31 Days of Horror 2021 Day 17 Dawn of the Dead extended Mall Hours Cut

 

TITLE-Dawn of the Dead Extended Mall Hours Cut

SOURCE-Youtube

For years now I knew of this cut of Dawn of the Dead,but never saw it. Sure I had seen the US theatrical cut. Seen the Cannes cut and the Argento cut. But this super long cut,which uses all the footage from those 3 cuts plus stuff never seen,was one I could never track down. Well never track down and not have to pay 40 bucks. Sure I've seen a few SumGuys selling copies at cons. But I wasn't going pay 40 bucks for a dvd-r. And could never talk any of the "collectors" dvd dealers down to 20 bucks. Never thought to look for it on Youtube until the other day.

Of course this film is a sequel to George Romero's Night of the Living Dead.While we are never told it appears to happen a few weeks after the end of Night. Starting off in a news station,where we meet Flyboy and his girl. We see how society has started to collapse already. After this we are taken to a big ass apartment building. This is where we meet our other two leads. They are cops who are invading the building.

Eventually our four leads all meet up and take off in a helicopter. After a stop to get gas,and this scene is amazing,they end up landing on the roof of a shopping mall. The mall has everything they need so they make this into their new home.

The four clear all the zombies out of the mall. Use 18 wheelers to block all the entrances. And it seems like they are going to be OK. 

But a gang of roving bikers spots the mall and invades it. After this invasion of course the mall isn't safe anymore. And we are down to two of our leads,Flyboy got bit and became a zombie and one of the cops had got bit earlier. Our two living leads manage to make it up to the roof get in the helicopter and take off. Knowing they are low on fuel and having no idea what will happen next.

I had first seen Night of the Living Dead in about 1980,thanks to an airing one Halloween night. Not sure how but I had learned there was a sequel. It took me a few years to find a copy for rent at a local video store. Thanks to Fangoria magazine I knew there was at least 2 cuts. What I found to rent was the US theatrical cut. During the late 90s I managed to get the Cannes cut on VHS. A local K-mart was closing and had it for 5 bucks. The Argento cut I didn't get to see until I got that Anchor Bay DVD set that had all three cuts.

The quality of the Extended Mall Hours cut on Youtube is pretty good. It lists that it can be viewed in 1080p,I watched it in 720p. You can tell when it goes to footage that isn't from the US theatrical cut cause the picture quality drops a bit. But never is the picture or sound horrible.

For a long time this was my favorite of Romero's Living Dead series of films. But as I got older I started to enjoy Night even more. Dawn is a close second.

Now that I have seen every cut that is out there. I still prefer the Cannes cut. But this extended Mall Hours cut is pretty damn good. Just the film runs a bit long.

Dawn of the Dead Extended Mall Hours Cut gets a B+.

31 Days of Horror 2021 Day 16 Santo Contra los Zombies

 

TITLE-Santo Contra Los Zombies AKA Santo Vs the Zombies

SOURCE-Bootleg DVD

Back in 90 or 91 I discovered the Santo films. I caught half of one on a Spanish channel I could sometimes get on the antenna and was hooked. So maybe 4 years ago as a birthday gift a friend gave me a DVD,turned out to be a DVD-r,of Santo vs the Zombies. Did a bit of research and learned this is the 3rd of the Santo films,but the first to get a release in the USA.

Santo was a wrestling legend in Mexico. In 1958 Santo got talked into making 2 films in Cuba. These were both huge hits so a long line of Santo films followed.

In Santo vs the Zombies a crime spree is happening. And the cops discover through fingerprints that one of the people in these crimes is someone who has been dead for years. So they call in Santo to solve the case.

Now one drawback to the DVD I have is there is no English dub or subtitles. My Spanish skills are shit. I took Spanish for 2 years in High School and did ok. But after high school was over didn't use them for years and forgot all I learned. The little Spanish I know I either picked up from watching CMLL and AAA Lucha Libre for years and the bit I learned the 10 years I lived in Texas. So when I watched the movie I was lost a few times. But these Santo films are not hard to follow even when you can't understand what is being said.

Santo vs the Zombies came out in 1961,so I predates NOTLD. Which means the zombies in this are the voodoo kind not the flesh/brain eating kind we are use to now. Still the movie has a few creepy moments. And I had fun watching it.

Santo vs the Zombies gets a C.

31 Days of Horror 2020 Day 06 Resident Evil

TITLE-Resident Evil
SOURCE-DVD

Wow hard to believe this film came out almost 20 years ago. I can remember hearing that a Resident Evil movie was gonna happen and that George Romero,RIP Sir,was going to direct it. So myself and every horror fan I knew was super excited.

Then we hear that nope Romero isn't going to direct it. Instead Paul W.S. Anderson is the director. And he cast his wife Milla Jovovich as the lead.

Under Raccon City the Umbrella corp is doing some nasty stuff. After someone steals some of the T-virus. This causes the computer that is in control of the old mansion this is happening under to shut down the mansion.

Milla plays Alice. She wakes up in the mansion. And quickly meets up with a commando team that has been sent in to take care of the issue.

So instead of say a good moody zombie horror film,we got a action film with zombies. Back when I first saw this I enjoyed it but kept thinking "Man I hope the sequels are closer to the games." I had no clue back then that each film in this franchise would get more and more away from the games.

The FX work is pretty damn good. The scene where the security lasers cut a bunch of the commandos into pieces is well done. Too bad the acting is all pretty much shit.

Milla is a gorgeous woman. But her acting talent isn't that great. Really the best actor/actress in this film is Michelle Rodriguez. But Michelle is just playing the tough woman role she seems to be stuck playing for the past 30 years now.

There is currently 5 films in this series. I saw the second and third film. And they were so bad I just gave up on this franchise.

Back when this came out it was considered the best movie based on a video game.Back then it's competition was shit like Super Mario Brothers,Street Fighter and those two horrible Mortal Kombat films. I have been trying to think if there is a movie based on a video game that is better than Resident Evil,and I can't think of any that are live action.  But the Double Dragon movie comes close to being better than this film.

Resident Evil gets a C+.

31 Days of Horror Day 25 Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse

TITLE-Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse
SOURCE-DVD

Saw the trailers for this when it was hitting theaters and thought "If there was still $3 matinees at the theater I would go see this." Then earlier this month got a good deal on some used dvds/blu rays and found a copy of Scouts Guide.

We get a fairly well done horror/comedy/Gore movie. 3 long time friends are in high school and in the scouts. A zombie outbreak causes wacky stuff to happen. And the three late teen scouts and a stripper team up to survive.

The four leads are pretty damn good. Never seen any of them in anything before this. Really don't think I have seen any of them in anything after this either.

Now the comedy is fairly rude stuff. So if that isn't your thing might want to avoid the film. I found a few of the parts really funny. With only a few of the jokes bombing.

It would be kinda neat to see a sequel to this film. The ending of this one leaves everything open for a sequel. But it has been a few years since this came out so if that was gonna happen it should have happened by now.

Anyways this is worth renting/streaming/buying for cheap. It isn't often we get a zombie horror/comedy film that works. And Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse works.

Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse gets a B+.

31 Days of Horror Day 02 Count Gore De Vol's Creature Feature White Zombie

Yeah I know pretty much every horror fan over the age of 25 has seen or owns on some DVD multipack that well meaning aunt gave ya for X-mas the movie White Zombie. And yeah the print used is kind of shitty. It is watchable,and way way better than the horrible 5 buck VHS I bought at K&B Drugs when I was 12.

But it is October,it's a Monday and what better way to start the week than a horror classic starring Bela Lugosi. And it is hosted by one of the best of the modern Horror Hosts Count Gore De Vol. For years now on a regular schedule the Count has been releasing horror films new and old to Vimeo. So why is the Count one of the best of the modern Horror Hosts? Many many reasons,but one of them catapults him to the top.

The Count has a great set. And in the inside of his coffin  he has the infamous Vampirella Door poster. For years Warren sold that poster,and I always wanted one but there was no way my Catholic mother was gonna allow her son to have that poster. Here's a better view of the poster.

The episode opens with the Count letting us know this is an older episode that was shot in  SD. And he does a pretty good job explaining 4:3. So it is off to what I am guessing is the early to mid 2000s. Count Gore is pondering Christmas. And instead of playing Santa Claus conquors the Martians for the 100th time this holiday season Count Gore De Vol has a co host to show us White Zombie. And that co host is ZOMBIE CHEERLEADER!

Really either you love the Count's type of humor or you hate it. I love it. And with this episode the film is good enough that if you don't care for the Count it isn't hard to skip his parts and watch the movie.

Speaking of the movie it has been reviewed in every form  of media too many times. So besides pointing out a few personal highlights I am mostly gonna stick to reviewing the Count Gore parts.

Lugosi always brought a evil regal aura to his horror roles. Bela as Murder Legrendre for me is better than Bela as Dracula. Then there is his evil Voodoo powers. First he has his eye trick.

Sure to modern eyes it is a bit cheesy and low tech. But cause Bela has a presence that comes around once a generation he can take a cheesy effect and make it work almost 100 years later.

See. Just Bela holding  his hands in an odd way adds a weird feel to the  movie. It was the small things Mr Lugosi did that makes it worth  going back and watching some of the  Poverty Row movies he made after peaking with his staring role in Universal's Dracula.

About halfway thru the film  we go back to Zombie Cheerleader and Count Gore. She is trying to teach Gore a cheer.

It's a amusing spot. Then it is back the the film. Seriously if you have never seen White Zombie go watch it. It is public domain,which  is why every horror host shows it,and you can find a decent looking copy in a variety of video codecs at the Internet Archive.The film ends and  we get our final skit. That is another thing I like about the Count ,you get a few short skits but he never seems to  overstay his welcome.

Zombie Cheerleader has dressed Gore up as a cheerleader.The Count is horrible and the show is over.

White Zombie is a classic and while it being public domain means it is freely/cheaply available for everyone that also means there is piles of horrible prints floating around. One final kinda neat thing is if you use the Vimeo app you can download any video on  Vimeo for offline viewing. I have started stockpiling episodes of Count Gore to watch during long car rides.

White Zombie gets a B+ Count Gore De Vol and Zombie Cheerleader get a B.

2017 Comic Challenge 307 The Walking Dead #163

TITLE-The Walking Dead #163
PUBLISHER-Image
FUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I know Alexandria was prepared for a zombie herd attack,but no way were they prepared for a herd this large.

Andrea,Eugene,Jesus,Michonne and others are out on horses. To try to lead off large amounts of the herd away from the town. Back at the community Rick has everyone ready with knives to stab all the zombies pressing up against the front gate. But there is so many zombies the ones on the gate start to get crushed and become liquefied.
While our leads might have survived the war with the Whisperers fairly well it doesn’t look like they have a chance of surviving this herd. I am guessing that before issue 175 what is left of our leads will be back living on the run.

The Walking Dead #163 gets a buy!

2017 Comic Challenge 305 The Walking Dead #162

TITLE-The Walking Dead #162

PUBLISHER-Image

The battle is over. Some troops reach Hilltop and see what is left. Dwight's group makes it back to Alexandria. Carl has a sweet moment with Lydia. All looks good. The war is over. Our leads have once again won. Sure they suffered losses of people and Hilltop is almost totally gone.Plus Eugene has worked himself to death to manufacture and deliver to Alexandria a huge wagon packed to the rafters with ammunition.So it looks good. Maybe a time of peace for our survivors.Time to mourn the dead and keep on surviving.

Then in the last 5 pages shit hits the fan. Dwight is explaining to Rick how his army managed to stop the Whisperers and their herd of around 1000 zombies. And we find out that Beta and what is left of the Whisperers have lead what looks to be millions of zombies towards Alexandria.

There is so many beautiful 2 page spreads in this issue. The first being when the troops on horseback finally make it to Hilltop. The other two are near the end. It is just millions and millions of zombies being lead towards Alexandria.

Just guessing but I am gonna say before the end of this year our leads will be back on the road again. But who knows with this title.

There is a reason I get Walking Dead every month. A reason why I end up buying every issue twice,digital for monthly issues and then whenever the next Compendium comes out.And it is cause even after 162 issues it still finds a way to keep surprising me and keeping my interest.

The Walking Dead #162 gets a BUY!

2016 Comic Challenge 294 Zombies! Feast #01

TITLE-Zombies!Feast #01
PUBLISHER-IDW

I have no clue if or when this IDW Zombies! series connects to any of their other Zombies series/mini series.

A prisoner transport bus has a wreck out in  the middle of nowhere. It is up to 3 guards to lead 8 prisoners across a few miles. Mostly cause neither radio or cell phones work in this area.

They stumble upon a farm house,no it's not going there I think.While there,and looking for a phone,they run into a child zombie.

This time Shane Maccarthy does the writing chores and the art is by Chris Bolton. Again no clue who either is.The decent wraparound cover is by Bolton,but there is a variant that has Ted McKeever art. I wish I would have gotten that one.

I do have one later issue in this series. Might read it soon. But honestly unless I found later issues for a buck or less I wouldn't bother with this.

Zombies!Feast #01 gets a borrow.

2016 Comic Challenge 292 Zombies! Eclipse of the undead #01

TITLE-Zombies!Eclipse of the Undead #01
PUBLISHER-IDW

Got this comic in a lot of "10lbs of random comics". Had no idea at the time that IDW even had a zombie comic.

Our lead is a medical student.Who is living in one of the stadiums in LA. The stadium is surrounded by zombies,but the military is still there keeping them out.

Then food and water run  out,the military leaves during an eclipse. And someone on the inside is infected.So we get an outbreak of zombies in the stadium.

No clue how long this series ran.The cover is ok I guess. A bit dark but not the worst I have seen.El Torres is the writer and Yair Herrera is the artist. Never heard of either.

If I happen to find the later issues of this series for a buck or less I might grab them. But this is just a slightly above average spin on your typical zombie story.

Zombies!Eclipse of the Undead #01 gets a borrow.

2016 Comic Challenge 245 The Walking Dead #158

TITLE-The Walking Dead #158
PUBLISHER-Image

Part 2 of the Whisperers war is out.Gabriel is on lookout when he falls,loses his rifle and breaks his ankle. So he is left hanging there as a herd of walkers and Whisperers go by. One of the more gruesome deaths in this comic in a long ass time.

Out on the frontlines Dwight has a line of troops ready. Negan is with them but unarmed. Then the herd gets to them. Thanks to some flanking manuevers and Negan's quick thinking most of them manage to escape.

But it looks like this war has just begun. Like pretty much every month Kirkman and Adlard have me gladly forking over right at 4 bucks for my fix.

The Walking Dead #158 gets a buy.

2016 Comic Challenge 205 The Walking Dead #156

TITLE-The Walking Dead #156
PUBLISHER-Image

The entire issue is Negan trying to join the Whisperers. And through this we get to learn a bit more about them.

Once he is allowed to join the group Negan quickly lets it be known that he is attracted to the groups female leader Alpha.

After the last 3 pages  I am now wondering where the fuck Kirkman is going with this. That is not a bad thing,it is stuff like this that keeps me reading this monthly instead of waiting half a year for a 6 issue trade.

The Walking Dead #156 gets a buy.

2016 Comic Challenge 204 The Walking Dead #155

TITLE-The Walking Dead #155
PUBLISHER-Image

Like the tide the pace of TWD ebbs and flows. This is obviously the start of a big story arch. Michonne is trying to rush back with a wounded man. Dwight is leading a group of troopers in a hunt for Negan. And Negan well.. Negan is in love with Alpha of the Whisperers.

Even the slow issues like this one are engaging enough I don't mind getting this monthly then later on grabbing a physical copy in the Compendium format. The letter page confirms my thoughts on this being the start of a big story arch. Our monthly cast of people will be going to war with the Whisperers. And it is promised to be different and top the All Out War plotline from a bit over 2 years ago.

The Walking Dead #155 gets a buy.

2016 Comic Challenge 148 The Walking Dead #153

TITLE-The Walking Dead #153
PUBLISHER-Image

Picking right up from where the last issue ended. We got Rick and a few others knowing that Negan has escaped his cell. Maggie leading a big group of people back to Hilltop. And Dwight training a new group of soldiers.

The Negan parts were my favorite of this issue. And after that last page I am really wondering what the hell Negan's plan is.

Now it might just be my bad memory,but I really didn't know any of the people that were part of Dwight's training session.

Anyways once again another month and another damn good issue of TWD.

The Walking Dead #153 gets a Buy.

2016 Comic Challenge 063 The Walking Dead #151

TITLE-The Walking Dead #151
PUBLISHER-Image

After the attack on Rick last issue,he has realized the new community needs an army. So he has Dwight,Negan's old soldier,training a big group.

After  a couple of issues of full on action we are back to building issues. IE building up to the next big action piece.

Recently I see more and more people talking about how they have stopped reading TWD. And how they do not like the direction it has went over the last 30 issues.

At first I was worried when the comic took a big jump forward in time. But I have come to really enjoy seeing Rick and the others trying to rebuild the world.

The Walking Dead #151 gets a buy.

2016 Comic Challenge 011 The Walking Dead #149

TITLE-The Walking Dead #149
PUBLISHER-Image

I normally read Walking Dead as soon as the new issue comes out. But I got behind. Since the comic took a jump ahead in time it has been a slow build.With a new group of villains introduced. And they made a huge impact 3 or 4 issues ago.

This issue is mostly showing us the aftermath of the Whisperers attack on the new communities. Rick is at his wits end.And goes to an unexpected source for advice on how to handle this.

I am expecting the next issue to either be bigger than normal or something major to happen.

The Walking Dead #149 gets a Buy.

2015 Reading Challenge Book 096 World War Z

TITLE-World War Z
AUTHOR-Max Brooks
FORMAT-Paperback
FIRST TIME READING-No
PRICE-$5

From not long after this book came out I kept being told how I had to read it. I kept putting it off mostly cause I had a feeling I wouldn't like it. Then a few months before the film was released I grabbed the novel.

This is as the cover states an oral history of the zombie war. A reporter is traveling all over the world talking to people. And we slowly get pieces of what happened. Now as of this writing I haven't watched the film. I do wonder how the hell this translates into a film. There really isn't a a normal plot in the book.

It is kind of rare that horror novels scare me or creep me out. But in a few scenes this novel did just that. The one part that got to me the most was when he find out to help find and fight the zombie hordes the Army has equipped tiny dogs with cameras. Being a dog person,and having always owned tiny dogs,this scene got to me.

If you are a fan of the Walking Dead tv show or comic read this book. If you are just a fan of zombie films read this book. I have only ever read one other thing from Max Brooks. Which was a vampire comic trade he wrote for Avatar Press. Which sadly wasn't that good.

World War Z gets an A.

2015 Reading Challenge Book 089 Great Monsters of the Movies

TITLE-Great Monsters of the Movies
AUTHOR-Robert K Davidson
FORMAT-Paperback
FIRST TIME READING-Yes
PRICE-25 cents

Back when I was in elementary school I looked forward to the book fairs each year. And almost every year they would have a new book similar to this one. Small paperback book that covered various horror/monster films from the pre-70s era. This book is from 1978.And I found it at one of the local libraries booksales.

After a decent introduction Mr Davidson has 4 chapters. Each about a different type of monster. Up first is a 20 odd page chapter on the Frankenstein Monster.With half those pages being made up of pretty decent pictures. He covers all the Universal Frankenstein movies plus a few of the non-Universal ones.

Chapter 2 is titled Creatures of the Night. Which of course means vampires,but also includes mummies and zombies. Once again half the pages are for pictures.

The third chapter is men that change into monsters. So we get Dr Jekyll,Phantom of the Opera,Dr Phibes,Werewolves,The Fly and final the beastmen from Island of lost souls.And again half of the chapter is pictures.

Our final chapter is all about aliens and creatures from another world. Which on the first page of the chapter it contradicts cause it is talking about King Kong.From there we get the original The thing,lots of alien based films and even the Creature from the Black lagoon.

Back when I was a kid books like this were some of my favorites. I must have had at least 10 of them. But now thanks to the internet and other changes they are just a quaint antiquity of the past.

With the book only being 130 pages it was a very quick read. And I mostly grabbed it cause of the memories it brought back.

Great Monsters of the Movies gets a 2.97 outta 5.

31 Days of Horror 2015 Day 13 Zombiethon

Zombiethon
Source-Full Moon DVD

This is basically a highlight reel of any film Empire/Full Moon had the rights to that had zombies in it. So you got stuff like Fulci's Zombie,Oasis of the Zombies and many others. With the only original footage being kind of wraparound piece. About a woman that is being chased by zombies. So she hides out in a theater. That is full of zombies and is showing movies.

A few years back I got a VHS rip of this and reviewed it here on my blog. I knew Full Moon had put it out on a DVD.But it was 15 bucks which is much more than I wanted to spend. Then earlier this year I found it in a bodega. And they only wanted $5. It was mixed in with all the other DVDs they were selling. Which was all big mainstream movies. No clue how this oddball got mixed in there but I am happy it did.

The DVD looks slightly better than the VHS rip I saw.And the only extras are a short intro from Charles Band. And a bunch of trailers.

Zombiethon gets a B.

3 Toys from the Junkbox Halloween edition

Thanks to store remodeling I have been getting the blind bag Imaginext figures cheap. With movie reviews and trying to at least finish 5 books this month I doubt I will do another of these this month. I got enough Halloween/Horror style toys to do a few. But on to the 4,yeah it's almost Halloween fuck the rules getting 1 extra toy this time.

From series three this is some kind of either alien or undersea creature. Good sculpting on the legs and arms and face. The spear looks really good also.

But if you take the helmet off and the spear away it looks a bit more like the Creature from the Black Lagoon. I wouldn't mind getting another of these since it has two very different looks depending on if you put the accessories on or not.

 BIGFOOT!!! There is a huge Imaginext remote control Bigfoot I have been trying to get for over a year. This smaller one,that comes with a giant fish!!!!,will make a good substitute.

Yeah you take the Mask off and and he looks doofy. But you can now add a Bigfoot mask to your other Imaginext figures.

This one is like the first one in that it has two totally different looks.With the "tater sack" mask on and weedwacker he looks like either Jason Voorhies in Friday the 13th part 2 or the killer from The Town that dreaded sundown.

You take the "Tater Sack" off and you got a great zombie figure.This line is for 3 to 8 year olds ,so a toy this creepy and scary in a line aimed at that age group is strange but a neat find.

Finally this very very well done vampire. The sculpting ,paint job and accessories are the best I have seen from this line of toys.The bat seems to hold best on the right arm. And the cape is a nice touch,

He does lose a bit without the cape. And the bat. But still a great looking figure. One I am kind of glad I got 2 of now.

2015 Reading Challenge Book 021 The Walking Dead:The Fall of the Governor part one

BOOK TITLE-The Walking Dead:The Fall of the Governor Part 1
AUTHOR-Robert Kirkman and Jay Bonansinga
FORMAT-Paperback
FIRST TIME READING-Yes
COST-$5.50

Took a few days off from reading books to blow through a stack of comics. When I was ready to dive into another novel I saw this book in my stack. I bought it sometime last year IIRC.Had sat it on my read next pile. Then let it be buried under other books.

Starting up not that long after the Road to Woodbury book ended. Our female lead Lilly is living on Woodbury and seems to feel somewhat safe.We get to see how the Governor is slowly losing his mind. With him keeping his daughter ,who is a zombie,chained up in his apartment. But it is his collection of zombie heads in fish tanks that was the creepiest.

More of the residents of Woodbury are introduced. Which is nice for people who have just seen the tv show. In the comic we got to see a bit more of life in Woodbury. Lilly ends up falling for a guy and starts believing that they will be safe.

Then Rick,Glen and Michonne show up in Woodbury and everything goes to hell. Rick gets one of his hands chopped off. Michonne is chained up in a room and assaulted daily by the Governor.With most of what happens to Glen never being told.If you have read the comic,this is basically the Governor's view on what happened when Rick and the two others go off to look for the crashed chopper.

The last 4 or so chapters as really fast paced. Rick and the two other members of the prison group start to escape. Helped out my Martinez and the Doctor and nurse of Woodbury. Of course Rick has no idea Martinez was told to do this by the Governor. After they all  get over the wall surrounding Woodbury,Michonne heads back to get her revenge on the Governor.And we get a way more graphic version of this encounter than what we saw in the comic.

After the lackluster and kind of dull second book,this third of so far 4 Walking Dead novels was pretty good. I didn't expect to get as much detail on the Governor and Michonne stuff as I got. It felt like for a few pages Edward Lee or Richard Laymon took over the writing job.

The Walking Dead:The Fall of the Governor part 1 gets a 3.85 outta 5.