The Jersey Devil on The Secret Saturdays!

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Screen shots courtesy of Secret Saturdays Wiki

I’m not sure if we’ll ever get the chance to see the remaining episodes of The Secret Saturdays, but one thing is for sure, I would have loved more of The Jersey Devil! The Secret Saturdays was a perfect show to feature the Jersey Devil since it involves all kinds of cryptids. Any instance of J.D is cool by me, especially in animated form.

These scans from the episode “Cryptid vs. Cryptid” are from The Secret Saturdays Wiki. J.D can also be seen in the episode “War of the Cryptids.” Below is a sketch of by Secret Saturdays creator Jay Stephens that did not make it as the final look of the creature in the show. I think Stephen’s sketch was an awesome interpretation of the legend. It’s interesting to see The Jersey Devil standing in an upright human-like style rather than hunched over.

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BRUCE Springs From The Coffin!

YouTube member StonePonyClub has great quality footage of the intro of a Bruce Springsteen concert (possibly the 2007 Magic Tour?) that took place on Halloween eve. This spooky lead-in to “Radio Nowhere” reminds me of The Undertaker’s entrance. So cool of Bruce to be creative like that for Halloween! That’s why he’s the m’fn BOSS! He was also cool enough to record a song called “A Night With The Jersey Devil,” which he gave away for free on his official website in 2008. Aside from it’s release on vinyl for Record Store Day in 2009, I’m not sure where to legally get the single at this point, but the video is available for download on iTunes. Whatever you do, try to track it down because it’s a must for your Halloween playlist!

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6otybR13Gs?rel=0]

Rumors of Jersey Devil Movie Are Bloody True!

PhotobucketSince talk of the new big budget Jersey Devil movie, The Barrens, has proven true, now all we can to do is wait and hope that it doesn’t SUCK royally like it’s predecessors. Carny, and 13th Child were far from spine tingling and I hope that the producers of this film ensure that they do everything in their power to learn from previous train wrecks.

The plot centers around a father who takes his family to the vast woods of the Pine Barrens in New Jersey for a camping trip. While at Wharton State Forest, he believes they are being stalked by The Jersey Devil. All I can say is that if this gets a theatrical release I’ll be first on line, otherwise I’ll be pre-ordering it on Bluray!

Hopefully being released next fall, Stephen Moyer of True Blood will star in the film. It’s a shame that future Garden State Playmate Brit Morgan, who plays Debbie Pelt on True Blood, has not been cast in the film. She’s from Marlton, New Jersey and having a Jersey girl in the film would add to the authenticity.

The Barrens comes to you from writer/director/and producer, Darren Lynn Bousman, who was also the guy who brought us Saw II and Repo The Genetic Opera. Unfortunately though, The Barrens was filmed in Toronto, not actually in Jersey, but it’s still awesome news nonetheless!

Jersey Devil My Little Pony by Debra “Bee” Rohlfs

Jersey Devil My Little Pony Bee-Chan

Customizing My Little Pony toys is a big thing, and if you don’t believe me just Google it! You will see MLP customs inspired by the likes of Disney, Star Wars, Wizard of Oz, and even Beetlejuice among many others. I had a feeling there might be a custom MLP of The Jersey Devil so I started looking for one recently and discovered a truly kickass version created by artist Debra “Bee” Rohlfs in 2009.

Jersey Devil My Little Pony by Bee-Chan

Exposing it’s ferocious set of spiky fangs, Rohlf’s Jersey Devi is a hairy, horned beast. It’s My Little Pony lineage is barely apparent now. If Falkor the luckdragon from The NeverEnding Story was possessed by Zuul from Ghostbusters this is what it might look like. It’s a brilliant and detailed take on the fabled demon lurking around in the Pine Barrens of New Jersey. (All art and photos credited to Debra “Bee-Chan” Rohlfs.)

Jersey Devil by Bee-Chan
Rohlfs aka “Bee-Chan” also has a beautiful original art print of The Jersey Devil 
available via her Deviant Art page. 

CARNY (2009) Review: The Jersey Devil Joins The Circus

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I welcome any appearance of The Jersey Devil in all facets of media. JD has been the subject of a few films such as The Last Broadcast and 13th Child, but The Jersey Devil has yet to leave a mark in Hollywood. 2009’s Carny, was a step in the right direction, but not the badass horror flick that seemed to be depicted on it’s DVD cover. This was an RHI production (formerly Hallmark) which usually stands for low grade fare, but that didn’t bother me, I am a salivating beast constantly hunting for more Jersey Devil stuff to watch, and it started streaming on Netflix a while ago so I gave it a shot. I saved my thoughts for the Halloween countdown since it’s always best to let a movie sink in before I go writing about it irrationally.
The film begins in a small town, in of all places, Nebraska. The town is preparing to host a traveling carnival. While setting up, the carnival is derided by towns people as “the work of the devil.” The circus freaks are out in full force and so is the Jersey Devil. “What the hell is he doing in Nebraska?” you might ask. Well, it sounds like he took an insanely wrong turn on Route 287 if you ask me. The Jersey Devil is caged and on display for all to see and gawk at as part of the Carnival. That is until…he escapes and goes ballistic. It becomes The Jersey Devil versus the circus freaks and random towns people. The honorable and heroic cop, RICHIE!, ahem, I mean Lou Diamond Phillips, gathers his group of cronies to rid the town of the creature while the local pastor vows his own revenge on it for killing his son.

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The Jersey Devil has become such a popular cryptid that creative license has caused him to terrorize other places besides strictly New Jersey. This defeats the purpose of the character. In Mystery of the Jersey Devil by Calu & Hart, The Jersey Devil is found to be a spirit meant to ward off anyone who hinders the growth and ecology of the stretch of rich Pine Barrens in southern Jersey. It might sound boring but that is one of the actual theories of why the legend exists. Putting him in another state as part of a traveling carnival is just plain wacky.
There IS a surprise ending. The keystone cops show up, and all of a sudden JD gets incarcerated in the local jail and gets shot with what seems like a pop gun several times. I remember hearing the line “I have slayed the beast…” seriously. There’s more after that but I’ll let you be unfulfilled for yourself. And stay for the closing credits where you’ll be serenaded by a bluesy rock song, “Pray For Dawn,” written and sang by RICHIE!, I mean Lou Diamond Phillips.

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It must have come from New Jersey! – Garden State License Plate 
You may think it’s a stretch, but the film does actually mix elements from the original King Kong and Universal Frankenstein films but it’s obviously nowhere near as good. The script could have used a little bit more humor instead of taking itself so seriously. DVDTalk.com has compared it to the ’80s horror vibe of “Friday the 13th The Series or HBO’s Tales from the Crypt,” and though I see the comparison, it’s not as imaginative or creepy as some of the aforementioned series’ best episodes.
The Jersey Devil’s look is pretty faithful to the way we know him, but he’s actually never been uglier or more ferocious. A beast like this could only be born in Jersey. In a review he posted at AssociatedContent.com, Kevin L. Powers said the film had “subpar CGI effects,” and I disagree. I don’t know the budget of the film, but the devil did not look cheap at all. Obviously, Powers doesn’t understand that for a movie of this scale, he can’t expect it to have Avatar-like CGI.
You’ll notice a lot of fake blood. When someone gets punched they spit a gallon of blood out of their mouth. The whole time I just wanted to yell RICHIE!!! and see Lou Diamond Phillips completely stop what he’s saying to look through the TV screen toward me and throw up his middle finger. He didn’t have the balls though. Not a bad film for someone who loves low to mid grade horror and the Jersey Devil legend during the Halloween season. Or if you’re just a fan of stock footage of people eating popcorn and riding ferris wheels, this is destined to be your part of your DVD collection.
A truly creepy Jersey Devil movie has yet to be made. It’s surprising too because that’s an urban legend whose story is deserving a seriously scary adaptation. Hopefully when one finally does get made, it will be filmed in New Jersey, not Canada. If you have no patience for this kinda stuff go find a few bootletg copies of Carnie!, Carnie Wilson’s ill fated talk show, now that was way scarier.

Jersey Devil Statue

Jersey Devil Pinelands Preservation Alliance
Photo courtesy of The Pinelands Preservation Alliance

The Pinelands Preservation Alliance is a group who are committed to protecting New Jersey’s vast Pineland region. The Jersey Devil and The Pine Barrens have become synonymous. Check out the Alliance’s website for a page dedicated to The Jersey Devil. If you dare, you can also join them on one of their Jersey Devil Hunts. *Unfortunately there was no credit as to who made the awesome statue of the creature that’s pictured above. You can make a tax deductible donation to the Pinelands Preservation Alliance at this link.

NJ T-Shirt Tuesday 65: More Jersey Devil

Since we are fully into The Halloween Countdown, let me share not ONE but THREE Jersey Devil T-Shirts that I came across for NJ T-Shirt Tuesday. When you’re finished looking and putting your jaw back into place from all the coolness, click on the links toward the bottom of the post and they’ll bring you to even more Jersey Devil T-Shirts that appeared previously here at The Sexy Armpit!

Jersey Devil by November Fire

November Fire is an online store that offers merch that falls into the category of “horror, halloween, antiestablishment, underground, punk, metal, gothic, and drug culture,” and as SNLer Vanessa Bayer’s Miley Cyrus says it’s “Pritty Cool.” The site offers a ton of original art designs that can be printed on a variety of different t-shirts, sweatshirts, and tanks tops. Their Jersey Devil looks sort of like a ram and it’s only in black and white, but who cares, it’s still J.D!

Jersey Devil T-Shirt by Nick Horvath

Artist and Designer Nick Horvath’s website features photos of all his work and if you scroll down the front page of his blog you’ll see the awesome Jersey Devil shirt he designed which is pictured above. On the front is The Garden State colored in Jersey Devil red, outfitted with horns and a spiked tail. Unfortunately there is no info on where to buy it!

Jersey Devil Honey Ale

Finally, in the logos archive of Think Tank Creative they have presented two original labels they designed for a local NJ microbrew. The first depicts a sexy punk rock chick as The Jersey Devil while the other was a completely different take on the legend. The artist wanted to stay away from the typical look of The Jersey Devil and actually used Lou Reed as their inspiration!

Previous NJ T-Shirt Tuesday Posts Featuring The Jersey Devil:
Artist Tom Krohne’s Unparalleled Jersey Devil Illustrations on T-Shirts
Retro DC features a Jersey Devil Fossil T-Shirt

Imaginext: Jersey Devil?

Imaginext Fuzzy Dragon

While strolling through the toy aisles at the local Wal-Mart, I came across this Imaginext toy which bared a striking resemblance to a certain cryptid from NJ. I couldn’t decide whether Imaginext’s Fuzzy Dragon was inspired by The Jersey Devil or a reject puppet from Eureeka’s Castle.

Imaginext Fuzzy Dragon

The Fisher-Price brand, Imaginext, has done a superb job with their toy line. If I was a kid right now, I’d have their DC Super Heroes, Pirates, and Space toys all on my Christmas wish list. After a full examination of Fuzzy, I snapped some pics with the iPhone and then headed home to continue my investigation. My research lead me to the official Imaginext website where I discovered there was yet another dragon that resembled The Jersey Devil! In fact, they offer an entire line of Dragons!

Here’s the Six-legged Dragon:

6 legged Dragon

Sure, Fuzzy and Six-legs can be construed as run of the mill dragons, but with a minor stretch of the imagination, these two dragons can easily qualify as Jersey Devils. Clearly, Fisher-Price did not want to tarnish their awesome toy line with an association to New Jersey.

New Jersey’s Great Pop Culture Moments Vol.26: Jersey Devil Video Game

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This is the animated intro to the Jersey Devil video game on the original Playstation console. I remember seeing the game in clearance bins at Kaybee several times, but it never looked intriguing enough to actually buy it. Thanks to YouTube user S4muel666 for offering the video!

This time around, The Jersey Devil is the hero for a change. His enemy is a mad scientist who chemically alters veggies and sounds like Scrooge McDuck. The scientist has a minion, Dennis, who is a doting pumpkinhead. Eventually there’s mutated vegetables running rampant throughout the fictional Jersey Town and The Jersey Devil is the only hope. Although, the amount of ass The Jersey Devil can kick in that purple outfit is questionable.

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TMNT’s Jersey Devil

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Naturally the JERSEY DEVIL would be found
in the back of a DINER, another thing Jersey is famous for!
Nickelodeon’s recent purchase of the rights to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles has excited me quite a bit. I’m hoping to see the Turtles return to their fun, pizza eating ways again. The heroes in a half shell provided the best entertainment when they were all about “duuude” and “cowabunga.” I understand that the Turtles were originally conceived to be darker and edgier, but I was introduced to them in cartoon form in 1987. I’ll take Shredder, Krang, and Bebop and Rocksteady any day. F-ck it, give me Venus De Milo too. I’m cheesy, I know.

Even though I’m a sucker for animation and rubber costumes, 2007’s TMNT offered three things that the other Turtles films didn’t. One of my favorite actresses, Sarah Michelle Gellar, as April O’Neil, as well as cameos by Kevin Smith and the Jersey Devil! My only complaint is that Corey Feldman didn’t voice Donatello!
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When Raphael goes out on the town as the Nightwatcher, he winds up in a pier 6 brawl with the Jersey Devil in the back of a diner. The Jersey Devil happens to be one of the 13 monsters unleashed by Max Winters in the film. As they wrestle around the kitchen, Big City Rock’s version of “Black Betty” blares in the background.

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Leave it to a pint sized, excitable creature from New Jersey to start a fight with a mutant turtle that’s 3 times his size. During the scuffle, Raph referred to JD as a “hermit crab,” which is an accurate description of this interpretation of the legendary monster from the Pine Barrens. Although it is likely the tiny creature you see in this film is intended to be the same Jersey Devil who hangs out in the woods of southern New Jersey, there is no official reference to it in the movie.

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Before TMNT was released, I thought it was destined to be one of my future favorites. After seeing it in the theater on opening night, I left wishing it was less serious and more like the ’80s cartoon series. It seemed like a huge win for fans of the original comic book with its grittier action and dose of drama. The film looks visually outstanding but lacks the ‘toonish charm of the ’80s TV series. Back when the cartoon first aired, I was embarrassed to admit that I liked it since I felt that I was not only passed the appropriate age for being a Turtles fan, but also that I was a staunch Bat-fan. Teenaged turtles who knew martial arts, skateboarded, and ate pizza seemed like a lampoon in comparison to a dark, serious, brooding detective. Regardless, I watched the show every day, especially in the mornings when I ate my cereal.
The recent animated TV incarnation of the Turtles left me unfulfilled. Instead, the ’80s cartoon style of the Turtles appealed to me more. Aside from its excellent aspects, the 2007 TMNT film did a fantastic job of capturing a nice mix of the various character styles, but in film form I still prefer the live action Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles films.
*Check out Thomas Perkins blog, the man who originally designed the character of the Jersey Devil for the TMNT film!