The Killer Shrews is a ultra super low budget horror film from 1959 that's surprisingly about giant mutated killer shrews. Let's look at the trailer...
The shrews are mostly played by dogs dressed in what looks like burlap and discarded hula skirts. There's also a puppet sometimes, but neither the puppet or dogs look much like shrews. So for my animation I've used actual shrew art...
Maybe you heard about this since it's gotten a lot of press over the years.
The town of Woodsboro was the unfortunate home of a series of horrible murders in 1996, 1997 and 2000.
I just happened to visit the tragic town this past summer. Although Woodsboro is in California - nearly 2000 miles from where I live, the trip felt as close as my own hometown or maybe the town next to mine. Weird.
Anyway, as you can see from these banners, Woodsboro has an active arts community...
... and if read the center banner, Woodsboro is "Hometown America" not "Stabbing Town America."
For some reason the Woodsboro Police Station was a popular tourist spot. Parents were taking pictures of their children in front of the station. I hope it doesn't have anything to do with the murders because that's kinda ghoulish.
Well, with last murders happening 10 years ago I think it's safe to say the town of Woodsboro can put those ugly events behind them, and look towards a bright and psychopathic murder free future.
Yes it's time for another Channel 12 holiday promo (you can check out my Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter and Valentine's promos if you'd like to see more)...
I remember thinking this was an epic production way back when. I made the candelabras, the gravestones, Lover's Lane sign and a cobweb machine (which I explained how to make here). Today you can buy a fog machine at the corner drugstore for about $19.99, but back then they were a bit more rare. I borrowed mine from the local fire department. Did it all turn out perfect? No, but I was pretty satisfied with the results.
Dennis Moylan played the faux horror movie host Sir K. Daver. Looking back, I'm thinking I should have given Dennis some sort of ghoulish makeup to wear to make him look cadaverous.
Bob Hamlin, (who played the Pilgrim in my Thanksgiving promo) played the Zombie. Bob Zimmerman and Sue Duminsky play the high school lovers. Bob and Sue had never met before the shoot, and I forced them to kiss on camera. I still feel kinda dirty about it to this day.
Here's a scary poster from the June 1975 issue of Dynamite magazine...
This psychedelic image of Christopher Lee from the Horror of Dracula (1958) wasn't just something you were supposed to stare at with your black light on, nope it was part of a party game. It's a monster variation of "Pin the Tail on the Donkey" called "Pin the Fangs on the Vampire."
A quick Google search has informed me that this game is still being played - particularly if you're planning a vampire themed party. Athough I think at today's parties the image of Dracula is being replaced with one of Edward Cullen.
The Beast With a Million Eyes is a movie from 1955 about an alien entity taking over the minds of earth creatures. Check out the movie clips below...
Supposedly, the alien was never going to be a shown on screen, but that changed after the movie was screened for exhibitors who demanded to see a monster. Heck, there's a monster on the movie's poster after all. So with very little money to work with the job went to the talented Paul Blaisdell. Blaisdell who designed an articulated puppet which looked nothing like the creature in the poster art.
The "Beast" from The Beast With a Million Eyes
Blaisdell went on to create some very iconic low-budget movie monsters like the She Creature and the Saucer Men. Anyways, people who went to see The Beast With a Million Eyes never saw the monster on the poster in action until now...
I took some shorts cuts with this animation. For example I don't have the time to animate each tentacle on the creature's face. Since the woman was wearing sexy lingerie suitable for the bedroom, I thought I'd start her off sleeping. She and the monster are in some sort of vague abstract environment (is that fog, sand or snow at the bottom?) so maybe she's still dreaming.
Last year I ran a series of posts about 3D glasses. Most of the 3D glasses I have were from TV promotions, and here's a flier for one such promotion - Revenge of the Creature...
Farmer Jack was a once popular, but now defunct Metro Detroit based supermarket chain. I can't find a single Farmer Jack commercial on YouTube, but someone called Skiz316 has uploaded the entire Farmer Jack jingle...
It's time for another one of my very popular "scary" music video posts that have become the talk of the Internets...
Jeopardy by the Greg Kihn Band was released March of 1983 according to Wiki. The Wiki also says Michael Jackson's Thriller video was released December 2, 1983. If this is correct it's interesting to note that Greg Kihn came out with a zombie music video 10 months before Michael. Michael went on to became a music superstar, and this was Greg Kihn's only #1 hit. Maybe if the zombies in Jeopardy had the dance skills of the Thriller zombies things might have been different.
Also Jeopardy is a true music video - it was actually shot on video...
Now here's a video that's a little more current, Back Against The Wall by Cage The Elephant isn't trying to overtly scary like Jeopardy. It's just plain creepy, but it's also one of my favorite songs released this year...
Do those ugly garden gnomes look familiar to anyone? I think they resemble the scary little creatures from the 70's TV movie Don't Be Afraid of the Dark.
... and if read the center banner, Woodsboro is "Hometown America" not "Stabbing Town America."
For some reason the Woodsboro Police Station was a popular tourist spot. Parents were taking pictures of their children in front of the station. I hope it doesn't have anything to do with the murders because that's kinda ghoulish.
Well, with last murders happening 10 years ago I think it's safe to say the town of Woodsboro can put those ugly events behind them, and look towards a bright and psychopathic murder free future.
The "Beast" from The Beast With a Million Eyes
Farmer Jack was a once popular, but now defunct Metro Detroit based supermarket chain. I can't find a single Farmer Jack commercial on YouTube, but someone called Skiz316 has uploaded the entire Farmer Jack jingle...
