BACKGROUND PROMPT

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It's the 14th of the month, and that's the date we put aside to think about all those amazing minor characters, places, organisations and general backdrop that make Eerie so compellingly watchable.

This month's theme is:

EERIE BAITSHOP AND SUSHI BAR

Musical Mondays

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It's Monday, the start of the working week. To counter-act the post-weekend blues, cheer yourself up with Radio Weird: Songs of Eerie. Whether you're checking out some of eviinsanemonkey's amazing filks, or taking up deifire's awesome recommendations for Eerie-centric listening, or creating a musical fanwork of your very own, share your thoughts, and your favourites, in the comments!

( Stabbity Steve: a Murder Ballad by Eviinsanemonkey )

( After Wolf Mountain: a Filk by Eviinsanemonkey )

( Pay Attention: a Filk by Eviinsanemonkey )

( Krampus: an Eerie Christmas Poem by Eviinsanemonkey )

( Moo! A World o' Stuff advertising jingle by Eviinsanemonkey )

( Bigfoot Stole My Mail: a Musical by Owen Neil )

( Eerie, Indiana fanvids by Roseveare )

( Weird Science (Don't Leave My Arms): an Eerie, Indiana Melanie/Devon/Marshall fanvid by Current Joys )

Eerie Indiana fanfiction: Desperate Times + Desperate Measures

[friendof_dorothy]

Written for the Sunday Prompt Challenge (even though it hasn't been sunday here for 2 and a half hours) 'COMA'
[warnings: nothing you wouldn't find in any other Eerie fanfic]
Side note: this is the first fic ive finished in 3 months so please excuse how rough it is haha

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Dean Friedman: Songs for Grownups

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Two tickets available for his Saturday 19th August show on Gumtree

FlickeringMyth: Twin Peaks season 3 is exquisite, but why am I so unenthused by it?

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Twin Peaks season 3 (The Return) had been something fans of the show, and of David Lynch, were dreaming of for years, and its revival has provided television viewers with some truly incredible moments, and some seriously beautiful filmmaking. But there is something about the resurrected series that just isn’t working. There is something about it that is leaving me a little indifferent to its existence.

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DreadCentral on Horror's Iconic Director/Actor Teams

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There is a long and respected history of filmmaking teams, whether they’re writers and directors (like Martin Scorsese and Paul Schrader), directors and producers (like Danny Boyle and Andrew MacDonald), or directors and actors (like Tim Burton and Johnny Depp). It’s clear that some filmmakers bring out the best in each other, and in working together, audiences get the best from both of them.

This is definitely true in the horror arena, where directors and actors reteam with regular consistency. So who are the iconic horror director/actor teams? Who is the Scorsese/De Niro duo of gore? The Kurosawa/Mifune team of the supernatural? This is a list of some of the most frequent and enjoyable collaborations in horror film history (in no particular order):

2. Joe Dante and Robert Picardo, Dick Miller, and Kevin McCarthy

Sometimes, a filmmaker finds a muse in an actor because that actor captures something distinct and unique about their filmmaking style and message. And sometimes, directors are just loyal to the people who started with them, and they enjoy having fun, talented people around them.

In this case, Joe Dante constantly works with actors he likes on multiple occasions, from Rick Ducommun to Henry Gibson. But by far, his most frequent collaborators have been Robert Picardo, Dick Miller, and Kevin McCarthy.

Dick Miller has been with Dante since the beginning, appearing in Hollywood Boulevard when Dante worked for Roger Corman. McCarthy joined one movie later, in Piranha, and Picardo joined the troupe in 1981 as the villain in The Howling. Since 1981, Dante has made 14 feature films and there hasn’t been a single movie that hasn’t had at least one of those three actors in it. The real question is, when Dante makes the Roger Corman biopic The Man with Kaleidoscope Eyes next year, will Dick Miller play himself from fifty years ago?

Call for second to eighth graders to appear in a production of Hocus Pocus

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The Arts Center of St. Charles seeks young actors from second through the eighth grades to appear in a tuition-based production of "Hocus Pocus." Auditions are 3 to 6 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 27, and from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Monday, Aug. 29, at 2422 W. Main St., St. Charles. For more information, visit artscenterstc.org.

Brian K. Vaughan & Cliff Chiang talk the past and future of Paper Girls

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I hope it doesn't come as breaking news to you that Paper Girls is one of the best comics on the racks right now. But just in case the newspaper has been piling up on your doorstep, or if you've completely cut the cord, I'll give you the scoop.

Paper Girls is an Eisner Award-winning Image Comics series that stars four pre-teen girls — Erin, KJ, Tiffany, and Mac — who are out delivering newspapers on Halloween night in 1988 when they're caught up in a series of inexplicable events that send them on an adventure across time. But this is no happy-go-lucky journey, this is a dangerous conflict that the girls are caught up in, one they're unable to completely wrap their heads around, and as it rages, they'll learn far more about themselves and each other than they ever wanted to know. The group has seen the harrowing future of 2016 and the prehistoric past, the latter of which they left at the end of the last arc, which has just been released in a paperback collection this week as Paper Girls, Vol. 3.

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MonkeysFightingRobots: Lumberjanes Issue 40 is as Clever as a Fox

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Parents’ Day at camp is finishing up, with an Abuelita rescue mission, a trickster to out-trick, and the surprise arrival of... Molly’s parents?

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Batman: Mask of the Phantasm

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The success of Batman: The Animated Series allowed its original creators, Eric Radomski and Bruce W. Timm, some room to experiment with the show in other formats, principally movies. The first out of the gate was Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (sometimes referred to as Batman: The Animated Movie). Released to theaters in 1993, it told the story of the caped crusader taking on the mysterious Phantasm, who is killing mob bosses all over Gotham City with Batman taking the blame. On the hunt from the cops, as well as trying to discover the Joker’s role in all of it, Batman must find a way to solve the riddle of Phantasm while at the same time reconciling a relationship tied to his dark past.

Most cite Mask of the Phantasm as one of the all-time best Batman movies, animated or otherwise, and for good reason. It’s a brisk, well-told story with little fat to it, but also adds some necessary character development. Being a continuation of the original series, it stays true to the characters, the story, and the animation style, but expands upon the mythos of Batman and Gotham City’s underworld. We learn through flashbacks of Bruce Wayne’s lost love who is intrinsically connected to his burdened desire of becoming the Batman, while at the same time following the developing plot of the Phantasm. All of the series’ main cast returns, including Kevin Conroy, Mark Hamill, Bob Hastings, and Efrem Zembalist, Jr. There’s also a variety of new voices added to the mix, including Dick Miller, Dana Delaney, Stacey Keach, and Abe Vigoda.

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Twin Peaks gave birth to the best throwback website — and it may hide some secrets

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The Search for the Zone is a pitch-perfect ’90s fansite

The ninth episode of Twin Peaks was the first time in several weeks that the revival touched on the same campy charm of the original TV show. Case in point: A blog referenced during one of the episodes is real, and it’s as much of a cheesy throwback as you’d hope.

Quick warning: There are light spoilers for Twin Peaks episode nine below.

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Paper Girls volume 3: the all-girl, time-traveling Stranger Things gets even better

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In Paper Girls, the celebrated comics creator Brian K Vaughan (Saga, Y: The Last Man, etc) teams up with Cliff Chiang to tell a story that's like an all-girl Stranger Things, with time-travel.

The first two volumes of the story held out enormous promise and ended on a brutal cliffhanger.

I just picked up Volume 3 at Comic-Con from the Image Comics booth and basically inhaled it.

The story's now taking place across multiple timelines, with deep mysteries, awesome eyeball-kick images, and enough action to fuel three tales. Telling you anything more about it would be a giant spoiler, so instead, here's the meat of my review of books one and two, to which I add: it gets even better.

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40th anniversary theatrical re-release of Steven Spielberg's Close Encounters of the Third Kind

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"What do you want?" "I just want to know that it's, it's really happening." Sony has released a full-length trailer for the upcoming 40th anniversary theatrical re-release of Steven Spielberg's Close Encounters of the Third Kind. The classic sci-fi film first hit theaters in December of 1977, two years after Jaws. This re-release was first teased with a "mysterious" air traffic control video that didn't explain what exactly it was teasing, but that was quickly solved. Now we know the film is returning to theaters again September 1st and if you've never seen on it on the big screen before, now is your chance. Don't miss it! Starring Richard Dreyfuss, Teri Garr, Melinda Dillon, Bob Balaban, François Truffaut, Warren Kemmerling, and Cary Guffey. This trailer definitely makes this movie seem like a true classic - feast your eyes on this.


Here's the full re-release trailer for Spielberg's Close Encounters of the Third Kind, from YouTube.

You can also still watch that first ATC teaser for the Close Encounters of the Third Kind re-release here.

After an encounter with UFOs, a line worker feels undeniably drawn to an isolated area in the wilderness where something spectacular is about to happen. Close Encounters of the Third Kind was the sixth feature film directed (and written by) Steven Spielberg. It was first released in December of 1977. At the time, Columbia Pictures was having trouble and pushed Spielberg to finish it faster. They later let him go back and add more scenes to make a special edition "Director's Cut" of the film, which was then re-released in late 1980. There's no confirmation yet on which version of the film will be re-released this year. Visit the official website for updates. Close Encounters of the Third Kind will be re-released in theaters for the 40th anniversary for one week only starting September 1st, 2017 later this fall. Who is excited to revisit this?

So... do you guys think Marilyn and Edgar will actually get to see the whole movie this time?

First look at Hey Arnold: The Jungle Movie

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Good news, Football Head! Nickelodeon has finally delivered us our very first look at the highly-anticipated Hey Arnold: The Jungle Movie that is set to arrive later this year. The footage made its debut at San Diego Comic-Con and luckily for those of you who couldn't make it to the event, the network has released the preview online, which you can watch for yourself right here.

Nickelodeon uploaded the footage to their YouTube channel just after it debuted at SDCC. It isn't a trailer, but it is actually a clip from Hey Arnold: The Jungle Movie. In the clip, we see everyone surprising Arnold with a video that goes over all of the good deeds he has done for others over the years, which also serves as a nice reintroduction to the world for viewers, since Hey Arnold has been off the air for more than a decade. This feels very authentic to the series and if the movie can keep that going for two hours, this could be special.

Series creator Craig Bartlett co-wrote and executive produced Hey Arnold: The Jungle Movie for Nickelodeon and it promises to be a satisfying conclusion, which is something Hey Arnold didn't have. The movie is said to follow Arnold and his friends on a quest to achieve his ultimate dream of finding his missing parents. The two-hour TV movie features a storyline that picks up from where the original series ended in 2004 and resolves unanswered questions and plotlines. Most importantly, Arnold finally getting answers about the whereabouts of his missing parents.

The Hey Arnold Movie brings back Francesca Marie Smith as Helga, Anndi McAfee as Phoebe, Justin Shenkarow as Harold, Olivia Hack as Rhonda, Nika Futterman as Olga. Plus, Simpsons alums Dan Castellaneta and Tress MacNeille are returning as Arnold's Grandpa and Grandma. As for Arnold and Gerald? Mason Vale Cotton from Mad Men will be taking over Arnold duties and Benjamin Flores, Jr. will be taking over as the voice of Gerald. Lane Toran and Jamil Smith, the original voices of Arnold and Gerald, will be returning, but not to play their original characters. Reportedly, they will be providing voices for different characters, but they are still on board.

Hey Arnold is widely regarded as one of the best NickToons that the network ever produced. The show has been met with a ton of critical praise as well as being truly adored by fans to this day, even though the series ended in 2004. Hey Arnold even spawned a movie, Hey Arnold! The Movie, back in 2002. Though, it only managed to take in $15 million at the box office. Craig Bartlett originally wanted to do The Jungle Movie as a sequel, but the lackluster box office performance kept that from happening. Now, Kids' Choice network is embarking on a number of original animated movies based on 90s series as nostalgia for Nickelodeon hits its peak. Be sure to check out the first clip from Hey Arnold: The Jungle Movie for yourself below.

Dark Horse Entertainment to produce the Tanis TV series?

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Dark Horse Entertainment, the comics publisher that's brought us everything from Hellboy to the recent adaptation of American Gods, already had a TV development deal through Universal Cable Productions. Now that first-look deal has been renewed, and several new projects have been revealed.

The biggest name to come up as part of this announcement? Sam Raimi, the Evil Dead creator who's been a regular fixture in genre television for decades. Raimi will produce Tanis, a TV project based on the hit genre podcast of the same name, which will be developed by Lee Shipman (The Son) and podcast showrunner Terry Miles. A spinoff of the smash hit Black Tapes podcast, Tanis is part conspiracy thriller, part ancient mystery and totally addictive.


Ugh. Really? The worst part is that there's a 100% chance that I'll watch it, steadily getting angrier and angrier as anything fails to happen and Nick becomes less and less a character and more and more Terry Miles' wet-dream image of himself.

HorrorGeekLife reviews The 'Burbs: the Best of Tom Hanks

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One of the most accomplished actors in cinematic history, Tom Hanks has starred in innumerable hits and been nominated for countless awards, including back-to-back Best Actor nods for turns in Philadelphia (1993) and Forrest Gump (1994). We’re not here to talk about hardware or films that broke the box office, however.

For Hanks’ 61st birthday, we willfully look beyond Apollo 13 (1995), Saving Private Ryan (1998) and Cast Away (2000), and instead choose to celebrate pre-Oscars Hanks. We’re talking the days of Bachelor Party (1984), The Money Pit (1986), Dragnet (1987), Turner & Hooch (1989), and another little flick from ’89 titled, The ‘Burbs.

Joe Dante’s cult classic featured memorable (and highly quotable) performances from Rick Ducommun, Bruce Dern, Corey Feldman and the late, great Carrie Fisher; but today it’s all about the birthday boy. So let’s have a stroll with Ray Peterson, the head of the neighborhood watch, shall we?

The best of Tom Hanks from The ‘Burbs.

Joe Dante's Matinee coming to Region 1 DVD

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U.S. label Shout Factory confirmed at Comic-Con in San Diego that it is preparing four new titles for the Shout Select line: Joe Dante's Matinee, John Landis' Into the Night (1985), Stewart Raffill's Mac and Me (1988), and Martin Rosen's The Plague Dogs. The four releases are expected to arrive on the market later this year.

Supplemental features to be included on each release will be finalized and revealed as the street dates approach.

Matinee

Synopsis: Step back into a time of outrageous movie-theater gimmicks and larger-than-life-B-screen stars in this charming homage to the great sci-fi and horror flicks of the 1950s and 1960s.

John Goodman is at his uproarious best as the William Castle-inspired movie promoter Lawrence Woolsey, who brings his unique brand of flashy showmanship to the unsuspecting residents of Key West, Florida.

It's 1962, and fifteen-year-old fan Gene Loomis (Simone Fenton) can't wait for the arrival of Woolsey, who is in town to promote his latest offering of atomic power gone berserk, Mant! But the absurd vision of Woolsey's tale takes on a sudden urgency as the Cuban Missile Crises places the real threat of atomic horror just 90 miles off the coast. With the help of Gene and Woolsey's leading lady, Ruth (Cathy Moriarty), the master showman gives Key West a premiere they'll never forget. Anything can happen in the movies, and everything does in this hilarious tribute to a more innocent (and outrageous) time in American cinema.

Fantasia 2017: Untold Horror Docu-series Announcement and Panel Highlights

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The 2017 Frontières Market at the Fantasia International Film Festival has just wrapped up, and some exciting breaking news has been announced. Dave Alexander and Mark Pollesel have entered into an agreement with The Wolper Organization at Warner Bros. to develop their now-in-progress docu-miniseries called Untold Horror.

The series will highlight passion projects from some of the biggest names in horror that tragically never saw the light of day and ended up in development hell.

Untold Horror was created by host/writer/producer Dave Alexander (former editor-in-chief of Rue Morgue magazine) and writer/producer Mark Pollesel. With additional partners director/producer Bob Barrett and editor/animator/producer Kevin Burke, the documentary series officially debuted as a selection in the 2016 Frontières Market. Dedicated to exploring the greatest horror tales almost told, Untold Horror will uncover the fascinating stories behind these stillborn films – as told by the legends who tried to get them made, reveal truths about the often tortured relationship between art and commerce, and find out what it would take to bring some of them back from the dead.

Yesterday at the festival, the Untold Horror panel revealed some great info about a few of these long lost projects with directors Gary Sherman (Dead and Buried, Vice Squad), Buddy Giovinazzo (Combat Shock), and Richard Stanley (Hardware, Dust Devil) in attendance.

Buddy Giovinazzo spoke at length about his desire to make Maniac II, aka Mr. Robbie, with Joe Spinell before the actor’s death ultimately put an end to the production. Also, Gary Sherman gave an incredible description of a post-apocalyptic anti-nuclear musical he developed with Zalman King that would have featured Eddie Van Halen, Joe Cocker, and possibly even Marlon Brando!

Perhaps the most intriguing news came from Richard Stanley, who announced that pre-production on his version of The Island of Dr. Moreau is under way with Edward R. Pressman Film. Anyone who has seen the fantastic documentary Lost Soul knows Stanley’s insane journey with this project until a bastardized version hit theaters with Marlon Brando and Val Kilmer.

Stanley also talked about how Bill Paxton was who he originally wanted as the lead in Hardware and his plan to do a sequel entitled Hardware II: Ground Zero with the tagline “Even the end of the world has to start somewhere.” Bruce Campbell was also set to star in what Stanley referred to as “my 9-11 movie” called Vacation about a rich couple who fall into chaos at a hotel during an attack. If the film had actually come out, Stanley joked, “I suspect someone would’ve killed me.”

Look for more insight on these projects and interviews with John Landis, Joe Dante, and Guillermo del Toro (to name a few) when Untold Horror makes its way to screens!

Joe Dante's Camp Cold Brook enlists scream queen Danielle Harris

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Gremlins director Joe Dante is producing a new horror movie titled Camp Cold Brook, and he’s tapped an SSR agent and a scream queen to star in the film.

According to Deadline, Chad Michael Murray (who played East Coast SSR chief Jack Thompson on Marvel’s Agent Carter) and Danielle Harris (Halloween) will headline the movie, currently in production. The premise for the film is somewhat interesting, if a tad generic, considering Harris has already starred in Camp Dread. Still, it's giving me a lot of Halloween: Resurrection (2002) vibes. So hey, I'll bite. Could be fun.

Here’s a description of the storyline and the characters played by Murray and Harris:

"Murray stars as reality TV producer and host Jack Wilson, who finds himself in a tough spot when his show is about to be cancelled. In a last ditch effort to spark ratings, he and his producers Angela (Harris) choose to film their next episode at the legendary Camp Cold Brook, which was host to a horrific incident where the young campers were drowned in a nearby creek 20 years ago. Their arrival begins like any other episode but the TV crew find that they get more than they bargained for."

Joining Dante in producing Cold Camp Brook are Warner Davis of Petri Entertainment, Mark Alan of Renfield Productions, and Jason Van Eman and Ross Marroso of Weathervane Productions. Andy Palmer (The Funhouse Massacre) will direct, from a script by Alex Carl (Reeves Road).

There’s no premiere date for the movie yet, but since they’re currently filming, my best guess is that it’ll hit the screens sometime in 2018. What do you think of the premise?

Matt Damon, Julianne Moore And Oscar Isaac Star In SUBURBICON Trailer

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In February of 1989 a fantastic gem from director Joe Dante was released into theaters called THE BURBS.

Tom Hanks, Bruce Dern and Rick Ducommun starred in what has become a Saturday night, cult classic where suburbanites at the end of a culdesac in Everywhere, U.S.A. went a little nuts when they began suspecting their neighbors of nefarious activities.

“Remember what you were saying about people in the ‘burbs, Art, people like Skip, people who mow their lawn for the 800th time, and then SNAP? WELL, THAT’S US. IT’S NOT THEM, THAT’S US. WE’RE the ones who are vaulting over the fences, and peeking in through people’s windows. We’re the ones who are THROWING GARBAGE IN THE STREET, AND LIGHTING FIRES. WE’RE THE ONES WHO ARE ACTING SUSPICIOUS AND PARANOID, ART. WE’RE THE LUNATICS. US. IT’S NOT THEM. It’s us.”

Watch the trailer now for director George Clooney’s SUBURBICON, starring Matt Damon, Julianne Moore, Noah Jupe and Oscar Isaac.

This trailer is genius, especially the final scene, and makes us want to see it even more! The epitome of 1950-1960’s Americana, the movie is written by George Clooney, Joel & Ethan Coen and Grant Heslov.

Suburbicon is a peaceful, idyllic suburban community with affordable homes and manicured lawns…the perfect place to raise a family, and in the summer of 1959, the Lodge family is doing just that. But the tranquil surface masks a disturbing reality, as husband and father Gardner Lodge (Matt Damon) must navigate the town’s dark underbelly of betrayal, deceit, and violence.

This is a tale of very flawed people making very bad choices. This is Suburbicon.

See SUBURBICON in theatres October 27th.

Teen Wolf Too blu-ray review

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As I lamented in my review of Teen Wolf (1985), that film barely contains any story and the entirety of its entertainment value lands squarely on the shoulders of Michael J. Fox. Luckily, Fox was more than capable of turning crap into gold and the resulting film, though far from solid, is a fun and breezy trip down ‘80s lane. But Fox also famously hated doing the film and steadfastly refused to return for the sequel, Teen Wolf Too (1987). Enter Jason Bateman, a capable actor in his own right but no kind of substitute for Fox’s magnetic charms. This time around the setting gets pitched to college, the sport changed to boxing, but this is otherwise a carbon copy of the first film minus the few elements that saved it from being an unmitigated disaster – which is exactly what this film is.

Uncle Harold (a returning James Hampton) drives his nephew Todd (Jason Bateman) to Hamilton University after Todd receives a full sports scholarship. The boxing coach Bobby Finstock (Paul Sand) hopes that Todd’s family genes will prove to be a win for the flailing pugilist league. Along for the action is, once again, Stiles… sort of; this time he’s played by Stuart Fratkin, who actually subs in nicely for Jerry Levine. Todd’s focus is mainly on his classes, since he really wants to become a veterinarian, but he still has duties with the boxing team, too. After nearly losing a match Todd suddenly “wolfs out” and becomes the lycanthrope Hamilton University needs. Repeat everything that happened in the first film. Roll credits.

Teen Wolf Too is an irredeemable slice of cinematic shit. How Scream Factory ever thought this inept turd was worthy of a Collector’s Edition is beyond me. It should have been included as a bonus feature on the first film. If any credit is due at all, it goes to Stuart Fratkin for taking over as the new Stiles and killing it just the same. His “best friend who parties too much” character is one of those Hollywood clichés I always enjoy watching and Fratkin plays it with authority. These characters are usually the most celebrated in their films, too; look no further than Bluto in Animal House (1978). By comparison, Bateman is lifeless as a corpse and half as entertaining.

Oh, wait, John Astin gets some acclaim, too, because he manages to steal the show with ease whenever he’s on screen. His Dean Dunn isn’t a major player but he has a few charmingly goofy scenes that remind viewers what a unique talent he possessed. This film is lucky to have someone of his caliber in the cast. You would be better served watching Teen Wolf twice than going for a double feature that will only end in disappointment.

While the first film got a new 2K scan, no such remastering was done for this sequel’s 1.85:1 1080p picture. The print used is clean, with only minor flecks and damage seen. Grain appears filmic and not overly thick. Colors are natural. Fine detail is evident though, like the first film, it rarely impresses.