DARK MOVIES: A HALLOWEENIE GAME FOR YOU TO PLAY. Just click on this link for a kinda cool little game. It's a big spooky painting that contains visual riddles representing famous horror movie titles. Just click on each clue in the painting and type in what you think the movie is that it represents. I gotten up to about 30 correct but there are around 50 movie titles in the painting. See if you can do better than I did.

Hey guys...Anyone we know???

Halloween: Cinema Insomnia: Mr. Lobo 1 My pal Mr. Lobo (in the Monster Club Forum) has his own TV Show called Cinema Insomnia in California. Mr. Lobo is a horror host in the tradition of Zacherley, Vampira and Stella that Maneater from Mannyunk! Here's his Halloweenie 2006 TV ad which gives you an small idea of what to expect. Take a gander at more on his website cinemainsomnia.com.

CTHULEGO In the shadow-haunted streets of Innsmouth, the strange fish-feature folks have children that play with this toy. The dreamer has awoken. Cthulhu fh'tagn!!!

JUST ANNOUNCED! Patricia Quinn -- Magenta of The Rocky Horror Picture Show -- will be appearing at the upcoming Monster Mania Convention at the Cherry Hill Hilton (or WHATEVER it's called now) next February on Valentine's Day weekend. Check the Monster Mania link on my list of links to the right over dere. See that, Pax. You've started something with your RHPS reminiscence!

RHPS - Over at the Frankenstein Place This one's for Pax -- after reading his nostalgic RHPS blog! Click here and you can read it yourself! Enjoy, transvestites!!!

HALLOWEEN IS ONLY ONE WEEK AWAY!!! And the frost is on the pumpkin.

This is Halloween - The Nightmare before Christmas Um....have I mentioned to the children that it's October???

EVERYBODY'S GETTING INTO THE HALLOWEENIE SPIRIT!!!

Even Kermit the Frog puts the bite on Master of Menace Vincent Price. Why??? Again, just because it's October, children!

Special thanks to Ernest for supplying the photo!

AND NOW A WORD FROM SOME REAL MEN OF GENIUS:

MR. GIANT TACO SALAD INVENTOR

Please remember to drink responsibly. But live irresponsibly. Wear plaid shorts with a pink and yellow polka dot shirt.

So. . .did I ever tell you about the time I was camping in the Pine Barrens with my friends and his father when I was 12??? Well, in the middle of the night we heard this bloodcurdling, animalistic scream. So, I took this photograph. Keep in mind that it has not been altered or doctored in anyway and it's an actual photograph I took that night. And yeah, those words were ACTUALLY hanging in the sky as well. So don't be facetious!!! Anyway, just in case you STILL haven't figured out it's October! P.S. And here's a shout out to Ernest! Say hi to the folks on Foulness Island -- but only from a distance. And NEVER at night!

HERE WE FIND CERPTS & FINKMASTER FLASH PLAYING A GAME OF POOL

....OR SOMETHING.

I LOVE TO SING-A
I love the moon-a and the june-a and the spring-a

VIEWING HABITS PART DEUX: THE MASK OF FU MANCHU is another delirious 30's horror movie starring Boris Karloff (in his first speaking horror role) as the insidious Dr. Fu Manchu and Myrna Loy as his sado-masochistic nymphomaniacal daughter. This movie has it all: torture, sexual perversion, torture, some more sex and torture. Cowboy actor Charles Starrett is at one point strapped down to a slab clad in nothing but a loincloth and injected with tarantula poison while a snake is compelled to bite him in the neck. This, of course, is only after he has been strung up by Myrna Loy and whipped while she screams "Faster! Faster!" Oh yes, and if the sight of Lewis Stone (the venerable white-haired Judge Hardy of Mickey Rooney's Andy Hardy pictures) hung head downwards over a pit of crocodiles entices you then this is your film! SIN CITY is breathtaking in its ability to actually pull off it's mission statement. They wanted to make a movie of a comic book and damned if Sin City doesn't look EXACTLY like Frank Miller's graphic novel. The casting is pretty damn near perfect with Mickey Rourke particularly memorable as Marv. I hear there's gonna be a sequel. I'd sure like to know how they are gonna pull that one off. BLACK BOOKS is once again in my DVD player because Bernard L. Black (Shaun of the Dead's Dylan Moran) is my hero. One day I hope to grow up to be just like him: a nasty, surly, drunken, chain-smoking, moody, customer-hating owner of a book shop. I'm practicing my Belly Savalas and Cobumbo impressions even as we speak! I am also changing my middle name to Ludwig. If any of my friends own a wicker chair, I give you fair warning that I fully intend to go to the bathroom through it! THE SCARLET CLAW and THE PEARL OF DEATH are two Universal Sherlock Holmes pictures starring Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce. These are the closest things to horror movies that Sherlock Holmes movies could pull off. The Scarlet Claw opens exactly like a Universal 40's monster movie with panicked villagers muttering about ghosts and monsters as a "werewolf" killer claws the jugulars outta them. And The Pearl of Death features classic monster movie stars (and Universal contract players) Evelyn (The Wolf Man) Ankers and Rondo (The Creeper) Hatton. Moody, foggy and atmospheric; these Sherlock Holmes movies make perfect October viewing!

THE VIEWING HABITS OF AN ADDLED MIND. In a little thought experiment (very little thought) to show where my brain is at, here is a grouping of the DVD's which I have been watching in the past week of seven days: the slant (owing to the Octoberishness of the month) veers towards horror but there be others amongst them which ain't particularly a-scary:

MAD LOVE is the sick, sick film which saw Peter Lorre's first American film role as the sadist Dr. Gogol who transplants the knife-throwing hands of a murderer named Rollo onto pianist Colin (Dr. Frankenstein) Clive. Lorre also is so in love with Clive's wife Frances Drake that he keeps a wax figure of her in his house and plays his organ for her (boy, this is sure one sicko film). The justly famous scene in which Clive visits a supposedly resurrected Rollo is chilling; Rollo's guillotined head has been reattached and metal hands have replaced the knife-throwers own which now have been stitched onto Colin Clive. DOCTOR X is one of two early two-strip technicolor films by Warner Bros. (the other was Mystery of the Wax Museum) starring suavely villainous Lionel Atwill and luscious Fay Wray. Doctor X, in fact, features Fay Wray's first scream in a horror film! This is another early 30's horror film (this time directed by Michael "Casablanca" Curtiz) which knew how to be sicko! The Moon Killer has been murdering people during the full moon and partially consuming them. That's right, folks, we have a hooded maniac cannibal on the loose! What's more, this killer has found out a way to create synthetic flesh with which he creates a new, gruesome face for himself. Chomp Chomp. THE RETURN OF DR. X is not a sequel to the Lionel Atwill/Fay Wray movie above. In fact, it has nothing to do with it. This time murder victims are being found drained of blood; after which they are seen walking around with incredibly pasty faces. The reason this movie is known at all is because it features Humphrey Bogart in his only horror role. And ole Humph wasn't too happy about it. Notice as Bogart enters the room with his pasty white face and shock of white hair. He's carrying a bunny. That's right, a bunny. And he's stroking it in what must surely be the sole inspiration for Austin Powers' Dr. Evil. TWINS OF EVIL is the third in Hammer Films' lesbian vampire trilogy (and you never imagined there WAS such a thing) based on J. Sheridan LeFanu's novella "Carmilla". This time real-life Playboy centerfolds the Collinson twins star as -- well, twins. Talk about typecasting. And they certainly weren't cast for their thespian skills; only their lesbian thrills -- as the pair cavort in several scenes topless. The film, which also stars veteran vampire hunter Peter Cushing as a puritanical -- well, Puritan, isn't really that bad. It's just not that good either. Lots of neck chomping by vampires keeps things moving. STRANGER ON THE THIRD FLOOR is another Peter Lorre movie. This time, Peter stars as a bizarre little murderer with a scarf who buys a hamburger for a stray dog. He's kind to animals but slits the throats of people. I'm not sure I would argue with him on that point. Anyway, this film is possibly the first film noir ever made. Like the first rock & roll record, it's a little difficult to pin down exactly ONE movie which can claim to be the first film noir but this one has a strong case. The shadowy lighting, the voiceover narration, the delirious dream sequence and the general downbeatness of the whole thing are fascinating. ACTION IN THE NORTH ATLANTIC is a Humphrey Bogart war movie which comes in the recent box set. I was totally surprised that I actually thought this was a GREAT movie. I don't like war movies as a rule but this one was great. It has a slam bang first reel in which Bogart's ship is torpedoed and there are fires and explosions all over the place. It's a heart-thumping action sequence which reminded me of another war movie which started similarly about a half century later: Shaving Ryan's Privates -- er I mean Saving Private Ryan. THE MALTESE FALCON is one of the greatest detective films noir ever made and one of my favourite films as well. So any opportunity to watch it again will be seized by yours truly and it's inclusion in the new Bogart box set (along with the earlier 2 versions made (the 1931 version and Satan Met a Lady with Bette Davis -- neither of which are very good) was a perfect chance to watch it again. This movie is indeed the stuff that dreams are made of. MASTER OF THE WORLD stars Vincent Price in a non-horror role as Robor; the Captain Nemo-like fella who has an airship and kidnaps Charles Bronson (if you can believe it) and Henry (Werewolf of London) Hull. This adaptation of a Jules Verne novel by American-International Pictures (those folks who brought you Roger Corman's Poe pictures) is actually quite a lot of fun in a 1960's way.

Dusty Springfield - Spooky SPOOKY AND GROOVY -- Also just because it's October!

Good Eats Season 1 Episode 2 Part 1 ATTENTION MISS JENNY PENNY (& ALL OTHER FOODIES) -- This Spud's For You!!!

Good Eats Season 1 Episode 2 Part 2 Like the Hat??? Here Alton tells us some more wonderful things to do with a potato besides shoving it in somebody's tailpipe!

FAIR WARNING! FAIR WARNING!!!

Selections have begun to be made for consideration of the 2006 Penguin Awards. The field is wide and will be narrowed down when the day is done down to earth then sinks the sun along with everything that was lost and won when the day is done.

Sorry, Nick Drake just channelled thru me.

Makes a nice change from Shirley Bassey.

At least he's DEAD, after all.

You see, Shirley Bassey is still alive.

OK, I seem to have lost focus somewhere. Let's just reiterate that the final nominations for the 2006 Penguin Awards will be announced in November -- and the big winners will be announced at year's end.

GET LOST WITH JULIE ADAMS -- It's taken a while for me to mention this (not being as Lost obsessed as a certain Cheekies) but the season premiere of Lost featured a surprise appearance by one of my favourite people in the first minute or so of the program: Julie Adams. Now, for those of youse not in the know, Julie Adams has had a long and distinguished career in movies and television but is perhaps best known as the female lead in the original Universal horror picture "The Creature From the Black Lagoon". There she is looking hot in her palpitating white bathing suit! Now, I had the privilege of meeting Ms. Adams a couple times in the last couple years and she is a sweetie. I just love her. I always had a crush on her in "Creature" but adored her after meeting her in person. So imagine my surprise when I settled down to watch the season premiere of Lost and, Lo and Behold, who knocks on that "hottie" Juliette's door but Julie Adams herself.

Let's hope we see more of her in the rest of the season. Well done, ABC!

Oh dear, Dolly is playing with fire. . .

TEST DRIVE THE NEW 1955 FORD TARANTULA!!!

Did you ever see the classic 1955 big atomic bug movie "Tarantula"? You know, the one where the giant tarantula is walking around the desert eating people and the air force has to come and napalm the suckah? Well, I'm definitely not a "gearhead" but I do appreciate old (50's) classic cars and hero Monster Fighter John Agar (Mr. Shirley Temple himself) is driving around in a sweet car that just happens to be a 1955 Ford Fairlane Sunliner. And it's a beaut! Now, since the movie is in black and white, it's anyone's guess what actual colour the car was but Cheekies assures me that, when Ted Turner colourized it, the car was the blue & white model. However, I like any variety of colours (the car was always two tone) and here are a couple nice ones. I am partial to the red & white version but the orange & white is quality too! Now, that's when they knew how to make a car! *Sigh*

ILSA* THANKS AGAIN FOR THE LICORICE SCOTTIE DOGGIES! Proving once again that you indeed are the happenin'est, most spectaculific person on the face of the planet!!! Hugs, hugs and MORE hugs!!!

The Feeling of Terror -- Because it's October, Children...

Morrissey Yeah. This one's for Ilsa*

OK THE NEW OFFICIAL BEST VIDEO EVER MADE (by the Avalances, natch)! Here ya go -- Just because I love y'all...

ABOUT THE BANNER UP THERE. . . THAT'S IN YOUR HONOUR, CHEEKIES! ENJOY! IT'S GOING TOMORROW!!!

POP THE POPCORN: THIS WEEK'S MOVIE RECOMMENDATIONS!

It's the Golden Age of the Silver Screen this week with 3 DVD recommendations heavily based in the 40's. These are the films I'll be watching this week.

First: STATE OF THE UNION directed by Frank Capra and starring Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn. This is an often overshadowed Capra film as well as a rarely mention Tracy/Hepburn film but it's very good. It concerns efforts by less than scrupulous politicos Angela Lansbury and Adolphe Menjou to make Spencer Tracy's "Man of the People" the next president. Unfortunately for them, Tracy is an honest man and no politician so he isn't that interested but reluctantly goes along. Soon he finds himself sinking in a political mire which threatens to destroy his marriage, his family and his very soul. A lot of the themes of political morals (and lack thereof) have a particular relevance at the moment and that's probably why this movie has finally been released on DVD now.

2nd: THE BLACK SWAN starring Tyrone Power and Maureen O'Hara is one of my favourite classic pirate movies. This DVD has been out about a month but I only now managed to track down a copy (it was always sold out when I went to the damn store). Anyway, this movie is a lot of fun with tons of swashbuckling adventure, a sinister Laird Cregar and George Sanders adding to the fun.

3rd: THE HUMPHREY BOGART SIGNATURE COLLECTION VOLUME II has just been released featuring the new 3 disc special edition of The Maltese Falcon (which is one of my all-time favourite films already!). However, the classic Bogart version was the THIRD time the Maltese Falcon had been filmed and this special edition includes the previous two: The Maltese Falcon (1931) and Satan Met A Lady (1936) which starred Bette Davis! Not only will this be a treat (I've never seen the previous 2 versions of the Maltese Falcon before) but the collection also includes another of my favourite Bogie films which has never been available on DVD until now: All Through the Night (1942) starring Bogart, Peter Lorre, Conrad Veidt and Judith Anderson.

This is a tremendously fun wartime drama/comedy which also features small roles with INCREDIBLY young looking Jackie Gleason and Phil Silvers! It's all about Nazi spy rings and also includes a scene which was probably "unconsciously plagiarized" years later by Alfred Hitchcock in "North By Northwest" involving Humphrey Bogart trapped by the Nazis in an auction with no way to escape but to cause a rude disturbance. The other Bogart films in this set include Across the Pacific, Action in the North Atlantic and Passage to Marseilles.

OCTOBER'S HERE, CHILDREN!