Toying With Godzilla, A Nice Exorcist, Spider-Man On Vacation

Wanna get toys based on Godzilla: King of the Monsters about the same time the movie comes out on May 31, 2019? Thanks to NECA and Jakks Pacific (and available at Toy Ark), you can and should.

Toys or “Fun Talismans,” include Godzilla (duh) and his frenemies, King Ghidorah, Rodan and Mothra. On their press release, though, they said Fire Godzilla will also be included. Did they just send out a spoiler?

Most of the monsters will be 12 inches tall, with one Godzilla version twice that size, whatever that measures out to be. There will also be smaller versions and even a Godzilla mask in case you wanna goon out the neighbors.

While we make room in the toy box, here are a few upcoming horror/sci-fi movies that may or may not goon out the neighbors…

ANIMAS (January 25, 2019/Netflix™)
“Alex is a confident girl with a strong personality and great tenacity. She’s very close to her best friend Abraham, to whom she provides constant help and support, as Abraham is a shy, withdrawn and insecure boy, mainly due to the complex relationship between he and his parents. But everything changes when Daniel — Abraham’s father — dies in a strange accident, the cause of which is unclear. From this moment on, Alex finds herself on a hallucinatory journey that takes her on a descent into hell, where the line between reality and nightmare becomes blurred to the point that Alex begins to question the foundations of her very existence.”

Descent into hell? Hallucinatory journey? The line between reality and nightmare becomes blurred? Sounds like Alex has been hanging out in the same bars as me.

THE GOOD EXORCIST (February 21, 2019/El Rey/VOD)
“A socially awkward but reliable exorcist attempts to remove a difficult demon from a ranch owned by an eccentric family in Texas. However, the demon proves to be more difficult than the priest assumed it would be.”

Since this is on a ranch, I totally bet the demon is cow. Hey, it’s got horns and shoots some sort of evil fluid from each of its four unholy dangle-y squirt gun type things under its swim suit area. Evil is pronounced “moo” in its hellish language.

SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME (July 5, 2019)
“Our friendly neighborhood superhero decides to join his best friends Ned, MJ, and the rest of the gang on a European vacation. However, Peter’s plan to leave super heroics behind for a few weeks are quickly scrapped when he begrudgingly agrees to help Nick Fury uncover the mystery of several elemental creature attacks, creating havoc across the continent.”

Just like the last movie (Spider-Man: Homecoming/2017, in case you forgot), the trailer for the new one is so ridiculously cool, you almost don’t need to see the movie. But you’ll just have to. And Spider-Man teaming up with Mysterio? I just webbed my pants.

THE CHANGE OVER (2019)
“Sixteen year-old Laura Chant lives with her mother and four-year-old brother Jacko in a low-rent suburb on the edge of earthquake-scarred Christchurch, New Zealand. Laura is drawn into a supernatural battle with an ancient spirit who attacks Jacko and slowly drains the life out of him as the spirit becomes ever younger. Laura discovers her true identity and the supernatural ability within her, and must harness it to save her brother’s life.”

There’s a place called, Christchurch? Sounds like a good place for a Holy war to me. That the place is actually real and is plagued by earthquakes makes me wanna move there and get a front row pew.  

A Mountain of Monsters

The first problem with Under The Mountain (2009), a dark fantasy horror flick based on a popular 1979 New Zealand book, and an eight-part TV mini-series, is its bland title. The “tween targeted” movie has tentacled shape-shifters known as Wilberforces, who masquerade as funeral home directors by day, and teenager/planet vanquishing creatures by night. It also has the Gargantua (giant underground bug), slime tunnels, a benevolent alien who can make stuff catch on fire, and volcanoes. So why not call it Theo & The Volcano Lickers or Worm Creatures From Uranus? You wanna sell this thing, yes? Geez.

Two Auckland teen twins, a brother and sister, share a telepathic link. I don’t know why, they just do. Rachel and Theo go to live with their uncle and aunt on the scenic and uncomfortably named Lake Pupuke after mom was wormed to death. There’s a decrepit old house on the lake shore inhabited with Wilberforce creatures, who look sorta human during work hours and slug entities resembling Swamp Thing dipped in 30-weight in the evenings.

The Wilberforces are aliens who want to destroy the world and have the means to do so with the Gargantua that lives under one of the town’s seven(!) volcanoes. He’s also the size of Godzilla’s waterbed. They can’t accomplish their “planets to destroy” things to do list until they get rid of the telepathic twits, uh, twins. For they hold within their red hair the power to stop the Wilberforces in their slug trails.

Enter Mr. Jones, an alien who looks like a human, but is not. He’s been following the Wilberforces around the universe, recruiting twins with the power of “twinness” (their word, not mine). This ability, enhanced by smooth rocks that they’re supposed to chuck into the mouth of the volcano, will cause everything to fire up, thereby frying the Wilberforces like steaks on the barbie. Mr. Jones, a fireraiser, tells them to think more like Frodo and less like dumbasses.

He can teleport them around town, but his flame is growing weaker and he’s dying. Am I the only one who thinks drinking charcoal starter fluid might help here? The Wilberforces can smell the twins and chase them all the way to the lake’s main island. I’d tell you the name of it, but it’s too hard to spell. (It’s like those people in New Zealand have a different word for everything.)

The showdown between the Wilberforces and the teens is as limp as a case of Brewer’s Droop. These monsters can make their arms and hands grow into wiggling slugs, so why not have some fun with it? And while we’re chatting, the Gargantua never gets out of its underground parking garage. Why even have one if you’re not gonna let it loose on humanity?

Kids might like this “horror adventure.” I didn’t, mostly because no one ate anyone’s face off, no buildings were crushed under flailing tentacles, and there wasn’t a single swear word to be heard. If the Wilberforces were after me, you can bet your arse I’d invoke every four-letter cuss in the dictionary, both as exclamations and taunts.

Million Dollar Monster, Undying House, Stinky Horror

Though reported by Bloody-Disgusting.com, Llamageddon (2018) — a new indie horror movie as of this e-scribbling — has been making steaming piles of news all over the Internet. While the cost to stream movies of any genre ranges from .99 cents to $6.99 (and above), Llamageddon’s price on Amazon.com is over…ONE MILLION DOLLARS.

Not joking, though it probably is a joke — and not just the title. It’s either a typo, a clever way to get publicity, or it’s for real. I’m thinkin’ the second one, though if some idiot with more money than brains rented it at full price, he/she just gave the filmmakers an early Christmas — for the next 10 years.

In case you have more money than brains, here’s the plot: “A killer llama from outer space crash lands on Earth and begins reigning havoc on a group of unsuspecting college students.” Why do I get the feeling someone’s reaching for their wallet right now?

If you want slightly more affordable barnyard horror, try Black Sheep (2006) from New Zealand. In that one, the fuzzy creatures don’t come from space, but rather are genetically tinkered, which turns them into ferocious people-eaters. You wouldn’t think that was cool, but it is.

But for now, here are a few now available/upcoming horror/sci-fi movies that may or may not drain your 401k…

THE GHOST BEYOND (available now)
“A struggling novelist moves his wife and young son to an old country home, but when a presence begins to communicate with his son, the family must escape an evil that threatens to doom them to the house for eternity.”

Same old plot, same old story, same old struggling novelist. And since when are novelists not struggling? And how can they afford an old country home in which to struggle? I say let the evil take the mom and kid, and then move into a nice, AFFORDABLE studio apartment that never dies.

THE HOUSE THAT NEVER DIES: THE REAWAKENING (available now)
“The sequel to the 2014 hit film The House That Never Dies is based on true events that took place at the spookiest of Beijing’s Four Oriental Haunted Houses. The story takes place a hundred years after a mutiny by warlords in Beijing when an expert in cultural relics encounters supernatural phenomena at the mansion on 81 Chaoyangmennei Street.”

Chaoyangmennei Street? Try spelling that right on the first five tries when calling for Lyft™. P.S. You wouldn’t think so, but you still have to add a ghost if you’re doing a shared ride. And yes, it costs the same as adding non-ghosts.

PLEDGE (January 11, 2019)
“Frat life has never been so scary. And we don’t mean the recent wave of headlines and controversies. Inspired by the rise of the ‘social’ thriller, Pledge promises to take a centuries-old American tradition to new extremes and explore the power dynamics that have led to so many deaths on American campuses.”

Yeah, I’m thinkin’ no to this one.

RESPIRA (2018/2019)
“Leonardo gets a job as a fumigator pilot in the soybean fields and moves with his family to the countryside. When he starts working, he discovers a dark secret that will put him and his family in danger.”

The dark secret is you can’t really fumigate anything with the word “bean” in it.

Printed Splatter, Foreign Demons, Immortal Daycare

Before there were iPads™ and “smart tablets,” you got your news and non-porn ads from newspapers. Those things were cool — lots of pictures, tons of useless information and you never had to plug it in or recharge it. It was in those newspapers that movie companies placed ads. And in the ’80s, you got gore and slasher movie ads, which were an art form unto themselves.

Author/horror movie expert Michael Gingold (Fangoria, Rue Morgue, Birth.Movies.Death, Time Out New York, Scream, The FrightFest Guide to Monster Movies, Shark Movie Mania), has a new book coming out October 9, 2018 called Ad Nauseam: Newsprint Nightmares from the 1980s, a compilation of all those luridly glorious horror movie/TV ads. And even more frightening is the price: $34.95. In 1980s money, that’s worth the price of nearly 140 newspapers. That’s some serious fire hazard buying power.

I’m thinkin’ that the reprinted horror movie ads are all black and white, which gives ‘em a grindhouse-y aesthetic. The book might have a few color ads, though, (I’m hoping to see The Evil Dead/1981 ads in full blood-esque color).

While we impatiently wait for October (why won’t my homemade time tunnel work? I put new double AA batteries in it…), here are a few upcoming horror movies/TV series that may or may not be worth cutting out of a newspaper or downloaded onto your maxi-iPad™…

WELLINGTON PARANORMAL (July 11, 2018/New Zealand)
“The new mockumentary series follows officers Minogue and O’Leary as a pair of paranormal cops focused not just on vampires this time. New Zealand’s capital is a hotbed of supernatural activity, so Officers Minogue and O’Leary take to the streets to investigate all manner of paranormal phenomena including ghosts, demonic possession and werewolves.”

This is the TV series sequel to the incredibly hilarious What We Do In The Shadows (2014) vampire movie, and will premier July 11, 2018 on New Zealand channel TVNZ. My antennae doesn’t reach that far. Word around the antennae store, though, is the follow-up movie is tentatively titled, We’re Wolves. Flippin’ genius.

OPEN 24 HOURS (2018)
“Mary knew her boyfriend James was the Rain Ripper serial killer. But she felt powerless to act until he forced her to watch another victim being slaughtered before her eyes — and then she set him on fire. On parole from prison despite everyone thinking she was guilty by proxy, and on medication to control her paranoid hallucinations, Mary gets a graveyard shift job at the remote Deer gas station. Then the killings begin. Is what’s happening real? Are they just blood-soaked delusions? Or does she really like to watch people murdered as her ex always intimated?”

Rain Ripper seems like a dumb name for a serial killer. And since when does a pyromaniac get a job at a gas station? That’s like me going to work for Anheuser-Busch. (Note to AB — I totally promise to stay drunk on the job, as I am a company man, through and through.)

THE WITCH IN THE WINDOW (2018/2019/Shudder™)
“A separated father Simon and his estranged twelve-year-old son, Finn, head to Vermont to repair an old farmhouse and encounter the malicious spirit of a previous owner, an infamously cruel woman named Lydia. With every repair Simon makes, he’s also making her spirit stronger…until a terrifying encounter leaves him doubting whether he can protect his son from the evil that’s making its way into their heads and hearts.”

“Infamously cruel.” That’s some serious street cred. Looks good on a resume, though, especially when applying to work for Yelp™.

NOS4A2 (2019/AMC)
“A young female artist named Vic McQueen discovers she has a supernatural connection with Charlie Manx, a seemingly immortal man who feeds off the souls of children and deposits their remains in a twisted holiday village known as Christmasland. Vic sets out to defeat Manx and rescue his victims while keeping her sanity intact.”

This one’s gonna be a TV series (whoohoo — binge time!) on AMC, and is based on the same named 2013 book by Joe Hill, Stephen King’s son. I can see why he didn’t take his dad’s last name — then he’d be “Joe King/Joking”. Heh.

A Perfect Vampire

In Perfect Creature (2006), The Brotherhood is a society of vampires that live peacefully among humans, with blood centers set up to donate thirst-quenching hemoglobin in order for the vampires to exist. (They should call ’em Food Banks, because that’s totally what they are.) In the spirit of open trade, the vampire’s duty is to protect the humans. What they can’t do is keep them from dying from an outbreak of snot-dripping influenza with a shortage of clean handkerchiefs.

The setting looks like London in the 1800s, but is in reality an alternate reality New Zealand. I knew it the second I saw it. One renegade vampire is going around sucking on humans, which makes the general unwashed population extremely jittery. No human has ever been attacked by a vampire, so The Brotherhood has to stop the rogue before the humans turn on the vampires.

The head vampire, nicely dressed and sporting a downtown haircut, goes after his brother, Edgar the bad vampire who wants to F stuff up. His plan is to suck the blood of an influenza-infected stink human, let it marinate with his vampire blood, then intentionally leak it into the city’s water supply, thereby F-ing stuff up.

A police chief chick is also on the case and sustains a near-fatal attack by Edgar. But Silus (the head vampire) uses his blood to save her as it has healing powers aplenty. Why the vampire’s blood is not used to cure the influenza outbreak apparently never occurred to anyone.

The vamp’s flu blood makes people go rage ass crazy before they die. (I did a shot of it with a Budweiser™ back and all it did was make me want more.) For a vampire movie to not suck is ironic as vampires need to suck in order to exist, making it one of those “life imitates art” doohickeys. Doohickey is a real word, so don’t even go there.

Red Billabong: Fair Dinkham Horror

Red Billabong is an upcoming Australian creature feature horror movie. But the title doesn’t reflect the monster’s name, but rather a pond formed when its water source gets all attitude-y and changes its life direction, cutting itself off from the rest flow. In the States we call that a “tide pool.” Billabong™ is also a popular sports wear fashion company.

So what does a stagnant pond and overpriced yet surprisingly stain-resistant cargo shorts have to do with a mythical creature? Hopefully, nothing. Unless the monster lives in the pond and wears a swimsuit that comes in a colorful array of expensive styles.

Here’s what lies Down Under: “Two estranged brothers and their friends are pulled into a world of mystery and lies when their grandfather’s property is passed into their hands. As both brothers are pulled apart by different choices, one thing is clear – something sinister is going on. As people go missing the brothers learn secrets that will change their life forever – but what is out there? A myth? A hoax? Or could it really be…real?”

I’m hoping it’s real, because I’m all about being legit.

Since we’re on the topic, there have been notable Australian creature horror movies prior featuring zombie farm animals (Black Sheep/2006), super-sized crocodiles (Rogue/2007), giant human-eating pigs (Razorback/1984), all of nature’s creatures plus a dugong, which is a fat ass sea cow (The Long Weekend/1978 & 2008), and Waterborne (2015), starring a “zombieroo,” the world’s first zombie kangaroo. (They should call it The Hopping Dead. I’m probably the only one who thinks that’s funny.)

Note to selves: As of this word-barfing Waterborne is a film short designed to attract crowd-funding for a future full-length feature.

Red Billabong is supposed to come out sometime in 2015. Regardless of what the creature turns out to be, I can hardly for the sequel: Plaid Billabong.

Ghost Shark: Bites From Beyond

2013’s Ghost Shark is memorable for a number of reasons, sub-budget special effects/dialogue/acting notwithstanding. But first you have to ignore the plot, which gives Ghost Shark its rai·son d’ê·tre.

After being fed a hand grenade thrown from a fishing boat by redneck a-holes, Ghost Shark’s corpse floats into a half-submerged cave where early settlers performed satanic rituals. (Okay, what?) It is here Dead Shark is converted into a glowing, transparent kill-beast able to trans-morph out of any body of water, be it a fire hydrant, bath tub, swimming pool, mud puddle and even a bottled water drinking fountain. And this is exactly what makes Ghost Shark’s 84 minutes of dumbassery entertaining.

GS crashes a pool party and devours teenagers. GS opens wide and swallows little kids on a Slip ’n Slide™, an unsuspecting youngster shooting down the shark’s throat as if a human oyster on the half shell. A mayor’s assistant pouring himself a cool and refreshing paper cup of thirst quenching death after GS leaves the bottled water container and is delivered to the assistant’s insides, where it splits the guy in half during the chewing out. (This scene alone is worth an Academy Award.)

Time wasters until Ghost Shark straps on the feedbag: a drunk lighthouse keeper, savaged by guilt for killing his wife in said satanic cave years ago who seeks revenge on GS. Not sure how that works. The smack-talking mayor going on a Jaws-driven balance-of-justice boat ride. (His crunchy death – being sucked down a watery toilet – as a true feel-good moment.) Tthen there’s the never-ending parade of young girls in bikinis and a really, really fat guy riding a jet ski that looked like it might get permanently lodged into FG’s ass crack on the next wave.

Back to the bikinis: Most horror films feature young gals in their 20s, probably still in community college or of X-rated movie age. Not so with Ghost Shark; The girls running around in kite string swimsuits are barely (heh) in high school. I felt somewhat dirty watching Ghost Shark make fish bait out of jail bait. I would’ve showered my shame away afterward, but hey – Ghost Shark possibly coming through the nozzle.

P.S. Ghost Shark 2: Urban Jaws (pending 2015) is not a sequel or related to Ghost Shark. It’s an indie movie (i.e., made with two New Zealand guys and a Best Buy™ video camera) that was supposed to have come out in 2010. Time to put down the Foster’s mates, and show us some of your Down Under horror. Okay, that didn’t come out right.