THE GHOUL CAST EPISODE 13: SLASHER FILMS! What's the best? Which is the most important? FIND OUT HERE!

THE GHOUL CAST logo by Loren Gillespie III

LISTEN: THE GHOUL CAST SLASHERS EPISODE!

The Ghoul Cast is a biweekly podcast from industry insiders CHRIS RINGLER (Author, CEMETERY EARTH), PAUL COUNELIS (Rue Morgue columnist) and LUCIFER FULCI (Musician, SAMHAIN). Give a listen, see what ya think!

Spook Show Documentary - Kickstarter Campaign and Interview with Director Jeff Markin!

I don't know for sure how old I was when I first became fascinated by midnight spook shows. We were at a local fair (Ortonville Days in, well, Ortonville...a tiny town in Michigan), and my uncle had dared me to go through a "Haunted House". He said he would give me 50 cents and pay for the tickets to get in, if I would be brave and go all the way through it...by myself.  The outside of the portable building (as it were) was bright and dark at the same time, with signs and pictures giving an idea of what horrors we should expect therein. I reluctantly agreed, got the ticket, and walked into the big colorful structure.

Once inside, there was another boy near my age (I'm guessing 8 years old) on either side of me. We didn't know each other. As soon as we hit the area where the lights dimmed, our instincts took over and we immediately grabbed each others' hands and literally ran through. Grotesquely painted creatures dropped out of the ceiling, the path twisted and turned, different colored lights blinked on and off, and scary music played all the way through. It was like being in a different world. I was terrified...but I LOVED it.

I told my dad about it, and he smiled, asked me a few questions, and told me a few things about a similar phenomenon that he knew about: spook shows...this wonderful marriage of horror and magic that took place in theaters and buildings around the country. Spook shows (or "Monster shows", "Ghost shows") lived their heyday out in the forties through the late sixties (bleeding through to the seventies and very early eighties, in some places), though the first shows date back as far as the late twenties.

They were a unique form of entertainment similar to a traveling sideshow, in a way; they were propelled by different gimmicks, depending on which "Ghostmaster" was running the show. Some of the early ones relied on forms of seances, with tricks and sounds to further the illusion that they were, indeed, summoning the dead. Well, the ones that were really well done, that is, though even the extra cheesy ones had their charms and drawing power. In many of these shows, a magician would come out and often use audience participation to basically do magic tricks, such as a mentalist or spiritualist might perform. When that was done, generally a "blackout" would occur, where the audience would be enveloped in complete darkness and all manner of assorted creatures and monsters would drop from the ceilings and roam the aisles (a really fun way to describe the chaos of people in masks and makeup and different, mostly cheap effects that were bombarding the crowd).

Yes, like the carnival funhouse, there was some kind of false advertising going on...but during the best of these shows, and even some of the mediocre ones, everyone was having way too much fun to notice or care. Two of the most celebrated of the folks who ran the shows were a pair of brothers, Jack and Wyman Baker. Jack Baker was also known as Dr. Silkini, a name that people may still recognize, even if they don't know why or where he was from.

I become OBSESSED with uncovering everything I could about these midnight spectacles from another time, and the first thing I discovered was that there really wasn't much to be learned from the media that was already available. Still, armed with info that I DID find, the indispensable book GHOSTMASTERS by Mark Walker and an amateur but informative documentary by Jim Ridenouer awesomely titled SPOOKS A'POPPIN chief among them, I wrote my very first article for a magazine, and yes, it was about spook shows.

The lack of a great, thorough documentary that delved into the history of these wondrous shows has remained a somewhat unheralded source of frustration for many of us who would so desperately love to see it happen.

Until now.

Writer/Director Jeff Markin and writer Christine A. Potter are knee deep in the creation of what looks to be the awesome spectacle of yesteryear that we've been waiting for, a documentary appropriately (and majestically, in my own humble opinion) titled ALIVE!! ON STAGE!! THE RETURN OF THE MIDNITE SPOOK SHOW.

They have assembled a pretty amazing cast, including ghostmasters and horror personalities like Dan Roebuck, Bob Burns, Myron St. John, Keith Stickley and Philip Morris, among others. The Kickstarter campaign is active as of this writing, and help is still VASTLY needed to reach the goal. You can check out all the information here, and get in on the ground floor of what is going to be something extremely unique and memorable for horror, magic and history fans of all types:
 ALIVE!! ON STAGE!! KICKSTARTER CAMPAIGN

I caught up with director Jeff Markin of PCJ Films, who has a pretty cool distinction of actually meeting Jack Baker. Jeff's father even designed the logo that Baker used throughout the seventies. Jeff and I had a spirited, super interesting late night discussion about spook shows, dark rides, the ghost masters, and most of all, his extremely ambitious and time consuming ode to the gentlemen who thrilled so many in the prized decades before video games was king. Here is part of that conversation.

HALLOWEEN MACHINE: There is so little info about midnite spook shows out there, that's why I was THRILLED to hear about your project.

JEFF MARKIN: It took me years to track down the Ghostmasters book. And back c. 2000 when I started researching the subject, there was absolutely nothing on the Internet. By 2005, there was a little more...That's the year I decided I was going to make the film. I should have started then. We lost a few more Ghostmasters in the years between then and when I actually started filming.

 

Yeah, the Ghostmasters book is where we all wind up, it seems...and that was a pretty penny to get a hold of. Did you ever get a chance to see a spook show?

I saw Jack's show. It was shortened and modified. I don't remember there being a blackout.

Wow. That's amazing. What do you remember about it?

I remember very little of Jack's show. I do remember a trick he did with a plate because I had the same trick and knew how it was done. And he did stuff with Mickey, a knotted handkerchief who was his "ghost friend." And there was the "shrinking 10 of diamonds." This was the free gift for sitting through the show. I still have one.

That's fun. And funny, you knew one of the tricks.

It was just a store-bought illusion. At the time, Ted Carrothers' Magic Studio in Toledo was THE place for magic. Everyone hung out there.

So you were into the magic side of it even before you saw Jack?

Yep. Magic & monsters were my thing. The spook show had both.

Did you ever think about doing your own spook show?

Oh, no. I haven't done any magic in decades. I'd be a laughingstock if I tried. I'd much rather watch.

Did you decide to do the doc after you saw the Keith Stickley/Dr. Scream Revival show, then? Like, it cemented it? Or did you already know going in?

I'd been threatening it to myself since 2005, but that was the first time I ever said it out loud to anyone outside of a few, close friends.

Heh. So that solidified it.

Yeah. A few months later Keith and I had lunch and he introduced me to Rick Allen. Rick had been a 40 miler in the late 60s, early 70s under the name of Ral Kelmar, the Mad Magician.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but in all my research, I only ever found the "Spooks-A-Poppin' sort of semi-doc on the subject...there isn't much else.

The Something Weird DVD of Monsters Crash the Pajama Party incorporates some of the stuff from Spooks-A-Poppin'.

Right, yes. I got that DVD right away. So crazy to navigate. I was surprised at the lack of info. I had been fascinated by spook shows and consumed everything I could find in a very short time. That's why I was surprised that it took so long to get my article published in a mag (Fright Times)...people passed on it repeatedly.

Really? No wonder nobody knows they ever existed.

Do you hope the film rekindles interest in spook shows? Such an intriguing era in time.

I don't think they'll be making a comeback, aside from a retro-Halloweentime show like Keith Stickley's revival. My film is taking the position that people needed new ways to be scared and that the spook show evolved to accommodate those needs. Looking at the horror hosts, musicians like Alice Cooper and Rob Zombie, haunted house. And the ultimate progression, I think, is probably Teller and Todd Robbins' Play Dead.

Only a few days remain to contribute to help fund this much needed film. If you can help, click the Kickstarter link and do what you can.

It would mean a lot to a lot of people, including an eight year old boy who once upon a time, closed his eyes and ran through the carnival funhouse for fifty cents.

Dr. Evil

Jeff Markin and Daniel Roebuck

HELP GET "ALIVE!! ON STAGE!! THE RETURN OF THE MIDNITE SPOOK SHOW" MADE! 

Voices of October: Diary of a Halloween Haunt - NEW Halloween Documentary

This is something that is very near and dear to me, because it's truly nine years in the making. My first full-length film is a documentary about our group of family and friends creating and maintaining our free home haunt, Scarriage Town.

But VOICES OF OCTOBER is more than that...its sort of visual journey through what is best about Halloween, and "growing up Halloween", as my oldest son puts it. When we did our first home haunt for the neighborhood, some of my kids were very young, and some weren't even born. It's really quite amazing to take a look at the ways it has evolved and hear from my kids, who have evolved right along with the haunt.

 This film was shot on multiple Droid cameras over several years and features the music of artists Lucifer Fulci and Free Will. I'm very proud of the way it turned out and have the rare luxury of pricing it to afford. I would really like anyone who loves Halloween to give it a watch.

BUY VOICES OF OCTOBER TODAY!

For anyone who prefers to download a stream or even a rental, that will be possible in about a week or so. TRICK OR TREAT! :D

FLINT HORROR COLLECTIVE PRESENTS: THE GHOUL CAST EPISODE 2

January 23, 2015 - The ghouls are back for their second episode.
This episode we talk about writing and publishing and make more inappropriate jokes and references than can be counted by the human mind. Give it a listen and see what you think!

Paul Counelis (Rue Morgue, 25 Underrated Horror Films and The Exorcist)
Lucifer Fulci (Siki City, Azrath the Unholy and Malevolent)
Chris Ringler (Cemetery Earth, The Meep Sheep)

Happy New Year! GHOUL CAST debuts with the top horror films of 2014!

Ghoul Cast Episode 1 - Flint Horror Con

Horror author Chris Ringler, Horror musician/author Lucifer Fulci, and Rue Morgue columnist/author Paul Counelis, members of the FLINT HORROR COLLECTIVE, have a high spirited and entertaining discussion about the best horror films of 2014! Plus, a quick look at a few of the most horrifying non-horror flicks and a sure to be controversial take on the films of horror auteur Rob Zombie!

Kevin Smith's TUSK Movie Review

"Never say 'Hitler' in an airport."

Yes, this is another horror film by Kevin Smith, the Clerks guy. We gotta get that outta the way first. Smith has been hit and miss for some throughout his career, with many pointing at his output of recent years and feeling like he has been more miss than hit. However, his first horror film Red State was a pretty effective, tense little curiosity that could have been one of the most important horror films ever made with a stronger third act. It remains thoroughly watchable, with only a few of the "Smithisms" tossed in that may have made parts of the film distracting from the whole.

Unfortunately, Tusk does not escape the Smith agenda so easily unfazed. There is very little chance of forgetting that you're essentially watching a Kevin Smith film, because it is equipped with (some would say burdened by) a lot of the unrealistic but mostly entertaining Kevin Smith dialogue all throughout. By the time we get to a sequence in which Justin Long inexplicably does his best Jason Mewes impression in the home of an older gentleman that he just met moments before, we are firmly entrenched in An Evening With Kevin Smith territory, for better or for worse.

For starters, if you have any idea of what you probably think this movie is about, you are absolutely correct. There is likely not much chance of spoiling this film by revealing the plot as it were, because Smith and fellow podcaster Scott Mosier literally mapped the entire film out, ending and all, in an episode of SModcast months before the film came to fruition. Still, I'll try to avoid spoiling it for the two or three people who might be interested in seeing it that genuinely cannot figure out what is going to happen.

Since the film is less of an unfolding story than an exercise in the inevitable, the beef of the movie is in the trip of getting to the point. It succeeds in giving us enough backstory to be interested in seeing what happens with podcaster Wallace (played by Long) and why we should care. Truth be told, the podcasts we're shown with Long and his partner, former Sixth Sense prodigy Haley Joel Osment (he's all growns up), are less believable than the dialogue. Osment spends most of his podcast screen time laughing uproariously at Long's somewhat unfunny, er, podcasting, which is kind of a shame because when he does get good lines, he delivers them with a strangely Jeff Anderson-like cadence.

Still, Long and Osment do play well off each other and it is easy to see them as two fairly close people who spend a decent amount of time together. This is crucial for setting up another plot point (one that, again, most anyone who has ever seen a movie before will probably see coming) that is somewhat integral later on.

Long story short, the wildly unlikable Wallace goes to Canada to interview in person the star of a particularly...unfortunate viral video that has been making the rounds. Incidentally, this also includes the only really good joke evolving from the super stupid name of the boys' podcast in which the WAAAAY over the top airport clerk advises Long, "Never say 'Hitler' in an airport".

Once in Canada, one thing leads to another, and Long meets the REAL star of this film, Michael Parks, in the second of his jaw-droppingly amazing performances in Smith films (the first being Red State). Parks is every kind of special and makes the entire film worth watching, whether the rest of it appeals to you or not. I guarantee that is the one thing even people who hate Tusk will find themselves admitting, if they are honest at all...Parks is brilliant and should be getting an Oscar nomination for this. However, this is a Kevin Smith film AND a horror movie, two things that send Academy voters running as far away as possible. Which is a shame.

Soooo...the big question...for those who know what the inevitable idea of the film is, how effective is that moment? Hmmm. It's less dark overall than what happens in Red State, oddly enough, probably because that film feels more real...but it's still pretty dang bleak and horrifically messed up. The situation leaves you as a viewer not knowing if you should root for Long's character to live or die...it's THAT messed up. And I hope I didn't say too much there.

Another thing that should be mentioned here is the appearance of the A-listiest of A-list actors (unnamed here) in a puzzlingly bizarre part that gives the film even less grounding in reality. As much good as Smith does in establishing such a weird atmosphere, he almost undoes it with several head scratching scenes in this section that really, really ring false. A lot of this stuff feels like padding, to be honest, and it's really just kind of...boring.

Still, throughout the film's run-time I never found myself losing interest in what would happen with the main characters (as well as Wallace's girlfriend, the lovely Genesis Rodriguez, who is equally as good with the more emotional stuff here as she is awkward with the standard Smith gross-out sexual material), even if I suspected pretty much everything that was going to happen before it did. So what is left? Basking in the insanity that is Michael Parks and shaking your head at the mind of Mr. Smith.

Is this a good movie? Hmmm. I don't know. It tells a story, simply enough. It has some stunning moments. It has some awful moments. It's alternately entertaining, eye-rolling, creepy, freaky, silly and funny. It's never really believable enough to be truly scary, but it should definitely get under your skin. Should you see it? Hmmm. Probably. If nothing else, you've likely never seen anything unfold onscreen like this before, all in all.

Clerks remains one of my ten favorite movies, full disclosure, and I am one of the 18 people who like Jersey Girl. That said, I'm not one of those Smith slappys who thinks he can do no wrong (Copout, anyone?), so there's less bias at play here than you might think. Tusk will probably leave you sitting on the couch wondering what the heck you just watched, which is kind of fun in itself. Smith's forays into the horror genre remain intriguing, even if the end credits revealing Smith and Mosier laughing as hard as they can at the entire premise of Tusk left me feeling as if the whole project was somewhat...disingenuous.

Huh. Did I just make it through the entire review without once saying the word 'walrus'? Yes.

TOP FIVE HORROR FILMS OF THE EIGHTIES

Most lists focusing on the best horror films of an entire decade are going to be different than the next. There will be various reasons for why one movie makes one list, but not another. This list attempts to corral the top five horror films of the eighties based on this short, slightly unfocused sequence of criteria:

• Popularity
• Influence
• Creative impact
• Eighties representation

Some movies would score high in one category, but not as well in the others. A few of those films on the "just missed" list are Stan Winston's wonderful Pumpkinhead, Clive Barker's creepy Hellraiser, Tobe Hooper's Poltergeist, Fright Night, The Lost Boys, and Fred Dekker's awesome Night of the Creeps. There are cult favorites not included on the list, not because they're not good films, but because there is only room for five. Number six would probably be An American Werewolf in London, for instance.

So, without further ado...

5) Return of the Living Dead - Director Dan O'Bannon's cult magnum opus, about zombies who overrun a town. This movie kind of defines the decade in terms of splatter, effects, and the combination of horror and comedy so prevalent at that time. Embodies the "feel" of an eighties film.

4) The Shining - OK, so Stephen King wasn't madly in love with Stanley Kubrick's vision of King's book. Still, it stands the test of time, with Uncle Jack Nicholson's eerie turn, strange and unique visuals, and a style that would be copied relentlessly to much less success over the next twenty years. Recently released to Blu-ray.

3) The Evil Dead - Sam Raimi's low budget splatter-piece that introduced genre fans to fanboy hero Bruce Campbell. Campbell, as Ash, is lasciviously abused onscreen by undead creatures, some of whom used to be his friends. Strange, unique, and extremely influential film.

2) A Nightmare On Elm Street - Wes Craven's most iconic creation, and one of horrordom's most beloved characters, Freddy Krueger makes his debut in this dark, scary flick. Robert Englund snarls and slinks his way to a fan favorite performance, and the phenomena of Freddy is born. Creepy and effective to this day.

1) John Carpenter's The Thing - The master's best film of the eighties also doubles as one of the most popular, often cited as the best horror film of all time. Rob Bottin's mind blowing effects and the nightmarish setting make this one of the most memorable horror movies ever made. The "Norris Creature" is one of the most popular monsters of the decade, despite the limited screen time. Originally bombed at the box office amidst height of the feelgood gigantic hit E.T., but found renewed life on home video. If you haven't seen this film...well, what are you waiting for?