SLO FILM FESTIVAL FEATURES 'MONSTER OF PIEDRAS BLANCAS'

On Tuesday, the topic of my post was the mask of the Piedras Blancas monster. Coincidentally, I discovered on the SLO Tribune webpage that this fall the North Coast (where MONSTER OF PIEDRAS BLANCAS was filmed) will be hosting the San Luis Obispo International Film Festival.



The article following is a reprint from the paper that includes a story previously published in 2002, when the film was locally screened.

BLOG -- Fan Expo Canada 2013

*Sniffle* I'm soooo sad... not just because I want Fan Expo to come back... but because I somehow lost all my blogging progress about Fan Expo... I woke up at 6 AM yesterday, determined to finish my blog. All I did was press "Enter" to create a new blank line... then I pressed "Backspace", and it erased my entire blog... I pressed the "undo" button as far as I could, but to no avail. I exited the page, hoping that it didn't automatically save, but it did... ... I only had Sunday left to cover and I would have been done!! Now I have to start over. You have no idea how much I want to cry right now... :(



Anyway... I had a lot of fun at Fan Expo this year. I attended some really neat and useful panels, and I saw some awesome cosplay and cool promotions (I think some companies are catching on that marketing creatively is key in conventions). I also had a "one-sided convention crush" (first time!), but I'll talk about that at the end of the blog, since it's more of a personal experience than anything.

[Toys] Mezco's Super Cool 'The Creature From The Black Lagoon' Figure

Mezco's award-winning design team journeyed deep into the unexplored depths of the Amazon jungle searching for fossils instead they discovered "THE CREATURE"! Mezco Toyz brings to life "The Creature," from Universal's sci-fi, horror gem, THE CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON.



"This Creature" variant is cast in Translucent Green material.

William Castle in Duo-Vision! The Spirit is Willing and ZOTZ!

THIS POST IS PART OF THE WILLIAM CASTLE BLOGATHON, HOSTED BY AND GOREGIRL'S DUNGEON, RUNNING FROM JULY 29TH THROUGH AUGUST 2ND, 2013!ENJOY!



With all the horror and suspense in William Castle's filmography, we of thought it'd be neat to feature two of the gimmick-meister's comedy turns for the Blogathon--especially, as Vinnie so sagely pointed, out: "Mr. Sardonicus is probably already taken."

Matt's Week in Dork! (7/21/13-7/27/13)

A slow start, but a nice finish.Good week.



Red 2:Not quite as cute or charming as the first film, this sequel still dishes out morbid humor and silly action aplenty.Everyone seems to be having a good time, and they sure go to a lot of nice places.But the tension never quite ratchets up, and the plot feels a bit too meandering.Still, not a bad sequel and worth watching if you enjoyed the first film.

When the West Was Dead Part 1: Dead West

Greeting boils and goils, creeps and creatures of the night, welcome to the first installment of a series I once had an idea for but never saw to fruition. When the West goes dead basically, the first installment comes complete with an interview with author and writer Rick Spears.



Welcome to Lazarus, a small blooming town in the Old West. Don't expect to live long if you visit it though, the town's under a curse. "In this town nothing stays dead for long..."

2013 Horrorfest Presents: The Man Who Laughs (1928, Leni)

The Man Who Laughs could almost be called "The Movie That Inspired The Joker." When Conrad Veidt put on the white makeup while sporting the ghoulish smile that was imposed upon him by a cruel king when poor Veidt's Gwynplaine was just a boy, I thought "Whoa. He does look like The Joker." This trivia nugget aside The Man Who Laughs is equal parts horror film, tragic drama, action and adventure movie. Gwynplaine is a monster, yet he is also rather sympathetic, a man who was abandoned and yet saved the life of the lovely Dea, who is blind and therefore cannot see his awful face. However despite his grotesque appearance, Gwynplaine is loved by Ursus, the man who took Dea and him when he was just a child and Dea was a baby. At the same time Ursus is responsible for featuring Gwynplaine in a traveling act, although he does indeed care for the young man and Dea, treating them as his children.



The man responsible for the creation of Gwynplaine as a human freak, the sinister and evil Barkilphedro, discovers that the so called "Laughing Man" is still alive and is also the heir to his late father's estate. The beautiful yet cruel Josiana, who admires and then mocks Gwynplaine, realizes too late that she must marry him to keep his father's holdings. The horror elements here are rather strong: Gwynplaine inspires both pity and disgust, and can be considered an early inspiration for the Universal Monsters creatures such as Frankenstein's Monster, the Mummy, and the Creature From The Black Lagoon.