Howzabout one of my favorite tracks by The Cramps to kick off Monday? I'm off Thursday and Friday this week, and you can betcher arse I'm going to be listening to more of these guys! Originally published on - get this - their Gravest Hits album, which came out before their debut full-length, Songs the Lord Taught Us. Think of it the same way Joy Division's Substance Collection is a collection of early singles that predate the recording of their two studio albums. Either way, Surfin' Dead blew up when it was included on the soundtrack for Dan O'Bannon's 1987 Return of the Living Dead. This particular version is from the Smell of Female live album.
31 Days of Halloween:
I hate that we're not even a week out from the end of October! I'll be cruising directly into Noirvember again this year, and plan to try Dreamcember after that, but 31 Days of Horror is my favorite.
I must say, for a film I did not care much for upon first seeing, Rob Zombie's Argento-esque Lords of Salem has become a favorite of mine. This film is so insanely blasphemous that it sometimes feels dangerous. Now that's a feat of no small measure.
Mr. Zombie really created something special with this one. I like most of his films to varying degrees, but there's usually something I roll my eyes at in each one. Not here. This is dead serious in the way it handles its subject matter. That attitude, combined with the stunning setting, cinematography, and John 5's score, really make this a must-watch every year. Hard to believe I lived so long without it.
...
1) Incident On and Off a Mountain Road///The Funhouse (theatrical viewing)
2) Tales From the Crypt Ssn 1 Ep 4, "Dig That Cat... He's Real Gone"///Cabin in the Woods
3) Satanic Hispanics
4) Creature From the Black Lagoon 3D///Lucky McKee's May
5) The Strangers
6) [REC]
7) The Autopsy - GDT Cabinet of Curiosities///[REC]2
8) Where the Devil Roams
9) The Roost
10) Good Boy///The Viewing - GDT Cabinet of Curiosities
11) Blood Moon (aka Wolf Girl)///All Hallows' Eve (The Last Drive-In Helloween)
12) The Shining///The Simpsons Ssn 6 Treehouse of Horror V
13) Stream (2024)
14) Creepshow (1982; theatrical viewing)
15) They Live in the Grey///John Carpenter's Prince of Darkness (theatrical viewing)
16) Black Phone 2
17) Scream 2///Mayhem (The Last Drive-In Blu-ray
18) The Exorcist
19) The Wolf of Snow Hollow///The Taking of Deborah Logan
20) Tales From the Crypt: Demon Knight (theatrical screening)///Cellar Dweller
21) The Black Phone///"Dream Kill" (segment in V/H/S85
22) The Transfiguration///Black Phone 2
23) Shelby Oaks
24) Clown in a Cornfield/// Jack-O (The Last Drive-In Splatterween double feature)
25) Ken Russell's Gothic/// Inferno/// Lords of Salem
26) Night of the Living Dead 1990/// Night of the Demons
Read:
Persistence paid off this week. Previously, I'd cursed Netflix for a seemingly small theatrical opening for Guillermo Del Toro's Frankenstein. I'd just about given up hope of seeing such a clearly cinematic film on the big screen when, lo and behold, our local arthouse theatre, The Belcourt, added screenings to their website. I procured passes for this coming Thursday, and in the interest of freshening up my recall on Mary Shelley's original novel, I began an impromptu re-read.
Some readers may recall from previous posts I did a few years back that I have in my possession the hardback edition illustrated by Bernie Wrightson. This one is on display with several other key pieces of Frankenstein memorabilia, so I tend to eye it every day and briefly flirt with the idea of revisiting it. Now is the perfect time.
Playlist:
Type O Negative - World Coming Down
Lebanon Hanover - Let Them Be Alien
Bauhaus - Burning From the Inside
Perturbator - Age of Aquarius
The Cure - Pornography
Type O Negative - Life Is Killing Me
Beastmilk - Climax
Steve Moore - Jimmy & Stiggs OST
Dream Division - Beyond the Mirror's Image
Type O Negative - Bloody Kisses (Suspended in Dusk edition)
Various - Return of the Living Dead OST
Card:
From Jonathan Grimm's Hand of Doom Tarot, which you can buy HERE.
And Grimm's Kickstarter for The Eldritch Lace Tarot deck is live for just a handful more hours! You can go check it out and support it HERE.
• XII: Hanged Man
• Five of Pentacles
• Page of Swords
Decisions will need to be made that might result in a conflict over money. Stay firm and prepare to be combative. Hold your ground and you will persevere.
Perfect timing. Waging a bit of a war with payroll at the moment.



















