Cuddly Kaiju, Filming Bigfoot, Killer Whales

Godzilla is the KISS of merchandising, having his likeness/logo/iconic beer belch attached to literal hundreds of products, ranging from designer underwear and hot sauce to 100% Toho™ cotton bed sheets and a themed hotels (Hotel Gracery Shinjuku, for a reasonable $125 a night). And thanks to Quantam Mechanix™, Godzilla is now a plush zipperhead. And no, that wasn’t me calling him names. Godzilla has been turned into a plush toy (fancy term for being stuffed) with a mouth that can be opened/closed with zipper lips. (That sounds like a cool name for a new Godzilla foe or a punk band.)

Godzilla Zippermouth Plush comes in a set of four: Godzilla Burning, Godzilla Atomic Breath, Godzilla Standard, Godzilla Black and White. This set sells for $139.99 and has these features: “Charming, edgy, and packed with personality, these Godzilla Zippermouth Plush are soft, cute, and full of details that will appeal to kids and even the most discerning collector. Measuring approximately 8 1/2-inches tall, each plush features individually stuffed claws; embroidered details on his eyes, nose, spine; and custom-dyed fabric that’s super soft to the touch. They also sport a trademark Quantum Mechanix™ zippered smile you can unzip to reveal Godzilla’s destructive grin!”

Destructive grin. A possible name for a rotgut craft cocktail. These plushies arrive in June 2023 and you can reserve yours here. And while you start a punk band and/or sip some rotgut, here are a few out now/upcoming horror/sci-fi movies/TV series that may or may not leave you feeling stuffed…

SOMETHING WALKS IN THE WOODS / Out now (VOD)

“A viral video shows a mysterious figure walking along the edge of the woods each day, and filmmaker Bill Howard sets out to spend a night there to find out exactly what it is.”

It’s Bigfoot looking to pound the film out of anyone pointing a camera in his general direction

THE REAPER MAN / April 18, 2023 (VOD)

“A grieving wife summons a dark spirit with an insatiable desire for revenge.”

I liked this better when it was called Pumpkinhead (1988).

SYMPATHY FOR THE DEVIL / Release pending 2023 (VOD)

“After being forced to drive a mysterious passenger at gunpoint, a man finds himself in a high-stakes game of cat and mouse where it becomes clear that not everything is as it seems.”

This one stars Nicolas Cage, who has already been in 415 movies so far this year.

THE SWARM / Release pending 2023 (Streaming Series)

“Whales begin sinking ships. Toxic, eyeless crabs poison Long Island’s water supply. The North Sea shelf collapses, killing thousands in Europe. Around the world, people are beginning to feel the effects of the ocean’s revenge as the seas and their inhabitants begin a ‘violent revolution’ against mankind. At stake is the survival of the Earth’s very fragile ecology — and ultimately, the survival of humanity.”

They had me at whales sinking ships. Points also for eyeless crabs.

The Horror of Amityville

The real horror of The Amityville Horror (1979) isn’t the indoor fly infestation, floating pig with brake light eyes, puking priests, unmedicated personality disorders and the highway to Hell in the basement. It’s the horror classic’s legacy, spawning a staggering 33 direct and non-direct “sequels,” all co-opting the title, which was forever attached to the real life Lutz family’s 28 day ordeal after moving into the most paranormal tilt-a-whirl of houses.

In the famous book-turned-movie (author Jay Anson/1977), the ghostly demon stuff boiled over to the point the Lutz clan bolted out the front door, pants half off and screaming, leaving their precious knickknacks and toothbrushes. No word if they managed to take their pig with them. Maybe it just flew away.

Note: Redfin™ currently values the world’s most notorious abode (108 Ocean Avenue, Long Island, NY 11701) at a not-unreasonable $1,022,336.00 (3.5 baths, 5 bedroom, 3,756 sq. ft., semi-finished highway to Hell basement). It sold for $605,000 in 2017 and is still privately owned. So much for privacy, though — getting in and out of the driveway is a b*tch thanks to “go-f*ck-your-selfie” tourists streaming by day and night to get a pic of themselves and evil not as frightening as social media. 

Because the movie was such a big hit and resonated with homeowners who may or may not have a highway to Hell in their basement, the word “Amityville” has become pop culture synonymous with horror. Meaning there are no sacred cows here; everything from clowns to cops, sharks to vampires, as long as you slap “Amityville” somewhere in the title, it’s all fair game. (Amityville Cow — heh.)

And why not? As Wikipedia™ tells us, “upon its release in the summer of 1979, The Amityville Horror was a major commercial success for American International Pictures, grossing over $80 million (worth $328,319,229.76 in today’s pocket coupons) in the United States, going on to become one of the highest-grossing independent films of all time.”

Truly, the Sacred Cow is really a cash cow. Moovin’ on up!

No doubt there are more Amityville spin-offs in the works, and liberties taken with the “For God’s Sake, Get Out!” tag line. To that, my offering: Amityville: Last Call — For God’s Sake, Drink Up!

Classic Ghosts, Pig Men, The Revenge of Clams

While it doesn’t come out until September of 2019 (that sounds so Back To The Future), It: Chapter 2 already has some key art, though I’d imagine there’s going to be a stack of ‘em as we get closer to the mega-successful first film’s sequel.

I’ll concede these look fan-made, but man, I’m drooling uncontrollably for this one to come out as the first one was downright wicked badass cool.

While you work on your Back To The Future time-traveling car to see the movie before anyone else, here are a few upcoming horror/sci-fi movies that may or may not make you uncontrollably drool…

THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE (October 12, 2018/Netflix™)
“A modern re-imagining of Shirley Jackson‘s iconic 1959 novel, The Haunting of Hill House, explores a group of siblings who, as children, grew up in what would go on to become the most famous haunted house in the country. Now adults, and forced back together in the face of tragedy, the family must finally confront the ghosts of their past — some of which still lurk in their minds while others may actually be stalking the shadows of Hill House.”

If you’re writing this on your face with an indelible ink pen, the book was adapted to film form a couple ‘o times, once in 1963 and 36 years later in 1999, both titled The Haunting. (The 1963 version was cooler.) Wonder why ghosts always haunt places called Hill House? Guess that seems more spooky than The Haunting of Hill Condominiums or Haunted Hill Townhouses & Golf Course.

WILD BOAR (2018)
“A small group of treasure seekers, also known as ‘Geocachers’, trek into to the desert to conquer a Geocache ‘Challenge’. Out in the wild they stumble upon a forbidden world flooded with radiation and inhabited by a race of bloodthirsty mutants who have evolved from pigs. They soon find themselves in a world where they are the prey and swine are the predators.”

Evolved from pigs. I’ve heard that uttered in my direction at an all-you-can-eat $4.99 buffet more than a few times. For a more palatable version of a Pig Man, look no further than The Island of Dr. Moreau (1977 version). He kinda looks like someone’s pension drunk uncle.

SCHOOL’S OUT (aka, L’Heuer de la Sortie/2018)
“Pierre Hoffman is a substitute form tutor, brought in after his predecessor commits suicide by throwing himself out of the classroom window in front of his teenage students. Hoffman finds that six of his new students seem strangely indifferent to what they witnessed and as time goes on he observes that this small, tight-knit group exerts a strange sinister influence over the rest of the school. He becomes obsessed with the group, who are unusually smart and precocious, discovering it is united by a dark vision of a doomed future and contempt for adults. This obsession turns into terror when he discovers their ultimate, extreme and dangerous goal.”

So a teacher jumps out a classroom window? I bet someone said, you fly, I’ll buy.” Wonder how many times Superman’s fallen (heh) for that one? P.S. Resist the urge to confuse this with the same named craptacular 1999 movie.

THE SWARM (in production/2019)
“Whales begin sinking ships. Toxic, eyeless crabs poison Long Island’s water supply. The North Sea shelf collapses, killing thousands in Europe. Around the world, countries are beginning to feel the effects of the ocean’s revenge as the seas and their inhabitants begin a violent revolution against mankind. At stake is the survival of the Earth’s fragile ecology — and ultimately, the survival of the human race itself.”

This one is to be a sci-fi TV series and sounds binge-watchingly delightful, what with fish ‘n friends sucker-punching humananity. I bet Flipper is behind this aquatic uprising. Like I’ve always said, never trust a talking dolphin.

Amityville Overdose, Slenderman Diet, Human Popsicles

Just when you think they couldn’t milk one more drop out of the Amityville Horror movie franchise cow, now word comes down the udder that 1974, a movie based on the true murders that happened in the infamous Amityville house, is going into production in September, 2017. This will be the 20th such Amytiville movie since 1979. That’s about 19 too many. (By comparison, the Friday the 13th series steps up to the empty plate with a mere 12 titles. In your hockey mask, Jason — ha!)

From the Internet: “On November 13, 1974, Ronald DeFeo, Jr. shot and killed six members of his family at 112 Ocean Avenue, a large Dutch Colonial house situated in a suburban neighborhood in Amityville, on the south shore of Long Island, NY. He was convicted of second-degree murder in November 1975. In December 1975, George and Kathy Lutz and their three children moved into the house. After 28 days, the Lutzes left the house, claiming to have been terrorized by paranormal phenomena while living there.”

This, of course, was the basis for the first movie. And a good one it was, providing neat jump moments, scary this and thats, a flying pig with glowing eyes (better than it sounds), and a bunch of flies forming a halo around a preachy preacher. (A nod to Alice Cooper on that one.)

So why do we need YET ANOTHER Amityville horror movie? Because apparently there’s a significant number of you out there that weren’t even born when the movie first came out. How is that even possible? Suggestion: If you know how to read, try the Jay Anson book (The Amityville Horror: A True Story/1979) of the horrific account first, though. Bonus: you won’t have to plug it in.

Speaking of things you won’t be able to swipe to the left, here are a few upcoming horror and sci-fi movies that may or may not be worth the flick of the wrist…

WITCH’S DOLL (2017)
“Ambitious young true crime writer Adeline Gray travels to a remote English village to unravel the mystery behind a family’s murder. While investigating the prime suspect’s now derelict ‘Manor in the woods’, she notices a creepy life-size Victorian doll is following her from room-to-room. After a series of terrifying and inexplicable events, she believes the doll is carrying a hateful spirit wanting to be left alone. Desperate for a career defining story, Adeline’s persistent search for answers soon puts her too at the mercy of the Witch’s Doll.”

Yep, a complete and utter RIP-OFF of Annabelle, the evil doll from The Conjuring/Annabelle: Creation RIP-OFFS. And it should come as no surprise this comes from The Asylum, who have made a thriving career out of RIPPING OFF other people’s intellectual property. Feeling RIPPED OFF? You should.

REALIVE (October 3, 2017)
“Marc experiences a terrible shock when, at just 32, he is diagnosed with a disease and is given one year to live, at best. Unable to accept his death, he decides to freeze his body before the disease can impair it. Sixty years later, an institution called Prodigy Health Corporation manages to revive him. Although his return to life comes with many medical complications, his body clings to life. It’s the soul that is harder to heal.”

I’m soulless, so bringing me back from a frozen stasis to remove that pesky purple thing on my neck isn’t an argument. And the whole “human snow cone” thing should fall under my discount medical coverage. It better.

SLENDERMAN (Friday, May 18, 2018)
“A tall, thin horrifying figure with unnaturally long arms and a featureless face, is reputed to be responsible for the haunting and disappearance of countless children and teens.”

Getting rid of kids and teens? Gotta say — I’m already liking this man of slender. If this catches on, what do you bet they’ll come out with the Slenderman Diet program?

TABBOT’S TRAVELING CARNIVALE OF TERRORS (October 31 2018)
“This traveling carnival, a well-oiled machine of malignant deception moving into its third generation of grinding up choice guests and spitting them out, runs according to its own twisted family plan. Each Tabbott plays their part: Papa, the ringleader and ringmaster; Mama, the fat witch on her throne; the children: Bobbie, a seductively cunning fortune teller; Buck, the temperamental werewolf; Elijah, a silent scarecrow; and their darling Emma, the ghostly child you’d do well not to ignore.”

Sounds like they’re descendants of 1964’s 2000 Maniacs. In that gruesomely brutal (yet still kinda funny) one, people were lured into a small Deep South town for a Centennial celebration where the residents graphically killed them into picnic-sized portions. Had something to do with revenge, the Civil War and the people who just can’t seem to let the loss go.

Aliens Give You Crabs

For some, Montauk, located in the town of East Hampton in Suffolk County, New York, on the eastern end of the south shore of Long Island, is the place to eat fresh crab, go swimming with crabs and, if you know where to party, catch crabs. Heh.

But for us in the know, Montauk is the place of government conspiracies, human experimentation, animal hybrids and, most importantly, where extraterrestrials are involved in all of the above.

Not surprising, then, that someone was gonna eventually do a movie about the mysterious place. And that movie (documentary, actually) is Montauk Chronicles (2014), just now arriving on DVD, blah, blah, blah.

The docu-drama goes a little something like this: Montauk Chronicles is about the Montauk Project, a series of experiments allegedly conducted beneath the now abandoned Camp Hero Air Force base in the aforementioned town located at the tip of Long Island, New York.”

“Through a combination of talking head interviews (three of whom are men who claim to have been experimented upon when the experiments happened throughout the 1970’s and 1980’s) and cinematic recreations which manage to produce some surreal and truly haunting visuals of malevolent aliens, grievous bodily harm, and unstable happenings of a phantasmagorical nature.”

How you could not like the word “phantasmagorical”? I like it so much, it’s now my word-of-the-day all week long.

Montauk Chronicles has been getting phantasmagorical reviews and awards, so watch this absorbing documentary and then go catch a case of the crabs. For your next phantasmagorical party. What did you think I meant?