A Zombie Western...With PUPPETS!

It's a puppet!

I've always wanted to see a zombie puppet film. Sure there's been animated zombie films such as Dead Space, the CGI Resident Evil film and the made-by-one-man City Of Rott, but there's been nothing (to my knowledge) of a gory and funny zombie film with Henson-esque puppets, similar to Meet The Feebles. Until now! It Came From The West, released a few months ago,is just that (short) film,  crammed with blood, guts, and stuffing and about as tongue in cheek as it is hand up back. Now you can check the full film out online! Just head over to this link to watch it all. Here's hoping the director, Tor Fruergaard, makes a feature length version of this!

But that's not all! I've recently come across this little fake zombie trailer done in the style of a Grindhouse/Exploitation trailer. It's great fun!

The Wrong Stuff: Internet 'Video Nasties'

Yesterday morning, I watched a programme on TV that actually made me quite concerned and worried. No, it wasn't a re-run of The X Factor, Don't Stop Believing or other such garbage, but a segment on a talk show known as The Wright Stuff on channel Five. Matthew Wright and his panel of three celebrities were discussing the topic "Are you a sicko if you watch video nasties on YouTube?" Being a huge fan of horror and intrigued by censorship, this instantly caught my attention, so I sat and watched. It provided one of the most interesting 15 or so minutes I've seen on TV for a long while (which isn't saying that much!).


It was pretty obvious what position the panel would take on this subject, and I'm by no means condemning them for taking this view. It's their opinion, and everyone should be entitled to their opinions.They clearly couldn't understand why people would watch such videos, including, as they mentioned, executions such as beheadings and hangings to chucking puppies into a river. One person even expressed there puzzlement and fear of these people by calling viewers of these videos sociopaths. Now, something strange struck me here as I got a whiff of hypocrisy. 'Whiff' may be the wrong word, since the hypocrisy shown here was about as subtle as getting your head stuck up an elephants backside. For they actually showed two of the films that they were discussing and deemed as a 'nasty'! Bare in mind that this is around 10 o'clock in the morning. Sure one could argue that these two videos (one in which a woman throws a cat into a bin and one in which someone throws a couple of puppies into a river) are not particularly violent or gruesome (compared to the executions), but that's beside the point since The Wright Stuff panel discussed them alongside the more 'hardcore' Internet videos. My main argument here is that unlike videos on the Internet in which viewers chose to search for them and watch them, these two videos were shown on national television without any warning whatsoever.


So far you may be thinking that I'm condemning these videos and taking a similar view to The Wright Stuff guys, but that couldn't be more wrong. I strongly believe that adults should be allowed to watch anything they wish. In my opinion, NOTHING should be banned or censored. However there is a very clear difference between someone finding a 'nasty' video and someone unexpectedly watching one without warning. It was almost a way of shocking the audience into being disgusted by the videos and therefore would provide them with a position on this argument - one that is against these films.

Walking Dead Apocalypse Music Video

The day till The Walking Dead hits our TV screens is getting closer and closer. So what better way to celebrate than with an awesome music video?!

Frightfest 2010 Review 1: Isle Of Dogs

For those who don't know, Frightfest is a huge horror film festival in London which shows off the latest horror films resulting in the majority of the screenings being world premiers, or at least UK premiers. So, the next few posts will be reviews of all the films I saw and whether you should, in my opinion, both checking them out when they (if they) receive a wider release.

The first film I actually saw there this year was Tobe Hooper's original The Texas Chainsaw Massacre from 1974. There's no point reviewing that as everyone knows that it is a masterpiece of horror cinema and to see it on the biggest screen in England was nothing short of spectacular. It was followed by a long Q & A with Hooper, discussing this film in particular but also his occasionally successful career.If you would like to see this, check it out on YouTube here. That video has clearly been edited, Mr. Hooper looked very awkward, nervous and shy on stage. Oh and did I mention I also got an original pre-cert VHS of this film signed by the man himself? No? Well I did. Awesome or what?!

Anyways, let's get to the review of the World Premier of Isle Of Dogs. Directed by Tammi Sutton who's directorial credits include a killer clown film that often appears in the Poundshop (!) Killjoy 2: Deliverance From Evil (2002) and Sutures (2009) a film I had not even heard of before I wasn't too sure about this film. But I went along anyway.

What the hell is it about?
Well according to the FrightFest booklet;

It's a dog eat dog world. So take a deeper plunge into the darker side of human behaviour with an intense portrayal of sex, murder and betrayal. Darius is the gang boss from Hell, a deadly bastard and the last man you'd cross. But when he discovers his young Russian bride  Nadia is sleeping with Riley, he makes the small time hoodlum an offer he can't refuse. Kill or be killed. But murder is a very high stakes game - one with no rules. And as dawn rises on Darius' country estate, there will be seven bodies, with only one winner left standing. In the tradition of London To Brighton, an unflinching portrayal of what people will do to survive. Written by Sean Hogan (Little Deaths) and director Tammi Sutton (the upcoming Welcome To Graveland [what, no mention of killer clowns?!]), comes a barking Brit body count horror.

And Now Something Hillarious...Dead Animals!

As we all know dead animals are not a thing to laugh at. Well, most of the time anyway. Here are a few ways that the corpses of dead animals have been put to 'good' use. Enjoy!

Drinking; It'll Bring Out Your Inner-Animal.

Are you man enough to try this? In fact, are you beast enough to try this? Said to be the "World's strongest ale" and costing £500 per bottle, this drink is certainly the dog's bollocks of alcohol! This new ale, which is now stronger than whiskey and vodka, created by BrewDog in Aberdeenshire comes in a rather unusual packaging. Some would call it hideous. Some would call it a crime against nature. Some would call it sexy (the least said about those people, the better). But I say, this is awesome. The drink goes by the name of The End Of History and comes in a handy and fetching array of dead animals.Choose between either a dead stout, a deceased squirrel or why not be adventurous and pick the hare. Each come this a customisable and highly fashionable out-fit, including a top hat and a kilt. Why not have a themed party to match your ale bottle? James Watt, the co-founder of BrewDog made it clear that "The bottles are at once beautiful and disturbing - they disrupt conventions and break taboos, just like the beer they hold within them." But don't worry, no animals were killed for the purpose of this (they died naturally) but many were humiliated.

BrewDog's official website.

More on this story.

The Museum Stuffed With Dead Animals

What's worse than a couple of ale bottles inside  a few dead animals? How about a whole museum full of stuffed dead animals in funny and bizarre poses? Well such a place exists and that place is Potter's Museum in Bramber, West Sussex here in the UK. Originally opened in 1861, this museum contains over 6,000 animals that have been stuffed by one man (Walter Potter) and placed often in very bizarre poses, such as can be seen in the picture to the left. Other such animal corpse scenes include "The Rabbits School" which shows a whole group of children rabbits reading, writing and listening to their adult rabbit teacher, "Freak Kitten" - a dead kitten with 4 legs on it's back, "Mechanical Toad" in which a series of stuffed toads work out at the gym and of course (?) a stuffed animal re-enactment of the classic rhyme "Death And Burial Of Cock Robin." Sadly, in the year of 2003, Potter's Museum was sold and the each of these were split and sold at auction, raising over £1,000,000! Not bad at all.

For more info on these check out this site.

Cuddly Road-Kill

Ok, so this one is a bit of a cheat, but it deserves to be on here. Not only is it macabre and freaky but it also contains dead (all be in, not real) animals. Yes, of course, it's road-kill cuddly toys! A whole brand of dead, but very fluffy, road-kill teddies are available to buy, each one complete with detailed gore (including splattered brain, intestines and eyeballs), a death certificate, character info and a 'I Love Roadkill' bumper sticker for your car.  So far there is a total of four of these dead creatures to buy; Twitch the Racoon, Grind the Rabbit, Splodge the Hedgehog (Pictured) and, my personal favourite a Pop the Weasel Door Wedge. Also available is a pack of road-kill Christmas cards, sure to brighten up any young face on Christmas day. And what's more, these bloody animals will also shortly be joined by Splodge the Hedgehog mouse mat and Fender the nodding Fox. Buy now - guaranteed to bring tears of happiness to every boy and girl.

To visit their official website and to purchase them, visit this site. 

So that's just a few of the weirdest and most bizarre dead/stuffed animals available. If you have any more, leave a comment below and share it!

Zombie Teddies!

When you see a teddy, what do you usually think of? Childhood memories, stupid teddy names, sneaking into your room to see if they really are alive (Anyone? Nope. Just me then), fluffy and cuddly? Well think again! These badbears are hungry for flesh and they'll rip the stuffing out of you! I present to you BadTasteBear's upcoming 'Dawn Of The Ted' figures!



The first batch consists of six cotton-eating teds which can all been seen in the picture. My personal favourite has got to be "Rot n Roll" bear, with it's missing leg and guitar-crutches, followed closely by the "Bursting With Joy" figure complete with it's oozing bear intestines.

The first set of the dead teds will be on sale HERE from the 22nd of July, where you'll also have a 50/50 chance of winning a Phantom version of "Life's Such A Drag". From what I've seen they look brilliant, and I'll definetly will be getting a few (when I get some money that is!).

For more info check out the following links:

• Bad Taste Bears News Blog
• Diary of the Ted! 

Rob Zombie's Bigfoot - A Graphic Graphic Novel

Bigfoot - The big hairy guy that's supposedly one with nature; a kind and caring creature. Often represented as being a shy and timid beast with only one problem: that's just too damn boring! No one cares about love-giving, tree-hugging yetis with flowers in their hair. Nope. Everyone prefers the flesh-eating, brain-smashing, rib-cracking, human-killing, psychotic-son-of-a-hairy-bitch beast from Hell that lurks in the darkness of the woods ready to rip any and every man, woman and child apart and feast on their steaming innards. 

Or maybe that's just me. 

Well if, like me, you prefer you Sasqatch scary then this extremely graphic graphic novel is right up your alley! Created by Rob Zombie (a man best known for his admiration of horror films, his music and his own films - less said about his Halloween remakes the better), Steve Niles (a king among graphic novels with work including 30 Days Of Night, Criminal Macabre and 28 Days Later: The Aftermath) and Richard Corben (the creator of many of the awesome Meatloaf CD artwork and Heavy Metal) this comic is a must for fans of Bigfoot horror.

The plot of these (a total of four comics)  is very straight forward and doesn't provide the Sasquatch Horror 'genre' with too much that is new; except of course a crazy body count and quite a bit of sex, typical of a RZ film. It tells the story of a psycho Bigfoot that bursts into a cabin and kill a young boys mother and father in front of his eyes. A few years later the boy (now a man!) is back in the town...and so is Bigfoot who's mighty pissed off.  Like most yeti films, there's a large portion of 'Bigfoot? There's no such thing!" dialogue followed by the characters realising they're wrong and going off to kick some hairy ass. Only difference is, as previously mentioned, is the body count. Often characters are brought into the story merely to stack up the pile of bodies. They're literally in it for just afew frames before they're killed off!

Download a piece of obscure zombie history.

We all, probably, know the history of the cinematic zombie. Starting with voodoo zombies and then progressing to the flesh-eating kind with Romero's masterpiece Night of the Living Dead. But few people know about The Peoria Plague.  This was an early 1970s radio broadcast that was very similar to the 1938 broadcast of The War of the Worlds by Orson Welles. It sounds like a normal radio broadcast, but things start to become increasingly scary as chaos begins to destroy the country. The undead have risen and this is what a radio broadcast would probably sound like.

Amazing stuff which should be known about among Zombie Aficiandos. So check it out!

Here's the link to download it, since it's quite hard to track down.

Enjoy :)

Dead Rising 2 'Outbreak' Edition

Maybe to make up for the fact that this game has been put back a few months, Capcom revealed today that a new special edition of this will be available to purchase for the PS3 and XBOX 360. The set includes the new game (obviously), a 12" zombie figure complete with accessories such as a Lego mask, and free downloadable content!

WIN The Beast In Space!

This week over at the Cult Labs forum I'm giving away the incredibly sleazy and incredibly cheesy sci-fi sexploitation film, The Beast in Space! Head on over the forum to be in a chance with winning.

“ [IT] WILL IMPALE YOUR BRAIN WITH ITS SLEAZY DEMENTIA.” – DVD VERDICT

 Science fiction was never so wild and depraved as it is in The Beast In Space, a sex mad intergalactic saga starring Sirpa Lane (Love Goddess Of The Cannibals) who’d already shocked the world when she starred in Walerian Borowczyk’s notorious art-house porno classic, ‘The Beast’. She now returns in this mind-blowing, completely unofficial, outer space set “sequel” as a woman forced to submit to the carnal lusts of an horrific space monster in a movie that gives trash cinema lovers exactly what they want in a riot of space disco insanity, sci-fi oddness and twisted eroticism.



Mind scrambling aliens, eye scorching special effects and the co-star presence of porn diva Marina Hedman (Satan’s Baby Doll) combine to make The Beast In Space one of the strangest trips you’ll ever take.



This exclusive Shameless Rebuild presentation of The Beast In Space features the bonus attraction of extra footage, added by the film’s producers and previously only available in a hardcore, XXX porn version release.

The Beast In Space (cert. 18) will be released on DVD (£15.99) by Shameless Screen Entertainment on 26th July 2010. Special Features include: Shameless Rebuild with extra footage, previously only available in XXX version; alternate scenes comparisons; reversible sleeve featuring original artwork;  optional English subtitles; theatrical trailer; Shameless trailers.

Last 5 Films Seen

Time for the last 5 films seen list. Complete with mini-reviews and clips! Hooray!

1) Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street (1979)
 Forget the Burton version of this Sondheim classic musical, that is NOTHING compared to the original stage version. The songs are better, the acting is better, the comedy is better, everything is better. Out of all the versions of Sweeney Todd none have quite come close to this particular version and George Hearn and Angela Lansbury are the best Todd/Lovett you'll ever see. Highly HIGHLY recommended!






2) The Capture Of Bigfoot (1979)
The 1970s was one of the most prolific decades for the incredibly underrated Bigfoot film. Sure the films were bad, and this is no exception, but they were a lot of fun too. This is one of the better ones complete with an evil villain with a maniacal laugh, a car chase, lots of snow and some sentiment thrown in there too.

Zombie News!

Here at Circus of the Freaky, I aim to bring to you not only reviews of freaky horror films, weird news stories, unexplained mysteries and other such paranormal hoohar but also the latest in (awesome) zombie news. So every now and then, I, the Freak, shall post a couple of links to the best and newest zombie material. Enjoy!

To kick start it all off....

Everyone's heard about the Orson Welles radio broadcast of War Of The Worlds which caused wide-spread panic across America. What with the recent popularity of zombies it wasn't long before there was a zombie version of this radio broadcast (not to mention the War Of The Worlds Plus Blood, Guts And Zombies book) which was entitled Zombie Influx. This CD presented itself as a real life radio broadcast of a zombie outbreak complete with sound effects and great music. Check out the site here for more information. Now, another one has come along and it goes by the name of The Zombie Cookbook. A CD very similar to Zombie Influx but with a focus more on Metal (music). Click this link to listen to a few tracks.


NEXT:

Everyone who is anyone in the field of zombie fandom has played Left 4 Dead (1 & 2). There's no two ways about it. That's just the way it is. And for those who have the PC version, well another brilliant Mod has been release. A Mod that allows the player/s to fight hordes of flesh-eating, screaming zombies in the world of Indiana Jones. I present to you: Indiana Jones And The Temple Of The Zombies! The link here allows you to download the Mod for free! Oh yeah!


And next...

Old Horror Radio Shows.

If, like me, you absolutely adore horror stories then you may very well enjoy this site. It's an online library full of Free downloadable (100% legal) old radio plays. With many horror icons such as Vincent Price, Boris Karloff, Peter Lorre, Bela Lugosi and even Abbott and Costello voicing many of the stories, these are great to listen to at the dead of night. So check out the site, download as many free horror radio plays as you wish and prepare to be spooked!


The Monster Club

Weekly Comp - Samurai Zombie - 04/07/2010

Besides running this blog, I also run the competitions on the Cult Labs forums. For those who haven't visited this site, I cannot recommend it high enough if you're a fan of film, especially cult/horror/exploitation. Full of great, knowledgable and very friendly members this is the one forum you'd ever need to join.

This week's competition prize is...

“GOOD NASTY FUN WITH GREAT ACTION SEQUENCES, ACTUAL PLOT TWISTS AND SMART, LIGHT-FINGERED CARTOON VIOLENCE.” – BOXOFFICE.COM



From screenwriter Ryuhei Kitamura (director of ‘The Midnight Meat Train’ and writer-director of ‘Versus’) and director Tak Sakaguchi (the star of ‘Versus’ and fight choreographer for ‘Tokyo Gore Police’ and ‘Vampire Girl Vs. Frankenstein Girl’) comes Samurai Zombie, a splatter-filled, genre blending, horror-comedy that delivers precisely what its title promises.

A vacationing family’s drive through the tranquil woods surrounding Eight Spears Village takes an unfortunate turn when their car hits a gun-toting man standing in the middle of the road. Suddenly, a young man and woman emerge from the woods and, after shooting the accident victim, proceed to car-jack the family taking them hostage in the process. The situation immediately goes from bad to worse when the car suffers a blowout and dad is sent off in search of a spare tyre or an alternative means of transport while his wife and two kids remain in the hands to the two apparent psychopaths.

Unfortunately, any sign of deliverance for dad, his family or their captors is a long way off. Before he can find help, a mysterious encounter with a rather large blade leaves the head of the family headless, precipitating a bloody rainfall and the resurrection of a long-dead samurai warrior with a mean streak and a score to settle. Meanwhile, back at the car, a derelict old hag appears before the stranded group with a dire but frighteningly convincing warning: “You’re all going to die!” Confirmation of this stark proclamation soon comes in the form of the undead warrior looking to add to his newly-begun collection of severed heads.

A highly recommended addition to the recent wave of Japanese extreme splatter movies, Samurai Zombie sees director Sakaguchi and writer Kitamura playing for laughs and shocks in equal measure with a joyously demented zombie flick that includes scenes of explosive geyser-spouting decapitations, hilariously graphic dismemberment, wince-inducing oral castration and the introduction of a pair of bumbling cops with an amusing case of serious gun envy. Size, it appears, is everything.

Samurai Zombie (cert. tbc) will be released on DVD (£15.99) by MVM on 19th July 2010.


So head on over to the Cult Labs forums to be in with a chance of winning!

Never Prank The Bigfoot!

If you saw a Sasquatch right in front of you, what would you do? Try to capture it on video? Perhaps. But what if you saw a Sasquatch whilst you ate Jack Links Beef Jerky? Well that's a whole different story. You're going to prank that hairy beast! But that may not be the best idea....

Robert The Doll

Haunted toys. We've all seen them in films. From Puppet Master to Child Play, haunted dolls provide great material for horror movies. But do such things exist? Well, the simple answer would appear to be, Yes.  One of the most notorious cases involves a little doll that goes by the name of Robert and what a weird and VERY scary doll it is too. Is the doll really possessed/ alive? 

Urban Legend 1: The Drip

Ladies and Gentlemen and everyone else, here at the Circus of the Freaky Urban Legends are the staple diet for the demons that dwell in the darkness. Everyone loves to hear them, even if they may not be totally true, they still have the power to send shivers up the spines of listeners, especially on a cold, stormy night. Every legend has a beginning.

So, grab your safety blanket as we kick off with the very first Circus Of The Freaky Urban Legend. Below are three well known modern Legends, each of which share two things in common; an old lady and a dog. Nothing creepy about that, I hear you squeal.

The first one is an Urban Legend I like to call "The Old Woman and the Dripping Dog"

Urban Legend 2: Hot Dog!

Now, you rotten scumbags, time for the next dog/OAP related spook story. This one I call "Hot Dog"....

A rather old lady, around the age of 60, offered to look after her daugter's new puppy, whilst she went out with her husband to see their young sons perform in their school's play. The house is empty and there's nothing on TV, so, the woman has an idea; let's take the dog for a walk! Why not? Why not, indeed.

Urban Legend 3: Alone With The Dogs

In a similar way to the first story, this Legend focuses on an OAP who has recently lost her husband. And like that story, she too had dog companionship. However, unlike the first, she had more than one dog, in fact she had several.

Well, this story takes place during the summer holiday (early August). The woman's only son's family have gone off on holiday for a month (to Spain where the wife's family live) and asked their neighbour (their only neighbour) to look after her, in case anything should happen. This goes to plan for the first few days as the neighbour constantly checks on the old lady to see how she's coping, etc. But it doesn't last too long, and VERY quickly the neighbour stops visiting. So, the OAP is forced to do everything herself, despite her restrictive old body. A few nights later, the old woman is struggling to step out of the bath. It has a raised edge to it and she is unable to lift her legs up high enough to step over this edge. So, obviously, she struggles, slips and trips cracking her back against the floor tiles. Perhaps it was her old age, or maybe she had broken her already weak neck/spine as she fell, but she was completely paralysed and unable to move from the neck down. Her screams of pain caused the dogs to come rushing up to the bathroom door and begin scratching at it.