MANIAC (remake)

Man, this flick looks brutal. The original directed by William Lustig in 1980 was also disturbing, but there is something about this trailer that makes my skin crawl.  Leave it to Alex Aja's writing to bring that madness into this decade. I think my love for monsters is starting overpower my love for gore. When it is done just right it is down right terrifying. I think Udo Keir said it best in John Carpenters Cigarette Burns, "We put our trust in film makers for an enjoyable cinematic experience (that being horror, slasher, thriller, etc.) That they never go too far. And if so, we will not only turn on them, but ourselves as well." Something along those lines. I put that trust into a few films these past couple years that I regret and I hope this is not one of them. Am I going to have to start repeating the famous trailer tag line from 1974's The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, "It's only a movie. It's only a movie. It's only a movie" from now on? 

Pumplestiltskin - Evil Genius Beer Company (Review)

Pumplestiltskin - Evil Genius Beer Company 

Place of Origin / Brewer: Pennsylvania 

Beer style / ABV%: Malt brewed, 4.7%

At first glance this almost looks like a pineapple beer. But that would just be the yellow hops on the label with an adorable Rumpelstiltskin peaking over a pumpkin. This beer is just as devious as the label itself!

This is the lightest beer in the Evil Genius fall family. A light color matching with the Belgian blonde brewed taste. This one captures the smell of fall. Very rich. You can almost smell the cloves. A light mouth feel helps the beer to be used for any occasion weather you are having it with a meal or just watching a scary movie in October.

This ale caught me off guard. At first sip it was refreshing, light and almost a hint of citrus taste. Something I had never tasted in a pumpkin ale before. Around the fifth or sixth sip I started to be unsure. As I was cooking dinner, the wonderful taste came back (I guess you just have to get used to it.) The balance is extraordinary! Evil Genius really did a good job of balancing the Belgian yeast with cloves, pumpkin and other assorted spices. I don't think this is one I could have too often, but it is a real treat when the occasion arises.


Giving this one a 7.6

Pumpkinstein - Evil Genius Beer Company (review)

Pumpkinstein - Evil Genius Beer Company 

Place of Origin / Brewer: Pennsylvania 

Beer style / ABV%: Malt brewed, 4.5%

It’s Alive! IT’S ALIVE!!! This beer dawns one of Universal’s most iconic monsters. Only this time, he’s infused with something more than just old body parts and electricity. Try rich pumpkin and spices!

The color of this one is like most traditional malts. Dark while at the same time not as dark as it’s sister beer ‘Trick or Treat.’ Pumpkinstein’s aroma is rich and soothing pulling some nice strong pumpkin scents with it reminding me of a freshly baked pumpkin pie. Probably one of the best Pumpkin beers I have ever smelt. The mouth feel is very light for a malt, but strong for your average ale.

The pumpkin to spice balance is pretty nice. Very rich and full of flavor. Nothing really here to off set the balance of taste. It truly is a fall monster combining nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon, and pumpkin. Though the after taste is a bit sour so you may want to just keep drinking this delicious malt all night long. Or switch it up. If I had access to Evil Genius here in Florida I’d deffinitly pick this over Trick or Treat. Not because it’s necessarily better, but because I don’t care for really thick beers like TOT. Pumpkinstein is a great time and definitely has multiple drink-ability!


Giving this one an 8.0!

TRICK OR TREAT - Evil Genius Beer Company (review)

TRICK OR TREAT - Evil Genius Beer Company

Place of Origin / Brewer: Pennsylvania 

Beer style / ABV%: Malt brewed, 5.6%


It’s that time of the year again, and wouldn’t it be great to find this beer in your trick or treating bag?

Trick or Treat has a dark color, unlike it’s sister ales Pumpkinstein and Pumplestiltskin. It’s as black as night which defiantly reminds me of going out scaring the neighborhood children and begging for treats. It’s aroma is pretty light for a thick malt which is nice. Taking your first sip you get hit with everything including the rich chocolate taste on top of the very light Pumpkin flavoring. A surprising change for a Porter. How it captures a hint of pumpkin without any pumpkin spice is beyond me.

It’s a very roasty, dry and thick beer with not a lot of punch at the end, which is great when you don’t want to take a sharp taste home with you. Though with a 5.6% ABV strapped to this baby you’ll be sure to feel pretty good after a bottle or two. All you Guinness drinkers will love this change of pace for a fall ale.  

Giving this guy a: 7.8 

"But RJ Macready wont let him escape!"

John Carpenter's The Thing 1982 Toy promo

This video has some fantastic editing work. Good job boys!

Way to go Laura Tyler!

Last night was the season 3 premiere of Face Off on SyFy. My good friend Laura Tyler was one of the contestants. She had a small gathering at a bar near where we work and had us all out for drinks and we got to watch the first episode on the big screen! Her first challenge on the show was to create her own character that would fit into the Star Wars cantina scene. Her and her partner created this beautiful creature. The judges said their's was one of the best looking and would fit perfectly in the Star Wars universe. I'm so proud of her! Our long Star Wars geek talks totally paid off. Looking forward to next weeks episode! Team Laura!

Phyllis Diller: 1917-2012

You were the best doll and you will be truly missed. 

"My photographs don’t do me justice. They just look like me"

Phyllis Diller: 1917-2012

Classic Haunts (art)

My first attempt at acrylics on board. I had no template to go off of and just painted. It looks pretty amateurish but I just wanted to try out different paints. I used some old paints that pretty much turned to liquid so I couldn't get much detail in at all. But it is what it is and I kinda like it. A spooky October night with the Headless Horsemen riding past an old haunted house.

I'll be posting more of my art pieces here in the coming days.

The Walking Dead (Game review)

I cannot express to you all how much I love The Walking Dead game. This is really what survival horror fans have been waiting for!

The game plays a lot like a point and click PC game. You make decisions that hinder the outcome of your game. But what I like most about this game is that it comes out once a month and is about $5 an episode. Think of it as an interactive choose your own adventure Walking Dead comic book issue with you taking the reigns! (Say that five times fast)
You play as Lee, a middle aged African american male with a foggy past. He eventually runs into a little girl named Clementine who has no one to protect her. It is up to you to get her through this sick and twisted world festering with confused citizens, blood thirsty camps and oh yeah, THE UNDEAD.

One of the things I enjoy most about this game is that your actions and choices actually matter. And I don't mean Mass Effect matter where Bioware still pushes you to the main objective. I mean if you tell someone to shoot someone else, they die and are no longer in your party. The survivors in your camp now look at you strange and no longer trust you as much. The art style is ripped right form the pages of Robert Kirkman's comic book series and is brought to life. You can feel when a character is staring you down. Almost as if you're The Governor and Michonne is about to make you her bitch. Characters, actions, consequences. They all feel very real in this rather then the soap opera television series.

One scene in particular I enjoyed (and I will try and keep this as spoiler free as I can)...
It's raining down hard and a captor has one of your members from the camp hostage with a gun to her head. Everything is in real time and you are free to move around. They both reside in a old house with little power. The captor is yelling at you "You have ruined everything! Things did not have to go this way!" at the same time you hear your friend pleading for her life. The closer you move towards the two, the more they move back up the stairs. Lighting is crashing down and it's the only real light you get to really see around you. The moonlight through the window also shines little light making everything a silhouette.
Right as you are about to give up talking down the captor, a walker attacks from behind the two tearing into her flesh. Now you find yourself running hand in hand for your lives as you hear screams form behind. This is all with no huds on making it almost feel as if you are watching a horror film.

Issue #100 of The Walking Dead releases this week. I've been looking forward to this issue for quite some time now. But I'd be lying if I didn't say I'm looking forward to Episode III of the game just a tad bit more.

Home is where the heart was left in a cooler..

Got the time off approved to fly home to Pittsburgh. Haven't been back in quite a while. The Monroeville Mall, The Evans City Cemetery and a Pirates game are on my visit list along with a stop at Hofbräuhaus for some fine German beer!!! I may also see The Dark Knight in the city it was filmed in...GOTHAM! I've miss the ol' burgh.

Cold dark and grey

Just sent my resume in to work on a show about video gaming. Think The Suite Life of Zach and Cody meets Grandmas Boy. It films over the next three months for Disney at the studio which is perfect for me since special events has slowed down at the park.

 The scary thing about sending in my resume is that I have not done a lot of film and tv work. It's all been live productions. Sure I've worked on films FOR the live productions and music videos here and there but it's nothing too impressive. I want to get my foot in the door doing gaffing work but it's hard when I have little studio experience. I'm hoping this is my big break in doing more gaffing gigs here in O-town. Wish me luck!

Piranha 3DD sinks to the bottom

I loved Alex Aja's remake of the Roger Corman classic killer fish tale, so I had no doubt in my mind that Piranha DOUBLE D would knock me off my jet ski. Well not only did I get knocked off, but I fell on concrete! The first one is so much better on every level. This one is actually pretty embarrassing to watch. I was disappointed in this sequel in almost every way. No fun deaths, the fun cameos overstayed their welcome, the writing was done by a nine year old. I mean I don't expect a masterpiece about killer fish. Just up the fun for your sequel! It reminded me of Hangover 2 compared to the first Hangover. You have seen all this already and want something more but John Gulager (director of FEAST) delivers less. WAY less. It's not looking good for horror this summer at the box office. Both Piranha 3DD and Chernobyl Diaries are tanking. Anyone have a lifesaver?

An E-mail I received this morning

"Also saw Cabin in the Woods. Mom and I didn't like it. Was different. Started out as Your typical teen slasher flick , The puppet masters institute, running the show was a bit much. Just wished I saw it on cable or dvd. Not worth $20 bucks. The Three Stooges was ten times better......" -Dad


Ouch.

Goodbye old friend

So this is an update I wish I did not have to make. It looks like after six spooky, scary, cranked up to eleven years singing for the my band Sharkteeth I'm hanging up the mic and the band is going it's separate ways. It has been an amazing six years with the band and showing you all what I love to do. Entertain you all with some of the best horror rock out there and give you something more at a show then just a band on a stage. From Wolfman masks to shitty CD battles to broken tombstones and jack o' lanterns covered in beer. I have so many good memories, and those are the ones that I will keep. Will I be involved in music again? You bet! Something a bit different I think you all will like. Until then, thank you everyone who supported us at shows or bought a record! We did it for you. Stay scary!