Big Winnipeg Al's Trip Into Terror

As far back as I can remember, Swan Song by Robert R. McCammon was always present. Whenever I would go to a library with my father and drawn to the small horror section (just like our weekly trips to the video rental store) it would be there and instantly draw my attention. It's spine with a malevolent face peering out and daring me to delve into its dark contents. I was always in awe by the thick novel and knew that at some point in time, I would need to pick it up. My local used bookstore called me a year ago to tell me they had found me a copy, which they sold to me for a single dollar. Since I was about to move to China for a year, I knew it was the perfect moment to finally crack it. The story centers around various groups of people who are trying to survive in a ravaged landscape after Russia and the US have bombed each other. These characters include a massive ex wrestler, a mad ex-war hero and the boy who saved him by amputating his arm and Satan himself. The title c...

It's been almost two decades since I saw this film so I knew I had to go back and reevaluate it. It was right after Halloween and my oldest amigo picked it up and then passed it on to me. We were in the middle of matching each others flicks from the Anchor Bays series of VHS horror films (more on that beloved company later) and I had recently shown him Dawn of the Dead . While I don't need to tell you which of the two had more of a life altering effect on us both, I had very fond memories of watching Let Sleeping Corpses Lie and gorging myself on my stash of candy from my Halloween haul. It was time to give the classic zombie flick another gander. Notice the tagline. This film was paired with The Last House on the Left in the States back in the day.  The story begins simple enough where two individuals are forced to travel together through rural England where nearby new tests are being conducted using radioactive waves to kill insects. The waves resurrect the dead wh...

I was enthralled with Coffin Joe again as I finally watched At Midnight I'll Take Your Soul . I had first heard of Jose Marin's and his character through James Rolfe and his Halloween offerings of Monster Madness (I believe it was number 3, but I could be wrong). Shortly after that, I rented This Night I'll Posses Your Corpse and was not disappointing. All the rumors about Coffin Joe and his depravity were true. I had always meant to watch the original entry in the series, and with a recent sleepless night in Singapore, I had my chance to have my own midnight screening. Believe the hype kids, Joe is one nefarious figure. Raping, murdering, encouraging suicide, eating meat on sacred days and disrespecting god and the dead, Coffin Jose doesn't care about anything save for having a son to continue his wicked bloodline.  Understandably, everyone is terrified about what Joe will do next and that includes the audience. We're all cued that he's ...

I'm sad that my first entry has to be one to honor the passing of one of my favorite authors of all time. Dallas William Mayr known to horror fans throughout the globe as Jack Ketchum, passed away in January. I have been living abroad for the last year, so this news had eluded me till just the other day. When I saw that he had passed, my heart sunk. Another great had rode off into the sunset. I first discovered his novels in a used bookstore in Fargo, ND several years ago. I'll never forget how I spent my first year employed at a summer camp spending my lunch breaks in a backroom devouring "Off Season". I remember thinking to myself that I had found an incredible gem of a writer as I grimaced through the gruesome bits. Shortly after that, I found three more of his books for discounted prices at my neighborhoods Giant Tiger store (Leisure Books just went under). I read the novel "Joy Ride" and recognized that it was the type of extreme novel that I...

It's high time I set myself up my own space on the net to log insights into a genre which has captivated me for eons. From a young age I was drawn to all things horror. Starting with films on VHS, my search for all things spooky would move to books, comics, television and music. I've always been perplexed that the genre is dismissed and ignored. Let's delve deep into these nightmares and dreamscapes together and see what we can uncover. Stick close.