Artsy Godzilla, Clown Lodgings, Scary Streets

Killer cover art for Godzilla Aftershock, the just released official graphic novel prequel to Godzilla: King of the Monsters (May 31, 2019). It’s times like this I wish I knew how to read. Fortunately, it looks to have lots of cool pictures.

Godzilla Aftershock was authored by Arvid Nelson and illustrated by Drew Edward Johnson. They seem nice. And here’s why: “The brilliant and driven Monarch operative Dr. Emma Russell races to stop the threat as clues emerge to reveal a terrible secret — a tragedy of apocalyptic proportions from the distant past that changed the course of human history, is returning to threaten it once more. A shadowy figure stalks Emma’s every move as she travels the globe to uncover secrets, while Godzilla clashes in an ancient rivalry as old as the Earth itself.”

You can get Godzilla Aftershock in hardcover for $18.71 on Amazon.com (free shipping if you’re a Prime™ member). While you’re clicking “Buy The F*ck Now” button, grab the Godzilla Aftershock Variant for $22.49 with exclusive cover illustration by Art Adams. He seems nice as well.

For those of us who don’t know how to read, here are a few upcoming horror/sci-fi movies that may or may not seem nice…

CLOWN MOTEL (June 4, 2019)
“A group of ghost hunters return home from Las Vegas. When they arrive at the Clown Motel, they’re left to discover if it is really abandoned and haunted by the souls of the clowns that once lived there.”

Clowns live in motels? I thought they lived in colorful tents.

PROJECT ITHACA (June 7, 2019)
“Five strangers awaken to find themselves trapped aboard an alien spaceship that seems to be harnessing their terror to power the ship. They begin to understand that these species have been abducting humans for decades and possibly centuries.”

I harness my terror to power my bladder. In space no one can hear me stream.

CLINTON ROAD (June 14, 2019)
“A widowed fire fighter seeks closure after his wife goes missing on an actual haunted road in rural New Jersey, but must unlock the road’s secret if he wants to get out alive.”

Clinton Road is a real stretch of street in New Jersey where sightings of spookified ghosts are commonplace, as are weirdo creatures, stinky witches and jaywalking Satanists. The real horror, however, is that Clinton Road has the country’s longest traffic light wait.

TERMINATOR: DARK FATE (November 1, 2019)
“Terminator: Dark Fate takes place the day after Judgment Day, and Sarah Connor is locked, loaded, and ready to roll.”

Sarah’s been dusting up with unstoppable future robots since 1984. She’s like the Laurie Strode of the future.

Coffin Movies, Human Supper Club, Death Boat

Not sure what I think about this: “The Goteborg Film Festival in Sweden, beginning on January 27, 2019, will be offering up 33 “sarcophagus screenings” of Aniara, a Swedish-language apocalyptic sci-fi film.” Yeesh, what’s next — sneak previews in a gas chamber?

According to The Hollywood Reporter, eight volunteers at a time will be shut into specially made caskets outfitted with screens, speakers and air vents. Inside the coffin will be a “panic” button for anyone who gets too freaked out. 

I’d break my finger pushing that button. Points for creativity, though. As for Aniara (2018), here’s this about that: “A spaceship carrying settlers to Mars is knocked off course, causing the consumption-obsessed passengers to consider their place in the universe.” I can feel their pain — my life would be nothing if it weren’t for drunk bidding on eBay™.

Before you go hopping into any movie sarcophagus, here are a few upcoming horror/sci-fi movies/TV series that may or may not have you reaching for the panic button. And remember, it’s not the coffin they take you off in, it’s the coffin that takes you often…

FOLKLORE (February 1, 2019/ HBO NOW, HBO GO, HBO On Demand)
“Folklore is HBO’s newest foray into the horror anthology genre. The series, which contains six hour-long episodes, will take place in six Asian countries including Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand. Each of the six episodes is based on that respective country’s folklore and mythology, which includes various supernatural beings and strange occult practices. Each episode will be helmed by a different director, with each episode filmed in the local language of that particular country.”

This one was already aired on HBO Asia on October 7, 2018. (I didn’t know Asia changed its name.) As cool as the anthology series sounds, doesn’t do me much good if each episode is filmed in its native language. Geez, I can barely speak whatever language I’m currently burping out now.

BENEATH THE LEAVES (February 8, 2019/limited theater/VOD)
“Among countless others, four small-town boys are kidnapped by James Whitley, a deranged, warm-eyed psychopath. His grotesque pursuit to reunite orphaned children with their deceased birth parents is gridlocked when the boys escape and he is arrested. Twenty years later, Whitley flees during a prison fire and decides to see his mission through. Detective Larson, one of Whitley’s prior victims — and now a cop — is removed from the case due to impartiality leaving his partner and lover, Detective Shotwell to solve the case. Fueled by rage and a chance of redemption, Detective Larson chases the steadfast psychopath on his own, only to fall back into the same trap he once escaped as a child.”

Fueled by rage. Kinda my mantra. Hope career criminal James Whitely doesn’t try to kidnap me — I’ve got a full tank.

THE CANNIBAL CLUB (March 1, 2019/limited theater/ March 5, 2019/VOD)
“Otavio and Gilda are a very wealthy couple of the Brazilian elite who have the habit of eating their employees. Otavio owns a private security company and is a notable member of The Cannibal Club. When Gilda accidentally discovers a secret from Borges, a powerful congressman and the club’s leader, her and her husband’s lives are in grave danger.”

Eating your employees — doesn’t sound too tasty, but it does cut down on having to hand out raises and buying groceries.

HARPOON (2019)
“With his perfect family and perfect upbringing, Richard appears to have it all. So when he thinks that his long-term girlfriend, Sasha and best-friend, Jonah, are having an affair, it sends him into a fit of rage that leaves Jonah a bloody mess. Once Jonah and Sasha convince Richard the allegations are false, Richard tries to buy back their trust by taking them out for a day-trip on his family’s yacht. Tension boils over once out to sea, and, to make matters worse, the yacht’s engine fails. Stranded without food and supplies, the trio must set aside their differences in order to survive.”

Can’t remember the title, but there was a Japanese horror movie with the same plot. It didn’t end well for them, either. I think they were all eaten by a giant octopus with nine arms. I could be slightly wrong about that.

Smack-Talking Computers, Possessed Ubers, The Curse of Seagulls

Remember HAL 9000 (Heuristically programmed ALgorithmic), the sentient super computer with a human personality, in the groundbreaking sci-fi movie, 2001: A Space Odyssey (which ironically was done in 1968)? Now CASE (Cognitive Architecture for Space Exploration) is making a new HAL — which spells doom for all us astronauts (I’m almost done with my online courses, so yeah, I’m an astronaut, b*tches!)

2001: A Space Odyssey, as you likely know, was infamously produced and directed by fake moon landing movie maker, Stanley Kubrick from an Arthur C. Clark short story, Sentinel of Eternity (1951). In 2001, HAL, the computer not only talks, but talks back, overrides human commands and secretly has a directive to investigate a radio signal sent from that mysterious, featureless Monolith. (The Who — lunar British rock band — symbolically peed on it for the cover of their rhythmic beats album, Who’s Next/1971. Disrespectful, but very rock). The crew of Discovery One should’ve waited to see what happened to the staff of the deep space Nostromo in Alien (1979). Ash (Hyperdyne Systems 120-A/2 android), their super computer in the clever guise of a stink human, pulled the exact same sh*t and look what happened there.

Pretty much everybody (except me) owns their own personal HAL, though they call it Alexa/Siri/Google. My dire warning to you is to not trust any of those convenient smart home devices and make sure you don’t involuntarily get locked out of your house/deep space vessel.

While you contemplate machines taking over the world, here are a few upcoming horror/sci-fi movies that may or may not digitally sever your oxygen hose…

BEYOND WHITE SPACE (December 14, 2018)
“The captain of a deep-space vessel makes a daring decision to go after a rare and nearly extinct species. His obsession soon jeopardizes the mutinous crew when the gigantic and deadly creature attacks the ship.”

Sounds like Moby Dick in space. The trailer is pretty cool — there’s a mega big gigantic huge Godzilla-esque monster floating around, looking for spaceship flavored snacks. The deep-space vessel may as well put a Fritos™ logo on the side of their ship.

SUPERGRID (December 18, 2018)
“Two estranged brothers travel the notorious ‘Grid’ in their quest to collect and deliver a mysterious cargo. En route they must contend with road pirates, rebel gangs, and each other.”

The plot of traveling across the danger-enhanced apocalyptic wastelands steal from dozens of other same-plot movies/TV shows, but also the morning work commute. 

THE CAR: ROAD TO REVENGE (January 8, 2019)
“In a dilapidated cyberpunk city plagued by crime and corruption, an unscrupulous District Attorney is savagely murdered and tossed out of a building onto his brand new car. Mysteriously, the District Attorney and his car come back to life as a single being with a thirst for vengeance. The eerie driver-less car embarks on a vicious rampage exacting revenge on the criminals who murdered him.”

They’re calling this a “stylized sequel” to the 1977 movie called, The Car, wherein a possessed vehicle runs people down and parks on their faces. The lead character was James Brolin, who later went on to The Amityville Horror infamy. He seems nice.

CURSE OF THE BLIND DEAD (2019)
“In the Thirteen century, a group of Satan worshipers, the Knight Templars, is captured during a ritual and brutally murdered by the locals. Just before the execution, the Knights swear to return from their graves to haunt the village and the nearby forest. Centuries later, in a post-apocalyptic future, a man and his daughter try to survive against both the Undead Knights and a sect commanded by a mad preacher.”

Sound familiar? It should — it’s a continuation of the early Seventies Italian-filmed Blind Dead series (Tombs of the Blind Dead/1971, The Return of the Blind Dead/1973, The Ghost Galleon/1974, Night of the Seagulls/1975). Blind dead Templar Knights out for revenge are certainly scary. But man, don’t get in a dust up with seagulls — those things always know when you wash your car and will unleash their coordinated crap attacks on your just-cleaned hood and door handle. (How do they manage such accuracy? Geez.)

Bookended By Godzilla, Zombie Blood, Alien Park Job

Looking for a Christmas present to buy for me this year? I already took care of your shopping — go to Etsy.com and click over to Mokushop’s, um, shop, and you’ll find awesome, under $70 custom wooden hand-chiseled bookends.

With TV around, I don’t do books, so you’ll have to buy me some to go with ‘em as well. But for a chance to own either the Godzilla and/or Kraken (giant octopus) bookends, it might be worth my time to learn how to read.

These things are “extremely limited”, so you’ll have to hurry, Don’t worry about wrapping ‘em as I’ll already know what they are. Thanks for the thought, though. Very Christmas-y of you.

While I wait for you to ship the bookends to me, here are a few upcoming horror/sci-fi movies that may or may not be worth as much as chiseled wood…

CHRISTMAS BLOOD (December 4, 2018)
“Christmas is a time of peace, love and family. But not for Norway as a psychopath dressed in a Santa Claus suit has been terrorizing them for the past 13 years. For as soon as the caroling starts, this demented Kris Kringle dispenses bloody ax blows regardless of whether you’ve been bad or good. As the holiday approaches on one snow-covered town filled with revelers, a pair of detectives work against time to find and arrest this bearded serial killer. Will they manage to stop this demented St. Nick before he kills again?”

As of this holiday season, there are 100,000 horror movies about serial killer/psychopath Santa Claus killers. Know what I want for Christmas for a change? No more of these same-plot movies.

ATTRACTION (December 4, 2018)
“Moscow finds itself on the brink of destruction after a mysterious spaceship crash-lands in the center of the city. While the government seeks to find out what the ship’s passengers want and how to protect the local population, the rest of the city residents break into conflicting factions. Some view the aliens as a threat that should be extinguished, while others hope that the visitors are peaceful and offer an opportunity to learn more about the world beyond. When a young woman finds herself torn between her seemingly normal life and the alluring promise offered by one of the all-too-human extraterrestrials, the fate of the entire world is left hanging in the balance.”

A social commentary on immigrants or a poorly-named sci-fi movie about aliens parking downtown wherever they want? You already know the answer.

JOHNNY Z (2019)
“A half human, half zombie named Johnny, holds the cure to the zombie epidemic. After escaping Nordac, an experimental medical prison, Johnny comes under the guidance of a martial arts Grandmaster named Jonray who agrees under a dying wish to protect and embarks on a journey to find a missing doctor while battling personal demons.”

Sounds like Johnny Z is just another name for Murphy, the half human/half zombie in Z Nation zombie apocalypse TV series on the SyFy™ Channel whose inner gunk holds the cure for un-zombie-ing. Wonder if they’re blood brothers?

THE VANISHING (2019)
“On an uninhabited island 20 miles from the rugged Scottish coast, three lighthouse keepers arrive for their six week shift. As Thomas, James and Donald settle into their usual, solitary routines, something unexpected and potentially life-changing occurs — they stumble upon something that isn’t theirs to keep. Where did it come from? Who does it belong to? A boat appears in the distance that might hold the answer to these questions. What follows is a tense battle for survival as personal greed replaces loyalty — and fed by isolation and paranoia, three honest men are led down a path to destruction.”

They don’t say what it is they discovered. But after a minimum amount of thought, it can only be one thing for a the isolated men on that remote island; a supermodel.

Demonic Beekeeper, Horror TV, Holiday Shark

Getting giddy for the upcoming premier of American Horror Story: Apocalypse. The teasers are eerie and stylishly cool, an AHS trademark. Kinda like expensive perfume TV commercials.

Some background info in case you’ve been living under a rock: “American Horror Story: Apocalypse is the eighth season of the FX horror anthology television series American Horror Story. It will premiere on September 12, 2018. Series co-creator Ryan Murphy (Glee, Feud) has confirmed that the new season will be a crossover between Season 1 (AHS: Murder House) and Season 3 (AHS: Coven).

While we count down the days until TV becomes good again, here are a few just released/upcoming horror/sci-fi movies that may or may not stink like expensive perfume…

SANTA JAWS (available now/SyFy™ Channel)
“Trying to survive the family Christmas, Cody makes a wish to be alone, which ends up backfiring when a shark manifests and kills his entire family.”

Not surprised — the title alone has inspired countless memes, so it makes sense that someone would capitalize on it. Personally, I would’ve gone with Mama Shark, in tribute of Mother’s Day. If Mama Shark tells you to go clean your room and you don’t do it, the living room rug will likely need to be forensically vacuumed to get what’s left of your torso/face/leg meat out of the absorbent fibers.

WHAT KEEPS YOU ALIVE (August 24, 2018)
“Jackie and Jules are a couple celebrating their first anniversary at a secluded cabin in the woods belonging to Jackie’s family. From the moment they arrive, something changes in Jules’ normally loving wife, as Jackie begins to reveal a previously unknown dark side — all building up to a shocking revelation that will pit Jules against the woman she loves in a terrifying fight to survive.”

Sounds more like a regular relationship than a horror movie. But then again, aren’t all relationships kind of a horror movie when you think about it?

HELL HOUSE LLC II: THE ABADDON HOTEL (September 14, 2018/Limited)
“The sequel picks up eight years since the opening night tragedy of Hell House LLC; still many unanswered questions remain. Thanks to an anonymous tip, an investigative journalist is convinced that key evidence is hidden inside the abandoned Abaddon Hotel. This evidence that will shed light on: the hotel’s mysteries, many unsolved deaths and disappearances.”

Didn’t see the first one, so I have little insight here. Hey, I was BUSY. Supergirl on The CW™ isn’t gonna watch itself. Did a bit ‘o research — Abaddon is defined as this: “In the New Testament Book of Revelation, an angel called Abaddon is described as the king of an army of locusts.” Sounds like a beekeeper.

THE DAWNSEKER (September 4, 2018)
“2245, the Earth’s sun has dwindled and no longer provides the energy needed to sustain human life. Five hired mercenaries travel to an uncharted planet to collect a rare mineral known as stardust to replenish the dying star. After their spaceship crashes on the alien planet, they are stalked and hunted by a creature far more advanced than anything they have ever encountered before.”

Stardust is the hippie/druggie code name for cocaine. Sprinkle a pile of that on the dying sun and that thing will fire up and want to party. It’ll be a short party, though. Other than that, this one sounds suspiciously like The Predator.

Mallzilla, Double Scarecrows, Future Toilets

Meet the new boss, same as the old boss. Not talking about beer (although I guess I just did), I’m referring to the famous Godzilla statue in Tokyo’s Hibiya Chanter (ranked No.70 on TripAdvisor among 352 attractions in Chiyoda). So popular is this magnificent sculpture, the entire shopping mall is being renamed as Godzilla Square later in March, 2018. I should like to live there. In the mall. Next to the Godzilla statue.

But hold the boat — now they’re kicking Godzilla to the curb, where he’s stood vigilantly since 1995. And in his place, they’re gonna put…Godzilla. (Go wash your face — there’s a big question mark on it.) The replacement will be none other than Shin Godzilla, which continues to be massively popular in Japan. (There’s even a Shin Godzilla statue inside the mall, next to the L.L. Bean store, which regularly has 50% off sales — neat!)

So the Heisi Godzilla statue won’t become a street person and will be relocated inside of Toho Cinemas Hibiya on March 29, 2018, while Shin Godzilla becomes the new ambassador for unbridled consumerism outside. And all of this happens on March 23, 2018. (That’s a Friday — time to call in sick at work and head to Japan for a few hours to get a few Shin selfies.)

If you’re unable to get the time off to join me, here are a few just released/upcoming horror/sci-fi movies that may or may not qualify for an L.L. Bean 50% discount…

HEADGAME (available now)
“A group of young people awake, locked inside a warehouse with cameras screwed into their heads. It becomes apparent that they are unwilling competitors in a deadly game, and they will need to murder each other if they hope to survive.”

A camera screwed to your head? Sounds delightfully painful. But it’s been done before in Hellraiser III: Hell On Earth (1992).

SCARECROWS (2018)
“While on a hike to find a secret lagoon, a group of teenagers have no choice but to pass through an ominous cornfield. Unbeknown to them, the farm owner despises trespassers and has vowed to kill anyone who crosses his land by turning them into living scarecrows, leaving them to rot in his fields. Once one goes up…it never comes down.”

I think the farmer is over-reacting. I mean, it’s just corn, for crying out loud. It’s not like he’s growing eggplant. (There is not enough chocolate butter frosting in the world to make eggplant taste anything other than like eating skunk pie.)

RISE OF THE SCARECROWS: HELL ON EARTH (2018)
“A quiet town finds that a deadly secret from their past has come back with a vengeance to take over its inhabitants.”

According to Horrorpedia.com, this is a “belated sequel to Rise of the Scarecrows (2003).” It’d be cool if Scarecrow from The Wizard of Oz (1939) had a cameo. Sure, he’d be almost 80 years old, but scarecrows aren’t supposed to look fresh off the vine. Also, it would be nice to see him rip human flesh apart as if caught in a baler-gone-wild instead of vaudeville dancing and singing, while slightly entertaining, accomplishes nothing.

NOVA STAR (pending crowd-funding)
“Set in an ’80s retro future world, Mack and her robot co-worker Spanners, clean toilets aboard a majestic spaceship, the Nova Queen. When an ancient star fragment is embedded in Mack’s skull by a dying space princess the space-sh*t hits the space-fan. Mack and Spanners are chased across the galaxy by Kill-Bots, Space Pirates, Bounty Hunters and an evil Space Queen who will use the Star to flush the entire cosmos out of reality through a black hole. Using everything she knows from a life working in sanitation it’s up to Mack to save the star, and save the galaxy!”

Seems to have all the right ingredients. I’m mean, who wouldn’t want to clean future toilets? If I were to call on all my life’s sanitation skills, I can sum it up in three T-shirt worthy words: jiggle the handle.

Vacation Destination Aliens

Not quite an original premise, but Battle: Los Angeles (2011), a boisterous alien invasion face-slapper, doesn’t try to do anything than be a live action video game. Not suprisingly, I’m okay with that.

For no other reason than to attack because it’s there, aliens do a Pearl Harbor on us and wipe out every major city in the world. Curse their superior military acumen.

Los Angeles, the last block on the block, is overrun with the aliens who are taking the town street by street. They’re kinda hard to kill as the creatures are dressed in a mechani-suit and tie. Their weapons shoot goo and if you get any on you, see ya.

A squad of Marines are dropped into the war zone to rescue civilians, and then get back behind friendly lines miles away. Hope they don’t run into any red lights. Aliens are waiting, though, to make this assignment a challenge. Full blown blow-ups, explosions, gunfire, screaming, running in every direction except the right one… I’d be highly proficient at those last two things during such an invasion.

It’s discovered the extraterrestrial party-crashers are unilaterally controlled by centralized alien headquarters. Blow that up and game over, man. Does it make things ridiculously complicated for the Marines that the extraterrestrial command post is underground? Kinda.

Great opening attack scene, unrelenting battles, a breather Marine pride moment, and then all out “us versus them” explosions. I knew unwelcome aliens could be fun, but this is a downright party!

Illustrative UFOs, Recording Nightmares, Mobster Monsters

If you like books with pictures, then put UFO Drawings from the National Archives by author David Clarke on your f*cket list. Arriving February 27, 2018 (for a mere $25.00 hardcover on Amazon.com), UFO Drawings’ sky is loaded with hand-illustrated recreations of UFO sightings by real people who experienced them, many who have little to no artistic abilities/credibilities.

The book’s plaintive press release spins it like saucer: “Originally set up after a request from Winston Churchill, the Ministry of Defense’s UFO Desk ran for over 60 years, collating mysterious sightings and records of strange objects in the sky from observant, and sometimes imaginative, members of the public. As well as letters and official reports, the UFO files contain photographs, drawings and even paintings of these curious sightings.”

“David Clarke has selected examples from The National Archives to present a history of British UFO art and the remarkable stories behind these images, including an alien craft on the A1, flying saucers over Hampstead, and a spaceship landing at a primary school in Macclesfield.”

The only things I can draw are curtains, bathwater and flies. Old joke, but dang, gold is gold. I could probably sketch a UFO, but would have to see one first as a point of reference. Sure, I’ve seen plenty of flying saucers. But to witness an actual unidentified flying object would be to live the dream.

While I throw YET ANOTHER bit coin into the clearly malfunctioning wishing well, here are a few just released and/or coming soon horror/sci-fi drama thrillers (i.e., made for TV) movies to illustrate the genre…

SCAREYCROWS (available now)
“A trainee hairdresser discovers her boyfriend is keeping a dark secret. Soon her world crashes around her as the quiet seaside town where she was born is overrun by homicidal scareycrows.”

Scareycrows. That’s right up there with Mikey Myers and Badabdooky. What’s next — King Kongster?

SKYBOUND (November 7, 2017/VOD)
“Five plane passengers are unable to land after a mysterious disaster happens on the ground, but they may be in worse danger than they thought when a stowaway is discovered on board carrying a dangerous secret.”

Yeesh – that’s enough to make a stewardess do some involuntary crop-dusting (Farting silently up and down the plane’s aisle.) I’m a fan of aircraft disaster movies (examples: The Horror at 37,000 Feet/1973, Flight of the Living Dead/2007, Altitude (2007), and don’t have a fear of flying. But I do have a fear of not flying.

INCONTROL (2018)
“A group of university students discover a device that allows them to take control of others and experience the world through someone else’s body. As they push the machine’s abilities to its limits, they don’t realize their own lives have been manipulated, and they descend into a nightmare with no return.”

Was this not the framework of 1995’s Strange Days and even 1984’s Dreamscape? In that one, it was all fun and games when someone recorded having themselves having sex and shared it with others. But when they put the recording device on a monkey’s head, things went doo-flinging crazy. For me, though, it was just another day.

MADE VICIOUS (2018)
“Jim is a widower trying to raise his daughter while keeping the peace in a small town. While dealing with his debt to Victor, a mobster, a monster is awakened and begins to wreak havoc.”

Seems like they’re trying to cram too much into the plot here. I can help — “a monster is awakened and begins to wreak havoc.” Don’t bore us, get to the chorus.

Alien Jockeys, Bad Students, Pool Monsters

You’ll be visibly shaken to find out the fossilized, giant space alien in 1979’s Alien (one of the movie’s iconic scenes) was replicated as a scale model that measured slightly over 3’ x3’. That’s so emotionally crushing as all these years I though that thing was 100’ x100’. Next, someone will tell me there’s no such thing as Krampus. I don’t think I could handle that.

What’s more shocking is that the space jockey model, previously owned by 20th Century Fox Executive Peter Beale, was put up for grabs by Nate D. Sanders Autographs and Memorabilia Auction with a starting bid of $100,000 smackos. Here’s the sales pitch:

“Scarce model from the 1979 film Alien of the famed Space Jockey character aboard the Derelict Spaceship’, designed and hand-painted by H.R. Giger. One of the most recognizable scenes in sci-fi cinema, the haunting Space Jockey aka The Pilot, found dead aboard the alien spaceship, was conceived and designed by famed Swiss surrealist painter, sculptor and visual effects artist H.R. Giger, whose work on Alien won an Academy Award in 1980.”

The auction ended successfully with someone coughing up the mega space bucks for the model. I would’ve bid on it, but I left $100,000 around here somewhere. Probably stuck between couch cushions or in a pair of not-so-fresh britches I threw into a 3’ x 3’ pile of laundry that needs to be washed and/or salvaged by the Nostromo.

So yeah, denied. While you make plans to join me for a candlelight vigil, here are a few upcoming horror/sci-fi movies that may or may not cost $100,000 to rent…

GREY AGENDA (available now)
“When a group of friends go missing, the local police are shocked at the return of a mysterious stranger. While searching for their missing friends, they uncover a dark secret and the truth behind the ‘Grey Agenda’.”

Abducted by aliens or everyone just at the mall? While I have yet to be abducted by extraterrestrials, I have fallen prey to the black hole pull of the mall. Man, you could spend days in there and no one would even know.

CREEP 2 (available now)
“Sara is a video artist whose primary focus is creating intimacy with lonely men. After finding an ad online for ‘video work’ she thinks she may have found the subject of her dreams. She drives to a remote house in the forest and meets a man claiming to be a serial killer. Unable to resist the chance to create a truly shocking piece of art, she agrees to spend the day with him, but discovers she may have dug herself a hole from which she cannot escape.”

Didn’t see all of the original Creep (2014) movie. I got through the first 10 minutes and was distracted by the mall and felt a driving need to go there. I just couldn’t help myself. I’ll go back and watch it, but first I need to get down to the mall; Hot Topic™ is having a 2-for-1 sale on faux Goth products. Score!

DISMISSED (November 21, 2017/VOD)
“An idealistic, straight-laced English teacher is drawn down a nightmarish rabbit hole by an honor roll student who will stop at nothing to get an ‘A.’”

Is this even a horror movie? At least they got the title right.

NEREUS (2018)
“A young girl is attacked by an unearthly creature in her friend’s swimming pool. Later, she discovers that anyone who comes into contact with the water is in danger and she is driven to confront the mystical and malevolent creature lurking in the depths.”

Probable spoiler: The “unearthly creature” could be an unpackaged Baby Ruth™ candy bar, which looks a heckuva lot like a pool monster. Can’t think of anything else that would resemble the dark brown and peanut lumpy treat. Except maybe a Mountain Bar™.

All About Aliens

Was reading Listverse.com’s 10 Claims of Recovered Extraterrestrial Craft and was visibly shocked to see they didn’t include the UFO that was “parked” (half on the sidewalk, half in the fire lane) out behind The Poggie Tavern in my neighborhood. While it didn’t make headlines, the event nevertheless had more than a few witnesses. One claimed the unidentifiable craft was shiny and metallic, like a spaceship, but with windshield wipers.

Oh sure, they’ll give props to The Paradise Valley Incident Arizona, 1947 (#10) and The Kalahari Incident South Africa, 1989 (#8). But no love — or even an honorable mention — given for The Poggie Tavern Incident West Seattle, 2017.

Thus, today’s theme for just released on VOD alien movies and documentaries, some of which may or may not make your Top 10…

ALIEN IMPLANT: THE HUNTED MUST BECOME THE HUNTER (available now)
“A brilliant female recluse sends a distress signal into outer space from a remote location, however it’s not a distress signal, it’s an ingenious trap designed to exact revenge on the extraterrestrials who abducted her as a child.”

Clunky title, but clever plot. Kinda implausible, though. Since all aliens look alike, how will this gal know she’s cappin’ the ass of the exact spacemen who forcibly babysat her? Maybe she should look around for aliens driving space vans offering candy to kids.

ALIEN VS. ZOMBIES (available now)
“An alien travels over galaxies to fulfill a lifelong dream of visiting Earth, only to discover that the planet has been overrun by a zombie plague, caused by a mysterious virus. Now he must team up with a small band of human survivors to save what is left of our world, while fighting off a bounty hunter from his home planet, who wants him to return home a crime he did not commit.”

The alien’s lifelong dream was to visit Earth? Given their propensity for probing, I’m surprised vacation alien didn’t want to go to Uranus.

THE ALIENATORS (available now)
“Two amateur ufologists investigate a woman’s claim that aliens are watching her. Two weeks later, she disappears under mysterious circumstances. During a missing persons investigation, confiscated footage leaks onto the Internet, receiving over 2,000,000 hits in just three hours before the authorities take it down. But many who saw the footage say it contained the most compelling and terrifying evidence of alien existence ever captured. This is that footage, compiled and released by The Civilian Department of Ufology, a privately owned UFO research and investigation organization.”

Love the kicker line for this: “The Most Documented Alien Abduction Case In F*cking History.” Gonna have to put this on my couch time watch list as the idea of two drunk UFO amateurs documenting proof of alien visitation is highly relatable to me for some reason. Ahem.

UFOS: THE BEST EVIDENCE EVER CAUGHT ON TAPE — EXPANDED AND UPDATED DIRECTORS CUT (available now)
“The Award Winning Fox Television Special, now including new shocking never before seen UFO footage. Shot by amateurs and professional alike, videos of extraordinary objects in the sky offer fantastic evidence of Alien activity now engaging the Planet Earth. This Expanded and Updated Director’s Cut includes the best UFO video ever caught on tape from the U.S. Government and Homeland Security.”

These kinds of documentaries crack me up as they always bring in someone from Star Trek to narrate, as if to give the topic more credibility. Star Trek: The Next Generation’s Jonathan Frakes (aka, Commander William T. Riker) lends his authoritative vocal cords to this one. Worf, the renounced citizenship Klingon on Next Generation, did one as well (Where Are All The UFOs?/1996). But the best comes from James Doohan (aka, Starship Engineer “Scotty”), who not only narrates all the UFO footage, they put him in UFOs: Above And Beyond (1997). And he really threw himself into the project by making intense facial expressions reinforced by his insistent tone. Aliens never had a better advocate.

P.S. This one originally came out in 2000. Glad to see someone still wants to believe.