Science Fiction Films of 1951: Giant Ants, Radioactive Rockets, & Flying Saucers!

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The 50’s must have been an amazing time to be a film fan, especially if you liked science fiction. Thanks to pilot Kenneth Arnold’s sighting of nine flying discs on June 24, 1947, the possibility of alien invaders became an all-too-real reality. America had just come out of World War II two years earlier and I am sure that people were still paranoid and tense. Nationwide reports of unidentified flying objects would only add to this paranoia and the film industry took full advantage by playing off of these fears.

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Old School Monster FX Highlight Sid Haig’s CREATURE!

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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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Music to Die For – Halloween Novelty Songs Part 2

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Welcome to part 2 of my overview of Halloween-themed novelty songs. If you missed part 1 you can see it HERE. Before I get down to my recommendations let me warn you about buying Cd’s like this. When you see Halloween Cd’s in stores ALWAYS look to make sure that the songs are by “original artists”. Many times these Cd’s available in major retailers such as Wal-Mart and Target feature popular Halloween songs but done by people you have never heard of. If they don’t list the MONSTER MASH as being sung by Bobby “Boris” Pickett then guess what, it’s not! Even if it says by “various artists” it is probably done by artists you have never heard of. That’s the reason so many of these Cd’s cost so little. All of the Cd’s I present here feature songs by the original artists, unless noted otherwise.

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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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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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Music to Die For – Halloween Novelty Songs Part 1

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With the end of Labor Day weekend also unofficially signifies the end of summer (even if the calendar says otherwise). This is actually my favorite time of year. The cooler nights, shorter days and Halloween decorations galore in every store. Yes…Halloween is my favorite holiday, even at my age. Growing up has many fond memories for me, especially at Halloween…carving pumpkins, dressing up as one of my favorite monsters, trick or treating and even listening to the Dr. Demento Show with his annual Halloween special. It’s a real shame that kids these days make little effort to keep the Halloween traditions alive (perhaps they should watch the movie TRICK ‘R TREAT to see what can happen!). Kids rarely dress up as scary things anymore. Witches, vampires and ghosts are a thing of the past, replaced with super-heroes, princesses and whatever top 40 music star is popular that year (or my favorite costume, wearing army fatigues and painting your face black…ooooh scaary! Could you tell that I was just extremely sarcastic?). Also missing these days is the Dr. Demento Show, at least in my area. According to the good doctor’s website he is in fact still broadcasting every week, just in more of a limited capacity. It’s too bad that Sirius/XM wouldn’t pick up his weekly show.

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