Violeta, la pescadora del mar negro (Violeta, fisherwoman of the black sea) is a stop motion animation by Spanish duo Marc Riba & Anna Solanas. It is a dark horror tale and the gloomy visuals - which remind me slightly of films by The Quay Brothers - reflect this well.
The models in the animation are big-eyed and innocent-looking, but don't be fooled; things turn bizarre and disgusting very quickly! That, of course, is not a negative point and it's the strangeness that makes Violeta... a more memorable animation.
It's made of plastic, cheap, and fairly tacky, but I actually really like this! Say what you will about my lack of taste, but I want one :D They're available from Haunt Your Home, along with an array of other Friday the 13th items, including a Freddy Krueger & Jason platter, Friday the 13th bowl, and Jason shot glasses.
2. Friday The 13th Nike Dunk Sneakers
Friday the 13th Nike Dunk Sneakers designed by Mizzee Customs
I'm usually not a fan of sneakers, but even I have to admit that these custom Nike Dunk Sneakers from Mizzee Customs are pretty great. The details - from the "blood splatter" to the picture of Jason and one of his victims to the 'Crystal Lake' writing and red soles - make these unusual and aesthetically pleasing too! They're available on DunkSneaker.com.
3. Jason Voorhees Musical Halloween Lights
I found this video over at I-Mockery.com and, even though the company that made the lights don't seem to know the difference between Friday the 13th and Halloween (listen to the music), I still think these are awesome for two reasons: 1) I'd rather hear the Halloween theme than the annoying echo-ki-ing and ma-ing from Friday the 13th, and 2) These ones look much better than the official ones (below). :D
Obviously, Jason never really had a dog in the movies, but this is an art piece by Undead Ed, and since I've never seen another one, it's in this post! After all, "Even Jason from Friday the 13th needs a pet...Dogs are a PSYCHO's best friend!". The sculpture was already sold on Undead Ed's Etsy page, but you can still view the listing here.
I guess if Jason has a dog, he might also want a sexy psycho fangirl girlfriend too? Or maybe this is what Mrs. Voorhees looked like in her younger days? Who knows? And more importantly, who cares? :D
"Horror movies are showing the love to the ladies with this women's Jason Voorhees mask! This sexy horror movie costume features a black, polyester dress with a Jason-mask logo in the front (**note that the logo is purple, not white as pictured)."
The logo is purple? Oh yeah! Remember that time when Jason wore a purple mask? Yeah, me neither. >.> Also, the "mask" she's holding is actually a bag, which is kind of cool I guess. The costume is available at HalloweenCostumes.net and goes with their Men's Jason costume, which I won't even start on.
You knew it was going to be somewhere on the list. There's a bobblehead of just about everyone, and Jason Voorhees is no exception. In fact, there are quite a few, but this one is definitely the cutest! It's still listed on NeatoShop, but sadly, I think it's out of stock now.
8. Funko Jason Plushie
Jason Funko Plushie
Another cute addition to the Friday the 13th plethora of merchandise is this adorable little plush toy. As the shop page says, "Jason has never been so cute and cuddly!". I'm pretty sure there's a reason for that. Then again, if he looked as harmless and unassuming as this, it would certainly make catching his victims a lot easier! Another found on NeatoShop.
9. Mezco's Cinema Of Fear Jason Roto Plush
Jason Roto Plush
If you like your horror plushies to look a little more horrific, then this Jason roto plush from Mezco might be more your style. Standing at an appropriate 13" tall, this "cuddly killer" comes with his trusty machte and is dressed in a hockey jersey. I rather like this one; I also rather like that Mezco are trying to draw in as many customers as they can by saying that not only will horror fans appreciate this toy, but "hockey fans that enjoy their team a bit more on the aggressive side" will love it too!
10. Jason Hockey Mask Cap
Hockey Mask Cap
An alternative for those of you that really don't want to wear a mask! It's available from TheMovieShop.com. Unfortunately, instead of looking like a creepy horror icon, you might just end up looking like a 'Mighty Duck'. That's pretty scary too though.
11. Friday the 13th Mouse & Mouse Pad
Blood-filled Mouse Pad and Hockey Mask Mouse
According to Friday the 13th the Film Franchise, this mouse pad / mouse combo pack was given out to some lucky contest winners and select members of the press to promote the release of 'Friday the 13th 2009'. The mouse is a hockey mask and the mouse pad is filled with blood. It doesn't look particularly comfortable to use, but it's still pretty fantastic!
12. Jason Voorhees Mask Cake
Hockey Mask Cake
Horror-themed cakes are always fun! This one was made by Wing-Ding on Cake Central. "Fondant covered and the "blood" is thickened colored piping gel. The cake is red butter cake torted with red vanilla pudding. It also has chocolate buttercream." Yum!
13. Jason Hockey Mask Ring
Hockey Mask Ring
Released by Gentle Giant, whose name seems completely inappropriate here, this hockey mask ring was sold on Big Bad Toys, and various other outlets. Gentle Giant made a few other Friday the 13th-related items too, but they seem to be sold out now.
What's your favourite 'Friday the 13th' item? Let us know!
I bring you some info about a new TV series you will probably enjoy.
"American Horror Story" has been created by Brad Falchuk and Ryan Murphy (You might be familiar with them if you follow "Glee") and it's a horror-drama series which first episode just aired this past 5th of October.
Here's a little summary of the plot:
"American Horror Story follows the Harmon family, Ben (Dylan McDermott), Vivien (Connie Britton) and Violet (Taissa Farmiga), who move from Boston to Los Angeles after Vivien has a miscarriage and Ben has an affair with one of his students. The family moves to a restored mansion, unaware that the home is haunted. Ben and Vivien try to rekindle their relationship while Violet suffers from depression."
I already watched the first episode and can tell you it's pretty good! so if you're up for a little TV horror, this is your series!
Okay, first of all I need to point out that if you've somehow found your way to this entry looking for something to do with politics, you should leave now, as this is absolutely not what you're looking for. However, if you're here looking for a way to host a fantastic and horror-themed tea party, whilst raising money for a worthy cause, then this is the place for you!
That out of the way, I should probably preface this by telling you that in addition to loving all things scary and strange, I also adore animals. So for that reason, I'm posting this entry. Between April 2nd and May 2nd 2011, UK animal charity, The Blue Cross, are holding fundraising tea party events across the country and are encouraging people to sign up and hold tea parties of their own. So why not make yours have a horror/zombie/Halloween etc. theme, and have some fun whilst raising money? If you're not in the UK, or would prefer to support a different cause, then all you have to do is send/give the money you raise to a charity or organisation that you would like to help.
Some theme ideas for your creepy tea party might include:
Horror - have an event with movie screenings, horror music, creepy horror villain-inspired food etc. You can make the theme horror in general, or pick a specific movie/series/book etc. to base it on. You could even get your guests to dress up as their favourite characters!
Skeleton Cake made by me
Halloween - use any Halloween decorations to make your venue look like it was October 31st all over again! Use cupcake holders with spooky designs, creepy cake decorations, tableclothes with ghosts/bats/pumpkins printed on and eerie theme music to set the scene.
Zombies - get your gory brain props and special effects make-up out and transform yourself, your family and your friends into undead ghouls! if your event is indoors, you could show zombie movies or if it's outdoors, you could even organise a mini-zombie lurch to go with it!
Nosferatu
Vampires - this will vary depending on what kind of vampires you like; zombie-esque ones from traditional mythology, Nosferatu-esque vampires who aren't like zombies, but aren't quite like modern takes on them, gothic horror vampires like Bela Lugosi in Dracula or Christopher Lee in the early Hammer Dracula movies, "sexy" vampires etc. etc. You'll need to change your decor accordingly, but the essential thing about this is, BLOOD! (Or at least something that looks like it) All vampires want that ;)
Victorian Curiosities / Mad Scientist's Lab - these have been put together because for curiosities and labs you will need specimens in jars, strange looking items, weird and wonderful medical paraphernalia and so on. Obviously for the curiosities theme, it's essential that your table and decor choices are in-keeping with the Victorian era, just as the lab has to have a vaguely inventor/medical experiment feel, but there are actually quite a few variations on each. For example, Victorian circus or Steampunk lab.
Creepy Cute - if you like your bloody, padded room-dwelling pyschos mixed with fluffy teddies, polka dots, stripes and large eyes, then creepy cute is a perfect for you! Examples of this style are the paintings/drawings of Junko Mizuno and Mark Ryden, the games 'Plants vs. Zombies', 'MediEvil' and 'Grim Fandango' and 'American McGee's Alice', the series/game 'Gregory Horror Show', Living Dead Dolls and most of Tim Burton's more popular movies. Think pretty pink cakes with gory eyeball decorations, teddy bears with disturbing smiles, bright candies and lollipops scattered in a graveyard, friendly monsters...anything of that kind.
There are, of course, many other theme ideas and there's no reason why you couldn't have a combination tea party, these were just for inspiration. With all of the themes, use a tea, such as pomegranite and raspberry, with a red tinge and serve in horror/skeleton themed cups to bring the whole event together.
'Tea Party with guest Mauley the Zombie Doll' by Shain Erin
For tutorials, shopping and more ideas, see the blog sections below. We'll be updating these regularly, so keep checking! Alternatively, if there's something you really want to see, but we haven't covered it yet, ask us for a tutorial and we'll get on it!
I have often thought how scary giant lego men would be, even if armed with a paddle/chainsaw ensemble.
During my formative years, like many others I dreamed of killing zombies with giant dice. Although that has still yet to become a real life reality, I will soon get to test out its game effectiveness in a sequel to Dead Rising, developed by Blue Castle Games and published by Capcom!:
Long have I waited for THIS
"Welcome to Fortune City, the city with no limits. America's newest entertainment playground offers you the ultimate pleasure experience, and you can bet your life that playing and staying in Fortune City's incredible casinos is pure fun and games all the way."
As protagonist Chuck Greene, you are given the chance to take on a variety of missions in Fortune City (think Las Vegas but with zombies). As before, tasks would be simple if the city wasn't full of the undead. By zombies I mean lots of zombies. The developer has stated that as many as 7000 can be onscreen at once, whereas Dead Rising only allowed a tiny 800. So of course there are lots and lots of enemies to kill!
This Halloween, if you're out of costume ideas, look no futher than the Horror Factory. Their selection of intriguing and horrific masks are a delight for any trick or treater.
Their masks were made with a variety of fascinating details that would make any horror fanatic want to wear it and spook the pants off of someone, perfect for horror fans and collectors.
From their latest collection, this monster's head appears to be the result of a mad scientist's project gone way wrong (or right).
The game Left for Dead has been around for a while, and has been a firm favourite of mine, as it involves three things that always seem to equal fun: Chainsaws. Zombies. Blood. The stylings of this game helps to set a fun b-movie atmosphere as you team up with 3 other players against an unending horde of zombies!
In this photo "The Sacrifice" appears to be a zombie!!! (of course)
"Welcome to the first chapter in our four-part Left 4 Dead comic, the Sacrifice! Find out what happens after the military rescued Francis, Louis, Zoey, and Bill at the end of the original Left 4 Dead in four weekly installments, each a whopping 40-plus pages of story and art. Then, download the new DLC “The Sacrifice”, where we put the story’s conclusion into your hands."
For those who don't know it (you would have to have been hiding in your zompocalypse fallout shelter not to) there is a new mission pack coming on the 5th October, well in time for halloween. But first there has been a online comic book released to help set the mood!
More details about this and "the Sacrifice" campaign after the jump!
Universal Studios, in both Hollywood and Orlando, run Halloween Horror Nights regularly, with 2010 being the 20th year at Orlando! (Hollywood's HHN started later and went on hiatus for a few years). Both locations have scare zones, live shows and houses, with Hollywood also including rides, making scary spectacles for all!
If you prefer branded horror (A Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13th, Saw etc.) then probably you'd enjoy Hollywood's offerings this year, as Orlando only seem to have original characters this year. However, if you just want some shocks, scares and frights on Halloween and don't really care who it comes from, then Orlando will be just as fun for you!
Concocted and released today by Frictional Games, 'Amnesia: The dark decent' is not a game for the faint of heart. Those used to having the trusty shotgun and rocket launcher to deal with whatever denizens may come your way, will be disturbed by the fact that the only option for survival in this claustrophobic horror game is to run and hide!
"The last remaining memories fade away into darkness. Your mind is a mess and only a feeling of being hunted remains. You must escape."
Trailer and more information in the full article (click the jump!)
Dr. Eswai is called by Inspector Kruger to a small village to perform an autopsy on a woman who has died under suspicious circumstances. Despite help from Ruth, the village witch, Kruger is killed and it is revealed that the dead woman, as well as other villagers, have been killed by the ghost of Melissa, a young girl who, fed by the hatred of her grieving mother, Baroness Graps, exacts her revenge on them. Dr. Eswai, along with Monica, a local nurse, are lured into a fateful confrontation at the Villa Graps.
-Doug Sederberg
Set in Transylvania, you might expect legendary Italian director, Mario Bava's, stylish classic gothic horror, 'Kill, Baby... Kill!' (1966, aka 'Operazione paura'), to be about vampires. However, quite a different supernatural, undead being is the subject of this movie. This is one of Bava's best, in my opinion. Wonderful aesthetics and a skillful plot progression make it a must see, along with 1960's 'Black Sunday'/'La maschera del demonio'. If possible, watch it in Italian with English subtitles though, because, as is so often the case, the English dubs are pretty terrible!
Ah, the end of August is looming, casting a gloriously gloomy shadow over September and welcoming Autumn. That can mean only one thing: the best day of the year is coming up. That's right! My birthday!HALLOWEEN!
Whilst I'm sure you're all already prepared, just in case you need anything extra for this years grotesque gatherings and spooky seances, look no further than TheHorrorDome.com, the "Halloween superstore"! They have everything you could want from horrific halloween masks and zombie risers to creepy dolls and haunted clocks! And more!!
Not only do they sell great items, but they even provide free how-to guides in their prop directions section. Guides featured include such ghastly delights as 'Horror Ribs', 'Vampire Blood' and 'The Army of Darkness'.
Based on the Swedish vampire novel by John Ajvide Lindqvist and the movie of the same name (directed by Tomas Alfredson), 'Låt den rätte komma in' (Let the Right One in) has been remade by 'Cloverfield' director Matt Reeves as 'Let Me In' and Hammer Film Productions and is set to be released in the US on October 1st.
A bullied young boy befriends a young female vampire who lives in secrecy with her guardian.
Having never read the original novel, I cannot really make any judgements about this film from the trailer. However, the difference between the two screen adaptations appears to be that 'Let Me In' seems to play up the horror elements of the story, whilst 'Let the Right One In' focused much more on the relationship between Oskar and Eli (Owen and Abbey in 'Let Me In') rather than the fact that Eli was a vampire. The setting too has been changed from Sweden to New Mexico, US as well as the character names, and that will surely have some bearing on the story too.
Like so many remakes, 'Let Me In' has the potential to be a good movie. However, I guess we'll just have to wait and see whether or not Hammer and Reeves take that potential and use it.
Tokyo horror rock band, SaTaN released their new album, '13 I Scream' at the end of June. I did actually receieve my copy of it from the Starwave Records store the day before the release, which was great, but I haven't gotten around to reviewing it until now.
Anyway! I was already a fan of this band because of their previous releases (a mini-album and 2 singles) and the live performance of theirs that I had the pleasure of attending last year, but I have to say, thanks to this album, I now like them even more. I absolutely LOVE it! The tongue-in-cheek horror lyrics (which are, by the way, entirely in English), driving guitars, crazy vocals and occasional use of spooky synths make this album fantastic! The genre sways between black metal, horror rock and even a little punk, quite frequently and it works very well and creates a style that is both influenced by other artists (for example, older Murderdolls) but remains unique to SaTaN at the same time. Admittedly, with regards to the lyrics, sometimes their English is not perfect, but the meaning of the songs is clear (plus, they've included a Japanese translation of the lyrics, which makes it even clearer what the lyrics are supposed to mean).
I was going to finish by recommending my favourite songs from '13 I Scream', but honestly, I can't choose because every track is great!
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:
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.
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!
This portrait of Elsa Lanchester in the 1930's James Whale classic, 'The Bride of Frankenstein', is the latest creation from aspiring New York music journalist and horror artist, Joseph Lara. With a love of all things spooky from childhood, and a background in painting, Lara naturally began combining the two.
Expect more ghastly ghouls, graves and ghosts from him soon!
You can keep up to date with him by visiting his page ⇒ here
"By animusfilms. A dark animated tale about a cat who, the legend has it, wants to become human.
Year: 2001 Director: Robert Morgan"
The Cat with Hands' is a bizarre, creepy, fairytale-like story...I love it! This was the second short film made by director Robert Morgan and was said to have been "inspired by a recurring nightmare Rob’s older sister Eleanor had when she was young". If you think that's weird, Morgan also went onto make a film partly inspired by finding a severed goose head outside his house as a child. Nice >.>;
To read more about Robert Morgan or to watch his other films, check out his page at Animus Films ⇒here.
This Halloween, if you're out of costume ideas, look no futher than the 
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