We’re down to the final five contestants in The Horror Blog Monster Rally, and they are The Blind Dead, Critters, The Blair Witch, Pinhead and the tag team of Michael Myers and Jason Voorhees. Congratulations to everyone whose favourites made it this far.

But wait! If your main monster didn’t make it to the final five, there’s still hope! Since there is an odd number of remaining contenders, we need one more to even it out. In the sidebar you will find a poll which you can use to vote back in one of the creatures that didn’t make it to the final five. Now’s your chance to upset the competition. The poll will be up all weekend through to the beginning of next week, and if you want to see your punch drunk underdog make it to the end, feel free to use the comments section to implore your fellow horror fans to vote your way.

Rue Morgue is by far my favourite horror magazine on the market today. I pick it up first thing every month without hesitation, and rarely am I dissatisfied. Today is one of those rare exceptions. On their message board, Editor-In-Chief Jovanka Vuckovic has asked the board members to nominate feature films for their annual Best Of list. The nomination of Hostel was answered with the reply that it was released in 2005, and the underlying assumption to this statement is that it is not eligible for the poll.

If this were to happen with any other magazine, or any other movie, I would probably let it slide. But considering Hostel was my favourite movie of the year, and my favourite horror movie of the past seven, I’m more than a little disappointed. Hostel did have it’s premiere in 2005, but only at festivals, not in wide release. Presumably this would have made it eligible for the 2005 list, but since barely anyone had seen it by that point it was in all likelihood not considered. For the record, the film they chose as the Best Feature for 2005 was Haute Tension, which, if you follow the logic found above, was actually released in 2003, making it ineligible by a long shot.

Considering the strong support for Slither, I wouldn’t necessarily expect Hostel to come out on top anyway. It just would have been nice if it had been a contender.

I was a little worried about this clip since the beginning didn’t seem to follow any of the incarnations of the series, but once they got to the house and the little Lego characters were overdubbed with assorted squealing, I was sold. If only they had recreated the slow, ass-centric walk up to the house in Lego form, my day would be complete.

The HorrorCast returns. Who does Pinhead roll with? What exactly are his chain powers? Does a trip to space give you an advantage in a fight? Is a flaming Jason Voorhees more of a threat? Can Frankenstein’s Monsters reproduce with one another? This week, Rony, Sloan and Steven get their geek on and make their predictions for the outcome of The Horror Blog Monster Rally. It’s hard to believe that we’re actually adults.

Place your bets and dowload the mp3 here. And don’t forget to vote in the Werewolf Vs. The Blind Dead showdown in the sidebar!

I didn’t see this coming. Yahoo Movies has the trailer for a thriller starring Jim Carrey called The Number 23, set to be released next year. From the looks of it, the plot revolves around a man who, upon reading a book called The Number 23, discovers just how much that number permeates the world. From the looks of it, this knowledge drives him off the deep end.

It may seem like a silly concept, but it’s one that has been making the rounds for a very long time. William S. Burroughs used to keep a journal detailing his encounters with the number, a practice which Robert Anton Wilson transferred to both his non-fiction and fiction works, particularly The Illuminatus! Trilogy. Wilson also has an entry on the number in his book Everything Is Under Control: Conspiracies, Cults, and Cover-Ups.

This data provides an ideal measurement of how much weirdity you can happily attribute to “coincidence” before that starts to sound hollow and you begin sliding down the slippery solipsistic slope to seeing a Dark Design in almost everything.

He also provides a few pages of examples of synchronicities, many of which are used in the trailer and can also be found across the internet. All I know is my inner Discordian is very happy.

There must be something in the water. Something To Be Desired is a web-based sitcom now in its fourth season which centres around a group of 20-somethings who work at a radio station in Pittsburgh. For Halloween, the ensemble took a break from their usual romantic slapstick and threw in some grue, paying tribute to a fellow Pittsburgh native by adding a zombie apocalypse to the mix. There’s plenty of oozing bite wounds, impromptu weapons and desperate trysts to satisfy anyone’s appetite for a little Steel City gore.

After you’re done, make sure you check their behind-the-scenes blogging for great pointers on how to shoot your zombie opus, particularly when one of your zombie extras has a bun in the oven.

Man, those undead Knights Templar cannot get a break when it comes to werewolves. First they had to shake off Silvia Perschy, then Waldemar Daninsky, now it’s your generic werewolf. Is the third time the charm for our furry friend, or will the Blind Dead be triumphant once more? You decide! Vote in the sidebar for your favourite, and while you’re at it, take a chance on the Critters vs. Firefly Clan bout.

Also, don’t forget to leave a comment or three letting the world know why you chose what you did. Now’s your chance to swing the vote of some wishy-washy fence-sitter.

Whenever the topic of the recent cycle of horror films is brought up, it almost inevitably results in a discussion on how these films are a reflection of our society. This isn’t a recent observation. Critics and scholars have long looked at horror films as a barometer of the way people in certain eras think. Now Film Stew has stepped up with the rather bizarre premise that Borat is, like horror, filling that same function today.

Ergo, it’s no coincidence, this resurgence in the horror genre, given the collective state of unease for which the current sociopolitical climes are responsible. Discerning and comedic psychosocial examinations are rarer, but Borat as a character is interesting in the manner he locates the current, and seemingly worldwide, tension between various religious and ethnic groups, and their cultural values and absolutes.

I never would have imagined even looking for a link between these two seemingly disparate worlds. What do you think? Are horror movies a good indicator of where we stand in the world, and if so, why is that particular genre singled out more than others as having its finger on the pulse of society?

The original Bat Out Of Hell album was the soundtrack to at least two or three summers during my misspent youth. I have no idea why or how this came about. Maybe it just spoke to me and my friends because we grew up tough in the Rose City, and flaming motorcycles, rock operas and getting laid were the only three things we could relate to. When we would all crash at my place on Saturday nights, one of my friends would refuse to awaken until well after noon. We would shove, kick and punch him, but he just wouldn’t wake up. Finally, we placed Bat Out Of Hell on the turntable and over the course of nearly ten minutes he arose to the beat of the title song. It remains one of the most beautiful things I have ever witnessed.

Moviehole is reporting that Meatloaf is attempting to get a Bat Out Of Hell movie made. I don’t know about anyone else, but if this gets made you’ll find me in the cinema in the Rose City on opening night with all the other dirtbags.

Link via Cinematical.

David Z. has posted the entire 10-page comic that inspired the Dario Argento Masters of Horror episode, Jenifer. With a story by Bruce Jones, who I’ve only recently acquired an appreciation for, and renowned horror artist Bernie Wrightson, this is easliy one of the most eerie comics I have ever read, and well-deserving of its reputation. Do yourself a favour and give it a read.

My only quibble with David’s post is that he was going to make this comic available alongside an essay contrasting the comic with the television version. I would have been interested in reading that, particularly since I quite enjoyed Argento’s episode, and would have loved to have seen a dissenting opinion. To be fair, my appreciation for the adaptation was at least partly due to not having read the original, superior source material first and my somewhat low regard of Argento’s work, but even taking these into account I think I would have still liked the episode far more than David Z. did. Maybe one day he’ll spill.

That’s right, it’s back. The Horror Blog Monster Rally continues after a brief respite. Halloween was so full of scary goodness that I felt the need to hold this back a few weeks to give us something to do during the November doldrums.

Today’s match turned out to be a good one. It’s the carnivorous Critters versus the ferocious Firefly clan from The Devil’s Rejects, and only one group of malcontents is walking out of this one with teeth left in their head. As per usual, vote for your favourite to live in the sidebar. This fight will last two whole days.

If you have no idea what I’m going on about, check out the first post. And while you’re here, let us know where you stand by leaving a comment.

Sean Phillips keeps cranking out the zombie goodness, including perhaps the most ridiculous crossover ever.

My favourite show of the new television line-up, Dexter, has been picked up for a second season.

The experts over at the Dread Central forums ask, how did Michael Myers learn to drive?

Bubblegumtease.

It’s never too early to start your Halloween costume. This tutorial shows you how to create two costumes in one. Thanks to Dumb Distraction for the link.

I don’t care if he’s only the son of El Santo, that’s pretty damn cool.

Cassandra Peterson is dlisted’s Hot Slut of the Week. Thanks to J. for the tip.

Tim Lucas ponders a more conspiratorial reason for Bill O’Reilly’s stance against watching today’s crop of horror films.

And if that’s not enough for you, Dark, But Shining serves up even more random horror linkage. If you dare…

Bloomberg.com has posted a short interview with Roger Corman, the infamous director and producer behind way more films than I’m going to go into here. The interviewer picks Corman’s brain on horror’s cyclical appeal, old age and developing a good work ethic, and the guy shows he still has it in spades.

The strategy was to make the best possible film for the money. I’ve seen so many people slough off low-budget films. You cannot do that. When Jonathan Demme did his first film, which was for us, it was a woman-in-prison picture. He said to me, “I’m going to make the best woman-in-prison picture ever made.” That’s the attitude that you must have.

“I’m going to make the best woman-in-prison picture ever made” is going to be my new positive affirmation. Go large or go home, man.

The director of the last two Saw films, Darren Lynn Bousman, has written a rebuttal to Bill O’Reilly’s screed against the latest trend in horror films. Unfortunately, it reads like the work of an adolescent ranting against the system on the back of his math homework. If Bill O’Reilly’s program was truly “the single most ignorant rant I have ever heard” and “the most ridiculously statement I have thus far heard” then someone has to take a break from rushing out Saw sequels and get out more.

Next - on your ‘report’ you mention that you have NEVER seen one of these ‘gorno’ films… Nor - in that matter had anyone on your panel. So - don’t you think it’s a bit hasty to be judging something you have not seen. Tell you what - I will send you a copy of the SAW series - once you have watched the three films - and educated yourself with Jigsaw and all his ‘wacky’ victims - then we can talk about the merit of them.

While I agree with the sentiment, I have my doubts that of all the so-called “torture porn” movies out there, the most shallow and inconsistent of them all will sway the pundits in a positive manner. I have to give credit where credit is due, though, and thank Bousman for introducing me to the wonders of the term “gorno”.

For future reference, if anyone else is planning on taking on the mantle of the defender of horror, please take more than five minutes to put down your thoughts. This was by far the worst argument I have ever read. For real.

Huracán Ramirez was the first Luchador to star on the silver screen, though at that point Daniel Garcia had not yet donned the mask. When he did take over the role, however, he never let it go, even going so far as to keep his secret identity hidden from many of his friends and family. As Huracán Ramirez, Daniel Garcia only fought a monster once during his career, in La Venganza de Huracán Ramirez. However, the influence this Luchador icon had on both peers and further generations of masked Mexican film stars was overwhelming, including his good friend El Santo. Without Garcia, or rather his character, who knows whether this fascinating subgenre of film would have ever persisted as it did.

Rest in peace, Señor Garcia.

For even more on both Garcia and the Huracán Ramirez persona, check out this LuchaWiki entry and these touching tributes.