Top Horror Games Countdown: Atari 2600

The Atari 2600 was released in North America in September 1977, and the world of home gaming was forever changed as it quickly became a must-have system for every gamer at the time who wanted to play arcade ports as well as new games, all in the comfort of their very own home. Plus the system would have a very long life as it would go from 1977-1990 with the system finally coming to a full end in 1992 showing just iconic of a console it was for its time, and yes I know that the Nintendo Entertainment System is considered the gold standard for home consoles. Plus the 2600 was simple to play as your controller was a joystick with only one red button and this kept the games from being too complex for young players and those who were new to video games in general. With the Atari 2600 also came the first wave of console horror games and that is another reason why the 2600 is so important to the world of gaming for many as it paved the way for PS5, X-Box Series X and Nintendo Switch horror games. Growing up I did not own an Atari 2600 and I would not get one of my own until I was in my 30’s, but that does not mean that I did not have one in my life as my grandparents on my father’s side had one and as a kid my across the street neighbor did as well and this allowed me to play so many of the classic titles, and later my brother had ROMs of many titles and we would play them on the computer from time to time. When I got my own system I found myself loving it and went on a quest to buy all the classic titles and of course all the horror games I could get my hands on!

I have 16 horror games for the Atari 2600 (including home brew and hacks) and that makes them the Unlucky 16, as I will rank them from worst to best! Now I am not going to give them a star rating or even a letter grade, I am just going to let their standing speak for itself. I am also going to chat a little about the game as well as my thoughts, and of course I will also tell when it was released, what company put it out, what it was rated as well as if I beat it. The thing with Atari 2600 is that many of the games do not have a true ending as they are mostly point based games, but for games that are beatable, I will say if I have finished them. And keep in mind the games I am ranking all have to be in my collection and on the original format so no digital rom games will be on here, as all that I am ranking are on the classic cart. I will be ranking them mostly on my personal opinion and of course elements like game play, spookiness, graphics, sound, music, replay value, villain(s), story, characters and presentation will all play factors in the ranking as well. So if you are ready, let’s dust off the old Atari 2600 and bust out the old carts and see what horror titles on the system brought the scares to this gamer.

# 16

Texas Chainsaw Massacre
Released in 1983     System: 2600   Company: Wizard     Rated: NA     Beat: No

Let’s start with the unlucky 16th game on this list; in last place is the Wizard Video game The Texas Chainsaw Massacre that has you play as Leatherface. Your goal is to have your chainsaw ready to kill and you have to dodge skulls, wheelchairs and other obstacles while you chase your female victim around the farm…but watch out, your chainsaw can also run out of gas and with that it’s game over as your victim will give you a kick in the butt. This is a very simple and point driven game that marks the first time Leatherface was in a video game and also was one of the first horror games that parents protested, causing it to be sold only behind counters and making it rare even when released. When I bought my 2600, one of the first games I bought off Ebay was Texas Chainsaw Massacre as for years I had heard about it and I had to own and play it, and as you can see, it did not live up to my expectations as I found it to be boring and bland. Once the appeal of playing a 8-Bit version of Leatherface wore off, it is really a bad game from the terrible uninspired plot, to the overly simple game play to the cheesy ending of the butt kick, this was just not good and that is why it finds itself in last place. But I want to also say that while the game is bad, I still do enjoy it for all its cheesy goodness.

# 15

Dawn Of The Dead
Released in 2004     System: 2600   Company: Home Brew     Rated: NA   Beat: No

In this Home Brew game you are a survivor during the zombie apocalypse, and in your van you must dodge tombstones as well as fight off the zombies who want to eat your flesh! To fight back against them, you must fire weapons from your van as well as make sure to get gas that is along the road. This is a fun game and is very simple to play, and while it is just a hack of the game “Worm War I” the changes make it feel like a new game and even adds the stress of the undead on the attack as well as all the obstacles in your way causing you to lose fuel and possibly be stranded on the road. The game was one of the first home brew hack games I got for my Atari 2600, and while I do enjoy it, I feel that other original, and even one other home brew, games deserve to be ranked higher. I will say that for the age of 2600, the game could be considered scary to some gamers due to the stress of it all.

# 14

Rampage
Released in 1986     System: 2600   Company: Activision     Rated: NA     Beat: No

Cities are under attack by the likes of giant wolf Ralph, big gorilla George and mega lizard Lizzie, and your goal in this game is to pick one of the giant monsters and wreck the city while also fighting off the army! This of course is a port of the classic Arcade game, and while the graphics and some elements are downplayed, the basics are all still here. While the game is fun, it does lack that charm that even the Nintendo port had and is a little too basic and barebones to really be the outstanding game it could have been. This was another game I picked up a little over a decade ago and wanted to see how the 2600 game stacked up against the Nintendo version that I grew up playing, and I would say that it did not deliver the same punch as that version, but I did find myself praising if for having Ralph as a playable character, something the NES version does not. Over all if you like Rampage and only have an Atari 2600 to play video games on, then give this one a shot, if you have other game consoles that have this game I would say choose to buy that version over this one. While it sounds like I hate this version of the game, I want to stress I do not. The low ranking is due to the to simplified gameplay and the fact also that all aspects of giant monster horror are kind of lacking here.

# 13

King Kong
Released in 1982      System: 2600   Company: Tiger     Rated: NA     Beat: No

King Kong has taken a woman prisoner on top of a building and is throwing bombs down. Your goal is to jump over the bombs and do your best to get past Kong who just watches you dodge his bombs and rescue the woman in this clear Donkey Kong clone game. The game, while in the horror genre due to it being about King Kong, is not scary at all though it could be considered challenging and I guess spooky to some younger players due to Kong being a giant monster who is stomping around and throwing bombs after kidnapping a woman. There’s not much to say about this one besides it’s kind of a fun game and adds its own spin on the Donkey Kong gameplay to make it stand out, and while its challenging, it’s not frustratingly hard like some of the other games for the Atari 2600. I got this game early on when I bought my system and have played it off and on for many years now, and while it’s not an amazing game, keep in mind it is still one of the earliest games based on Kong so that has to mean something for players.

# 12

Ghost Manor
Released in 1983     System: 2600     Company: Xonox     Rated: NA     Beat: Yes

In this chilling game you play as a boy or girl and enter a creepy castle in order to save each other all the while having to fight and get past monsters that are on a mission to make you dead. As the character you choose, you must enter the castle by first chasing a ghost around the graveyard and then dodging an axe swinging mummy as well as skulls before getting inside and making your way up stairs to finally come face to face with Dracula. Once you trap Dracula, you save the other and make it out of the castle and then you win the game. You also have to do all this in four minutes, and also must collect spears and crosses to help on your quest. This is a fun and quick game that adds in some classic monsters and scares and the simple gameplay makes Ghost Manor a game that feels like it’s for all ages and is very fun and cheesy and that is what makes it entertaining. This was a game that I ended up buying in 2022 as it was one that was on my radar for many years, and while it was not great, I will say that it’s good and I am glad I have it in my collection now. If you like Dracula games, make sure to check this one out and if you like games based on haunted castles, this one is also for you.

# 11

Revenge Of The Beefsteak Tomatoes
Released in 1983     System: 2600   Company: Fox     Rated: NA     Beat: No

Angry Tomatoes are attacking and the only hope is The Tomato Sprayer who must use its wits to collect the floating bricks to build brick walls in order to keep the tomatoes in check. But the Tomatoes also will be fighting back as the plants below are firing at you as well as some of the vines will grow to break down your walls and a mean tomato will also be passing back and fourth looking to get you. This game is clearly inspired somewhat by the cult film “Attack Of The Killer Tomatoes” and while horror themed in nature, the game is not that scary, but is very challenging and you must think fast at times in order to build your walls to keep the tomatoes out as well as get your points. While this could be one of the less spooky games on this countdown, it is one that I think you should check out as it’s a fun play and who knows, maybe the mean looking tomato will send a shiver down your spine! I can remember playing this game a decade back for the first time and being confused what to do, but once I got down how to play it, I enjoyed it.

# 10

Alien
Released in 1982     System: 2600   Company: Fox     Rated: NA     Beat: No

The first ever video games based on the Alien film series was for the Atari 2600 and was a maze runner game much like Pac-Man, that was the world’s most popular game at the time. This game has you playing as a crew member of a ship that has been overrun by the Xenomorphs who have laid eggs in the hallways. Armed with a flamethrower and random pulsars, you must destroy the eggs all the while dodging the three Xenomorphs that want you dead! And once you clear a stage, you have to run up the screen through a bunch of Xenomorphs in order to start the next maze. Alien brings the gaming elements of Pac-Man and Frogger together to deliver a creepy intense game that is stressful as the Aliens chase you around the maze that is your ship, and all the while you find yourself filled with anxiety as one wrong move can leave you dead and GAME OVER! While this is not a groundbreaking game when it comes to game play, it is a cool horror themed game that lets you know that no one can hear you scream when you are playing Alien for the 2600 and a Xenomorph is on your tail. Over all if you love video games based on the Alien film series, make sure to check this one out and give it a play.

# 9

Phantasm
Released in 2009    System: 2600   Company: Home Brew     Rated: NA   Beat: No

Did you readers and gamers know that the Atari 2600 has new games being made for it to this day? The new games are being made by fans and are called home brew games and in 2008/2009, a very cool one was made based on the Phantasm movie series that puts you in the sights of Tall Man and his killer dwarf henchmen in a first person maze style game that has your shotgun as the only chance for survival. This is really cool and is creepy in that classic Atari style. From the classic music opening the game to the Tall Man appearing and saying “Boy” to you, this is one that surely will chill your bones and send a shiver down your spine when playing it late at night as it’s as spooky as a 2600 game can be. It took me a bit to find a copy of this game on cart, and when I did I played the hell out of it trying to figure out the maze as well as survive the attack by the Tall Man and his henchmen, and while it was a little pricey I feel it was worth the price. Cool concept and I love the home brew community for making games like this possible.

# 8

Ghostbusters
Released in 1984     System: 2600   Company: Activision     Rated: NA     Beat: Yes

Ghostbusters has to rank high on the list when it comes to horror comedies. Lke all great blockbuster films, it got the video game treatment, and the Atari 2600 got a version of the game that entertained fans of the film as well as added a challenge to gamers who played this paranormal game in the early 80’s. The game has you play as a Ghostbuster, and you must drive around town and to the scene of a haunting and then bust some ghosts and update and stock your equipment before trying to defeat Gozer by dodging a jumping Stay Puft Marshmallow Man! This game is lots of fun and is very simple as one part is moving around a map, another has you driving the Ecto-1 and the other has two Ghostbusters using their proton pack and traps to capture the likes of Slimer. The game features lots of ghost that do look the same as well as the giant Stay Puft adding to the chills and thrills of the game. And unlike many Atari 2600 games, this one has an end level making beating it possible. I can remember playing this game as a kid at my Grandparents house and later on as an adult, and while I do think the Nintendo version is better, this one does have a simple fun factor to it and also added to the legacy of Ghostbusters in video games as well as added another horror themed game to the Atari 2600 library.

# 7

The Alligator People
Released in 1983     System: 2600   Company: Fox     Rated: NA     Beat: No

Alligator People was a game based on the 1959 film that was to be released by Fox, but for some reason it was shelved and never released until the prototype was found and it was released via the reproduction market. This was one that I had to have as I liked the movie lots and playing a video game based on it was a must. In this maze style game, you play as Jane Marvin and you must shoot your friends and husband with a serum in order to stop their transformations into Alligator People! And all the while Jane must also watch out for the horrors of the swamps like hungry alligators. It’s shocking that this never got an official release because it’s lots of fun and even has some Atari spooky moments with the atmosphere and even the alligators delivering some chills. I wish Fox would have stuck with making video games based on their horror and sci-fi films as gamers in the 80’s could have had some very cool games to play. Check this one out if you can find it on a cart as it’s worth being in your collection.

# 6

The Earth Dies Screaming
Released in 1983     System: 2600   Company: Fox     Rated: NA     Beat: No

In this game based on the 1964 film, you play as a brave pilot of a Space Destroyer who is going around space and shooting down fighters and satellites launched by the Trillians who want to destroy the Earth. I you allow too many satellites to crash to Earth and if the Trillian Fighters hit your ship too much, the Earth will fall and the aliens will win. This is a very fun space shooter game that is pretty much only based on the movie in namesake. But the game adds a level of stress and horror as you have to act quickly in order to survive and save the Earth and everyone is counting on just you to bring the end to the Alien assault. This is a really fun game and is challenging as it gets harder and harder the longer you play and the further you get. Plus I love the idea of a video games based on a film that was relatively unknown. This is one of those games I can remember playing at work when it was traded in, but for some reason I never bought it myself and finally did in 2022 in order to make sure that could take its place on this list. This is very fun game and proves that Atari 2600 knew how to make good space shooter games.

# 5

Gremlins
Released in 1984     System: 2600   Company: Atari     Rated: NA     Beat: No

In this movie tie-in game you play as Billy Peltzer and you have to run around and catch falling Mogwai and if you miss them, they will eat a hamburger and turn into Gremlins that will cause you to have to fight them off by shooting them as they come down the screen after you! This game has only two screens: one that has you darting back and fourth catching and one that has you going back and fourth shooting, and yet some how this simple and limited game just works. While it’s not super scary, it could be spooky for younger gamers as the Gremlins are pretty threatening and their attacks can be very stressful. This is another game that I first played at a neighbor’s house and can remember loving it, and of course I had to track down my own copy decades later when I bought my own 2600. The game has elements of “Space Invaders” and “Kaboom!” and adds its own touch to their game play styles. A fun and challenging game the further you get makes this a must play game for horror gamers who like their scares on the lighter side. The game is semi rare and can be hard to get.

# 4

Frankenstein’s Monster
Released in 1983     System: 2600   Company: Data Age     Rated: NA     Beat: No

Doctor Frankenstein is building a monster, and you enter his castle to stop him. Frankenstein uses the electricity he is collecting from the probes to bring his new Monster to life, and to stop the monster’s return, you must brick him in and jump over pits of acid, holes and dodge bats in order to seal him in and save your village. This game is really fun and builds the tension as The Monster is coming alive and you must move fast in order to get the bricks to seal him in and must do this a total of six time to stop his creation. And if you fail, The Monster will turn green and rampage and walk towards the player until he fills the screen. This game has a very classic horror game feel and its very cool to see Frankenstein’s Monster in one of his early home game console appearances. The game is also one that I feel is very underrated when it comes to horror games on the 2600 and is highly entertaining and for the most part is often looked back on very fondly by old school gamers who grew up playing this game. When I was able to track down and get this game from a local game shop in Ohio, I was really excited to play it and it lived up to the fun spooky factor I was looking for. If you have an Atari 2600 or a 7800 and have not played this one make sure to do so.

# 3

Halloween
Released in 1983     System: 2600   Company: Wizard     Rated: NA     Beat: No

In this game you play as the Babysitter who must rescue five kids on each level from Michael Myers who chases you around the house with a knife. If he gets you, he cuts your head off and he also will kill the kids! The kids must be brought to the end of the house for safety and when Michael appears, the Halloween theme plays giving it that extra spooky touch. The game is all about points and continues on until the Babysitter loses all three of her lives. For its time, the game was very controversial like Texas Chainsaw Massacre as parents were upset about the violence and this made the game very rare and hard to get. The game’s legacy of being bloody as well as the fact it was based on the classic 1978 slasher film masterpiece helps add to its spooky factor! This was a game that for decades I had heard about and wanted so badly to play and when I finally got a copy, it lived up to what I wanted and what I heard it was like. And while it’s not a perfect game, it is one that is enjoyable even though very repetitive in nature.

# 2

Space Invaders
Released in 1980     System: 2600   Company: Atari     Rated: NA     Beat: No

What is more scary than a good old alien invasion? Well, the second best Atari 2600 horror game in my opinion is Space Invaders that was an arcade port to the home system and has that classic sci-fi horror flare from the 1950’s drive-in screens. In this game you play as the operator of a laser cannon that must fire into the sky as aliens and U.F.O’s try to invade the earth, and as a player your goal is to survive from level to level as well as collect as much points as possible. While the Atari 2600 version is not as good as the arcade version, it still was a fun homeport that captured the thrills and chills of trying to fight off the invaders from space. Over the decades I have found myself playing Space Invaders from the 2600, not only at home but also even have played it while at work when testing systems as I find it to be one of the better ports for that system. And this almost was my # 1 game as I do find it to be lots of fun and it truly one of the world’s classic games. Space Invaders is also very simple to play but as the stages are cleared it becomes more and more challenging and this adds to the already mounting stress of the aliens coming down from the sky as obstacles and the aliens speeding up really does add pressure of trying to save the Earth.

# 1

Haunted House
Released in 1982     System: 2600   Company: Atari     Rated: NA     Beat: Yes

I had to go with this classic game as my # 1 as it really was one of the first horror games I can remember playing thanks Brad Burns who lived across the street and had this game for his Atari 2600. Later I would play it all the time at my Grandparent’s house as well as at my own house once I got an Atari as it was one of the first games I bought for the system. The game has you play as a man who is inside the haunted mansion of Zachary Graves and must find a key and three pieces of an urn in order to escape, but he must also stay clear of the spiders, bats and the ghost of Zachary Graves and all you have are matches to light the room. Super simple and super fun, this is truly a classic game in the survival horror genre and could even be considered the one that started it all for horror gamers. For me Haunted House really is a simple and spooky game that makes good use of the limitations of the Atari 2600 and even uses a sound cue from the Twilight Zone TV show during gameplay.. So in other words, this game is a pure classic.  This game should be reimagined for modern systems and should have lots of time put into it as we all would love to see the ghost of Zachary Graves once more rise to haunt his mansion and you must use your wits to escape it. On a side note, a home brew hack game was made based on the film “The Blair Witch Project” using Haunted House that has you playing as Heather in the Blair Witch’s run down home, and for those wondering, yes, I have it on cart as well.

So as you can see, the Atari 2600 had its fair share of great horror games with many laying the groundwork for the modern survival horror genre as well as introducing the licensed horror games to the market. It was a system that brought us games based on Alien, Halloween and Texas Chainsaw Massacre and was the first system that made kids really want to have home gaming consoles and is even what brought friends together to play a game they all could have fun with (and yes it is also the system that caused the video game crash of 1983 as it flooded the market with poorly made games). Speaking of fun, this was lots of fun to deep dive into my Atari 2600 horror game collection to do this countdown and many of you readers have always told me you enjoy these style of updates as my “Top 10 Should Have Been In The Star Comics World”, “Rotten Pixels”, “Rotten Pixels 2”, “Best Dayton Fried Chicken”, “Best Active MLB Mascots” and the “Top 60 Luchadors” countdowns have always seemed to bring readers entertainment. And with that I am going to say that I will be doing more of these horror video game countdowns in the coming years and will do so for such systems such as Playstation, Nintendo, Commodore 64, Genesis and many of the others that I own! And with that, let’s turn off the Atari 2600 as it’s time for me to tell you what the next update will be. It’s a DC horror character and one that I have been a fan of since I was a kid, and that’s Man-Bat! So until next time, read a comic or three, play a horror video game or two, and as always support, your local Horror Host! See you next update for some Man-Bat Adventures, and yes I am sure Batman will also make an appearance.

From Horror Movie To Horror Comic: Halloween H20 (1998)

Welcome back to Rotten Ink.  We are getting so much closer to our big Halloween update and with this being 10 Years of Rotten Ink I knew that a “From Horror Movie To Horror Comic” update was needed and that it had to be about my favorite mainstream horror movie series, Halloween! And did you readers know that Halloween H20 had a comic that took place in its timeline, if not, you soon will as that is the comic that we will be covering for this update. There’s something about the Halloween film series and its killer Michael Myers that keeps us film goers going back to the cinema to see what bloody rampage he will go on next, and in 1998 he did that just again and this time in the mood and feel of Scream, the then new kid on the block when it came to slasher films. So grab a plastic pumpkin and put on a spooky costume as it’s time for us to travel to California and not Haddonfield as Halloween this year is coming to the Golden State.

So let’s take a look at Michael Myers and his ways of killing in Halloween H20! Michael Myers is a normal man who has an urge to kill his siblings and anyone that stands in his path of murder and will use many weapons to do so including ice skates, corkscrew and of course a massive knife, and he will brutally slice and stab his targets until death occurs. His appearance also strikes fear into the heart of his victims as he wears a white mask and coveralls making him a very blank slate embodying the faceless horrors we all fear. He is also very strong and has above human strength as he can easily pick up, break and impale a human with brutal power. He is also very stealthy and can attack his target before they even see him coming, as he is cold and calculated. As far as weakness goes, Michael has very few but I would say his slowness could work against him and leave him open for counter attacks.  He also seems to only kill on a cycle making one safe for most months minus October for the most part. Being stabbed and the use of brute force can slow him down and while not be killed by these things, it does give you time to get away. As you can see, Michael Myers is a killing machine that cannot be stopped and will come back again and again to kill and butcher.

So as you can see, even the Halloween H20 version of Michael Myers is a killer that is at the top of the heap when it comes to dealing death to his victims. And now that we have taken a look at Michael Myers, I think that it’s time that we now take a look at the film this version is from. Just a reminder that the film’s write up will be taking from our friends at IMDB and after that I will write a little about the films production as well as my thoughts on it, so with that let’s head to Hillcrest Academy and see if we can spot Michael looming behind the trees and shadows.

Halloween H20 (1998)

“Twenty years after Michael Myer’s massacre in Haddonfield, Laurie Strode faked her own death, traveled to California, and took on the identity Keri Tate. Michael discovers Laurie’s new identity and travels to California to kill his sister. Laurie must now take on her brother with her son’s life at risk.”

The seventh film in the Halloween film series started being worked on during the pre-production of “Halloween: The Curse Of Michael Myers” and was being worked on by Daniel Farrands with the working title “Michael Myers: Lord Of The Dead” and would have taken place right after the events of the sixth film and would have had the whole town of Haddonfield being part of trying to control Myers and its up to Tommy Doyle to stop them, but after the bad reviews, fan reaction and displeasure of Farrands on the finished film of part 6, the seventh film was in limbo. The next attempt was by Robert Zappia as he wanted to make the seventh film a direct to video film that would have had a copycat Michael Myers killer killing woman at a boarding school and during one draft would have even added Laurie Strode to the mix and was originally being called “Halloween 7: Two Faces Of Evil” and would also be called “Halloween: Blood Ties” and this film as well was scrapped. And after these failed to see production, Kevin Williamson the creator behind the Scream films was brought in to work on a story idea and was going to follow the other films in the series and was called “Halloween 7: The Revenge Of Laurie Strode” and would have had Jamie Lee Curtis return to the role of Laurie and at one point they tried to get John Carpenter back to direct, but he wanted $10 million dollars and a three picture deal with in order to come back, he was quickly replaced with Steve Miner. And from there after some rewrites and changes to the script by both Williamson as well as main script writers Robert Zappia and Matt Greenberg. The film ended up cutting all ties to Halloween 2-6 and acted as a direct sequel to the 1978 film. When casting the film names like Adam Arkin, LL Cool J, Michelle Williams, Janet Leigh and Josh Hartnett (who was also filming the film The Faculty at the same time) were brought in to play lead parts. And Chris Durand was hired to play Michael Myers with his mask being done by many production houses. The films score was done by both John Ottman and Marco Beltrami with it being a mix of both men’s work with the changes done upsetting Ottman. The films budget was $17 million and it opened in theaters on August 5, 1998 and would be meet with mostly positive reviews from critics and fans alike and was the highest grossing film in the franchise at the time of its release brining in $75 million. In 1998 the film was # 41 at the American box office and beat out such films as “Mighty Joe Young”, “Practical Magic”, “The Faculty”, “I Still Know What You Did Last Summer”, “Urban Legend”, “Bride Of Chucky”, “Psycho”, “John Carpenter’s Vampires”, “Species II”, “Disturbing Behavior” and “Phantoms” to name a few. And still to this day Halloween H20 has a big and loyal fan base that rate it as one of the best sequels in the series. Oh and during this film many different Michael Myers masks were used as they could not find the right one to use as some had to big of eye holes, some were reused ones from part 2 and even at one point it was touched up with CGI!

When I found out that a seventh film in the Halloween series was being made I was really looking forward to it, but when I heard that the film would wipe away all the sequels in order to be the new “official” part two I was super annoyed and then when I found out that Kevin Williamson was the writer I again was a little shaky on if the film would be good or not. But the film was all over Fangoria Magazine, TV with ads and even our local paper Dayton Daily News seemed to be hyping it up and with it being a new Halloween film and my then best friend Andrea wanting to also see it we headed to the theater opening weekend and both of us were ready for a good old slasher film on the big screen! I can remember the theater was packed and we found good seats and with our candy and drinks in hand we watched Halloween H20 on the big screen with a roomful of people who all loved every second of it as they cheered along to the kills as well as when Laurie Strode had enough and took the fight to Michael. And in the end when Laurie chops Michaels head off the room stood up and cheered and clapped so loud, and while Andrea liked the film, I was not a fan as in my opinion the film took away the elements that made Michael Meyers scary from all the films that came before it and I felt at times Jamie Lee Curtis just over acted! I was however impressed by Michelle Williams who was not only beautiful but also I feel the best actor in the film next to Janet Leigh who just had a small cameo role. Plus I felt that throughout the film Michael Myers starts off as a killer and by the end Laurie Strode knocks him around like he was part of the Three Stooges or even a robber in a Home Alone film and his threat level drops. And it took me years to finally warm up to the film and while it still would be low on my list it is not as bad of a watch for me now. And for fans of Kevin Williamson, the dialogue with the teen characters has his style and charm so you should really enjoy the film. I should say that some of the kills are really good in the film and they do bring back Dr. Sam Loomis well at least his voice as well as Nurse Marion Chambers so it does have the classic Halloween feel. So to sum it up while it’s not my favorite sequel and at first I really disliked it over the years I have lightened up and enjoy watching it from time to time.

Halloween H20’s version of Michael Myers to me is one of the least brutal in the series and by all accounts really does get beat up by his middle aged sister throughout it…but even if this version of Myers is flawed it’s still the iconic character and apart of his cinematic universe. Now it’s the part of this update that we take a look at the comic and this one was made for a Halloween convention that took place in California back in 2003 and it looks like the comic in part was made by Rehab54 a production company that made a documentary about Halloween. I want to thank Bell, Book And Comic for having this rare comic in stock and making this update possible. I want to also remind you all that I grade these comics on a star scale of 1 to 4 and am looking for how well the comics stay to the source material, its entertainment value and its art and story. So if you are ready, let’s have One Good Scare and read this Halloween comic.

Halloween: One Good Scare # 1 ***
Released in 2003     Cover Price None     Rehab54     # 1 of 1

Doctor David Loomis is the son of Sam Loomis the famed doctor of serial killer Michael Myers, and he is following in his dad’s footsteps and meets a new patient named Lindsey Wallace who survived Myer’s attack in 1978 and he is looking to help her as well as get answers about his father as she claims the Boogeyman is coming for her. David while treating other patients and Lindsey is digging deep into his father’s papers and learns that his father was obsessed with Michael Myers as he knew that he was evil and something just was not right. While walking the grounds with Lindsey she tells David about a night that took place a year ago were Michael Myers was in her home and all of this was after they found the body of Laurie Strode. David is finding himself getting in to deep with the thought and case of Michael Myers and this also has him building a bond with Lindsey, and when Halloween comes around she loses her mind and is medicated and David stays by her bedside, and promises her that he will not let anything happen to her. Michael Myers shows up to the Asylum and kills an orderly as well as two nurses before he sees his target Lindsey! David and Lindsey try and run away but find that they are trapped inside and while David hides in fear Michael Myers comes for and kills Lindsey and sends David a message that he needs to live in fear as some Halloween seen he will be the target of his rage.

This Michael Myers tale is dark as he after getting revenge on Lorie Strode he sets his sights on going after Lindsey Wallace, the young woman who survived his night of terror in 1978 and this time she is under the help of David Loomis, the son of Sam Loomis, who wants answers to why Myers has ruined and tormented so many lives over the decades. Lindsey Wallace is now grown up and has had a bad life that has been filled with drugs, bad behavior and going in and out of asylums all because of Michael Myers who seems to be her true nightmare and is now stalking her to finish what he started back in 1978, and she is write he really is after her and sadly she does not survive once he comes calling. And he of course kills her brutally with a knife and even leaves her body to be found like a sick piece of murder art. And it’s a shame as Lindsey’s life has been lived in fear all over a killer who is the one that ends up ending hers. Doctor David Loomis is trying to understand his father’s work and why he was so obsessed with one patient that ended up being a crazed killer and many people blamed for not making sure he never escaped the asylum that kept him, and while he acts like a hero he clearly is not as when he is faced with evil he freezes and hides like a coward and lets the woman he failed to protect die without even trying to help her. Michael Myers is as cold blooded as ever and torments and slaughters his target and also murders a few people that are in his way along the way, he seems to enjoy putting fear into the hearts of his victims and even likes to leave calling cards on who he will be coming for next. The comic has violence but is not the super bloody and does a ok job of capturing the slasher and mental games aspect of the film its based on. The cover is pretty cool and very eye catching for fans of the Halloween series as it showcases a mix of a jack-o lantern and Michael Myers mask. The interior art is done by Peter Fielding and while its good, its not my style at all and while Michael Myers and the feel is very dark I just like my art a little more lively, but keep in mind the art is good for it’s style. Over all this is an entreating Horror Comic read that does fit in with the film it’s based on and if you are a Halloween H20 fan I would say give this a read. Checkout the artwork below to see the style of Fielding used in this issue.

Halloween: One Good Scare # 1 was supposed to kick off a comic series that just never came about, and I am not sure why I would guess it came down to rights issues or just lack of interest from the creative team to continue on with it. And while it’s not the best Halloween comic, I would say that it was a very entertaining read and I am always game for a comic book that features Michael Myers. But for our next update, we will be leaving the world of Horror Movies behind and will be heading back to the Rotten Ink Arena to talk about a Wrestling Legend and one of my favorite Horror Themed wrestlers at that, the voodoo master Papa Shango will be the next update and will help lead us to our Halloween update! So until next time read a Horror Comic or three, watch a Horror Movie or two and as always support your local Horror Host. See you next time for a spooky time in the squared circle.

Fright Flicks Fan Films: Volume 2

Last year I had a blast covering some amazing Fan Made Horror Movies that are being released by some very talented directors and creators showing that the world of Horror is in good shape in the future as these guys try really hard to bring amazing stories and twists to classic horror icons of cinema. So when planning this year’s updates I knew I had to return to the world of Horror Fan Films as it also seemed you readers enjoyed the first update as well. For this update I searched high and low for a new batch of Fan Horror Films and tried to stay away from covering a ton of Friday The 13^th or Halloween ones as they are popping up faster then weeds in the spring, but don’t worry some are being covered as I knew I had to cover at least a small amount as I am fans of both franchises. I also chose a few shorter Fan Films, ones as short as three minutes, as I feel that they as well should get their time to shine and to also alert you readers to them. Oh and keep in mind this update will have spoilers for the films, so you have been warned.

I got many of these short films from friends, family and even conventions, and many I have been looking forward to watching for the first time, while others are a re-watches for me. Just like before, I will write about the fan film’s plot, my thoughts on the film and will give it classic report card grade, meaning the highest a film could get is an A+ and the lowest is an F. I judge these films on a Fan Film level and not on what I would a Hollywood or even higher budget Indie Film. So if you are ready, let’s sit back and talk Horror Fan Films!

Belial
Starring – Matthew Stallings & Jesse Lasky       Directed by Eric Yoder
Released in 2020       Runtime: 24min     Not Rated

Plot: Duane Bradley carries his deformed and violent brother Belial around in a basket, and while on the subway train the basket is stolen and Belial brutally mangles the thief’s hand once the basket is open! Duane and Belial end up at a very sleazy hostel, and while inside they clearly see that everyone staying has issues from drugs to being thieves. When Duane’s money is stolen Belial goes on a killing rampage to get it back and one by one the people of the hostel die by a trail of carnage! In the end, the brothers escape into the night looking for another place to stay and find the peace they are looking for.

Thoughts: Once more Eric Yoder, who did the fan films “Night Of The Maniac” and “Who Goes There?” (that I covered last Fright Fan Film Update), delivers a fun and entertaining fan film this time based on the cult classic film Basket Case. This is an especially cool one to see as the world of Fan Films has not been flooded with new tales of Belial and his brother Duane. The film holds the gritty nature of the original film and even has elements of humor that made up the sequels and blends them together for this short that truly does feel like it belongs in the world of Basket Case. The acting is really great with Matthew Stallings as Duane stealing the show. He has the nice guy appeal mixed with the hint of sadness and madness. The effects done by Eric Yoder are great as blood splatters and body parts get mangled, and his effects and puppet for Belial are amazing and very much look like the one used in the original film! After watching the short fan film Belial, I would love to see Basket Case creator Frank Henenlotter allow Eric Yoder and his crew to make Basket Case 4 as the world needs a new sequel and Eric is the one to do it if Frank is not going to. So if you love Basket Case and the character Belial, make sure to give this one a watch as it’s up on YouTube, and you can also find it on an episode of Baron Von Porkchop’s Terrifying Tales Of The Macabre.

Grade: A-

Don’t Fall Asleep
Starring – Diandra Lazor & Chad Hewitt       Directed by Paige Troxell
Released in 2016       Runtime: 44min     Not Rated

Plot: Nancy Thompson is being locked up in an asylum after the events of the dream killer Freddy Kruger killing her friends and family, and her father thought this was what is best for her…but she is filled with anger as she feels her father is doing nothing to stop Freddy’s rampage on the teens in their sleep. Months pass, and Nancy is stuck in the asylum and even starts taking hypnocil in order to stop dreaming. She has group therapy with fellow teens having issues and they even talk about the killer Freddy Kruger as one of the young ladies’ brothers was killed by him before she was born. And then the nightmares return, and so does Freddy Kruger who starts to attack Nancy and some of the fellow teens who are now talking and working among themselves. But strangely enough, the hypnocil is not working to stop their dreams. And when the doctor takes the drug and all the teens fall asleep during a group session, the doctor and all the teens soon find out that Freddy Kruger is very much real and has murder on his mind! Now stuck in the dream world Nancy, the doctor and the teens must fight for their lives! In the end Nancy gets away from Freddy, and dates Joel a fellow asylum inmate. She becomes adjusted and studies ways to help kids as well as about dreams and the powers of the human mind. In the end Nancy takes a job at Westin Hills to help teens who are having bad dreams, but her happiness also has some sadness as her boyfriend Joel is murdered by Freddy in front of her eyes.

Thoughts: The film does a great job of showing the mental breakdown of Nancy Thompson as no one around her thinks that Freddy Kruger is real and that she has issues dealing with her mother’s death, and her father is lying to the staff about what he has seen and has returned to drinking. It also brings her mental state back up as she grows older and studies dreams and leads us into her becoming a psychiatrist that heads to Westin Hills Psychiatric Hospital aka the events of A Nightmare On Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors. The film is a little slower paced then many of the fan films I have seen based on Freddy, but it also works as I do find that the build to the fall and then rise of Nancy is well done and showcases that Nancy really is the badass we all know she is, and that even in death she still is the main force of bringing Freddy down. Actress Diandra Lazor plays Nancy and for the most part does a great job, though at times I think she turns up the anger level a little too high and makes her come off slightly cartoonish…but not bad as I think she is a solid actress over all. They even add the white strip in her hair adding that nice touch of Nancy from the film series. William Adams plays Freddy Krueger and while he is not in the short fan film much, when he is, he does a pretty good job of running around laughing and slashing. The film also does a good job of feeling like it fits into the events that take place between the first and third film in the series and follows what Nancy was doing during this time, and that’s pretty cool. The film has some blood, but not a lot, and the effects are pretty good but standard none-splatter type with many of the wounds not being shown at all. Freddy’s makeup looks pretty good and showcases that the people who made this film are skilled and that they love Freddy Kruger and his movie universe. Over all this is a good slower paced watch that delivers some scares and adds to the legend of Freddy and his battle with Nancy. Make sure to check out the film on YouTube.

Grade: B

Halloween: Fan Film
Starring – Bonnie Alvord & Lois K. Allen       Directed by Christopher S. Allen
Released in 2018     Runtime: 1hr 22min     Not Rated

Plot: In Haddonfield, Il Halloween is a bad time of the year and for Laurie Strode (Myers) and her son Stevie and even his love interest Trish, it’s even worse as they are being targeted by the sinister masked slasher killer Michael Myers as he has once more decided to return to his hometown and make some people dead! Sheriff Bracket meanwhile is trying to warn people about the murders of the Myers family and they want Michael to turn himself in to the police. While Stevie tries to win the heart of Trish, they with friends torment a crazy neighbor, his mother Monica spends sometime with her girlfriends and friends for a sleepover that is filled with booze, snacks and fun times. While Judith Myers shows up at Laurie’s house and spills the beans that they are both related to Michael Myers and this sparks the group to go to a bar and party down! Meanwhile Private Investigator Sam Loomis is on his way to town as he wants to speak to Sheriff Bracket about the murder rampage of Michael Myers all those years back. Meanwhile Michael Myers is killing people of the town one by one. The Sheriff and Loomis head to the old Myers house to look for Michael and tour around talking about the murders and come up with a plan to wait for Michael to return home so they can finally bring him down. In the end Michael enters the house of Laurie and starts to murder all her friends with his trusty knife and wants his sisters dead, finally in the end Judith Myers kills her sister Laurie as she is as well evil like Michael who had his head bashed in with a baseball bat.

Thoughts: This is a fan film where the creators hearts are in the right place and they try really hard to deliver an amazing fan film based around a Horror series that they love. Sadly they fall a little flat in the effort as the plot is weak and the film is packed with long drawn out filler scenes that are covered up by music cues and popular songs that play way too long. Plus in many scenes you can hear the director say action and give actors orders. The acting and gore effects are totally backyard style and some are downright laughable, not to mention how bad some of it is miscast as Michael Myers as a teen is an over weight teenager and could be one of the worst fan film Michael Myers in history with and without the iconic mask on. The twist of Judith being just as crazy as her brother is pretty silly, but it does also add its own flavor and touch to the series and the fact Michael’s mask does not fit the actor right and looks like a mask you buy from the local mall during Halloween also adds to the layers of cheese. While they do over use music montages to pad out the runtime, I will say I am a fan of them using the likes of Alice Cooper, Motley Crue and Poison songs. The film, as I have said, does have some blood, but its pure armature and backyard stuff with one scene it looks like taco sauce mixed with ketchup. The film also has nudity from actress Bonnie Alvord, who plays Laurie, and to be honest she is the best thing about this fan film as she does her best with what she is given with this script. The creators also tried to make this Halloween Fan Film different from all others as it’s clear that this is not set in the film universe as characters, attitudes and motivations are all changed up, and for that I will give them credit. Over all this is just a below average Halloween inspired fan film that, while not the greatest, is worth watching if you enjoy cheesy backyard horror flicks.

Grade: C –

Halloween: Night He Came Back
Starring – Leah Kellar & Bruce Dale       Directed by Dave McRae
Released in 2016     Runtime: 45min     Not Rated

Plot: It’s 2018 and in Haddonfield, Illinois it’s the 40^th Anniversary of the babysitter and hospital murders of serial killer Michael Myers. B-Movie actress Lauren is trying out for a horror movie called The Red Room in Hollywood and she feels she botched her audition. Once back home in Haddonfield on Halloween she starts to be stalked and watched by Michael Myers as she walks around town, and worse she makes plans with her brother Bob to watch horror movies and carve a pumpkin for Halloween but he is killed by Michael before he can show up, and Michael is not stopping as he slaughters a few more people around the neighborhood before finally making his way to Lauren herself chasing her around a massive old house with the intent to murder her. You see Lauren is connected to him in some way and she is his target this Halloween night. If not for Tommy Doyle she would have been dead, but he is able to save her and Michael once more escapes into the night, ready to kill again.

Thoughts: This gets some great brownie points as they clearly filmed at many of the locations of the 1978 classic that inspired this fan film! The film takes place years after the events of Halloween II and wipes away all the other films in the series to follow a what would have happened 40 years after those tragic events that left so many dead. The story follows struggling actress Lauren as she tries out for a film role only to return home to be stalked by Michael Myers. They throw in her brother Bob as well as the town’s police force and you have this Halloween inspired Fan Film Fright Flick. The character of Lauren in likable as she loves her small town roots but also dreams of living in the big city of L.A. and becoming a well-known and working actress. She is played by actress Leah Kellar, who should be working more in mainstream indie Horror Movies by companies like Blumhouse or at the least Full Moon Entertainment as she is not a bad actress and has a beautiful look to her, making her perfect for roles in Horror. The film has a good amount of kills, but takes the route of the original film and keeps the gore to zero but delivers classic style kills, with cut always. Michael Myers in the film is played by Dave McRae, who was a man of many hats for this film as he also directed it, co-wrote the script, co-produced it, edited it and played other parts like the Sheriff and voice acting small parts. He does an alright job as The Shape, but could have stepped up his creepy factor and actions a little more. It’s clear that McRae is a massive fan of Halloween, and this film is a love letter to the first two films in the series as well as John Carpenter. The film also leaves itself wide open for a sequel and leaves some questions unanswered and motivations unclear, and I am okay with that as long as the film does get a sequel. Over all if you love Halloween and Fan Films make sure to give this one a watch as it’s a pretty great watch. This film can be found on YouTube!

Grade: A-

Hellraiser: Warehouse 1 & 2
Starring – Stephen Alexander & Josh Weinberg      Directed by Matt Brassfield
Released in 2007     Runtime: 25min     Not Rated

Plot: Hellraiser Warehouse 1 has a man named James who works for a second hand furniture store that hates his job as the people who shop there are strung out and weird, well after chasing one masked weirdo out he is cursed. And when locking up for the night the weirdo in the mask is back in the store and shoves James into a room where he must meet his fate with the famed Pinhead. Hellraiser Warehouse 2 follows Ronnie who is very much a bad person who is rude to everyone he meets has taken over the job at the furniture store, and when he crosses paths with the mask weirdo he as well finds himself paying the price as Pinhead and Chatter pay him a visit.

Thoughts: This short fan film series is about a used furniture warehouse that acts as the gateway to the world of Pinhead and the Cenobites who target the workers who are lazy, rude, crude, homophobic and just over all scumbags! The first low paid slacker is James, a man who spends his time at work bored with the customers, drinking beer and watching porn on the TVs and once he gets the attention of Pinhead he becomes a missing person. The next worker is James’ replacement named Ronnie, who is a total scumbag and is rude to customers and his a homophobic tool, and he as well gets the attention of Pinhead who as well makes him a missing person. Pinhead in these films is a messenger of delivering punishment and is joined in the second film by Chatter. The Creeper is a masked weird man who seems to be the link between the warehouse and the world of the cenobites, he is the true figure that chooses who shall face judgment. The films have no blood nor guts but do have deaths. Stephen Alexander played Pinhead and did a great job as he also played the character at a local haunted house attraction. Over all these films were a blast to make, and while a third film was talked about it never happened…but who knows maybe someday soon it will happen. The first film can be seen in an edited cut on an episode of Baron Von Porkchop’s Terrifying Tales Of The Macabre Halloween Special.

Grade: NA

Island Of The Blind Dead
Starring – Merlyn Roberts & Emma Dark         Directed by Emma Dark
Released in 2015       Runtime: 3 min     Not Rated

Plot: A young woman is on the beach all alone and starts to roll around in the sand and water, but the Blind Dead have returned and are looking for victims that include a young girl, a town drunk, a garage worker and a woman taking a shower.

Thoughts: This fan film for The Blind Dead plays like a trailer for a “Lost” fifth film in the series so it plays more like clips from a movie put together than an actual fan film with a plot from start to finish. What I gather from this trailer, this fifth film would have followed a woman on vacation who made the mistake of going where the Blind Dead have once more raised for the dead to cause death. The Templar Knight aka The Blind Dead looks great and like the films it’s based on. Emma Dark plays Jeannie, the young lady on the beach and shower, and it’s crazy that she has not been casted in indie Horror Films as she has a look that fans would love. Island Of The Blind Dead is silent and no dialogue is spoken as all clips are played over a score piece that is fitting, plus I should point out that there is no blood in this short fan film either. It’s very clear that this fan film trailer has lots of heart and love behind it as the creators Emma Dark and Merlyn Roberts (who also plays the Blind Dead) are true fans of the series. While I wish this would have been more than just a very short trailer and would have been an actual fan film, I am a sucker for all things Blind Dead and enjoyed this for what it is. Not much else to say besides this is filmed and scripted really well and Emma and Merlyn should make a full Blind Dead fan film for all of us to enjoy. Check out this Fan Film Trailer on YouTube!

Grade: B

Michael vs. Jason: Evil Emerges
Starring – Joshua Pedder & John Pedder         Directed by Luke Pedder
Released in 2019       Runtime: 29 min     Not Rated

Plot: Jason Voorhees rises from the dead once more as his mother’s voice echoes in his brain to kill for her. Meanwhile a group of military forces are watching over Michael Myers with a plan to kill him off the books and to end his reign of terror, and escort him into the woods to carry out the plan. The plan backfires as Michael slaughters the force and chases the commander into the woods and watches as Jason Voorhees kills his attended target…big mistake as the masked killers face off in the woods with only murder on their minds. At first Jason gets the upper hand and brutalizes Michael, but once back up Michael’s evil rage sets in and then Jason is on the receiving end of a beating. In the end, a gun caring property owner and his sons show up, and Michel and Jason team up to slaughter them before once more squaring off with each other with Jason removing one of Michael’s hands and appears to get the win…or does he?

Thoughts: I think one of the top Horror Clashes that people have always wanted to see Hollywood do was a Michael Myers vs. Jason Voorhees fight as both are unstoppable, quit masked killers with no remorse. And while rights and lack of Hollywood interest has never allowed this epic slasher battle to happen, but the world of Fan Films have been flooded with this showdown each having their own take and choice of who would win this showdown. Well in this one creator and Horror fan Luke Pedder takes a stab at the epic fight and delivers a bloody showdown that gives respect to both franchises and makes both Jason and Michael look unstoppable and on equal ground. The film is pretty fast paced and the pesky humans are killed off fast and brutal as to not take away from the fight that all the viewers want to see. The costumes of Michael and Jason are very solid as are the actors who play them, plus the gore effects are well done and come off as ones seen in Indie Horror Films. The film also ends on a “To Be Continued” screen marking that this film will have a sequel. Over all a really good Fan Film that does a great job of bringing you a solid Jason and Michel fight with blood splatter and dead humans to spice it up.

Grade: B+

The Mummy Princess
Starring – Yenna Black & Thomas Cruz         Directed by Sasha
Released in 2018       Runtime: 11 min     Rated XXX

Plot: Princess Ahmanet has been captured and chained up and she is not happy about it at all as she tries her best to break free, a guard enters and the pair have sex and in the end Princess Ahmanet lets out a scary scream and her mouth distorts and the sands around her come alive.

Thoughts: Well this is 100% an adult film and with that said, it’s really hard to break down as it’s a short film and almost all of it just consists of hardcore sex. The actress Yenna Black looks great as Princess Ahmanet and really captures her look from the film. Not much else to say about this one as while it is a parody Horror fan film it’s really hard to talk about an adult film on a blog about comic books. So the grade I will give it is low and not because of its production value or anything but because it’s lacking in story and let’s leave it at that. This short has zero blood, no kills and lots of nudity. Plus just think about the fact a Porn Parody of the 2017 film The Mummy was made…go on and let that soak in. Also keep in mind this “Fan Film” almost was left off as it really is plotless, but in the end I decided the heck with it some of you readers might get a kick out of it.

Grade: D

My Final Destination
Starring – Sven Kittel & Rico Kittel     Directed by Marco Rudolph
Released in 2012     Runtime: 42min     Not Rated

Plot: A group of friends have cheated death, and now the reaper has come to take what’s his and that’s their souls! One by one death is coming for them as one friend has an accident that leaves his face smashed in by a bowling ball. Another who plays in a band gets impaled on his own drum kit! Another has her car explode and cut her in half! Another friend meets his end when weights crush his skull in. One friend, while in a dark apartment, steps on a mouse and falls down stairs and impales himself. Finally the two remaining friends go to a man who can see the future for help, and he is on help. While leaving one friend gets his head knocked off by a falling sign! The last friend runs back to the fortuneteller and begs for help, and he is told that this will happen to him forever until he himself is dead. The friend and the Teller go to one of the victim’s house looking for clues and they get a clue to get out of the building that is starting to crumble and during the escape the Teller is killed and the friend runs for his life down the stairs and escapes. He wakes up the next morning and the major event that he saved everyone’s life from happens and all of them now die they way they were supposed to.

Thoughts: This German fan film based around the popular Final Destination series is packed with lots of deaths and a little loose on plot as it really is just about the deaths of all these friends who escaped death’s cold grip! The only plot you do get from this short film is that the friends don’t want to die and while bummed that their friends are dying of weird accidents, seem to just shrug it off and go about their days and lives, that is until only two are left alive and then they make a half ass attempt to get help from a teller who just talks in weird riddles about his life being saved. The film has lots of bloody deaths and are done well with computer effects, and the film while very much flawed you can tell is being done by fans of the series as they might not have put time in the plot they did however put thought into the weird ways for the group of friends to die. The version I watched was dubbed but there is also an original German version as well out in the world. While the deaths and the digital deaths were cool and well done, the plot was paper thin and I would say that if you are a die hard fan of the film that sparked this fan film you should check it out, or if you would like to see effects that could be done with After Effects give it a watch. This film can be found on YouTube if you want to check this out.

Grade: C-

Phantasm: Extinction
Starring – Joshua Rabdell & Phil Sawyer     Directed by Joshua Randell
Released in 2017    Runtime: 40min     Not Rated

Plot: In 1979 The Tall Man and his horde have started their invasion of Earth and the war with them is being fought. Mike and Reggie are the world’s only hope but they during the chaos have been separated and the world around this is dead and filled with dangers and Mike starts his quest to find his friend and ends up in the Tall Man dimension and fights off his evil dwarf minions with a trusty custom shotgun, once back in our dimension he meets a man who as well has had his run in with The Tall Man and his creatures, and they pair fix a car meanwhile Reggie stuck in the world of the Tall Man fights for his life as well. Mike and his new friend check out a small town and this is a big mistake as Mike and his friend go to face Tall Man and Mike blows up the gateway and he thinks he stopped Tall Man, but he also had to kill his own friend by doing so. In the end Mike once more comes face to face with the killer Dwarves and knows that the nightmare never ends.

Thoughts: Ok, I have to start by saying it’s clear that Joshua Randell is a huge fan of the Phantasm series and understands the films lore and characters, but on the other hand the acting is super cheesy, the effects are cheap and they use scenes from the films for most of the creature effects and appearances of Tall Man, the sound is bad and pacing at times crawls as characters go into long winded stories and recaps of events from the films. The effect of the Tall Man’s world is well done even if it’s not the barren wasteland we have seen in the film series, not to even mention that at times the Killer Dwarves are guys in cheap Halloween robes or even toys super imposed in the footage. Joshua Randell is not only the films director but also plays Mike and bless his heart as he tried really hard to make his mark on Phantasm history with his fan film idea, its just really way to wordy and clearly he did not have much money for the budget as for the most part the film is bloodless. One part that had me laugh out loud is when a clearly none tall person filled in as The Tall Man and is wearing a cheesy white wig and is also holding a plastic ball…so bad its good. Over all I give Joshua and his friends lots of credit for attempting to make a Fan Film of Phantasm as it really is a complex series that would be hard to do with zero budget, and while I was not a super fan of this fan flick I would like to see Joshua and his friends return and make another one as its clear they love what they made and enjoyed the series they made this love letter to.

Grade: D+

Phantom Of The Opera
Starring – Elisa Hansen & Katherine Becker     Directed by Elisa Hansen
Released in 2002     Runtime: 20min     Not Rated

Plot: In the Paris Opera House, young singer Christine returns to her dressing room to find gifts and a voice that sings with her, and when the voice is shown to be The Phantom of the Opera he promises her that with his help she could have the best voice in all of Paris! And thinking that her dead father has sent The Phantom she takes him up on his offer. Three months pass and Christine has a suitor named Raoul and The Phantom is not pleased as his heart belongs to the young singer as well and he makes a date with her at the Graveyard to play her music. At the graveyard The Phantom plays for Christine and Raoul begs her not to go with him, but she does into the belly of the Opera House. And while the Phantom plays the piano Christine removes The Phantom’s mask and set him into a rage and he forces her to wear a rings and claim they are married. Once back in her dressing room she sends for Raoul and she rushes him to the roof and tells him of The Phantom of the Opera, and he makes her a promise to save her and he as well gives her a ring and wants her hand in marriage, but they make a mistake as The Phantom sees this and is not happy. That night The Phantom takes her back down into the belly of the Opera House and Raoul goes down to get her, in the end Christine is saved and ends up with Raoul as The Phantom of the Opera is left heartbroken as he knows that she will never truly be his.

Thoughts: This is a fun little silent horror fan film that is inspired by all the different film versions of The Phantom Of The Opera as well as the novel with the main inspiration coming from the 1925 classic starring Lon Chaney Sr., and the cool thing also being this was pulled off by 4 young ladies who clearly loved all things Phantom Of The Opera and put time and thought into pulling this off with such a limited cast and crew. The story condenses down the classic story as it removes all the opera singing moments as well as the plot of the Opera owners and just sticks to the Christine, Raoul and Phantom plot that is the true highlight of the story anyways. The Phantom was played by Elisa Hansen and she does a great job of silent film acting and bringing out the sadness and anger of the character, she also plays the character Meg and she also co-directed and co-wrote this short film. That’s the one thing that does make this film work so well is that the actresses understood how to act in a silent film as they show the over emotions that sell the point of the plot. The film has no deaths or blood and being based on a classic movie monster that is ok, and the only real downside to the DVD copy I have is that it’s very low grade and pixels pretty bad in spots. Over all if you are a Phantom Of The Opera fan, love classic Silent Horror Hosts or just want to see a fan film made by a limited amount of friends and pulling it off…check this one out as it can be found on YouTube.

Grade: B

Psycho V
Starring – Justin Linville & Uriel Ramos     Directed by Justin Linville
Released in 2013     Runtime: 62min     Not Rated

Plot: Norman Bates has set fire to his old family home that looks over the Bates Motel and now years past and Norman Bates has died and had a son named Will that was been living with close friends of Norman who are raising him as their own. Will is now hearing the voice of Norma Bates and he is starting to also question his own sanity as his friends dig deeper into the Bates family killing legacy. Will under the direction of his Grandmother dresses in the infamous dress and wig and starts to kill off friends and classmates of his that are getting too close to the truth of what he is becoming. After many of the teens of town become missing the Police get involved as they are trying to find a link between them all. One by one Will kills his friends and classmates all in for a plan he has made with his Grandmother, he even kills his best friend and with all the deaths the cops figure it all out and leave a trap for him using some of his classmates. In the end after killing so many people Will is taken out by one of his would be victims who stabs him to death.

Thoughts: This Psycho V fan film was clearly made by teenagers and has weirdly placed cuts, poor edits and the quality is a little rough…but while flawed they clearly had heart and wanted to make a fan film based on the legacy of Norman Bates and his Mother. The acting is very backyard style and remind me of all the early stuff we filmed at Independent B Movie. The story is pretty good and has Norman Bates having a son who discovers he is a Bates after finding his fathers old keep box that is filled with a diary as well as the wig and knife and now driven insane is keeping up Norma’s body count alive. The voice for Norma Bates is terrible and she sounds nothing like Mother from the real film series and has an odd accent that’s distracting. Justin Linville plays Will and he does a good job of playing that mix of weird and nice and is one of the better actors of the movie. This film is bad and yet I think that is way it has charm as they did put effort in the story, tried really hard in acting and did their best backyard effects. Over all there is not much to really say about this one besides it’s a pretty silly backyard made fan film based on one of the worlds most iconic slasher films that the filmmakers tried really hard on and seemed like they had a blast filming it. The DVD copy I have of the film is pretty grainy and has some weird picture clichés from time to time. While not the best of Psycho Fan Films it is one that holds charm if you like movies like Werewolf Of Ohio, Dr. Freak Vamp Killa and Friday The 13^th Halloween Night. This film can be watched on YouTube.

Grade: C+

Psycho V: Beginning Of The End
Starring – Horror455 & Patrick Ferguson     Directed by Horror455
Released in 2012    Runtime: 1hr 46min     Not Rated

Plot: Johnny is a Texas reporter who is being sent to Arizona to interview Nathan Bates the son of Norman Bates who had just passed away. When arriving Johnny finds that Nathan is very nice but a little odd and does his best to avoid the interview with distractions like playing video games and changing rooms in order to talk in, and when the interview starts Nathan starts talking about his fathers dark secrets and yet its clear he is very proud of his fathers life and thinks that his father was not crazy. The interview takes place over days and Nathan is very lonely and clearly is missing his father who was also his best friend in ways. Jonathan ends up becoming friends with Nathan and even quits his reporting job when his boss becomes a major jerk about what he thinks Nathan is and that’s a psycho. Over the friendship it becomes clear that Nathan is unstable as he claims he has talked with his Grandma Bates and that she was a sweet woman and even treats Johnny to a meal that has human remains in it, and it appears that Nathan has killed his own father Norman! In the end Nathan dresses like his dead Grandmother and attacks Johnny and tries to kill him, buts stops the attack and falls down stairs and is taken to the hospital for his major injury. In the end we find that Nathan killed Andrew Loomis the newspaper owner and that’s who was made into dinner as he was killed after he attacked Nathan in his own home that triggered his dark side, Johnny heals up and becomes a major book writer and remains close friends with Nathan after all this craziness is over.

Thoughts: The filmmaker that made this fan film was clearly a fan of the Psycho film series and his his best in shots to capture the eerie nature of the original with the use of shadows and angles. The plot is well thought out and I like the idea of Norman Bates having a son who is clearly as unstable as he was and trying just like his father to come off normal in a world around him he finds to be strange and unfriendly. But while the plot is fun and makes for a good fan film idea the major downside is that at times it drags causing it to be a little boring in spots as the run time is a very long 1hr and 46mi, and I should also state the film is filled with filler like Thunderstorm scenes and even clips from the movie American Psycho a part that has Nathan eating and reacting to it, and this part goes on way to long as do many of the moments of them showing how lonely Nathan is in his massive house. The films climax does show some blood and a kill that is done well as the film is shot in black and white and only one actor plays all the parts! Nathan Bates is a great character as he clearly is just like his father and is mentally unstable and thinks that Norma Bates is still alive and bullies him into doing bad things. The acting from Horror455 is great and he pulls off all parts really well and the fact that he was a one-man crew is pretty dang cool. I really enjoyed the film for the most part and enjoyed the twist and turn plot, and I would have given it higher if only it trimmed the fat of the drawn out parts. One odd thing is all the humor at the start of the film that goes away in spots, I want to also say that I enjoyed the end of Nathan becoming Mother as if felt like a classic style slasher film. Over all a nice little Psycho “sequel” done with a very tiny micro budget that was done by a man who clearly loved the source material.

Grade: B-

A Puppet Master Halloween
Starring – Nick Hill         Directed by Patrick Delaney
Released in 2019   Runtime: 20min     Not Rated

Plot: In the suburbs of Bodega Bay on Halloween Night a guy named Seth is preparing for the night complete with watching Night Of The Living Dead with a beer in hand, and also looking for a missing cat named Sparky. As the night goes on a weird orange and black package is delivered while out side the killer puppet Pinhead watches, as he is the one who placed the package there and knocked. As Seth opens it he finds that it’s a crate and inside the crate is Jester and he puts the creepy doll back and then goes to make himself some microwave popcorn, and while distracted Jester gets up and opens the garage door and lets in his fellow puppets that include Blade, Pinhead and Tunneler! As the night goes along Jester and his fellow puppets start to torment and scare Seth with him trying to run for his life to get away from them, and finally has to fight back armed with a baseball bat he strikes back at the puppets…but to no luck as by the end of Halloween night they knock out Seth and their mission is clear as they are looking for their missing friend Six-Shooter and files to were he is at as well as a crate that holds the elixir that gives them health. Later that night Seth is now injured and awake as his front door opens and Torch appears and sets him and the house on fire!

Thoughts: Growing up I have always been a huge fan of Full Moon flicks and when I heard that a fan film based on their Puppet Master series was in the works I was pretty dang happy to hear this as it was about time some one did a fan film based on this killer puppets! And when watching this film I was not disappointed as Patrick Delaney is clearly a fan of the series added lots of the folklore from the movies but also seemed to be building his own world around it as well. The plot has a guy named Seth all alone on Halloween Night who becomes the target of the killer puppets as they are looking for something in the house and he is just in their way. The Puppets we are treated to in this fan flick are Blade, Jester, Tunneler, Pinhead, Torch and a photo cameo from Six-Shooter the later who is missing and his friends want to get him back. As far as Seth goes I think he is just a guy in the wrong house at the wrong time and he ends up paying for it all with his life. I also loved that this film ties in Chucky from the Child’s Play films as well as well as the Spheres from the Phantasm series as they are all apart of something called the Omega Project. The film is pretty bloodless but does have violent acts and the Puppets are mean spirited like they are in Puppet Master and Puppet Master II. And while I wish they would have explained a little more on who Seth was and what the Omega Project is I did find myself really having a blast with this film and hope they make a second part this coming Halloween season (2020). If you enjoy Full Moon Movies, love Puppet Master and get a kick out of killer dolls this is a fan film with heart and is worth the watch. Do yourself a favor and check this one out on YouTube.

Grade: A-

The Purge 2024
Starring – Lec Zorn & Gabrielle Bousum     Directed by Ashton Gleckman
Released in 2017   Runtime: 14min     Not Rated

Plot: The year is 2024, and it’s Purge Night and two friends have broken down and are being hunted by a mask wearing Preacher and his carload of mask wearing psychos who want them dead and have the weapons to do so! With one friend being killed when the pair take shelter in an abandon home the remaining man must hide, run and try his best to outsmart these coldblooded killers and take them out before they get him and he does get some of them, but in the end the Purge ends and the man surrounded by killers holds one hostage and as they drop their weapons he kills them all breaking the rules of the Purge.

Thoughts: The Purge series is one of those film series that I think very much lends it’s self to the world of fan films as I also think it would make for a great comic book series as well as a video game…but now I am off topic. This short fan film does a fantastic job of capturing what it must be like to be hunted during The Purge as the two men are out numbered and in some cases out gunned. The two men seem like they are scared for their lives but are willing to fight back if they can save their hides, and don’t mind taking lives if they have to. Our final survivor turns out to be just as cold and evil as those who are hunting him as he takes their lives even after the event is over. The Masked hunters are pretty bang cool as you have The Preacher, Nun, Pig, Bunny, Bride and Zombie all running around with knives, guns and chainsaw to end some lives with. The film is pretty bloody and is fast paced for the short runtime. Over all I say if you like The Purge movies this little short fan film is worth checking out as you can tell Ashton Gleckman is a fan of the source material. If you enjoy the Purge series and want to check this one out look it out on YouTube.

Grade: A-

Scream: Generations
Starring – Lindsay McEwan & Lee Bloomfield     Directed by Jared Vollmann
Released in 2012     Runtime: 1hr 30min     Not Rated

Plot: Someone is taking their love for the Scream movie series to the extreme as Howell High School kids are being butchered and the killer is mimicking Ghostface is his appearance and style. Natalie is apart of a film class and she and her friends after a pair of school mates are murdered they decide to have a party that weekend to spend time together and be safe. In one-night Ghostface targets and kills the teens Film Teacher as well as April killed and her boyfriend injured and this sparks fear in Natalie and her friends stick together, but do have some inner fighting on who has done this and their pal Jason is blamed. The group of friends end up getting together to stay safe and spend time together after the tragic events that have rocked their lives, and spend the night watching Horror Movies in the backyard…but this is a big mistake as Ghostface appears to crash the party and rise his body count! In the end Natalie must come face to face with the slasher behind the mask and fight for her life.

Thoughts: This fan film takes the Scream formula and adds a new touch to it by acting as if the film series has sparked a psychopath into a killing spree that has them acting like Ghostface! The film does a good job of building the group of friends and Natalie and Gwen’s friendship being the standout as actresses Lindsay McEwan and Claire Tsiporukha do a good job in the roles. Creator and Director Jared Vollmann does a great job of capturing the mood and kills of the Scream movies and does his best to add in red herrings and keeping you guessing to who or whom is behind the slayings, Jared also plays the part of Ian in the film and its crystal clear he loves the Scream series and had passion behind making this fan film as the script and acting is solid. The one downside to Scream: Generations for me was the fact who put the mask on and slaughtered was pretty easy to predict, and while not everyone who watches this fan film will be able to predict those who know the series will spot who or whom the killer(s) are pretty easy. The motivation behind the slayings is cheesy and yet also pretty well thought out, and not making it just a solid fan film set in the Scream universe makes more of the film work. The film does have blood and the effects for the kills are pretty well done and while limited they do not stay on them long enough to spot the flaws. And I must also point out that actress Lindsay McEwan who plays Natalie should be in more Indie Horror movies! Over all Scream: Generations is a fun fan flick that delivers all the scares and entertainment that the series that sparked it always brought to the big screen. You can watch this film on YouTube, and oddly enough it films well in the world of Scream so if you ever have a marathon of Scream you should add this to the list.

Grade: B+

She Burns In Hell
Starring – Brittany Blanton & Josh Miller     Directed by Ryan Stacy
Released in 2018     Runtime: 10min     Not Rated

Plot: Carrie White set her high school on fire and killed many of the students after a prank of dropping pigs blood on her head sets off her paranormal abilities. They then talk to some people who watched as Carrie walked from the school and the witnessed her power first hand. We also witness what went on in Carries mind as she was dying in her front yard after destroying her house and fighting with her crazy mother. In the end when an eyewitness is asked where Carrie White is in the after life she says “She Burns In Hell”.

Thoughts: Carrie White is one of those Horror icons I think gets over looked when it comes to fan films as most tend to do films about slasher characters like Jason, Michael, Freddy and Leatherface so it was cool to see someone decide to do this and of course is had to be those talented people of Concept Media based here in Ohio. I like that the plot circled around those who seen her after her rampage in the school as she walked home covered in pigs blood as her classmates burned alive in the high school. Brittany Blanton was well casted as Carrie White and while she has very little speaking in the role she says all she needs to with her eyes as she strolls down the street and later dies in her yard. The acting is well done from the rest of the cast and really makes you think what you would do if you witnessed her special powers first hand, and how could you explain it to those who never witnessed it. This fan film also in its short time does a great job of highlighting the events of the film via dialogue played over scenes and in flashbacks. She Burns In Hell does a great job of adding to the cinematic world of Carrie and adds a new layer to the story done by Stephen King. If you are a Carrie fan make sure to check this fan film out as it’s a quick spooky watch that you will enjoy, my only real complaint is that I wish it was a little longer and we got more witnesses talking about her path home and the aftermath of her crimes. Watch this one on YouTube!

Grade: A-

TCM: New Blood
Starring – Dave R. Watkins & Ron McLellen     Directed by Ron McLellen
Released in 2010     Runtime: 25min     Not Rated

Plot: Lindsay and her brother Justin make the mistake of picking up a hitchhiker while lost in Texas as they are looking for their grandfathers house and also are running out of gas. The Hitchhiker offers them gas from his home and also says his brother can help give him directions, and sadly they accept. Justin follows the Hitchhiker to get the gas and meets Leatherface’s hammer, and then Lindsay is knocked out and when she wakes up she is tied down at the families dinner table and tormented by family members like Drayton, The Hitchhiker, Momma, Leatherface and a host of other Sawyer family members. Lindsay is happy to see that here brother Justin is still alive and is also forced to sit at the dinner table and watch the madness of the family unfold before them, before they are served chili for dinner, but also during dinner Justin is beaten to death with hammers in front of his sisters eyes. Lindsay is able to escape when The Hitchhiker unties her and he gets in a pushing fight with his brother Leatherface as the brothers chase her down and she meets her end at the blade of Leatherfaces’s chainsaw, in the end Leatherface does the chainsaw dance as the sun is coming up.

Thoughts: This fan film set after the events of the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre and places siblings in the wrong place, as they become the next victims and meals for the crazed Sawyer Family. Justin and Lindsey are brother and sister and besides the fact they are looking for their grandfathers house in Texas we do not know much more about them, well besides they are lost and need gas. The Sawyer Family has all the original members around like Leatherface, The Cook and Hitchhiker but the other members like Momma, The Sheriff and so on just kind of seem out of place and take up screen time on a already short film that could have been given to the victims to flush out more of a backstory for them. The Hitchhiker who they also call Virgil and is played by Dave R. Watkins does his best to channel both Edwin Neal (The Hitchhiker) and Bill Moseley (Chop Top), with director Ron McLellen playing Leatherface and adding in both a spooky touch but also a little childlike humor. The film has two kills and they don’t shy away from using blood and the effects are good with the best is Justin getting bashed with the hammer is well done and cut together effective. I also feel that actress Morgan Mullis who plays Lindsay is solid as she screams her head off and has a true scream queen appeal to her. Over all this frightful fan film is a pretty fun watch and would have been better if they would have cut down the amount of Sawyer family members, maybe added a few more kills and would have not drawn out the cliché dinner table scene that is over done in all things connected to Texas Chainsaw. But with that said well done to the filmmakers and is worth a watch. Like many of the others on this update you can view this one on YouTube.

Grade: C+

Tiffany
Starring – Samuel Moya & Frances Nunez        Directed by Julian Romero
Released in 2018       Runtime: 20min     Not Rated

Plot: Samuel is a young man whose brother and friend where murdered by the killer dolls Chucky and Tiffany and now he must put this all behind him and deal with the mental breakdown of the crimes as well as the nightmares of Tiffany coming to get him. He also himself seen the killers dolls and just the thought of them and speaking to them freaks him out, and things get worse when a package arrives at his front door step one late night and inside the box is Tiffany and Chucky and she sets her sights and knife on ending Samuels life by putting the soul of Chucky into his body, but the young man fights back…but in the end while he defeats Tiffany by tricking Chucky into stabbing her, he then takes an axe and cuts off the head of Chucky…and it ends with Samuel keeping and torturing the still alive head of Chucky and finding that Tiffany’s body is missing.

Thoughts: This fan film takes place a few years after the events of Bride Of Chucky and tells the tale of a young man who is messed up mentally over the murders of his brother and friend at the hands of the killer doll duo, who end up showing up to his home to try and take over his body and end his life. This is a pretty fun little short fan film that uses sound bites from Jennifer Tilly for Tiffany and Brad Dourif for Chucky, and our two man killers are just consumer bought dolls from stores like Spencer’s Gifts in the malls across America, and they are used really well to pull off the killer doll moments. The films main star is Samuel Moya who plays the character of Samuel and he does an ok job of being the victim turned attacker, though him beating down both Tiffany and Chucky with ease is a little silly and he takes no real damage in the fights with them. The film is bloodless and the only “deaths” in the film is Chucky who’s head is cut off and then has his head stabbed and drilled. The music is interesting and while movie score moments are present so are covers of old songs done by female vocalist. While this is a very simple plotted fan film is clear that director, writer and producer Julian Romero was a fan of Bride Of Chucky and wanted to add his own touch to the story to show what happened after the film some time later. If you like Child’s Play movies and are looking for something short and fun give this one a watch, while it’s not the greatest it’s still a good effort from some young filmmakers. Watch it now on YouTube.

Grade: C+

A Wet Dream On Elm Street
Starring – Rachael Deacon           Directed by Andrew Shearer
Released in 2011       Runtime: 5min     Not Rated

Plot: A beautiful young woman is getting ready for bed at the same time Freddy Kruger is getting his glove ready to kill. At night a Freddy doll falls from her ceiling and starts to seduce the woman who in turn turns on her charm and the woman and the doll have kinky sex…and then she wakes up wearing Freddy’s sweater and it makes you wonder was it only a dream?

Thoughts: This extremely short “A Nightmare On Elm Street” fan parody film is mostly kinky with a dash of Horror thrown in. Rachael Deacon plays the young woman who has the dream and she has a real Lina Romay appeal to her, plus I have meet Rachel many times and she is a creative and great person. The short was also directed by the super talented Andrew Shearer who I feel is one of Americas most over looked master of indie cult films, as he has been making movies for decades and don’t get the respect and love he should from the masses…but then again I feel Shearer don’t mind as he makes movies to entertain not for the fame. The film is mostly silent with a score playing in the back ground with the only line being the woman saying “Whatever You Do, Don’t Fall Asleep” as she is having fun with the evil Freddy as a doll. The film does not have full nudity but does show backside and gets close, so this one is really not for the youngsters. Over all this is a super short and fun film that lets Deacon shine as a cult actress and shows the filming talent of Shearer…Oh and I have to say the lighting is great in my opinion with a blue hue through out the dream. This short film has zero blood, no kills and partial nudity.

Grade: B-

Within The Woods
Starring – Maria Saldeno & Ashley Sanchez       Directed by Brandon Medina
Released in 2014     Runtime: 1hr 13min     Not Rated

Plot: A pair of cops head to the cabin in the woods and find a young woman who warns them that they all need to leave now as the deadites start to appear and torment the group and in the end take them out. The make of the group wakes up in the woods and is chased back into the cabin were he finds the Necronomicon and fights off being possessed himself as the deadites all around him want his soul. Meanwhile a group of friends as well are going to make the mistake of their lives as they are heading to a get away in the woods themselves to help a friend out who is battling pill addiction and depression, when one of the friends reads from the Necronomicon they start to as well become the target of the evil dead! One by one the friends become possessed and turn on each other, with the survivors being confused by what is really going on. In the end can any of the friends or unknown male survivor live through the attack of the Evil Dead?

Thoughts: The heart and spirit is present in this Evil Dead fan film as they capture the darkness, the mean and trickster spirits of the deadites and even the use of the woods and fog. They do a good job with masking the fact its clear they had a very low budget to work with and the effects are pretty well done and have a shot on video backyard charm, but one thing they could not mask is that some of the acting is really bad and its clear Brandon hired his friends for the parts with some of them almost appearing as if they are reading the lines off screen. The film also starts off with the scares and by the middle slows down to a snail pace with the friends in the cabin talking about issues and drama. The original The Evil Dead film was a great spooky film that had demons and dread throughout and while it had drama it brought some major scares, and sadly this fan film Within The Woods here did not do that for me, and don’t get me wrong they tried really hard to pull it off, it just fell a little flat for me as I do feel way to much time is spent on the friends who are at odds with each other and the addiction issue it’s self. Even by the time the friends start to turn into deadites I found myself already kind of checked out from the film. I will say the film does have blood and the possessions of the characters while nothing more than contacts and drooling blood does work for the most part. Over all I think that doing an Evil Dead fan film is hard to pull off and I do give Brandon Medina credit for trying to pull it off, not the best nor worst fan film I have ever seen and I would say if you love all things Evil Dead check it out as the heart is here even if I was not a super fan.

Grade: C

What I really love about covering Fan Made Horror Films based on popular Hollywood Movies is that it brings me back to my days as a Shot On Video creator and director and has sparked my interest in maybe returning to do so and do one last fan film that will be based on a classic Hammer Horror film and character…so who knows maybe I will do so and if I do you can bet your last dollar that I will be covering here on Rotten Ink with a making of update! And keep in mind I will only be able to make this Fan Film if I have the time inbetween working on new episodes of Baron Von Porkchop and The Creeper, work at Rockstar Pro Wrestling and Englewood Cinema, wrapping some Wolf Hunter projects, the comic work for Sparkle and Blood Scream Comics as well as all the updates here on Rotten Ink…so as you can see I have lots of stuff going on. For our next update we will be leaving the world of Fan Films behind and will be back into the world of Horror Hosting as we take a look at the extremely short lived host Captain Jolly Rogers of Hell’s Drive-In out of Indiana. So until next time read a indie comic or three, watch a Fan Film or two and as always support you local Horror Host! See you next update for a buried treasure of Horror Hosting.

From Horror Movie To Horror Comic: Halloween (1978)

Happy Halloween! I have decided to do something a little different for this haunted holiday update as I will not be having “5 Questions With A Horror Host” or even visiting a haunted place as this year I am going to bring you a “From Horror Movie To Horror Comic” update as I have a blast doing them.  Plus I wanted to do this update in honor of the new Halloween movie in theaters right now thanks to Universal and Blumhouse! The Halloween movie series has always been one of my all time favorites and has always entertained and chilled my blood since I was a youngster, and I have been very much looking forward to covering it on Rotten Ink since I started this blog in 2012. So if you’re ready, travel to Haddonfield, Illinois on this Halloween in 2018 with me and not only go trick or treating but also be look out for the Boogeyman known as Michael Myers as the one thing I have learned over the years is that you can’t kill the Boogeyman.  No matter where you hide, he will find you!

Now I think we should start by taking a look at our killer, The Shape. Michael Myers started his killing ways at 6 years old when he brutally stabbed his sister on Halloween night while she was in her room. He was locked away at a mental ward where he never spoke and was considered pure evil. But many years after his first murder, he escapes and returns to his hometown in order to kill again and again. Michael Myers is very mechanical and cold in his movements and is a slow stalker who watches his victims before he murders them. His means of killing are brutal as he uses all types of weapons from knives, axes, needles and often his bare hands to choke the life out of someone or even snap their necks. His appearance also strikes fear into the heart of his victims as he wears a white mask and coveralls making him a very blank slate embodying the faceless horrors we all fear. Michael is also un-killable as he has been shot, beaten, stabbed, set on fire and electrocuted and only stays down for moments before getting back up to attack and kill some more. He is also very strong and has above human strength as he can easily pick up, break and impale a human with brutal power. The combination of all of the above mentioned makes him one of the most, if not the most powerful killer we have covered on a From Horror Movie To Horror Comic update! As far as weakness goes, Michael has very few but I would say his slowness can work against him and leave him open for counter attacks.  He also seems to only kill on a cycle making one safe for most months minus October. As you can see, Michael Myers is a killing machine who cannot be stopped and will come back again and again to kill and butcher.

So now that we have taken a look at Michael Myers aka The Boogeyman aka The Shape, we should take a look at the first film in the series that was released in 1978 and was directed by John Carpenter and sparked 10 sequels as of this update. I will be taking the film’s write up from our pals at IMDB, and after, I will write about the film’s production as well as my connection and thoughts on the original film. So if you’re ready lets head on down to the Myers house and chat about one of the Grandfathers of Slasher films, Halloween.

Halloween (1978)

“The year is 1963, the night: Halloween. Police are called to 43 Lampkin Ln. only to discover that 15 year old Judith Myers has been stabbed to death, by her 6 year-old brother, Michael. After being institutionalized for 15 years, Myers breaks out on the night before Halloween. No one knows, nor wants to find out, what will happen on October 31st 1978 besides Myers’ psychiatrist, Dr. Loomis. He knows Michael is coming back to Haddonfield, but by the time the town realizes it, it’ll be too late for many people.”

Film producers Moustapha Akkad and Irwin Yablans wanted to make a Horror Film about a killer on the hunt for babysitters and sought out director John Carpenter and writer Debra Hill to make if for them! With the film to be set on Halloween night, the original title “The Babysitter Murders” was changed to just Halloween to capture the mood of the spooky holiday. The film’s $300,000.00 budget was put up by Akkad, and Carpenter would take a small fee for directing plus scoring the film as well as only 10% of the film’s profit. The film’s props were made or bought for cheap including the casts wardrobe and Michael Myers’ mask that was just a reworked Don Post Star Trek Captain Kirk mask spray-painted and tweaked. When casting the film, they originally wanted Peter Cushing to play the role of Dr. Sam Loomis but ended up getting Donald Pleasence in the role, and for Laurie Strode they wanted Anne Lockhart before hiring Jamie Lee Curtis! They also brought on other talented actors like Nancy Loomis, P.J. Soles, Charles Cyphers and John Michael Graham with Carpenter’s friend Nick Castle taking the role of adult mask-wearing Michael Myers. The film was shot on a short film schedule and rumor has it that when watching the film without the score, the producers were not scared and a little worried that the film would bomb, but once Carpenter placed the score music, they knew they had a spooky hit on their hands. The film when released to theaters was a major hit bringing in a total of $70 million worldwide! Plus the film would go on to be re-released in theaters bringing in more money, and in 1981, NBC paid $4 million to show the film on TV with new footage added to pad out its runtime as well as tie it into the second film that was hitting theaters around the same time. In 1978, Halloween was released alongside other Horror Movies like Dawn of the Dead, Jaws 2, It Lives Again, Magic, Grapes Of Death, Dracula’s Dog and Mardi Gras Massacre to name a very select few. Halloween would go onto spark the modern slasher film craze and was the first to bring to light the sex, drugs and death formula to all its clones. This was a very brief look at the production of this classic Horror Movie, and I suggest that if you have some spare time, look up the full history of the film and give it a read, as it’s very interesting to see how a small budget horror film changed the face of horror for generations after its release.

I can remember the first time I saw Halloween was with my older brother Bryan sometime in the mid to late 80’s when we watched it on cable TV one late night. I can remember being glued to the screen and finding myself drawn into the feeling of dread as Michael Myers stalked and killed the friends of babysitter Lorie Strode before coming after her. I can remember the true atmosphere of the holiday Halloween being captured on the screen as kids ran around in costumes as a masked killer walked among them. I can remember the lights in the room were off and the glow of the screen helped deliver the chills as the music of John Carpenter filled my ears. I can remember being wide eyed over P.J. Soles and her stunning good looks, being into Nancy Loomis as I really liked her character Annie, and most importantly I can remember becoming a fan of Halloween and Michael Myers for life! After watching that film, I became obsessed with Michael Myers and had to see the sequels and even used to draw him in art class as well as in comic strips. My brother ended up finding the score on cassette tape, and I used to sneak and listen to it on my little stereo in my room and would also tape the main theme onto another tape so that I could listen to it anytime. We would also go on to see all the sequels and own them on VHS and DVD. We would watch Halloween II on the USA Network all the time! In other words, Halloween was a staple for the Brassfield Brothers who between the both of us bought and read so much stuff about this film series. In fact over the years I have been a fan of almost all of the Halloween films with the only one I am not too fond of being Rob Zombie’s Halloween II as I find it very poorly written and directed. While many say that Halloween is the start of the slasher movie genre I would say Psycho from 1960 is but Halloween perfected it and is the one that inspired all the clones that were released in the 1980’s. To be honest, my love for Halloween is hard to put into words on this blog as it really does remind me of my youth, has inspired my own shot on video film The Sadness and just has always been one of my favorite Horror Film series, has one of the best scores in horror cinema, gave me my first and still going celebrity crushes Danielle Harris and is one I have to watch every Halloween! Before I ramble too much more, I just want to say that Halloween is an iconic film that grew into a solid franchise (with the original Halloween 2 being my favorite of the sequels) that everyone should watch at least once in their life as the film really does capture the mood and atmosphere of the Halloween season. This will not be the last time I talk about the Halloween movie series so with that bit of news I will wrap this part up.

Over the years Halloween has become one of the biggest horror franchises in movie history and like most big movies in horror it has had its fair share of merchandise! Over the years Michael Myers and the Halloween logos and images have been used on posters, t-shirts, art prints, drinking glasses, buttons, patches, magazines, hats, dolls, books, action figures and video games. Not to mention the films have been put out on Beta, VHS, DVD, Digital and Blu-Ray for fans to own and watch over and over. The score has also been released on vinyl, cassette, CD and digital! Over the years I have owned all types of cool items that Michael Myers has been on with some of my favorites being the score done by John Carpenter on CD, the McFarlane action figure and the Atari 2600 Video Game cart. So if you’re a fan of Halloween and enjoy collecting horror merch, there is so much great stuff out in the world for you to collect…I also recommend the paperback adaptations as they are amazing and great reads as I had them growing up and can remember reading them on dark nights.

Halloween has always been a very special film to me as it like Psycho introduced me to the world of Slasher Films and really opened my eyes to Horror Movies that did not have werewolves, vampires, phantoms or Frankenstein’s Monster in them. I also need to credit the Friday The 13^th movies and Horror Host show Commander USA’S Groovie Movies for that as well. But now we are at the point of this update where we must take a look at the comic series based on Halloween that was put out by Chaos Comics. This is one of those comic series that when issue one was out, I made sure to have Mavericks save me back a copy and they did and in fact I still own that copy to this day. I can remember reading the copy and enjoying it.  That was 18 years ago so it will be cool to see if I still enjoy it as much. I was able to buy off issues 2 and 3 off Ebay many years back and oddly enough am just getting around to reading them! I want to also remind you readers that I am grading these comics on a star scale of 1 to 4 and am looking for how well these comics stays to the source material, their entertainment value and their art and story. So with that let’s dive into the Chaotic world of Halloween on this Halloween.

Halloween # 1  ***
Released in 2000    Cover Price $2.95    Chaos Comics    # 1 of 1

Survivor Tommy Doyle is now grown up and writing a book about serial killer Michael Myers and heads three hours away from his home to pick up old case files written by Dr. Sam Loomis for research. Before Tommy arrives, the doctor who is waiting for him is killed by Michael Myers who is lurking in the dark as Tommy comes and goes and no one finds the murdered body of the doctor as Myers has pinned it to the back of the door. Once back home Tommy starts to read the files and finds out that Loomis wanted to separate young Michael from the other young kids at the asylum and even with the help of Dr. Jennifer Hill (who Loomis is starting to have a relationship with) they could not get it to happen, and even after he attacks and almost all the other kids around him die, they keep Michael around others as he can never be connected to the deaths. Finally after years of terror, Michael kills Jennifer Hill and makes it look like a suicide and this makes Loomis forever be the person who will be the thorn in Michael’s side and be the one who tries to keep him locked up forever. As Tommy finishes part of the files, Michael Myers shows up in his home and tries to murder him, but Tommy is able to shoot him as well as set his face on fire and knocking him out of the window! But like before as Tommy looks down from the broken window, Michael Myers is missing.

It’s hard to believe that Michael Myers and the Halloween Horror Movie series first made their way to the comic book world in 2000 way after the likes of Jason Voorhees, Freddy Kruger, Pinhead, Norman Bates, Chucky and Leatherface! And even more crazy, it was Chaos Comics who finally brought him to Horror Comic readers! The plot of this first issue has Tommy Doyle, a survivor of the 1978 babysitter massacre grown up and now wanting to write a book and dive into the history of the killer Michael Myers who is now back and targeting Tommy! The other cool thing is that this issue showcases the files of Dr. Sam Loomis with him trying his best to warn everyone that Michael Myers even as a kid was a danger to others and shows that at one time he was in love and engaged to a fellow doctor who was killed by Michael who made it looked like a suicide. Tommy Doyle is a very focused man who wants to write the best book about his would be murderer and when faced with the fact he has been targeted by the mask killer again he snaps into action and takes the fight to his attacker. Sam Loomis as always is a hero who has his sights on Michael as he knows that the young man is a cold, evil killer who will do so over and over if and when he gets the chance. Having both Loomis and Tommy in this comic really ties it into the film series as both are featured in the first film and both have gone on to be in some of the films sequels. The rest of the workers at the asylum are fooled by Michael and his silent act, besides Jennifer Hill who kind of trusts the words of Loomis but also just becomes a victim to the pure evil youngster who targets her to get as Loomis who is his doctor. Michael Myers as a youngster and as a masked un-killable adult is a pure evil killing machine that is silent and brutal and is the ultimate in slasher killers and one heck of a great Horror Comic bad guy. The comic has some great kills and does have some blood, and while bloody, it’s not over done and not a total gorehound’s dream but will please fans of early slasher films. The cover for this issue has a classic movie photo of Michael Myers and is pretty cool and eye catching for fans of the film and the interior art is good and done by David Brewer and has a classic late 90’s style look. Over all this is a pretty great comic that does a fantastic job of blending the past and present and shows that Halloween was long overdue for a comic series. Oh and I have to say that this comic holds up for me as I enjoyed it back in 2000 when released and enjoyed it now in 2018!

Halloween II # 1  **1/2
Released in 2001    Cover Price $2.99     Chaos Comics     # 1 of 1

Tommy Doyle grabs his gun and heads to the old Myers house as he thinks that’s where Michael will return to after getting set on fire, shot and knocked out of the window. As Tommy Makes his way there, Richie Castle, a man who also came face to face with Michael in his youth, has had his life in ruin since then, as he knows he came face to face with evil and on this night wants to set the Myers house on fire! While across town Tommy runs into Keith and Lonnie who are friends of Richie and have spent their lives making fun of Tommy and his quest to hunt down the boogeyman. While Ritchie is killed in the Myers house by accident by former Sheriff Leigh Brackett who thought he was Michael and has now taken the body to hide in a field is followed by Tommy who has gotten away from his bullies.  The pair talk about the true history of the town and how it’s filled with Samhain worshipers who are the ones who made Michael the way he is and that his babysitter the old woman Blankenship is one of the leaders of the cult! Meanwhile back at the Myers house Michael brutally kills Lonnie and Keith who had shown up in order to find Ritchie who owed them weed. While back in the field Tommy and Brackett are attacked by the cult who tie them up and keep them prisoner in the basement with Blankenship wanting to kill them and the priest wanting to let them go. Michael is on his way to the church basement as the priest sets Brackett and Tommy free just in time as Michael shows up and kills the priest and stabs Brackett. Tommy is able to once more set Michael on fire and push him into a power box electrocuting him and allowing himself to pick up Brackett and escape the now burning church only to run into the cultist outside. Our issue ends with Tommy being blamed for all the current murders and fires and is sitting in an asylum figuring out a plan to escape and stop Michael Myers once and for all.

This second issue is good…but not as good as the first as this time around they added in much of the plot twists of “Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers” with the whole Thorn Cult.  While I don’t mind the cult aspect, I did feel they took away lots of panel time from the main star of this comic Michael Myers. The plot of this issue has Tommy Doyle on the trail of Michael running into Brackett, former town sheriff, and together they want to stop the masked killer but soon find themselves at the mercy of a cult who has protected Michael for decades and who will do whatever it takes to cover for him and try and control his rage. This time around Tommy Doyle is way more focused and is ready to take the fight to Michael, plus he is a likable character who brings a touch of the classic Halloween to this comic series. It’s also great to see Sheriff Leigh Brackett back as he really does have a bone to pick with Michael as he killed is daughter Annie in 1978 and now is back in town with revenge on his mind. Ritchie, Lonnie and Keith are the goofy younger kids from the first film that tell Tommy that the Boogeyman is coming for him, and in this, they are still very mean spirited adults who all get murdered for being terrible people doing terrible things at the wrong house. Blankenship and the cultist are all cold blooded people who will do anything for the spirit of Samhain and that includes murder, kidnapping and framing others for their crimes. Michael Myers is as always an unstoppable killing machine who’s only goal is to kill and kill some more. This issue ups the blood and gore as many of people meet their end by Michaels knife, and it really feels like a 80’s style slasher film! The cover on this issue is great and eye catching to not only Halloween fans but also fans of Horror Comics in general. Jerry Beck this time around does the interior art and I think it’s better than the art in issue one as this one seems darker and more independent in style. Over all we once more have a great issue that builds up a great cliffhanger that comic readers had to wait a year in order to see how it all works out. So let’s not wait a year ourselves and see what the third and final issue has in store for us.

Halloween III # 1  **
Released in 2001     Cover Price $2.99     Chaos Comics     # 1 of 1

Tommy Doyle has been in the asylum for two years now for the “murders” of Ritchie Castle and Brackett, and on this day he finds out that he is to be killed by the orderlies in order to make it look like a suicide via orders from the cult, but lucky for him he is able to fight back and escape. Meanwhile back in Haddonfield, survivor of the 1978 massacre and now reporter Lindsey Wallace is looking into the disappearance of Laurie Strode who went missing after changing her name and becoming a headmistress at a California academy and was attacked by Michael Myers. She also learns that the bodies of the three victims of the 1978 massacre have been stolen and that Tommy has escaped the asylum! Tommy of course meets up with Lindsey who has the private diaries of Dr. Loomis, and they talk about Laurie Strode being Michael’s Sister. But before they can come up with a plan they are attacked by Michael who ends up chasing Lindsey out of the house and down the street and right into the old Myers house. Once inside, Michael tries and kills Lindsey but Tommy comes rushing in and stabs and removes the mask to find that Laurie Strode is now crazy and has killed her brother back in California when he came for her and she as well dug up her friends and has taken over at being the Boogeyman! Tommy and Laurie have a struggle and both fall out of a window with Tommy dying and Laurie is now an inmate at an asylum not speaking a word and bidding her time to escape like her brother before her. Lindsey is left to wonder is evil real or was it all just metal illness in the Myers family.

This third and final issue in the Chaos Comic Halloween series does its best to try and tie in “Halloween H20” to the rest of the series and adds a two year gap in the story from issue “2” and itself. The plot of this issue has both youngsters Tommy and Lindsey who survived the 1978 killing spree of Michael Myers coming back together as adults only to be attacked again by Myers who this time around is not Michael but his sister Laurie who was the one who kept them save from the first attack! Tommy in this issue is a doomed man as the cult wants him dead as does the Boogeyman and he gives his life to save his childhood friend.  Once more Tommy makes a great hero in this comic even though he also walks the line of being crazy. Lindsey Wallace is a great reporter now who as well has become obsessed with the legacy of terror of Michael Myers and wants to write a big report about him, and she as well finds that she has the will to fight when pushed by the masked killer. The cult members this time around take a back seat and are only at the start of the issue as they want to murder Tommy and pass it off as a suicide. Michael Myers sadly is nowhere in site as he is “dead” by the hands of his sister Laurie Strode who is now wearing the mask and wanting to go on a killing rampage in her old hometown. This is the twist I dislike about this comic series as with issue 1 and 2 we have Michael Myers doing what he does best and that’s slashing and stabbing people who are in his way, with this third issue we lose Michael and have to believe that Laurie has lost her mind and has taken the spirit of Samahin in her and is now a cold blooded killer…and to that I say no thanks as Laurie to me is best being the one who wants nothing more than to get away from her past and her mask wearing brother. By turning Laurie into a killer, they also undid all the heroic stuff she did in the first, second and H20 films and just made her feel so generic. The issue also has very little blood and gore and while it’s around, it almost feels like a PG-13 movie making it the least bloody in the series. The cover for this issue is pretty great and showcases Michael Myers with a full moon. Handling the interior art for this issue is Justiniano, and while it’s okay, I would also say it’s my least favorite in the series. Over all this third and final issue in the series is a little of a letdown and the build up to this issue was so good and we got a lame payout in this Horror Comic reader’s opinion. Below is some artwork from all three issues to show you the styles of each artist and I must say while the ending is a little bit of a letdown I do recommend tracking down this series and given it a read as the first two issues are very solid.

It would be seven years after the comic by Chaos before Michael Myers would return to the world of comics thanks to Devils Due…but those comics are for another update for another year. I also hope that you readers went and seen the new Halloween film in cinemas because by doing so, maybe we can get a new batch of sequels made and have Michael Myers be a box office draw again at the cinema! Also thanks for spending a part of your Halloween with me as I really do look forward to doing these updates on this day even if this year we did something a little different. For our next update we are leaving the world of horror behind and will stark our countdown to Thanksgiving with a forgotten superhero with this year’s being one from the pages of Mad and it being Captain Klutz! So until then read a Horror Comic or three, watch a slasher film or two and as always support your local Horror Host. And oh yeah remember you cannot kill the Boogeyman even if you shoot him six times.

Rotten Pixels 2

Welcome back boils and ghouls as we continue my look at horror films that should be made into video games for PS3, Xbox 360 and even the WII.  Yeah, I know that the next gen systems are coming very soon, but these titles could carry over onto, say, a PS4. Working at a second hand video game store has given me the chance to buy and play many different systems, and one that I have found to be a fun 8-bit experience that has many horror themed games is the Commodore 64 (C64).  While mostly known for being a computer and really is nothing more then a keyboard that you buy floppy disk and datasette drives for, it’s a surprise in the gaming department. This system has games based on the films Friday The 13^th, A Nightmare of Elm Street, Psycho, Nightbreed, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Evil Dead and even cartoon vampire duck Count Duckula! It also had games based on Dracula, ghosts, Frankenstein, Bigfoot and Werewolves, not to mention horror hostess Elvira Mistress of the Dark had two games based around her.  While the NES also had games based on Friday and Nightmare, the C64 versions are way different giving gamers a little more to play, and best of all the controls for this gaming computer are just like the Atari 2600 joystick.  In fact you can plug in and use a 2600 joystick.  The wonders of classic gaming is something I hold near and dear. If you would like to read up on some of my thoughts on these video games, you should read my reviews over at www.bloodlinevideo.com for both games and movies.

So without me blabbing on some more about my love of survival horror games, classic gaming and my website, let’s just get right into the list starting with number 10.

# 10.) The Wolf Man

Larry Talbot is a man who comes from a well to do family.  When returning home, he falls in love with a shopkeeper’s daughter who is set to be married. Larry charms the young woman and gets her to go out with him to a local gypsy carnival of sorts.  While out on this date, he is attacked by a werewolf who passes the full moon curse onto him. Larry struggles with his new curse, and the fact he is responsible for the deaths of many locals.  This causes him to have a death wish and by the end of the original film, he meets his end by a silver cane wielded by the woman he loves. But you can’t keep a good monster down as Larry would return in many more films trying to find a way to be cured and also doing battles with Frankenstein’s Monster, crazy scientists, Count Dracula and even Bud Abbot and Lou Costello. Like the Phantom of the Opera, this is a perfect game for a company like TellTale Games to snatch up and turn into a solid, fun point and click spooky horror adventure. Imagine playing as Larry Talbot during the day trying to right the wrongs you have done the night before during the full moon as The Wolf Man! The ultimate goal is to find a cure or even find peace in death; all these decisions would be up to you the player and your actions would determine what course the game would take. Lon Chaney Jr. who played The Wolf Man’s son Ron Chaney should also do a voice in this game, adding to the over all feel. I for one would flip out for a game like this and would support a whole line based on Universal Monster Movies! And really this is one of my top five favorite movies of all time, and while the sequels don’t have as much impact as the first, they also are amazing watches during the cold month of October.

While a company has made a free to play internet MMO of The Universal Monsters, the Wolf Man has had some what of a presence in the world of video games.  In 1988, a text based game was released for the Commodore 64 and while the name of the game is WolfMan, it’s not a Universal sponsored product and in no way ties into the Larry Talbot myth, but sure did try and cash in on it. The only other game I can think of is a Handheld game made by Tiger sometime in the mid to late 90’s. While the moon still gets full and the game systems around the world fire up, maybe one day we will all be able to howl with fear and play a true console game based on this iconic character.

# 9.) Pumpkinhead

When you have felt that you have been wronged and what has happened is truly something you want unforgiven revenge for, there is an old witch that lives in a rundown cabin in the woods that can help, but her help comes with a price as Ed Harley found out when a group of city teens accidentally kill his son with a dirt bike. The revenge is a demon called Pumpkinhead who will murder all those who are on your hit list, and the price is your soul! Now imagine a game developer like Rock Steady getting to work on a game like this, and how epic and scary and deep the plot would be. I see this as a game that you play as two characters, one being the poor fool who summoned Pumkinhead and the other being one of the poor saps he’s after. In the end you must choose who is right in this situation and and this will effect the outcome of the game. All the while during this plot you are running for your life away from the revenge demon and watching as your friends are being brutally killed. Plus for the fun of it, you can add in the spirits of those who summoned this monster in the past to haunt and warn the player of the dangers, giving the game the freedom to tie it into the film series and a way to have Lance Hendricson (Ed Harley) in it.  To me once again this movie has all the right tools to become a video game series if done right.

Pumpkinhead has had one shot at the video game market when the second film “Pumpkinhead 2: Blood Wings” was released in 1994, and it got the PC Game treatment with a game called “Bloodwings: Pumpkinhead’s Revenge” a year later. The game is a first person shooter that used clips from the film and was looked at as a rushed mess with no direction and no real scary moments by almost all gamers. But with this bomb of a game way in our past, I truly think Pumpkinhead should rise once more and show us all just how scary he can be!

# 8.) Return of the Living Dead

Two medical supply workers accidentally open a military drum filled with a toxin that turns the dead into brain eating zombies.  A group of punk rock teens, a mortician, the two workers (who are now very ill) and the medical supply warehouse boss must fight to stay alive as the dead just keep on coming up from the nearby cemetery. Zombie video games are super popular, and while some would say they are flooding the market, they are still selling well and gamers seem to not get enough of the gut munchers. That’s why taking something like Return of the Living Dead and turning it into a gaming franchise is a no brainer. This could easily become a series of games that could give House of the Dead, Dead Island and even Resident Evil a run for their money by adding in the punk rock feel of the films and score music lifted straight from the movie. Imagine this as the plot of a Return of the Living Dead game that plays like a updated version of Resident Evil in which you play as a punk rocker teen who alongside friends have been caught in the acid rain.  You see, you are friends of the punk rockers from the first film and must fight to stay alive using what ever you can find to fight off the undead.  The game could be multiplayer so friends can join in the game of survival.  Add in cameos from characters from the first film and of course have the famous Tar Man Zombie be a boss fight, and you have the making of a great classic movie tie in game. This could then lead into games that tie in the second film and then onto the third and so on, even though parts 4 and 5 are terrible. Game companies that I would love to see tackle this game include Rock Star, Capcom, Konami and WB Games. Only time will tell if some game company decides to take the chance on this amazing IP. 

# 7.) Creature From The Black Lagoon

The Creature is considered by many as Universal’s last great horror monster icon and has three solid films behind him making the video game world a perfect outlet to continue his legacy. A group of scientist go to the lagoons of the Amazon rain forest and come across a human like fish man dubbed “The Gill-Man” who has taken a liking to the female of the team.  When he kidnaps her, it’s up to the crew to get her back but not before our fiendish fish man kills as few humans off.  The creature in his film appearances has also been captured and put on display at an aquarium and last time we saw him, he had been turned more human like, wanted to set lots of fires and is believed to have drowned after his escape. This is where our game should begin and would show that the Creature has survived and in fact has hid out and healed to become his former scaly self.  The game would have a family lost on a fishing trip in the back waters of the Evergreens in Florida.  To the families, surprise they have also caught the eyes of Gill-Man who has set his eyes on their college aged daughter.  As the father, you must survive the horrors of the swamp and the terrors of the Creature in order to get your daughter back. This one again would and should be made by TellTale Games and showcase the Universal Monster in a great episodic survival horror adventure. I also feel that the character and his whole story could make for a very solid and fun game that would sure to please classic horror flick fans, kids and even most survival horror fans. This is another game I would order the moment it was announced! And with a re-make of the film in the works, we might just get this!

The Gill-Man has made it to the video arcades back in 1993 when Bally made a pinball machine based on the Creature From The Black Lagoon that was complete with a hologram creature that would appear in the game’s lagoon.  This is one of my favorite pinball machines, and I can remember going to a local arcade called “Krazy Kats” and playing this machine a lot in my youth. This is truly a retro machine that I would love to own and put into my place of work to let a whole new generation enjoy. If you get the chance you should check it out and give it a play.  It combines a classic Universal Monster, Drive-In Theater and Pinball, what more could a horror kid ask for.

# 6.) The Texas Chainsaw Massacre

Leatherface alongside his brothers W.E, Choptop and Hitchhiker Sawyer with their ancient Grandpa are a sick family that come from the slaughterhouse industry who are way to much into the meat business as they kill humans and use them for dinner. W.E is the brains of the family and not only does he run a small gas station, he also travels around selling the human meat products to hungry football fans. Leatherface is the dumb brute who acts as the butcher, Chop Top is a vet with a metal plate in his head who is as blood thirsty as a psycho gets as the Hitchhiker is just bat shit crazy. Many have died and only few have survived.  Now imagine a game where you must survive the Sawyer family’s attack as you are alone and stranded by their infamous farmhouse.  The plot would have you, a young man driving through Texas to get to Mexico to meet up with friends on vacation when you have an accident that leaves your car totaled and your spirt low.  Things get worse when Leatherface comes calling, and you must run and fight for your life. I see this playing like Clock Tower 3 but with more of a chance to fight back.  Another feature would be if Leatherface hits you with his chainsaw your injury stays with you through out the game.  So say he cuts one of your hands off, you are stuck with no hand for the rest of the game. Throw in some other characters for kills and you have yourself a video game bloodbath waiting to happen. The game would be filled with strong violence and be set in the late 70’s or early 80’s making room for follow up games. Not to mention this game could go many different routes, it could follow the 1974 series that had 4 films or even the 2003 reboot series that had 2 films.  This is just a rough idea for this game and with more sequels to this franchise in the works, it only makes sense that it should get the game treatment. Companies who should make this game include Konami, THQ, Activision and WB Games. Only time will tell if a game company ever will gas up the old chainsaw again and give us survival horror fans a real classic Texas treat.

Sadly Leatherface has made it to home consoles thanks to Wizard Video Games.  In 1982 they brought a pixelated mess of a game to Atari 2600 that had you playing as Leatherface chasing girls down in a field and cutting them up with his chainsaw. The goal is to kill as many girls as you can before the gas that powers your saw runs out.  When your turn’s over, a woman runs up and kicks you in the butt! What a shameful only game for a horror icon to have.

# 5.) Friday The 13^th

Camp Crystal Lake has a death curse surrounding it that took hold when a young deformed boy named Jason Voorhees was thought to have drowned in the lake and a pair of counselors were murdered. Jason’s mother Pamela went crazy and killed some teens that were there to reopen the site many years later, and she met her end when she was beheaded by one of her would-be victims. But to everyone’s displeasure Jason didn’t drown, and now is an unstoppable killer who hacks and slashes his way to avenge his mother’s death and to keep all away from his home. Jason has had 11 films that followed each other and a 2009 remake of the original.  This lends itself to be made into a video game for this generation’s systems, and in fact lots of fans of both the films and video games have been waiting for some company to be a hero and make one. This one could take three routes and give the player the choice of playing as a camper who has become the target of Jason, play as Tommy Jarvis who has battled Jason in a total of three films or as Jason himself giving the game replay value.  All three would tie in at the end giving the game a closing. The camper story line would have you trying to get teens out of the camp before they become worm food thanks to Jason’s weapons of death.  Along the way, you must battle the wilds and traps the killer has set, not to mention a copycat killer who is also lurking in the woods. Tommy’s story line would have you tracking down Jason and coming across the government who is there to take Jason away as if he is some sort of super solider weapon. This gives you plenty of action as you must fight them off while Jason is attacking. And Jason’s story would simply be kill.  Kill all the teens, kills the agents, kill Tommy, Kill the camper and kill the fake you! In the end it all comes together for an epic end battle. Again, this is just an idea, and I am sure game makers could make an idea that is way better and give us all a good scary gore filled game. Companies that should tackle this one would be WB Games, RockStar, Konami or Capcom. It’s a shame that we have not gotten this game yet, and I hope one day a game company will listen to what the fans want.

To be fair, Friday The 13^th has made it to home consoles twice, but both game are considered bad.  The first is for the Commodore 64 made by Domark and came out in 1985.  It has Jason almost being a bodysnatcher who is hiding in the body of a fellow person, and you must find out by clues who it is and kill the one you think is the killer. Then in 1989, LJN made a game for the NES that had you playing as camp counselors trying to save kids from a rampaging Jason who would just appear and attack the kids in cabins and you on paths. While the Commodore 64 version is kind of lame and lackluster, the Nes one, while a bad game, is super fun and I kind of enjoy it. Not to mention a few Homebrew games have been made for the Atari 2600 by Salem Frost Games based on parts 2 and 3. With many years removed from these titles, one would hope the hockey mask killer will return to stalk home consoles soon.

# 4.) A Nightmare on Elm Street

Freddy Krueger is a razor clawed glove wearing, child killing, dream stalking bastard son of a 1000 maniacs who has tormented and killed many teens. Freddy when human was killed by vigilantes for crimes against children and during this he was burned alive and making his spirit haunt and kill the children of those who killed him, making the youths pay for the sins of their parents. Many have tried to stop Freddy and all mostly have lost their lives.  The only one who has been able to beat him twice and live is Alice, a young woman who can bring people into her dreams and take the powers of friends who have passed. Now think about this, Freddy has a total of 8 films and 1 remake he has appeared in, and is one of the most well known horror icons of the slasher years. Now imagine a game where you must fight Freddy in our world and in the dream world and how mant crazy levels could be made, not to mention places from the films like the junkyard, high school and Nancy’s house all thrown in for a nice touch. I see you playing as a young woman who has lost most of her friends to Freddy Kruger while they sleep one night.  When he comes for you, it’s discovered that you have the power to fight him off, and now the war is own as Freddy uses your friends and fears as pawns in order to break you down and steal your soul. This is a film that lends itself to being a very visual game and the possibilities of levels and bad guys are endless, not to mention Freddy can take on many different forms. It makes no sense why WB Games, whose parent company owns the rights to Freddy, would not make a game based on the burnt dream slasher. Here’s hoping that WB finally opens their eyes and sees that this film series would make a perfect game series and that fans would love to step into a nightmare and battle Freddy. And of course Robert England would have to voice Freddy ’cause no one else should!

Freddy Kruger is no stranger to the video game world and has made a few appearances in some such as 1989’s “A Nightmare on Elm Street” by Monarch for the Commodore 64 that has characters from the third film and has you trying to save Joey from his evil clutches. A year later, LJN released a game of the same title that was a 4 player side scroller that had you fighting monsters and Freddy in order to gather Kruger’s bones to burn them and put him to rest. In 1994 a pinball machine based around Freddy was released to arcades. Then in 2011, Freddy Kruger based on the remake look was a downloadable fighter for the newest Mortal Kombat game. So as you can see, Freddy is ready for an all new full game!

# 3.) Frankenstein

Henry Frankenstein and his assistant Fritz have built a “man” that is looked at as a monster who has super human strength, fears fire and has the hatred of all the villagers coming down on his patched together body. Henry at first stands by his creation but quickly turns when the monster gets loose and goes on a rampage. The Monster in this film series has been burned, blown up, sank in quicksand, fought the Wolf Man, had his brain switched, fallen in hot molten sulfur, been frozen and even had a Bride who wanted nothing to do with him! The Frankenstein Monster is the first classic horror monster to have a long running series that totals 8 films, and this is something Universal should be very proud of. Once more this is a great chance to get sequels made for these classic films in the way of a video game, and once more TellTale Games should be the ones to tackle it. In fact this is a game that I would love to make and have spoken to a few people about maybe getting this ball rolling on getting one made.  So if anyone at TellTale is reading this, contact me! The beauty of these classic monster games is that you can make the ratings E or T and make them scary and fun for all ages. Plus the Universal Frankenstein lore is so rich and has so many amazing characters that a company could turn out a few games based on this IP. Imagine a game where the player is in control of both Dr. Frankenstein and his Monster and some other familiar faces show up like the Bride and Ygor.  The plot I have in mind would be an epic spooky tale that would sure to please gaming and film fans!

Frankenstein’s Monster sure is not a stranger to the video game world, and his image has been used in many games from NES’s “Castlevania” to Atari 2600’s “Frankenstein’s Monster” but very few have been based on the Universal Monster license. Once more a quick cash-in text-based game for the Commodore 64 called “Frankenstein” was released by CRL in 1987, but once more had no real ties to the Universal film. Some time in the 90’s Tiger Electronics released a handheld game based around The Monster, and in 1998 Williams released a pinball game called “Monster Bash” to arcades that featured all of the Universal Monsters in a rock band.  In 2012 a free to play online MMO called “Universal Monsters Online” was released, and while a cool concept, the character designs are generic. So here is hoping that some stormy night lightning strikes, and Frankenstein’s Monster comes alive on our PS3 systems.

# 2.) Hellraiser

A puzzle box holds the secrets of both pleasure and pain but knowing this information comes with a terrible price if you solve the box’s riddle: the cenobites! Led by Pinhead, the cenobites will torture and kill you and damn your soul to a hell like limbo where you will forever face your own private hell. The cenobites’ world is a giant maze, and their god is Leviathan.  Only one man has ever escaped them and that was Frank Cotton who in turn brought this nightmare onto his brother’s family, specifically his niece Kristy who in turn is the first human to defeat the cenobites.  Like A Nightmare on Elm Street, this is a perfect fit for the video game world and has so many characters and possibilities that could make this game a creepy experience. Even though, I am not a full fan of this genre this would be a cool first person shooter and could tap into the creepy atmosphere of the maze-like Hell and deliver scares like the F.E.A.R. series or even Doom 3. The plot could have you opening the box by mistake and being sent to Hell.  You must use the Puzzle box to fight off Cenobites and other worldly creatures in order to get back to life as you once knew it. Pinhead would be the final boss, and it would be cool if through out the game he taunts and sets you up making you think you have won at many different moments. This could also be made into an amazing third person game and take all the great elements that make a game like Silent Hill work and add them into a game were you must travel to the Cenobites world in order to save your loved one from the hell they have made for themselves as they were dumb enough to open the box. Imagine creeping around the maze like world and running into Chatter. Once you save them and return to our world that game doesn’t end and Pinhead and his crew come to claim whats theirs in what could be an epic final boss battle in a game! The game makers should allow Clive Barker, the master mind behind this story, to write the script and of course have Doug Bradley voice Pinhead.  It should include all the classic Cenobites from the first two films (Female, Chatter and Butterball). Hellraiser has a total of 8 sequels and a remake is being planed showing this series does have a good following even if some of the sequels were direct to DVD stinkers. With the Weinstein Company opening TWC Games in 2011 this game could one day become a reality and while I don’t think it will make it for the PS3 life cycle I do have faith that the PS4 will. They make the game, and we would play!

Hellraiser is no stranger to the video game world but almost seems to be a cursed IP with games based around it never seeming to see the light of day.  In 1990 Color Dreams (a unlicensed game maker) attempted to make a Hellraiser game for the NES, it was set to be you in a maze fighting monsters but sadly the plug was pulled when they realized Nintendo was on a rampage, running these rogue game companies out of store shelves and that the cost to make this game was becoming to high.  You see, they designed a better cart with better chips to make the game bigger and better. Even Color Dreams PC version was ditched and ended up at the pixel graveyard. Also sometime in the 90’s, a rumor was going around that Konami, the fine folks who brought us Metal Gear, Silent Hill, Castlevania and Saw, were developing a game for the original Sony Playstation,  Once more cost kept this game from seeing the light of a TV Screen.  This game would have had you collecting charms from Cenobites. And then in 1996 Magnet Interactive was working on a game called Hellraiser: Virtual Hell that was a first person shooter that had the player solving puzzles and fighting off cenobites and other creatures. Doug Bradley was in this game as they filmed him for cut scenes during breaks of filming Hellraiser: Bloodlines. This game was scraped due to a terrible game engine and the lack of faith and effort given to the project from the company. The only game that did make it somewhat to home consoles is a home brew Atari 2600 game called Helloween that combines Hellraiser and Halloween,and is really more of a Pitfall clone. So sadly there were many games planned, and none of the official ones ended up in gamers’ hands.  So here is hoping a company will come through and make a scary, chilling and gross game based around Pinhead.

So here we are at the # 1 spot, and I have chosen everything from silent horror icons, Universal Classics to slashers and zombies and each of these I truly think would make amazing games.  That’s the one thing about video games nowadays, they seem to not want to take a chance and they only seem to want to stick with things that have been done and rehash sequels and recycle the game over and over.  I mean do we really need a new Call of Duty or Madden every year?  But with this said let’s go onto the # 1 Horror Film that I think should be made into a video game.

# 1.) Halloween

Michael Myers killed his older sister at a young age and had spent most of his youth in a mental asylum where he shut down and never spoke.  His doctor, Sam Loomis, sees that the young man no longer has emotions and had turned into a nothing more than a ticking time bomb. Many years pass and now an adult Myers has escaped and is on a murderous path toward his hometown of Handenfield, Illinois targeting teen girls and more importantly his baby sister who was adopted. Michael Myers has returned in 6 sequels and has had a remake that also spawned a sequel and is one of the most popular slasher icons of the silver screen. While at first he was just a sick and twisted human, he later became a undying killing machine.  This film is perfect for a video game and has so many great levels and backgrounds that can be used from the mental asylum to the run down Myers house, each spooky in their own way. Imagine playing a level in the basement of the Myers house and all you have is a flashlight and that white mask of Michael comes popping out of the darkness, you know you would scream. When I was a teenager I even wrote a Halloween game that I wanted to make for the Sony Playstation with the help of Konami.  The idea I had then I think still works now as you play as Dr. Loomis who must stop Michael Myers’ rampage that has him targeting a young woman once more on Halloween night.  It would take you all over the town and famous sites like the Myers home, the asylum and the high school. The goal is to set traps and fend Michael off until you can get the girl to safety and if she dies, the game is over. This was just the old idea of a teenage boy; imagine the epic game we could get if Capcom, RockStar or even TellTale put some AAA game writers on it. This is a game I truly hope makes it into my game library so that I can enjoy the chills late night in the TV’s glow.

Wizard Video struck again in 1983 when they released Halloween for the Atari 2600 and had gamers play as a babysitter of tons of kids in a huge house.  You must guide the kids away from Michael Myers.  The film’s theme plays in 8-bit glory every time Michael shows up. Halloween had to have been the most bloody and violent game released at the time and depicts decapitations and murder of young children both complete with pixelated blood. But much like the Texas Chainsaw Massacre, the game was a bomb and was not showcased at retail stores causing poor sales. And for years gamers have asked for a new game based on this series that has yet to be made.  With TWC Games still open, one could only hope that we will get one in the future. And I should say that while the Atari 2600 game was by no means great, I still have a blast playing it. 

So there you have it, 21 horror films that I think should be made into a video game for current generation home consoles.  Survival Horror and and plain horror themed games have been a staple in the industry, and while I feel they don’t get the push and quantity they deserve on home console, it seems the PC Gaming world gets plenty. One of the best ones has to be the free to play slasher fighting game called Terrordrome.  Imagine a game that allows you to fight as Jason Voorhees, Michael Myers or Freddy Kruger and beat up the likes of Candyman, Manaic Cop or Ash! Sadly this game came under attack from companies like Warner Brothers and now it’s in limbo. 

Survial Horror will forever live on, and I hope someone in the gaming industry is reading this and takes a chance on one of these IPs so that the fans are finally able to play the blood chilling horror game of one of our favorite horror icons. Next update we go back to the world of comics as we take a look at Marvels Saga of Crystar series.