31 Horror Movie Commentaries continues with Night of the Living Dead!
Law doesn’t understand why Pete loves this movie but didn’t buy into Law’s Docket pick for him a couple year ago, Dawn of the Dead. So he yells at him a whole bunch. Also, a lot of the people in this movie are annoying as shit.
If you liked the 31 Horror Movie Commentaries for Night of the Living Dead, head over to Patreon.com/BingeMedia to sign up for the Full Binge and to make sure you don’t miss out on the rest of the 31 Horror Movie Commentaries! Subscribers to The Full Binge also receive access to all exclusive content including commentaries and tournaments, access to the Binge Media Discord server, a Lawlapalooza shot and/or pint glass and, most importantly, all the burps.
The OG3 reunite after months of talking shit and get to work. There’s Quote Whores, Google Voice, a timely Lil’ Retro, the usual nonsense, and an old school sounder war to end all sounder wars.
0:00:00-Shut up. Sit down. Or stand. Whatever. Anyway just listen.
0:01:57-Law and Moreno. The old school team starts us off. Moreno has used his September wisely to find new sounders. It’s hot in Canada. Balls hot. Ammon is slacking with making it to the show on time, per the usual. What does he do that makes him so late? Last week’s show is brought up for laughs. Movie homework? Somebody didn’t do it. Take a wild fucking guess who. Site shite. Law talks about what he’s going to do with his time off from making the fake duhicks. PeteMC has delivered a new remix for your earholes! Lot of related content to that sounder to follow up.
0:22:10-GOOGLE VOICE. Lots up new drops within. Ammon shows up during the proceedings.
0:54:33-QUOTE WHORES. Post game, the boys talk Aftertaste, BingeViews, Super NES, and more bullshit.
1:29:28-TV ROUND UP. Law watched Survivor. That’s. Fucking. It. The Survivor Pool is discussed. A Sounder is actually played to begin the segment. Bout fuckin time. Moreno finished the O.J. Show (fucking thirsty right now) and started Laci Peterson. Ammon has Mr. Mercedes, Rick and Morty, and Channel Zero. Ammon does not have the goods on This is Us. So fuck ‘im. Fall TV shit. What is Law doing with his month off if he is not fucking watching tv?
1:49:53-The boys select a sounder for BingeViews.
2:17:55-LIL RETROS: Friday the 13th Part III
2:42:14-WHAT DID YOU WATCH? AlyxMoreno watched Blade Runner (The Final Cut) for the first time! WHOAAAAAAA. Ammon got Movie Pass!! Moreno also saw Wind River. Ammon has revisits with Night of the Living Dead and The Haunting. He also checked out The Autopsy of Jane Doe, and The Void. He also devoted some time to Ernest with Ernest Goes to Camp and Ernest Goes to Jail. Netflix’s My Butt Went Psycho?! What the fuck? Ammon is playing around with showing his kids the old school Universal Monster Movies. Law skips ahead to Christmas with Better Watch Out.
There’s no question that George Romero’s looks at the zombie apocalypse influenced a high number of filmmakers. There is also no question that these filmmakers did what they did in what they felt were nicely done homages. How Tom Savini, Zack Snyder, and Steve Miner did with the foundation Romero laid out is what is discussed in this podcast.
I’m not going to lie. As dire as the last podcast in this series was, there has probably been no movie as bad as one that is discussed here. After talking about all three of these movies, my co-host Mik Duffy and I talk about just how high Romero’s reach was, how his vision of zombies is still in use today, and what to expect in future Aftertastes. One of which involves Duffy coming back.
This has been a good series to revisit. I have had a blast dissecting these movies, and want to take this time to thank that annoying Bruce Springsteen fan Jack Falvey, who provided a lot of behind the scenes aspects of making this series of podcasts possible.
Listen to our concluding Romero Aftertaste, and stay tuned for the Indiana Jones Retrospective with Jim Law and Nate Peterson, starting next week!
The first Binge Movie Aftertaste of 2017 is finally upon us. And boy did I make a dandy as a kickoff to the new year. After toying around with schedules of people that just weren’t coming together, I decided that I was tired of waiting around. Almost out of desperation, I spoke to many good film friends of mine, seeing if something sticks and if I could cobble together something of substance to record. What I ended up with could only be described as a perfect melding of circumstances.
Mik Duffy is a friend of mine whom I have been talking film with for over a year now. When George Romero’s Living Dead series came up as something he would like to do with me, my ears immediately perked up. We begin the podcast with a kind of getting to know you segment with Mik, as he divulges he himself made a film based on his love of this very series. What did that film consist of? You’ll have to listen to find out.
We then get into the first two films of George Romero’s Zombie Apocolypse series. We get into each nook and crannie of both films, and Mik surprises me more than once with some pretty amazing knowledge of the films. Including a tie in with Romero friend Stephen King that will no less than blow your mind.
This is the first of three podcasts examining this series, as well as their remakes. So strap in, grab some fire torches, and get ready for some zombie knowledge. I would also be remised if I didn’t thank the amazingly annoying Jack Valley for helping with a lot of behind the scenes aspects of putting these podcasts together. Also, I guess a congratulations is in order. To…the TEAM HE ROOTS FOR. NOT THEIR FANS. Umm, congratulations to the New England Patriots.
Ok, with that out of the way, please enjoy listening to films about flesh eating creatures.
0:02:30-Law and Pete MC are on the scene. Pete gives details about how the gears turn in the sounder lab, and how OH HAI Denny Louie helped with the Halloween sounder that opened the show. What drinks are the boys drinking? Do you care? You fucking should. Pete talks about how The Kicks got some shows in Bah-ston in March 2017. You should hit up “The Town” (get it? Shut up) and check them out.
0:15:35-A new sounder devoted to GC aka Mr. 4 on 10. Discussion about the aforementioned watermelon guzzler continues, then more bullshit.
0:30:30-Ammon joins the fun.
0:34:51-TV ROUND UP. Law questions if he can play “Spoil the Walking Dead” in the upcoming weeks as Season 7 has recently begun. Ammon butts in with AHS and gets down on his knees, pleading with Law and Pete that they gotta watch it. Another spectacular This is Us update by Mr. Gilbert. High Life continues on with Luke Cage. Westworld of course. Black Mirror is back and those three cocksuckers couldn’t be happier. Atlanta is still great. Shift to South Park. Ash Vs. Evil Dead talk. Law moves on to Goliath which is the springboard for a major tangent, something that takes up at least an hour of recording time, if not more. The Canadian rights the course with Divorce. Nearly two hours of TV Round Up. Gotta be in the Guinness Book of World Records or something now.
2:33:03-GUUGLE VOICE. During this portion, the Halloween sounder by Pete w/ alley-oop by Denny is revisited.
3:14:25-Surprise call in!
3:31:41-MOVIE HOMEWORK: Silver Bullet
3:58:21-WHAT DID YOU WATCH? Ammon begins things off with Burying the Ex, revisits of Sleepy Hollow, original Night of the Living Dead, and American Werewolf in London. Pete went back into the Halloween move vault with Trick R’ Treat, The Shining, The Exorcist, Halloween 1 and 2 (with old show commentaries!), Monster Squad, and Toy Story of Terror. Small tangent where Pete talks about his new gig that isn’t band related. Good luck with that sir! Law checked out Bad Moms and Mr. Church. The three band together to dissect Don’t Breathe. Moreno calls in to help out with thoughts on the movie. Show’s over. That’s it. Get out of here.
Given that there was not an Aftertaste last week due to some crazy scheduling issues (sorry about that), I thought I would do a Grumblings column about a subject which has been on my mind for quite awhile. Hollywood is a crazy machine. One that is in constant need of repair, as every once in awhile, an ingredient gets in the machine and it has no idea of how to fix itself. Despite the consistent onslaught of fads which are easy to grasp onto (comic book movies, space movies, teen comedies), Hollywood has always had a ‘if it isn’t broke, don’t fix it’ mentality. By the way, that is not a criticism. It is just a statement on where their state of affairs really lie, as all their resources are used to outline when things like the next ten movies hit, and hit like buzzsaws, all but forcing those making the big decisions to take notice.
A year that revolves around one film, with an unexpected one coming up from behind and sweeping the masses off their feet, is always a beautiful thing. Stars are made, new directors have guaranteed careers, and there are films for the general public to chew on that they generally wouldn’t taste to begin with.
10) The Witch (2016)
Budget: $3.7 million
Box Office Gross (so far): $25.2 million
I’ll start with the most recent example first. The Witch had gathered some steam during a roll out on the festival circuit, receiving one good review after the other in the process. Also, much like he jump started the career of Clive Barker three decades ago, novelist Stephen King gave the movie cred to people who don’t normally read reviews. Daily, almost hourly, a sponsored ad from The Witch would show up on my Facebook feed with a quote from King saying it ‘scared the hell out of’ him. This endorsement was enough to make audiences cough up, at the time this article is written, a shade over $25 million at the box office. The word of mouth behind The Witch was outstanding, eventually leading it to become perhaps the surprise hit of the year. Of course, with outstanding word of mouth comes outstanding expectations, and some people felt let down by the subtle film which unfolded in front of them. Truth be told, if you go into The Witch with the only expectation of being entranced by a dark story with ever so slyly inserted supernatural elements, The Witch will keep you up at night. As for those who want ‘jolt scares,’ I point you James Wan’s way.
9) Juno (2007)
Budget: $7.5 million
Box Office: $231 million
Just what WERE the expectations of a film written by an ex-stripper whose random blog post became the basis for what was originally supposed to be a published memoir and nothing else? Well, Jason Reitman (son of Ivan) certainly saw potential in her subsequent script, as he took Diablo Cody’s words and turned them into the teen pregnancy film of the decade. Not that there was much of a competition for that title. Armed with parents played by masters at their craft Allison Janney and JK Simmons, Reitman just pointed the camera at his young star Ellen Page and let her go off. With dialogue which would make members of a Gilmore Girls writing session blush, Juno had just the right mixture of sentimentality and outright comedy to make it work. After grossing $231 million and garnering four Academy Award nominations (only winning for Cody’s Best Original Screenplay), Juno won many hearts and made Ellen Page a star, while establishing Reiman as a director to watch. Word is Reitman, Cody, and Charlize Theron (Young Adult) are reteaming for another project, already making it one of my most anticipated films.
8) Open Water (2003)
Budget: $500,000
Box Office: $52 million
Based on the true story of two stranded divers left behind by their tour boat, Open Water had the benefit of a kick ass trailer that some would argue built better suspense than its subsequent film did. Still, the impact the film had in its initial release is one that all independent filmmakers strive for. While I haven’t seen it for quite a clip, I remember really being into Open Water for its brutality on the characters’ senses. Once they were left behind, I imagined myself being out there amongst all the predators under my feet of the grand ocean below, and felt a sense of dread for them. Especially of note is how this was almost a stepping stone for Lionsgate, as the year after they would have a certified hit with a little film called Saw. And the rest, is history.
7) Night of the Living Dead (1968)
Budget: $125,000
Box Office: $42 million
In some ways, Night of the Living Dead is a misunderstood film. People seem to think that it was the first zombie film, which in essence is not true. There were plenty of zombie films out in the era, like The Four Skulls of Jonathan Drake and Doctor Blood’s Coffin. However, these were almost takes on Frankenstein, as corpses were being brought back to life through someone else’s volition. There had yet to be a movie about an unknown phenomenon which made people into creatures thirsty for blood, and hungry for flesh. Enter George Romero’s classic dark tale, of which we are still feeling the after effect today. Before Night of the Living Dead, you would be hard pressed to find not only a little girl stabbing her own mother to death, but also a black protagonist. Earlier scenes of him slapping down Barbara notwithstanding, we as an audience are looking for a way, ANY way, for him to survive the attack. And the way the film ends, while not as shocking today, must have had audiences in 1968 running for the exits out of fear it was on their doorstep. Yet, over four decades later, they keep coming back for more.
6) Saw (2004)
Budget: $1.2 million
Box Office: $103 million
I mentioned this little ditty a few numbers back, so you knew it was eventually going to find its way here. Filmmakers dream of stories like this. Director James Wan and writer Leigh Whannell wanted nothing more than make a student film about two people locked in a stinky bathroom. If you watch the condensed version of the final film, it has the aura of being made by someone who would eventually make quite an imprint on the industry. Since Saw‘s groundbreaking release, Wan has gone on to make The Conjuring and last year’s billion dollar grossing Furious 7. While ripe with flaws (as outlined in my revisit of it from last year), Saw still has the power to get under your skin, and Wan’s quick cutting sensibilities are certainly on display here. It is not hard to see how a little more than a decade later, he would fine tune his craft toward blockbuster success.
5) Halloween
Budget: $325,000
Box Office: $47 million
Now, the name Halloween is synonymous with horror behind a spray painted white William Shatner mask. But before October 25th 1978, it was just a day where kids dressed up and got candy. Quite frankly, I find it hard to believe that it took Hollywood this long to make a film out of the potentially terrifying holiday of Halloween. After Psycho and Night of the Living Dead, there was only one horror movie whose story revolved around a holiday, and that was Black Christmas. We’ve all heard the story of how Halloween happened. Producer Irwin Yablans had an idea about a serial killer stalking babysitters on Halloween, wanting to (horrifyingly) call it The Babysitter Murders. Carpenter brought in his main squeeze at the time Debra Hill to help spice up the script. And the rest, as they say, is history. Halloween held the record for the most dollar for dollar successful horror film until 1999, when our next entry told the hiking story heard around the world and quite literally stole its mantle.
4) The Blair Witch Project (1999)
Budget:$60,000
Box Office: $248 million
I still remember the experience of seeing this movie like it was yesterday. I had just gotten off a long shift at a Berkeley resort and was looking forward to this film I had heard so much about. However, the way I found out about it was rarely, if ever, done in the late 90s. It is very hard to launch a viral campaign that captures the public’s imagination because for the most part, everyone is on to them. A particular one, with a scavenger hunt put on by none other than Heath Ledger’s Joker for 2008’s The Dark Knight, immediately springs to mind. Yet, in 1999, this type of marketing was unheard of. Somehow, maybe it was via the many entertainment magazines I read back then -which should have been an immediate tip off- I had gotten word that the Blair Witch was indeed real, and my interest had been spiked. I logged on my at the time dial up connection and scoured the internet, looking at photos of Heather and Josh, complete with full in depth stories about what happened to them, and building an in universe sort of unsolved mystery. Was this witch the cause of it? That was what I went into the sticky soda floored theater to find out. The movie in front of me did very little to solve the mystery, but the ride it took me on is something I will not soon forget. The fact the mystery was not solved, in some way, enhanced the experience.
A few years ago, while interviewing co-director Eduardo Sanchez on the matter, he told me the viral campaign was indeed the idea of studio Artisan Entertainment. Of course, word of this ‘little horror film shot in the woods’ got out, and pretty soon the entire cast destroyed the mystery by appearing daily on the talk show circuit. Still, the impact of The Blair Witch Project, much like Night of the Living Dead, is still causing rippling waves to this day.
3) Friday The 13th (1980)
Budget: $500,000
Box Office: $59 million
Much like Halloween, Friday The 13th started as just a brim of an idea. After a series of kids movies he made flopped, director Sean S Cunningham was at a crossroads of what to do. His experience producing the grimy and disturbing Wes Craven directed horror film The Last House on the Left gave him a little notoriety, and he used this fact to his advantage by taking an ad out of magazines and newspapers promoting Friday The 13th as the scariest movie you will ever see. After the ads gained a little bit of steam, Cunningham set out to make his little camp counselor film, and the result was a shoe string budgeted film that comes off as a generally more violent version of John Carpenter’s Halloween. Who would have thought, over 35 years, countless sequels, video games, and franchise crossovers later, Friday The 13th would still be going strong.
2) Napoleon Dynamite (2004)
Budget – $400,000
Box Office – $46 million
2004 was quite a unique year for indie filmmaking, as obscure hits were almost the norm. First there was Saw. But when you talk about obscure. you have to mention Napoleon Dynamite. The movie is undoubtedly one of the most unlikely hits to ever happen. Its cast is made up of mostly unknown actors. Yet before the world knew it, Napoleon Dynamite was a cultural phenomenon. T-shirts asking people to ‘Vote for Pedro,’ action figures of Napoleon with a tether ball, and bumper stickers with ‘Give me some of your tots’ printed on them were being sold everywhere. The film is an interesting watch, with no real narrative driving the story, instead using nonsensical situations involving Napoleon and his ‘friends’ to move the plot forward. As much as I like the film, I still wonder to this day how it caught on. There is no real likable character to speak of, and this includes the title character. Yet, from the moment he wins the talent show crowd over with his unusual dance, to him finally getting to play tether ball with what I concluded to be his future female companion, Napoleon Dynamite, for what it lacks in structure, makes up for it with a hell of a lot of heart.
1) Rocky
Budget – $995,000
Box Office – $225 million
Now, Luke Norris and I have spewed many, many words about this film, and entire franchise. So I am not going to talk TOO much about it here. But I would be remissed if I didn’t mention the sentimental piece of meat beating populace film known as Rocky. A grimy, down and dirty sports world fairy tale, Rocky‘s onscreen story is far from an unfamiliar one. But how writer/star Sylvestor Stallone was able to edge his way into the role, even as millions of dollars were being flashed in his face to turn it over to any one Hollywood star, is a model which needs to be commended. Rocky didn’t have to be as low budget as it was. But Stallone’s insistence on using his integrity instead of his money hungry hand added on to the film’s entire experience. Watching Stallone in Rocky is like watching Hugh Jackman in X-Men or Daisy Ridley in The Force Awakens. We are watching a star being born, and with it, a character that would continually remind us what successful independent filmmaking can accomplish when done right.
0:01:35-Moreno is back again after his wedding, again. Tales of his second marriage begin. Ammon is fashionably late per the norm. Last week’s Bingecast gets recapped.
0:19:53-TV ROUND UP. Ammon graces us with his presence finally and despite it being completely off topic, his trip to Hawaii gets detailed. TV talk does occur, so calm your tits. Fargo, Project Greenlight, Daredevil, The Affair, South Park, American Horror Story: Hotel, The Walking Dead, and Homeland all have time in the sun. Something for everybody, goddamnit.
1:43:13-Did you miss anything the Binge Media Podcast Network cause you were too fucking drunk? Well, we bring you up to speed. You’re welcome.
1:49:10-Moreno watches the Star Wars Episode VII trailer for the first time due to peer pressue. The recent Friday Night Law is plugged because Jim Law is a whore for Star Wars.
1:56:53-LITERALLY LITERARY. Moreno discussed The Cartel by Don Winslow. The boys also bitch about the next Game of Thrones book STILL NOT BEING FUCKING OUT. COME ON, JAR JAR.
2:21:22-GOOGLE VOICE. Only 2 Voicemails. How high will Supka be? Find the fuck out!
2:50:33-MOVIE HOMEWORK. Goosebumps, because it’s the only movie that takes place in Delaware.
3:02:30-WHAT DID YOU WATCH? New sounder! Jim Law also drunkenly fumbles around and plays other sounders. He begins the segment with Everest, this year’s Vertical Limit. He continues with Bone Tomahawk, which he fifes all over. Meadowland is next. Ammon follows discussion with the Lazarus Effect and Alone After Dark…wait, no…Lost After Dark. Law cuts in on Moreno’s time and talks about Night of the Living Dead: Darkest Dawn. Moreno and Law tag team on Back in Time to end the show. THAT’S THE POWER OF LOVE.
It’s been increasingly hard for me to find time to pick up a book over these last few weeks, and this week was no exception. I’ve had Stephen King’s third book in The Dark Tower series started for a few weeks now, and I haven’t gotten much in the way of comics from my library. However, I have been holding onto Night of the Living Deadpool for a special occasion, and the time finally presented itself. With the complications in life, work, and school recently, a book that is a nice short and sweet graphic novel was something I was looking forward to. So what better way than to read Night of the Living Deadpool? Well, there probably would have been a few better ways, but I did the best with what I had. This is exactly what author Cullen Bunn does in these Deadpool books that he has been doing recently. Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe, as well as Deadpool Killustrated, were both really great books from Bunn. This is done in the same kind of style, and uses the typical Deadpoolery, but it just didn’t capture me like the other two did.
There is so much potential in a book that contains both Deadpool, and zombies. I feel as if the opportunity to make one of the best Deadpool books was squandered by an author who usually does very well with putting Deadpool in pop culture scenarios. What is really done well in the book, is those actual pop culture references. There were definitely a few, including an Evil Dead one, that really had me laughing out loud while reading the book. I also really enjoyed how some of the scenes, mostly the ones in the current apocalyptic environment, were colored in black and white with Deadpool still being full color. It was not a necessary artistic choice, but it gave some of those pages a little flare and caused Pooly to stand out a little more than usual. But where the book falls short is a decent story to accompany that sense of humor, flashy artwork choices, and witty style that I’m used to with Cullen Bunn. With Deadpool halfway looking like a zombie, I also didn’t think it would be that challenging to combine zombies in with him as a storyline. It proved to be a bit too large of a task for Bunn I think, and I really don’t see any other writer topping it because in all reality, it’s already been done. Brian Posehn and Gerry Duggan’s first volume of Deadpool, Dead Presidents, successfully found that tone and also made a great story that was equal parts brilliant and wacky. Posehn and Duggan incorporated zombies, history, and Deadpool’s one of a kind sense of humor into their premiere book in the Marvel NOW! and knocked it out of the park.
So I suppose I shouldn’t be too bummed out that Cullen Bunn didn’t quite rock it like my dude Brian Posehn, but he did a serviceable job and by no means did he write an incomplete book. The laughs are here, and the violence is here too. It clocks in at four issues long so it’s a nice breeze of a read if you’re looking for something easy, or need to fill your Dead-hole. The one thing about the story in this book that stands out, is the ending. In the least spoilery way possible, I think this ending could have been the beginning to what makes this Night of the Living Deadpool story awesome. So far, Cullen Bunn has not really been churning out too many issues in any one Pooly-verse at once, maybe to keep them all fresh, but I’d definitely like to see more of this one, as well as Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe. Be on the lookout for some possibly great stories from Cullen Bunn and the Deadpool team, but also if you haven’t already, please check out Posehn and Duggan’s current run on Deadpool. It’s one of the best comics out there right now, based on straight up entertainment value. Which I think most of us know by now, Deadpool’s sole mission in life is to entertain the readers.