The Post of the Living Dead

George A. Romeo has died.

Turns out, not a lot of great images when you search 'zombie crying'.

Many fans and collaborators have posted tributes online.

There's even a petition to get his likeness on a stamp. And yes, of course I signed it.

Romero not only made an amazing movie, he created the zombie genera. Without him, no Return of the Living Dead, no Shaun of the Dead, no Zombie Survival Guide.

Alternatively, no shitty in-name-only World War Z movie.

I do love the original movie, but I was never a mega fan. I've always been a bigger fan of what he inspired: things like The Walking Dead, Warm Bodies, and reviews of the shitty Resident Evil films.

A lot of the great creators of the horror movies I (and the generations before me) grew on are getting old and dying off. We lost Wes Craven not that long ago.

Someone check on John Carpenter, quick!

It's not like I have no hope for the genera without these icons: Wan and Peele and the Duffer brothers will keep us all screaming for years to come, God willing. And maybe they will breath life into some long forgotten, half conceptualized monster, brining terror to millions.

But nobody will ever make another zombie for the first time. That honor died with George. For now.

RIP George A. Romero. May your zombies keep eating flesh long after yours has become dust.

The IT Spot: Rereading part 24

Now that Mike has completed the Losers Club, things get going pretty quickly. There are a lot of old hits from the mini-series here, as well as things that got left by the wayside for brevity's sake.

SPOILERS

The scene begins as the adult losers regroup in the library after hours, for drinks and chat. It's very little like the mini-series scene.

Though I do enjoy the "How's your sex life? What's your sex life?" line.

Balloons come from the fridge, but only Mike is there to see them. The head is Stan's, but it is his 11 year old self, and the mouth is stuffed with bird feathers. He taunts Mike that as adults they can no longer handle the ritual of the Chud, and rolls out of the fridge, to vanish in a cloud of blood droplets. All of this happens before the other loser can even enter the back room.

This section is all about Mike finding his place amongst the club, and reflecting on those early meetings as an adult.

After the Apocolyptic Rock Fight we seague into Mike's memories of his early meetings with the loser's club. Digging a clubhouse in the barrens, discussing what they've seen of IT, and their plans to make a sliver bullet to kill IT.

A lot of this section is establishing Mike's new friendship as the kids discuss Rock and Roll, and it's refreshing. We need to remember that while we know these characters (at least, the survivors) as adults, they also had to fight as kids. They weren't endowed with grown-up sense, reasoning, or personality (beyond a few well-chosen moments). These are, for all intents and purposes, normal kids.

There section ends with Mike showing the others a photo album, and everyone expects IT to show up. IT obliges.

Again, we're missing the best bits. IT shapeshifts into other forms, past monsters that have frightened the losers. Stan's denial is recognized as more serious by Bill. Bill sees the same denial and panic present in the others, and knows he has to quell it, lest they break apart. He's bitter about the responsibility, as any child would be. But he accepts it.

That's the main thing about Bill that the others see: the vestiges of the man he will, or could, become. Bill is their leader, whether by nature or by the Turtle's design. He knows this, but isn't happy about it.

SAFE

Next time, we watch the losers find out more about IT, and delve into their clubhouse. Stay tuned.

Fun Stuff for Fun Times

FINALLY! A trailer for The Disaster Artist. I own this book, and it is insane. I can't wait to see the story behind The Room, and Greg Sestero's life while living with  Tommy Wiseau, brought to the big screen.

The IT Spot: Rereading part 23

We've finally reached the point where Mike meets the rest of the loser's club: The Apocolyptic Rock Fight.

SPOILERS

The fight is superficially similar to the mini-series footage, but as with everything, it lacks a lot of the finesse. The segment ping-pongs between the established 6 losers talking about killing IT, then transitioning to normal kid stuff: going to the dump to blow up bottles, etc. The other half of the story is Mike Hanlon going to a band rehearsal and nearly getting caught by Henry Bowers and his gang: now expanded to include a preppy kid from the right side of the tracks and a guy named Moose.

As seen here.

After Henry tries to kill Mike with an M-80, and tells Mike that he killed the proto-loser's dog, Mike finds the other losers, who fight off the boys with rocks. Neither side gets away unbloodied, but Henry actually is the worst off: broken nose, rock bruises, cuts, and the back of his shirt blown off by another M-80. Not that you can feel bad: he was literally going to kill Mike.

That's something that's not paid enough/any attention in the adaptation: the horror that comes from having truly murderous children in the mix. Kids that can, and do kill. Granted, IT's evil enhances that, but even without IT, they'd still be crazy and evil. Just maybe not killers. Maybe. And we haven't even gotten to Patrick Hockstetter, the literal psychopath.

But we will.

In any case, the bond between the losers, the Ka-Tet is sealed as they invite Mike to join them in setting off some firecrackers. Even then, they know there's completion: it 'clicks' that they have all arrived.

SAFE

Next time we investigate some more goings on of both the adult and kid losers, trying to come to terms with what they did, and what needs to be done.

Whelp, I guess we've moved on

So, CBS has made an animated Michael Jackson Halloween Special that will air this year.

"Jackson's music will soundtrack [sic] the story of a young duo named Vincent and Victoria who "accidentally" meet on Halloween night. Alongside a dog named Ichabod, Vincent and Victoria wind up at 777 Jackson Street at the mysterious – and aptly named – This Place Hotel (a reference to the Jackson's 1980 song of the same name). Inside the This Place Hotel, Victoria, Vincent and Ichabod embark on a journey that ends with a dance finale featuring an animated Michael Jackson."

There are some real stars in this: Jim Parsons, Lucy Liu , Alan Cumming, and Brad Garrett specifically.

This isn't appropriate. Anything new thingshowing MJ with kids needs to not be a thing.

 We can't help the past, however.

And also, he had one Halloween themed song. Granted, it's probably the best horror song that is widely known, but that's not enough to build a special around.

Long and short of it: I don't approve, and I don't think the people who made this thought about anything very thoroughly. Good luck CBS.

It's not like you already own the most recognized halloween special...

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On a side note, just before this blog was to go up I found out George Romero died. Farewell to a true architect of Halloween, horror, and film. He will be missed.