CLASH OF THE MONSTERS - WEEK #4 / THE CONCLUSION

PART 4 of 4 - A Zombie, Werewolf and Vampire walk into a bar…

This month we dove into the love, fascination and strength of some classic monsters. We covered some of the history through the lens of pop culture and tried to wrap our head around the “rules” of each as we determine why each are so nightmarish.

We now discuss the battle’s outcome. Did your monster win?

BATTLE SYNOPSIS:

Its 9pm on a Saturday in October. The full moon is bright. A small corner bar in a hip area of town is super busy. Patrons crowd the bar for a drink. On one side near the entrance sits a vampire. Across the bar you find a werewolf, in the center, a zombie. The fight starts when the zombie turns and takes a fatal bite from a local…and the vampire locks the door.

THE CONCLUSION:

We had a blast hearing everyone’s predictions on who would win our Clash of the Monsters. The scenarios that were shared makes for some really great fight directions.

We also apologize for not including the Energy Vampire. We loved the argument that if Colin Robinson was in the bar, the fight would have never happened in the first place. As we have seen in What We Do in the Shadows, he can drain pretty much anything (co-workers, vampires, even trolls). You would have a very boring bar. 

Mark Proksch as Colin Robinson in What We Do In The Shadows FX

What We Do in the Shadows had a few honorable mentions. One of our favorites was that the vampire would win because it was Laszlo Cravensworth all along. He’ll yell “BAT” and fly up to the ceiling to avoid the action. Once things died out, you’d find him settle behind the bar as “just your average neighborhood bartender Jackie Daytona.” Add in the fact of him being dead, zombies couldn’t detect. Laszlo for the win?

Matt Berry as Laszlo Cravensworth aka Jackie Daytona in What We Do In The Shadows FX

Not so fast, if the ceilings were low, the War Wolf could just knock our pal down.

In the beginning, it seemed Zombies were a guarantee. With the modern zombie being able to spread so quickly, the vampire and werewolf would become overwhelmed. One zombie becomes two, two become four, four becomes eight, and so on. In researching the history of the living dead, I was sure they’d be the winner(s).  Things to think about though… In Shaun of the Dead, Shaun, Ed and team were able to win the zombie fight at the Winchester. Another plus is cue sticks would work against the vampire as well. People win?

Kate Ashfield as Liz, Simon Pegg as Shaun and Nick Frost as Ed in Shaun of the Dead

Then again, a vampire has years of experience and would most likely avoid and out smart them. 

Vampire Clean up at Fangtasia in True Blood (Kristin Bauer van Straten as Vampire Pam, Alexander Skarsgård as Vampire Eric, Stephen Moyer as Vampire Bill and Tara Buck as Ginger)

Werewolves were originally thought to be the big losers. Other than strength, they didn’t bring much to the table. They are still alive so could be detected by zombies but could they actually be infected? Much like vampires, they also have fast healing. Justin decided to go with War Wolves and the predictions started to change yet again.

Underworld: Rise of the Lycans

The conclusion comes down to simple numbers vs brains and strength. 

Zombies have the numbers, werewolves the strength and vampires the strategic knowledge. 

From our poles: 

Zombies: 17%

Werewolves 25%

Vampires: 58%

THE WINNER IS…. VAMPIRES!

CLASH OF THE MONSTERS - WEEK #3 / WEREWOLVES

PART 3 of 4 - A Zombie, Werewolf and Vampire walk into a bar…

This month we are diving into the love, fascination and strength of some classic monsters. We’ll cover some of the history through the lens of pop culture and try to wrap our head around the “rules” of each as we determine why each are so nightmarish.

We’ll wrap the month discussing the battle’s outcome. Join the conversation on social media to be included in our final CHAMPION discussion. Which monster would win in the situation noted? You decide.

BATTLE SYNOPSIS:

Its 9pm on a Saturday in October. The full moon is bright. A small corner bar in a hip area of town is super busy. Patrons crowd the bar for a drink. On one side near the entrance sits a vampire. Across the bar you find a werewolf, in the center, a zombie. The fight starts when the zombie turns and takes a fatal bite from a local…and the vampire locks the door.

WEEK 3: Werewolves

By Justin Pomerville

Werewolves' earliest origins seem to come from Greek mythology with The Legend of Lycaon. The story goes that Lycaon angered Zeus when he served him a meal made of the remains of a sacrificed boy. Zeus was so angry with this trick, that he turned Lycaon and his sons into wolves. In Nordic folklore, there’s a story called The Saga of the Volsungs which is about a father and son that discovered wolf pelts that had the power to turn people into wolves for 10 days. When the father and son put the pelts on, they went on killing rampages in the forest. The two only stopped when the father turns on the son and attacks him.

Throughout the centuries, there have been all sorts of these kind of stories about werewolves. In the 1700’s, we found a possible medical explanations for those who are accused of being werewolves. Science pointed towards food poisoning, rabies, hallucinations (from consuming herbs), and/or hypertrichosis (a rare genetic disorder that causes excessive hair growth).

Zeus turning Lycaon into a wolf; 1589 engraving by Hendrick Goltzius

Werewolves made their film debut in 1913 in a silent short film called The Werewolf. The film followed a Navajo woman who becomes a witch and teaches her daughter how to transform into a wolf to seek vengeance. Sadly, the film was lost in a fire in 1924. The first mainstream werewolf film was 1941’s Wolf Man, starring Lon Chaney Jr. and is considered the blueprint for future werewolf films over the years.

Lon Chaney Jr. and Evelyn Ankers in the 1941 movie The Wolfman

As talked about with the zombies and vampires, there are four different types of werewolves that have significant strides to adding to the lore of werewolves within media:

War-Wolf: Seen in films like The Howling, Dog Soldiers, and The Underworld series, these are the menacing wolves that dominated the 80’s horror scene. Characteristics of these monsters were that they didn’t have tails, had black or grey fur, usually stood about 7’ tall, fueled by rage, long fingers and claws, and can transform at will.

Action scene from 2002’s Dog Soldiers movie

Quadruped Wolf: Seen in The Twilight series and An American Werewolf in London are giant wolves. They don’t stand upright and are not as resilient as their war cousins. Characteristics include being 7’ long from tail to snout, have some self-awareness and rage control, black, brown, or grey fur, prefer biting attacks, and long whip like tails.

The fully transformed werewolf in American Werewolf in London

Pug Wolf: Seen in The Wolfman, Penny Dreadful, Teen Wolf, and Grimm, these are the ones that are more human like. These are the types that are used in most TV shows because they are easily made with prosthetics. Characteristics for them are obvious with the more human stature, elongated ears, long canine teeth, retaining most human self-awareness and control, slight snouts, prefer slashing attacks, least likely to kill their victims or turn them into werewolves, and some fur covering.

Michael J. Fox in 1985’s Teen Wolf

Full Wolf: Seen in True Blood, Wolf, and Wolfen, these ones are pretty self-explanatory. These guys are the most fragile of the bunch. However, they are the most dangerous when in packs, especially if you are a different type of werewolf. If a Full Wolf attacks and wounds any of the other kinds of werewolves, those wolves cannot heal from those wounds.

True Blood werewolf

The weakness of werewolves are all pretty universal. Silver bullets are your best bet to take any of these guys down, but it will take a couple shots. You can also remove their head or heart. Another weakness is that you can turn them on each other, as explained previously in the Full Wolves bio. They don’t play very well with each other. Probably the easiest way to kill a werewolf is to destroy the “human form” because it’s just a person. Easy target, unless they are some sort of specialist in some sort of combat.

Conclusion to "A Zombie, Werewolf and Vampire walk into a bar…" 

It really depends on the type of werewolves that get locked in. Best bet would be a War Wolf because of the ruthless rage. That would be the greatest asset as well as not needing the moon in order to turn (which wouldn’t matter in this case). The other three would not have a chance in this scenario. When it comes to zombies, they can just rip them apart. And not being held back by the moon, they have more of an advantage with strength against vampires.

Honorable mentions:

Teen Wolf 1985 (noted above) Comedy/Fantasy Michael J. Fox is a high school nerd that finds out he’s a werewolf and decides to use those attributes for basketball. It’s totally what I would do.

Werewolves Within 2021 Comedy/Horror A very creative film that is basically Clue with a werewolf twist. Very funny and creative fun cast of mostly up-and-coming actors.

Silver Bullet 1985 Horror Based on Stephen King’s novel Cycle of the Werewolf, not the strongest film, it does have a memorable performance by Gary Busey.

Trick ‘R Treat 2007 Horror Although this movie is more of an anthology film, the section with werewolves is probably some of the best modern usage of the creature.

CLASH OF THE MONSTERS - WEEK #2 / VAMPIRES

PART 2 of 4 - A Zombie, Werewolf and Vampire walk into a bar…

This month we are diving into the love, fascination and strength of some classic monsters. We’ll cover some of the history through the lens of pop culture and try to wrap our head around the “rules” of each as we determine why each are so nightmarish.

We’ll wrap the month discussing the battle’s outcome. Join the conversation on social media to be included in our final CHAMPION discussion. Which monster would win in the situation noted? You decide.

BATTLE SYNOPSIS:

Its 9pm on a Saturday in October. The full moon is bright. A small corner bar in a hip area of town is super busy. Patrons crowd the bar for a drink. On one side near the entrance sits a vampire. Across the bar you find a werewolf, in the center, a zombie. The fight starts when the zombie turns and takes a fatal bite from a local…and the vampire locks the door.

WEEK 2: Vampires

By Patrick Nagy

Vampire lore seems to be as old as the mythical ageless beings themselves. The oldest stories can be traced to the middle ages when plague utterly destroyed villages. People often look to explain away the unexplainable with mythical stories of monsters and dark magic. If an entire family died, it must’ve been the undead draining them of their life while feasting on their blood of course! Through time these stories got more pronounced and overlapped true history. There was Elizabeth Báthory bathing in the blood of peasants to retain her eternal youth, notorious succubus Lilith who’s origins go all the way back to the Garden of Eden, and of course the infamous Vlad the Impaler.  He’s rumored to have killed his enemies in battle by impaling them on a large stake, while enjoying a meal and dipping his bread in their blood. He must be a vampire right? Vlad is believed to been the inspiration for author Bram Stoker’s 1897 literary classic Dracula.

Archival art depicting Vlad the impaler’s spikes.

Much like zombies, there are different types of vampires. We have all sorts of vampires now. Regal vampires, scary vampires, transforming vampires, shimmering vampires, parasitic vampires, funny vampires, breakfast cereal vampires…the list goes on and on.

Dracula is important because at the turn of the last century motion pictures started to take off. From black & white silent films to IMAX full color blockbusters, Hollywood went crazy for movie monsters and there are none bigger than the Vampire!

The classic Dracula vampire is most commonly known. The role was made famous by Hungarian-American actor Bela Lugosi and then brought to life again and again by the likes of British born actor Christopher Lee. There was even a “Blaxploitation” version called Blackula starring William Marshall. Many years later the Gary Oldman and Francis Ford Coppola brought it back to its bloody roots in their version of Bram Stoker’s Dracula. 

Movies posters of Dracula staring Bela Lugosi, Christopher Lee and Gary Oldman

One of the rare and legendary early adaptations on screen was the German vampire movie Nosferatu starring Max Schreck as Count Orlok. What makes this film so unique was after it’s 1922 release, Bram Stoker’s widow sued the producers of the film for being too close to her late husband’s story even though names and locations were changed. The suit ordered all copies be destroyed, yet a few survived and today it is regarded as an influential masterpiece of cinema. In Nosferatu, Count Orlok does not appear to “make” vampires but does kill his victims. This drove home the lore that vampires existed within the shroud of a plague. 

Max Schreck as Count Orlok in Nosferaut

The Lost Boys with Kiefer Sutherland and the Corys are loosely based on the Dracula rules. To be apart of gang, you must first drink their blood. Even after drinking though, in order to “become” a vampire you must also feed on human. Plus funny blood suckers in movies like What We Do in the Shadows with Taika Waititi and Jermaine Clements also have similar “no sun, avoid wooden stakes” rules. Heck, there are even movies for vampire hunters like Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Blade starring Wesley Snipes.

Billy Wirth as Dwayne, Kiefer Sutherland as David, Brooke McCarter as Paul and Alex Winter as Marko as the vampires in The Lost Boys

On the opposite end of the spectrum we also had teen angst vamps in Twilight starring Robert Pattinson and Christen Stewart. The Twilight vampires have very little similarities to the classic Dracula type. They go to high school (despite being hundreds of years old) and can walk in the sun. They have marble like skin so once once sunlight hits them, instead of burning they sparkle. These type of “blood suckers” are as far away from the scary monsters in the lore. They can turn a human into one of them by a simple venomous bite and live forever. They can also have children who then are vampire hybrids. Oh, and believe-it-or-not, they can be vegetarian. 

Robert Pattinson as Edward Cullen in Twilight.

The one that seems to be the outlier is Richard Matheson’s I Am Legend. In his 1954 book, vampires bring back the plague idea and become more the evolutionary infected rather than the Dracula type. This idea brings one of the more modern takes on vampires. The 2009 novels (and later the television series and graphic novels) The Strain by Director Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan takes the more infected I Am Legend hive mind approach. They use long stingers to suck the blood of their victims while transferring a worm into their body.  The “Ancients” control them. This is NOT the vampire you’d want to be. This is probably the closest “zombie” like vampire of the group. The vampires aren’t sexy, or even pretty. They can’t fly, or hypnotize, or change into a bat, or even think for themselves.

Will Smith with a vampire in I Am Legend

So to recap:

Folklore Vampires (Elizabeth Báthory, Lilith, Vlad the Impaler)

• Run of the mill tall tales

• Don’t know who caused all this death? Must be a Vampire! (or a Witch)

• Weakness: Dig them up and burn their heart. If that doesn’t work, call a priest!

Dracula Style (Dracula, Nosferatu, The Lost Boys, Interview with a Vampire, True Blood)

• Regal, possibly royal

• All powerful, seductive, can transform, immortal

• Weakness: A wooden stake through the heart, crucifix, holy water, sunlight, killing the master kills the hive

Modern Vampires (Twilight, Discovery of Witches, The Vampire Diaries)

• Slight variations, but mostly still Dracula-esque

• May shimmer in daylight, more lovers than fighters

• Weakness: A broken heart

I Am Legend Vampires (The Strain, Blood Red Sky, Daybreakers)

• Infected

• Weakness: Sunlight, modern weapons, Nuclear bombs to their home soil

"A Zombie, Werewolf and Vampire walk into a bar…" 
Alright, let’s get down to brass tacks. For this battle scenario I’m gonna go with the more “traditional” Hollywood Vampire. The sexy, yet powerful vampire we all grew up with. They’ve been around for hundreds of years, and they’ve seen things. They know how to handle themselves. I see the vampire mostly taking a back seat for the start of the battle and let the Werewolf deal with the current Zombie outbreak. After all werewolves are supposed to be alive and warm blooded so they will attract the brainless undead. Once the werewolves are out of the way, all the vamps have to do is take out what’s left. But then again, what if the sunrise hits and a zombie breaks a window or two? What if the werewolf manages to turn a human to join him? Where are the pool cues?! Who ordered the garlic pizza?!!!!!

Honorable Mentions:

Interview with the Vampire (1994): This movie introduced a larger audience to Anne Rice’s 1976 series where Lestat is a freaking rock star. It also provided a new love for the depressed vampire. It had great character development between Lestat (Tom Cruise) and the sad Louis (Brad Pitt), Also a great introduction to the “interview” style.

Fright Night (1985): Chris Sarandon stars as the mysterious neighbor that may be a vampire.  The main character, a teenage boy witnesses a possible murder which of course nobody believes him. So he has to get his favorite TV vampire slayer (Played by Roddy McDowell) to help him.  It’s like an 80’s campy Rear Window with vampires.

From Dusk til Dawn (1996): Let’s just say Robert Rodriguez makes some fun stuff.  George Clooney as a bad guy vampire slayer and Salma Hayek as a smoking hot striper/vampire. It even has Danny Trejo, Cheech Marin, Tom Savini and Quentin Tarantino (who wrote the screenplay) to name just a few. WIN!

Let the Right One In (2004 book & 2008 movie): Although Hollywood made a US version, the original Sweedish movie is heartbreaking and terrifying.  Eli (Lina Leandersson) and Oskar (Kåre Hedebrant) are spectacular children who have a friendship the world should be afraid of.  It makes being a “Renfield” super sad and extremely disturbing.

The Monster Squad (1987): Super fun nostalgic movie for me. Kids trying to make sure the classic Universal Monsters (including Count Dracula) do not take over the world.

Sookie Stackhouse Southern Vampire Mysteries (books 2001 - 2013): Although HBO’s True Blood was a fun adaptation of the books, the vampires in the Sookieverse had a few new rules. Like vampire blood was like a drug that can heal but if you were almost out of blood it would turn you. This brought in more of a political world that not all vampire stories tell (aside from Blade and Underworld to name a few). 

CLASH OF THE MONSTERS - WEEK #1 / ZOMBIES

PART 1 of 4 - A Zombie, Werewolf and Vampire walk into a bar…

This month we are diving into the love, fascination and strength of some classic monsters. We’ll cover some of the history through the lens of pop culture and try to wrap our head around the “rules” of each as we determine why each are so nightmarish.

We’ll wrap the month discussing the battle’s outcome. Join the conversation on social media to be included in our final CHAMPION discussion. Which monster would win in the situation noted? You decide.

BATTLE SYNOPSIS:

Its 9pm on a Saturday in October. The full moon is bright. A small corner bar in a hip area of town is super busy. Patrons crowd the bar for a drink. On one side near the entrance sits a vampire. Across the bar you find a werewolf, in the center, a zombie. The fight starts when the zombie turns and takes a fatal bite from a local…and the vampire locks the door.

WEEK 1: Zombies

By Jenny Robinson

There are basically three types of zombies: Voodoo, Romero and Infected (or Running). Each have interesting histories and terrors.

It can be argued that the voodoo zombie is the “real” zombie but I disagree. In the 1938 movie White Zombie they were just slaves. Bela Lugosi’s "Murder" Legendre character is more a monster than the actual zombies. Those zombies only did what Murder commanded. Mindless dead controlled by a puppet master (or in this case a Voodoo Priest). Don’t get me wrong, I believe that the old Haitian zombies are fascinating and love how the lore dives deep into the real horrors and history of slavery. The idea of curses and enslavement makes for a horrifying story that may play out in actuality. The 1988 movie Serpent of the Rainbow even loosely dove into one of the more fascinating stores of a real life zombie Clairvius Narcisse. With things we know and tangibly have, voodoo zombies feel plausible. I also love the historical narrative. In these older tales, the zombies kill from being possessed and acting on the will of their master. The evil they inflict all comes down to to how evil the master is. So the question is.... wouldn't the master be the monster here (who is NOT a zombie)?

White Zombie - 1938


How do you kill a voodoo zombie? You don't. You kill the master.

Voodoo Zombies made before WW2 were mostly derivative of vampire stories borrowing from Dracula and similar mythology with a romantic overtone (Ouanga -Love Wanga & The Walking Dead both from 1936). During the war you'll find more movies made about Nazi's experimenting with voodoo to create super armies (King of the Zombies - 1941 & Revenge of the Zombies 1943). Movies post WW2 included some form of radiation either by weapons or space (Invisible Invaders & Plan 9 From Outer Space - 1959). There are some overlap in that timeline but I feel noting it does a great job of showing how real life events can effect the zombie lore.

Tor Johnson as Inspector Clay in Ed Wood’s Plan 9 From Outer Space

Moving on...I am just going to say it, George A. Romero’s Night of the Living Dead zombie is the TRUE zombie. On October 1st, 1968 the big screen switched from the old school voodoo slaves to cannibals exposed to radiation from a Venus space probe. This movie makes the nice guy next door into a flesh-eating ghoul. No longer is the need for a master. These "ghouls" function entirely on their own with a simple desire...bite.

George A. Romero & John Russo’s Night of the Living Dead

One similarity Romero zombies have to Voodoo zombies is that they too are borrowed from Vampires. Night of the Living Dead was influenced (and borrowed) from Richard Matheson's I Am Legend. In the book, the lead Neville is in a world where monsters come out at night. Those monsters are his neighbors, his friends. To this day, people confuse I Am Legend as being a zombie story when in actuality it is 100% a vampire tale. The idea that your neighbor can kill you also stands as a strong parallel.

Night of the Living Dead spawned a ton of sequels, remakes and spin offs. Romero was able to dive into new story directions. Moving into the 1970's, the zombie genre also gained speed feeding off of great horror movies like The Exorcist and Texas Chainsaw Massacre. This gave brith to zombie hoards and even "smart" zombies.

The Romero Zombie is pretty simplistic. They are dead. They multiply by biting and killing. They can only be killed by destroying the brain.

BRRRRRAAAAAAINS!!!!!!!

Now we get into the complicated legal stuff. Romero actually co-wrote Night of the Living Dead with John "Jack" Russo. After some legal back-and-forth, Romero lost the rights to "Living Dead" which was awarded to Russo (like Return of the “Living Dead”). As a fan, no one considers Russo's "Living Dead" actually being part of "the dead" series. Romero went on to do the "of the dead" movies. Semantics.


What does that have to do with brains you ask? Russo's director in Return of the Living Dead hinted at the idea that the undead felt the need because it somehow made them feel better by easing their pain. In my honest opinion, I feel that is dumb (sorry!). Romero appears to never be a fan of that idea as well.

The cool part of Romero and his take on the zombie is that he believed that the zombie was not the scariest monster. That title fell on us. This was a huge inspiration for the more recent Robert Kirkman The Walking Dead comic series & AMC show. Kirkman tells a story where the zombies are more incontinent threats over the threat of humans trying to survive. The humans do WAY more damage than a walker ever could. TWD zombie is as close to the old school Romero zombie as you can get. They are not smart. They can't run. They decompose. They have no conscious objective. They just eat. As with all things though, there was some growth. Instead of radiation from space, everyone is already a zombie. Once you die, you always come back. WHOA!

Rick Grimes in The Walking Dead - Issue 24 / Robert Kirkman + Charlie Adler

So what happens if you take a Romero Zombie and apply the world as we know it now? Much like the 1940-1950's movies, zombies continue to adapt to the headlines and now we have RUNNING ZOMBIES!

These may be my absolute favorite. Running Zombies are hybrids of Romero Zombies but more advanced.

I blame Danny Boyle.

In 2002 we were introduced to a new apocalyptic world in 28 Days Later. The premiss is that an experimental drug (again much like the 2007 remake of the vampire movie I Am Legend) that channels the reaction of rage is released. The world becomes INFECTED. That single word is the definition of a Running Zombie. With every bite the contagion spreads. Yet, that is not what makes a new “running” zombie it's own. An infection that acts like a virus and urges the host to spread. When you add Rage to this scenario, we now have fast, running and aggressive zombies…OMG.

Cillian Murphy as Jim in 28 Days Later

28 Days Later has by far done the best job with "Running Zombies” to date but there are some honorable mentions. Zack Snyder's 2004 remake of Dawn of the Dead would make anyone want to stay home and avoid an Orange Julius. The poorly done 2013 World War Z (lame attempt of an awesome Max Brooks novel) also had this mindset but included a hive mind mentality with swarms and CGI walls of running bitters.

Hive attack in World War Z

Whether a zombie has a reason or origin story has become secondary. Sometime it's cool to figure out "what happened" when looking into the world of the dead. When it comes down to it though, the game of survival is way more entertaining and scary.

So what did we learn?

VOODOO ZOMBIES

How to NOT be a zombie: avoid voodoo priests poisons.

How to KILL a zombie: kill the human master

Weakness: the human master

ROMERO ZOMBIES

How to NOT be a zombie: don't get bit.

*Disclaimer: unless we are talking Kirkman's TWD - then you're screwed.

How to KILL a zombie: destroy the brain (double tap when possible)

Weakness: speed, clumsy, decays and may be missing eaten parts

RUNNING ZOMBIES

How to NOT be a zombie: don't get bit or don't get infected

How to KILL a zombie: destroy the brain (double tap when possible)

Weakness: still trying to figure that one out YOUZERS!

Conclusion to "A Zombie, Werewolf and Vampire walk into a bar…"

Zombies have a HUGE advantage: NUMBERS. If that first bite was fatal, you now have 2 zombies who can quickly become 4, then 8 then 16. I don't see the vampire or the werewolf standing a chance if overwhelmed. But then again, can a werewolf be infected? And since the vampire is already dead, does it matter?

Stay tuned for the opposing arguments.

Honorable mentions:

Sean of the Dead 2004 Comedy - Edgar Wright is always right IMHO. This is the classic Romero zombie in a hilarious adventure staring Simon Pegg and Nick Frost. "Take car. Go to Mum's. Kill Phil—"Sorry"—grab Liz, go to the Winchester, have a nice cold pint, and wait for all of this to blow over."

World War Z 2006 Book - Max Brooks does an awesome job of "where were you when the Zombie Apocalypse happened” as he recounts various stories of the zombie war. The book is nothing like the Brad Pitt movie.

Train to Busan 2016 Horror - I have always been a big fan of Korean horror movies. This one takes the Running Zombie idea and amps it up placing you in a claustrophobic environment of a train to watch how fast one infected becomes many.

Dead of Night Series Books - Jonathan Maberry's series show one of the fast spreading zombie plagues through the eyes of interesting spectators. It's a fast page turner that then links into some of his other great series (Joe Ledger and Rot & Ruin).

Slither 2006 - James Gunn has a way of making serious things funny. Not sure how to categorize this one. Technically a gory horror but has laugh out loud moments. Add in a cast including Nathan Fillion and Michael Rooker, you're guaranteed a good time. Plus it revisits that old "Alien" hive mind idea of those earlier Plan 9 From Outer Space plots.

Planet Terror 2007 - Robert Rodriguez did not disappoint us with his vampires in From Dusk Til Dawn and he stays true in this. Part of the Quentin Tarantino Grindhouse movies, this is all the fun you can expect from a zombie movie. Thumbs up to Rose McGowen's character's gun leg. Awesome.


Wyrmwood 2014 - An Atomic Geekdom favorite. This is zombies meets Mad Max. It has an epic female lead Brooke (played by Bianca Bradey).

Evil Dead 1980 - It's Sam Rami with Bruce Campbell about the book of the Dead. If you haven't seen this, you should ask yourself "what have i done with my life?. It's a must.

Analyzing the Daniel Craig James Bond Film

By Brandon T. McClure (@btmcclure @fakenerdpodcast)

“The name’s Bond, James Bond” is one of the most iconic film lines of all time.  First uttered by Sean Connery in Dr. No, it has been said by more than 6 actors, throughout more than 24 films.  Very few characters have had the lasting impact and staying power that James Bond has had in cinema. Each actor has brought a new element to the long running franchise but Daniel Craig may have made the greatest contribution to the franchise since Sean Connery.

Regardless of what fan theories will have you believe, Sean Connery, George Lazenby, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton and Pierce Brosnan are meant to be the same James Bond.  James Bond isn’t a time lord and the name “James Bond” isn’t meant to be a codename.  While Daniel Craig’s Bond is familiar, he’s not the same man as the others, and in many ways, he can’t be. After Die Another Day was released, and in no small part thanks to the Austin Powers franchise (a very popular James Bond parody), Eon Productions, the production company that owns the rights to Bond, felt that the character should go in another direction. So instead of moving forward with a fifth Pierce Brosnan film, they recast the character and decided to tell the story of how he became 007, with Casino Royale.

Le Chiffree played by Mads Mikkelsen, Felix Leiter played by Jeffrey Wright, Madame Wu played by Tsai Chin and Jame Bond played by Daniel Craig in Casino Royal 2006

Casino Royale was a huge shift for the franchise when it was released in 2006. The film removed much of the tropes that had become a huge staple to the franchise: no over the top gadgets, no over the top action sequences and for the first time since On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, Bond fell in love.  For the first time in a long time, James Bond was a more relatable human character.  The producers wanted the film to be more realistic and bring Bond into a post Jason Bourne world.  Just six months before Die Another Day was released, The Bourne Identity redefined the spy genre that had been dominated by James Bond for many decades. Audiences were clearly hungry for this new take on the spy genre and not all that interested in Bond surfing a tidal wave to escape a space laser.

Sean Connery as James Bond in Thunderball 1965

For many years, the Bond franchise were the spy films to beat.  Tons of spy movies tried to copy the Bond formula to no success (The MCU currently sits in a similar place).  In many ways the Mission: Impossible and Kingsman films owe something to James Bond, but what happens when the student surpasses the master?  Daniel Craig’s tenure as James Bond has been the best received since Sean Connery in the 60s but they have clearly been influenced by other films. For example; The Bourne Trilogy, the last four Mission: Impossible films and, even The Dark Knight.  They all have played a hand in shaping the last four James Bond films.

Javier Bardem and Daniel Craig in Spectre 2015

Much like a long running comic book universe, James Bond had a “sliding scale continuity”, which allowed him to remain the same age for more than 50 years.  Major characters would remain the same (like M or Q), and sometimes they would call back to a previous film adventure. An example like when Roger Moore visited the grave of Bond’s wife who was killed in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.  While loose, there was a continuity for long-time fans, but each adventure was standalone so newer audiences could always find a way into the franchise. Quantum of Solace was the first film to break that trend, following up a loose end from the end of Casino Royale.  While Skyfall brought Bond “back to basics” in some ways, it’s sequel Spectre decided to run with a “it has all been connected to Spectre” plot-line, leaving Bond in a place where he’s never been before: locked in a set continuity. 

As it stands, the Bond franchise seems to have limited options in regards to moving forward.  It’s unlikely they’ll be able to move on from the Craig era as they have before.  So what could be next for James Bond?  Eon Productions has shown interest in spin-off films before, with Haley Berry’s Jinx from Die Another Day, moving forward with a new 00 agent or even Lashana Lynch continuing as the new 007 is an option.  If they decide not to go that route then another complete reboot would be the next best option.  Recasting Bond is nothing new but continuing in the manner they previously did, went out the window by the time Spectre rolled around.  Casting a young up and coming actor (Henry Golding for Bond) and setting it in a different time period and could give the franchise the fresh perspective they’ve been chasing.

Halle Barry as Jinx & Pierce Brosnan as James bond in Die Another Day 2002

The final option on the table would be to just let the franchise rest.  This is the most unlikely option since Bond is really the only thing that Barbara Broccoli and Eon Productions have, but it might ultimately be their best option.  They’ve just been chasing the success of other spy franchises since 2006, and maybe letting the franchise lie for a few years and waiting for the right idea to come along is what Bond needs.  Bond is a relic of the Cold War and has been struggling to survive in the modern era for more than 20 years (that’s the point of Skyfall), so perhaps it’s time to let it go.

Daniel Craig as James Bond n No Time To Die 2021

FUN FACTS:

• George Lazenby and Timothy Dalton were both attempts to bring the character more in line with his book counterpart, but Craig is the only one to do it successfully.  Guess audiences weren’t ready.

• Lazenby and Dalton were also the second choices to play the character and were only cast because their first choices, Roger Moore and Pierce Brosnan were doing successful TV shows. When Lazenby and Dalton didn’t reprise the role, the TV shows were cancelled and Roger Moore and Pierce Brosnan would go on to play the role anyway

Random Thoughts / The Addams Family Movies Cast Revisited

MOVIE: The Addams Family (Part 1 - 1991) & Addams Family Values (Part 2 - 1993)

STARRING: Raul Julia, Anjelica Houston, Christina Ricci, Christopher Lloyd, Joan Cusack, Jimmy Workman, Carel Struycken, Christopher Hart

By Patrick Nagy

Getting into the spooky season here and I had the most random thought. The Addams Family films in the 90’s were cast perfectly! Haven’t seen them in a while, but I remember really liking those films. Yes, I even liked Addams Family Values. The only random one is Pugsley, but then again how hard is it to find some random Bobby Hill looking kid?

Okay, getting down to brass tacks!

First up is Gomez. I remember thinking when they cast the late Raul Julia it was a bit confusing. I only remembered him vaguely from a few dramas and a thriller or two in the 80’s. The only comedy I can think of was 1988’s Moon Over Parador with Richard Dreyfuss (also it felt weird not seeing John Austin after years of Addams Family re-runs, but I digress). Anyway, Raul Julia killed it! Just the right amount of suave vs odd and the pencil thin mustache was a nice touch. He played the character very Peter Lorre-esque.

Raul Julia as Gomez Addams

Next up was Uncle Fester. Originally played by silent film child actor Jackie Coogan, Fester is by far the strangest of the strange when it comes to the Addams’. Bald, dumpy, pale, can light a lightbulb with his mouth…who could've played such a mad-cap character better than Doc Brown, and Reverend Jim himself?! I mean Christopher Lloyd in that role will be tough to beat. He had the quirks, and the child like mischief that Coogan brought to life so many years before, down to a science. A bonus is fellow Taxi co-star Carol Kane playing Grandmama in the sequel.

Christopher Lloyd as Fester Addams

One of the more interesting Addams that the films focused on was the daughter Wednesday (played by up and coming star Christina Ricci). The cynical (and slightly psychotic) Wednesday was the perfect foil for any outside forces trying to get the best of the fish out water family. Whether it was trying to steal their fortune, kill her beloved uncle, or getting sent off to summer camp, Wednesday with Pugsley in tow always seemed to get the better of their opponents in the most dark and hilarious way.

Christina Ricci as Wednesday Addams

There are many other fun and slightly off family members appearing here and there that help keep the story moving. Such classic oddballs like their monstrous butler Lurch, the ever helpful bodiless hand simply named “Thing”, and the bowler cap wearing talkative hairball Cousin Itt are all in there, but there is one Addams whom is the most perfectly cast…

Dana Ivey as Margaret Alford with John Franklin as Cousin Itt

Anjelica Huston playing the sultry dark matriarch Morticia Addams. Even before the internet and social media you could just feel the buzz coming out of Tinsel Town, this was the perfect cast! I don’t know if there has ever been a better choice for an actor to play a classic role. Huston is Hollywood royalty, and her Oscar winning portrayal as a Mafia daughter in 1985 Prizzi’s Honor gave her the sex appeal. Her turn as a veteran con-artist in 1990’s Grifters added to her mystique, and her take on Roald Dahl’s The Witches sealed the deal. She could be all the things that make an amazing Morticia. I would argue she was better than the original.

Anjelica Huston as Morticia Addams

So there you have it! No point or reason to this article, I just wanted to say The Addams Family films from the 1990’s, are some of the best cast films in history!

Movie Review / Prisoners of the Ghostland

MOVIE: Prisoners Of The Ghostlands

STARRING: Nicolas Cage, Sofia Boutella, Bill Moseley, Teresa Ruiz, Imogen PottsNick Cassavetes, Takato Yonemoto, Kanon Nawata, Tak Sakaguchi, Lorena Kotô

RELEASE DATE: September 17th, 2021

WHERE TO WATCH: Theaters / VOD Rental ( Amazon Prime, Apple, Google Play )

By Justin Pomerville (2 Broke Geeks)

Nick Cassavetes and Nicolas Cage in PRISONERS OF THE GHOSTLAND, Courtesy of Mongrel Media

Back again with the newest Nic Cage film, Prisoners of the Ghostland. The last two films I have reviewed of his had been 50/50 so far, with Willy's Wonderland being less than great, and Pig being one of the best films he has put out since Mandy. So, where will Prisoners of the Ghostland sit upon Justin's self-made "Nic Gauge"?

The plot of the film is fairly simple when it's described to you; Nic Cage (whose character's name is Hero in the cast list) is imprisoned for robbing a bank and being a part of a shooting in the bank. The Governor (played by Bill Mosely) makes a deal with Cage; go and save The Governor's adopted granddaughter, Bernice (played by Sofia Boutella), from The Ghostland. If so, Cage will be set free. To ensure that she is returned safely and unharmed, Cage has to wear a leather onesie that has bombs attached to each wrist, the neck, and one on each testicle. Yup, you read that right.

Sofia Boutella in PRISONERS OF THE GHOSTLAND, Courtesy of Mongrel Media

The overall package of this movie is interesting. There are two locations within the entire film, Samuari Town and The Ghostland. Both look really interesting, but the story provides extremely little information about the places. Samurai Town is a small town that not only has samurai running around, but also cowboys and geishas. The Ghostland seems to be a wasteland in a junkyard that everyone else lives in. Why do they people live there? I'm not sure.

Scene from PRISONERS OF THE GHOSTLAND, Courtesy of Mongrel Media

This film feels like there is a lot of plot that was cut out for unknown reasons. It felt disjointed and everything kind of just happens too easily for Hero. Even when some of his costume bombs explode (I'll let you guess which ones), they just feel like a minor inconvenience for him. Bernice is supposed to have her own path of redemption when you meet her, but it does not actually come across very well.

I commend this film for being pretty insane. I have not seen any other film from director Sion Sono, but I have heard these violent and bizarre films are his kind of thing. But this film felt very empty in terms of dialogue and character development. Was it better than Willy's Wonderland? Yes, but only by a small margin because of how insane Cage acts in this film. He goes nuts.

So, if you want to hear Cage yell "Hiya" and "My Testicle", then this is the movie for you.

Check out Justin’s other “Cage” reviews at www.atomicgeekdom.com and stay tuned for his next “Nic Gauge”.

Interview / Ken Knudtsen's "My Monkey's Name is Jennifer" Kickstarter

Ken Knudtsen is a recently relocated NY writer/artist (Wolverine) and the creator of My Monkey's Name is Jennifer (SLG Publishing). He has also worked on animation for projects developed by Comedy Central, Robert Reich, and PBS. Feel free to discuss with him the awesomeness of Huey Lewis & the News, Fast Five, John Wick, and Aquaman at your earliest convenience.

CREATOR: Ken Knudtsen @kenknudtsen

LAUNCH DATE: September 13th, 2021

LAUCH TIME: 9am EST

KICKSTARTER: My Monkey’s Name is Jennifer

Jenny and Justin sit down with creator Ken Knudtsen to discuss bringing together over 200 pages of crazy monkey adventures to both new and old fans through his new Kickstarter campaign.

Ken’s humor fits well in our Atomic Geekdom world. After reading a review by Peter David (AQUAMAN, HULK, SPIDER-MAN 2099, STAR TREK) where he is quoted “It's utterly demented”, we wanted in. We love creators who’s passion is influenced by things we too love and are very excited to see the success of this kickstarter.

For highlights from our interview, please check out our youtube coverage below, followed by audio to the full interview.

We hope that you enjoy as much as we have.

“DAMN YOU! I’m a crazy monkey!”

FOUR EYES REVIEW / Pig

Welcome back to another “Four Eyes” review. We take this moment to share 2 opinions on a single geek topic.

Below both Justin and Jenny will each dive into what they thought about Nicolas Cage’s movie Pig. Join us for an interesting recap.

Let us know your thoughts in the comments or on social media using #foureyesreview

MOVIE: Pig

STARRING: Nicolas Cage, Alex Wolff, Adam Arkin

RELEASE DATE: July 16th, 2021

WHERE TO WATCH (as of September 2021): Theaters / VOD Rental on Amazon Prime - slatted for streaming later on Hulu

FROM JUSTIN POMERVILLE:

The last time I talked about Nicolas Cage, it was about how I was not a fan of Willy’s Wonderland and if you are interested in the reasons, please go check out the Four Eyes Review.

This time, I’m here to talk about his latest feature from Neon, Pig.

Directed by Michael Snaroski in what seems to be his first big feature film, Pig is the story of a master chef, Rob (Nicolas Cage), living in the seclusion of the woods with his truffle sniffing pig. One night, men break into Rob’s cabin and take the pig. Rob now must go back into civilization with the reluctant help of Amir, played by Alex Wolff (Hereditary, Jumanji films).

From the trailer, this film felt like it would be an intense action style flick that follows a similar plot like John Wick. On the surface, that is sort of true but his film is so much deeper and meaningful than that. Throughout the hour and a half runtime, you are taken on an emotional journey where Cage hones in on his more serious acting techniques. There is no over-the-top theatrics or crazy Nic Cage moments that people gif into oblivion. 

This is just a story about loss and holding onto the things we love before they're gone. Learning to be happy with yourself and with what you do. Knowing that you are living to your full potential without sacrificing to make everyone else happy. 

This film is an emotional journey and I’m not afraid to admit that I cried when it finished. We are so used to Cage being attached to so many insane films over the years, that we forget how much of an amazing actor he really is. I hope that down the road, he does more projects like these. I highly recommend you see this film if you can.

Nicolas Cage as Rob in Pig

FROM JENNY ROBINSON:

I can safely say that amongst friends, everyone knows I am not the biggest Nick Cage fan. Don’t get me wrong, I think he’s a tremendously talented actor but his choice in roles sometimes leaves me less than excited. He seems to thrive in the SUPER strange and eclectic movies (e.g. Color Out of Space, Mandy, Willy’s Wonderland), yet I enjoy the more direct characters (e.g. Raising Arizona or Leaving Las Vegas). I am not sure where Pig lands in those black and white categories. It may need to be placed within those vast shades of grey that fall in-between. 

As you may have guessed, I did not rush out to see Pig. “Why do I need to see John Wick but with Nicolas Cage and a Pig instead of Keanu and a puppy?” is what went through my mind. It takes a lot to motivate me to jump for Cage and after what felt like a million messages telling me I had to watch this, I finally did.

It was way better than I anticipated. The reason is that instead of a violent crime movie the trailers had me believe, it was more just a sad accumulation of a mysterious man’s life and his beloved pig. The violence almost feels out of place in spots where the determination of the character was a better fit throughout. 

Nicolas Cage has some top notch emotional scenes throughout the movie. Some moments had me (as the audience) relating intensely to his despair. It’s a very sad story about rejection and forgiving ones self even if ultimately leading to tragic heartache. The only happy ending this story left me with was similar to ripping the bandaid off giving a potential chance to heal. This applies for all parties involved. 

That being said, this movie was weird but Cage is weird. 

I also feel that Alex Wolff steals the show. His character Amir is dramatically more relatable and empathetic than Cage’s Robin Feld. Following Amir’s struggle for respect (in his fathers eyes) brought such a secondary layer to the movie. Adam Arkin’s portrayal of Amir’s father Darius also just doubles down on the emotional and unexpected reaction of what deceptively appears to be cookie-cutter characters yet are much more complex. 

So in summary, I give this a thumbs up. It’s not your average Nicolas Cage film. It’s emotional and way more than just about a pig.

Rob played by Nicolas Cage and Amir played by Alex Wolff

Headlines / Black Widow vs The Mouse

Covered by: Brandon T. McClure (@btmcclure)

In any other year, a film like Black Widow would have done huge numbers at the box office. Since this isn’t any other year, the 24th film in the expansive Marvel Cinematic Universe has struggled in theaters, only making around $368M, and is predicted to unlikely gross much more in its theatrical run. No doubt, one of the facts related to this low box office gross was due to Disney deciding to release the film same day on Disney+ for a premium price. Now Scarlet Johannson, the film's star, has decided to sue the House of Mouse for a breach of contract.

Johannson claims that she is owed money because she was guaranteed a percentage of that box office gross for the film. According the suit filed “Disney intentionally induced Marvel’s breach of the agreement, without justification, in order to prevent Ms. Johansson from realizing the full benefit of her bargain with Marvel.” Shortly after this reached the news, Disney fired back with their own statement, saying “[this is] especially sad and distressing in its callous disregard for the horrific and prolonged global effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.” The company said it “fully complied with Ms. Johansson’s contract and furthermore, the release of Black Widow on Disney+ with Premier Access has significantly enhanced her ability to earn additional compensation on top of the $20 million she has received to date.”

Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Romanoff / Black Widow

The statement made by Disney is an obvious smokescreen to turn the blame on the actress and away from Disney. Disney’s new CEO Bob Chapek has decided to stand by his decision to release the film on Disney+ at the same time. Chapek claims that Disney’s former CEO Bob Iger is behind him on this decision, something The Wrap has heard is not true, claiming that Iger has said they’ve “bungled” this whole thing. 

Among the parties supposedly not happy is Marvel CCO Keven Feige, who pushed hard for an exclusive theatrical release of Black Widow.  At the time of this writing, no official statements from either Iger or Feige have been released.

Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow with Taskmaster

On the surface it’s easy for the general consumer to look at this and say that it’s just a greedy millionaire suing a mega corporation but this could have far reaching ramifications. If Disney is willing to breach a contract and deny one of the biggest stars in the world the money she’s owed, then what’s to stop them from doing this to a smaller creator?

This could also set a precedent with other companies. For example, Warner Bros releasing their films on HBOMax for no extra cost (same day as in theaters) has forecasted doom for Dune at the box office. Perhaps what Johansson is doing could embolden Denis Villeneuve to demand the money he would have gotten had the movie had an exclusive theatrical run (of course depending on the verbiage of that contract or renegotiations).

So far during these unprecedented times, F9: The Fast Saga seems to be the exception and not the rule. That could be because Universal gave it an exclusive theatrical release, or it could just have been a random fluke. The narrative of what is a “flop” is going to have to change as we once again enter unprecedented times, that’s for sure. 

One thing is certain, if studios insist on releasing major tentpole movies, the filmmakers and stars need to get the proper compensation.

Movie Review / The Green Knight

MOVIE: The Green Knight

STARRING: Dev Patel, Alicia Vikander, Erin Kellyman, Barry Keoghan, Ralph Ineson, Sean Harris, Joel Edgerton

RELEASE DATE: July 30th, 2021 (Theaters) / August 19th, 2021 (VOD)

WHERE TO WATCH: Theaters / VOD Rental (Amazon Prime, Apple, Google Play, FandangoNow)

By Justin Pomerville (2 Broke Geeks)

The Green Knight is the latest film by David Lowery, whose other films up to this point have included 2016’s “Pete’s Dragon” and 2017’s “A Ghost Story”. This film is also an adaptation of the poem, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. In short, this film is probably one of the best films that have come out of A24’s library, in my honest opinion.

"Sir Gawain and the Green Knight", from the Cotton Nero A.x manuscript

As the title of the poem states, the film is about King Arthur’s nephew, Gawain (played by Dev Patel), who accepts to play a game by The Green Knight on Christmas Day.  The game is simple, strike a blow to the Green Knight and then you claim his ax. However, Gawain must return to the Knight’s castle in one calendar year's time and give the knight the same courtesy in letting him strike an equal blow to Gawain. 

Gawain played by Dev Patel

After Gawain beheads the Green Knight, Gawain waits almost the entire year until he decides to go on the adventure. Along the way, Gawain finds himself meeting interesting characters, each one being a test of the 5 virtues of what it means to be a knight; friendship, generosity, chastity, courtesy, and piety.

This film is very beautiful in every way. Although it is a slow-moving film, it never feels like you are waiting for the next scene to happen. They give you time to take in the splendor of the scenery. They pull you in with the great score from Daniel Hart that accompanies the film. I don’t want to spoil too much about the film because I want everyone to go check it out. So, I highly recommend you check it out and see what you think.

Movie Review / Guilt, Grief and Self-Hatred: How three new female-directed horror films intersect

1 ) Saint Maud

DIRECTOR: Rose Glass

STARRING: Morfydd Clark, Caoilfhionn Dunne, Jennifer Ehle, Marcus Hutton, Carl Prekopp, Lily Frazer, Lily Knight

RELEASE DATE: January 29th, 2021

WHERE TO WATCH (as of August 2021): Hulu

2 ) Censor

DIRECTOR: Prano Bailey Bond

STARRING: Niamh Algar, Michael Smiley, Nicholas Burns, Vincent franklin, SophiaLa Porta, Adrian Schiller

RELEASE DATE: June 11th, 2021

WHERE TO WATCH (as of August 2021): Amazon Prime Video (rental)

3 ) The Stylist

DIRECTOR: Jill Gevargizian

STARRING: Najarra Townsend, Jennifer Seward, Lindsay Solomon, Angela Dupuie, Brea Grant, Davis DeRock

RELEASE DATE: February 21st, 2021

WHERE TO WATCH (as of August 2021): Amazon Prime Video (rental)

by Dave Palamaro

The protagonist as the outcast/anti-hero used to be mostly the realm of male film directors (think Taxi Driver, Joker, Fight Club, Goodfellas etc.). But three new female horror directors are showing audiences that complex, emotionally damaged main characters need not be gender specific. Thank God for that because their films (Saint Maud, Censor and The Stylist) are a revelation.

***SPOILERS AHEAD FOR SAINT MAUD, CENSOR AND THE STYLIST***

Disturbed Heroes

Saint Maud, Censor and The Stylist all have one major element in common: they showcase female lead characters that are emotionally damaged, socially distant and possibly a danger to themselves or others. Where these characters differ, however, is why each of them reached such a state.

(Morfyd Clark plays Maud in Saint Maud)

In Saint Maud, directed by Rose Glass, Maud (played by Morfyd Clark) is a young nurse who experienced a traumatic event in her past that cost a patient their life. She blames herself for this death since the patient was in her care at the time. The shock and guilt she feels spins Maud out of her normal orbit and into a self-imposed extreme form of catholicism.

(Julie Ehle in Saint Maud)

She finds a new patient to save in terminal cancer victim Amanda (played by Julie Ehle). Saving Amanda’s soul soon becomes Maud’s mission. She believes that converting Amanda to catholicism before she succumbs to her cancer will make up for her failing to save the life of her previous patient. But Maud’s methods for this would-be salvation turn out to be...well, extreme.

(Niamh Algar as Enid in Censor)

Prano Bailey Bond’s Censor, Enid (Niamh Algar) is a seemingly emotionally healthy young woman. She works as a film censor in 1980’s England and spends her days watching endless “video nasties” (British horror films from the 1980’s). Her job is to determine which of these horror films are fit for public consumption, and if they are, which parts of the movies to cut out.

All seems normal until we meet her parents. We discover that Enid’s sister went missing years ago. It turns out that Enid blames herself for the disappearance of her sibling because she was with her sister when it happened. Enid’s parents want to move on and forget about their lost child (even presenting their missing daughter’s death certificate to Enid at dinner).

But Enid, not so much. She believes that her sister is out there somewhere and nothing her parents do will shake her from this belief.

(Niamh Algar in Censor)

Clearly, Enid’s personal mission is to find her lost sister. At some point she thinks she sees her sister (now an adult) in one of the “video nasties” she’s evaluating for work.

From that point on, any good intentions Enid has to locate her lost sibling quickly turns into an unhealthy obsession.

(Najarra Townsend plays Claire the stylist in The Stylist)

Unlike Maud or Enid, Claire (Najarra Townsend) in The Stylist isn’t given a reason (at least on-screen) as to why she is so damaged.

Director/writer Jill Gevargizian shows us who Claire really is in the very first scene.

Claire is a hair stylist who drugs and surgically scalps her clients. She then uses their hair as a macabre wig to act out her fantasies of being other people. In this way, Claire can be anyone she chooses. Anyone but herself. Why does she do this?

In several scenes it is very clear that Claire hates herself to an almost unimaginable degree. She puts up a good front to those in her public life but in private, she brings self-loathing to a whole new level.

(Najarra Townsend and Brea Grant in The Stylist)

When Claire is hired to do her friend Olivia’s (Brea Grant) wedding hair, it seems that she might finally be making a real connection with another human being. It appears that this just might be enough to break the murderous hamster wheel she’s trapped in. But director Gevargizian doesn’t give us such an easy way out of Claire’s psychosis.

Does anybody ever really get what they want?

So does Maud (Saint Maud), Enid (Censor) and Claire (The Stylist) get what they want by the end of their respective stories? Well, yes and no.

Directors Rose, Bailey-Bond and Gevargizian leave it up to the audience to decide if their damaged female protagonists achieve their goals by the end of their respective journeys.

Which is only fitting, as these films are as complex as their main characters. These three talented directors have shown audiences that mentally and emotionally challenging characters are not just for men anymore.

Ratings:

Saint Maud: 9.5/10

Censor: 8.5/10

The Stylist: 8/10

Dave Palamaro is a filmmaker known for Murder Made Easy (2019) and In Heaven There Is No Beer (2014).

Movie Review / JOLT

MOVIE: Jolt (Amazon Original)

STARRING: Kate Beckinsale, Jai Courtney, Laverne Cox, Stanley Tucci, Lili Rich, Bobby Cannavale, David Bradley, Susan Sarandon

RELEASE DATE: July 23rd, 2021

WHERE TO WATCH: Amazon Prime

By Animated Annie @hessian_hellcat

Jolt is my 2nd favorite action movie of 2021, seconded only to Nobody. The movie kicks off with our heroine, Lindy, as a child unlike any other. She’s overly triggered by mean people, and has some solid super strength and anger to boot. After some traumatizing years being experimented on and tortured, she finally finds a bandaid type treatment with the help of her shrink, Dr. Munchin, played by Stanley Tucci. 

Everything seems to finally be coming together for Lindy (played by Kate Beckinsale, who looks amazing as always), until it isn’t. She absolutely slayed every one of her action scenes. With every imagined & actual fight, I was grinning ear to ear, and fully engulfed. Some of her triggers had me cackling, and were very relatable. I’ve definitely dreamed of doing some of the same things.

Laverne Cox was my 2nd favorite character, as Detective Nevin. Knocking out some solid humor as a brutally honest, by the book detective partnered with the endearing Detective Vicars (Bobby Canavale).

I did have the story figured out less than halfway through, but that didn’t take any of the fun out of the movie for me. Jolt is witty, action packed, solidly casted, and well written. Hopefully we will be getting a sequel/franchise. The ending gave us our first onscreen view of the movies narrator (no spoilers), and a quick bonus scene in the credits with a character I really enjoyed that we only got a few minutes of. All of this makes me think we will, so I’ll be crossing my fingers!

Movie Review / Blood Red Sky

MOVIE: Blood Red Sky (A Netflix Film)

STARRING: Peri Baumeister, Carl Anton Koch, Alexander Scheer, Kais Setti, Gordon Brown, Dominic Purcell, Graham McTavish

RELEASE DATE: July 23rd, 2021

WHERE TO WATCH: Netflix

By Patrick Nagy

Let me preface this review by stating, I’m not very into horror movies in general. Then again, I don’t know if I would categorize this film as “horror”. It’s more like an action flick with a supernatural twist. There will be a few spoilers, but trust me, there is still plenty of surprises to see.

The Netflix original film Blood Red Sky revolves around Nadja (played by German actress Peri Baumeister) and her son Elias (Carl Anton Koch) traveling from abroad to New York to seek treatment for Nadja’s “condition”. It isn’t fully explained yet what her issue may be as she sneaks off to the bathroom mid-flight to inject herself with some sort of serum, which appears to cause her much pain. The entire experience and journey seem to be very desperate for Nadja.

Somewhere over the Atlantic tragedy strikes when it is revealed some of the passengers and crew aren’t what they appear. In a very gruesome and violent takeover of the plane’s cabin and cockpit, this group of terrorists make their intensions clear that this plane is theirs, and there will be no shenanigans or heroes. The leader of the terrorist group is Berg (played by Prison Break actor Dominic Purcell) and they do an all right job of fleshing out his character, even though he’s a little two dimensional with your classic tropes. For example, forcing prisoners to read a written statement condemning a government or political group, planning to crash the plane in a populated area…you know…terrorist stuff. The more interesting part is his merry band of mercenaries. You have the sensible one, the angry one, the violent one, and then there’s Eightball (played by Alexander Scheer). He’s a real problem. The wild card. The psychotic killer that seems to enjoy inflicting pain and chaos. Unfortunately one of Eightball’s random targets is Nadja’s son Elias. During a scuffle for Elias, Nadja is injured and forced to reveal her secret she’s been fighting so hard to conceal.

Without giving away too much, you can picture the madness that ensues after a full blown Nosferatu style vampire is thrown into your classic hostage film! Picture the 1996 Kurt Russell film Executive Decision meets The Strain.

What I liked most about this movie and the character of Nadja, is the pain she’s going through to save her son and the plane. With every drop of blood, every kill, she’s loses herself a little. She’s afraid of Elias seeing her this way. No hair, fangs, pointed ears, and covered in blood…a monster. Her greater fear is losing him to the disaster that is unfurling.

We do get some flashbacks from time to time of a car break down and an old farm house in the German wilderness. Piece by piece these memories explain how Nadja became this way. They also reveal an ominous warning from an old farmer that she must end this vampire disease for good. This foreshadowing really helps explain who Nadja is (or at least was), and why she is fighting so hard to get back to some sort of normal. It adds a lot of sympathy and strife to her character. Imagine going through an uncertain future not even knowing what you’re becoming or how to stop it. Would you do anything and everything to just feel normal again?

During the battle it becomes very apparent everyone Nadja takes down or consumes her blood will also be infected. She does her best to stop the spread, but you can imagine what happens next. Now our anti-heroine has one more HUGE thing to worry about! How will Nadja save her son (without scaring the living daylights out of him), save the plane, and stop a vampire outbreak! This really takes anyone’s fear of flying to a ridiculous level.

Blood Red Sky may not be for the squeamish, but if you are looking for Action / Thriller plus Vampires, this is the film for you! It was done very well which is saying a lot because you can just picture how badly it could have gone from the pitch meeting to screen.

Shot in English and German overdub, Blood Red Sky is available on Netflix streaming now.

Audio Book Review / Devolution by Max Brooks

DEVOLUTION: A Firsthand Account of the Rainier Sasquatch Massacre

Book Release Date: 05/20/21

Audio Release Date: 06/16/20

CAST: Judy Greer, Max Brooks, Jeff Daniels, Nathan Fillion, Mira Furlan, Terry Gross, Kimberly Guerrero, Kate Mulgrew, Kai Ryssdal, Steven Weber

By Jenny Robinson

You had me at Big Foot. 

Growing up in the Pacific Northwest, we would hear the stories of the Sasquatch. Some stories had a lone friendly beast, and others had aggressive shrewdness monsters. I personally always want the Progressive Insurance type of Big Foot, friend of man (or at least if man ever saw them). In true character, Max Brooks dives into the latter monster version. 

I usually do Max Brooks books as audiobooks. His tales fit well with a full cast due to his journalistic approach in storytelling. Listening to World War Z or Devolution feels like watching a documentary or reading a private journal first hand. Devolution fit that mold perfectly. 

Devolution revolves around my biggest fear while growing up near Seattle. What would happen if Mt. Rainer erupted? Many of the suburban towns around the city sit in the valleys that were formed last time it went BOOM! The environmental crusaders around the area makes remote living a desired life choice with a contradiction towards a lot of tech dependency. When you add all those elements together, you can see how it would be a picture perfect world, or a disaster waiting to happen. The town of Greenloop sets a perfect backdrop to this thriller for that exact reason.

The story is mostly told through the journal pages of Kate Holland (read by Judy Greer). It’s the first hand account of what happened in Greenloop once Rainer blew. Her account is told from her journal and reads more like a conversation directly with her character. Greer emotes the fear and uncertainty of Kate in a way that had me both annoyed and empathetic to her Souther Californian based character. As the story develops though, Brooks gives hints at some hidden strengths I didn’t initially see. Listening to this character evolve through the mayhem was an entertaining journey that allows a lot of revelations in hind-sight. 

The story begins simply with an article sent to a journalist (read by Max Brooks) titled “Bigfoot Destroys Town”. Nathan Fillion dives into the articles author Frank McCray’s character who is in search of his missing sister Kate. Chapter by chapter, the narration alternates from Kate’s viewpoint to those of Frank, Senior Ranger Josephine Schell (played by Kimberly Guerrero) and other researcher’s survivalist theories. Kate’s story becomes more of a flashback as it progresses. The narrator and supporting cast lead the story as more educational and instructional than fiction normally shows. This writing style works so well as a listener. I felt as if I was deep in Kate’s story, yet breaking away every chapter’s end for knowledgeable insight.

Majority of this story rotates around the idea of survivalism. If you had no way to Google how to grow food, could you? What if you couldn’t access maps online, or use a compass not connected to wi-fi? If you knew nothing of an animal’s behavior, are you protecting yourself in the best way or endangering yourself? Do you have an escape route? Do you have supplies to survive a few days or months if stranded? We are told all the time to have a plan organized incase of a disaster, yet very few people do.

So now we have a story of city folk without internet, limited survival skills, and living in a secluded area overran by the hardships of nature because they didn’t think about what could happen. That idea is scary enough. How do you extend the small amount of food each home has when the drones and Amazon vans can no longer deliver more? How do you keep the power grid on? All of these (and more) are vary valid and crucial questions posed in this story. Now, let’s throw in gigantic smart ape-like creatures that think you are dinner. 

Listening to each actor of this considerable cast adjust their characters through the horrific events makes for a truly chilling listen. There is a theme where the weak find strength and those who appeared strong become the weakest. Whether you read or listen, I encourage the horror fan in everyone to dive into this one. I really enjoyed the migration of modern man meets ancient Sasquatch.

Excerpt from the book:

At present, I have no physical evidence to validate the story you are about to read. Maybe I’ve been duped by Frank McCray, or maybe we’ve both been duped by Josephine Schell. I will let you, the reader, judge for yourself if the following pages seem reasonably plausible, and like me, if they reawaken a terror long buried under the bed of youth.

FOUR EYES REVIEW / Willy's Wonderland

Welcome back to another “Four Eyes” review. We take this moment to share 2 opinions on a single geek topic.

Below both Allan and Justin will each dive into what they thought about Nicolas Cage’s movie Willy’s Wonderland. Join us for a LOVE/HATE recap. Let us know your thoughts in the comments or on social media using #foureyesreview

MOVIE: Willy’s Wonderland

STARRING: Nicolas Cage, Emily Tosta, Beth Grant

RELEASE DATE: February 12th, 2021

WHERE TO WATCH (as of July 2021): Hulu

FROM ALLAN DAVID:

Plot: An out-of-towner’s (Nicolas Cage) car runs over police road spikes. He is stuck in an old country town. To pay for the repairs, all he must do is spend the night cleaning up Willy’s Wonderland (a Chuck E Cheese/Five Nights at Freddy’s type of restaurant). The kids in this town sure know how to have a party. Oh, don’t worry, , that’s not blood on the walls that’s fruit punch.

My Thoughts: Nicolas Cage delivers an Oscar worthy performance as The Janitor. In one of his best roles since Raising Arizona, Nick (that’s what his friends call him) gives depth and complexity to the Janitor. He doesn’t utter a word throughout the entire movie. Which is fine by me.  The Janitor faces off against killer robots. No not the Terminator kind, but the soft fluffy kind. The kind you want to have at your kid’s party. Oh wait…

This movie has a little of everything. Angry townsfolk, blood, robots, superb acting by said robots, and lots of laughs, blood, and pinball. Lots and lots of pinball.

Should you watch it? Hell yes!!! Get off your computer right now and watch Willy’s Wonderland!!! 

FROM JUSTIN POMERVILLE:

I first need to preface that I am a huge Nicolas Cage fan. Cage has this uncanny ability to resurrect his career no matter what. With this ability, he has turned out such amazing and interesting films like Mom and Dad, Mandy, and Color Out Of Space. However, he also has been the butt of a lot of jokes because of the volume of films he has made that have been less than stellar. One such film is Willy’s Wonderland.

Willy’s Wonderland had a simple idea: What if Nicolas Cage was in Five Nights At Freddy's? Cage is the silent protagonist who’s vehicle is disabled outside of a tiny town. He is tasked to clean a run-down “Chuck E. Cheese” style joint called “Willy’s Wonderland”. But, what he doesn’t know is that he is locked in overnight with possessed murderous animatronics.

It’s a creative idea for sure but fails to be entertaining. I don’t mind if your main character is a silent, mysterious type. As someone who is viewing this film, usually by the end of the film we would have learned something about our hero. We learn nothing. He spends the whole movie cleaning, playing pinball, drinking a soda every hour, and killing animatronics. The only interesting element to his personality is that killing is nothing to him. He’s not even surprised that there are giant robotic murder machines. They are a minor inconvenience to him, at best.

Between the shaky camera fights, the illogical character choices and confusing dialogue, this movie is definitely not the worst in Cage’s repertoire. Would I watch it again? No way. However, for those of you who do enjoy it (Allan), I’m glad you do. And I have some amazing news for you, Aftershock Comics is making a prequel comic series this fall. Now you have something to look forward to (and hopefully finally some backstory on The Janitor).

Book Review / Relentless by Jonathan Maberry

RELENTLESS

Release Date: 07/13/21

By Jenny Robinson

** This article will have minor spoilers to previous books **

Over the past 12 years, we have followed Joe Ledger’s mission in preventing one possible apocalypse after another. From keeping a lid on Sief Al Din all the way through to RAGE, Ledger and Echo/Rogue teams have stopped the world from becoming ashes. Strangely in those years and books, I find it easy to forget how Joe has always been rooted in tragedy, redemption and revenge. What has drawn me to this written evolution of Joe is that his redemption is based within honor and promise. His revenge is ultimately granted but at a price. His tragedy is forever on going, yet in spite of it all we can win. He can still see the light. 

Relentless felt different. Relentless is exactly that…relentless.

Let’s start this by saying that I believe this book is completely about Joe, and not so much about Ledger. Not Cowboy or Outlaw. No matter which direction, Book 2 of Rogue Team International focuses more on Joe’s internal war and the effects it has on his relationships. To date there are well over 25 stories that involve Joe. Even though each story has been co-piloted by his Modern Man, the Cop and the Killer (depending on who is telling the story - The Warrior), Joe has always been behind the wheel. Relentless flips that concept on its head.

We have walked “through the valley of the shadow” so many times before with Joe. Each step showing more and more cracks in his patched up veneer. An example I keep thinking about is the events at the end of The Dragon Factory where Joe was left riddled in pain after the loss of Grace, only to be followed by the short story Dog Days with the introduction of Ghost. Ghost’s and Ledger’s story both start rooted in revenge, inadvertently leading to a journey of healing and vindication. The events leading up to Relentless were larger and way more damaging. As readers, we feel we know Joe Ledger. When he is knocked down, he will get back up. We’ve seen it over and over again. This book was the first time I feared how, and if he would actually get back on his feet? What state of mind would/could we find him in? In some cases, dramatic foreshadowing to the events can be found in those previous books. In The King of Plagues, Mr. Church tells Joe “We are of a kind, Captain, and neither of us is holding a candle against the darkness. Like the unknown and unseen enemy we fight, people like you and me, we are the darkness.”

This fourth passenger now in Joe’s head “The Darkness” is fueled and fed by the mutual loathing between Ledger and Santoro. Rafael Santoro has been a constant since his introduction with the Seven Kings. The proven confidence of the Spaniard has always played out in a sort of background sense. RAGE/Relentless brings that to the foreground. The absolute hatred Santoro and Ledger have for each other became paramount. Santoro has always been a force but somewhat shadowed by the larger names like Hugo Vox and Kuga. With Rafael directly murdering Joe’s family, he struck the most disruptive personal blow Joe has ever taken. Personally speaking, Kuga took a back seat in this story. Kuga's self-confident attitude in comparison to Santoro’s self-assertiveness cannot compete. Santoro is and always has been a monster. 

I enjoyed how Joe’s story is told largely by others in Relentless. It has that “outside looking in” sensibility. The supporting cast show more of who Joe Ledger truly is than he ever could. It refreshes the importance of family and simple togetherness. There are so many examples of sacrifice within this story which drives in the importance of that fact. In my unexpected surprise, some of my favorite parts was in Toy’s development in Relentless. I believe it is some of the most enlightening and captivating character growth. Toys possesses a lot of parallels with Ledger. Both men’s love toward Junie Flynn being a big reason for both’s salvation. I wonder how Toys would have landed if he grew up with a support system like Joe, or how Joe would have turned out vice versa. Those conversations between those who love or hate Joe felt to me like closing the circle of the tragic events at the end of RAGE. Those secondary character’s role in that support circle being the deciding point on how and if Joe can overcome his obstacles, and see the light again.

The surprising twist is the inclusion of Mr. Sunday within the terrifying evil and science that exists in this world. The supernatural throwbacks and wicked wrongfulness Mr. Sunday brings only add to the terror. This has me excited and mortified for what happens next. Concerning (you know who), I feel our beloved characters are waiting for the other shoe to drop. The idea of his return is almost unbearable. 

This unabated story started early with the tech of Dog’s of War, and ultimately joined with the bio-terrorism in Rage. That convergence will take time to recover from.  My only question is… will they all be able to? Will the stakes of the war continue to grow, and become impossible? The past always finds it’s way back.

In conclusion, let’s continue the previous quote above from Mr. Church to Joe Ledger,

“In some ways we are more like the things we're fighting than the people we're protecting. Granted our motives are better--from our perspective--but we wait in the shadows for our unseen enemy to make a move against those innocents with candles. And by that light we take aim.”

For more coverage, please check out Matt’s (Two Broke Geeks) review Fourteenth Interlude: Matt Reviews Jonathan Maberry's "Relentless"

Find more about Jonathan Maberry at www.jonathanmaberry.com

Macmillan Publishers / Relentless - A Joe Ledger and Rogue Team International Novel (Rogue Team International Series Volume 2).

Queen Mary Dark Harbor 2019

Mazes, monsters, and hidden bars...oh my! The Queen Mary's Dark Harbor is back and Atomic Geekdom's own Jenny and Patrick take it on with help from our friend Director Dave Palamaro. It's a scary good time! (evil laugh)