Episode 30 - The Monster Mash II Afterthoughts

This episode was exactly what I imagined the experience of this podcast being. Goofing but learning, pontificating but not taking the fun out of movies, and sharing fun times with two fun fellow horror nerds. Not that it hasn’t been great everytime thus far, I just enjoy taking note of this episode as we air it. We had a lot of fun recording it which is just reassurance that our decision to start doing this format for many of the shows was the right one. There is rejuvenation in our approach without the restraint of time for countless other movies to cover within the hour. Basically having twenty minutes give or take for each movie creates a very relaxed nature to the show and allows us to cover any and all things we want. With plenty of extra-curricular goofing (see: Det. John Kimble) in there as well. I cannot express how excited I am to pull back on the thick franchises for every episode, spread those out and pick an assortment of films we are excited about for these mash shows. We will continue to cover themes, sub-genres, actor/director filmographies etc. but this sure is a fun change to have in the mix. If you are not enjoying it, make your peace because it won't be going anywhere in the near future! However, if you are a listener of the show I highly doubt this format perturbing you in the slightest.

 

As for the films this episode, what a trio! Rosemary’s Baby, Behind The Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon, and The Black Waters of Echo’s Pond were are all very fun to cover and different in material. Films that cannot be guaranteed to have been covered within a theme at some point.

Lastly, I would just like to take a moment to clarify that if we cover something that leads you to a topic you would like us to cover at some point then let us know on social media. Roman Polanski is a perfect example. Whereas we see Rosemary’s Baby as a certainty to cover on our show but as a stand alone, maybe some of you want to hear us cover Repulsion, Knife in the Water, The Tenant, etc. If that is the case for any topic, always run a dialogue with us! That is why we are doing this and are on social media. We LOVE talking horror cinema so reach out anytime. While doing this show (and desired results do take time) I will be honest in saying that we strive for more interaction. Thus far, it has been fairly modest and we hope in the coming months for it to be much more in the mix with us and all of you and each other! So speak up! Don’t feel the need to wait, if you got something on the brain then hit us up!

Lastly, I am curious….

Who is your daddy? And what does he do?

Until next time…

Beware of the moon

The Professor 

Episode 30 - The Monster Mash II

Join as we are finding our groove with the newly formatted mash episodes! We cover some good ones on this episode. Enjoy!

Episode 30 - The Monster Mash II by Midwestmonsterspodcast on Mixcloud

Episode 29 ROTLD Franchise Afterthoughts

You already know this tired story and I am not specifically speaking about any of these films.

A franchise born in the 1980's, filled with lightning in a bottle with surprise success and a cult following, only to be ran into the ground until the well runs dry. Endless sequels paraded through home video, none of which are worth a watch. It is always a bummer, and in my eyes, even more so with this film than most franchises that succumbed to this cinematic trap.

The first Return of the Living Dead has become one of my favorite genre films ever made. It has endless re-watch ability and it is just plain fun. The characters are all played with fantastic craft without any of it feeling like anyone had to dig deep. To clarify, that is not a dig at the acting but rather a compliment as it all just flows effortlessly. Everything in this film came together and in the end you have a fantastic snapshot of the 1980s that does its job, it entertains.

Immediately from there the turds begin falling into the pile comprised of lame sequels in this franchise. They are absolutely dreadful films that never once tried to recapture the magic of the first. It is Hollywood’s greed and lack of heart at it’s finest. Part II does have it’s moments BUT I think that is merely because it has some returning faces and was filmed not too far after the original.

But it still sucks.

Sadly this is a common trend in horror that really spawned in this era. Sure horror movies had paraded continual sequels for decades before these were made but historically sequels always made sure of one thing. They gave the fans what they wanted and the viewers continued having fun. That evidently stopped being important in 80’s horror. One would assume this is no coincidence that runs parallel with the advent of home video and its growth. Either way it is a miracle that so many of us kept watching horror movies by the 2000’s after having been burnt so many times on abysmal rental viewings. But alas, here we are sharing in the banter today though, so I guess all is well. They made their shitty movies/money and we are still here.

Horror fans, Tinseltown’s masochistic cash cows…

Tell us what franchise you think was handled the worst? Was it this one or do you think there is a better example of a great film being tarnished with a lame franchise that followed? Let us know on social media!

Until next time……

Beware of the moon,

The Professor 

Episode 29 - The Return of The Living Dead Franchise

BRAAAAAAIIIIIINNNNNNSSSSSS!! 

Listen in as we pick each others on all of the franchise entries. We cover the good kind of trash here..

Episode 29 - The Return of The Living Dead Franchise by Midwestmonsterspodcast on Mixcloud

Episode 28 Days of the Dead Indy Afterthoughts

They did it again.

If you have gotten tired of us gushing over the shows that Days of the Dead put on I recommend making your peace with it because it won't change anytime soon. We are after all a horror show, so it is only fitting that horror fans enjoy the best horror convention in the Midwest. I openly invite you to take a year to travel around to the copious listings of horror shows in the Midwest and see if you do not agree. It really is that simple when the dust settles.  

They continually grow with each show in both their success and experience and it is always noticeably present in the experience for the patrons. As we talked about on the show, it is tremendously bigger than the inaugural weekend in Indianapolis years ago. Yet, it is still just as intimate and consumer-friendly as it was then. My main key to convention pleasure is not to feel like cattle the whole weekend. Crammed in over crowed rooms, waiting in ridiculous lines, and being able to enjoy less and less due to ever-rising prices on everything plagues many other conventions. Then  you have Days of the Dead who always maintain keeping it affordable and comfortable for their fans without sacrificing any of the offerings and fun. They seem to get the basic principle that if people keep having a blast, they will want to return. They listen to fans and base some of their decisions off of the feedback and it works.

This weekend was no exception to the aforementioned as we had an absolute blast again. Even the one negative experience was turned positive. Waiting in a line for a celebrity (who had pre-sold tickets) we were starting to get taken advantage of with slow signing time and constant (and long) breaks by the celebrity's choosing. None of this was DOTD’s fault but they swooped in and made everyone feel better about it all by handing out numbers so we could head back to the floor and enjoy things until it was time. Just another example of how you leave their conventions happy and feeling valued as a guest.

The Midwest Monsters cannot thank them enough for the wonderful work that they do, the gracious show they put on, and for all of the absolute fun that we have with them a few times a year. The same can be said for Jabb Pitcures and Jason Hoover. We cannot wait for Chicago in November and we hope many of you will join in the fun weekend!

Check em out!

http://daysofthedead.net/

http://www.jabbpictures.com/

Scroll down and we hope you enjoy these pictures from this Days of the Dead weekend including the wedding!

Until next time…

Beware of the moon

The Professor

Episode 28 Days of The Dead Indy 2014 Convention Coverage Special

The Midwest Monsters are where you would expect to find them..... Days of The Dead,the best convention scene in the Midwest! Join us as we recount our weekend and share a few interviews along the way!

Episode 28 - DOTD Indy '14 Coverage by Midwestmonsterspodcast on Mixcloud

Episode 27 - Monster Mash Afterthoughts

 We have arrived at a point in our young show where we see the need and desire to change up the format some. The “Monster Mash” is here.

Not for every show by any means but rather just to open the door to different topics and films to explore. Many great horror films do not fit into a box or a particular theme, sub-genre, or a notable person’s work. Consequently if we just stuck to our format that we have used to date, we would never touch on many films that all three of us and many of you find joy or interest in.

We are very excited because it helps us narrow a show down to a deeper (and at times richer) conversation. An easy example to use is modern indie horror films with this format. We have already (spoiler but not really) covered more than one in the first couple of shows we have recorded. Without this format we would be left to do a show (maybe with a sequel show) to cover specific titles we found notable and then be done with it. However, with the “Monster Mash” format we now can explore a couple of modern indie horrors each episode if we so feel inclined. Not to mention it keeps your hosts fresh on doing the show. Having the liberty to each pick a film we want to cover makes this a lot of fun. We are all exploring films we want to personally but it is also keeping us from burning ourselves out. Covering multiple franchises every month (many of which suck) can be a daunting chore if you let it become so. The good news we are not!

PLEASE give us feedback on this experiment we are trying. We are very excited about it and we hope you are as well but if you do not tell us we will have no idea. The same goes for displeasure. We just find ourselves rejuvenated with this and I will not speak for the other two (although I am sure they would agree whole-heartedly) when I say that I love being able to go a little deeper on these films we pick. A stand alone movie needs more than 5 or 6 minutes to breeze through, especially when we have our reasons for picking them.

Thank you, as always for stopping by and opening your ears to us!

Beware of the moon

The Professor