Freddy in Space

Vote For The 2010 Reaper Awards!

mortis45@aol.com (Johnny) — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 23:22:00 +0000

Started last year by Dread Central and Home Media Magazine, the Reaper Awards celebrate horror/thriller DVD and Blu-ray releases - making them the only awards of their kind. Voting is now open for the 2010 awards, which will be handed out at a ceremony in Los Angeles on October 12th. Click the image below to vote (through October 1st) and read on to see my personal picks for the ten awards categories!

BEST BLU-RAY DISC :

BEST BOXED SET OR TV SHOW COLLECTION :

BEST RE-RELEASE/CATALOG TITLE :

BEST DIRECT-TO-VIDEO TITLE :

BEST INDIE OR FOREIGN DISC :

BEST PACKAGING :

BEST THEATRICAL DISC :

MOST ANTICIPATED CATALOG TITLE COMING TO DISC :

MOST ANTICIPATED NON-THEATRICAL TITLE COMING TO DISC :

MOST ANTICIPATED THEATRICAL TITLE COMING TO DISC :

BING - The Search Engine For Horror Fans

mortis45@aol.com (Johnny) — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 21:31:00 +0000

Uber search engine BING, which was homaged The Shining in one of their commercials in the past, is now showing some love to the much lesser known camp classic from last year, Mega Shark vs Giant Octopus - further ensuring that they're the coolest search engine on the net. Check it out!

Was pretty amazed when this popped up on my TV screen last night. All I can say is, someone in Bing's marketing department must be a big time horror fan!

On a related note, SyFy's Sharktopus will premiere on September 25th!

Scream Queens Season 2 Exclusive Update - Sarah Alami

mortis45@aol.com (Johnny) — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 22:38:00 +0000

Last Monday night on Scream Queens 2, Sarah Alami got the axe from the show. In the most emotional moment from the season thus far, which brought her journey to a bittersweet end, Sarah thanked the judges after they booted her and expressed her happiness over finally being able to return home to her daughter, after spending a couple months away from her.

So what has Sarah been up to since the show ended? In this exclusive Freddy In Space update, she fills you in on all the latest goings on in her career and also talks a bit about her experience on the show and the impact it has had on her life.

I hope that this will quench your Scream Queens thirst for the week, as the show is on hiatus this week and will not be airing until next Monday, September 13th, at 10/9c on VH1. If you missed last week's episode and want to use this time to play catch up, head over to VH1.com, where you can watch it in its entirety.

Well after leaving the show I came back to Chicago and went straight to work. I was offered an extended contract from Oil of Olay cosmetics. I filmed a pilot called The "o" mission with a writer from The Bill Cosby Show and Fresh Prince. I filmed a TV show "ENtrapment" with ENT 7 that just got sold in Europe. I also returned back to performing on stage, doing a show called "Kill Hard" which got 4 stars in the Chicago Reader! I then went on to do an internship at TPR Casting where I was able to assist on Transformers 3 and "The Cheaters Project" (working title) with Vince Vaughn and Ron Howard.

Being on the show was tough business! Yes I had some weak moments but also had some powerful ones. I felt a little cheated when I seen the two director challenges I had done best at were edited out (the 1st episode and the 4th ep (snake challenge). They didn't show me at all! LOL. I was so hesitant of doing a reality show because I am a pretty private person. I was definetly out of my comfort zone throughout the show. I'm not a fake person and didn't feel it was right to put others down or make fun of them. I didn't like the pressure of feeling I had to either. I think the realest moment came from me when I went home. If you noticed this show unlike others did not have a phone or internet and I am a single Mom. To go almost 2 months without speaking to my daughter was extremely difficult. There was not one day or night that went by that I didn't think or cry for her. Overall, the experience was cool. I learned alot. I have alot of respect for the Horror Genre and fans of Horror. Reality TV on the other hand was great for exposure but it's not good for working actors because it can be a little damaging to your image. Best thing to do now is move forward and focus on new projects. No more reality TV for me though :) Be sure to look out for my layout in Fangoria Magazine issue #297!!!

MACHETE - The Most Fun You'll Have At The Theatre This Year .... I Guarantee It!

mortis45@aol.com (Johnny) — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 21:18:00 +0000

Ever since he picked up a video camera and raised a few thousand bucks selling his body to science in an effort to fulfill his filmmaking dreams, Robert Rodriguez has proven one thing to us time and time again, over the past two decades ; he knows how to make one seriously entertaining piece of film. In fact, i'd go so far as to say you'd be hard pressed to find a single soul on this planet that hasn't been entertained by at least one of Rodriguez's contributions to the world of cinema, be it family friendly fare such as the Spy Kids franchise or R rated gore fests the likes of Sin City, From Dusk Till Dawn and Planet Terror. Even admist a varied and impressive catalogue such as this that has given me personally hours upon hours of laughs and entertainment, i've gotta say ; Machete may be Rodriguez's most entertaining film to date. It's funnier than most comedies, gorier than most horror flicks and full of more kickass action than most action movies, making it not only the absolute pitch perfect summer flick, but the most balls to the wall FUN movie to hit the big screen in recent years.

Here's a little taste of what i'm getting at ....

Before the opening credits even get a chance to roll, the body count nearly hits the double digits, there is full frontal nudity wherein the fully frontal woman pulls a common household object from her vagina and Steven Seagal shows up as a Mexican drug lord, cheesy accent and all, wielding a sword that would make Hattori Hanzo jealous - need I say more?

Amidst an incredible and totally oddball cast the likes of Seagal, Robert DeNiro as an anti-Mexican politician, Jessica Alba as the sexiest immigration enforcement agent ever, Michelle Rodriguez as the sexiest taco stand proprietor ever, Tom Savini as a badass killer who does pushups on his fingertips, Cheech Marin as a very unconventional priest and Lindsay Lohan as a drug addict who just wants to show off her body (that's a stretch!), the real standout here is Machete himself, the 66 year old (!) Danny Trejo. Trejo has been utilized by Rodriguez many a time before but this is the first time he has been the star of the show, which is so cool to see given the big names attached to the project. With Machete he has created one of the most badass heroes of our time and forces us all to ponder one question ; why did it take so long for someone to turn this grizzled ex-con into a full blown action hero?

It's kinda funny because as I sit here and type up my thoughts on the movie, they're exactly the thoughts I expected to someday type up the minute it was announced that the faux Grindhouse trailer was being turned into a real feature length film. Honestly, before I even saw it, hell before it was even actually made, I was pretty much 100% certain that Machete was gonna kick some serious ass, based solely on that fake trailer that we all hoped would one day become a reality. As I fully expected, the now real movie is exactly the movie I pictured in my head after that trailer played during Grindhouse and it delivers every single thing myself or anyone could possibly expect or want it to bring to the table. In other words, if you dug that original fake trailer, which I assume pretty much everyone reading this right now did, you are going to absolutely LOVE every gory, sexy and kickass second of Machete. Again, I personally guarantee that every member of the target audience will.

Go see Machete and go see it with a jam packed audience. In terms of pure fun and entertainment, it may well be the best movie of the year.

Viva La Machete!

I'm Back....And So Are The Douche Brothers!

mortis45@aol.com (Johnny) — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 21:08:00 +0000

While I wouldn't exactly say that Jen and I are fully settled into the new house, we officially moved in yesterday and spent our first night here last night - it was quite strange and will definitely take some getting used to! We've still got a lot of painting and moving things around to do (both of our entire lives are still pretty much packed in boxes in the garage), but all the essentials are in place ; the TV and computer are hooked up (thanks dad!) and the fridge is stocked with cheap beer - what more do ya need?!

Now that i'm finally back behind a computer screen - a few days without it felt like an eternity (sad, huh?) - we can now begin to return to business as usual with the blog! So lets do that, shall we?

Around this time in 2008, best pals Adam Green (Hatchet/Frozen) and Joe Lynch (Wrong Turn 2), two guys i'm a huge fan and supporter of, began a series of shorts called The Road To FrightFest - which they showed throughout the week of the UK's FrightFest Film Festival. Essentially the video series consisted of them attempting to make their way to the festival, leaving hilarity, cameos and many a horror movie reference in their wake. Dubbing themselves The Douche Brothers, Green and Lynch utitlized their incredible hetero lifemate chemistry and vast knowledge of dick jokes and horror flicks to create some pretty fuckin' funny shit, all while spoofing and homaging Twilight Zone : The Movie. The Douche Brothers returned last year with an equally hilarious and entertaining series of videos, this time with an American Werewolf In London theme, being that that movie was shown up on the big screen at the festival. Well FrightFest 2010 just took place last week and yet another series of Road To FrightFest videos was shown, which has just made their way onto Green's Ariescope Pictures website. Spoofing The Blair Witch Project, Green and Lynch find themselves stuck out in the woods of Maryland, yet again failing to make their way to the festival - a festival that they both in actuality attended, with Green premiering Hatchet 2 to a jam packed audience.

I strongly urge you to head over to Ariescope Pictures to check out this year's Road To FrightFest series. And if you somehow missed the ones from years past, you can also see them in the same spot - click 'shorts' and then 'television and more'. Go...NOW!

If you like me are big time fans of these guys, here's some other cool shit for you to check out!

- Over at Lynch's blog Transmissions and Confessions From a Mad World, you can get day by day progress of his next film Knights of Badassdom, which recently finished shooting. Lynch also updates regularly with pictures and stories from his life.

- Hatchet 2 will hit AMC theatres FULLY UNCUT on October 1st of this year and you can pick up the first Hatchet on Blu-ray next Tuesday. Just a few weeks later, on September 28th, Green's Frozen comes to both DVD and Blu-ray - if you didn't get the chance to see it during its limited theatrical run, don't miss it this time around!

Douche Brothers, thank you for all the entertainment and laughs you have provided us all over the years.

Scream Queens Season 2 Exclusive Update - Allison Kyler

mortis45@aol.com (Johnny) — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 01:44:00 +0000

It's Monday night, which means it's time for a new episode of Scream Queens Season 2! But before you watch tonight's episode (which show judge Tim Sullivan has called his favorite of the entire season), I wanted to give you a brief little update on last week's castoff - something I hope to do with all of the remaining girls who get the boot for the rest of the season, whenever it's possible for me to do so. Surely you've wondered to yourself what these lovely ladies do once they get the axe from the show, as I myself often do, so i've decided to take it upon myself to fill ya in!

Last week, Allison Kyler got ousted from the show and she was awesome enough to write up a little update for Freddy In Space to fill you guys in with what she's been up to since leaving the show.

Since leaving Scream Queens I went to Madrid and shot a commercial with Shakira for the European car company SEAT, a movie I did called Maneater starring Dean Cain got distribution through Lionsgate and I did a guest star on ABC Family's Greek. And just today one of my original songs "Don't Tell Me" is a finalist for "Best Song" at Shriek Fest. I was upset to leave Scream Queens so early but it has been a great platform for my career and to build a fan base. And I learned so much on the show in such a short amount of time that i'm just able to apply to my career now. Also a interview I did with VH1 just posted to their website today.

Check out the video for "Don't Tell Me" below!

Thank you so much Allison. You rock and we all sincerely wish you the best in all your future endeavours.

I leave you with a little fun fact ; Allison played a dancer in 2008's Prom Night remake!

Just a Heads Up

mortis45@aol.com (Johnny) — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 21:49:00 +0000

I've mentioned a few times recently that Jen and I are going to be moving into our own place soon and I just wanted to elaborate on that being that the big move day is looking like it's gonna be tommorow....

For the past several years, my brother has lived at a house a few minutes away from my parents house (where Jen and I currently live - Jen moved in with my family after her mom passed away around this time last year), which my dad owns and rented out to him. A few weeks back he got the call that he landed a job as a court officer (following in my dad's footsteps), a result of a test he took a few years back, which means he will be in the academy for a couple more months and then will get a job somewhere up there afterwards. Rather than renting out the vacant house to strangers, my dad decided to cut Jen and I a deal and offer it up to us, which we more than graciously accepted. Tommorow, we officially begin the long and arduous process of moving in.

**To anyone that has my current address, feel free to continue sending anything you may want to send to that one, being that i'll still probably get the majority of my mail sent there. If you'd like the new one, let me know**

Being that I have lived at my childhood home my entire life, this is a bit strange and overwhelming at times for me, but it's also really exciting. Jen, on the other hand, has moved several times in her life so this isn't so strange for her, but we definetly share in the excitement part of it. We both have a ton of shit to move and a lot of painting and cleaning up to do, but once we get settled in it's gonna be pretty awesome to have our own place (Halloween all year round!) and to officially begin our lives as adults ; paying rent, splitting bills, buying groceries, doing dishes, and all that good stuff.

Just wanted to make this quick post to let you guys know that I probably won't be updating as much as usual for the next week or so. We've got a lot of stuff to do, on top of both of us working Monday through Friday, so i'm not gonna have much time to blog until we get settled in - not to mention I may not have my computer up and running for a couple days. Once we do get settled in, it'll be back to business as usual and in fact I will have more time than ever to post, being that i'll have my own little office in the new place. Got a lot of exciting stuff planned in the near future, both on the blog front and otherwise, which you'll read about real soon.

In the meantime, enjoy your weekend and go see The Last Exorcism - which I will hopefully get around to doing (and reviewing) at some point in the near future. See ya real soon!

Thank You, Mj Smith!

mortis45@aol.com (Johnny) — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 14:42:00 +0000

I feel like I say this all the time, but I have some of the best readers in the world. Case in point, the package I just received in the mail from UK reader Mj Smith, containing two graphic novels that he decided to pass onto me instead of selling them on eBay.

Mj, thank you for your overwhelming generosity and kindness. I will have reviews of both of these up when I get around to reading them!

DEMONS ... 3?!

mortis45@aol.com (Johnny) — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 03:16:00 +0000

Arrow Video just issued a press release today stating that later this year, they will release a UK DVD package containing all new transfers of cult classics Demons and Demons 2, which will feature brand new special features, reversible artwork and a double sided poster. But perhaps the most exciting news about this epic release is that it will come packaged with a sequel to the flicks, in the form of a comic book. Here's the full scoop!

Arrow Video are proud to announce that in 2010 they will bring to DVD all-new transfers of the classic Dario Argento produced and Lamberto Bava directed horror classic – Demons and Demons 2. Included within each DVD package will be all-new extra features specially shot for the releases plus a two-part comic book sequel – Demons 3!

DEMONS 3: Not 'The Ogre’. Not 'The Church’. Not even 'Black Demons’! For the first time ever, Arrow Video present an original sequel to the cult classics. It is the 16th Century, the time of the plague in Southern France. Amid the carnage, a new evil is starting to take form and only one man can see it. That man is Nostradamus, but are his horrid visions of the future signs of what will come to pass? Can he stop the Demons from entering into our world? An all new epic tale of demonic dismemberment brought to you from the writing team of Stefan Hutchinson and Barry Keating, with artwork by Jeff Zornow and Marcus Smith!

Being that this is a UK release, those of us in the states will need a region free player to watch the discs - I personally have had one for years so that I can get releases such as this one. If you don't have one, why not just buy the release for the comic sequel itself, which may alone be worth the price of admission! Better yet, just crack your damn DVD player already....

For more information, head over to the official website for the release and to see sneak preview images of the prelude to the comic, check out artist Jeff Zornow's blog Zornow Must Be Destroyed!. Keep your eyes peeled on both sites for a release date announcement in the near future.

Monster Mania 15 Recap : Part 3 - The Merch!

mortis45@aol.com (Johnny) — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 21:35:00 +0000

One of the highlights of every horror convention is the massive dealer room, chock full of horror related treats. This room is like the best yard sale on earth, stuffed with both low priced goodies that you are usually only able to find online as well as one of a kind handmade items your eyes have never gazed upon before. As is always the case at these things, I saw many a familiar face in the dealer room this past weekend, peddling the same stuff i've seen them peddling a dozen times before. But I also saw a lot of new vendors this time around, many of them with really creative and unique custom items. A few hundred dollars later, here's what Jen and I emerged with .....

One of the coolest new dealers to the Monster Mania scene is Martha Rotten, a woman who we first saw at Monster Mania 14. Martha hand casts things such as skulls, creepy doll heads and teeth in pewter and turns them into kitchen utensils, jewelry, accessories and various other giftwares. Jen and I both had our eyes on these salt and pepper shakers all weekend and finally broke down and split the cost on them come Saturday night. We had been looking for cool salt and pepper shakers to outfit the new house and I don't think there are cooler ones in existence!

Sourpuss Clothing is another favorite vendor that we always end up buying a couple things from. This kitchen mitt and pot holder set is something we've had our eyes on for a while. This is gonna be one badass kitchen!

Jen picked up these two shirts - a Merlotte's Bar and Grill tee for only 10 bucks and the Fright Rags What Would Jason Do? women's tee. Can't leave Monster Mania without something from Fright Rags!

These little handmade out of string keychains are something i've always gotten a kick out of, ever since we got a Freddy one from the same guys a couple years back. For the life of me I once again cannot remember the name of the company that makes them (sorry guys!), but i've only seen them at conventions so i'm not sure they're for sale online.

Something about unopened packs of Fright Flicks trading cards makes me very happy. Probably because they remind me of my childhood. I plan on keeping these suckers in the packages and displaying them in the house on little mini easels. That may sound a little weird to some of you, but for whatever reason I get a smile on my face whenever I look at these things and so I want them front and center in my home!

Free shit from Dread Central! Dread Central always goes out of their way to get cool promotional goodies to giveaway free to convention goers and I can't thank them enough for that. Something apparently went down with the guy who runs the table each and every time, Paul Nicholasi (writer for Dread Central), that resulted in him and the entire table getting booted from the convention either Friday night or early Saturday. I don't know all the details, but I hope everything's ok and I hope Paul is at future Monster Mania's, as he's a hell of a nice guy who I always like seeing there. Check out Paul's action figure site Idle Hands.

Oh by the way, that deflated flat thing is a Piranha 3D promotional beach ball!

Speaking of freebies, the folks from new horror site Zomba's Horror Channel had a table and were handing out homeade Zombie Survival Kit's to promote the site. Inside each kit was a match, a glowstick, a protective glove, a hand sanitizer, a band-aid, and a promo sticker and flyer. Pretty awesome little idea and I will definitely be checking out the site thanks to this creative promotion!

Due to the all rules go out the window mentality of horror cons, one can always find tons of awesome bootleg DVD's of titles that either aren't out yet or were never put on DVD. I picked up the entire Goosebumps series (all 74 episodes) for a mere 35 bucks as well as the new titles I'll Never Die Alone (hot chicks get revenge on rapists) and Backwoods Bloodbath (kids in woods get murdered by some kind of creature). I had never heard of either title before and I can't wait to check 'em out. Reviews to come soon!

Back to the handmade side of things, Jen scored these kickass earrings and Frankenstein magnet from an awesome dude named Mike Smash, who specializes in custom dolls depicting various horror movie characters and death metal icons. Mike doesn't have a site up yet but when he does, i'll be sure to let ya know about it. For now, you can friend him on Facebook to see some of his stuff.

My very own Elvira! I will try to resist the urge to take her out of the package and fondle her....

Can you tell that I have a hardcore crush on the Mistress of the Dark? This art print is from artist Joel Robinson, who I met in the hotel bar on Friday night. Joel is a staff artist for my favorite horror mag out there, HorrorHound. Cool dude and great artist.

Terry Callen is another artist i'm a big fan of, and one i'm happy to call a friend. I first met Terry at the Fright Rags Rochester event and we hit it off immediately, ensuring that we will share many an adult beverage together in the future. I picked up this kickass art print, a t-shirt he designed, and his comic book Sick as a Dog, which was written by Night of the Living Dead : Reanimated curator Mike Schneider. Terry's company is called Screaming Brain Studio and he's got a lot of awesome stuff both available for purchase and in the works, including shirts, posters and a model kit based on one of his designs. I hope to someday in the near future collaborate with Terry on a comic book - ya hear that, Callen?!

These two limited run prints were hand crafted by Jason Edmiston, another incredibly talented and cool as hell dude I met at the same Rochester event. This is now the fourth piece of his work I own and I cannot wait to hang all of them in the new crib. You can bet your ass that the bubble bath Creature From The Black Lagoon piece is going in the bathroom!

Met Rob Dimension, late night horror host, through various mutual friends and he gave me this DVD of a couple episodes of his show Late Night at the Horror Hotel. Looking forward to checking it out and i'll let ya know how it is. Thanks Rob!

Jen's a big time Frankenstein fan and I bought her this oldschool little flashlight keychain - under the condition that she keep him in the package. Being that the almost 20 year old thing no longer lights up, I don't think that should be too hard for her to do.

This is a piece of Freddy merch i've been dying to get my hands on for years now and for the price of a mere 10 bucks, I snatched it up at first sight of it. It appears to have all the pieces and I can't wait to play, realize how horrible it is, and then use it as a nice display piece in the house.

This little doll with her brain exposed was purchased from the same dude who sold me the board game, for a single dollar. He's a makeup/custom design artist who calls himself Doctor Spookenstein and both Jen and I were shocked that he was giving his creation away for such a cheap price - in fact, everything at his table was super cheap. Jen totally fell in love with her, got her signed by the artist, we named her Ophelia, and we now live happily ever after with our new spawn.

*This image doesn't do the poster much justice. I didn't want to unroll the thing until i'm ready to put it up and it's way too big to take a picture of anyway. This image I found on Google is pretty much what the poster looks like, except it says Nightmare On Elm Street Part 5 : The Dream Child on it. And it's much much bigger and wider*

I saved this one for last both because it is probably my favorite thing that I purchased at the convention and because it was the last thing I bought, early on Sunday morning. I had never before in my life seen this poster, probably because it's from the UK, and I knew I had to have it the second I laid eyes on it. When I spotted it on Sunday, the guy who was selling it had not yet set up his table for the day and we were heading back home in just a few minutes, so I was afraid I was gonna miss out on it. Thankfully, he showed up in the nick of time and sold it to me for 25 bucks.

Pretty proud of this haul!

Good Morning!

mortis45@aol.com (Johnny) — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 12:08:00 +0000

Just a little something to perk your tired ass up this morning....

Enjoy the day!

Monster Mania 15 : The Corey Haim Tribute Video

mortis45@aol.com (Johnny) — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 04:24:00 +0000

This past Saturday night at Monster Mania 15, there was a special musical tribute to Corey Haim, which featured a video compilation of pictures fans took with Haim during his Monster Mania visit shortly before his death. I unfortunately missed out on the event, but the tribute video has surfaced online and I wanted to share it with those of you who either were at the convention and missed seeing it or were not able to attend.

While I was at the Monster Mania that Haim was at, I didn't meet him, but I did see him in the lobby interacting with his many fans throughout the weekend, which he genuinely seemed to enjoy doing. Though he certaintly looked a bit worse for wear, he seemed to be in great spirits, as you will see by the many photos in the video.

Monster Mania 15 Recap : Part 2 - The Celebs!

mortis45@aol.com (Johnny) — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 23:08:00 +0000

**CLICK HERE FOR PART 1 OF THE RECAP!**

Though I didn't meet most of the stars at the show, including main draws John Carpenter and the cast from Boondock Saints, there were a few people who I just had to meet this past weekend. Here are my experiences with the woman who gave Crispin Glover a run for his money in the 'Best Friday The 13th Dance Scene' category, the scariest character of all time, and the sexiest on-screen tranny the world has ever known!

TIFFANY HELM

Pretty soon after we headed down into the thick of things on Friday, Kristy Jett introduced myself, Jen and Terry Callen (above) to Tiffany Helm - Violet from Friday Part 5 - which resulted in one of my favorite memories from the weekend. Kristy convinced Tiffany to do her famous dance from Friday 5, which Terry joined her in - Jen and I were far too sober for any dancing, but I do regret not taking part. Thankfully, this moment was captured on film!

Big thanks to Michael Perez for filming and uploading this video

Though I never would've known if ya hadn't told me that the woman standing in front of me was the same girl who played the blonde Violet in the flick, I gotta say, Tiffany has remained a pretty sexy lady over the years. She's also an incredibly nice woman - everytime I walked past her during the weekend, she would go out of her way to wave to me. I unfortunately did not take a picture with her, but hopefully our paths cross again at a future convention so I can do so.

FELISSA ROSE

I met Felissa way back at a Horrorfind Weekend convention several years ago and decided to meet her again this past weekend so that I could get my Sleepaway Camp Survival Kit DVD signed.

"To John - Great meeting you at Monster Mania! <3 Felissa Rose"

As always, Felissa was incredibly nice and as beautiful as ever. At one point she asked all of the fans lined up at her table to take a picture with her, saying that she doesn't get to do conventions often enough and wanted to capture the moment. When Jen and I got up to the table, she thanked us for taking part in the picture. Hoping this shot surfaces at some point soon.

ANDREW HUBATSEK

Going into the convention, Andrew Hubatsek is the person I wanted to meet the most. You wouldn't be able to tell by looking at him, but Andrew played one of the scariest characters in the history of horror - the female Zelda from Pet Sematary! Andrew was one of the nicest guys i've ever met at a convention and, this being his very first convention, he seemed genuinely shocked that people wanted to meet him and that so many were so scared by him in the movie. We chatted for a couple minutes about how scary Zelda is, why she's so scary, and how unscary of a dude the man behind the spinal meningitis ridden creature is.

"I'm coming for you John! 'Zelda' Andrew Hubatsek"

Later in the night we checked out the first half of the Pet Sematary panel, which featured Denise Crosby (Rachel), Dale Midkiff (Louis), Miko Hughes (Gage), Brad Greenquist (Victor Pascow) and Hubatsek. It was nice to hear the whole cast speak so highly of the late Fred Gywnne (Jud/Herman Munster) and it was interesting to see what everyone looks like nowadays - Denise is sexier than she was over 20 years ago, Miko has grown into a pretty handsome dude (though still quite short!), and though Brad Greenquist has packed on some years and a few pounds, he still looks eerily like the bloody visage of Victor Pascow.

Couple other little celeb notes ....

Also looking better than ever were Lisa Wilcox (Alice from Dream Child) and Betsy Russel (Jigsaw's wife from the Saw franchise), though I didn't meet them. On the flip side of the coin was Marta Kober (Sandra from Friday Part 2), who the years haven't been all that kind to - and i'll leave it at that.

Piranha 3D - The Ultimate SyFy Original Picture

mortis45@aol.com (Johnny) — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 21:47:00 +0000

There are two kinds of horror movies in this world - the serious ones and the fun ones. Most of them aren't sure which they want to be, which results in neither a fun movie nor one you can enjoy on any serious level. Piranha 3D is the rare exception that not only knows exactly what it wants to be, but embraces what kind of movie it is to the fullest extent and manages to deliver every single thing that anyone going to see such a movie would want - in copious amounts. From the very start, which features the best cameo since Bill Murray popped up in Zombieland, to the end, which sets up for a super sized sequel (which has already been greenlit), Piranha 3D is absolutely the most fun time i've had at the theatre this year and that's a sentiment that I would quite frankly be shocked to not hear echoed from each and every person that goes to the theatre to see it. In fact, i'd go so far as to say that the only way you could come out of the theatre not feeling like you got your moneys worth from it is if you have no interest in seeing what the film promises to show you ; oodles of fully naked ladies getting ripped to shreds by razor toothed piranha. If that sounds good to you, then I can 100% guarantee that every penny you spend on your ticket will be well worth it. If it doesn't, then your ass belongs nowhere near any screen showing the movie.

It's amazing how few filmmakers these days seem to be able to figure out what us horror fans want from a movie of this sort. I can't tell you how many horror flicks of this ilk I see a year that totally skimp on both gore and nudity - the two essential ingredients in such a film. Why is it so hard for filmmakers to realize that this is what we want to see? We're a pretty easy group of moviegoer to please and yet so rarely are we actually pleased. What the fuck's up with that?! Much like a film like Hatchet, Piranha 3D is totally aware of what we want and expect from it and it gives us both of those afformentioned ingredients to such a massive extent that ensures nobody can complain about a lack of either of them. I'm not saying every horror movie needs buckets of blood and loads of fake unclothed tits but sometimes that is all that's needed and if there ever was a time where it was needed, it's when a Roger Corman produced B-movie about killer fish is being remade. Thank you Alexandre Aja for understanding this and for giving us precisely what we wanted. In my eyes you have totally redeemed yourself for Mirrors and have solidified yourself as the reigning king of the horror remake.

Horror movies of decades past used to be so much fun, and Piranha 3D is a little throwback to those days, the days where nudity and gore co-existed for one purpose and one purpose only - to entertain us. Much like many of those movies, it's corny at times (in a hilariously brilliant move, it is a single beer bottle that causes the piranha to be unearthed), but it knows this and it releshes in this fact, so don't you dare try and hold that against it. Piranha 3D aims to be the movie that every SyFy original picture wants to be and it succeeds admirably in that task. I cannot recommend enough that you see it.

By the way just want to mention that I saw the film in 2D, being that those 3D glasses always give me a headache. Never have bought into the gimmick and never will, but i'm sure another level of fun will be added to the proceedings for those of you who are not aggravated by the glasses. Prepare for plenty of boobs, plenty of blood, plenty of piranha and even a shredded up regurgitated penis to come flying right at ya!

Zombo's Closet Presents : Halloween In August

mortis45@aol.com (Johnny) — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 05:00:00 +0000

Throughout the month of August, John Cozzoli has been running a feature called "My Halloween" over at his blog Zombo's Closet of Horror, wherein he asks people from the horror community five questions based around Halloween, intended to figure out what exactly the holiday means to each of those folks. John reached out to me to answer the questions and he just posted my answers while I was away this past weekend. Head over to Zombo's Closet of Horror to find out my earliest Halloween memories, my ideal Halloween, and what i'm gonna be doing to celebrate this year!

Monster Mania 15 Recap : Part 1!

mortis45@aol.com (Johnny) — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 21:45:00 +0000

***For more pictures from the event, head over to this post***

As is usually the case with most fun events, horror conventions always seem to go by way too fast. One minute you are departing for the hotel, a departure you have been waiting months for, and the next you're arriving back home, wondering where the hell the weekend went. Never have I wondered this more than yesterday, coming back home from Monster Mania 15 in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. While we - 'we' being the ragtag group of myself, Jen and my parents - spent the entire weekend there, Friday afternoon through Sunday afternoon, I feel like we barely even got a chance to get settled in, which i'd have to attribute to the fact that we had so many people to hang out with and so much to do in such a short period of time. When I used to go to horror conventions back in the day, I would wander alone around the lobby, knowing NOBODY. Nowadays, I seem to know pretty much everybody in the hotel at any given point, and it's really awesome to see how much the place has become a second home to me and how many of those convention regulars have become friends of mine. It's truly a beautiful thing and a place I totally belong.

Jen & Myself

This particular convention experience was not filled with a plethora of celebrity encounters - I didn't party in Romero's room or do shots with Derek Mears, as I have in the past - but rather with hanging out with and meeting friends both new and old. Hell, I only met three of the stars there and only checked out half of one event! Most of my time was spent shopping around in the dealer room and hanging out in the bar with some of the coolest people on the planet. Truth be told, shooting the shit over a couple drinks with someone who shares the same interests as you do beats waiting on a line to get an 8x10 inked by John Carpenter anyday for me, no disrespect to JC.

Jen and my favorite costume of the weekend, The Tarman

So while I don't have too many wild stories to tell this time, I do want to talk about the awesome folks I hung out with, the kickass merch I got, and the few celebrities I did get around to meeting, which I will split up into three seperate posts throughout the week. First, here's a general little overview of the weekend, which may be a little boring to some considering it excludes any celebrity encounters and all of the awesome goodies I purchased!

After a traffic filled 4 or so hour drive, and after picking up a bunch of beer from the nearby Wine Legend, we arrived at our home away from home at the Crowne Plaza Cherry Hill and were immediately welcomed home with open arms by Kristy Jett, who came up to our room, said her hello's, and then asked my parents if they'd adopt her - i'm pretty sure she is now my sister. It was a few hours before the 5 o'clock opening of the dealer and autograph rooms, so we had a few beers and got a bit settled in before heading down to pick up our tickets. The hotel lobby during Monster Mania is a place that I try not to enter without a few beers in my system, thanks to my nerves and general awkwardness. It's filled with my kinda people and I totally feel comfortable and at home there, I just need a beer or two to take some of the edge off and fully come out of my little shell. It's a lot to take in, no matter how many times you've been to the rodeo! Hm, the subject of beer is just about a perfect segue into Enter The Man Cave's Geofree Capodanno and his friend Dan Petrucci, two guys who snuck their very own mini fridge up to their room on Thursday night for the very purposes of having cold beers whenever they got thirsty!

Geof, Jen, Me, Dan

We met up with Geof and Dan at the last Monster Mania and ended up getting pretty drunk with them, which caused us to miss out on several events and panels that day. But again, that's the kinda shit i'd rather be doing anyway, and we had a hell of a good time. Jen and I had been looking forward to hanging out with them again for quite some time and i'm happy to say we picked up right where we left off, without missing a beat. By the time we got there Dan was pretty trashed, so we all played catch-up in an attempt to reach the insane amounts of fun that he seemed to be having. I try to take it easy Friday nights so that i'm not hungover and feeling like shit come Saturday, but it pretty quickly looked like that mission was going to become a failed one. Jen and I grabbed our first of many Philly cheesteak's of the weekend, some delicious deep fried broccoli bites (get us that recipe Geof, please!), a couple Blue Moon's (in fact we ended up having so many that the hotel totally ran out of Blue Moon by Saturday!), and then the four of us headed into the dealer and autograph rooms, but not before Dan went up to their room two different times in an attempt to get his weekend pass - he was distracted by beer the first time and totally forgot to get the thing he went up there for. It's hard to convey this to those who haven't met him, but Dan is one hilarious dude who never fails to crack me up. The sight of him walking into the hotel bar, pockets stuffed with Corona's, no weekend pass around his neck, is one I will never forget.

The dealer room is where met up with Kristy, Ben and Tim from Fright Rags, brilliant artist Jason Edmiston, Terry Callen from Screaming Brain Studio and Sean Jordan from VHSPS - all friends that we hung out with during our Rochester expedition a month or so back. They were all running tables in the dealer room, so we all agreed to meet up in the bar later in the night for the real fun. Bummed around the dealer room, drunk bought a ton of stuff (more on that later!), checked out the autograph room (more on that later!), and before we knew it it was night time, time to hit the bars.

Terry, Jill, Kristy, Jen, Me, Dan

Friday night tends to be the more laid back of nights, with not many events aside from film screenings going on, so we were in the bar most of the night drinking with Terry, his awesome wife Jill, his friend Jeff Salisbury, and Kristy - Geof and Dan ended up going up to their room and calling it a night a bit earlier, ensuring they were well rested for Saturday's madness. We ended up hanging in the bar with our crew till around midnight and then Jen, Kristy and I went up to the Fright Rags room to hang out for a bit with those guys and Jason Edmiston. I wish I remembered the dude's name, but there was a guy in the joining room to theirs that had a whole bunch of custom busts he made on display, including one that looked so much like Victor Pascow from Pet Sematary that it creeped me the hell out. In any event, we were pretty tired at this point, so we headed back down to our room for sleep before long.

Saturday morning. A bit hungover. My body and pounding head, knowing better than to fail me on such an important day as this, choose to miraculously heal themselves. A glass of wine helps me get back into the swing of things. Back down to the lobby for more fun!

Jen and a really creepy Mad Hatter

When we got down there, Geof and Dan were already waiting in line to meet Carpenter, which they valiantly spent several hours of that day doing. I, on other hand, chose not to spend half of my day waiting on a line - again, no disrespect to JC, as I would've loved to have met him and seen his beautiful head of hair in person. Later in the day Sean from VHSPS told me that the line to meet him was really short, so Jen and I fled over there to seize the once in a lifetime opportunity, but by the time we got up to his room the line had already been cut off. Can't blame anyone but myself!

Bought more shit, met a couple celebs, and then met up with Adam Barnick, a buddy of mine who I met through our mutual street team style promoting of Paul Solet's Grace last year. Adam writes for Icons of Fright and is also a filmmaker, editor and writer who directed all the special features for the Grace and Frozen DVD's. I had met Adam only briefly once before, so it was cool to actually get the chance to really hang out and talk. We walked around the con for a bit together and then went our seperate ways, promising to meet in the bar later in the night for some more hanging - which we did (Jager shots!). Again we spent most of the night in the bar, drinking with our little crew, having a hell of a time.

Oh, and there was another thing that went down that night, something that I was unjustifiably nervous about all weekend - an on camera interview with Enter The Man Cave. Geof wrote up a couple little funny questions, which he intended on asking some of the bloggers in the house. Once I was suitably drunk, we went up to Geof's room and did the interview and it ended up being a lot of fun, though i'm not sure how bad I will end up coming off once the video surfaces on his site. I'm pretty certain I bashed Fangoria and said i'd take Jen, cheap beer and Kristy Jett with me on a desert island if I could only take three things - should at least make for a pretty funny interview, though it confirmed my suspicions that I don't belong in front of any camera, anywhere, at any time.

After the bar closed, Geof, Dan, Kristy, Jen, Sean from VHSPS, artist Jeff Zornow (he does many of the Fright Rags designs), longtime convention pals Dallas and Curtis and myself hung out on a couch in the lobby, where we spent the remainder of the night. Jen and I were armed with our trademark flask of blackberry brandy - a tradition of ours whenever we go out to an event - and I offered Zornow a sip, which led to one of the funniest moments of the weekend. He took a swig and then a horrible expression appeared on his face, wherein he then spit some of the goods out. Turns out he thought I had something manly like Jack Daniels in there and was quite surprised to find brandy flowing down his throat. I believe he said something to the effect of, "you better go tell your dad your gay" - implying that that would be the only way to explain me drinking blackberry brandy. I think he was more serious than joking, but it was hilarious nonetheless. Zornow is far too talented for me to do anything but laugh when he graces me with an insult!

We left early Sunday afternoon, after making a few last purchases to ensure I left without a single penny, so that about rounds up the general recap of events. Do want to give some quick shoutouts though, to a couple really cool people.

- Jordan Garren from B-Movie Film Vault and his friend Greg Doolittle, who does a hell of a Jack Torrance impression. These are two guys we met in Rochester last month and it was awesome to see them again, though we never really got the chance to hang out too much, aside from a couple quick hello's. Plenty of time for that in the future though!

- Jay Amabile from The Sexy Armpit. Again, didn't get to hang out with Jay much, as we caught him just as he was heading out. Cool to finally meet ya Jay and I look forward to hanging in the future.

Gene, Dee, and my parents - Tom and Barbara (aka Little Barb)

- And finally, a staple of Monster Mania - Chris Uschak. Chris is at every Monster Mania, usually decked out in full kickass Freddy gear, and I finally got to meet and chat with him, sans makeup this past weekend. Turns out Chris actually reads my little blog and it also turns out he's a really awesome guy. On Friday night he was dressed as Freddy and on Saturday night he donned the Gene Simmons Kiss gear. Chris, you rock and it's people like you who go all out that make weekend's like this one truly special. Monster Mania just wouldn't be Monster Mania without ya! Definitely plan on doing some kind of interview with Chris in the future.

Not to end things on a sour note, but there is one little problem I had with the convention that i'd like to address .....

Though Monster Mania is consistently the most fun and best horror convention i've been to, there was one thing that was a tad bit different and less fun about this one - the security. Though i've never seen any fights or trouble in my years of attending, the security was beefed up big time this time around, and they were being a bit too strict at times. At one point, sitting in the lobby, Jen had her foot barely resting on a coffee table and one of the security dicks came over and told her to take her foot off the table. It was nothing extreme, I just hope that in the future the convention doesn't lose the laid back free-for-all vibe that has always made it so much fun. I understand that the security was brought in to keep everything drama free, but i'd just hate to see it become a more organized and less spontaneous convention than it usually is. *Cough* Weekend of Horrors *Cough*.

Oh and by the way, some drunk fool apparently pulled a fire alarm around 4 in the morning on Sunday, which caused the fire trucks to come and the hotel to be evacuated. Well, that was the idea at least. Turns out myself, Jen, my parents and a ton of other convention goers slept right through the fire alarms, and were nestled comfortably in our beds while tons of others were evacuated. Where were you then, security?! If that had been a real fire, many of us would likely have perished! I suggest you look into the effectiveness of those alarms, Crowne Plaza...

Tommorow - the rundown of celebrity encounters!

Wednesday - the merch!

Stay tuned!

Well That Went By Way Too Quickly...

mortis45@aol.com (Johnny) — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 00:31:00 +0000

Back home from Monster Mania, as quickly as we left. Had the time of my life, as I always do there. Full recap tommorow. In the meantime, here are some pictures to tide ya over!

It's That Time Again....

mortis45@aol.com (Johnny) — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 03:52:00 +0000

Horror convention season is in full swing and the first stop is Monster Mania 15, this weekend in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. Here is just a small list of things that are in store for me this weekend!

Fright Rags
Philly Cheesesteaks
Cheap Beer
Geofree Capodanno & Dan Petrucci
Kristy Jett
Pet Sematary Reunion (Zelda!)
Elevator Rides With Personal Heroes
Meeting New Friends
John Carpenter
VHSPS
Terry Callen
Free Goodies From Dread Central
Spending Far Too Much Money On Far Too Much Cool Merch

I LIVE FOR THIS SHIT.

I better get packing. See ya next week for a full weeklong recap of what is sure to be an epic weekend. And make sure to become a fan of Freddy In Space on Facebook, as that will be the spot where I will post little updates/cool goings on throughout the weekend!

Victor Crowley Is Back! Hatchet 2 Teaser Hits The Net!!

mortis45@aol.com (Johnny) — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 00:26:00 +0000

It's gonna be one Happy Fuckin' Halloween ....

Hatchet 2 hits AMC theatres October 1st, in its complete UNRATED form! Green has promised that the sequel to his gory little movie that could will be twice as brutal and twice as awesome as the first time he took us into the swamp, and I for one cannot fuckin' wait.

With the first Hatchet going hi-def on September 7th and Frozen hitting both DVD and Blu just a few weeks later on the 28th, it's a hell of a time to be an Adam Green fan!

Blood Sprayer! Women In Horror Week!

mortis45@aol.com (Johnny) — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 03:31:00 +0000

Just wanted to pop on during a Forensic Files commercial break to let you guys know that Women In Horror Week is currently in full gear through this Sunday over at The Blood Sprayer and that I just posted my contribution for the week, a bit of a love note to an incredible zine I discovered several months back, AX WOUND. I had been meaning to make a post about the zine on here for a while now but never got around to it. Now seemed like the perfect time to write it up.

Click the link above to check out my post and all of the Women In Horror Week posts that have been posted thus far and keep your eyes on Blood Sprayer for more women in horror fun all week!

A Freddy In Space Exclusive World Premiere Music Video : Avenged Sevenfold Meets Freddy Krueger!

mortis45@aol.com (Johnny) — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 02:42:00 +0000

I've got some pretty kickass readers and one of those readers is Dustin Sain, a dude who has contributed a bunch of awesome tidbits to the blog in the past. Hell, he even has his own tag label at this point. Well the other day I got an e-mail from Dustin that contained a video he edited together that he decided he wanted to premiere right here on Freddy In Space. After being totally blown away by the video, I was more than thrilled and honored to grant him these wishes. Without further adieu, here is the world premiere of Dustin Sain's Elm Street compilation video, set to the tune of Avenged Sevenfold's new single Nightmare. Story goes that upon hearing the new song, Dustin was immediately reminded of the Elm Street franchise. 20-30 hours of editing time later, he emerged with this incredible video. Enjoy.

If you dig the video, spread it around!

Exclusive Interview : 'Montauk Chronicles' Director Christopher Garetano

mortis45@aol.com (Johnny) — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 21:50:00 +0000

Back in the 70's, some pretty strange shit is alleged to have gone down not far from where I currently sit. Serious shit involving aliens, time travel and mind control. Although a book has been written on the subject by one of the men who claims to have experienced these things firsthand, a movie about Long Island's very own Area 51 has never been made - until now.

Christopher P. Garetano, the man behind 2005's festival hit Horror Business, recently completed a documentary exploring these Montauk Project legends. Being that i'm highly fascinated by conspiracy theories and that this one hits pretty close to home - Montauk is about an hour away from my place of residence - I just had to contact Chris and find out more about the project, his experiences making it, and whether or not he believes the stunning allegations to be true. What transpired was an utterly fascinating discourse about an utterly fascinating topic, which I am now happy to present to you.

FREDDY IN SPACE : Tell us a little bit about the film, the tales it is based upon, and how you got involved with it all.

CHRISTOPHER GARETANO : In 2006, I was touring my first documentary (Horror Business) in film festivals and the idea of making a movie about Montauk was suggested by a friend who knew I was from Long Island. I wasn't too hip on the idea at first, and in the 90's I read the most popular book on the subject (The Montauk Project : by Peter Moon & Preston Nichols) and I didn't feel there was much to it. The book just wasn't very convincing for me. In my opinion it was a collage of the most run of the mill science fiction and it wasn't calling me to make a picture about it. It basically focused on a group of men who claim that (in the 1970's) they were all part of secret experiments conducted deep beneath the (now defunct) Camp Hero Air Force Base in Montauk, New York. Everything from mind control and time travel to extraterrestrial contact was said to have occurred at Camp Hero. I did continue to think about the possibility of making a film that would examine the men who claim that the stories are actually true. That's what fascinated me the most about all of this, and if I could get inside their homes and see how they live (while they tell the stories) than maybe we can capture something compelling enough to make a movie about.

FIS : Judging by the trailer, the film appears to be equal parts documentary and recreation. Is this accurate?

GARETANO : Montauk Chronicles is a great mixture of weird sci fi aesthetics, cinema, and documentary. I can't really call them recreations because there is absolutely no hard proof that this stuff actually happened. Documentary movie making is such a broad playing field and I aimed to try something a little different. My goal was to make a movie that examines our fascination with the unknown and our need and desire for mystery. Just think if the whole library of unsolved mysteries were all at once solved ... what a boring world it would be? In my opinion I think people would be happy if these things were never solved. In the film I use the Alfred Hitchcock term "Macguffin" as a representation of this and (in the case of the Montauk Legends) the "Macguffin" is the truth. It seems clear to me that even though everyone claims to be searching for the truth, they don't really want it. They don't want it because it's that mystery that keeps them all coming. I explore this theory in the film's three acts. Act one is an introduction and history of Montauk, act two is the stories (and reenactments) as they are told by the subjects, and act three is an analysis of the possibilities of truth.

FIS : Now that you've spoken to the people who have made the astonishing Montauk Project allegations, do you believe they are telling the truth?

GARETANO : This is not an easy question to answer in terms of a simple black and white explanation. At first glance, and listen, I didn't believe a damn thing any of them were saying. It was so outrageous and so insane you would have to be a total maniac or a gullible idiot to believe. Preston Nichols was basically hallucinating on camera as was Alfred Bielek. When I visited Preston he was an anchorite who lived on a hill by himself. He offered to take us into his lab and before us was this large device that looked like a cosmic bed from some seventies science fiction movie of the week. He told us that this was the healing machine and that it can actually change your DNA. You will see all of this (in Montauk Chronicles) as I did. It was just one crazy thing after another. But when we arrived at Stewart Swerdlow's home in Michigan, things were different. It was an upwardly mobile neighborhood and a beautiful home. We were met with kindness and generosity and they cooked several wonderful meals for us. Everyone in the Swerdlow home (including children, adult, and elderly) was sincere about these crazy claims, and after a while, being submerged in this way of thinking for a couple of days, it started to become easy to believe. These weird concepts and silly stories began to make some sense. My visit to the Swerdlow home could have very well been the power of suggestion because we all know how many people have been effected by that power since the dawn of man. All of the above is illustrated and discussed in my film as is my opinion on what I think is true and what's not.

FIS : If any of this stuff is indeed true, we're talking big time government cover ups here. Did you have any hesitation or fear in getting involved with this whole thing? Afterall, this is stuff the government probably doesn't want being discussed, much less being the subject of films.

GARETANO : At first, I had no problems. I had no fear of the government, men in black, alien creatures, or anything else. It wasn't until about a year or so into making the film that I began to get a little paranoid. This stuff really has an effect on you. If I had made the whole thing a joke, it would have been no problem. I didn't and when you allow these small seeds of thought to be planted (in your mind) they eventually grow. In other words as I began to dig deeper into the possibilities of truth in all of this madness, I also began to believe that I was being watched. Mind you, I had never thought this way before but during the making of the film i was introduced to so many new terms, such as "Psychic Attack," and this all became very real to me. At one point I was getting excruciating head aches and eventually severe anxiety and panic attacks. I actually began to believe that something was trying to stop me from making this film. As I said before the power of suggestion is very strong, it can blur the lines between fantasy and reality.

FIS : Well thankfully, you did get to make the film. When and in what capacity will we be able to see it? Will it come to select theatres? Straight to DVD?

GARETANO : I'm still in the process of working out details for the release of Montauk Chronicles. You will certainly get to see it on a major US cable station and on DVD around the world. I'm currently speaking with the interested (cable) party and we should strike the deal soon. There are festivals from the US to Serbia ready to play the film. Even though I will sign with cable, VOD and other DVD territories, I'm seriously thinking about handling the US DVD release myself, under my White Phosphorus Pictures label. This would be a high quality DVD with a ton of great special features. Working with distributors in some aspects are good, but not when they take most of your profits. I believe now is the time for serious independent movie makers to show their worth and handle their own films for some territories. My first picture (Horror Business) was distributed in the US and Canada by Image Entertainment. Image is a pretty big company and they typically took seventy percent of my profits. That's much more than what they needed to cover the overhead. Image only took out two print ads to advertise the movie and that was it. The rest was up to me. It's too much hard work and a lot of years to just sign over all of my art and profits to a middle man.

With that said I have an exciting advertising and marketing plan in place for the US DVD release of Montauk Chronicles. As for theatrical ... that's a funny thing too ; that "limited distribution." I've heard other movie makers boast about their "theatrical distribution deals" and in the end they only played in one or two theaters for less than a week!!? Horror Business played in festivals (all around the world) for three years. It also played in theaters like The Alamo Draft House and The Pioneer Theater in New York, so my point is that if you have something that people want to see, don't sign your soul and your balls over to a distribution company. We live in a world now where you can completely produce, market, and sell your films yourself ... and make a profit. If the film is good you will receive critical acclaim and make a profit at the same time. It's going to take a few of us (with quality films) to do it ourselves and change the game. There's been this stigma that if you distribute yourself then you're not as good as the big boys. They say that you must sign with a distribution company or no one will respect your DVD. That's just plain horse shit. It's one of the many illusionary allures that was created to further monopolize the film industry. If we can prove our success by methods of self distribution, that old taboo stigma will be lifted and the game will change for good. So, just keep checking in on the Montauk Chronicles website as well as the Facebook for updates on the release.

FIS : While we wait for Montauk Chronicles, do you have any favorite movies of the same sort that you recommend we check out?

GARETANO : Here are a few that sent chills up my spine. These all share many of the same topics as my film and have certaintly influenced me.

1. John Carpenter's THE THING
2. Phillip Kaufman's Invasion Of The Body Snatchers
3. Communion
4. Fire In the Sky
5. They Live
5. Shutter Island
6. 12 Monkeys
7. Dark City

FIS : One last question about a totally different but equally fascinating Montauk legend. Montauk Monster - real or fake?

**The Montauk Monster is a mysterious beast that washed up on a Montauk beach back in the summer of 2008. To this day, it has never been identified.**

GARETANO : I always thought the "Montauk Monster" was a dead raccoon or a dog in an advanced stage of decomposition. It's certainly real, but i'm not sure if it's a monster. The whole thing further proves the power of suggestion. The fact that people would question (for several years) whether it's a monster or not is indicative to this power.

Keep your eyes locked on the Montauk Chronicles website and Facebook page for details regarding when and where you will be able to see the film. Of course, once release details emerge, I will be sure to post about them right here on Freddy In Space.

It's an Excellent Day For a .... Nightgown?

mortis45@aol.com (Johnny) — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 04:24:00 +0000

Just a little something I can't help but ponder everytime I see a TV spot for The Last Exorcism - and i'm sure i'm not the only one ....

Why is it that in every movie dealing with exorcism, the possessed girl wears a nightgown?

The Exorcist

The Exorcism of Emily Rose

The Last Exorcism

Freddy, Jason or Leatherface? Your Answer Could Win You a Kickass Art Print!

mortis45@aol.com (Johnny) — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 22:14:00 +0000

It's giveaway time once again here on Freddy In Space and in order to win one of the three prizes up for grabs, you're gonna be forced to choose between three of the most well known horror villains of all time! But first, a little bit about the artist and his work.

Eric Swartz is an incredibly talented artist I met on Facebook a few weeks back, who has a self described "twisted obsession for horror films". Residing in Hollywood, California and drawing huge inspiration from the art of Basil Gogos, Eric focuses his talents on portraits of popular figures from the world of horror cinema. Eric's illustration of Angela Bettis as May is the one that first turned me on to his work and i'm happy to say that a print of that illustration now hangs proudly on my wall. But we're not here to talk about May, we're here to talk about much more sinister and far less cute horror hackers - Freddy Krueger, Jason Voorhees and Leatherface. It is 8x10 prints of these three icons that Eric has generously donated for a giveaway this week and each of those prints will go to a different winner, ensuring that not one, not two, but three lucky readers come out of this one smelling like roses! Check out the three prints up for grabs below and then find out how you can put your name in the running!

All you've gotta do to enter is leave a comment below with your e-mail address and which of the above three horror villains is your favorite - it will be this choice that determines which print you will receive in the event that you win. Deadline for entries is one week from today, Monday the 23rd, so get your entries in by midnight on that date to qualify!

Good luck to all and a huge thank you to Eric Swartz for donating the goodies. Check out all of Eric's work at his website, The Art of Horror. Prints of all of his portraits are for sale so if you want anything, don't hesitate to contact him!

Fangoria FrightFest : Hunger

mortis45@aol.com (Johnny) — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 21:25:00 +0000

Five strangers awaken to find themselves trapped in an underground dungeon. They soon realize they are the subjects of one man's sadistic experiment to test the depths of a human being's will to survive. As the days go by with no means of escape, their hunger increases as their humanity fades away.

Sounds a heck of a lot like that popular franchise that's coming to an end this October, doesn't it? Well, there's a reason for that and that reason is that Hunger is pretty much a carbon copy of the Saw films, and not just in the major plot details. Everything from the victims having a common bond that brought 'em to the dance to the idea of a car crash being the inspiration for the villain's game is lifted directly from the franchise, making this a highly pointless effort. To make matters worse, the poorly written and highly unoriginal Hunger is Saw without the two things that make Saw so awesome - the badass traps and the heaps upon heaps of gore. While the idea of a bunch of people being locked in a room together with no food is a bit new and may seem like it could seperate the film from the Saw franchise, the results are all too familiar to those of us who have seen just about any other film of this type before ; when you lock humans in a small area and force them to face a life threatening situation together, they turn on one another and become the monsters - yep, we've seen it all before. It pains me to see decent sized budgets going to films like this, rather than ideas that aren't carbon copies of a dozen of other movies from the past several years. Sigh. No need to bother with this one.