Mother Nature Strikes Back! Hollywood disaster films!

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tornado-twister-disasters

A few weeks ago the United States braced itself for Hurricane Irene. Fearful it would cause the death and destruction seen by such notable storms as Andrew and Katrina, homes were evacuated and the 24 hour news shows talked about little else. Fortunately it was no where near as catastrophic as the aforementioned “monsters” but, every once in awhile, Mother Nature does let us know who’s boss. Despite man’s ability to fly into space, conquer disease, and his numerous other innovations, when push comes to shove we are still no match for our own planet.

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Lost Jerry G. Bishop SVENGOOLIE Screaming Yellow Theater shows unveiled TODAY!

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sven2 From the collection of Richard Church

This past weekend, fans of the original Jerry G. Bishop Svengoolie had reason to cheer! The work of this classic host who was recently entered into “Ripley’s Believe it or Not” Horror Host Hall of Fame and spotlighted on this site early last month (which you can see HERE) had a short run in Chicago and, with the exception of various clips offered via AMERICAN SCARY and YouTube, very little else surviving.

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Old School Monster FX Highlight Sid Haig’s CREATURE!

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creature

Still reeling from the experience of sitting through SHARK NIGHT 3D, I felt it was time to immerse myself in something a little less CGI and more “old school.” I had read on article on the new film, CREATURE, in the latest FANGORIA while also enjoying a preview of it a few weeks back. This film has a limited release and played at only a few theaters in my native Chicagoland. Therefore, I was forced to forgo my favored big screen location in favor of a less savory one. In some ways, however, this added to the overall grindhouse feel of the film and I felt it actually enhanced the experience.

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Little Boots, Big Fun! It’s Svengoolie At The Little Boots Rodeo!

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By: Jamie Lee Cortese

Horror hosts can truly pop up anywhere.  A fan of horror hosts would probably expect to see them on the guest list for a convention, would not be too shocked to see them appearing at a haunted house or other horror-themed attraction, and would only be mildly surprised to see one in another’s show.

Last year, I must admit that I was very surprised when I found out that Svengoolie would be appearing at a western-themed event:  The Little Boots Rodeo in Elk Grove Village, Illinois.

Upon Sven’s arrival that day, he and the mayor of Elk Grove Village faced off in a mechanical bull-riding contest.  Some rooted for Sven, some for the mayor, but all were definitely having fun!  The mayor ended up falling off of his bucking bronco, and for a moment it looked like Svengoolie was the winner; then, however, some good-natured “protests” began, with the mayor pointing out that Sven had held onto the bull with both hands, instead of just one, but the validity of Mr. Goolie’s extra “edge” being questioned by the fact that he was holding a rubber chicken in that hand.  The eventual “final call” was hard to discern (I remember someone calling it a tie), but according to Mr. Goolie himself, the mayor apparently won.

The Windy City Goolie faces off against the Midwest Mayor!

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Movie Fights – The Ward vs. Shutter Island!

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Shutter-Island-001

The recent release of John Carpenter’s first theatrical feature in ten years, THE WARD, left many film goers crying deja vu! So similar to the more mainstream SHUTTER ISLAND, many wondered if perhaps Carpenter was working from the same script. According to Carpenter, he had no idea at the time he was making the same film as production overlapped and, at the recent FRIGHT NIGHT FILM FEST convention in Kentucky, urged fans not to even bother seeing his entry.

Now, now John. It really isn’t all that bad. Let’s give you a nice glass of warm milk and see you off to bed. Here is a comparative summary of the two films and we’ll let YOU decide which is best. Of course I’ll tell you which one I prefer but first things first…

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Shark Night 3D Really Bites!

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shark-night-3d-movie

Oh man, I just returned from seeing SHARK NIGHT 3D and need to swallow two aspirin with a whiskey chaser! Now, mind you, I didn’t walk into this film expecting GONE WITH THE WIND but, after viewing the trailer, was hoping for a fun film like last year’s PIRANHA 3D. Instead of laughter and entertainment, I can only compare this experience to being stabbed to death with a butter knife; long, drawn out….and PAINFUL!

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