WHAT'S YOUR TOP 3 HORROR FILMS OF ALL TIME? GHOULISH GARY PULLIN GIVES US HIS!

If you're a horror fan then you probably know the name Ghoulish Gary Pullin. An amazing artist who has created many outstanding eye-popping pieces for posters, magazines, records, and films and a 2009 Rondo Award winner. In my personal collection I have Waxwork Records' original soundtracks for RE-ANIMATOR and CREEPSHOW which Gary created original artwork for. They are drop dead gorgeous! Gary and his work will also be featured in the upcoming film TWENTY-FOUR BY THIRTY-SIX!

So for the month of Halloween I've asked a few people to share their top 3 horror films of all time, for any of you planning a scare-a-thon for Samhain and are pressed for what to watch. Well Gary was kind enough to share his top 3, so take it from a true monster kid...

Gary's first choice is one that I haven't seen and I feel like a chump, because everyone I know who has seen it talks about how scary it is. Starring George C Scott (Exorcist III, Dr Strangelove, Hardcore), THE CHANGELING is about a composer who tragically lost his family. He's consumed by grief and his friends convince him to get away for a while, so he rents a turn of the century house, but things get worse when he discovers the house is haunted by the ghost of a murdered child!

...yea, this is the year I watch THE CHANGELING!

Gary's next choice is one we have in common, THE CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON! What a fantastic picture-what an incredible monster...It's rare to find a full body monster suit from the 1950s that looked so realistic and gave such an iconic performance (there were actually two people who played the creature-Ben Chapman for the above the water scenes and Ricou Browning for the underwater scenes). In the film, a paleontologist discovers a fossilized hand with webbed fingers, marking the link in evolution from sea to land creatures and leads an expedition into the Amazon to try and learn more. There they encounter the curious monster who becomes enraged after being attacked, but also infatuated with the sole female member of the crew, Kay (Julie Adams). Though it came out much later than the original Universal Classics, the Creature is still counted among their ranks and will be included in the new line of shared universe remakes. One of the gems of the monster cinema and an unimpeachable classic. 

And for his number 3 pick, Gary chose a modern classic that just hit Blu Ray back in August.

SESSION 9 landed with little fan fare back in 2001, flying under the radar. It is criminal this movie wasn't a hit! I saw it at a midnight showing and it was seriously one of the scariest films I've seen. Shot in Massachusetts, SESSION 9 is about a crew of contractors hired to go into an old insane asylum and clean out the asbestos so the place can be torn down. Are they alone in the place, or is someone not what they seem? No frigging joke, the last half hour is intense! No spoilers and no more details, if you haven't experienced this underrated jewel, you need to add this your Halloween viewing schedule.  

Thanks, Gary, for sharing your top 3 favorite horror films! Too learn more about Ghoulish Gary and purchase his art you can go HERE to check out his official site. And you can follow him at @ghoulishgary on Twitter and Instagram and he'll be a guest at MondoCon, October 22-23 and Days of the Dead: Chicago, November 18 - 20. And check out the official trailer for TWENTY-FOUR BY THIRTY-SIX below...

 

 

BEST ALBUMS OF 2014

Its been a good year if you're into original soundtracks on vinyl, doom metal, and synth music. Out of all the great albums that have landed this year I chose five, one being a re-issue.

Werewolves In Siberia "Beyond The City of The Dead"

Wolfmen of Mars "The Light In The Corner Of Your Eye" (Read my joint  wolfy review here)

Mortals "Cursed To See The Future" (Read my Popshifter review here)

Timeworm "Luminescent Wake" (Read my Popshifter review here)

Creepshow original soundtrack re-issue from Waxworks Records (I didn't write a review of this amazing release, but next to last year's Re-Animator release, this is a great package! Translucent blue vinyl with GORE-GEOUS artwork from Ghoulish Gary.)

ReANIMATOR ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK FROM WAXWORK RECORDS

This week I received my copy of Waxwork Records' release of the ReAnimator original soundtrack! I won this beauty through Basement Screams (if you're not following that site, you should really start!).

ReAnimator (starring Jeffery Combs, Barbara Crampton, Bruce Abbott, David Gale, and Robert Sampson, directed by Stuart Gordon and produced by Brian Yuzna) stands on a very high pedestal for me. Based on the novella Herbert West, ReAnimator by HP Lovecraft, it's a bit of a reworking of the Frankenstein story with some very wild ideas and experiments Dr Frankenstein never dared to imagine. The movie is even wilder with explicit gore and a black sense of humor. Great performances from the whole cast, fantastic practical effects, and lovingly adapted by the filmmakers.

When it comes to '80's horror ReAnimator defines 'high water mark'. I wrote about it in My Heroes Have Always Been Monsters Part 7.

Let's get to the soundtrack! Composed by Richard Band, the music is iconic and always gets me excited when it starts. I've seen some comments that it's just a rip off of the Psycho soundtrack, but I dismiss that notion. I guess Band has said it was an homage, and on a superficial listen of the main title you can draw some similarity, but if you live with music you'll find a brilliant slab of sound that stands perfectly well on it's own without the movie.

This is a really smart choice as a first release. Waxwork Records have done a gorgeous job, from the re-agent colored record (some glow in the dark!) to the original sleeve art by Gary Pullin (also included as a poster). The sound quality is crystal clear and warm.

Waxwork has also released the Day Of The Dead OST and coming next is Rosemary's Baby. Follow the link to their site to stay up to date on all releases so you won't have to chase them down on EBay!

Here's a little taste of the great music.