Horror Camps most celebrated of holidays has arrived once again. Not to be outdone we at Horror Camp have blown our entire seasonal budget in order to celebrate this most joyous of occasions. Did we spend it on Party Favors, Funny Hats, Candy maybe? No, we rented the most expensive Hi-def Projection equipment and most pixelizing blu-ray media entertainment our meager budget can afford.
That's right Horror Camp plans on celebrating the entire holiday weekend, watching the newest and latest Hi-def that is currentlly availiable to rent from your local video stores. We're going to let that old VHS equipment gather another layer of dust, as we settle in and experience splatter and gore in glorious 1080p.
Be sure to check in periodically over the weekend to see reviews of new contemporary films, that we at Horror Camp would otherwise be unable to view. Enjoy the Holidays, limit your demon summoning rituals to one a day, and try not to pilfer to much from your little monster's treat basket.
Happy Viewings and Happy Halloween from your Head Conselor. NILBOG!
photo uploaded by deedeeflower from fanpop.com
Tags: Halloween, Movie Night at the Rec Hall, Camp Announcements
There was a feel good
movie about a group of social misfits banding together to confront a threat
that adults don’t understand while getting into adventures set to a rockin 80’s
soundtrack. That movie was of course the goonies. But shortly after the goonies
there was the monster squad. Released in ’87, The Monster Squad
is the feel good adventure romp that squared a group of kids who preferred
monster lore to studying their science books. These kids get mixed up in a plot
for the undead legions of monsters to overthrow the balance of good and evil,
led by the undead king of the night, Dracula himself.
Although Dracula and vampires are making
quite a comeback, (and they’ve never been more sexy) with shows such as, Twilight, True Blood, and the new Dracula series, which places Dracula in
a more stylized and seductive era. The Movie “Monster Squad” place Dracula at
the height of his power, commanding dominion over all the lesser forms of the
undead, and decked out in his very stylish Victorian era suit and black cape,
red liner included. It’s very striking.
Dracula in an effort to
tip the scales of good and evil plans to destroy an indestructible amulet,
which is the epitome of total good, at its weakest moment which comes once
every hundred years. That nosey adventurer Van Helsing has
other plans and crashes the party to incite an ancient ritual that causes the
amulet to tear a hole into the very fabric of time and space to create a portal
to limbo which will banish all evil from our plane of existence. That was over
a hundred years ago.
Cut to modern day, it
is now 1987, Dracula is back and summons the creatures of the night, such as
the wolfman, the mummy, Frankenstein’s monster, and the Creature from the Black
Lagoon, in an attempt to reacquire the amulet and destroy it, so his kind can
take back the night and rule it unopposed for millennia to come. So who can
stop such a star powered cadre of evil, the police, the army, the national
guard? No way, only a group of junior high kids and their dog can recognize and
handle this threat effectively. That’s right when monsters strike it’s time to
call in the monster squad.
But not all is as
hopeless as it seems, the monster squad is composed of some real heavy hitters.
You have Sean, the no-nonsense leader of the group who is the first to
recognize this threat for what it really is, his best friend Patrick who’s hot
older sister is constantly in a state of
dress/undress at the window across from
the club’s tree fort, Fat Kid, aka My name is Horace, whose hunger and constant
apprehensive whining comes in handy at the oddest intervals, and Rudy, quite
unarguably the coolest kid in junior high, decked out in his leather jacket,
fingerless gloves, and dark sunglasses. I know, I know why would a cool kid
like Rudy be hanging out with these misfits, but just remember what I said about
Patrick’s older sister constantly undressing next to their tree fort and it
starts to make sense.
They pick up more
members along the way like Creepy German Guy, who’s is really not as scary as
everyone thinks, Eugene, the best
dressed 7yr old I’ve ever come across( those robotech PJ’s are awesome), and Phoebe,
Sean’s supposedly annoying little sister, who’s friendship with Frankenstein
and virginity are crucial to the movies finale. Phoebe is played awesomely by
Ashley Bank, whose scream could rival that of the late Carrie Henn of the
Aliens franchise.
Suffice it to say this
group deftly and comedicly outmaneuvers the machinations of Dracula and his
cadre of evil in the Movie Monster Squad and has to be the feel-good kids action
adventure romp of that time. You won’t find movies of this type out in theaters
these days, which is why it is perfect to show at Horror Camp. Although
suffering from some slight potty mouth, the flick is age-appropriate for junior
high kids. The special effects and monster costumes are awesome, a modern (or
so to say 1987 modern) tribute to the costumes utilized in the creature feature flicks
that spawned these ghouls back in the 30’s and 40’s.
Monster Squad is absolutely enjoyable, and I
can think of no reasons not to watch it, so if you missed the screening at
Horror Camp rent or stream a copy for yourself. I believe it is being feature
on Comcast’s OnDemand for the remainder of the month. Check it out and let us know how Monster Squad
made you feel.
The Movie Trailer
Tags: Monster Squad,
Movie Night at the Rec Hall, Dracula, Wolfman, Frankenstein
General Mill's Monsters are overtaking the cereal ailses
This time of year we see all kinds of seasonal
product placements, but none are more welcome to the kiddie campers at Horror
camp than GM’ s release of their Monster
line of Breakfast cereals.
Although Count Chocula can be procured year round,
this is the one time of the year where he is joined by a legion of undead brethren,
Frankenberry, BooBerry, YummyMummy, and the lesser known FruteBrute (He’s a
werewolf). This will be the only time of the year you can find this veritable Monster Squad of
horror baddies in your cereal aisle.
You can pick these up in their new modern packaging
at many grocery stores near you.If you
are really lucky you can find them in their retroactive boxes of yesteryear.
The old packaging that we all love and remember when these commodities were
available year round, (at least boo berry, and frankenberry were when I was a
kid). While out on town shopping for the weekly camper’s breakfast budget I
spied some of the retro boxes at Target.
This is the only time of year you’ll see these
baddies available to purchase so pick yours up soon before they return to their
graves from whence they were spawned, to sleep the sleep of the dead until they
return again next year.
Tags: Dracula, Frankenstein, Ghost, Mummy, Tales from the Mess Hall, Wolf Man, GM Monsters, Monster Squad, Horror Camp
With the recent commercial
success of the zombie franchise, with hits like The Walking Dead or World War Z, we at Horror Camp wants
to roll back the clock to a time when zombie flicks weren’t adrenaline-pumped over
the top human emotional dramas. That’s why this week we are screening the 1990 remake of the horror
classic “Night of the Living Dead”.
With the ‘68 version of
the Romero
classic being the grandfather of the modern zombie flick, and required watching
of all attendants of Horror Camp. We chose to focus on the lesser known re-vamp
that came out in 1990 for several reasons. First, it is the directorial film
debut of Tom Savini,
the legendary SFX man of the 1980’s who worked on many of Romero’s other “dead”
franchise series. Second it drastically re-explores (in an almost subtle and
imperceivable way, that you would never notice) the roles of Ben
and Barbara,
characters from the first film that, incidentally and unintentionally, fell into
racial and sexist profiling in the original. And Third it’s an awesome flick
that celebrates the most classic of horror movie arguments, Are we safer barricaded
in the basement or better off upstairs.
Although written off by
movie critics at the time, such as Siskel and Ebert, who
claim that the remake offers little to the franchise, I personally disagree. Although
the full color slow-walking zombies are certainly tame by modern standards of
the franchise, it really speaks volumes to the living cast who have to deal
with an unknown situation and make human mistakes, people who make failings
when forced to communicate with fellow survivors, who come from different
social standings and cultural backgrounds.
What makes NOTLD 90
remake shine is the interplay of the cast. Real sensible arguments emerge from
people who have no idea what is happening to them, and although at this stage
of zombie development it seems everyone has made some sort of what-if scenario
for when the dead rise and walk the earth again, it’s refreshing to see a movie
that treats the issue as if the dead walking were an inconceivable and foreign
concept.
We at Horror Camp fully
endorse this movie, not as a replacement of the original, but as a complement
to Romero’s classic. It’s strong sentiment to the spirit of humanity, that good
men make selfish decisions to protect his loved ones, or that when its decision
time it's the man with the gun who calls the shots regardless of democratic consensus,
really speak volume to the zombie genre. Especially, when current zombie movies
project the protagonist in the hero’s role, and the bad guy always gets served
his comeuppance in the final act, I feel it’s nice to see a zombie flick that
can address these issues without the standard storytelling rhetoric.
So Check out the 1990’s
remake of The Night of the Living Dead, and let me know if you thought the experience
to be laughable or if you could see the diamond in the rough like I have, in a
great and wonderfully acted homage to the original. Happy Viewings from your
Head Counselor.
The Original Trailer
The Full Movie.
Tags: Movie Night at the Rec Hall, NOTLD, NOTLD 1990, Night of the living dead, Zombies, Horror Camp
Last week, Horror Camp
had an unseasonable plague of swarming cat-sized flesh-eating locusts, which
was strange because we usually get the locusts sometime in late July. But due
to the unseasonable attack we packed up our bags and went on a field trip up to
South Central Michigan to our Sister Camp, Camp
Talahi to help ring in their annual fall festival.
Camp Talahi, unlike
Horror Camp, is a real camp that offers week long sleep away camp activities to
children of all ages throughout the summer, and fosters a real sense of
community amongst its members while instilling faith through the teachings of
the United Church of Christ. Although not a
member of the UCC myself, Camp Talahi extends membership to all practicing creeds
and faiths.
Located ten miles away
from Hell, (look it up if you don’t
believe me.) Camp Talahi can get a little eerie this time of year, which makes
it the perfect time for their annual fall festival. The activities included
this year were teen dance and sleepover retreat, followed by an open house the
next day that offered a Hay ride, Haunted Arts and Mad Science cabin, Hay Maze,
and a Haunted Dormitory.
Naturally, I had to
tour the haunted dormitory and was surprised to see some new additions were
made from last year such as, haunted scarecrow, creepy doctor pushing death in
a wheelchair, and what appeared to be an irate chainsaw-wielding maniac
who proceeded to chase us out of the dorm. Not the most theatrical haunted
house I’ve attended, but really a bang-up effort by the staff and worth the one
dollar admission. It was unfortunate I couldn’t take pictures but I managed to
snap one off while running for my life.
Don't run! Knock him out with the Fire Extinguisher!
After the dorm, I
attended the Mad Scientists presentation, where possessed balloons inflated
themselves, which turned out not to be demonic and only an adverse reaction
between pop-rocks and coke. I also saw the scientists re-animate dead gummy
worms, using vinegar and some unnamed secret concoction, which turned out to be baking soda and water. Last but not least,
they had a miniaturized trebuchet to chuck miniature pumpkin candies which was
surprising effective.
Science will make those gummy worms live once more!
All in all, a good time
was had by both the volunteers and guests of Camp Talahi. It can occasionally
be nice to get away from the craziness of Horror Camp, and see how things
operate in a real camp setting. But we don’t want to stay away from Horror Camp
for too long. Make sure to check back in tomorrow for Movie Night at the Rec
Hall.
Tags: Camp Talahi, Mad Scientists, Chainsaw wielding maniac, Horror camp on the road, Horror Camp
This week at Horror Camp we
are watching the 1983 Cronenberg cult
classic Videodrome.
Although not a true horror movie in the strictest sense, the movie’s ominous
tone, disturbing visuals, and absolutely abstract concept leave no choice but
to lump the film into the horror category.
Videodrome stars James Wood, who
takes the role of Max Renn, a sleazy public access television producer looking
for the next shocking wave of entertainment to satisfy his audience’s desires
for more extreme sex and violence. Renn stumbles across a pirate feed of a show
known only as “Videodrome” which appears to be a low-budget production
featuring horrible brutality and torture. Convinced that this shocking imagery
will be the next big wave he pursues the origins of the Videodrome program only
to find it is shrouded in shadow and conspiracy.
Things start to get weird as
Max starts to openly hallucinate anytime he begins to watch the program. His television
set begins to speak to him, and his body itself begins to change around him,
which make for some pretty involved and amazing pre-CGI special effects. It is
later revealed that Videodrome itself is a new tool the government is working
on to brainwash and reprogram it’s viewers into becoming government sleeper
agents, and Max Renn finds himself on opposing sides between the government
conspirators and the original developers of Videodrome who try to strike back
at the brainwashers from the shadows.
Co-starring the lovely Deborah Harry
(better known as Blondie), as Max’s “good girl into some freaky stuff
girlfriend”, who plays an awesome role as Max’s own personal seducer and
tormentor in one of her first crossover roles into film. Videodrome brings a new standard of acting not
commonly seen in horror movies, that, without the powerful acting of its cast
would leave the movie to fall flat on its face.
So why show Videodrome at
Horror Camp? Well because we want our campers to realize that with too much
mainstream violence they too can be transformed into gun-wielding nonsense-spewing
government assassins, and as dated as the films technology was, the concepts of
videodrome actually carry more weight today than they did in ’83. With digital technology
one can almost live a more real and visceral life as an online personality than
they would in physical reality, when one views videodrome under these
constraints the movie can be viewed as revolutionary and before it’s time.
For those campers who couldn’t
make it out to the showing, or would prefer a film a little more contemporary,
that can be viewed in stunning eye-bleeding visuals that are rendered in
glorious high definition 1080p, I suggest a recent film that just came out this
last September, called Branded. Similar to Videodrome, Branded explores corporate mind-control, as
corporations muck around with the coding of the human mind to promote brand
placement. From the preview it appears that the protagonist can see past the
veil of this reality, resulting in him being pursued by logo bearing
transformer monsters of some sort. I haven’t had a chance to see it yet being
stuck at the camp, but it is definitely on my watch list.
So check out the trailers to
both flicks below and tell me if you’ve viewed either of these movies and if
they have any similarities? Until next time your head counselor wishes you
happy viewings and good health.
Videodrome
Branded
Tags: Movie Night at the Rec
Hall, Videodrome, Branded
We have a tradition at
Horror Camp where every Saturday we gather all the campers and counselors into
the main reception hall, barricade the doors shut, dust off the old cathode ray
television set, and play one of our classic horror flicks in glorious VHS format.
We do this for 2 very
important reasons: One we love and can’t get enough of our beloved horror
movies! And Two the creepy crawlies around camp seem to get restless every
Saturday night and really make a go at trying to eviscerate any of the staff
they can get their hands on.
So come join us every
Saturday Night for Movie Night at the Rec Hall. Where you too can bask in the
comforting glow of television, crank up the volume (so we can’t hear the sound
of claws raking across the doors and windows outside), and enjoy a true horror
classic at the Horror Camp. Believe me
you don’t want to deal with the alternative…..
Tags: Camp Announcements, Movie Night at the Rec Hall, Horror Camp,
The occasional sunset provides that rarest of moments, the quiet contemplation one feels before the last flicker of light is snuffed out.
When you’re being
chased by psychopaths, escaped lunatics, and overgrown beasts with the taste
for human flesh you don’t have much time to think about things other than
running for your life. But on that rare occasion you have a moment like this,
when the sunlight is waning in its last hour, the waters are stilled, and every
breath is sweeter than the one before because you are still alive.
Although not a true
picture of horror camp (which can’t be provided due to legal reasons, and the
fact that horror camp is only a fictionalized account of a real camp that doesn’t
really exist), we really have to give credit to Aftab Uzzaman of flickr for
catching such a serene moment representative of a sunset on the Horror Camp.
So I put it to you my
fellow campers, when that last bit of light disappears what kind of ancient
evil will come slithering out of the lake? Will it be a mutated alligator, a
troop of humanoid frog men, or some sneaky merman who tickles the feet of
unwary skinny
dippers before cutting off their pinky toes for some demented toe necklace?
Let us know what you
feel lurks at the bottom of the lake, and feel free to embellish. We have a
saying at Horror Camp, “True horror lies at the center of an overactive
imagination.” Tags: Scenes from around the Camp, Lake, Skinny Dippers, Sunset
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