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.

SOV Flashbacks Classics – “Hatchet”

Welcome back to Rotten Ink and another entry in my “SOV Flashback Classics.” This one will be short and sweet and something very fun! The film we will be talking about is one that I know very little about as it was a found gem that I was able to get on DVD thanks to the guy who discovered it on a VHS tape and made it available to fans of Shot On Video Horror. The film is called “Hatchet” or so its said by the tape finder and this could be the original Hatchet film and could even maybe be the start of Victor Crowley as this film was made sometime in the 1990’s. So I know you are really excited to learn about “Hatchet” as I am to share the little information I have on it! So sit back and relax as we take a SOV Flashback look at a film that was once lost and now has been found, the spooky slasher flick dubbed “Hatchet”. And with that also Happy Halloween as what a better way to spend this spooky Holiday than with a SOV Horror flick!!

The story for this little shot on video gem is that it was found on a VHS tape by a guy and he saved it by transferring the short film to a DVD and then shared it with the fans of SOV Horror. The short seems to have been shot in the 1990’s and was filmed in Eau Claire, Wisconsin and had a cast of maybe four people tops with only two of the kids being the stars and sharing duty of also being the camera guy. The odd thing about the film is that it feels like it was very influenced by films like “Blood Hook” and “Savage Weekend,” but I doubt if these kids making this film had seen those films before making it. The film could have been made by the friends for the fun or it or even could have been made as a school project. And if these kids made this film for the fun of it I wonder if they made any more Horror Movies and if either of them grew up to continue to make films, I mean who knows, maybe one of them is a famous Horror director now or could even be on the crew of the newest Blumhouse Horror Film. It’s a shame that “Hatchet” does not have any credits as the identity of the makers of this flick are truly unknown at this time and makes it hard to know the history of this short Horror film as well as that of the makers.

So it’s now time for us to take a look at “Hatchet” the film that could have started it all for these young unknown filmmakers and who knows maybe one of these kids in this film was Adam Green, the creator of The Hatchet film series…yeah I doubt it too, but it’s fun to pretend that this might in fact be Hatchet 0! This will in fact of course be a first time watch for me, and I would like to thank the guy who discovered this tape and sold me a copy on Etsy for having it in stock and making this SOV Horror Flashback Classics update possible. I also want to say that for these SOV films, I will write about its plot, my thoughts on the film and will in the end give it a Report Card Grade on the classic A-F scale and will only be judging it on a scale that is ONLY for SOV Horror films as I feel it would be unfair to grade it on a scale that Hollywood or even bigger budget Indie films are graded on. So with that let’s head into the world of “Hatchet”!

“Hatchet”
Starring – ????? & ????     Directed by ?????
199?     Not Rated     7min     Unknown     DVD-R     Full Frame

Movie: A hillbilly in sunglasses with a flashlight to his face talks to the camera about a group of missing people that headed to a old haunted shed and never where seen again, and says that the only way to find out if the legend was true is to go to the shed yourself. We then cut to a warehouse and a delivery driver is asked to make a drop off to the old shed and as he packs up some VHS tapes and heads out his boss goes home and sharpens an ax with a file. Back to the shed, the driver makes the mistake of entering and finds a bloody ax hanging on the wall and learns that he can not leave now as he is trapped in this spooky place and he starts to freak out as he finds that there is no way out! As the deliveryman sits in the dark questioning his life choices, he hears music and follows it only to find a bloody faced dead man in the corner of the shed and then a man with a hatchet appears and starts to chase the deliveryman around and then kills him with the hatchet. We then cut back to the hillbilly from the start of the film and it shows that he is really the Hatchet Killer of the Haunted Shed.

Thoughts: “Hatchet” really seems like a short film that two friends made in one day over the weekend to have fun with a VHS camera that they got in contact with. They filmed in one location with the Haunted Shed clearly being a work shed that is connected to a garage and they did a really good job of using the environment around them to try and pull off a spooky film. The garage does have a great atmosphere as its dark and dingy looking and the only one thing I would say is they should have shot the trapped inside parts at night so that no sunlight would appear in the film. The killer is great as the kids did not go for the normal Halloween masked killer as they used the look of a creepy guy you would see hanging around a fishing pond on a Sunday morning who is trying to make small talk about the bluegill not biting all the while he is looking at you deciding if he could gut you like a fish in 40 seconds flat. The acting is not terrible for this level of SOV Horror with the Deliveryman and the Hatchet Killer only grinning a few times. The film has very little blood and when shown it’s clearly ketchup, the blood substance that all young filmmakers started with. And oddly enough the film also has a first person scene that reminded me of a part of my old film Werewolf Of Ohio as it was shaky as hell as well and was filmed by the films lead as he was fleeing the killer. Over all this little short has charm and was clearly made by friends who were bored one weekend and wanted to make a Horror Movie for them to share with friends and laugh at when they got older.

Grade: B

I love that this film was found and saved and is now out in the world for fans of cheesy zero budget SOV Horror films can see! Nothing bothers me more then knowing that so many of these types of films as well as Horror Host shows are floating around on Beta and VHS tapes rotting in garages, basements and landfills when so many people out in the world would love to see them. Films like “Hatchet” also show that creative minds are everywhere and that fans of Horror will always find creative outlets to showcase their love for the genre as well as show the viewers their skills in chilling the blood of viewers, readers and listeners. I also want to say that this might sound silly but I would love to see “Hatchet” get a SOV sequel or even a remake and I could do one heck of a fun comic book based on this tale of terror for Blood Scream Comics. Well it looks like the tape is over and the film is starting to rewind, so before we end this update I would like to alert you all about the next one that will be taking us away from the world of SOV Horror and will be taking us back to comic books and better yet one that is based on a Western TV Show, and I am talking about Brave Eagle! I hope you are having a spooky Halloween this far and that this look at “Hatchet” made your holiday a little more dark and spooky! So until next time read a Horror Comic or three, watch a Shot On Video Horror Film or two and as always support your local Horror Host. See you next time for out time with Brave Eagle and his tribe.

From Horror Movie To Horror Comic: Meathook Massacre III First Hunt (2017)

Welcome back to Rotten Ink.  For this update we will be having another look at a “From Horror Movie To Horror Comic” and will be talking about the film Meathook Massacre III and the comic based on it! That’s right, an indie film that was smart enough to understand a comic book is a great way to promote the film and helps add extra excitement for fans and can also add to the lore of the film and its characters. So if you are ready to dive deep into the world of the Meathook Massacre, we should put on a butchers apron to avoid the splatter and see what this killing family and this comic have in store for us, as this will be a first time watch as well as read for me and I am looking forward to both! So let’s sit back and look at the first comic based on Bubba Fleisher and the Meathook Massacre film series.

Let’s first take a look at the Fleisher Family and their ways of killing people off before we get to deep into this review. The Fleisher Family are cannibalistic backwoods hillbillies who kill innocent people in order to harvest their meat in order to eat and survive. Pa Fleisher is a man who cares about his family very much and while he doesn’t like the killing he has to do all that much, he will do what he has to in order to put meat on their dinner table for them to eat. Pa seems to really enjoy his chainsaw when it comes to dealing death to his victims. He also has a short temper and has a killer instinct when it comes to people messing with his family. Sister Fleisher is one mean young lady as she seems to enjoy the killing of others and almost gets off on it. She is also very loyal to her family and will use her stunning good looks to draw victims in and then use her trusty switchblade knife or kitchen knife to end their lives. Bubba Fleisher is simple minded but once he got the taste for killing, he loved it and can not stop, Bubba wears the skinned faces of some of his victims and this tends to freak out people before he makes the kill with his choice to deal death being meat hooks. The Fleisher Family as a whole are very odd people and use their hunting styles in order to hunt, stalk, lure and slaughter their targets and besides Bubba when wearing a human skin mask, none of them look like they are about to cut your belly open. While Ma is a killer as well, she lets her family do most the killing unless she is pushed or feels as if someone has wronged them. The Fleisher Family do have weaknesses as they are just normal humans and can be killed with any kind of weapon from gun to a knife. They also at times seem to be in their own world and if you are smart enough, you can escape them as well as even in return fight back against them. While The Fleisher Family might not be the most dangerous killers we have ever covered here on a From Horror Movie To Horror Comic update, they are hands down still very skilled in the art of killing and should be taken very seriously.

So now that we know about The Fleisher Family and their ways of dealing death, let’s take a look at the film they are from and that’s the third in the Meathook Massacre series…also keep in mind Bubba is the series’ main killer and has been in all of the films. I will be taking the film’s write up from our pals at IMDB and will then write about the film’s production as well as my thoughts on the film. So sharpen your knives and let’s dive into The Fleisher Family tree and try dodging all the knives, hooks and chainsaws coming our way.

Meathook Massacre III (2017)

“Meat the whole family and see where it all began as Pa takes Bubba on his first hunt!”

The indie series Meathook Massacre started in 2015 and was brought to life by filmmaker Dustin Ferguson who was known for his films “The Legacy Of Boggy Creek”, “Terror At Black Tree Forest”, “Silent Night, Bloody Night 2: Revival” and “Demon Dolls” before he made the first film that built a cult following. Dustin would go onto make Meathook Massacre II in 2017 and director Jim DeVault made Meathook Massacre III the same year! What set DeVault’s film apart is that it acts as a prequel and broke away from Ferguson’s style of filmmaking of flashbacks of past films. Jim DeVault was coming off of making such other Indie Horror films as The Sisters Four (2008), Jebadiah’s Axe (2013) and the Blood Reunion film series. Meathook Massacre III was the only film I know of that Jim did with Dustin and this film is well liked among the fans of the series.

The Meathook Massacre series was an indie film series that has always been on my radar as I have seen images of the film as well as trailers and even a NES Video Game based around it, and when finding out a comic was made about one of the sequels I knew I had to track it down and cover here as I have always said more Indie Horror Films need to use comic books as a way to promote their films! I have to say that after watching Meathook Massacre III: The First Hunt I understand why this series has a cult following as its very low budget but has a Texas Chainsaw Massacre meets Wrong Turn feel to it, and you can tell that the makers of the film put their heart and soul into the production. Now a few things that did throw me off is at times the editing was a little off and scenes seemed disjointed as did the story at times, plus characters seem to always make very dumb decisions that always leads to them dying when they could have easily gotten away, but welcome to indie horror. I will also say the digital gore effects are a little off as is some of the practical, but they did not take me out of the film. The acting is your typical low budget fare as at times you can see actresses trying not to laugh or smile as they are talking to each other about murder. The two best actors in the film hands down were Robert Lankford who played Pa Fleischer and the shining star was the beautiful Leah Gradney who played Sister as she was good in the role and just easy on the eyes…I say more Horror Filmmakers should be casting her. I also like that in this film Sister is so good in bed that a young man helps the Fleischer family kill his own mom and sisters…this guy is a goof! Not much more to say about Meathook Massacre III besides it’s a fun and cheesy indie slasher film that makes for a good watch on a late Saturday night.

It’s now time to have dinner with the Fleisher family and I heard they have meat on the menu…wait I am sure the meat they are serving is not the kind we would want to eat! So maybe we should just order a Pizza. But I want to thank Creamy Rat Studios for having this comic in stock and would like to 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 hang out with Bubba as its suppertime!

Meathook Massacre: First Hunt # 1 **1/2
Released in 2017   Cover Price NA   Creamy Rat Studios   # 1 of 1

Pa Fleisher, the owner of a Gas Station, is talking to his young son Bubba who is a mongoloid that the family is running very low on meat and that today he will be come a man as it will be his first kill! Pa gets out all types of weapons used to slaughter and Bubba grabs himself a meat hook as Sister Fleisher is in the background hurling insults at her younger brother and his intelligence. The family heads to a lake and Pa tells Bubba not to attack anyone if there is a group of more than two people, and Bubba with hook in hand heads into the woods looking for a kill. A young woman is naked near the lake as someone is watching her, she calls out and Bubba comes walking out with a goofy grin on his face and he also shows off his two meat hooks! The woman then knocks Bubba to the ground and starts beating him up when Pa comes from out of nowhere and helps his son and they kill the woman as Pa goes to get the truck Bubba skins the woman’s face and wears it like a mask. Pa returns and is proud of his son and they load her into the back of the family pickup truck. When they get home Sister Fleisher has captured a man who was sneaking around the station and they decide to keep him as meat for the future as well as to allow Sister to have some fun with him.

The story of Bubba and the Fleisher family comes alive in this comic that also acts as the first part of the movie…well give and take a few moments that is. The comic’s plot is that we get to see the first kill that Bubba ever made as well as get to see his family and understand why they are they way they are. This Indie Horror Comic based on a Indie Horror Movie is a super fast read and is sure to please fans of the film. The differences between the comic and the film is that the first kill is a naked white lady in the comic and a bathing suit wearing Asian lady in the film also Bubba in the comic his more deformed and in the film he is just a strange acting kid. Bubba in the comic is a young kid who enjoys pain and likes to kill once he gets the taste for it, he also likes to wear faces and eat human meat. Pa Fleisher is a man who takes pride in his family and wants to keep his family feed and the only way he knows how is by hunting humans and turning them into dinner. Sister Fleisher is also very sinister and loves killing and also likes picking on her younger brother. The comic has some pretty gory moments as chainsaw and meat hooks slaughter the woman who becomes meat and the blood pours out from her wounds. The comic does a great job of capturing the characters of the film and just the whole universe in the Meathook Massacre film series. The one thing I will say as well is that I wish it was a bit longer and almost a full 22-36 page comic that was a full adaptation of the film as it reads so fast leaving you wanting more, but on the other hand it does a great job of making you want to see the film…so I guess it did its job! The cover is pretty eye catching and has the family posing with a person they caught by a lake as if they are a fish, the interior art by Joe P. is good and has a cool raw style to it making it feel truly like a indie comic. This comic feels like a true promo comic that does what it can to add to the world of the film its based on and for that I would say check it out if like the Meathook Massacre film series. Check out the artwork below to see they style of Joe P.

While Meathook Massacre III might not be a household name when it comes to Horror Movies it proves that even cult films and low budget ones can benefit from having a comic book or series based around it! I am sure when Dustin Ferguson first created Bubba and The Fleisher Family, he never fully dreamed it would become a shot on video cult classic series that has entertained thousands of people all over the world. And something also has to be said for director Jim DeVault who made a great sequel that helped build the story of Bubba. But our time with The Fleisher Family has come to an end and supper is over, so as we make our way out of the house I should tell you all that the next update we will be staying with the From Horror Movie To Horror Comic update and will be taking a look at Snakes On A Plane! Also before I sign off I want to once more stress that if you are a Indie Filmmaker and are working on a Horror Film and want a great way to help promote your film do a comic book…I can not stress this enough! So until next time read a Indie Horror Comic or three, watch a Indie Horror Film or two and as always support your local Horror Host. See you next time for a trip with some damn snakes on a damn plane.

UPDATE: I was told by Creamy Rat Studios that the comic came before the film and that the film was really based on the comic! Very Cool!

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.

From Horror Movie To Horror Comic: Playing With Dolls (2015)

Slashers are very brutal killers in the world of Horror Movies, and in comics the killers are able to up the gore and brutal nature of how they murder their victims. For this update, we are going to take a look at a very brutal slasher killer called Metalface or Prisoner AYO-886 from a movie series called Playing With Dolls. This film has spawned two sequels and is a franchise that seems to be bigger overseas than here in America. So lets prepare for a brutal look at the film and comic for Playing With Dolls as this one is prefect for a Halloween countdown From Horror Movie To Horror Comic update!

Let’s take a look at our brutal killer Prisoner AYO-886, also known as Metalface, a masked madman with murder always on his mind. Prisoner AYO-886 is a cold blooded killer who was once just an inmate at an asylum who is now a tool in a sick game of life and death as he is controlled by The Watcher Scopophilio, who enjoys watching him kill the women he sets up for him. Prisoner AYO-886 has a truly creepy look as his leathery style mask is highlighted by metal braces as well as barbwire giving him the element of fear when seen by his victims. He also is very quiet and can move quickly making him super dangerous when he is stalking and setting up his prey. He uses all type of weapons from knives to hammers to kill his victims and does so with no remorse and has no loyalty to anyone, even others who work for Scopophilio, who only can control him with threats of being sent back to his cell. While he is a mass murdering killer, he does have weaknesses as he is after all human. Prisoner AYO-886 can be killed like any normal man so if shot, he will bleed. He also is told what to do so sometimes he leaves himself open for an attack and makes it as if he does not have a mind of his own until he is told to rampage. He also seems to get sloppy when he is set to rage and this is also a weakness as it leaves him open to making mistakes. So while he is only a human madman in a mask, he is one mean spirited killer who is a true master of splatter in the world of modern horror.

So as you can see, Prisoner AYO-886 is a killer who does not care about human life and is cold blooded like many masked killers before him in the world of Horror Movies. So now that we have taken a look at the killer, lets talk about the first film in the series as it’s the only one to have a physical media release while the sequels only got digital here in the US. When released on DVD here, the film Playing With Dolls turned into Metalface and we got a DVD-R release. For this, the films plot will be taken from our friends at IMDB, and the brief production notes and thoughts will be written by myself of course. So let’s get to the look at this underrated modern slasher film.

Playing With Dolls (2015)

“A serial killer is purposely released from an asylum for the criminally insane so that he can continue his rampage.”

Playing With Dolls (also known as Metalface) is a 2015 slasher film that is directed by Rene Perez and was released digitally worldwide with some home video release. The film was written by Perez and Barry Massoni and brought in actors like Natasha Blasick, Richard Tyson and Charlie Glackin as Prisoner AYO-886, with each actor doing a great job in their respective roles. Many Horror fans will recognize Richard Tyson as he has been in many great cult films over the years like Dark Tide (1994), Big Bad Wolf (2006), Flight Of The Living Dead (2007), Bigfoot (2009) and Hayride (2012) to name a few. The film spawned two sequels, “Playing With Dolls: Bloodlust” that came out in 2016 and the following year “Playing With Dolls: Havoc” was released. These two films made it to DVD in the foreign markets and digital here in America, but I have heard a rumor of Havoc coming to DVD here as well.

I first found out about Playing With Dolls while surfing the web for cool independent slasher horror films and the look of the killer drew me in! I found the trailer for the film on YouTube and it made me know even more that I had to see this film as it had all the elements of a Horror film like this needs…cool killer…lovely ladies…lots of gore…and a creepy story. There is this guy who comes into my work that we all call VHS Steve as he loves to collect Horror Movies on VHS and has for many years now as he is in his late 50’s or early 60’s.  He always talks about the elements of a Horror Movie: blood, story and nudity, and Playing With Dolls definitely fits his requirements and none are over done to scare away the more causal watcher. Once the film was released on DVD under the title Metalface, Juliet and I watched it during one of our Horror Movie Marathons and both of us found it very enjoyable. This film also seems like it would have fit perfectly on a video rental store shelf in the late 80’s or early 90’s and would have built up a cult classic status if released then. So there’s not much more I can say about this film but if you like slasher killers who kill in the snowy weather, then check this one out.

Now that we have taken a look at the film and it’s killer we should move on and take a look at the comic based on them. The comic was released around the same time as the third film in the series called “Playing With Dolls: Havoc” and was used to help promote the film and bring interest to the series. The comic was a digital comic release and lucky for me with permission from the makers, I was allowed to make a print version of it so that I could review it here on Rotten Ink! So I want to thank artist Simon Laprise for hooking me up with the digital files to make this review happen. I would also like to remind you all that I grade on a star scale of 1 to 4 and am looking for how well the comic stays to the source material, its entertainment value and its art and story. So if you think your stomach can handle it, lets dive into the world of Prisoner AYO-886.

Playing With Dolls # 0  **1/2
Released In 2017     Cover Price $0.00     Rene Perez     # 0 of 0

A man is in a motel room with a prostitute and has blindfolded her and has handcuffed her to the bed. He then rushes into the bathroom to pop some pills and meets his doom as a meat cleaver cuts the top of his head off and he is just another victim of Prisoner AYO-886 who then disembowels the man and goes into the room and puts the mans guts into the woman’s mouth who is still blindfolded. Once her blindfold comes off, she notices that she has human guts in her mouth and that a masked killer is in the room with her, and he quickly cuts one of her hands off and places a hook in her flesh and throws her out the window. As the woman falls, the hook tears out her skeleton and her flesh splats on the street below as cops watch in horror. Prisoner AYO-886 then grabs the body of the man and goes to the top of the building and throws it on top of the police helicopter causing it to crash and kill all the cops below. As this happens on top of the building stands the brutal killer Prisoner AYO-886.

This short promo comic of Playing With Dolls is a brutal Horror Comic that is sure to please fans of gore and over the top deaths. The issue’s plot has our killer Prisoner AYO-886 in a motel on a killing spree and after killing a man and his paid for woman, he takes the battle to the cops that are waiting to take him down once and for all. The old man who is just a victim is a sleazy guy who is into paying for sex and doesn’t stand a chance once our killer shows up and cleavers his head in two. The poor sex worker also does not stand a chance and meets her end even more brutally than the man as her skin is ripped from her bones and before that, she has one of her hands cut off! Prisoner AYO-886 is quiet and brutal and showcases his killing skills as well as his mental process of getting out of trouble before getting caught by the law. This comic’s story is very basic and is your typical set up for any slasher comic or film and has a masked killer targeting a couple who are about to have sex, but what does make this different is the fact that it turns up the gore and sleaze and is a true gorehound’s delight as the mood is pure grindhouse and the blood, guts and gore are plenty. The only major downside to the comic is that it’s a very fast read and leaves you wanting more! The cover for the comic is very cool and has a great modern day Horror Comic look to it, plus it also seems like it could fit in a modern art gallery that’s theme is killers. The interior art is done by Simon Laprise and is really great stuff, In fact his style would have been perfect for companies like Dead Dog Comics, Blackthrone and B-Movie Comics and it would have been great to have seen him do work for those companies. Over all this comic might be short but is a great read for fans who enjoy their Horror Comics based on independent Horror Movies. Check out some art below to see the style of Laprise and see just how cool Prisoner AYO-886 looks as a comic villain.

Playing With Dolls is a film that could make a great ongoing series and proves that more independent Horror Movie makers should look at comics as a way to advertise their film as many fright flicks fans are also comic readers. I want to also let you readers know that artist Simon Laprise also does “Gorehound Fanzine” a great magazine that can be obtained in Canada. With it being our countdown to Halloween, we are going to stay in the world of Horror Comics and in fact our next update will be another From Horror Movie To Horror Comic, and this time it will be Plague Of The Zombies, another Hammer Horror custom comic made from the old adaptations of the Hammer Magazine! So until next time, watch out for slasher killers, read a Horror Comic or two and as always support your local Horror Host. See you next update for a Hammering undead good time.

From Horror Movie To Horror Comic: Driller (2006)

The world of Horror Movies and Horror Comics both have so many independent releases in their respected media.  Sometimes we are lucky, and they blend together and a comic is released based on a film. Today we will be taking a look at one of them with Driller, a cool promo comic based on the 2006 film. Driller is one of those independent Horror flicks that slipped under the radar, and many fans don’t know anything about it. So if you’re ready, lets take a few moments and take a trip into the world of Driller to see what horrors and gore this From Horror Movie To Horror Comic update has in store for us.

Lets look at the alien-made killer of the film and comic that is called Futuristic Driller! As a regular man, he sat alone in a field drinking beer and hating on a woman who had broken his heart, but to his horror, a UFO appears and beams him up mutating him into a freaky deformed looking killing machine that is a pawn in their plan to take over the world. Futuristic Driller uses a power drill to dispatch his victims and is silent, cold and uncaring and rocks a scarred up face and a weird half face mask. Besides killing, he also helps create more weird alien soldiers to join the invasion as he also wants a bride. Futuristic Driller kills his victims with a massive power drill, plus has power & strength and uses his odd and creepy appearance to strike fear into their hearts before he drills a hole through it. He also can be hurt but fatal blows seem not to kill him, making him an unstoppable force like so many masked slasher killers before him. While it looks like he cannot be hurt, he does have some weaknesses like the fact he can be hurt, and this slows him down even more than normal. His slowness is also a weakness; if a victim is smart they can outrun and move around him. So while he is not an icon of Horror Villains like many others killers who have come before him and after, he is one dangerous killing machine who could be unstoppable and has made his bloody mark in the world of Horror.

So as you can see, The Futuristic Driller is one mean killing machine, and now that I have chatted about him, lets take a look at the film he comes from. As always I will be taking the film’s write up from our friends at IMDB and after I will write about the film’s production as well as my thoughts about it. So if you’re ready, lets take a look at Driller the movie!

Driller (2006)

“A dark and amusing tale of alien abduction, drugged up youth, drilling and killing.”

Driller was released in 2006 and was directed by Jason Kartalian who also wrote it. The film had a festival run and even was selected to be a part of Another Hole in the Head Film Festival and was well received. The film would also go on to make it to DVD and would have a solo release as well as come out alongside the 1979 film Driller Killer as part of a double feature. The film had a rumored budget of $300,000.00 and used practical effects to pull off the gore. The film starred such actors as Tanya Dempsey, Ivy Joeva, Eric Spudic and Jeb Rowen as the Futuristic Driller. It’s a true independent feature that blends Horror, Science Fiction and Comedy together and makes for a fun fright flick filled with backyard gore, a slasher style killer and attractive women. The film when released in 2006 had lots of competition from titles like Hatchet, See No Evil, Saw III, Rest Stop, Evil Bong, Wolf Hunter 2, Behind the Mask and Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning to name a few! So as you can see, it was sadly lost in the shuffle.

Driller is one of those films I discovered while searching Ebay for comic books based on Horror Movies, and after a short while, I stumbled onto this promo comic that came along side the double feature DVD of this release. Once ordered, I decided that I was going to order also the single feature version of the film as I already had a massive two disc collector’s edition of Driller Killer and only needed the double feature to get the comic book. I chose to watch the film on a day off from work as outside massive thunderstorms brewed and helped set the mood. And when watching it I can say I really enjoyed it and found the killer to be cool and the gore effects very effective for the budget they had, not to mention the ladies of the film are easy on the eyes. My favorite kill in the movie has to be when he kills the apartment peeping handyman and the woman in the shower he is watching as The Futuristic Driller shows no mercy and drills them to death. I wish I had more of a connection to this film as I just discovered it this year so I have no amazing story of watching it with friends or finding it at a video store. All I can say if you enjoy Indie Horror Movies like I do, you might want to check this one out if you can find the DVD at a cheap price.

So as you can see Driller and it’s killer The Futuristic Driller are a bloody and entertaining combo that was one I am glad I discovered. I want to thank Ebay for having this comic in stock and want to thank also the makers of this film for making this promo comic to go along with their film. I need to also remind all you readers that I am grading this comic on a star scale of 1 to 4 and am looking for how well the comic stays to the source material, its entertainment value and its art and story. So if you’re ready, lets take a look at this short and mini comic based on 2006’s Driller.

Driller # 1  **
Released in 2006     Cover Price $0.00     Viewfinder      # 1 of 1

A man named Joe is asleep on his couch dreaming of being able to murder his uncaring and overbearing wife when he is awakened by her telling him to get to work. As Joe leaves, two stoned hillbillies smoking pot in their car see a UFO fly by, and sadly for Joe, he is the target of the aliens who beam him aboard and experiment and torment him in order to turn him into a mutated killing machine. The aliens drop Joe, now a freaky looking killer, back to earth who picks up a power drill and hits the streets and kills a man who is peeping on a woman in a shower and makes his way to get her as well and that’s how our comic ends.

This is a quick read that is the start of an adaptation of the film that I think was planned but never fully released. The plot of this comic follows a man who hates his life and wife who sadly is targeted by aliens who turn him into a killing mutated freak-killing machine! Joe is a slob who works a job and has a wife who likes to smack him and boss around and he does what he is told even though he hates every moment of his life he still does what he can to survive. Clearly he spends his time drinking beer to try and forget about how bad his life is. So in other words, Joe is a normal middle class man who has family issues and is down on his luck. But once Joe is turned into the Futuristic Driller, he no longer is human and has no issues with killing humans who get into his way! This comic, while very short, does have some of the red stuff as Futuristic Driller uses his power drill to kill the pervert watching the woman shower as well as blood is spilled when the aliens work on Joe to turn him into the killing machine. Not sure who did the comics interior artwork, but it’s solid stuff and captures the raw silly nature of the film, plus the cover is pretty cool and has that indie horror comic feel. Over all this is a fun and good short promo Horror Comic read that just makes me wish a full comic was released. Check out the art below to see what style you’re in for when reading this comic.

So while this comic might be very short and ends before any major mayhem takes place, it’s still a cool Horror Comic that many readers might not know exists and might want to get their hands on. I really do wish more indie Horror Films would make comics based on their films as I think comics are a great way to advertise the film to a market that most of the time would be very much into what they are presenting. So I think for our next update we are going to stay in the world of Horror and in fact what I have in store next was originally a comic book and was turned into a movie that was released by Troma, so in other words it’s a reverse From Horror Movie To Horror Comic! The comic and movie we will be talking about is The Killer Condom and this one is weird, funny and horrific! So until next time, read a Horror Comic or three, watch an indie Horror Movie or two and as always support your local Horror Host. See you next update for a Killer good time.

From Horror Movie To Horror Comic: Jason X (2002)

Welcome back to Rotten Ink and our 5^th in our countdown to Halloween 2017 and another in our “From Horror Movie To Horror Comic” updates..  This time around we are going to be looking at Jason X, the tenth film in the super popular Friday The 13^th series! This year on October 13^th we fans and movie goers were supposed to be treated to the 13^th film in the series, but Paramount Pictures dropped the ball and did not make the film allowing the rights to revert back to Warner Brothers, who, by most accounts, has zero interest in making a new film in the series. But this year while Paramount disappointed us, Rotten Ink won’t as we will explore Jason X as well as its killer Jason Voorhees and the Avatar Press comic based on it. So sit back and be ready to be scared as we travel to space and try not to become the target of the hockey mask killer Jason.

Before we get into the film and comic, we need to take a look at Jason Voorhees who is the killer not only in this film but most of this comic. Jason Voorhees was a young deformed child who drowned at camp at Crystal Lake when the counselors did not pay attention to the boy’s cries for help. After his mother went crazy and heard the voice of her son in her head, she kills all who try to reopen the camp.  This leads to her own death and the rebirth of Jason Voorhees, who returns as an unstoppable killer who knows nothing more than to murder those foolish enough to travel to his domain of Camp Crystal Lake or even just get in his way. Jason is indestructible and cannot be killed with guns, knives, toxic waste and even bombs as all these items have been used on him and none have worked to keep him down. Jason has superhuman strength and can dismantle a human body with his bare hands and cause death with a single punch. Jason also seems to have the power of teleportation as he is slow moving but seems to be able to pop up in order to get his victims showing that he is a supernatural being. When in space he is blown to pieces and falls into a medical machine that ends up healing his wounds and binding his undead flesh with metal creating Uber Jason, who is even more indestructible and can give way more damage to human bodies and even can withstand the pressure of space as well as the heat of atmosphere reentry. Jason’s weapon of choice is a machete that he brutalizes with.  He has so much power that he is able to kill with his hands with ease as well as he just can’t be killed! His weakness is the fact he is slow moving at times as well as the fact he is not all that bright and can be tricked and lead into traps that can render him out of commission for a while.  While he cannot be killed, he can be stopped and almost “shut down” as he is put out of commission. Plus he knows he is unstoppable and leaving him always pushing forward and leaving himself open to taking damage as well as the possibility of being stopped for sometime. So as you can see, Jason Voorhees as normal undead supernatural being and as Uber Jason is a force to be reckoned with and is one of Horror history’s most brutal and powerful slasher killers.

So now that we have taken a very brief look at Jason Voorhees, the killer of our comic and film, now it’s time to take a look at the film itself. The film’s write up is once more taken from our pals at IMDB, and after, I will talk about the film’s production as well as my thoughts on the film including the first time seeing it.

 

Jason X (2002)

“Set way in the future, Earth is no longer inhabitable, so humans have colonized in outer space. One colony receives two cryogenically frozen bodies, and when they defrost them, one of the bodies turns out to be…..who else? Jason Voorhees. No longer in the forest or Camp Crystal Lake, Jason stalks the colonists in a whole new environment.”

Jason X was released in theaters on April 26, 2002 by New Line Cinema and was directed by James Isaac.  It starred actors Lexa Doig, Lisa Ryder, Chuck Campbell and Kane Hodder as Jason Voorhees for the 4^th and sadly final time on film. This film was the second for New Line Cinema and was made in order to keep interest in the character as the “Freddy Vs. Jason” film idea had been stalled, and they wanted to unleash Jason on movie goers again as the last time they made a Jason film was in 1993 and that was Jason Goes To Hell: The Final Friday. The film’s idea to take Jason to space was thought up by Todd Farmer who thought the idea would advance the franchise into a new direction and even got him cast in the film. The film had a budget of $11 million and only brought in $13,121,555.00 and coming in at # 135 of the year and beat out such cult films as Frailty, They, Death To Smoochy, The Powerpuff Girls Movie, Auto Focus and Equilibrium to name a few. So sadly the film was a bomb for New Line Cinema. The film was panned by critics and by most fans at the time of release, and it would not be until years later that it would gain a following and respect from many younger horror film fans.

I saw the film on opening weekend and watched it with my brother Bryan and our good friend, the late great Andy Copp.  I can remember being super hyped to see it and them being lukewarm on the idea of Jason in space. I can remember that not a lot of people were in the theater with us.  I enjoyed it for the over the top kills and silly nature of Jason running wild on a spaceship, let alone how can anyone who loves slasher films not enjoy the kill of Jason freezing a woman’s face in liquid nitrogen and shattering it on a metal table, or the fact he fights a sex robot who is also strong and trained in fighting! Not to mention the double kill of naked girls in sleeping bags. Super silly stuff and all enjoyed by this monster kid! While Bryan and Andy disliked the film and thought it was dumb and silly, it still remained the first Friday The 13^th film I was able to see in the theater.

While a bomb at the box office, Jason X did end up having its fair share of merchandise that was sure to please fans of Jason Voorhees, and even now Uber Jason is gracing products. This film and Uber Jason has graced t-shirts, posters, music CDs, action figures, comics, novels, cardboard standups, Halloween masks and even has made an appearance in the world of video games! With a rumored appearance in Friday The 13^th: The Game for PS4, Xbox One and PC, a Nintendo Game was also made by Pacnsacdave that is a homebrew game that is lots of fun. So I am sure your wondering what I own from these products.  I own both video games, the soundtrack score done by Harry Manfredini as well as all the comics! I did always want the Jason X Uber Jason figure that was made by Mcfarlane Toys as part of the Movie Maniacs line but sadly never have gotten it. With that, take a look below and see some of the very cool items released based on this movie.

Jason X, just like Friday The 13^th, makes for a good comic series, and I give Avatar Press credit for trying to make this happen just like Topps Comics did before them. This comic is also the Special # 1 and shows events that happen after the film and continues the crazy psycho killing journey of Uber Jason. As we drift around here in space, I can hear this echoing off the walls “ I grade these on a star scale of 1 to 4 and am looking for how well the comic stays to the source material, its entertainment value and its art and story”. And I also would like to remind you that if you would like to read more of me talking about Jason Voorhees in comics make sure to check out my write up for Jason Goes To Hell: The Final Friday in film and the Topps Comic adaptation. I also want to thank Lone Star Comics for having this in stock after I could not find my original copy I got from Mavericks when it was released. So prepared to be scared as we take a journey into the deep dark reaches of space with one of the world’s most brutal masked serial killer slashers Jason Voorhess.

Jason X: Special # 1 **
Released 2005   Cover Price $3.99     Avatar Press   # 1 of 1

The year is 2045 on Earth II and Uber Jason has just fallen from the sky and witnessed by two young adults who are turned on by the science of what they think was a meteor falling from space and decide to have sex, which leaves them both dead as Uber Jason smashes them with a tree! We soon see that this was set up by Kristen and Michelle, two young ladies who want to find a way to destroy Uber Jason and are using robots to find a way to do so as Uber Jason is really being held captive by a machine that allows him to think he is free and killing when in reality his captors are trying to figure out a way to kill him and use his cell structure to find a cure as Kristen and her sick husband Neil are both dying and the last of their kind and are surrounded by robots. Uber Jason is awakened by his mother Pamela Voorhees voice, and he escapes his mechanical prison and makes short work of Michelle and the other robots and sets his sights on Kristen who is trying her best now to use tissue samples to make her husband well, as time is running out as Uber Jason wants her dead and so does his mother. Kristen tricks Uber Jason and shoots him into space and as Neil wakens from his sickness and it appears the cure has worked we find out he is possessed by Pamela Voorhees and she kills Kristen and then forces Neil to commit suicide. Uber Jason’s ship lands on a larger ship that is hosting a party and this leads to him coming in and slaughtering all onboard.

Uber Jason slashed his way into the comic world with this special and sadly I would have to say that his outing of killing was just mediocre and felt like standard slasher comic fair. The plot has two remaining humans capturing and studding Jason in order to find out his secrets for eternal life and soon find themselves the target of his rampage when he breaks free and the voice of his mother urges him to make them pay! Uber Jason is a silent killing machine and while he gets to kill some robots and aliens his bloodlust seems not to be quenched as he clearly would not stop killing. His look is part metal and part rotten flesh and because of this its clear none of our human characters stand a chance against his rampage and that they would have to use their brains to escape him. The voice of Pamela Voorhees is present and for the most part is the real villain of the comic as she is the one who instructs Uber Jason to kill as well is the one who kills the humans as she possesses the make to commit a murder suicide! And when put together this combo of mother and son are brutal, ruthless killers who have no remorse for the acts they do and the lives they take. Kristen and Neil are two humans on a planet that is filled with robots that are both slowly dying and while they have the brains to outsmart Uber Jason they still are just weak humans who meet their match when pitted against the evil Mrs. Voorhees! The robots are just that mindless robots who are just in the way of Uber Jason and all get destroyed as they try and protect their masters from harm. The comic has some brutal moments but most of the kills really are to robots, aliens or illusions that are feed into Uber Jason’s mind when he captive and being studied, and while not as brutal as many of the Avatar Press New Line Cinema Horror comics it still does have lots of the red stuff. The cover is pretty cool and is eye catching to fans of Horror Films and Horror Comics and like always Avatar had a ton of variant covers. The interior art was done by Sebastian Fiumara and is pretty solid stuff and brings Uber Jason and his bloody ways to the comic world. Over all there is not much to say about this comic as its just kind of average in story, solid on art and a very cool piece of Horror Comic history. Check out the art below to see what the style of Fiumara is for this comic special.

So while Jason X: Special # 1 was nothing special, it still was a great way to continue the legacy of Jason in comics and introduce the comic world to Uber Jason. Avatar Press would also have a mini series that they used him in called “Friday The 13th Jason vs. Jason X” that pits Uber Jason against good old classic Jason, and yeah we will talk and review it on a future update for sure! So as we wrap up this update on Jason X and another From Horror Movie To Horror Comic update, we will jump into our 6^th update in our countdown to Halloween 2017 as we take a look at the film WaxWork and the comic adaptation from Blackthrone based on it! So until we meet again, read a Horror comic or three, watch a Horror Film or two and as always support your local Horror Host! See you next update at the WaxWorks!

 

From Horror Movie To Horror Comic: The Orphan Killer (2011)

Welcome back to my blog, Rotten Ink, a place I love to talk about comic books, horror hosts, video games, toys, TV shows, cartoons and movies.  As long time readers know, I have grown up watching and enjoying horror films and over the years made my own like “The Sadness”, “Werewolf of Ohio”, “It’s In The Crawlspace” and “Bark At The Moon: Scars” and produced many ohers like “Phantom Of The Grindhouse”, “Babysitter Massacre”, “Amityville No Escape”, “Church Of The Eyes” and “Alone In The Ghost House” to name a few.  Let’s forget the ones I have acted in like “Woodsman: Forest Of Pain”, “Quite Nights Of Blood And Pain”, “The Wolf Hunter 2” , “Razor” and “Atrocity Circle” among many others. So as you can see, I really do love independent horror films, and I always jump at the chance to get copies of ones that pique my interest and better yet, ones that add a little something extra for fans like comic books based on their characters.  One that did just that, and has been on my radar for a very long time, is called “The Orphan Killer,” a slasher film that was released in 2011 and was a film I heard lots about from friends who said such things as the gore was fantastic, the soundtrack was heavy and the lead actress was smoking hot.  All these things made me want to see the film even more! I ordered the comic based on the film from Indy Planet many years ago and waited to try and get the film from a convention or from Amazon, but they never seemed to have it. So finally in 2016, I tracked down a DVD copy of the film thanks to the film’s official website and knew that in 2017 an update based on this film and its comic was a must! So this update is for all you independent horror fans who like me love the films gory and enjoy the comics that follow.  So make sure your doors aren’t barb-wired shut as we dive into the psycho world of The Orphan Killer! I should also note this is another of our “From Horror Film To Horror Comic” update and is a great way to kick off our countdown to Halloween!

It’s time to briefly learn about the film/comic’s killer. Marcus and his sister Audrey witness the killing of their parents at a young age.  Now an orphan at the nearby church, Marcus becomes too protective of his sister and does bad things to other kids who get to close. For his mean nature the nuns beat, torture and force the youngster to wear a mask to keep the other kids from wanting to talk to him and getting too close. Marcus is dubbed a monster, and the name The Orphan Killer is placed on him by the other kids, who claim he drinks the blood of kids and other horrific things. When his sister is adopted and he is left behind, his mind twists even more and Marcus becomes the living embodiment of punishment. Growing up, he becomes the killing monster they all thought him to be, and he starts at the church that kept him prisoner for all these years.  Wearing his mask and armed with barbwire, knives and an ax he goes on a killing spree that leaves blood flowing like wine and body parts flying. The Orphan Killer wears a mask that looks like a leather skull.  He loves to whistle after a kill or during torturing and has no emotion when killing his victims. He talks about being chosen by God and blessed as if he thinks that his mission from heaven is to kill anyone he feels has done him wrong. Strong, brutal and crazy is the best way to sum up Marcus Miller aka The Orphan Killer.

“The Orphan Killer is a tour de force murder flick that defies classification. It goes far beyond current trends in gore and breaks open a new suffering genre of horror. Marcus Miller is a serial murderer hellbent on teaching his estranged sister Audrey what it means to have family loyalty. His lessons are taught in massive doses of vulgar and unimaginable pain. Throughout her brutal torture we learn that Marcus is not the only Miller with Killer in the bloodline as Audrey proves to be a formidable adversary.”

The above is the plot that IMDB has for this blood soaked film that is sure to please fans of films like “Murder Set Pieces” and “Pieces” as it captures the raw nasty feel of those splatter films. The film was released in 2011 and directed by Matt Farnsworth who also wrote the script and starred in as Officer Mike Hunt and created the killer Marcus aka The Orphan Killer. Farnsworth directed the 2005 film “Iowa” as well as the short films “Poor Man’s Dope” and “Dying For Meth” as well as acted in films like “Gacy”, “The Last Place On Earth” and “The Stepdaughter”. The film stars the actors like Diane Foster who plays the lead actress Audrey, David Backhaus plays The Orphan Killer and Ed Winrow plays Father Chuck and that’s one thing the film really has going for it is the acting is great for a Independent Slasher film with Diane Foster stealing the show. The films score and metal music is licensed from Bullet Tooth and is a heavy and moody score that helps add to the downbeat nature of the film. The film won a Festival De Cine De Terror De Molins De Rei award for Best Picture in Italy with Director Farnsworth being honored with an Antonio Margheriti award at the Tohorror Film Festival for his work on the film. When released the film was meet with very mixed reviews with many gorehounds enjoying the brutal nature of the film and its twisted plot while many other critics and Horror Fans had good and bad to say about it with many claiming it was just a cheesy cash in on a genre long gone from the mainstream. One of the films biggest none supporters was Fangoria Magazine who said this about the film “these filmmakers had everything they needed to create something special, and simply chose to go the least interesting route”. IMDB reviewers were also not overly nice to the film that holds a 3.9 rating out of 10 stars. As for my opinion I really enjoyed it and found it well worth the wait of seeing it as it lived up to the hype my friends told me about. I found The Orphan Killer to be as brutal and sadistic of a killer like Jason Voorhees and Michael Myers before him and Audrey was a likeable character I found myself routing for to make it out of the slaughter alive. While I liked the score music some of the heavy metal music sometimes was very distracting in scenes but still didn’t fully take me out of the movie. I did like that The Orphan Killer had his own nursery rhyme and chuckled at the metal remake of the song “Cry Little Sister” from the Lost Boys movie that acts as the song between this brother and sister. If you’re a slasher film fan and enjoy lots of gore, metal music and a truly smoking hot lead actress then check out The Orphan Killer for sure.

In the world of Independent Horror Films I have many favorite actresses who embody the skills needed to draw the viewer into the characters they are playing and it takes more than just being pretty for me to put you on the top of my lists of actresses I would say are must watch if their names are attached to a Horror Film. Names like Danielle Harris, Denice Duff, Tina Krause, Asia Argento, Brinke Stevens, Charlie Spradling, Erin R. Ryan, Haley Madison, Maria Ford and Sara Bay are a few names on this list of actresses who are the total package who are not only beautiful but can truly act and have the ability to draw me as a viewer into the film they are in. After watching The Orphan Killer I am proud to say that actress Diane Foster has been added to that list as she is stunning and really good in her role as Audrey as she made me feel that she really had been tortured by a madman who wanted her dead from her screams and tears. What I really enjoyed about her performance is that she is not just some cute bimbo character in fact she is the opposite and is smart and sweet and when pushed just don’t role over and die…oh no she fights back and Diane truly makes the character seem real and legit. I would love to see her in more Horror film roles and think she would be a perfect cast for the next Halloween, Friday The 13^th and Tombs Of The Blind Dead films and its shocking that she has not been in anymore films with her last role being this 2011 film! But while she might not be currently acting she also has roles in the 2005 film “Iowa” and the 2003 film “Descendant” that is as well a Horror Film. With lots of talks of a sequel to The Orphan Killer here is hoping that Diane will return to her role as Audrey as she is really fantastic in her acting ability and very easy on the eyes.

The Orphan Killer is a film that clearly the films creators really believe in as the quality of the script, acting and gore are all top notch. So with this pride they had also comes merchandise products like a comic book, a limited action figure, poster, film soundtrack and even a Halloween Masked based on the title killers look! While I do own the Comic Book and the Soundtrack that came with my DVD it would be cool to own a poster of this film signed by the director Matt Farnsworth and actors Diane Foster & David Backhaus. But if you enjoy this film you can find many great items to collect and I recommend checking out the comic if you’re a Horror Comic reader. Also on December 13, 2016 thanks to Reel Gore Releasing a Blu-Ray/DVD Combo pack the film is now way easier to find.

So now that you know just how sick and demented The Orphan Killer is I think its time we took a look at his nasty deeds from blood to ink as we look at the 2012 comic based on the movie. As I am sure his kills will be just as brutal from the movie screen to the comic pages and I really want to see if this is just an adaptation or a new killing spree for our killer. I want to thank Indy Planet for having this in stock and I want to remind all you gorehounds and maniacs that I grade these on a star scale of 1 to 4 and am looking for how well the comic stays to the source material, it’s entertainment value and it’s art and story. So beware of the splatter and make sure to avoid his machete as we take a look at the sinister murdering deeds of The Orphan Killer.

The Orphan Killer # 1   **1/2
Released in 2012     Cover Price $ 0.00     Matt Farnsworth    # 1 of 1

Audrey is a woman who is beaten and bloody and crawling away from a masked killer who is holding an ax and they share some words as it’s clear they are brother and sister and they don’t like each other, just as the killer is swinging down a blood splatter hits. We flashback and we are in New York as Audrey is going to her job at a Catholic School and has been dropped off by her boyfriend Mike who is a cop. The young ladies who are in the show are talking about an urban legend that has been around the school for years about Marcus Miller aka The Orphan Killer who has shown up to the church and has locked the doors after the show and the young ladies have went home. Audrey as well as the Father and workers are left inside and one by one The Orphan Killer butchers the workers and nuns in blood splattering ways. The Orphan Killer tracks down Audrey in the hallway and knocks her out and when she wakes up he has her bound by barbwire and cuts the Father’s arm off before her eyes all the while talking about God and Jesus telling him what he is doing is the right thing, you see Audrey is his sister and even at a young age he had a twisted mind and was tortured by the nuns as he was stricken with evil in their eyes and now he wants revenge on his sister for not being their for him. Mike shows up to the church to find his girlfriend and is attacked brutally by The Orphan Killer and while this is happening Audrey breaks free from her razor sharp binds and mercy kills the Father who is bleeding to death and has a showdown with her brother The Orphan Killer on top of the building that leaves the wounded Mike shooting The Orphan Killer who falls off the roof and he and Audrey have survived the massacre.

This Horror Comic is an adaptation of the 2011 film and does an ok job of translating the film into a comic, and I say ok because if you had not seen the movie many of the films key plots are speed up and looses the impact of not only the kills but also the twists of the films brother and sister plot. The plot that is used is very simple for the most part and follows Audrey a woman who is a teacher at a Church and who also has a psychotic brother who has targeted his old school and his sister for revenge on how he was treated when he was younger and an orphan, his hatred for his sister was because she was adopted and he never was plus he was forced to wear a mask and treated poorly by the nuns who thought he was evil and when becoming older and still wearing the mask he thinks God wants him to bring sinners to justice. Audrey in the comic is just kind of a bland character and her personality is not really able to shine besides the fact we see that she has the will to live and that she truly hates her brother and what he has become. It’s a shame as Audrey in the movie was a complex and great character and in the comic she is just merely around. Her cop boyfriend Mike is only at the start and end of the comic and is only around to in the end shoot the killer and to save his ladylove. The Church workers, nuns and The Father are just filler and add zero personality to the issue and are just around to be killed in horrific ways. The Orphan Killer himself is a scripture speaking, sharp weapon swinging brute of a man who just kills cause he is crazy and has been sense he was a kid, but the Nuns instead of getting him help just mentally and physical abused him and helped creature the psycho killer personality he has. But just like Audrey he is cool in the comic but way better in the film. The comic has some splatter moments but oddly enough the comic is way more tame than the movie and for the most part the violent acts seem like a second thought and pass panels way to fast loosing the impact the murders should have, but keep in mind it does have the read stuff flowing. The artwork from what I can gather is done by the films director and the creator of The Orphan Killer universe Matt Farnsworth and has a style that blends underground and American manga and for the most part while not a style I am a super fan of it looks good. The cover is very eye catching and screams independent horror comic and that’s a great thing for someone like me who loves that style of comics. While this comic adaptation of the film is good I would say that for fans of the flick this is a great comic for your collection, for those who have not seen the film I think it might be one that will not find a home in your comic box. But in closing I love the fact this comic is out in the world and wish more independent horror films would follow this idea. Check out some artwork from this comic and see they style you will see in the issue.

The Orphan Killer is a great splatter film and an okay comic book and was the perfect way to kick off our countdown to Halloween! Again, I want to stress this comic was entertaining and well done for fans of the film, it’s just that people unfamiliar with the movie might not be as impressed. But our next update takes us out of the church and into the woods of Burkittsville, Maryland as we take a look into The Blair Witch Project and the comics made by Image and Oni based around the cult classic flick. So until next time, watch a Horror Movie or two, read a Comic or three and as always support your local Horror Host! See you next time….wait, what was that noise.. sounded like….Ahhhhhh!!