attacks!



Giant monster films have been making a comeback in a big way, and not wanting to be left out of this new 'monster race', Norway has joined in.

Now, most of you are familiar with the standard focus of giant creature movies. They normally center around some prehistoric monster that has been awakened by man's folly or some insect, or insects, that were somehow made gigantic by...um...man's folly. Okay, you get the idea, somehow we all screw up and then we pay the price. It's the general concept behind all giant monster movies.

Two Norwegian musicians, Geir Are Mo and Jan R. Bakken, apparently thought that these ideas had gotten a little stale, and deviated a bit from the norm (Yes, I got that from a Rush song) when designing their monster, a gigantic egg with a human face.

Fans of the "Thumb" movies that came out in the earlier part of this decade, ought to get a big kick out of "Giant Egg Attacks!", a film that really needs to be seen to be believed.

Again Undead Backbrain has this one covered - http://roberthood.net/blog/index.php/2009/09/01/giant-egg-attack/

Lizard Boy



For decades the residents of South Carolina have reported seeing a strange creature called "Lizard Man". Some kind of half-man-half-lizard monster, that is very aggressive, and has attacked just about everyone it has crossed paths with.

This movie isn't about that.

Here is the synopsis:

A small mountain town is terrorized by a half-man, half-reptile creature when renowned geneticist, Dr. Gino Conti, contracted by the Defense Sciences Office to develop a top-secret hybrid animal, pursues personal experiments in an effort to reconcile his tragic past. An entertaining sci-fi thriller with plenty of action, drama, humor and bits of gore, Lizard Boy raises questions about modern genetics while hearkening back to the monster movies of old.

Okay, maybe this is about "The Lizard Man" after all? When will scientists learn not to screw around with God's creations? I ask you....when?

Hanuman - The Superhero?

By the many arms of Vishnu, I swear this is true!

Chuck Russell is set to direct a new film that features the Hindu god, Hanuman, as a superhero, which just sounds like a really bad idea.

Let's face it, I may not be a Hindu, but if I was, I think that I would be highly offended. If someone made a movie where Jesus was a superhero, I would not be happy. Jesus as savior or superstar, yes, but superhero, no.

Bollywood hunk Aamir Khan and American actors Keanu Reeves and Gary Oldmen have all been attached to this one.

Here is a little info on Hanuman from Wikipeadia to help us better understand the character and the premise behind the film:

Hanuman (Hanumān ), known also as 'Anjaneya' (son of Anjana) or Maruti (or Maruti nandan), is one of the most popular concepts of devotees of God (bhakti) (devotion to God) in Hinduism and one of the most important personalities in the Indian epic, the Ramayana. His most famous feat, as described in the Hindu epic scripture the Ramayana, was leading an army of monkeys to fight the demon King Ravana. He is also referred to as Bajrang Bali (Sanskrit: Vajranga) because his body was hard like a (vajra).

Okay, maybe that didn't help? Sounds like a bad idea anyway.

The Monster Mash - 08/17/09 - A Look At Smaller Monster Movie Productions

Two New Posters From Ted V. Mikels "Astro-Zombies M3: Cloned."

Yes, film maker Ted V. Mikels is still making "Astro-Zombie" movies after 40+ years. His latest creation, entitled, "Astro-Zombies M3: Cloned", is now in the early stages of development.

For those of you who don't know, Mikels made the first film in this series way back in 1968. That film, which was simply titled "Astro-Zombies", starred John Carradine, Wendell Corey and Tura Satana. The film became an instant 'cult-classic'. In 2002 the film maker revisited the story in a direct-to-video sequel called, "Mark of the Astro-Zombies", that film once again starred cult movie icon Tura Satana.

Mikels was kind enough to take time out of his busy schedule to send us two brand new promo images, one from the upcoming Kevin Sean Michaels documentary "The Wild World of Ted V. Mikels", and another from the upcoming "Astro-Zombies" sequel. (above and below)

The First Look At Vorax From "Galactic Raiders"

Here is another indie monster flick that I hadn't heard anything about since about February or so.

Film maker Larry Arpin has gained my ultimate respect because he has chosen to make the special effects in his film, "Galactic Raiders", the 'old-school' way using stop-motion animated monsters.

Arpin was kind enough to send over a pic that features the main monster from the film called, "Vorax". The director notes that the background in this shot isn't what will appear in the final film and that there is still some touch-up work to be done on the monster, but this should give everyone a good idea what the final product should look like.

Here is the synopsis from the Galactic Raiders website:

GALACTIC RAIDERS is an independently produced motion picture on 35mm film with Ray Harryhausen style of special effects.The story centers around Rymir (Danny Fehsenfeld), who's girlfriend, Laura (Erica Howard), is kidnapped by Acastus (Elliot Eddie) and transported to another planet. On this 'other planet' is a powerful crystal, sought after by all peoples of the universe, including the Pharilleans, Acastus' people. Also, on this planet is Rosanna (Moksha McPherrin), wife of...well, I won't spoil it for you. Following Rymir to the 'other planet' are Cyrus (Joseph Arpin) and Bellus (Lloyd Lee Barnett), Acastus' accomplices.

The Conquered: Curse of the Shaman

Here's one that I learned about through my buddy Avery Guerra a couple of weeks back that I just didn't have time to write about until now.

It's an indie horror film being directed by Benjamin Cooper called, "The Conquered: Curse of the Shaman". As we all now from watching reruns of the "X-Files", the Native Americans of this great country are a very spiritual people who know more about the 'other-side' then anyone else. We also know, that on occasion, they can summon their ancestors, or evil spirits, to do their dirty work. Such is the case here.

Here's the plot from director Benjamin Cooper:

In this horror story, a Shaman’s daughter reanimates the mummified corpse of an ancient Indian brave to punish those that accidentally killed her father while trespassing in a sacred burial ground"

As I always say, "We need to respect the Native American people for they have been treated unfairly by we settlers from far away lands. We took away their land and their sources for food and clothing to expand this country. Ours is a history of shame."

....and if we don't respect them, they will unleash the undead on us.

Here are some photos from "The Conquered: Curse of the Shaman":




See Also: Ted V. Mikels Is Still Making More Astro-Zombies / Sara Dunn Photo Shoot And Casting News / Behind The Scenes Photos From Galactic Raiders / Galactic Raiders - Making Larry Arpin's Dream Come True

Monster Mash 06/26/09

Written By: Ken Hulsey
Sources: Avery Guerra / Various

When you are writer with you own blog or website, you sometimes get inundated with tons of info on new films and other forms of media. Sometimes the pile can get kinda high and it can be hard to sort through and let's be realistic, there just isn't time to write about everything. This fact has been troubling me for some time. There are tons of cool things that I have had to pass over due to time.

Well, I think that I have figured out a solution. Today I am launching a new Friday feature called "Monster Mash." Essentially it will serve as a collection of stories from other sources that I just couldn't get a chance to write about myself.

Here we go.......

Haunted House The Movie

Here is a pretty interesting looking indie horror movie about eleven employees of Hellsgate, a popular Haunted House, who went missing in 1992.

"This is the real story of the last person to see them."

Check out: http://www.hauntedhousethemovie.com/

Cencoroll

My buddy Avery has been so excited about this new giant monster related anime for some time and I don't blame him, it looks pretty amazing.

Here is the synopsis:

"A huge monster shows up on the top of a building of an ordinary city, prompting the Defense Forces to go into action and causing something of an uproar in the citizens of the city. Yuki, a brave-hearted and naturally inquisitive girl, happens to know a secret: her friend Tetsu has been keeping and raising a strange creature called Cenco. When a mysterious boy appears who has control over the huge monster threatening the town, an unexpected battle between the creatures begins. But what are each of the combatants fighting for? Who are they really? And by getting involved in the battle, what fate will Yuki bring down upon herself?"

Robert Hood over at Undead Backbrain has been all over this one: http://roberthood.net/blog/index.php/2009/06/22/cencoroll/

Blastosaurus

Here is an interesting comic book about a crime-fighting dinosaur that's being made into a movie.

i09 has the details: http://io9.com/5298355/blastosaurus-may-be-our-sci+fi-future

Attack of the 50ft Ghoul Girl

We here at Monster Island News love low-budget cinema, and this is about as low-budget as it gets. The film is called "Attack of the 50ft Ghoul Girl" and it was made by Brian Nichols with his own daughter playing the part of the monster filmed against cardboard sets in their backyard.

The film is set to debut this weekend at Monster Bash in Butler PA.

Undead Backbrain has been following this one for some time: http://undeadbrainspasm.blogspot.com/search?q=GHOUL+GIRL

Look for more cool stuff in next week's "Monster Mash" posting!