3D Eye Contest!!!

Esty is a place where indie artists can sell their amazing work. Meekssandygirl is an outstanding artist who uses yarn as her medium of choice and makes unique and wonderful art pieces with it. She is giving one lucky DBH reader the chance to win one of her beautiful 3d eyeball necklaces! What do you have to do to win? Easy, just visit her Esty page by clicking HERE and leave a comment on this post telling me your favorite item! Please include your name and email so I can contact the winner. I will randomly choose the winner ONE WEEK from today! Good Luck!

Cleveland's Horror Connections, Dedicated to Eric Polk

Yesterday, My lovely friend, fellow horror author and DBH staff member Eric Polk, made a post about the connections between his hometown of Pittsburgh and the horror scene. Seeing as I am from Cleveland, a mortal enemy of all things Pittsburgh , I feel I must rebuttal his post in a "frenemy" kind of way.

One cannot talk about horror and Cleveland without mentioning the city's greatest export, the legendary Wes Craven. Wes created some of the most iconic characters in horror history, namely Freddy Krueger and Ghostface. Freddy has terrorized our dreams and television screens since the 80's and is still a viable and recognizable character. Taking place in Ohio, the Nightmare on Elm Street films are one of the most successful horror franchises in history. spawning plenty of sequels, a fight with Jason, and an unfortunately terrible remake. At the time the original film was released, it was a one of a kind experience not like any slasher made before it and appealed to audiences all over the US. It was shocking, terrifying, and introduced us to one of the finest actors ever (both literally and figuratively), Mr. Johnny Depp.
Craven's second most recognizable character was from a 90's slasher unlike any other, Scream. The reason I say it was one of a kind is because it was bold and in your face. The opening scene stayed in my mind long after the film was over and the entire film, the killer was in your face, then he are led to believe it was someone else only to find out we were right the whole time. It was a twist within a twist. The Ghostface character is not only legendary, but is still to this day one of the top selling costumes around Halloween. Not to mention that I am forever in love with Billy and Stu (fan girl moment, those two are fucking HOT).

One also cannot talk about horror and Cleveland without mentioning our hometown ghost host with the most, Ghoulardi. Played by Ernie Anderson, Ghoulardi's late night "Shock Theater" thrilled, chilled, and entertained Ohioans and Clevelanders from January 13, 1963 through December 16, 1966. For those three years, he was literally the biggest thing in Cleveland. Merchandise couldn't stay stocked, kids would carry Ghoulardi lunch boxes and wear Ghoulardi T-shirts to school. His unique Jazz-inspired coolness and the fact that he was never pre-recorded and alway live made him an instant hit. Censors were always cautious because no one knew what he would say next. Years after he signed off, he is still a large fixture in Cleveland History and has even inspired other Cleveland Horror Hosts "The Ghoul" and "Son of Ghoul" both using similar trademarks and outfits, but never matching his suave demeanor and talent.

Cleveland has a lot of great horror culture and celebrates it in yearly conventions such as Cinema Wasteland, The Cleveland Zombie Walk, and Ghoulardifest. To all the horror fans hailing form the Buckeye State, in the words of the great Ghoulardi, Stay Sick!

And The Quicky Contest Winner is....

David Naughton-Shires! Congrats! You will be contacted shortly about getting me your address. I've got another contest ready to go tomorrow and don't forget, on Sunday, August 1st, DBH will be starting it's "Going Back to Horror High" Horror T-Shirt giveaway extravaganza with plenty of chances to win some killer horror swag. Stay Tuned!

Dollar Bin Spotlight: Pittsburgh and its Horror Connection

By Eric Polk of http://anotherdescentinto.blogspot.com/otherdescentinto.blogspot.com/
When you think Pittsburgh, you may think steel, you may think Pittsburgh Steelers, or you may think damn they have alot of bridges. What you may not know is the connection my hometown(how Rhonda, a native Clevelander, and I get along is a psychological mystery, lol.) has with the horror genre.

George Romero-Grandfather of the Zombie Apocalypse genre, Mr. Romero, though born in NYC, graduated from Pittsburgh's Carnegie Mellon University to embark on a career shooting short films and commercials. After filming a segment for Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood, in which Mr. Roger's has a tonsillectomy, he became inspired to go into the horror business. He along with a few of his friends formed their own production company and in 1968 released on to the world the legendary Night of the Living Dead. Almost overnight, a new age of horror was born. He followed up that film with a couple of clinkers and then the original The Crazies in 1973.


In 1977, he debunked vampire myths with Martin. In 1978, he unleashed what many fans consider to be the greatest zombie movie of all time, Dawn of the Dead. Afterwards, he continued having a hit-or-miss career. (Hits-Creepshow, Day of the Dead, Monkey Shines, The Dark Half. Misses-Knightriders, Two Evil Eyes). This past decade, he continued his Dead movies with 2005's Land of the Dead, 2008's Diary of the Dead, and last years Survival of the Dead.

Tom Savini-Where would horror be today without the SFX genius of fellow Pittsburgher Tom Savini? His work abundantly speaks for itself. Friday the 13th (I,IV), Dawn of the Dead, Creepshow, Maniac, The Prowler....

Like Mr. Romero, Savini also attended Carnegie Mellon University. It was during his stint as a photographer in Vietnam that he really became really involved with makeup and horror effects. It was for this reason George Romero hired him to do the gore for the original Dawn of the Dead. In addition to his effects work, Savini also has acted, directed, and currently runs a special effects.

Other Pittsburgh horror factoids-
Stephen King's Christine takes place in the fictional Pittsburgh suburb of Liberyville.

For two generations, legendary Bill "Chilly Billy" Cardle kept kids up on Saturday nights with WIIC's(WPXI) Chiller Theatre. The show was so popular, it actually kept Saturday Night Live off the air in Pittsburgh for its first four seasons.

Other Pittsburgh horror movies include The Majorettes and Innocent Blood.

Candyman - Dollar Bin Film

By: Brandon Sites - Make sure to sign up for your chance for a FREE copy of Puppet Master: Axis of Evil
http://www.bigdaddyhorrorreviews.com/2010/07/who-wants-free-movie-puppet-master-axis.html

I remember as a kid running to the video store the day this title came out after school to rent myself a copy of this film. I was lucky enough to have grabbed the final copy that night. Afterwards, I sat alone in my mom's basement watching this film. Even with the lights on, this was an extremely intense experience. So much so, that I had to call my mom, who was next door at my grandmother's house, to come on back over to her house to watch this film with me, because it was just to scary for me. By that point, my mom was rarely watching horror films anymore, however I could tell she was hooked on this one. I even saw goosebumps on my mom's arms.

Candyman deals with graduate students doing reseach into an urban legend that plagues Chicago's Cabrini Green housing project, in which a supernatural entity kills those that repeat his name in front of a mirror. Candyman is a presence that requires people to believe in him in order to survive.

Urban legends play upon the very real fears that people experience. This film throws out the thought provoking notion that if enough people believe in a story, that the story could manifest itself into something very real. These aspects of the film create a strong sense of dread and unnerve. The film is full of interesting ideas and plot lines. In the title role, Tony Todd is simply perfect crafting a performance full of menace and terror with a surprisingly elegant edge to it. Virginia Madsen is the perfect choice as the victim of his wrath bringing a sophistication and intelligence to her role that could have been possibly dumbed down or cliched with a lesser actor. Also noteworthy, for being partially filmed in the Cabrini Green projects. This commits to creating a vivid portrait of ghetto life that is unparalled in the genre to this day. Candyman is the perfect combination of popcorn film mixed with intelligence.

Cheerleader Camp - Five Dolla Holla

By: Brandon Sites - Make sure to check out my latest article at http://www.bigdaddyhorrorreviews.com/2010/07/so-what-type-critic-are-you.html

Back in the late 80's, the careers of a bunch of once popular teen stars was drying up so they got aboard the slasher film craze joining the cast of this masterpiece of contemporary cinema (LOL). We have young Betsy Russell (nowing playing Jigsaw's ex wife in the Saw series) as a cheerleader who suffers from violent nightmares in which she uses her pom poms to murder off anyone that threatens her. Problem is those dreams are coming true. Also involved in the mix is former heartthrob Leif Garrett as her cheating boyfriend and Lucinda Dickey of Breakin' as the team mascot.

This used to be a staple of late night entertainment during the early to mid 90's. I remember as a kid staying up to whatever time this movie would come on to watch this is either on USA's Up All Night (boy, those were the days!) or Cinemax (aka Skinamax). There was a reason this was such a popular late night staple. We got classic lines such as "honey on her muffin". We got the film's obese sidekick getting stuck in the car window while mooning the entire cheerleading camp. We also get to do some nature watching while at Cheerleader Camp in which the film's sidekick examines the bodies of the film's various female leads while they are sunbathing topless. We have classic instructional videos detailing how to feel the spirit while visiting Cheerleader Camp. We have sex scenes involving various costumed mascots surrounding the partipcants screaming " Do it! Harder! Harder!". For all the women out there, there is a scene of Leif standing around in nothing, but his tightie whities trying to make his bulge bigger though he says he is trying to protect it (yeah right!). Or we have poor little traumatized Betsy Russell slashing people to death via pom pom in some deliciously over the top scenes of violence. As if that wasn't enough, George 'Buck' Flower is in the supporting cast as the film's sleazy cook trying to catch glimpses of whatever tender young flesh happens to be around or their is a nasty little twist ending that took me by surprise.

Cheerleader Camp is a film that I must have watched at least 50 times and I can watch it at least another 50 times more without tiring of it. One of the most entertaining films of the 80's slasher era, though it certainly can't be recommanded for it's sterling production values.

Dollar Bin Horror Spotlight:The Regulators

By Eric Polk of http://anotherdescentinto.blogspot.com

Ahh, Wentworth,Ohio. A picture-perfect suburb. It is the middle of July and the suburbanites are doing what the suburbanites do as they live the fading American dream. Unfortunately, their dream will die(literally for a few) as an idling red van around the corner on Poplar Street begins to change everything.

It turns out an entity known as Tak is controlling a young autistic boy named Seth who begins transforming Poplar Street into a scene from a Western movie entitled The Regulators. Meanwhile, the red van is joined by several more vehicles, life-sized versions taken from a sci-fi cartoon show, and the carnage begins in earnest.

Eventually, neighbors band together in hopes of stopping this menace to their society. As this is going, we learn that Seth is in constant war with Tak and his aunt Audrey, who is his caretaker, a times escapes into her own little world that Seth has created for her. Tak, on the other hand, wishes to bed down with her and as a result, attempted to take over Seth's Uncle Herb's body. When that fails, he forces Herb to kill himself.

In a letter written from a mine engineer in Desperation, Nevada, we learn that Seth's initial encounter was done in a mine. As the western-theme world comes to fruition, Audrey devises a plan to rid Seth of Tak once and for all.

The Regulators is a mirror novel to Stephen King's 1996 Desperation. It features all the same-named characters as in that story, through a few are completely different as far as their behaviors go. The Regulators I feel, is the straight piece of horror fiction. It is certainly a tad more scary than King's counterpart, if not a bit more hokey. The ending is rather outlandish.

If Seth weren't autistic, I'd feel this tale would have been ridiculous and rather hard to swallow, but it's not. It's certainly not the best from Bachman's(King's) lot, but it's a good read, nevertheless. 7.5/10

Super Duper Quicky Giveaway!!!

Who loves Hostel? Who loves movie props? How would you like to get your hands on some kick ass replicas of the business cards seen in Hostel? Well if ya do, I've got a giveaway for you! I just got a package in the mail from www.tshirtbordello.com, who are hosting an upcoming t-shirt giveaway with us next month, and in the package were a hand full of these kick ass cards!

I want to give one lucky reader the chance to pick up five of these cards, directly from me! I'll even throw in some other random shit in the envelope. The catch? This contest will end FRIDAY! Thats right, this ones only for five days so if ya want to win, leave a comment with your name and email and follow my other new blog, http://rhonnyreaper.blogspot.com/! Thats it folks!

Dollar Bin Horror Spotlight - www.888wuzdead.com

Have you seen the undead walking around your neighborhood? Unsure where to report your sitings so other people know? Are you looking for a reliable zombie extermination service? Well hot damn it's your lucky day! http://www.888wuzdead.com/ is a site that is made specifically to let others know where the zombies are at, and where you should avoid. Just go to the page, type in your city, and it will let you know if you can stay put in your home, or if you better get the hell out of there before you turn into an all you can eat buffet! They also offer extermination and protection services in case you don't want to leave your home sweet home, but would like to get rid of the smelly undead ruining your rose garden. They even have a hot line to call in and report a siting right away! So if you're in need of a quick zombie map, top notch zombie services, or hell if you just wanna kill some time check out http://www.888wuzdead.com/!!!

Dollar Bin Horror Spotlight - Dead On Earth (Interview)

I recently started working on a story for a great project called Dead On Earth. It's a mass collection of authors and artists who are coming together to create an epic series of stories and I wanted to share more information about it. I sat down with the creators of the project, Ryan Philip Harrison Clarke and Cal Miller, to give you a more in depth look into this grand scale project in the making.

Q: What exactly is Dead On Earth?

A: Clarke- Dead on Earth is an Alien and Zombie apocalypse story written by the viewpoints of 15 characters created by 15 different writers.

A: Cal- It’s the Ultimate Anthology! Instead of 15 stories in a book, it’s 15 books in a story. Really cool concept I think.

Q: How did it get started?

A: Clarke- It all started when I began harassing Cal Miller after he chose all of the Undead Nation Anthology winners. I had this idea of some sort of zombie apocalypse written through the viewpoints of multiple characters (the original number 6) Cal was partial to the idea so I developed it some more. At the same time I had the idea for the alien zombie apocalypse idea floating around for a separate book I wanted to work on and had already created the character Joseph Milton. So I ended up putting two and two together and pitched the whole crazy alien and zombie idea to Cal. Cal became an instant fan and then I created the storyboard for the book. The next part, a lot easier than I thought, was getting all of the writers together… We got our magic 15 in about a week.

A: Cal- Ha, I wouldn’t call it harassing. I read the first email and saw aliens and zombies in the same project and thought it was an AWESOME idea. And yeah, I might have hated Clarke a little for thinking of it instead of me but I’m over it… Really, I am… LOL. Seriously when I saw the map of the U. S. Clarke did of all the characters and where they were located I was hooked. 15 different takes on the “human element” as it relates to the same apocalyptic event like this is gonna be interesting and exciting.

Q: Who's all involved?

A: Clarke- Right now we have me (Head Creator), Cal Miller (My inspirational guidance), William Lester (Expert Editor), our writing team of 15 members, and a few artists for our graphic novel.

Here is the entire Dead on Earth team

Ryan Clarke (Creator/Writer/Awesome)
Cal Miller (Creator/Writer/Inspirational Guidance ;)
William Lester (Creator/Editor/Spiritual Visionary)

Rhonny Reaper (Writer)
Angelica Hill (Writer)
David Ahlgren (Writer)
Eric Polk (Writer)
Kevin White (Writer)
Lyle Perez-Tinics (Writer)
Stuart Connover (Writer/Web Design)
Kristi Bailey (Writer)
Joseph Cedeno (Writer)
David Naughton-Shires (Writer/Comic Publisher/Artist)
Roger Wood (Writer)
Etienne Deforest (Writer)
Russ Penning (Writer/Future Screen Writer)
Cara Livermore (Artist)

A: Cal- We have a real diverse group of folks involved and that is gonna be one of the biggest strengths of this project.

Q: Where do you see it going?

A: Clarke- Ha! We are going big! Our first release will be our graphic novel of the series, then our books, shortly after there will be a screenplay in the works. We already have the likes of Mr. David Moody prepared to cut us some reviews on our Graphic Novel, among other secrets.

A: Cal- Dead on Earth: Aftermath… Every great idea needs a sequel! Yeah I went there, LOL…

Q: Where can we learn more about it?

A: Clarke- Well we have our Facebook and our Forums site. I guess the best way would be to email us at deadonearth2012@yahoo.com... We don’t reveal much on our sites that anyone with a working mind could really comprehend all at once. The writers are the ones who really understand what it all means. As things progress I suppose we could make it a little more user friendly.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Dead-on-Earth/132989203400233

http://www.deadonearth.com/index.php?sid=f28717543621327b2898d50dd0b7b322

A: Cal- We are keeping it a bit mysterious, revealing a little at a time. That keeps it interesting and fresh in the long run.
Thanks for the interview Rhonny! Love you and your sites!

A: Clarke- Clarke loves you and your sites more!!

Cal and Ryan are amazing guys and I am honored to be a part of this amazing project. Check it out and stay tuned, it's going to be awesome!

Dollar Bin Horror Spotlight - Lucky Stiff (Book Review)

Meet Peter Lyles, a young man unremarkable in life but unforgettable in un-death. After he accidentally overdoses while on spring break, Peter's friends do him the dubious favor of bringing him back to life. Or rather, they turn him into a zombie with the help of a little old fashioned Voodoo. Peter's journey through the unlife takes him from the homebrewed sex magic of a mysterious swamp-dwelling Madam, to bouncing from bedroom to bedroom all across the globe, and finally leaving him with a career as the hottest gigolo not alive. All the while, he must deny his hunger for human flesh while sating his passion for, well, human flesh.

I've read Vampire erotica, hell I've even read werewolf erotica, but this book was my first venture into the world of zombie erotica and I loved it. This book is full of sex, humor, and a zombie on a mission for love. The story itself is a fun concept and probably not for those who don't have a sense of humor about their zombies. When you begin to read it, you kind of feel bad for Peter, having just been killed and all, but as the story progresses, you realize just how much more tail he's getting now that he's dead! And another thing I like about Peter's character is that he isn't a cocky, get all the ass I can get kind of guy. His character seemed sweet and genuine; he just happened to be the luckiest dead dude around! The sex scenes are definitely not for the younger audiences, as they are more "hot and heavy" than romantic. If you don't read erotica often, you may just feel yourself blushing as you read deeper into the book. It's a creative tale with a voice that keeps you entertained for the whole ride. I absolutley enjoyed this book and would recommend it to all open minded zombie fans. You can pick up a copy HERE.