Sorting through all these Naughty Krampus Films!

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It’s no surprise that after the success of last year’s Krampus more films on this subject would pop up, only with much smaller budgets. To be fair, Christmas’ anti-Santa had already been gaining steam here in the States before mainstream Hollywood decided to finally give him his big break. Personally, I loved Michael Dougherty’s film; saw it three times at the theater when it came out and another three this year at home. It’s pretty much replaced Holiday Inn (1942) as my favorite Christmas movie which is odd considering it’s dark nature. Or maybe not so strange at all. Despite the seemingly odd pairing of Christmas and horror, it’s often been a fun one. We’ve covered Yuletide horror movies before, many featuring murderous Santa Claus’, but never on any that dealt with Krampus. So this year I decided (with the amazing help of Jason Schoolcraft who works with the other Dave in Rhode Island and has been a great friend to both of us) that it was time to start sorting through all these Krampus-themed films and find out which ones are holiday gifts versus cinematic lumps of coal. Let’s get started…

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“When Animals Attack,” Moviegoers Rejoice! New Book Spotlights 70 Killer Animal Horror Films!

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Imagine the world without animals. So far as we Daves are concerned, it’d be a pretty dismal place. Animals bring beauty and diversity to the planet while many enrich our lives individually as members of our own family (I hesitate to use the word “pets” as I’m pretty sure my cat, Felix, actually owns me). That’s not to say all of Earth’s creatures are loved equally, of course. Some, such as bats, bugs, and snakes, often inspire anxiety versus appreciation but, regardless of whether these are rational or irrational phobias, Hollywood is always there to tap into our innate fear of nature and we filmgoers can’t seem to get enough. The “Man vs Animal” horror subgenre has always been one of my personal favorites and I discussed them back in 2010  before doing a follow up the year after that. In both of those posts, I highlighted some of my favorite animal attack films (at the time) but now, thanks to a fantastic new book by Vanessa Morgan, you can read more about many of those along with a great deal more!

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Myakka Monster Madness

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The Daves would like to welcome fellow blogger AJ Dunbar from the bigfoot website BigfootBase.com! You can check out his site by going HERE!

“Enclosed please find some pictures I took. My husband thinks it is an orangutan. Is someone missing an orangutan?”

In December 2000, an anonymous letter and two photographs of a large ape-like creature arrived at the Sarasota County Sherriff’s office. In the letter, an elderly woman wrote of a persistent, late-night visitor who stole apples from her back porch. On the third night of visits in early October of that year, she collected her camera and approached the trespasser, snapping two infamous pictures in the world of cryptozoology.

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Chicago “Days of the Dead” with Alice Cooper!

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If there’s any event here in Chicago that signifies the transition from fall to winter it’s gotta be Days of the Dead. Last year I remember arriving on a clear evening only to leave later that same night amid piles of the season’s first snow while dodging salt trucks on the way home. Thankfully that didn’t repeat itself this year; just a simple thirty degree drop in temperature that’s held ever since. So far as the fans go, a tornado probably wouldn’t keep them away and this year promised something extra special. You could practically feel the exuberance on social media when it was announced that rock/horror legend, Alice Cooper, would headline their celebrity guest list. Not only would the singer/song-writer/actor be signing autographs for fans but they could also do a professional photo-op with him for an extra $55 which, in the expo world, is actually pretty darn cheap. It was a smart move as it guaranteed this convention not only see it’s “regulars” but a fair share of newbies as well.

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VHS Video Cover Art – Time to bring that old video store back home!

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So how many of you can remember that crazy time in American history when we didn’t have Netflix, Red Box, or Amazon instant streaming? If you can recall those Dark Ages, then let me date you even further by asking if you remember when VHS tapes were king and the only place you could get your fix of those was at a local video store? I grew up in Homewood, Illinois and was about twelve years old when the phenomena of home video first began. I can still remember the excitement of us watching my dad attach our first VHS player to the family television set. The idea of being able to watch a movie when you felt like it, or taping shows off your favorite channel so you could catch them later, seemed just too good to be true.

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