sexyarmpit, Author at Sludge Central

Enhance Your Halloween Viewing With Blinky Productions Horror Prequels

Posted on October 14, 2012 by sexyarmpit

Blinky Productions features can be seen at their YouTube site!

Living through numerous Halloweens has translated to me holding many solo horror movie marathons. I’m sure some of you can relate. But what should you do when you’ve exhausted all of your movie options? That is a question I’ve pondered for a while now, and I finally share my discovery with you. If you are looking to spice up your Halloween viewing, read on!

You’ve seen all the Nightmares, all the Fridays, and all the Halloweens, right? Well what if there were prequels that you never knew about? What if there were top quality extensions of those franchises to be seen? Based in New Jersey, Blinky Productions fills those voids! In addition to their original productions, they make independent short and feature length films that incorporate the characters we love. Some of their films revolve around superheroes, but many of them star horror icons. Usually their type of output would be considered “fan-film,” but the quality of their films is superior and sets them apart from most of the fan made stuff I’ve seen on YouTube.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGhBTx9o0kk?list=PLEFBB09D058C817BF&hl=en_US]

Blinky Productions films have been on my radar for years now, but I never got around to watching some of them until last year. At a New Jersey Batman Convention that I went to, I finally got to meet the man behind Blinky, a friendly movie making mastermind and Jersey guy, Chris Notarile. I picked up a few of their DVDs including one I’ll be reviewing in the future, but for now I’ll tell you about the one that has become a part of my annual Halloween viewing.

I snatched up a great little trilogy of horror shorts to add to my collection. Delving further into the mythos of the Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13th, and Halloween franchises, these shorts make me wonder why these franchises aren’t releasing good quality big budget installments when Chris does it with almost no budget in comparison. What’s great about these films is that you don’t have to lower your expectations before watching them as you do with many independent fan made shorts.

Out of the 3 shorts, the one I felt was the most interesting was KRUEGER: A TALE FROM ELM STREET. The short gives us a front row seat during one of Krueger’s interrogations, before he was “burnt up like a weenie” if I may quote the Fresh Prince. MYERS: RISE OF THE BOOGEYMAN adds a cool little twist to the Halloween lore and I enjoyed it. The only one that fell a little short for me was VOORHEES: BORN ON A FRIDAY. It deals with Mrs. Voorhees tracking down one of the very girls who was responsible for her son’s drowning. You can watch all of them rather quickly which works if you’re planning a mini-marathon. For instance, watching the Krueger short before watching your favorite Nightmare on Elm Street film will enhance your experience!

The Jersey based Blinky Productions’ motto is “High Quality Films…Without the Budget.” In addition to their horror inspired films, they’ve also created shorts featuring The Punisher, Batman, Flash, and Catwoman among so many others. Their original productions are badass as well (i.e METHODIC) so check them out! Up next I’m going to watch FRIDAY THE 31st: MICHAEL VS. JASON!! In the mean time though, go enjoy the wet-dream of horror fan films at their YouTube page, and by that I mean Freddy vs. Jason vs. Leatherface vs. Pinhead and many more!

Blinky Productions Official Website
http://www.blinky-productions.com/

The Misfits Play Starland Ballroom Tomorrow Night!

Posted on October 13, 2012 by sexyarmpit

http://starlandballroom.com/
http://www.misfits.com/

New Jersey’s own horror punk legends, The Misfits, will be playing the Starland Ballroom in Sayreville, NJ tomorrow night! And since this year’s blog motif for the Halloween Countdown is dedicated to them, I’ve selected some of their awesome videos on YouTube for you to check out.

The first video is fan-made, features Frankenstein, and it’s pretty damn cool, especially for horror lovers during the Halloween Countdown! Video created by Erik Wolfgang/”Erik Dvan” on YouTube.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9q39pxpUlFo?rel=0]

The second video I found to be appropriate for the countdown was the Misfits live cover of “Science Fiction Double Feature” from The Rocky Horror Picture Show from April of 2001. Thanks to Bobby Bloodfeast on YouTube.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AIPhHkWKXqg?rel=0]

Finally, here’s pro-shot footage of their May 2012 concert at Mountain Creek Ski Resort & Water Park in New Jersey.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMNkpvZ-fqs?rel=0]

New Jersey’s Great Pop Culture Moments Vol.68: Eerie, Indiana

Posted on October 12, 2012 by sexyarmpit

“My name is Marshall Teller. Not long ago I was living in New Jersey just across the river from New York City. It was crowded, polluted, and full of crime…I loved it. But my parents wanted a better life for my sister and me, so we moved to a place so wholesome, so squeaky clean, you could only find it on TV. Unfortunately nothing could be further from the truth…”

Fellow horror fans were few and far between when I was a kid. Even in my teenage years I really only had one friend who was into horror like me. And nowadays all it takes is a Google search and you can see that the Internet is literally overrun with horror blogs. It doesn’t get any better than that. But let me go back to when I was a little kid. Those were some important years in the ’80s and ’90s for the genre of horror. On a much different scale, horror was marketed to the kids. There were movies, comics, and TV shows. Horror and Sci-Fi began to merge together to incorporate thrillers, the unexplained, spooky mysteries, and anything remotely…eerie. One of the first shows that successfully blended all this together for young kids in a neat package was Eerie, Indiana.

“…nobody believes me, but this is the center of weirdness for the entire planet…Eerie, Indiana, my home sweet home…”

Eerie premiered in September of 1991 and I began recording each episode as they aired without even knowing if I would like them or not. I just had a feeling that it exactly my type of show. The pilot turned out to be classic. The plot revolves around our main character Marshall’s (Omri Katz) neighbors, a set of twin boys whose mother preserves them in a type of human Tupperware called Foreverware when they go to sleep at night. It was directed by Jersey guy Joe Dante and it’s in line with all of his other superb genre work. From there, Marshall would investigate all kinds of weird stuff around his town. The show hit home for me since Marshall was constantly comparing his new whacked out hometown to his old neighborhood in New Jersey. Ironically, in the show he uses Jersey as his measuring stick for normal. Obviously we’re far from it!

“Normally I wouldn’t be afraid of pancakes, but back in Jersey, breakfast was always a serve yourself bowl of cereal. Mom had me worried.”

Predating Eerie, Indiana’s premiere by a couple of years, New Jersey had their very own magazine which was basically the same premise as Eerie called Weird NJ. I wonder if the shows producers did a little borrowing? It was quite a few years before the magazine blew up and became world renowned, but local Jersey folks were well aware of its existence. The publishers, Mark and Mark are local icons who eventually branched out into books and their own specials on the History Channel. You might say I was spoiled. Add this reading material into my TV watching routine and you can pick up on what kind of a kid I was and why I related to Marshall.

I had an insatiable appetite for anything I could devour with a creepy tone to it. Eerie, Indiana was my must-see TV for the season that it aired. When I was even younger I would watch Amazing Stories, The Goonies, The ‘Burbs, Monster Squad, The Explorers, The Gate, Haunted Honeymoon, Tomes and Talismans, Twilight Zone, and Tales From The Crypt. On stormy days in the summer my sister and I used to watch the video tape from the Clue video board game. Most times we didn’t even play the game, we just liked the mysterious video. Heck, after Eerie, Indiana was basically dead in the water I even watched Ghost Writer on PBS. That show rocked too. Are You Afraid of the Dark began in the same year as Eerie, Indiana and, a few years later, so did Goosebumps, so it just goes to show that there was a demand for that type of programming.

I would nearly wet myself when the promos would start airing for Shocktober on Channel 11 (WPIX here in the Tri-State area) as Halloween season neared. Friday and Saturday nights were spent staying up late and falling asleep on the recliner after being petrified by Werewolf, Tales from the Darkside, and Freddy’s Nightmares.

As I got older there seemed to be less and less of the types of genre movies and shows that I loved to watch as a kid. I was hooked on Buffy The Vampire Slayer when it first aired. Presently, with shows like True Blood, and Vampire Diaries, I prefer to watch Supernatural and My Babysitter’s a Vampire because they’re not as much adventure/horror as they are a blend of drama and romance. Those shows seem blatantly geared toward women. I’m not looking for comedy, but it’s a special feeling I get when watching the Monster Squad – nobody makes stuff like that anymore. The closest I’ve seen is the animated show Gravity Falls on Disney Channel that seems to be directly influenced by Eerie, Indiana. It’s the combination of fun and spooky adventure that appeals to me. If you were brought up watching Scooby Doo as a kid, you probably watched Eerie, Indiana when you were a little older! I want to see more shows like this, how about you?

Entenmann’s Pumpkin and Cider Donuts

Posted on October 10, 2012 by sexyarmpit

In hopes of finding the annual delicacy of Entenmann’s Halloween Cupcakes at the local Quick Check, I struck out, but found other suitable treats. Listen, I said suitable, not exactly worthy of replacing those delicious cupcakes that even Shawn from Branded in the ’80s lusts after, but still a good find! Entenmann’s Pumpkin and Cider Donuts made their way into my radar and I went for them. There’s 16 donuts here…no way in hell I’ll eat even half of these, but I wanted to taste them. 2 boxes for $6 bucks wasn’t bad.

Taste test time. Poured a mug of milk. Pumpkin was first. Nothing too mind blowing, mild pumpkin flavor, though not as distinct as I was expecting. They sort of remind me of a regular glazed Entenmann’s donunt or Frosted Pop’em, but with cinnamon and pumpkin flavor. Still very good, and more moist and enjoyable than Dunkin’ Donuts Pumpkin Donut.

Cider was next. As much as I didn’t want to believe it, these were actually slightly better than the Pumpkin donuts. Both feature the same type of glaze and softness. It may be because I wasn’t expecting much, but they really surprised me. Usually the apple flavor in other Cider donuts is sickeningly sweet, but here it was just right. These were really friggin’ good and I’d like to inhale another one, but I’m stopping myself.

The problem with Entenmann’s is that everything they make is addicting. Their chocolate chip cookies are my most favorite chocolate chip cookies ever. I can eat a box without even thinking. That’s dangerous because their products aren’t really healthy for ya. Moderation folks. But with these sitting on my counter…it’s too much of a tease. Want to share them with me? By the end of Halloween I’ll probably have gained 10 pounds.

NJ T-Shirt Tuesday 101: Trick or Treat!

Posted on October 9, 2012 by sexyarmpit

Here, have some alliteration: Sam from Trick ‘r’ Treat is cute, cuddly, and a killer, but Sammi Curr from Trick OR Treat is a resurrected, revengeful, rock star. I have a special place in my heart for both of them, but let’s talk about the latter for a moment. Until recently, I was under the impression that the only real ties the 1986 horror film Trick or Treat has to New Jersey are the record company that Sammi Curr is signed to as well as the fact that star Marc “Skippy” Price is a Jersey guy. But as usual, there is another…

This Trick or Treat t-shirt I got a few years ago was created in the style of a vintage tour t-shirt. More specifically, Sammi Curr’s 1986 “Songs in the Key of Death Tour.” The back reveals all of his fictional tour dates. Most impressive is the fact that he makes a stop at the Meadowlands Arena, which back then was known as Brendan Byrne Arena and presently Izod Center, 2 nights before playing his triumphant concert at Lakeridge High School in North Carolina. Naturally, Sammi took mischief night off to go egg some houses. The man needs to get some rest once in a while!

Trick or Treat has been one of my favorite horror movies since I was young. I watch it religiously every October, usually multiple times. I’ve discussed it several times here at The Sexy Armpit, and although there are only a few minor connections to The Garden State in the film, it’s a film that doesn’t ever get enough credit. This is why I try to bring it up as often as possible at the blog and in my everyday life. If you can’t fathom the appeal of Sammi Curr, you should feel his wrath! Stand up and be counted!

Check out the other Trick or Treat related Posts here at The Sexy Armpit:

Waste City Records Based in New Jersey

Why Sammi Curr is Rock’s Chosen Warrior

X-Files: The Jersey Devil

Posted on October 8, 2012 by sexyarmpit

Are there any homeless people in your town? I’m sure most towns have a few vagrants here and there, but the way the X-Files portrayed Atlantic City back in 1993 was atrocious. In the episode “The Jersey Devil,” America’s Playground was comprised of a bunch of dilapidated old buildings inhabited by a thousand homeless people living on the sidewalks. Adding to this nonsense, they somehow weaseled in THE MOST WHACKED OUT TAKE ON THE JERSEY DEVIL IN THE HISTORY OF TIME.

No one should have ever let this happen. On October 8th, 1993, the still new Fox show The X-Files aired it’s 5th episode “The Jersey Devil.” It’s an episode that will go down in infamy as not only the worst X-Files episode of all time, but the worst episode of any television show in the history of the universe. If that sounds too preposterous to you, you MUST go back and watch this episode. It’s streaming on Netflix if you are so inclined.

Thankfully, I only watched this episode a couple of weeks ago so I haven’t lived 19 years with the terrible memories it. I’ve been stewing over it since I watched it because it made me so furiously angry and confused. I couldn’t understand how such an embarrassing episode was green-lit to actually air on TV. I think I may have only watched one or two X-Files episodes in my entire life, but this was not one of them.

There are so many things wrong with the episode. I’ll try to sum them up as briefly as possible for you. First of all, the plot was inaccurate and completely dumb. Here it is in a nutshell: A naked savage beast woman is THE JERSEY DEVIL. She normally lives in the Pine Barrens, but sometimes she goes to Atlantic City, no not on a senior bus trip, but on foot, and pillages the makeshift forts of HOMELESS people that seemed to comprise the entire span of Atlantic City. There’s been a report of a grisly murder in the Pine Barrens and Mulder wants the case so bad that he risks his life and his job to make it happen.

Eventually, beast woman of the Pines has a run in with Mulder (David Duchovny) but she eludes him. He then becomes obsessed with trying to track her down and apprehend her. After the nude savage cannibalistic beast woman goes and steals food from the garbage and terrorizes the homeless peeps of A.C, she stops at the Pool at Harrah’s to fist pump with DJ Pauly D. Ok, so that’s not how it went, but that would’ve been a way funnier story.

Beyond the plot there were other problems with this show. I couldn’t get over how bland the acting was. I realize there was supposed to be a certain chemistry between Mulder and Scully, but DAMN it was non-existent! Like George Carlin once said, “I’d rather watch flies f*ck” than watch these two interact with each other on the small screen. Duchovny’s acting seems to channel offbeat actors like Jeff Goldblum, but Goldblum’s idiosyncrasies and like-ability push him into the stratosphere while Duchovny acts like he’s a full frontal lobotomy patient. He’s monotone, and facially paralyzed. I realize some people worship this guy, but in this specific episode he made me question why he’s even an actor.

More puzzling is the fact that Duchovny was nominated for Golden Globe Awards for his performance in The X-Files. The Globe award staff must’ve been playing racquetball the night this episode aired. According to Wikipedia, after Duchovny read for the role during the casting process, the show creator Chris Carter thought he had “talked rather slowly” leading him to believe he was “not particularly bright.” He was playing an FBI agent, not a stoner!

Wikipedia ALSO notes that The Jersey Devil episode was “Pretty Silly,” and you know if Wikipedia says it, it’s 100% true! It comes down to this question: what does the Jersey Devil really look like? This episode will lead you to believe that J.D is a naked woman who lives in the woods, has animalistic tendencies, will kill people, eat garbage, and shoots down to A.C every now and again because there’s better tasting trash there.

Local myths legends are open to our interpretation, and I get that. It’s just that I believe if the Jersey Devil is going to be portrayed, he should be as scary and ferocious as many artists and accounts have described him over the years. And yes, something tells me it’s a HE, not a she.

What was that? You’re a fanatical X-Files fan and you are outright livid that I am insulting your blessed show? The X-Files obviously has a rabid fan base and this episode isn’t a classic example of how good it may have been. But don’t even bother defending the craptastic “Jersey Devil” episode. That’s not even a good silly adjective for it because most times things that are craptastic are actually good in a very crappy way, this one is soooo the complete opposite. Beware!

Jersey Devil Chocolates

Posted on October 7, 2012 by sexyarmpit

http://www.jerseydevilchocolates.com/

Dark Chocolate is said to produce a euphoric sensation in your brain. I’ve eaten plenty of it and it hasn’t been known to set my mouth on fire. Jersey Devil Chocolates can do both. The local company based in Madison, NJ offer their own devilish spin on the classic chocolate bar.

Plain old Hershey chocolate bars are classic, but it seems there’s a trend for spicy chocolate these days. Personally I’m not sure if I’d dig a hot pepper flavor in my candy bar, but I’m sure the legions of people who are into that type of thing know what they are talking about. The company describes their 54% cocoa dark chocolate bar as a “hot and spicy chocolate taste experience.” The bar contains chipotle flavor which adds heat and then dried cranberries provide the tartness.

This ties back to Jersey because we are known for our cranberries, especially the ones that come from the Pine Barrens. In fact, some tales of the Jersey Devil were told to keep people out of the Pine Barrens all together. The Barrens are a protected forest area in South Jersey with loads of natural resources, pure water, cranberry bogs, and rare species of animals and bugs living within it.

At their official site, Jersey Devil Chocolates posted a picture of their 14 year old son’s sketch of his idea of what their logo should look like and they refined it and used it for their official company logo! If you are interested in trying one of these chocolate bars, the company makes their chocolate available via their website for purchase of single bars, wholesale, and for fund raising.

LIKE them on Facebook!

“Jersey Devil” by Loner’s Society

Posted on October 5, 2012 by sexyarmpit

http://lonerssociety.bandcamp.com/track/jersey-devil

Loners Society is a band out of South Carolina who believes in the resurgence of 45 records. I like their thinking! I used to love listening to my collection of 45s when I was a kid. So what if I’m ancient, I found these guys through the magic of the Internet, so that makes up for it!

You won’t find a lot of “southern fried indie rock and roll” like Loners Society on my iTunes playlists, but one song from this band may be making its way into my collection. It’s the B-side of a “45” single called “Pinstripes” inspired by the New York Yankees. Flip it over and you’ll hear “Jersey Devil,” a mellow indie rock track with lyrics that reference “the Pines” as well as figurative comparisons to the outcast aspect of the Jersey Devil creature. The song picks up tempo at about a minute into the song and it becomes pretty breezy for a track about a monster that lives in the woods. I can switch to it for a breather in between Alice Cooper and The Misfits on my Halloween playlist! The 45 style single is $1.98 at their site.

The Loners Society Facebook page lists some of their influences such as Neil Young, The Lemonheads, The Eels, Tom Petty, and Bob Dylan, Sam Cooke, The Wallflowers, and Ryan Adams. Presently the band is signed to King City Records and are touring around the Carolinas. You can check them out at their official site http://www.lonerssociety.com or on their Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/lonerssociety.

Amityville House At Bargain Pricing!

Posted on October 4, 2012 by sexyarmpit

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iR2AuwGOs58?rel=0]

If you’d like to live in The Amityville Horror house, all you need to do is scrounge up is $955,000 bucks! Your next paycheck will probably cover that price tag, right? An article by Gabriel Falcon at CNN Entertainment explains why this is actually a bargain price right now. It’s quite a drop since last year it was priced at $1.45 million! The house is located in Toms River, NJ and the couple selling the place swears it’s NOT haunted.

The events in The Amityville Horror took place in a house on Long Island, but when production of the 1979 film commenced, the movie company was denied permission to film there. A house in Toms River was then made up to look like the house on Long Island. What that means is the Toms River house is not haunted just as it’s inhabitants claim. Things change though. The couple who live in the house are in the middle of a divorce. Who knows what they’re liable to do to each other if they can’t unload this huge stressor off their back in the form of a legendary facade of horrors. The property is on the river, so it’s easy access for a couple who are at odds to attempt to pull a Norman Bates and drive the other into a watery grave. I doubt it would be the first body dumped in that water!

In addition to the iconic house in Toms River, The Amityville Horror also features scenes filmed in Ocean County, Scotch Plains, and a church in Point Pleasant, NJ. Not bad for a movie about a story that took place on Long Island!

The Barrens: A Direct To DVD Dud?

Posted on October 3, 2012 by sexyarmpit

A film about a family camping in the Pine Barrens being stalked by The Jersey Devil? I’m in. I’m always in when it comes to that freak J.D!

The Barrens had a nice little buzz going for itself when it was first announced a while back. I’m not sure the path horror films take during their production, but the majority of them nowadays seem to go directly to dvd/blu-ray. I was under the impression that this one would actually get a theatrical release, especially with the nation’s bizarre love affair with everything New Jersey after the popularity of Jersey Shore.

As it turns out, there’s a very limited theatrical release going on, and as Bloody Disgusting reports, a site called TUGG is trying to get it played in more theaters. There’s a showing planned for the AMC/Loews in Cherry Hill, NJ, on 10/18. Read more about the limited release here. For the most part, this one is going straight to home video and V.O.D. It’s not a bad thing for me because then I can experience it for myself without hearing how terrible it might be and I won’t have it spoiled by articles or tweets. As it looks right now though, I won’t have to worry about negative feedback since reviews on IMDB are pretty positive at this point.

Hopefully this film will finally be a proper treatment of the Jersey Devil legend. It’s written and directed by Darren Bousman of the Saw films and Repo! The Genetic Opera so that’s encouraging I suppose. Judging by the early reviews it’s more of a psychological thriller than a true horror film, which appeals to me immensely. I prefer movies like The Shining and Psycho over those full of cheap effects and explicit, in your face gore.

As I mentioned previously here, The Barrens was filmed in Canada rather than in Jersey, most likely to keep production costs down. Such was the case with 2009’s Carny starring Lou Diamond Phillips. If you’re wondering if you should check that movie out, I give you my opinion at this link. The Barrens stars’ Stephen Moyer of True Blood and Mia Kirshner and hits stores and On Demand on October 9th.

Author: sexyarmpit