Monday, October 31, 2011
Saturday, October 29, 2011
HELLIAKIN LOPES WORX
Heliakin Lopes has been working professionally in the field of Graphic designer since 2007 . Born and raised in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil . He moved to Minas Gerais in August of 2007 Due to the death of their parents. He then delved into Web Designer and graphic design programs. Currently, works to Fingerprints. Life Heliakin Lopes has been filled with devotion to art; He began to learn manipulation in February 2010 he enjoys delving in his work in all aspects of his life. The nightmare visions that Heliakin Lopes creates are best described as "...sensual goth macabre and elegant ". Stimulate the the depth of emotion that Heliakin Lopes portrays in his artwork.
Friday, October 28, 2011
SPEAKING IN TONGUES
Buddy Nestor put together an amazing show recently that opened at the Black Vulture Gallery on June 3rd. The artwork has not shown up on the gallery’s web page, however many of the works have shown up on BUddy’s own Facebook page. So I thought I would make it easier and show the work here. This is a very large group show, and features some outstanding work. Works by Cam Rackam, Brian Smith, Dan Harding, Apricot Mantle, Charlie Immer, Crystal Barbre, Dave Glass, Ewelina Ferruso, Isis Graywood, Kat Gun, Jessica Ward, Kristen Ferrel, JoKa, Jeremy Hush, Paul Romano, Lauren Rusignola, Peter Adamyan, and many more make up for a solid show. I am really hooked on the painting “Raphael Goes to Hell” by Lauren Rusignola (shown last). Of course I’m always a sucker for paintings that feature elements and themes from classical works of art, but the textures and style of this painting is amazing in itself. Take a look at the full show over at Buddy’s Facebook Page:
“Speaking in Tongues” Preview
I'm reading the Complete History of the Return of the Living Dead book and this has forced me to break a personal vow by watching all the various sequels to one of my favourite horror comedies, a vow I made shortly after the video release of Return of the Living Dead 2. So, here are my impressions :
….....
Return of the Living Dead 2, well, I was right back then. It's an awful awful awful film, the two returning cast members over act wildly. The new cast are cretins and thoroughly deserve to be eaten. I feel sorry for the zombies. Seriously misfiring sight gags, muppet zombie puppets, tepid metal soundtrack, the most annoying girlfriend in cinematic history and a useless script. Do not resuscitate the director.
On a positive note the first scene between James Karen and Thom Mathews in the mausoleum was nice, I also liked the green smog floating over the graveyard and the young hero Jesse reminded me of, that infamously debauched astral roamer; Kirk of The Mighty Boosh.
……..
Return of the Living Dead 3, In which it is revealed that Trioxin was originally developed to counter the menace of marijuana. This film is a vast improvement. The comedy aspect has been jettisoned in favour of a straight story of doomed love. Brian Yuzna directs and there's a heavy Reanimator influence showing in the grotesque special effects. I think this is the best film I've seen by him, I loved the story of Society but this has better acting and a more even tone.
It's also a plus that this tangentially covers the Goth scene and the cult of body piercing. One of the major attractions of the first film was the gang of punks.
……..
Return of the Living Dead 4, and back to awful. After quite a few years lapsed in development hell the series is picked up by an Eastern European consortium that specialise in failing horror franchises and making Clive Barker cry. Considering that there were two screenwriters and they spent six years rewriting the script they really should have done a better job.
Would two vagrants talk about how seldom they bathe? No, they'd gossip about Big Jock. Would Mimi, a pretty popular girl, really be prepared to prostitute herself with a greasy overweight security guard in order to rescue someone she doesn't like? Well, maybe.
The special effects ain't that special and all but the principal cast members have suspiciously East European accents. There's this 30 year old Russian teenager who says : "I haff lost count ov ze timez I haff passed on ze primo tail so vat you can score da little somethin' somethin'".
Anyway, not good. The only positive aspects are the two fake TV spots that open and close the film and the brief sequence where you see a zombie punk with a Mohican that looks a bit like Brian Dick.
…….
Return of the Living Dead 5, Produced by the same cheapo East European consortium with nearly all of the same American cast members but a lot more fun than their first attempt. There's been some cool rave scenes in horror films (Blade, American Werewolf in Paris and Freddy vs Jason, for example) but here is a film largely devoted to the sub-culture, this, to me, is a lot more interesting than watching another film about gaining entry to a top secret military installation. This is also the only film besides the first I'd consider downloading the soundtrack of.
Some of the zombies are better realised, particularly the new Tar Man and in the opening sequence. There are some nice gory scenes involving drumsticks and cheerleaders bums. It's not in the same class as the third, let alone the first, but it's not entirely bad.
If I'm picking flaws then there's the crap Russian mafia who would be unfunny even if they could speak their lines, Julian and Cody's naive reaction to the canisters left by evil Uncle Charles, (if Cody didn't see them in the first film he saw enough to make his actions incomprehensible, Julian is forever wandering off and leaving the canisters unattended) and the way the zombie outbreak that has been raging exponentially for a couple of days has no bearing on the rave going ahead.
But horror films aren't about logic and apparently the screen writers had a lot of pressure placed on them by the producers to make changes they weren't comfortable with, blame the Russkies.
……….
So, in summation, avoid the even numbered Return of the Living Dead's and if there's a future for the franchise (there isn't, Tom Fox has snuffed it) it might be fun to do a prequel and show the effects of Trioxin on dope smoking hippies back in the 60s.
Fasbinder 62 out.
I'm reading the Complete History of the Return of the Living Dead book and this has forced me to break a personal vow by watching all the various sequels to one of my favourite horror comedies, a vow I made shortly after the video release of Return of the Living Dead 2. So, here are my impressions :
….....
Return of the Living Dead 2, well, I was right back then. It's an awful awful awful film, the two returning cast members over act wildly. The new cast are cretins and thoroughly deserve to be eaten. I feel sorry for the zombies. Seriously misfiring sight gags, muppet zombie puppets, tepid metal soundtrack, the most annoying girlfriend in cinematic history and a useless script. Do not resuscitate the director.
On a positive note the first scene between James Karen and Thom Mathews in the mausoleum was nice, I also liked the green smog floating over the graveyard and the young hero Jesse reminded me of, that infamously debauched astral roamer; Kirk of The Mighty Boosh.
……..
Return of the Living Dead 3, In which it is revealed that Trioxin was originally developed to counter the menace of marijuana. This film is a vast improvement. The comedy aspect has been jettisoned in favour of a straight story of doomed love. Brian Yuzna directs and there's a heavy Reanimator influence showing in the grotesque special effects. I think this is the best film I've seen by him, I loved the story of Society but this has better acting and a more even tone.
It's also a plus that this tangentially covers the Goth scene and the cult of body piercing. One of the major attractions of the first film was the gang of punks.
……..
Return of the Living Dead 4, and back to awful. After quite a few years lapsed in development hell the series is picked up by an Eastern European consortium that specialise in failing horror franchises and making Clive Barker cry. Considering that there were two screenwriters and they spent six years rewriting the script they really should have done a better job.
Would two vagrants talk about how seldom they bathe? No, they'd gossip about Big Jock. Would Mimi, a pretty popular girl, really be prepared to prostitute herself with a greasy overweight security guard in order to rescue someone she doesn't like? Well, maybe.
The special effects ain't that special and all but the principal cast members have suspiciously East European accents. There's this 30 year old Russian teenager who says : "I haff lost count ov ze timez I haff passed on ze primo tail so vat you can score da little somethin' somethin'".
Anyway, not good. The only positive aspects are the two fake TV spots that open and close the film and the brief sequence where you see a zombie punk with a Mohican that looks a bit like Brian Dick.
…….
Return of the Living Dead 5, Produced by the same cheapo East European consortium with nearly all of the same American cast members but a lot more fun than their first attempt. There's been some cool rave scenes in horror films (Blade, American Werewolf in Paris and Freddy vs Jason, for example) but here is a film largely devoted to the sub-culture, this, to me, is a lot more interesting than watching another film about gaining entry to a top secret military installation. This is also the only film besides the first I'd consider downloading the soundtrack of.
Some of the zombies are better realised, particularly the new Tar Man and in the opening sequence. There are some nice gory scenes involving drumsticks and cheerleaders bums. It's not in the same class as the third, let alone the first, but it's not entirely bad.
If I'm picking flaws then there's the crap Russian mafia who would be unfunny even if they could speak their lines, Julian and Cody's naive reaction to the canisters left by evil Uncle Charles, (if Cody didn't see them in the first film he saw enough to make his actions incomprehensible, Julian is forever wandering off and leaving the canisters unattended) and the way the zombie outbreak that has been raging exponentially for a couple of days has no bearing on the rave going ahead.
But horror films aren't about logic and apparently the screen writers had a lot of pressure placed on them by the producers to make changes they weren't comfortable with, blame the Russkies.
……….
So, in summation, avoid the even numbered Return of the Living Dead's and if there's a future for the franchise (there isn't, Tom Fox has snuffed it) it might be fun to do a prequel and show the effects of Trioxin on dope smoking hippies back in the 60s.
Fasbinder 62 out.
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
TOP 25 HORROR FLICKS - 2009
Top 25 Horror Movies of 2009 The Definitive List
By now you should have probably noticed a ton of Top Lists for 2009 on site written by the staff members of our site. To give you an objective overview of what the top films of 2009 really were I have taken all of the Top Lists written by the staff and scored each film 1 through 10 given them 25 to 3 points depending on where the staff member ranked it and built one main Top Horror Films List.
Also included in this list are the votes of a few guest editorial writers and you the members of our site. Every film in our site has an approval rating based on the average of all reader reviews and that number was also incorporated into our Top list to make it as accurate as possible.
Afterall we like to think we know our stuff but you readers know the genre just as good and in many cases even better. So without further ado here is the Definitive List of the Best Horror Films of 2009. If you have not seen any of these films.. you need to. As far as our staff and the readers of our site are concerned these horror movies are the cats ass!
#25: Last House on the Left Remake: I find this one incredibly shocking but then that is what happens when you include almost 30 people in judging for your Top Films of 2009.. a remake makes it on. Quite honestly all things considered I really do not disagree with it landing at #25 on our Top 25 since it was both disturbing and dark and as much as it is a remake it was well done with a focus on building a great story and not garnering mass appeal at the box office. Last House on the Left was great for a remake and lands at #25.
#21 Dead girl: Dead girl is a film summed up easily with the word Sadistic. But its also quite engaging in its story. Dead Girl will draw you in and spit you out with its intense writing and extreme brutality. Definitely not for the faint of heart!
#14 Thirst: This one needs no intro. Directed by Park Chan Wook the genius behind the Oldboy series of movies its a vampire tale that every fan of Park's should watch!
# 9 Martyrs: Although Martyrs only made it to #9 on the score cards I think it really deserved to be alot higher. Martyrs is one of the most disturbing and captivating movies I have ever seen. I saw it based on reccomednations from those who had seen it and I was far from dissapointed. Shocking and incredibly disturbing it is wrapped in a story that pulls you in deep and then spits you out. This movie redefines the word disturbing but in the same token is a fantastically written story. I had to fast forward through parts... it bothered me that much.
# 5 Zombieland: Zombieland is easily one of the best commercial zombie movies to come out of Hollywood in quite some time. Its the North American answer to Shaun of the Dead while still very much being its own movie. The rules, the action, the romance and the laughs makes Zombieland easily one of the best films to hit the horror genre in 2009. It lands at #5 on our list.
Also included in this list are the votes of a few guest editorial writers and you the members of our site. Every film in our site has an approval rating based on the average of all reader reviews and that number was also incorporated into our Top list to make it as accurate as possible.
Afterall we like to think we know our stuff but you readers know the genre just as good and in many cases even better. So without further ado here is the Definitive List of the Best Horror Films of 2009. If you have not seen any of these films.. you need to. As far as our staff and the readers of our site are concerned these horror movies are the cats ass!
#25: Last House on the Left Remake: I find this one incredibly shocking but then that is what happens when you include almost 30 people in judging for your Top Films of 2009.. a remake makes it on. Quite honestly all things considered I really do not disagree with it landing at #25 on our Top 25 since it was both disturbing and dark and as much as it is a remake it was well done with a focus on building a great story and not garnering mass appeal at the box office. Last House on the Left was great for a remake and lands at #25.
#24 House of the Devil: At #23 on our list is House of the Devil which tells the story of an attractive college student who takes a job in a creepy old mansion as a babysitter to earn money for a deposit on an apartment. Unfortunately for her the creepy man who works at the Mansion is much more then just creepy and there are no children that need sitting... it all ends badly!
#23: Carriers: Carriers is a fantastic take on the infectious plague genre that lacked the confidence of its studio and ended up with a limited theatrical release in about a dozen theaters and even worse an irritating release onto DVD which had me hunting all over to buy it. It makes its way onto the Top 10 not from staff votes but from the guest and member votes and I agree with them. Carriers is a character film that focuss on the humanity of its characters and the story more then action as a brother and two girls try to escape and survive a plague that has turned the United states into a wasteland of suffering.
#22 Cold Prey: Cold Prey teaches the cold lessons of why you dont want to go skiing in the alps... especially not to an abandoned ski lodge currently inhabited by a psychopath. Released in theaters over seas in 2007 it released wide onto dvd here in north america Jan / 2009 which is why it made this list.
#20 Babysitter Wanted: Babysitter Wanted flew under alot of readers radar until Goon reviewed it and people went out and bought it and started talking about it on site. Babysitter Wanted teaches the important lesson of why there are much safer ways to get money then babysitting in an old isolated farm house far from the safey of the city.
#19 The Collector: The Collector got mixed reviews from readers staff of this site but still made alot of Top 10 lists for 2009. The Collector is gruesome, disturbing and reminds us all why crime doesnt pay.
#18 Surveillance: Surveillance is a film by Jennifer Lynch and its both disturbing and violent while still being very deep and through provoking. It tells the story of a town of crooked cops, two serial killing partners and a team of FBI agents out to get them. You will never guess the ending and the last 5minutes will definitely knock the wind out of you. Not for the weak of heart.
#17 The Children: Think of the Children as a modern day telling of Children of the Corn only this time its a virus making the kids go bat shit crazy. The Children is a creepy christmas tale of a family that heads to the woods to celebrate and discovers their children have more in mind then unwrapping presents. Creepy and dark the Children is a fantastic film with a dark ending.
#16 Splinter: I am a huge fan of the thing and up until now no film has touched it. I say until now because Toby Wilkins SPLINTER is genius. Its dark, is gorey, its violent and it mixed scifi, nature and horror all in a nice little bundle that is sure to make you think twice about going to the woods anytime soon. Definitely an hommage to The Thing its easily one of the best indie films to be made in the last 10 years.
#15 Doghouse: Doghouse is one of those movies that just re-enforces why as men we need to make sure we dont confuse the women for the weaker sex. Especially not when they are a bunch of flesh eating zombies looking to put all the men in the doghouse... or their bellies!
#13: End of the Line: I love zombie movies but I also love apocalyptic films with religious overtones. Seems I am not alone as the combined votes of our staff and members put End of the Line in the #14 spot on the Top 25 Horror Films of 2009. Beware religious whack jobs in uniforms sporting knives looking to bring about the end of days! Dark and gruesome End of the Line is everything a good apocalyptic hororr film should be.
#12 The Orphan: I actually had the ending of this movie ruined by a forum member who posted the ending without a spoiler alert. Regardless I still watched it and much to my surprise enjoyed it. Although it did not make my Top 10 list I can see why it made so many staff members top 10's and made it into the Top 25. The Orphan is a movie that will ensure orphanages around the world are a little fuller for awhile.
# 11 Let The Right One In: Let The Right One In is easily the best vampire film to come out of the foreign markets in many years. A love story told between two teens it is shot in a very atmospheric way and is both creepy and endearing. The movie is so good I am actually interested in seeing how the remake Matt Reeves who directed Cloverfield is working on turns out.
# 10 REC: Not much to say about REC other then its the first truly scary zombie movie to arrive on the scene in many years. I love zombie movies and watch them all but admittedly most are for entertainment value and not scares. REC is both entertaining and scary and will make you think twice about staying in an apartment complex in Spain. REC was released onto dvds this year but had an international run in theaters in 2007. Real shame that we never experienced it in theaters.
# 8 Dead Snow: Nazi's, Zombies, Chainsaws, carnage and medical students skiing in the mountains. This is what Dead Snow brings to you. Its a foreign film which brings some laughs, plenty of carnage and lots of zombies. It reminded me of a mix of Evil Dead meets Shaun of the Dead with a little bit of Night of the Living Dorks thrown in the mix. This film landed high on alot of our staffs Top 10 lists which is why it ended up at #8.
# 7 Drag me to Hell: Sam Raimis return to the genre that got him started was by most measures a success. It got mixed reviews from some horror fans but critics and the rest of the fans thought the film was genius. For me Sam Raimis Drag Me To Hell was a return to his roots. The film was filled with hommages and easter eggs from his earlier films and was a complete riot with an ending that will please just about anyone. Definitely a fun film that lands at #7 on our list. This movie teaches us to never screw with an old Gypsy... they might just git you!
# 6 Grace: Grace tells the story of a woman who brings a baby to term and delivers it knowing that the outcome will be less then healthy. Grace is a disturbing film that is sure to make all expectant parents quicker and stare at those pregnant bumps with terrified eyes. Landing high on our staffs top lists it ended up at #6 overall.
# 4 Paranormal Activity: Paranormal Activity really does not need alot said about it. Made for around $25,000 it went on to become the most profitable movie ever made. Considered by some to be over rated and by others to be one of the most terrifying theater experiences in years. Anyway you cut it a good film that lands at #4 on our staffs list.
# 3 Antichrist: Antichrist was all the buzz this year as easily one of the most messed up films of the year but also one of the most terrrifying. PoppaScotch who was one fo the judges on this list put it best when he said Lars Von Trier is either a genius film maker or an absolute madmen. Antichrist tells the story of a couple who head to the woods to fix their relationship after a tragic loss and nature takes its course exploding into a truly mad film.
# 2 Trick R Treat: I really cant argue with the #2 spot at all for 2009. Trick R Treat is one of the best horror anthologies I have seen since Creepshow. A mix of tales that tell their own story while still being interlinked its creepy, gruesome and also lots of laughs. Without a doubt Trick R Treat is a fantastic film and it seems all the staff of HM.ca agree as it lands in the #2 spot. If you buy any movie off this list make it Trick R Treat and I will be shocked if you dont love it.
# 1 Pontypool: The #1 place on our Top Films list goes to Pontypool and honestly I am somewhat surprised. I figured for sure that films with more notice like Zombieland or even Martyrs would have made it to #1 but it seems our staff have alot of love for this low budget Canadian zombie film about a DJ on the air during a disturbing and violent outbreak of a zombie like infection. Pontypool is a smart zombie movie that plays out like a stage play and focuses on the characters more then the action. Pontypool wont appeal to everyone but for this zombie fan it is one of the best written and most intelligent zombie films since Night of the Living Dead. It is also what our staff voted to be the #1 horror film of 2009.
Two Closing notes. First a thank you to all the staff who contributed their votes for Top film of 2009 and also a thank you to the 20 some odd members of our community who also took time to contribute votes to this list making it truly a Top Horror Films list by fans... and for fans. Without a doubt because of how we did this list you will be able to find a film on this list that you can truly love!
My Final closing note is a decision I made as site editor. District 9 actually landed at #3 on this list and frankly well deserving but I had to cave to the 'scifi' crowd. Alot of people have made comments to me that District 9 is scifi and not horror and although I refuse to take it off the site since its such an awesome and gruesome tale I do concede it does not belong on a Top Horror Films for 2009 list. So I made the choice to remove it but DEFINITELY make sure you buy District 9. Its a really awesome flick.
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