I was introduced to The Heap in elementary school, when I first read The Comic-Book Book. This sequel to All In Color For A Dime was a collection of essays on various Golden Age comics. Those essays were my first introduction to such disparate characters as Dick Briefer’s Frankenstein, Jack Cole’s Plastic Man, Floyd Gottfredson’s Mickey Mouse… and Hillman Periodical’s The Heap.

The idea that there existed a prototype for Swamp Thing and Man-Thing, two comic monsters I was obsessed with at the time, was fascinating to me, and that adoration for The Heap only increased with the scarcity of his appearances. I must have read that essay on the Heap a dozen times, thrilling to second-hand accounts of a German Flying Ace becoming a mindless muck monster and inadvertent hero.

Now no one else need suffer as I did. Tomb It May Concern has posted a second story of The Heap to go with the first. I hope he keeps them coming.

I found this crazy shirt the other day while out shopping with J. I wasn’t planning on getting it, but when I showed J. just how ridiculous it was she demanded that I buy it immediately. In case you can’t make it out, the shirt shows a boxer with the head of a ram. This is the second most evil shirt I have ever owned.

I just can’t decide if the ‘S’ in the background should stand for Steven or Satan.

It’s not often two of my passions, horror and ska, come together, the most notable exception being The Toasters’ song Frankenska. Here’s another to add to the list. The entire soundtrack for the stage musical Giant Killer Shark has been placed online, and included in the set is a song called Ska Fishing. I was as surprised as anyone.

Check it out. The entire soundtrack is hilarious and bears absolutely no resemblance to any other kinds of giant killer shark entertainment.

It appears to be stop-motion animation day here at The Horror Blog. Animation Magazine has an informative review of Equinox, a 1960s backyard homage to Harryhausen madness by special effects pioneers Dennis Muren, Dave Allen and Jim Danforth. Leave it to art-house favourites Criterion to give the deluxe treatment most budget DVD companies wouldn’t even touch. I’ve been waiting for this one for months, and it doesn’t sound like it will disapoint.

Fans of mainstream movies will probably want to take a pass, but those who appreciate bizarre cinema, stop-motion animation and low-budget, creature feature drive-in fun (you know who your are!) will definitely want to add this one to their collection.

Add “Likes long walks on the beach” and you’ve got my personals ad. Check out a scratchy trailer for the movie here.

It’s a big day for little news. Let’s dig in.

Hellraiser’s Lament Configuration takes the third spot in MTV’s top movie gizmos.

Twitchfilm has the scoop on a potential Screamers sequel.

The Bram Stoker Award winners for 2005 have been announced.

Snakes on a Plane, the novelization. I cannot wait. For real. This has been your obligatory Snakes on a Plane reference for the day.

When A Lawyer Calls. The screenwriters of the original When A Stranger Calls are suing Sony for breach of contract.

Creepy-ass video game Clock Tower is being prepped for the silver screen.

I can’t believe this escaped my attention for so long. I just found out that CBC television will be airing a new stop-motion animation show on June 26th entitled What It Is Like Being Alone. Any show that combines freaks, snot, scorpions and suicide is alright by me. More YouTube clips are available here.

You may have noticed a new button on the sidebar which links to The Horror Blog’s MySpace account. I will occassionally post blog entries there as well, particularly on those days when I have a considerable overflow or when I want to talk about something that doesn’t quite fit into what I have going here.

If you’ve enjoyed the site so far, and are so inclined, please feel free to add me as a friend via your own account. Thanks.

One remake I’m looking forward to is Douglas Buck’s version of DePalma’s Sisters. His Family Portraits trilogy is a must-see for anyone who likes their horror to be quiet yet unsettling.

Fangoria has a chat with Buck about the upcoming release, specifically concerning David Cronenberg’s near-involvement.

“As you know, David Cronenberg was originally slated to play the role. The character is Dr. Bryant, who, in a brief documentary snippet, discusses the necessity of surgically separating the mentally troubled Siamese twins—you can see why Cronenberg was initially attracted to it.”

That piece of casting would have been quite the coup. I think I enjoy Cronenberg’s acting nearly as much as his directing.

In 2003, Dylan Finkle read portions of a horror story he had written entitled “Costume Party” in front of fellow students in his English class. Later that day, a teacher took a closer look at the story just before Dylan began reading some more aloud during lunch. She contacted the principal of the school, and Dylan was suspended for six weeks. Dylan’s attorney has attempted to appeal the case numerous times, and plans to again after their most recent defeat. So, what was in the story?

According to court documents, Finkle was 11 when he wrote the multi-chapter story titled “Costume Party,” modeled after the horror flick “Halloween,” in which he named characters after some of his friends and classmates. The story, which was part of a journal that one of Finkle�s teachers had assigned as a class project, chronicled the killing spree of a character named “Dylan” who was out for revenge after being bullied by kids at school.

In the story, Finkle graphically described the murders (many involving a knife or ax) of “mean kids,” some of which occurred while a character was making out topless on a table or engaged in sex.

I can understand the teachers being concerned, but was it necessary to suspend the kid for six weeks? After all, not only was this a class project, but it was deemed appropriate enough to read in the classroom before the incident, which may have given Dylan the false assumption that this was material condoned by the administration as a whole.

For a more detailed and accurate account of the case, please refer to this article which first appeared in the New York Times.

Mondo Macabro delivers once again, this time with a piece of Lollywood Horror entitled Hairy Beast. Before you watch it, I have to warn you of two things.

First, this seems to be some sort of condensed version of the entire movie, as you actually get to see its resolution. So if you would rather not have the movie spoiled for you, as much as that’s possible with this kind of film, don’t watch the clip.

Second, this clip is crazy in the best possible way. It comes with my highest recommendation.

Patrick Curry is a video game designer, known primarily for his excellent work on the recently released Stubbs the Zombie. On his blog, he has been posting a different game idea per week as a mental exercise, a few of which are horror related. One is based around a haunted hotel, while my favourite idea is for a werewolf game.

Game Idea #15: Loup-Garou

Loup-Garou is the game where you play as a werewolf. Actually, you play as a human, who’s been cursed with turning into a werewolf. During the daylight hours you are human, going about your “normal,” everyday life. But once darkness falls, you’re transformed into the legendary werewolf – now everything looks, feels, sounds, and smells different. Try to keep yourself from being found out… and try to keep yourself from destroying everything you hold dear…

This is just the concept. A detailed description can be found at Curry’s site.

Tim Lucas over at Video Watchblog always has the best anecdotes.  If the story behind his quest to interview actor Dante DiPaolo is any indication of the quality of Lucas’ upcoming book on Mario Bava, it will be quite the read.

A few new names have been added to the Fearmongers roster, including The Horror Blog favourite Jeff Lieberman.

Bookgasm points out a new contest, where you can become a character in the next Meg book.  i wonder how much of a bribe would it take to become a bloated corpse?

Sonofabitch!  Twitchfilms ups the ante in the race to fight Uwe Boll.  This doesn’t bode well for my own chances of stepping in the ring.

Adrienne Barbeau discusses her life and recent autobirography.  I wonder which version of Swamp Thing her kids are watching.

Sppoky and mysterious!  An article on the death of J-Horror in which nobody is actually quoted as saying J-Horror is dying.  Interesting if only to read Grudge screenwriter Stephen Susco’s impressions of selling J-Horror to the studios before the success of Ring.

If a television channel is cancelled before it ever goes on the air, was it ever really a channel?

Being Canadian, I had no stake in the much-ballyhooed, constantly delayed Horror Channel. But like so many others I was more than happy to take advantage of the side benefits that came along with the program, particularly horror news site Dread Central. As reported by Bloody Disgusting, there was a walkout held recently by the authors of that news service over alleged misconduct by the owners of the Horror Channel, as described by Uncle Creepy on the B-D forums.

Secondly, the guy in command, Nick Psaltos, has made it a habit of berating the team with comments like “your opinions are meaningless” and “your tenure in the company affords you no clout.” He’s even gone so far as to hand down mantras that we are to recite each day to help “improve our reading comprehension skills” as a means to become better writers. We were even asked not to link to other sites such as Fango and Bloody-Disgusting even if we were reporting on their headlines. There’s no integrity in doing that. We said no.

Not ones to rest on their laurels, it appears that the Dread Central crew will be setting up shop elsewhere. The relaunch date? Independence Day.

I don’t know what it is, but I get the biggest kick from the most obscure shit. Take the thread on DVD Maniacs where the board members discuss the conspicuous placement of J & B Scotch bottles throughout various European cult flicks. KH Brown even went to the trouble of contacting J & B for their opinion on the matter.

A: Thanks for your email.

We had heard of this before being in what they call in Italy “Yellow” flims. We think that it is because of J&B being very popular with the Rat Pack (Franck, Dean and Sammy) and perhaps that is where the Italian connections comes in!! probably something we will never really know but a nice story.

We still have very strong Hollywood ties and still appear in some great films the earliest being Breakfast at Tiffany’s and the most recent being The Cooler

regards,
J&B

If you’re obsessive like me, go check out the fun. There’s plenty of beautiful screengrabs available to support their case. Oh, and take a shot anytime someone says that the thread makes them thirsty.

Remember the days when they incorporated decent songs into horror pictures? Yeah, me neither. The Winged Avenger snaps us out of it with some finger-snapping loveliness from Bava’s Five Dolls For An August Moon. Believe it or not, they’re just perfect for whiling away a summer day, swinging on a hammock and enjoying a cool glass of lemonade.