Toys: Living Dead Dolls - Rose & Violet

Mezco have announced the release of their newest Living Dead Dolls, the adorable Rose & Violet!

“Roses are red, Violets are blue…a single soul, slashed in two”. This classic poem of love now personified with two newest editions to the Living Dead Doll’s family: Rose and Violet. Dressed in elaborate 1940’s period dresses with hair bows, each is a mirror image of the other. Rose, dressed in red, Violet in blue. Each doll is sold separately and includes a unique charm that can be worn; combine both charms to create a symbol of star-crossed love. Packed in special edition coffins with death certificates. Ships late January 2010. NOTE: Each doll is packed in her own individual coffin. With this set you get 2 coffins, each with 1 doll.

I'm well aware that not everyone thinks highly of Living Dead Dolls, but I don't care, because I love them, and these two certainly make a lovely set. Roll on January!

Mezco Page

Bars & Restaurants: Trick or Treat

Trick or Treat is quite possibly one of my favourite places to eat in the world! With a banquet table, complete with Regan McNeil at the head of it, surrounded by witches, skeletons, wax-dripping candles and other spooky things, it has an amazing atmosphere! And if you don't feel like sitting there, you can always head over to the equally eerie bar area.

The food and drink are good too, and they have an impressive selection, especially for quite a small restaurant. Some of the meat dishes even have horror-esque names and red sauce abound, but unless you have those, your food won't be steeped in horror. It really doesn't matter though, because the surroundings alone are enough!

If you're ever in Tokyo, you NEED to go to this place! (It's probably a good idea to book in advance though)

Address:
2A Toda Building, 7-16-5 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo

Tel:
03-3403-5115

Opening Hours:Monday - Thursday: 18:30 - 02:00
Friday - Saturday: 18:30 - 05:00



Trick or Treat Website

Home & Garden: Fred BONE CHILLERS

This is one of the vast array of novelty ice cube trays from homeware company FRED. According to the description you can:

"Chill your beverages to the bone! Fill and freeze our Bone Chillers tray and you’ll create an icy array of skulls and crossbones that’ll have everyone’s timbers shivering. Drink up, me hearties!"

Okay, so they're marketing them with a pirate theme, but they'd easily fit into a Halloween/horror party. Or, just for any occasion. Cubes are boring! 

To buy one, or to browse their other products, you can check out the FRED website.

Movies: The Wolfman

Watch the Trailer on Yahoo! Movies

Today, ladies and gentlemen, I am a very happy horror-addict; for one of my favourite classic horrors, 'The Wolfman' (originally starring Lon Chaney Jr.), has been remade! And not only that, it's been remade by Universal!

"Lawrence Talbot, a haunted nobleman, is lured back to his family estate after his brother vanishes. Reunited with his estranged father, Talbot sets out to find his brother... and discovers a horrifying destiny for himself. Talbot's childhood ended the night his mother died. After he left the sleepy Victorian hamlet of Blackmoor, he spent decades recovering and trying to forget. But when his brother's fiancée, Gwen Conliffe, tracks him down to help find her missing love, Talbot returns home to join the search. He learns that something with brute strength and insatiable bloodlust has been killing the villagers, and that a suspicious Scotland Yard inspector named Aberline has come to investigate."

Now, I know there has been a flurry of remakes of old classics in recent years, and a large proportion of them are...substandard...to say the least, but from the trailers, this one looks like it might actually be really good. Not only because of the special effects make-up talents of six-time Oscar-winning make-up artist Rick Baker, but for the plot and the cast, which includes the acting talents of Benicio del Toro (Lawrence Talbot/The Wolfman), Anthony Hopkins (Sir John Talbot), Emily Blunt (Gwen Conliffe) and Hugo Weaving (Detective Aberline).

The movie will hit screens on February 12th 2010. To find out more, visit the official movie site below:

The Wolfman

And if you can't wait until February, you can always visit Universal Studios, Orlando to get a taste of the movie as part of their Halloween Horror Nights events, which also features the movies 'Saw' and 'Child's Play', running from September 25th - October 31st 2009.

Universal Studios, Orlando

Oh if only the UK weren't so far away from there! T.T

Bars & Restaurants: Donny Dirk's Zombie Den

Donny Dirk's Zombie Den was opened recently in Minneapolis, on the former site of Stand Up Frank's. The zombie-themed bar was the idea of Leslie Bock, who also owns Psycho Suzi's and Saint Sabrina's, as she didn't want to lose Stand Up Frank's completely, despite its somewhat checkered history. The staff dress as Shaun from 'Shaun of the Dead' and there's even a chainsaw in a glass case with the notice "In case of zombie attack, break glass". It sounds like great fun!

Address: 2027 N 2nd St. Minneapolis, MN 55411
Opening times: 2pm - 4am daily. Closed on Mondays

Website

Zombie Resurrection: Article on Star Tribune

Art: Junko Mizuno

Japanese artist Junko Mizuno debuted in 1996 but first gained attention in 1998 with her 'Pure Trance' manga series, and has since made a name for herself as an artist and illustrator. Inspired by shoujo manga (girls' comics), many of her works combine cute, sexy (and happy) female characters with gory scenes, monsters or grotesque situations. The result is really effective and original and I love it! Her more recent art has been less horror-influenced, but it's still interesting. Of course, her style won't be for everyone though, as it's quite cutesy and cartoonish, but to me, it's fantastic!

For more information, take a look at the following sites:

Official Site

Official Blog

Junko Mizuno Fansite

Miznotic Fantasy (Fansite)

Poison Candy (Fansite)

Movies: Saw VI

"Special Agent Strahm is dead, and Detective Hoffman has emerged as the unchallenged successor to Jigsaw's legacy. However, when the FBI draws closer to Hoffman, he is forced to set a game into motion, and Jigsaw's grand scheme is finally understood."

Oh, wonderful! Just what I wanted for Halloween (no, I don't really get Halloween presents either, but still)...yet another ridiculous 'Saw' movie. -.- I'll admit, I found the first part mildly entertaining, but it's been downhill since then (but still I keep watching them o.O;). I have to say, the overly dramatic music on the official site isn't filling me with hope either. Even so, I'll probably end up watching this one too, when it comes out on DVD, anyway. If any of you DO want to see it at the movies though, it's out on October 23rd in the US and Canada.

For the latest info, visit the official site⇒here

Movies: Halloween II

"It's that time of year again, and Michael Myers has returned home to sleepy Haddonfield, Illinois to take care of some unfinished family business. Unleashing a trail of terror that only horror master Rob Zombie can, Myers will stop at nothing to bring closure to the secrets of his twisted past. But the town’s got an unlikely new hero, if they can only stay alive long enough to stop the unstoppable."

Like the first 'Halloween' Rob Zombie directed, this probably won't be as good as the original, but you have to give him some credit for at least trying to deepen the character and add an original story rather that just having exactly the same story. So for that reason, I quite want to see this movie. Really, what is the point of re-making something if it's exactly the same?? There's nothing worth watching for if everything is the same, because, somehow, even with exactly the same story, remakes always manage to be worse...might as well just watch the original! Of course, feel free to prove me wrong with an example of one that isn't ^^

Official Site

Fashion: Iron Fist Clothing

Whilst Iron Fist Clothing isn't a horror brand as such, they have made some rather sexy scary shoes; my personal favourites being their 'Zombie Stomper' high heels. They're bright, gory and actually really comfortable (yes, I have some!) but not very good for zombie lurching in, unfortunately. =(

There's also the 'Muerte Punk' heels, that aren't quite as amazing, but are more subtle and have a Day of the Dead feel to them. Okay, they're not strictly horror, but they're close enough! Both the Muerte Punk and Zombie Stomper designs also come printed on a range of clothing too.

The only down side to Iron Fist is that most of what they sell in their webshop is a US size 5, so if you aren't that size, you'll have to do a bit of searching to find what you want. They are, however, stocked in numerous webshops and physical stores, so you should be able to get what you're looking for. ^^

To see the rest of Iron Fist's (less horror-influenced) range of shoes and clothing, check their official site.

Games: Plants vs Zombies

Imagine the scene...you're relaxing in your garden, minding your own business, when all of a sudden you hear squelching footsteps and a slurred cry of "BRAAAAIIIIINNNS!". THERE ARE ZOMBIES ON YOUR LAWN!! So obviously you take the only logical course of action - you grow an array of strange plants and use them to defend your house (and your brains)! At least, you do if you're playing PopCap's cute and simple yet utterly addictive game 'Plants vs Zombies'.

"Think fast and plant faster to stop the zombies dead in their tracks. And with five game modes to dig into, the fun never dies!"

In a zombie apocalypse, you'd think the thing to to use would be something like, I don't know...chainsaws? Shotguns? But no. A well-placed army of plants is just what you need to pop off a zombie's head! Each plant has its own way of doing so, with varying degrees of efficiency, but my favourites are the ice-upgraded melons, since they're powerful, slow down the enemies and you can use them on all areas of each level (as long as you provide them with a lily pad in the pool).

However, you do have room to experiment with which botanical defenders you take with you on each mission, as continues are unlimited and there's also a handy row of lawnmowers at the back, which means that should a few of the undead slip through your defences, they'll still be mowed down the first time. That said, I would recommend that you try not to let them through, as you get money for each lawnmower you have left and, realistically, you may find you need them if you make a mistake.

Even though the game may seem as though it would become repetitive, its quirky humour, including dancing zombies and the rare Yeti zombie, as well as the cute (what? Zombies are cute!)  feel to the animations, ensure that it doesn't at all. If anything, it gets better the more you play it, because you unlock more, interesting deadly flora and run into pogo-stick jumping. ice truck driving, football playing and gigantic ghouls! There really is a lot to do if you want to completely finish the game - unlockables and all - which means you have an excuse to play both the main game and other modes (Puzzle, Mini Games, Zen and Survival) multiple times.

Plants vs Zombies is well worth buying, but if you're not sure whether you want it or not you can download a demo from the official site.

Official Site

Photography: Joshua Hoffine

Joshua Hoffine is an American horror photographer that mixes the grotesque, dark and spooky with the innocent and child-like. At first glance, his photographs seem to be quite pleasant and peaceful, but on closer inspection you start to notice all the unsettling elements (or, as a friend of mine said of 'BEDSIDE', "I thought it was a really nice, pretty picture...then I noticed all the bugs everywhere...oh my god! That's horrible!'). But for me, that is perhaps what makes his work so enjoyable!

However, unlike many horror photographers of a similar genre, Hoffine doesn't simply put together collages in a photo editing program, he actually takes the time to set up the scenes himself and then simply enhances the colours or textures already present. Don't believe me? Well, luckily enough, he keeps a blog explaining how he does it. ^.^ You can find it here.

If you're interested in his work, Hoffine's fiendish photography is currently being featured in the August issues of Spanish magazine 'Duo' and heavy metal magazine 'Decibel'.

For more info on Hoffine and his work, check out the following websites:

Official Site

Blog

MySpace

Movies: Trick R Treat

After much anticipation, 'Trick R Treat' is finally being released on October 6th 2009! It was originally due to come out last year, but one of the 'Saw' movies (I forget which...they all merge into one after a while) clashed with that, so of course 'Trick R Treat' was pushed back a year. But but with 'Saw VI' not being released until the end of October,we can all see 'Trick R Treat' and complain about it soon. Hurray!

But, remember boys and girls, obey the rules of Halloween...OR ELSE!

Official Site

Fashion: Kreepsville 666

Do you ever just wish you could cover yourself in horror from head to toe, but hate the thought of cleaning up blood splatter and brains? Well, never fear! UK horror brand Kreepsville 666 are here to lend you a skeletal helping hand (or two, in this case)!

Stocked both in their own online shop as well as in various retailers around the world, including Black Rose in the UK, and Manic Panic and Sourpuss in the US, Kreepsville 666 are quickly transforming us all into flesh eating zombies devilishly dapper devils. There's even a section for your little monsters. And the best part is, they update their webshop every month, so you'll never be caught wearing last season's bloody eyeballs (can you imagine it?? =O!).

My current favourites on the site are this shirt and skirt:

Now, if only I could look that good in them...

To see more from Kreepsville 666, check their Official Site.