Saving Dracula from the Twilight-Tweakers

Tired of all the squeaky, emo-teen vampires? Need your monsters to be, well, monsters?

"Well, one university is taking an academic trip down memory lane with a conference dedicated to "relat[ing] the undead in literature, art, and other media to questions concerning gender, technology, consumption, and social change." Sub-topics for the event include "teen vampire/zombie fiction," "identity politics," and "celluloid vampires: adaptations and incarnations.""

Sounds like fun.

Read the rest of the article.

Splice the New Frankenstien? Try The Island of Dr. Moreau

From Sci Fi Wire:

"The sci-fi movie Splice, starring Adrien Brody and Sarah Polley, is getting a lot of online buzz based on its initial trailer, and director Vincenzo Natali told reporters that the creature feature is a modern-day Frankenstein."

Right. Mixing human and animal DNA...have we forgotten a step in our evolution, Mr. Director?

That's right: H.G. Wells already told that story over 100 years ago. Now, with Guillermo del Toro as producer, I'll try to withhold final judgment. I'm just not a fan of comparisons to Frankenstein being tossed about lightly.

In the Footsteps of Dracula

From the Sacramento Bee...

In the Footsteps of Dracula Author tracked down sites linked to Dracula and Vlad the Impaler

Monstrous Toys for the Kids (and Parents)

Yes, the holiday gift-binge season has passed for another year, but Monsters will always be with us. The kids disappointed with Santa's deliveries?

May I suggest:

Groovy Tube - Monsters: the Hunt and the Capture

The best part? A tube full of plastic monster figures. Yes, all the classics are there...Frankenstein's Monster, Dracula. What makes this tube-o-monsters special is the inclusion of Cthulhu. Get it for less than $14.

Mudpuppy - Magnetic Monster Action Figures.

Build thousands of different monstrous combinations from three sheets of magnetic monster parts on four different backgrounds. The tin is magnetic, so the kids can take this one in the car. Of course...ours are on the refrigerator so Dad can play.

Scooby-Doo Haunted House 3-D Board Game.

Yeah, the ghost makes a ridiculous sound when you push him down. Yeah, the whole thing shakes and pops (it is designed to knock game pieces off, you know). But what makes this game special...it's a 3-D haunted house straight out of Scooby's universe. Tentacles in the pond, a spider, a haunted suit of armor, crazy vampire eyes on a portrait, a mummy who pops out of his sarcophagus...it all adds up to spooky awesomeness. Just make sure to play on a hard surface (like a table).

What I Owe Boris Karloff

I'm know other bloggers have more tidbits from the vaults to share about Mr. Karloff. So I ask myself, what can I bring to the table that's different?

Only my story.

As a senior in high school during the fall of 1992, I purchased a copy of Frankenstein (1931) on VHS. I'd grown up with the monster series from Crestwood Studios, but had never seen the film.

I have always been a fan of dark things. Even though doing so brought nightmares, I watched Nightmare on Elm Street and Friday the 13th with my neighbors, the Sullivans. We played silly games in the basement, games designed to terrify each other. They had a collection of old copies of Fangoria and Famous Monsters of Filmland.

But I hadn't actually seen Karloff in action until I was 17.

Elm Street and Friday the 13th weren't my style. Too much gore. Too little introspection. (Yeah, I was as goofy as a young kid as I am now) But the Monster...under all that make-up, Karloff pulled off pain and longing and betrayal and confusion and...

Wow. He made me believe in monsters. More accurately, he presented a monster I could believe in.

There's more, of course, and part of Karloff's story should be an inspiration to anyone working to make a go of his/her dream. The man made dozens of films and worked as a stage actor before Frankenstein, but work was never consistent. He filled the gaps with manual labor, digging ditches and driving a cement truck. Times were tough, and Karloff quite lean at 44 when the Monster was unleashed in 1931's Frankenstein.

The inspiration? Keep plugging away even when the dream is impossible.

Thanks Mr. Karloff. Thanks for bringing the Monster to life. Thanks for inspiring my love for the weird and gothic, and my continuing affair with Mary Shelley's hideous progeny. Most of all, thanks for all the hard work. Without you, there would be no odd stories trickling out of brain, no sympathy for the things that go bump in the night, no understanding that the monsters around us are people, too.

A Lego Tribute to Boris Karloff

Happy Birthday, Mr. Karloff.

Next Week: Boris Karlof Blog-a-thon!

(be there)