Upon hearing the news that the latest issue of SCARY MONSTERS MAGAZINE had hit the stands, I immediately headed to my nearest “Borders” bookstore. This is a magazine I have loved since its early years and the latest issue was very special to me. Back in May I had submitted a fan piece and interview on Michigan horror host, Wolfman Mac & The Chiller Drive-in. Now the story would finally see print along with an article I had written for Chicago artist, Jeff Carlson. Jeff, as you may recall, created an amazing replica of the famous medallion worn by Bela Lugosi during the original Universal classic, DRACULA! To revisit the blog piece we did on Jeff, please click HERE and then go get a much more in depth description on the piece and ways you can get your own in the newest issue of SCARY MONSTERS!
Author Archives: Dave Fuentes
Organizing Your Horror DVD/Blu-Ray Collection!
With the arrival of the New Year, many of us have made “Resolutions” as to what we’d like to accomplish in 2011. Topping most lists, of course, is the usual losing weight, quitting smoking, exercising more, and getting organized. While there isn’t much advice I can give regarding the first three, I may have some helpful tips regarding the last. Not to worry, horror fans, we’re not compromising our site by trading in Penny Dreadful for Martha Stewart (though it can be argued that she’s the scarier of the two witches). Organizing your collection is not only ascetically pleasing, it makes for much easier access.
2010 Horror Movie Remakes: HITS AND MISSES!
As 2010 winds its way down, I can’t help but notice all the great new movie titles I’ve added to my collection this past year. The future remains bright as horror films never go out of style and movie makers, both foreign and domestic, continue to present new genre films with no signs of letting up. This is not to suggest, however, that “new” necessarily means “original.”
Remakes of older titles continue to flourish with little sign of stopping. 2011 promises newer versions of DON’T BE AFRAID OF THE DARK, STRAW DOGS, MOTHER’S DAY, and FRIGHT NIGHT. For genre fans this tends to be a mixed blessing. Remakes do generate sufficient “buzz” and may also inspire a revisit to an oldie but goodie we’ve allowed to collect dust on our video shelves. On the other hand, this also invariably leads to an outcry for Hollywood to leave well enough alone!
For those keeping score, let’s take a look at this past years entries and judge 2010’s horror remakes, the hits and misses.
When Animals Attack: MAN VS. NATURE FILMS!
Back before Al Gore began promoting global warming initiatives and the phrase “being green” simply meant that you were inexperienced, Hollywood had already tapped into the notion that the human race, for all of its arrogance, is still at the whim of nature. As pollution and environmental issues became more of a concern, some clever horror writers decided to ask a very poignant question: what would happen if nature decided to fight back? What would our chances be if the seemingly innocent creatures we take for granted during our everyday lives suddenly struck at us via an organized unit (e.g. THE BIRDS)? Thus the sub genre of “eco-horror” was born and although these films were never as much fun as the giant atomic beasts abundant in the 1950’s, normal sized animals still made for effective antagonists.
Interview with Dark Night of Scarecrow’s J.D. Feigelson!
A couple months back I wrote a piece regarding DARK NIGHT OF THE SCARECROW and how pleased I was that it had finally been released in digital (DVD) form (which you can read HERE). A couple weeks later, I was ecstatic when the film’s writer himself, J.D. Feigelson, commented on it. Most of the feedback we receive on TERROR FROM BEYOND THE DAVES is via Facebook or direct email. Of course we appreciate all comments but are particularly pleased when people take the time to comment directly on the blog. I was very happy that J.D. had been alerted to story and that he appeared to have liked it. I quickly wrote him back asking if he’d mind doing an interview for the site and he honored me by agreeing to do so.
Thankful Beyond the Daves!
This is the season of thankfulness and the Daves can’t think of any Thanksgiving where we’ve been more grateful. A year ago at this time we were a couple of die hard Svengoolie fans (which we still are) who had no idea what other amazing personalities existed outside Chicago City Limits. Now we use names like Zomboo, Dr. Destruction, The Bone Jangler, and Wolfman Mac in everyday conversation and have amassed huge samplings of the work of many hosts from across the country. We also now have an actual venue for which to share our appreciation of them, as well as the world of horror fandom in general. We’ve really enjoyed doing this and can’t imagine life without it. There are so many people we wish to thank (not the least of which you the reader) but, rather than write a generic “thanks,” we’d really like to break down our appreciation to those folks who really helped make this one of our best years ever!





