AUTO SHOW FROM HELL: Featuring the truck from DUEL!

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This weekend, the city of Chicago was buzzing with the opening of their annual Auto Show taking place Feb 11-20th at The McCormick Place. This is the nation’s largest show of its kind and always attracts a loyal group of gearheads & those interested in checking out the latest models. One year I recall sitting inside a replica of the tour jeep used in 1993’s Jurassic Park. Regardless of past participation, I must confess that I’m not much of a car person; if the damned thing runs I honestly don’t care what it looks like. However, there are some vehicles on the Silver Screen that I can’t help but admire.

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VIRGINIA CREEPERS: The Horror Host Tradition of the Old Dominion!

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I’ve been a horror host fan for as long as I can remember. Thanks to syndication in the early 80’s, I was able to get my first glimpse of a host via the Son Of Svengoolie from Chicago (playing out of a station in Boston). I soon also became aware of Elvira: Mistress of the Dark but, during this period, this could only be accomplished late at  night, weather permitting. On the rare event those rabbit ear antennas did draw the original Movie Macabre the picture was extremely snowy and virtually unwatchable (though I STILL did). With the introduction of cable television, I was finally able to enjoy such hosts as Grampa on TBS’s Super Scary Saturday, Commander USA on the USA Network, and Morgus The Magnificent on WPIX.

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The Bowman Body Returns!!!

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The company that produced VIRGINIA CREEPERS: THE HORROR HOST TRADITION OF THE OLD DOMINION is now working on a sequel of sorts on The Bowman Body. VIRGINIA CREEPERS was released in 2009 and after a month of release it was nominated for “Best Independent Production of 2009” at the Rondo Awards. It was selected by special invitation to the James River Film Festival in 2010 and one of only two independent film s selected at UVA’s academy qualifying Virginia Film Festival (see www.virginiacreepersmovie.com).

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Unearthing The Dead at The Monroeville Zombie Museum!

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TERROR FROM BEYOND THE DAVES is pleased to introduce our very FIRST guest writer to the site, Brian Maze! While this may be his first appearance as a “writer” on the blog, he is far from a stranger. Mr. Maze is the talented artist whose “Horror Hosts pogs” have not only been a regular feature of our weekly reports, they’ve completely enhanced them. His generosity and  support can not be overstated and we are VERY fortunate to count him as not only an amazing contributor but good friend as well. Brian, like both Daves, is a big fan not only of the genre but the world of horror hosting too! His Virginia locale places him in an area rich in horror host history, both past & present. Dr. Sarcofiguy, Count Gore de Vol, and Karlos Borloff’s Monster Madhouse all herald from this region. We look forward to future field report from Brian regarding those characters, as well as meeting him in person this March at Horrorhound. Today, however, it is not Horror Hosts but Zombies who prompt Brian’s contribution. So, without further adieu….

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Memories of TOPPS Wacky Packages!

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Last week our President spoke to the Nation via his annual State of the Union Address. Like all such speeches, the tone was hopeful as the country was informed that its economic malaise was starting to improve. I certainly hope this is the case though, currently, there seems to be a clear divide between rhetoric and reality. One has only to drive down the main street of my own town of Homewood, Illinois and stare at the empty buildings that once housed various stores and small businesses to see this contrast.

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Adam Green’s Hatchet II: Are Two HATCHETS Better than One?

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Perhaps one of the most popular types of horror movie is the slasher film. Though there were examples of these types of movies in the early 70’s, it wasn’t until the release of John Carpenter’s HALLOWEEN in 1978 that the slasher really took off. The 80’s were filled literally with every type of slasher movie you could imagine, all capitalizing on the popularity of not only the HALLOWEEN films, but also the FRIDAY THE 13TH series and A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET franchise. Some of these movies were good…others were downright horrible. Thanks to movies being released direct to video in those days, pretty much anyone with a camcorder could make a slasher movie and try to take advantage of the public’s desire to see pretty teens get butchered. In many ways this is what burned me out on slasher films. I mean, how many times can you watch the same things over and over again? The only thing that would change from film to film was the look of the killer (even with HALLOWEEN and FRIDAY THE 13TH, Michael Myers and Jason changed his appearance from film to film).

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