My Halloweens 1997-2010 (Plus a Couple of Extras)

Hey everyone. I want to thank everyone who made last weeks first past of My Halloweens so successful. I hope you enjoy seeing the rest of the pics that I've dug up for you. To start off I want to put up a couple more early shots that my mom dug up.

1983 I love this picture. I was definitely trying to do my best Bela Lugosi here, but the black and white bow tie (that some readers may recall from last week) is holding me back.

Here's another shot from around 84 or 85. I did used to love me some Zorro! ....and the Hamburglar!

Here's the last old picture, from 1986. I didn't know it at the time, but I may have been going as Peter Murphy.

Now down to business. When we last met, I left you with the image of the mullet-pyre. There's quite a few years in between where I either didn't dress up or I don't have pictures so we'll pick it up with 1997.
You would think that would be the most embarrassing thing I would release of myself would be the mullet-pyre, but don't be silly. I worked a seasonal job at a Halloween store, and this was my bonus. I don't know what possessed me to want this costume, but I did.

In 1998, I worked at the Halloween store again, and decided on going low tech and high concept by dressing as Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards. This was mostly so I didn't have to talk intelligibly to anyone all day long. Most folks wanted to know if I was Ozzy Osborne

In 2002, I chose a costume from one of my favorite TV shows, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. That's right I'm a Trekkie and a Niner as well. Despite being a prepackaged costume, these things are devilishly comfortable, bring on the Eugenics wars so I can start dressing like this all the time.

I'm going to say that this photo comes from around 2003 or so. One of our friends used to have a rather kick ass Halloween party which we got the pleasure of attending a few times. This first year I went as RUN from RUN DMC while my lovely wife went as the vampire bunny, Bunnicula.

The nest time we went to out friends party (I want to say this was 2005) I found a rare gem, a prepackaged costume that I really liked. I had always wanted to be Arthur, King of the Britons.

For the next couple of years we didn't do anything special on the holiday that I recall. The last time we dressed up was in 2008 when I went as the living breathing embodiment of "The Lightning Bug" and my wife went as my date, the slasher prom queen.

As for this year, I haven't decided yet, but you can bet your buttons that when I do come up with a costume, I'll be happy to share it with you folks. Thank everyone for taking this stroll down memory lane with me, and I hope it brought back memories of all your great Halloweens in years gone by. Stick around because the Halloween Top 13 starts in just 2 days. I still need some submissions to get to 13 reader lists so check out out link for details.

My Halloweens 1976-1993

Hey folks. I've been meaning to do this for the last couple of years and I never got around to it. With the help of my dear mother, I have dug up all the Halloween pictures I could come up with going back to when I wasn't even a year old. This week I'm going to start at the beginning and go through early school. Next week, I'll come back with Part 2 and costumes from high school and beyond. Without further adieu, lets get started.

1976- The year of my birth. So I must have been about two months old here. I don't know what I was supposed to be, a small animal of some kind I expect. I also look like I might have just passed gas here so I feel bad for my Aunt who is holding me.

1977- So I was a one year old by then, and so I fit nicely into a pillowcase to be a ghost. In case someone didn't know what I was thankfully I had the helpful word 'Boo' on me. Hmm, maybe I was going as the sound 'Boo' that is very innovative for a one year old.

1978- Mickey Mouse. Now I never knew the Mouse to wear checked pants, but I used to love these kind of costumes when I was a kid. This was the standard. The soft, hot plastic suit and a hard plastic mask that would dig in your face. Ahhh, memories.

1979 Look out! Here comes the Spider Man!

1980- Oscar the Grouch- It took a special kid to want to go as a mean thing that lived in a can of garbage. I was that kid.

1981- Now this is a guess because these were not dated, but I'm pretty sure it has to be 1981. I had jsut started getting into Universal monsters thanks to Super 8 films we checked out of the library. I also have fond memories of my folks dressing up this year as a couple of tramps. As I recall my face was painted to match theirs under my mask.

1982- The first year that I was a vampire, and by vampire, I meant Bela Lugosi. For the next few years I did this costume over and over, but I don't seem to have pictures for all the years. As I recall, it was pretty similar, and don't fret because we'll pick up the theme later on again

1987 or 88 I couldn't tell you which, but I was at a Halloween fair at my Grandmother's church. I think I was mixing my clowns here. Big pants, Graucho glasses, and Chaplin's bowler.

1988 or 89 Not sure which again, but I know this was my buddy Micheal. It's like the really low budget, prehistoric version of True Blood.

1990 Getting ready to head out to a showing of Rocky Horror Picture Show at the Greenville Memorial Auditorium. It was probably the first time the film had been shown in Greenville for 20 years, and the whole event degraded into a food fight. You can see the difference in the before and after shot.

1992 The first year of high school, and I was on my way out probably to the mall to hang out and look like a vampire with a mullet.

 That brings us to a close of part one. I hope you join me next week when the costumes get perhaps more embarrassing. Stay tuned to find out!

The LBL 5 Year B-Day Special: Something Wicked This Way Comes (1984)

Horror fans often wonder why we don’t see films that scare us like they did when we were kids, and here’s the rub, we do. They just don’t have the same fright factor anymore. When I was a youngster, I got into horror through one of the more innocent portals into the genre, the Universal monster movies. These were my first impressions of Dracula, Frankenstein, the Wolfman, and The Phantom of the Opera, and even after watching them on a grainy TV viewing, a low quality VHS, or on a condensed version made for Super 8 film, these movies still gave me the chills. I loved to get the big oversized film books and pour over pictures of creatures like The Golem or Dr. Phibes, scaring myself with their images long before I saw the movie. I've waxed poetic about my youth as a horror fan many times on The Lair, and I won’t take any more time here except to say that these films used to really, really scare me. While Dracula remains my favorite vampire movie and Bela Lugosi’s shining moment, the thought that a bat that turned into Bela might show up in my boudoir now seems ludicrous. Yet there was a time that even though I knew they were movies, I believed.

What is Movemeber and Why Is There a Bugg In It?

Halloween is finally behind us, resting in its October grave for another 365 days, and with it, the Bigger and Badder monsters and all the assorted horrors of the spookiest of months fall into the LBL Vaults. Now we come to a month that means many things to many people. Fall is completely in swing and the leaves begin to fall. Thanksgiving is hanging around in just a couple of weeks, and that means that Christmas isn't too awfully far behind. November also brings in another important event, one I will be taking part in this year. Sometimes called No Shave November, the event known as Movember was originally founded by Australians in 2003. There were only 30 of them that participated then, growing out their moustaches, or Mo's in the Aussie parlance, and collecting funds from their friends to donate to Prostate and Testicular Cancer research and initiatives. In 2011, that number had grown to 854,000, and it had also spawned a number of spin off groups in other countries with a similar purpose. Here's a little blurb from Movember to tell you a little more specifically what the event is about 

During November each year, Movember is responsible for the sprouting of moustaches on thousands of men’s faces, in the US and around the world. With their Mo's, these men raise vital awareness and funds for men's health issues, specifically prostate and testicular cancer initiatives. Once registered at www.movember.com, men start Movember 1st clean shaven. For the rest of the month, these selfless and generous men, known as Mo Bros, groom, trim and wax their way into the annals of fine moustachery. Supported by the women in their lives, Mo Sistas, Movember Mo Bros raise funds by seeking out sponsorship for their Mo-growing efforts.

So what does all this mean for the LBL this month? It means very simply that I will be both participating in the Movember event myself and joining in here at the Lair. While I am clean shaven today, the banner up top has sprouted quite a 'stache overnight, and throughout the month I will be turning the reviews toward all the best moustaches ever on film. So expect to see some Burt, some Sam, some Charlie, some William, maybe a dose of Franco, and many, many more of the mustachioed men of cinema. All I ask is that if you like what I am doing, please throw a few dollars in the donation jar which you can find by clicking on the "'Stache is King'" button at the top right. I've set a goal of $200.00 by the month's end, and I know you loyal Lair-ers will do your part. Every dollar, half dollar, quarter dollar, etc. all helps.

I'll kick things off tomorrow with a review of a tough, mustache sporting fellow, but the real tough fellows out there are the ones who are fighting men's health issues like testicular and prostate cancers. While I have never known anyone personally with these issues, I have suffered from some health issues of my own in the last year. This gave me pause to think about the fact that I am getting older, and my health, and the health of all my pals, should be a concern. Hopefully, by raising awareness and donations for research, none of my friends or readers is every touched by these kind of issues. So while I do my small part, on my face as well as here at The LBL, I hope some of you will join me. Even if you can't donate, please, help me spread the word across the web by reposting this to your blog or social network. Thank you all for your time, and the next time you see me, I'll be helping make flavor savors into life savers.

Joe R. Lansdale's Christmas with the Dead: New Poster and Trailer

Hey folks. While it's not even Halloween yet, that doesn't mean it's not time to look forward to Christmas, especially with the Dead. Back in December 2010, I first talked about Joe R. Lansdale's Christmas with the Dead over at the Bloodsprayer, and you can check out the original press release for the film HERE, and then in February of the next year I got a chance to hear a little more about the film and check out two more teaser posters for the film and another press release you can see HERE.. Well, finally, after much waiting Christmas with the Dead is starting to hit the festival circuit, and that means another new poster as you see to the left and, better yet, a trailer for the film.

Christmas with the Dead was Executive Produced by Joe R. Lansdale (Bubba Ho-Tep, The Drive-In), directed by Terrill Lee Lankford, with a screenplay by Keith Lansdale,and starring Damian Maffei (Closed for the Season), Brad Maule (General Hospital), and Chet Williamson.The synopsis from the official website reads, "“It was a foolish thing to do, and Calvin had not bothered with it the past two years, not since the death of his wife and child. But this year he decided quite suddenly, that tomorrow was Christmas Eve. And zombies be damned, the lights and decorations are going up.” Check out the trailer, and stay tuned to The LBL for more news on Christmas with the Dead as it becomes available, and I'll see all you folks later today for another horror review. 

The Lair Interview: Grave Encounters 2 Director John Poliquin

Last Monday to kick off October, I got an early look at Grave Encounters 2. Well, back then I told you it wasn't the last you would hear about the film this month, and I’m back today with that other part. I was lucky enough to get a few minutes to sit down and ask questions of John Poliquin, the first time director at the helm of Grave Encounters 2. So read on, and find out a few things about the movie, a little bit about John, and what Wall Street could have to do with it all.

T.L. Bugg: You took over directing duties from The Vicious Brothers with Grave Encounters 2. What was your approach to the sequel and did it remain a collaborative effort?

John Poliquin : Yeah, yeah, it definitely was. They were on set every day most days, actually they were on set every day but  they were editing in a room. So they were involved from pre-production all the way until delivery. So it was definitely collaborative. My approach was basically I wanted to maintain the style and a lot of the vibe and what worked on the first film but bring my own style to the second film. New but familiar was really what I wanted so it felt fresh but still like a Grave Encounters movie.

Paracinema, VTSS, and Other Places I'm Buggin' Out

It's occurred to me lately that I've actually been making appearances in many places outside of The Lair, and in case I haven't bothered you on Facebook or Twitter about all the wonderful places you can keep up with me, I thought I'd do a little round-up here. First up is my favorite genre magazine run by my favorite couple, Christine and Dylan, and I'm talking Paracinema Magazine.  

The new issue of Paracinema is up for pre-order now, and aside from the kick ass cover story on Ken Russell's The Devils, there's a piece on porn parodies, an article from The Lair's good pal Matt House of Chuck Norris Ate My Baby. and a little something from me (shameless bolding for my own ego stroking) about the Bob Dylan flick Masked and Anonymous. So pick up your copy today!

RIP Peter Bergman (1939-2012) or There's One Less Bozo on This Bus

Yesterday, while listening to Penn's Sunday School, a podcast from the very opinionated Penn Gilette, I learned some very tragic news. It seems one of my personal heroes had succumbed to a long battle with leukemia and he was no longer with us. The man I'm talking about is Peter Bergman,  a founding member of The Firesign Theater. If you're of a certain age (read older than me), you might remember Firesign from their series of surreal, award winning albums from the 70s such as Were All Bozos on this Bus, Waiting on the Electrician or Somebody Like Him, Don't Crush that Dwarf Hand Me the Pliers, Dear Friends, and How Can You Be in Two Places at Once When You're Not Anywhere at All. Each of these albums pioneered a style of improvisational comedy, took stoner humor to an intellectual level, and proved that comedy records could be as relistenable as your favorite rock record.

Count the Countdowns: The Past 3 Halloween Top 13s

Hello folks. Tomorrow begins the Halloween Top 13: The Devil Made Me Do It spotlighting thirteen devilish, demonic movies that possess me. (And you can too, click above or to the right to find out how!) I can't wait to get that started, but before we begin, let's take a look at where we've been. This year will be my fourth Halloween countdown, and I thought that today we might look back over the selections I've picked over the last three years. There's no better place to start than the beginning so let's flash back to the often duplicated, never replicated Halloween Top 13!

Halloween Top 13

13. Friday the 13th part 1: Mother knows best!

12. Transylvania 6-5000 (1985) The Grandaddy of the horror-comedy.

11. Zombi 2 (1979) Zombie vs Shark vs Awesome Decision: Draw

10. The Bride of Frankenstien (1935) Some marriages are a scream.

9. Fright Night (1985) No Farrell, No Dr. Who, all classic goodness.

8. Plan 9 from Outer Space (1959) - The Worst movie everyone should love.

7. Basket Case (1982)  What's in the basket? The number 7 movie on the countdown

6 Hellraiser (1987) Jesus wept cause this movie is so good.

5. Madhouse (1974) - Vincent Price + giallo lite = Happiness.

4. Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) - Freddy when he was scary.

3. Night of the Living Dead (1968) - The dead rise for the first time.

2. Army of Darkness (1992) - Give me some sugar baby. 

1. Dracula (1931) - You can't beat Bela. 

The next year the Halloween Top 13 returned as 

Halloween Top 13: The Sequel

13. House 2: The Second Story (1987) Move in and freak out!

12. Hellbound: Hellraiser II (1988) Pinhead is back and he's ready to get to the point. 

11. Halloween III: Season of the Witch - The movie everyone loves to wonder why people hate.

10. Troll 2 (1990) THE Best Worst Movie

9. Sleepaway Camp II: Unhappy Campers - The Boss' sis gets murderous! 

8. Phantasm II (1988) A movie with real balls.

7. Friday the 13th Part 2 (1988) - Like Mother, like son. 

6. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre II - Hopper vs. Leatherface = Bliss

5 Nightmare on Elm Street III: The Dream Warriors- Extra points for Don Dokken.

4. The Devil's Rejects (2005) Tutti fucking fruity.

3. Evil Dead II: Dead by Dawn (1987) Same story, bigger budget, still made the list/

2.  Aliens (1986) Competition against this film is game over, man.

1. Dawn of the Dead (1978) When there's no more room in hell, Romero will make a great flick about it.

And then last year I stitched together the monster known as 

Halloween Top 13: The Remake

13. Friday the 13th (2009) - Jason reboots, does chores, kills people. 

12 House on Haunted Hill (1999) - There's no Vincent Price, but Geoffrey Rush's Mr. Price is close.

11. The Hills Have Eyes (2006) - And so do I for Aja's remake. 

10. The Crazies (2010) - Seth Bullock vs. zombies. I'm in. 

9. Night of the Living Dead (1990) -It will never replace the original, but it keeps coming. 

8. Body Snatchers (1993) Abel Ferrara amps up the paranoia in this Invasion remake.

7. The Ring (2002) I watch too many video tapes for this to not mess with my mind. 

6. Cape Fear (1991) De Niro channels Robert Mitchum and kills

5. Dawn of the Dead (2004) As hipsters would say, I was liking Zack Snyder before it was cool and then no longer cool anymore. 

4. The Blob (1988) It took a ton of special effects to replace one Steve McQueen. 

3. Nosferatu, Phanton der Nacht (1979) Kinski and Herzog remake Murnau's classic.

2. The Fly (1986) Beware arm puking. 

1. The Thing (1982) The O.G. remake. Accept so substitutes. (Or Prequels)

And that brings us up to date. Join me back here tomorrow for #13 on this year's countdown and each day for another until Halloween day. Don't forget you can be a part as well, click here to find out how!

The Boo-b Tube: What's Scary Bad & Terrifyingly Good on TV This Fall

While I normally just wax poetic about movies around here, I do watch a fair amount of TV, and with the new fall season of shows starting. I thought that I would talk a bit about what I was liking and what I could leave behind. Hopefully you folks will find this interesting because there's several shows coming down the pipeline that I want to talk about. Some of them, BBC America's Bedlam and FX's American Ghost Story will surely fit neatly into the horror/cult milieu that I normally cover. I can hardly say the same about this week's selections, but there are quite a number of interesting connections to the world of genre film along the way. Plus, is there a bigger cult out there than television viewers? I think not.

Monday: So far Monday night is one of the slower evenings when it comes to TV with only The Playboy Club capturing my interest. I admit to tuning in to see All The Boys Love Mandy Lane's Amber Heard dressed in a bunny costume, but she's actually the weakest link on the show. Setting  a show in the 60's is a tricky thing. Mad Men have it down, and there's another show on the fall lineup doing it right. While Playboy Club hits the setting, and most of the fashion, Heard's character acts and looks too modern while her co-star Eddy Cibian seems like he's doing a Don Draper impression. Though I've watched two weeks now, and I plan on continuing to watch, The Playboy Club is very much like the place itself, a pretty illusion with little substance. By the way, the real star here is actress Laura Benanti. I hate that I don't get to see her fill out that Bunny outfit anymore, but I love how she fills out her mean girl role as the Bunny mother. 

Might Also Watch: How I Met Your Mother (I'm still a season or two behind.), Dancing with the Stars (Once before Ricki Lake gets kicked off. I make no apologies. She's cute.)

Not Watching: Hawaii 5-0 (I know Dan-O, and you, sir, are no Dan-O.), Two and a Half Men (Never watched it before, Ashton is not changing that.), Gossip Girl (Because despite reports I'm neither a seventeen year old girl or gay.)

Tuesday:  Sarah Michelle Gellar, she's a horror icon thanks to her seven years as vampire slayer Buffy Sommers, and now she's come back to TV with the new CW show Ringer. First off, it is in no way related to the similarly named Johnny Knoxville movie, but it is kind of retarded in it's own way. Gellar plays Bridget, a hooker on the run from testifying for the FBI, who goes to visit her socialite sister Siobhan. When her sister kills herself (not really), Bridget takes over the high life, but finds it's full of as many problems as her old life. The producers stated that they drew inspiration from Blood Simple and old Hollywood Noir, and it shows to an extent. The problem is that those are movies and they exist in a finite space. This story over 90 minutes might be great, but over an estimated 500 minutes may be a stretch. Fans of Gellar will probably enjoy the show, and guys will appreciate that she dresses alternately like Buffy (Bridget) and Cruel Intentions  (Siobhan.) My only question is how one sister got a normal name and the other sounds like a character on Star Trek. 

Might Also Watch : I have the whole night open to only kind of enjoy Ringer.

Not Watching: Any NCIS (I need my show names to be words.), The Biggest Loser (Because no one should be watching this.), Glee (see also Gossip Girl), Man Up! (Shows need to be words, but not be punctuated or lame.), and Body of Proof (My biggest letdown from last season. I love Dana Delany, but that show is Bones without a personality)

Wednesday: Let me say before I go any further that Up All Night is not only the best show that I've seen this season, it easily had one of the best pilot episodes I've ever seen. Will Arnette (Arrested Development) and Christina Applegate (Samantha Who?, Married with Children) not only make a believable couple, they they have chemistry, they're funny, and they seem real. Being in my mid-thirties, I've known quite a few people who've had their first kid, and Up All Night seems to hit pretty close. I have to also give a shout out to Maya Rudolf (SNL, Bridesmaids) as Applegate's Oprah-esque boss. With Micheal Scott off the tube, the small screen needed a new self centered boob and Rudolf has given us one. My favorite part so far, when the new parents admonish themselves for cursing around their kid , but can't help saying how ."f**king beautiful" the kid is. 

On the other hand there were two more pilots I had more difficulty liking. I really wanted to like Free Agents with Hank Azaria (The Simpsons) and Kathryn Hahn (Crossing Jordan). I love both of these actors (and I have a major, major crush on Hahn), but the character's never connected and the show just left me feeling like I had an uncomfortable window into these two people's lives. Not in an Office kind of way either. More like a creep. 

Speaking of creeps, there's plenty of them in the Hamptons. Revenge is the second series with events taking place in the favorite holiday spot of the rich and douchey (Ringer's events also kick off there.). Emily Thorne (Emily VanCamp) has come to the Hamptons to get the titular revenge on a family she blames for the death of her allegedly ponzi scheming dad.  The problem is (and this is with only one episode viewed so far) that so far the show hasn't made me want her to get revenge. If the whole season is going to be geared around this gal sticking it to the bad guys, I need to be rooting for her up front, but instead I was bored and a bit bewildered. 

Might Watch: Law & Order: SVU  (Mariska is still there, but I'll miss Chris.), H8R (Bucking my vowels rule, I'm interested to see this show about celebs confronting their online haters.), America's Top Model: All Stars (On repeats, later. Come on. Don't be a h8r.)

Not Watching: Survivor: South Pacific (Sadly not about a group of folks subjected to an ongoing 30 day stage production of the Rogers and Hammerstein classic.), The X Factor (I was surprised to find this was a talent show and not about the original X-Men reforming as mutants for hire.) , I Hate My Teenage Daughter (Do I Need to Explain?),  Modern Family (The Best thing on TV I have no interest in.)

Thursday: There are so many good programs on Thursday. Community, Parks and Rec, The Office, and Bones all appear on that night. So it makes it all the more unlikely that the couple of shaky pilots I watched will capture my attention. I really wanted Charlie's Angels to be good, but it just wasn't. I've enjoyed many episodes or VIP more. I would have rather watched any episode of SheSpies. So I'm going to give it one more week to move beyond the pilot before I write it off. On the other hand, there's nothing worse than when TV takes a good comic and puts them on a terribly show tenuously tied to their material. While Whitney Cummings wouldn't make my top 10 comics working right now, she's a damn sight better than the unwatchable Whitney made her look. 

Might Watch: Person of Interest (I missed the premiere, but I'm still a titular reference.), 

Wont Watch: Prime Suspect (Real tagline: "Cop. An Attitude." My tagline: "Viewer. Not Interested"), The Secret Circle (It's about witches, but in a Twilight way so I think I'll pass.) 

Friday: Night is alright for fightin', but I haven't seen anything new on it yet. 

Might Watch: Grimm (Mark will watch.)

Won't Watch: Anything else Friday night. 

Saturday: I'm usually watching movies, and so must the rest of the country because not much comes on. 

Sunday: While Up All Night  is the best pilot I've seen this year, the second best actually has a pilot.  I went into this TV season expecting to really like The Playboy Club and be confused by the existence of Pam Am. After watching the premiere episode of the '60's era flying drama, I was really intrigued. Sure, it was a bit disjointed hopping around from Christina Ricci's beatnik Maggie being whisked off to be a special flight's purser ( a term I'm still not sure the definition of), a spy story, a runaway bride, an affair gone bad, and a flashback to rescuing Bay of Pigs prisoners to boot. There was no amount of things going on in the pilot, but it really drew me into the world. While I hope future episodes take a slightly more singular focus, I was still exceedingly impressed with the acting, visual style, and scripting. Pan Am  is a retro show that could actually delve into the same waters as Mad Men. 

Might Watch: Once Upon a Time (Ginifer Goodwin is Snow White, I'm in.), Allen Gregory (an animated show on Fox not by Seth McFarlane, I'll try it.) 

Won't Watch : Football (Cause it's lame.)

Well that about wrap it up for now. Let me know what you think folks. Would you like me to keep on blathering occasionally about the small screen? I promise more review and lots of surprises are coming in October as well. Until next time everyone, don't you go changin' (the channel unless what you're watching is terrible... or football, seriously it needs to go on for 3+ hours?)