Artist Profile: John Walter Scott (1907 –1987)


Born in Camden, New Jersey, John Walter Scott and his mother relocated to Pennsylvania after Scott’s father died while serving in World War I.  Scott graduated from the La France Art Institute (a night school run by the La France Tapestry Mill in Philadelphia) and later relocated to New York where he found work as a pulp illustrator.  After serving in World War II, Scott moved into advertising and from there, he became a well-respected painter.

Here’s a small sampling of the pulp work of John Walter Scott!

Bonus Horror on the Lens: The Beach Girls and the Monster (dir by Jon Hall)


In 1965’s The Beach Girls and the Monsters, a monster that might be a mutated barracuda is hiding out on the beach and killing teenagers.  Can Dr. Otto Lindsay (played by the film’s director, Jon Hall) figure out how to defeat the monster?  Will Otto’s son Richard (Arnold Lessing) ever stop surfing long enough to get back to studying science?  Will Otto’s much younger wife Vicky (Sue Casey) seduce the troubled and crippled sculptor Mark (Walker Edmiston)?  And will it ever occur to anyone to just go to a different beach?

Complete with a ludicrous monster, a great soundtrack, tons of dancing, melodramatic acting, and a twist ending that will surprise no one, The Beach Girls and the Monster is low-budget favorite of mine.   It’s also, I think, a perfect movie to watch on a rainy October Saturday.

Enjoy!

Horror On The Lens: Snowbeast (dir by Herb Wallerstein)


A killer yeti is ruining a resort’s Snow Carnival.  Can Bo Svenson, Clint Walker, and Robert Logan set aside their differences and work together to defeat the monster before Sylvia Sidney is forced to shut the whole thing down?  Let’s hope so!

Originally made for television in 1977 and subsequently included in a hundred Mill Creek box sets, Snowbeast is an surprisingly enjoyable and, at times, rather intense little horror movie.  There’s nothing scarier than an angry yeti!

Live Tweet Alert: Join #FridayNightFlix for The Giant Spider Invasion!


As some of our regular readers undoubtedly know, I am involved in a few weekly watch parties.  On Twitter, I host #FridayNightFlix every Friday and I co-host #ScarySocial on Saturday.  On Mastodon, I am one of the five hosts of #MondayActionMovie!  Every week, we get together.  We watch a movie.  We tweet our way through it.

Tonight, at 10 pm et, I will be hosting #FridayNightFlix!  Join us for The Giant Spider Invasion!

If you want to join us this Friday, just hop onto twitter, find The Giant Spider Invasion on Prime, start the movie at 10 pm et, and use the #FridayNightFlix hashtag!  I’ll be there happily tweeting.  It’s a friendly group and welcoming of newcomers so don’t be shy.

See you there!

Horror Song Of The Day: The Lions and the Cucumber by The Vampires’ Sound Incorporation


Today’s song of the day comes from the 1971 film, Vampyros Lesbos.  The Vampires’ Sound Incorporation was a band specifically formed to do the soundtrack for Jess Franco’s classic portrait of Eurotrash decadence.  This song found renewed popularity in the 90s when Quentin Tarantino included it on the Jackie Brown soundtrack.

I like this song.  It’s great driving music and it sounds like something that a vampire would actually listen to.

Horror Scenes That I Love: The Hospital Battle from Zombi 2


In this scene from 1979’s Zombi 2, a group of humans try to destroy the zombies that are invading a small hospital on an isolated island.  Director Lucio Fulci later pointed out, in many interviews, that he used the same clips of Al Cliver throwing a Molotov cocktail and firing a shotgun multiple times in the scene.

Two things to note about this scene:

First off, it captures what is truly scary about zombies.  They are relentless.  They do not stop coming.  No matter how many you destroy, there’s always another one following behind it.

Secondly, Italian zombies actually looked like decaying walking corpses that are on the verge of falling apart.  That was one huge difference between the Italian zombie films and many of the ones that were made in America.

4 Shots From 4 Horror Films: October 23rd


4 Shots From 4 Films is just what it says it is, 4 shots from 4 of our favorite films. As opposed to the reviews and recaps that we usually post, 4 Shots From 4 Films lets the visuals do the talking!

4 Shots From 4 Horror Films: October 23rd

The Evil Dead (1981, dir by Sam Raimi, DP: Tim Philo)

Army of Darkness (1992, dir by Sam Raimi, DP: Bill Pope)

The Gift (2000, dir by Sam Raimi, DP: Jamie Anderson)

Drag Me To Hell (2009, dir by Sam Raimi, DP: Peter Deming)

Polaroid, Short Film Review by Case Wright


We begin with a Gen-Z guy going through old boxes and he finds a polaroid camera. He starts taking pictures and sees a demon in the photograph. So, he decides to move out and flees for his safety with just the clothes on his back. Or, he gets out and chases content on youtube to get rich. Instead of all of those smart things, he takes another photo.

When confronted with a demon from another dimension, which you are slowly unleashing into our world, and are being not at all concerned with the well-being of anyone else who could be affected by your shenanigans, it’s PICTURE TIME! You’re gonna Ansel Adams on this B!%#&H!

I just did not care that this protagonist died. What a gigantic tool! I have a headline for this one:
Gigantic Tool Dies By Stupid.

Music Video of the Day: Fear of the Dark by Iron Maiden (1992, directed by Samuel Bayer)


Fear of the Dark, a song about a man who is scared of the dark, was based on the a very real fear that is held by Iron Maiden founder/bassist/songwriter Steve Harris.  The song served as the title track for Iron Maiden’s ninth studio album and it’s gone on to become one of the band’s best known songs.

The video was directed by Samuel Bayer, who was another one of those music video directors who worked with everyone and who made a huge cultural impact even if most of the people who enjoyed his work never learned his name.  Among the other videos that Bayer directed: Garbage’s Only Happy When It Rains, Melissa Etheridge’s Come To My Window, LL Cool J’s Father, and Nirvana’s Smells Like Teen Spirit.

Enjoy!