Sunday, June 27, 2010

HAMMER VAMPIRE BOOK JUST RELEASED

Sink your teeth into this! A newly released book by the folks at Midnight Marquee Press that's bound to please any fan of HAMMER STUDIOS' great run of vampire flicks or if you're just a vampirologist thirsty for fresh blood. THE HAMMER VAMPIRE is written by Bruce G. Hallenbeck and includes an introduction by Hammer legend Jimmy Sangster. Check out the flyer below for ordering information.


AURORA MONSTER MODELS DVD TRAILER

Friday, June 25, 2010

"BROADWAY DRACULA" MODEL KIT NEWS

Exciting news on the monster model front! Moebius Models is developing a new kit "modeled" after Bela Lugosi's 1927 Broadway production of DRACULA. The 1:8th scale model will be made from mold injected plastic and will include figure and base. Officially licensed by the Bela Lugosi estate, the kit will be packaged in a "classic style model box" (maybe after the legendary Aurora "long boxes"?). No other news is available at this time, but a few shots of the prototype sculpt have been circulating (see below).



Friday, June 18, 2010

ENJOY THE WEEKEND!

Have fun this weekend, and don't forget to hang up your car speaker before pulling out from your space!

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

MY FAVORITE 1950'S B-HORROR HALF-DOZEN #2

Gary Clarke and Gary Conway in HOW TO MAKE A MONSTER


HOW TO MAKE A MONSTER (American International Pictures, 1958)

My second of six B-Horror 50s faves!

Robert H. Harris plays Paul Dumond (erroneously identified as "Drummond" on several websites). Along with his assistant, Rivero (Paul Brinegar), Dumond has been the go-to monster make-up artist for AIP for many years. Abruptly, the studio is sold and "modernized", and Dumond and Rivero are fired to make way for the new way of movie production. Rivero "just wants to go to my brother's ranch in Arizona", but Dumond is furious and begins a series of revenge murders on the people who wronged him. He accomplishes this by concoting a sort of "hypno-foundation creme" that he uses on two of his teenage stars (Gary Conway as the Teenage Frankenstein and Gary Clarke as the Teenage Werewolf) and instructs them to commit the murders. Eventually, Dumond is found out and meets a fiery end in his home surrounded by his "children", masks of his various creations from over the years (in actuality masks from Paul Blaisdell's collection of creations such as from THE INVASION OF THE SAUCERMEN and THE SHE CREATURE).

HOW TO MAKE A MONSTER is great fun. The storyline, whether intentional or not, could very easily be a biopic of the last days of Jack Pierce at Universal. A crisp pace, pretty good acting, and a mini monster rally to boot. I recommend it!

Various masks created by Paul Blaisdell used in the climax of HOW TO MAKE A MONSTER

HOW TO MAKE A MONSTER movie poster

HOW TO MAKE A MONSTER TRAILER W/ RICK BAKER

Thursday, June 3, 2010

SUMMER BEACH READING LIST



I have been wanting to read this book for a long time. Will post my thoughts when I'm finished reading it.