By Christopher Stipp

The Archives, Right Here

I’m awesome. I wrote a book. It’s got little to do with movies. Download and read “Thank You, Goodnight” right HERE for free.

And now, you can follow me on Twitter. Find me here, my oh so original name on the thing is Stipp so come on and follow my stray ramblings. The nice thing you should know is that I don’t machine gun blast with the number of tweets I put out there, I’m fairly mellow….

Now, as for this special edition of Trailer Park I have to start with a question: How many times do I come out and shill for something?

Exactly, none times. Anyone pointing to my free book up there doesn’t count as I’m truly giving that away.

I want you to spend $5.99 on a copy of the January issue of GEEK MONTHLY. Or, at the very least, read the teaser page right here and see whether you want to read the rest. That’s fair, isn’t it?

I’m proud of the little article that could and I am indebted to the fine folks at Geek for thinking that Kevin and Olivia of Attack of the Show would make for a good story. And they did. Olivia even gives an excellent conclusion to the time I spent with her on the phone.

The thing about the article was that the time I spent talking to Kevin and Olivia was interesting insofar that these hosts defy the usual definition of what it means to be a television host. You never know what you’re going to get on the phone or what will be sitting across from you when you get set up for one of these interviews but both of them proved not only to be just as razor sharp about technology and what is on the horizon with technology but they were flat out fun to talk to.

The chemistry the two of them share transcends the page when you hear the inflections and manner in which they talk about one another but thankfully it also came across in their seriousness about what they value more than anything when it comes to the program: honesty.

Frankly, it’s their honesty to call out anything and everything that earns my respect as a viewer. I hate being smiled at by a vapid talking head but Kevin and Olivia just like to say it like it is. For those who wonder whether it’s really their opinion at times just watch a gadget review if Kevin happens not to like a product; it would be enough to make an entire PR department run screaming from their lily white office spaces.

Hopefully that comes across in the article I wrote and I can’t tell you how appreciative I would be, if you are not related to me by blood, semen or any other fluids, if you bought a copy, and if you dig it, to write in and let them know about it.

Regardless of what happens with this, I am thankful just for the opportunity to write for a magazine that I, myself, buy on a monthly basis and it really is a thrill to think that I have my name in something that can be bought anywhere from Seattle, Washington to Chicago, Illinois to New York, New York. You’ve just got to geek out about that and I know how lucky I am that I can cross this accomplishment off my life list.

Special thanks to Comic101’s and raconteur extraordinaire, Josh Jabcuga for the heads-up that it came out.
And now, a little sumthin’ sumthin’ from Ray “Don’t Hurt ’em Hammer” Schillaci…
[ad#contestbox]

Worth Reviving: Animal Instincts Prevail

When people mention classic monster/horror movies, usually Frankenstein, Dracula, The Mummy and The Wolf Man come to mind. On a rare occasion you may get somebody bringing up the disturbing Todd Browning’s “Freaks” which is like the Ark of the Covenant of horror with it’s combination of dark brooding direction and story. But the one that rarely gets mentioned and is a tent pole of freakish horror is the 1932 version of H.G. Wells’ “Island of Lost Souls”. Upon it’s release the film was banned in the UK till 1958 with Britain labeling it “a crime against nature”. Some scenes actually caused some to vomit in the theater in the U.S.

Now with all this hype one may go into this film with extremely high expectations – don’t! Remember, this was the 1930’s. But the film is a great piece of cinematic history that has somehow missed the video revolution. Other than a few terrible pirated versions, “Island of Lost Souls” still remains unavailable to this day. This is a shame since the story itself has inspired countless sub-par rip offs and a horrible bastardization starring an over indulgent performance by Marlon Brando with make-up effects that were laughable at best. There is no comparison to the original with the eerie performances by Charles Laughton and Bela Lugosi. The make-up creations (for back then) for Pig Man, Manimal and several other man-beasts is the stuff of childhood nightmares with sound effects that linger in one’s memory long after.

The story, if you are not familiar with it, involves Edward Parker who is thrown overboard while getting into a fight with the captain of a ship that makes deliveries for a nefarious doctor on an uncharted island. The obsessed, sociopath, whip-cracking Dr. Moreau is conducting human experiments involving evolution. He has established himself as some God-like deity to the misfortunate ones who have survived as mutated half human/animal abominations. Moreau prefers to be secretive about his work and becomes incensed when he is visited upon by Parker, who happens to take an interest in one of the doctor’s more successful experiments, Lota, the beautiful panther woman. Parker eventually disrupts his plans, causing all hell to break loose amongst the mutated half-human/animal kingdom.

Bela Lugosi gives his best performance since Dracula as the Sayer of the Law. The raw power that emanates from the last fifteen minutes of this landmark film rivals that creepy last scene in Todd Browning’s “Freaks” where the sideshow performers hunt down Cleopatra during a storm-filled night to show her what it really is like being a freak. This film is a flat-out classic that deserves a Criterion release. There are so many interesting background stories that surround the film; it would be a shame to put out a bare bones edition. Of course, at this point many of us fans would be happy with any kind of decent release and one cannot help wonder what has held this great film back from the public. For now, there is only a VHS version of the film from Universal. Perhaps a letter (or email) campaign can spur the studio that prides itself as the home of monster classics to release one of the very best.

Comments: 1 Comment