Fuzzy Leviathan, Werewolf Party Crasher, Chilly Creatures

Cthulhu, horror author H.P. Lovecraft’s quintessential fish face fish monster, first appeared in Weird Tales in 1928. Titled, “The Call of Cthulhu”, the short story was so terrifyingly awesome, the “Great Old One” has since become a pop culture staple for nearly 100 years. Besides Cthulhu books, posters, Athletiwear™, and bathtub toys, you can now get a Cthulhu Chia Pet, available on Amazon™ for $22.73. That’s cheaper than a haircut, which is ironic given that this thing grows “hair” like a weed. Additionally ironic — the hair IS a weed.

From the product description: “Joseph Enterprises™ Inc., the makers of the Chia Pet® and the Clapper®, is expanding its horror collection with a brand new addition to their horror holiday lineup. They say no human can gaze at Cthulhu without going mad. The only form suitable to avoid insanity is by planting and growing your very own Cthulhu Chia Pet!”

“The handmade pottery planter comes with a packet of Chia® seeds good for three plantings, convenient plastic drip tray and planting and care instructions. In just 1-2 weeks your Cthulhu Chia Pet will achieve maximum growth as it takes over your puny existence. Chia Planters can be washed and replanted indefinitely.”

While you skip the barbershop and sacrifice your cash in tribute to Cthulhu, here are a few upcoming horror movies that may or may not drive you mad while gazing at them… 

VIKING WOLF / November 18, 2022 (VOD)

“Seventeen-year-old Thale has just moved with her parents to a small town after her mother has a new job with the local police. After a student is killed brutally at a party Thale attends, she becomes a key witness. Was the killer an animal? A wolf?

Um, they give it away with the movie’s ad sheet. Like we couldn’t have figured it out on our own without any help from the police…or a poster.

A WOUNDED FAWN / December 1, 2022 (Shudder™)

“Meredith Tanning is a local museum curator who is dipping her toe back into the dating pool, only to be targeted by a charming serial killer. When a fateful romantic getaway between the two becomes a tense game of cat and mouse, both must confront the madness within him.”

No one should “dip” their toe in the dating pool. There’s is only one way to do it: CANNONBALL!

THE LEECH / December 6, 2022 (VOD)

“A devout priest welcomes a struggling couple into his house at Christmas time. What begins as a simple act of kindness quickly becomes the ultimate test of faith once the sanctity of his home is jeopardized.”

Uh, oh — sounds like someone didn’t use Glade™ after using the priest’s “porcelain pulpit.”

FREEZE / December 13, 2022 (VOD)

On a rescue mission to the North Pole to retrieve an old friend and his lost expedition crew, Captain Mortimer gets more than he bargained for when his ship is frozen into the ice sheet and set upon by bloodthirsty fish-creatures. Mortimer and his surviving crew flee the ship, beginning a treacherous journey in a frozen desolate wilderness. Suffering from starvation, frostbite and slow madness, they find shelter inside a snowy mountain. Are they safe or have they entered the creatures’ lair?”

All Captain Mortimer has to do is wait for those walking fish sticks to thaw. Then shoot ‘em in the gills with a gun loaded with tartar sauce bullets.

Bat Ticker, Lighthouse Ghosts, Horror Hillbillies

If you hate super villains and hate being late, you can solve both problems by picking up a limited edition Batman-themed watch.

Designed by watchmaker Romain-Jerome, this must-have timepiece features a glowing Bat-Signal and a meticulous reproduction of a map of Gotham City cut into the rear sapphire glass. Powie! R-J also makes other Batman themed watches including the DNA, which is described as being “a denser, more Dark-Knight-style timepiece.”

There’s a few things you should know about this watch: It’s production is limited to 75 and costs $19,500. I’d buy it (with a post-dated check), but I’m used to wasting time, not keeping track of it.

While you’re thinking about hitting up Bruce Wayne for a down payment on the watch, here are a few just-released and upcoming horror/sci-fi movies that may or may not punch your clock…

LIGHTHOUSE KEEPER (available now)
“Marooned on a remote peninsula and haunted by frightening specters, a young man must confront the grotesque denizens of the night, or heed the Lighthouse Keeper’s cryptic warning to, ‘Always keep a light burning!’”

This one’s based on the 1849 Edgar Allen Poe story, “The Light-House.” Didn’t know they had books back then. (I have a TV like normal people.) Lighthouse Keeper features ghosts and maybe a transparent clam or two, but no octopus creatures, which Poe sometimes favored (i.e., Cthulhu). The special effects are cheesy enough as to be the snacks you’d eat while watching it.

B.R.A.I.N.S. (available now/MidnightPix.com)
“It is October 5, 1957 and with the Soviet launch of Sputnik-1, The Space Race has begun. Rogue Air Force General Frank Chapman is determined to establish a military base on the Moon before the Russians. Using Nazi mad science, headed by Dr. Werner Brandt, General Chapman has outfitted a modified German V-2 rocket with a nosecone capsule just large enough for a human head. The cephalic pilot will guide the rocket on a one-way lunar mission — beating the Commies to the Moon!”

A space head flying a rocket to the moon. There is nothing about this I do not like. B.R.A.I.N.S. is also said to include from some of the greatest cult genre movies ever, like 1962’s The Brain That Wouldn’t Die (another talking head movie) and The Last Man On Earth (1964). Could it be any more awesome?

KYRSYÄ: TUFTLAND (2018)
“Balancing between a failed relationship, uninspiring studies and financial problems, headstrong student Irina finds herself stuck in the modern rat race. To overcome her problems she decides to accept an unusual summer job offer at the secluded and self sufficient village of Kyrsyä. As Irina begins to get a grip of herself in the middle of the endless Finnish forest, the supposedly harmless hillbillies begin to reveal their true nature.”

Hillbillies, even Finnish ones, are the furthest thing from harmless as you can get. These mountain hippies all look like ZZ Top, drink booze made out of homemade gasoline and have personal hygiene that would make Bigfoot’s eyes water. Warning: All hillbillies are accompanied by banjo music.

DOWN A DARK HALL (2017/2018)
“Kit Gordy, a new student at the exclusive Blackwood Boarding School, confronts the institution’s supernatural occurrences and dark powers of its headmistress.”

A boarding school with supernatural occurrences and a headmistress with dark powers? Man, that sounds familiar. Can’t quite put my finger on it, so I’ll ponder while watching a Harry Potter movie.

P.S. No movie poster yet, so I used the book cover from author Lois Duncan, whose best-selling book this movie is adapated from. You’re quite welcome, Lois.

Monopolizing Horror

Movie and TV themed Monopoly™ games have been around for years. And while the graphics get slicked up, game play is still the classic “buy/sell/buy/go to jail.” (It’s almost a certainty that whoever ends up owning Boardwalk and Park Place and built hotels on ’em will win every time. Unless you’re like me and load up on utilities. Hey, I had insider information…)

My dubious financial acumen aside, Monopoly™ has been around since the early 1900s (with the first Parker Brothers version coming out in 1933), and is the most popular and successful board game of all time, making about one trillion dollars a year. Give or take.

So no big surprise that Entertainment Earth™ is offering limited themed editions of the game, the latest being Cthulhu Monopoly™, based on the dark workings of horror forefather, H.P. Lovecraft. Check out this action…

“Set foot for Miskatonic University, and battle it out with other Cthulhu occultists to find out who truly is the Great Old One among you. This Cthulhu Collector’s Edition Monopoly™ game features fun Cthulhu and H.P. Lovecraftian style imagery, plus game tokens straight from the Cthulhu mythos. The winner of Cthulhu Monopoly™ shall be deemed most like the Great Old One and the most fit to inherit his mantle. Whether you win or not, you lose and become one of Cthulhu’s mindless zombies.”

I must own this game, no matter what. You – and me – can pre-order now for a December 2015 release for only $39.99. (Good thing it isn’t $40.00 as I need that coin to invest in railroads.)

And for fans of more zombies, there’s The Walking Dead™ edition Monopoly™. Instead of going to jail on a bad dice roll, you get your face eaten off. Neat!