So excited to share the return of the Queen Mary’s Dark Harbor! It’s been four years since we last stepped foot on the legendary haunted ship. It has been said that the ship and it’s hotel is one of the most haunted hotels in the country, but the event had to take a pause during Covid and allow some time to do repairs to the ship. But 2024 they are back and better than ever!

What makes this such a go-to attraction during the halloween season is the simple coolness of the environment. You’re on a haunted ship for Pete’s sake! A marine layer adds some additional natural fog on certain nights that make any fog machines secondary. Walking through the deepness of the boiler room, or down the service hallways (usually without a lot of lights) is pretty darn creepy.

What sets Dark Harbor out from the other haunts is 100% the cast of characters. The event does an absolute fabulous job in casting every member of the event. Lady Mabel, Samuel the Savage, Graceful Gale, every Slider. bartender, food vendor and of course The Ringmaster makes the experience feel intimate no matter how crowded it can get on a sold out night. Add in the opportunity to score a coin from one of them that allows access to hidden speakeasy’s through the event makes this top notch fun in our book.

“The Spirit Rise Once Again” is the perfect welcome back. Catch an epic night to get in the Halloween spirt! Running from September 20th through November 2nd, 2024 at 1126 Queens Hwy, Long Beach CA 90802.

HOLIDAY S, REVIEW, HORROR, MOVIES

Justin's "Not Your Standard" Christmas Movie List

Justin Pomerville · December 14, 2021

By Justin Pomerville (@justin.pomerville @2bgpod)

Tis’ the season!

We all have our holiday traditions. One of those traditions may be having a favorite holiday film that is a must watch every year. Most people will have classic holiday features like How The Grinch Stole Christmas, A Christmas Carol, and The Santa Claus. Others will choose films like Die Hard and Gremlins that you can argue whether or not they are actually Christmas films (but we are not going to open that can of worms).

There are so many films that surround Christmas to some extent; from the classics, the Rankin/Bass specials, and the huge bin of Hallmark originals. Beyond that, there are also some interesting gems that are Christmas themed that I believe you should know about. One of them might even become your new Christmas tradition film.

Because this is a ME list, the majority of these will be horror films, because….why not?

Of course, this is just a small portion of the plethora of choices.

I would love to hear your thoughts on what other holiday films are a must during the Christmas season.

BETTER WATCH OUT

STARRING: Olivia DeJonge, Levi Miller, Ed Oxenbould, Aleks Mikic, Dacre Montgomery, Patrick Warburton, Virginia Madsen

RELEASE DATE: October 6th, 2017

WHERE TO WATCH: VOD (Peacock, Amazon Prime, Shudder)

A psychological thriller about a babysitter defending a 12 year old from a home invasion that gets weirder and weirder by the second.

Levi Miller as Luke in *Better Watch Out*

ANNA AND THE APOCALYPSE

STARRING: Ella Hunt, Malcolm Cumming, Sara Swire, Christopher Leveaux, Marli Siu

RELEASE DATE: November 30th, 2018

WHERE TO WATCH: VOD ( Vudu, Pluto TV, Amazon Prime, AppleTV)

A horror/comedy that is basically a musical Shaun of the Dead. A zombie infestation threatens the little town of New Haven during Christmas. Anna and her friends are forced to fight for survival.

Anna (played by Ella Hunt) and John (played by Malcom Cumming) encounter a monster snowman in *Anna and the Apocalypse*.

FATMAN

STARRING: Mel Gibson, Walton Goggins, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Chance Hurstfield

RELEASE DATE: November 13th, 2020

WHERE TO WATCH: VOD (Peacock, Amazon Prime, AppleTV)

A very different Santa Claus (played by Mel Gibson) fights to save his failing business. At the same time, a naughty child hires a hitman (played by Walton Goggins) to take the jolly man out for giving him a lump of coal.

RARE EXPORTS: A CHRISTMAS TALE

STARRING: Jorma Tommila, Onni Tommila, Peeter Jakobi, Tommi Korpela, Rauno Juvonen, Per Christian Ellefsen

RELEASE DATE: December 3rd, 2010

WHERE TO WATCH: VOD (Hulu, Amazon Prime, Shudder, AppleTV)

A secret drilling expedition in northern Finland has caused children to go missing, reindeer being slaughtered, and the appearance of an old feral man. Two boys believe that Santa Clause’s tomb has been unearthed.

Onni Tommila as Pietari Kontio in *Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale*

SANTA’S SLAY

STARRING: Bill Goldberg, Douglas Smith, Emilie de Ravin, Robert Culp, Dave Thomas

RELEASE DATE: January 1st, 2004

WHERE TO WATCH: VOD (Peacock, Amazon Prime, Vudo, AppleTV)

Santa (played by wrestler Bill Goldberg) is actually a demon that lost a bet with an angel and is forced to bring Christmas cheer around the world. When the bet is off, Santa goes back to his evil ways and spreads Christmas fear.

Bill Goldberg as Santa Claus in *Santa’s Slay*

SANTA CLAUS CONQUERS THE MARTIANS

STARRING: John Call, Leonard Hicks, Vincent Beck, Bill McCutcheon

RELEASE DATE: November 14th, 1964

WHERE TO WATCH: VOD (Amazon Prime, Youtube, Tubi)

Martian Fuler Kimar is unhappy that the children of Mars have become lazy and under the influence of too much pop culture from Earth. In order to hopefully get the children all peppy again, Kimar orders the kidnapping of Santa Claus, in hopes he can help out.

Santa Claus (played by John Call) in *Santa Claus Conquers the Martians*

HOLIDAY S, HORROR, MISC.

CLASH OF THE MONSTERS - WEEK #4 / THE CONCLUSION

Jenny Robinson · November 1, 2021

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.

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!

HOLIDAY S, HORROR, MISC.

CLASH OF THE MONSTERS - WEEK #3 / WEREWOLVES

Justin Pomerville · October 25, 2021

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:

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.

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.

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.

HORROR, HOLIDAY S, MISC.

CLASH OF THE MONSTERS - WEEK #2 / VAMPIRES

Patrick Nagy · October 19, 2021

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

BATTLE SYNOPSIS:

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.

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).

HOLIDAY S, HORROR, MISC.

CLASH OF THE MONSTERS - WEEK #1 / ZOMBIES

Jenny Robinson · October 9, 2021

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

BATTLE SYNOPSIS:

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)?

 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.

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.

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.

EVENTS, HOLIDAY S

Los Angeles Haunted Hayride

Jenny Robinson · October 17, 2018

This was my first time doing the Haunted Hayride. It has been on my list for years now since it screams Los Angeles. A haunt deep in Griffith Park at the old zoo, that alone is the makings of something great.

What I really enjoyed about this one was the community feel. It is much mellower than some of the other haunts, but I think that is what gives it some charm. Kids and adults alike can enjoy and be scared without any lasting trauma (but some keeping with some good jump scares). The kids we encountered were excited, parents were wide-eyed, and everyone having a blast. They do such a great job with costumes and set design, that gives it chemistry unlike any other. Piled in the back of a tractor full of hay, we round the trail with something new at every turn. The actors are what really bring this to life. From zombie rock stars to killer bikers, each embraced their rolls and had the spectators closest to the edge of the cart shrieking with terror and delight. I sat in the center and had an absolute blast watching everyone trying to avoid the ghouls as they lean in.

There are a few mazes to partake in as well. The “Trick or Treat” maze was a more safe for the younger crowds. Each door you approach had some new character to make you jump and interact with. On the opposite side of the spectrum was the “House of Shadows” maze. I will warn anyone with light sensitivity issues to maybe avoid. It took me a good half hour to get my head refocused when done. Noise, strobe lights, dead ends and mischievous characters leading you astray, by the end I felt the walls were moving on me. So in summary it gives you anxiety, which is what an intense maze should.

Take a ride through the woods of L.A. and enjoy being scared within nature.

Article by: Jenny Robinson / Video by: Patrick Nagy / Photos by: Scott Feinblatt

EVENTS, HOLIDAY S

Queen Mary Dark Harbor 2018

Jenny Robinson · October 10, 2018

Halloween events always try to make each new year bigger and better. Some succeed, some fail and some stay “as is". This is our second year attending Dark Harbor in Long Beach, CA and they really outdid themselves!

EVENTS, HOLIDAY S

ScareLA 2018!

Jenny Robinson · September 20, 2018

We were lucky enough to attend ScareLA for the second year and a row and had an absolute blast. As avid fans of the horror genre and just spooky stuff all around, there was an endless amount of awesome things to see (…and buy if you have the cash). Here’s a look at some of the things you might have missed out on if you weren’t able to attend!

(Filmed: Patrick Nagy & Jenny Robinson-Nagy / Edited: Patrick Nagy)