Looking for some sweet horror themed music to listen to? Having a party? Want to turn something into a party? Then have I got the thing for you? I made a playlist on Spotify where you can hear some of my favorite ghoulish music. Just click here to check out 30 Days of Plight - Mixed Tape One. Don't have Spotify? No problem. Here is the track list so you can put it together on your own!
1) Local H - Wolf Like Me (TV on the Radio cover)
2) Anthrax - Fight 'Em 'Til You Can't
3) The Creepshow - Sleep Tight
4) Harley Poe - That Time of the Month
5) Tiger Army - Incorporeal
6) Misfits - Death Comes Ripping
7) AFI - Sacrifice Theory
8) Gwar - Jack the World
9) Ramones - Pinhead
10) Tullycraft - Dig Up the Graves
11) The White Stripes - Little Ghost
12) Oingo Boingo - No One Lives Forever
13) Marilyn Manson - I Put a Spell on You
14) Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - The Curse of Millhaven
15) I Fight Dragons - cRaZie$
16) Alkaline Trio - Hell Yes
17) Twisted Sister - Burn in Hell
18) Trophy Scars - Gutted
19) The Cure - Lullaby
20) Fantomas - The Omen (Ave Satan)
21) Poison the Well - Crystal Lake
As soon as I saw the title and art for this film I tracked down Mr. Twigg. How could I resist the call of a film such as WrestleMassacre?! Running his own film company (Fuzzy Monkey Studios), Brad does what most of us can only dream of: he makes movies he wants, and does it his own way. From the man that brought you such classics as 2015's MILFs vs. Zombies, and with an IMDB showing everything from lighting and production design, to directing and acting, I got the chance to have Brad join me at the announcers' table to answer my questions and cut a promo for WrestleMassacre!
Thanks
for taking the time to do this interview, Brad. We're here today to
talk about your upcoming film WrestleMassacre, so why don't you give
our readers an idea of what this film is about. Also, are you a
wrestling fan yourself?
You're very welcome. WrestleMassacre follows Randy,
an awkward groundskeeper who is obsessed with professional wrestling.
Longing for a sense of belonging with grandiose dreams of becoming a
wrestling superstar, Randy is only met with abject humiliation and
alienation. A brutal shaming at a local wrestling school pushes Randy
over the edge and lights the spark for his blood lust. Donned in
wrestling gear and armed with homicidal rage, Randy sets out on a blood
soaked rampage to punish those who wronged him. The only hope of putting
an end to his reign of carnage lies with Becky, an understanding client
who is one of the only few to ever show him kindness. I've been a
wrestling fan since I was a kid and still enjoy watching it.
I'm a huge wrestling fan so I have to ask: How did you get ECW legend,
Mr. Blood Sweat and Beers himself, The Sandman (Jim Fullington) to be
in this film?
One of the actors in the film is also a pro wrestler and
happens to be friends with Jim. He asked him if he'd be interested in
playing a role in the film and he was all for it. I think people will
really enjoy his character and his trademark kendo stick makes an
appearance.
While checking out your IMDB in relation to WrestleMassacre I saw that
not only did you write this film's story, but you're also producing,
directing, and editing it. With how busy your 2018 already looks on
there, where do you find time get all of this done?
It's tough but I
like to stay busy. Movies are my life so I always find time for them.
Your film company (Fuzzy Monkey Films) is based out of Martinsburg,
WV. Out of curiosity (and because I'm originally from the Western PA
area) do you find a lot of like-minded horror and independent film
people there or do you end up getting a lot of awkward looks from
neighbors as "that horror movie guy?"
Unfortunately there aren't a lot
of actors or filmmakers in the area. Most of the people I work with come
from surrounding states where there are much larger filmmaking
communities.
Once WrestleMassacre is complete are you planning on hitting any film
festivals with it? I'm sure the New Orleans Horror Film Festival down
here would love it. Also, when and where will it be available to the
public for people that need to have this for their collection (my copy
will go between my blu-ray of Wrestlers Vs. Zombies and CM Punk DVD)?
I
do plan to submit WrestleMassacre to film festivals. I don't have any
specific ones in mind but hope to enter it into as many as possible. The
limited edition DVD will be available from the Fuzzy Monkey Films
website in August.
Finally, is there anything else you'd like to mention? Other projects,
conventions you might be at, cut a promo talking smack on another
company in your run for the title?
I'll be at Scares That Care Weekend
in Williamsburg, VA August 3-5 as well as Monster Mania Con in Hunt Valley, MD September 28-30.
We recently launched the Indiegogo campaign for my next film
Shriekshow. It's going to be a crazy flick with tons of atmosphere and
some really creepy characters. Thanks for the interview.
WrestleMassacre will be coming out this August 2018. Thanks again to Brad for doing this interview and feel free to click on the links to Shriekshow and Fuzzy Monkey Studios for info on his other past and future projects. Also, if you need more convincing, here is the trailer for WrestleMassacre!
Alright! Two years down and 270 films watched and reviewed on this website! Speaking of which, I'm looking into some way to index them on here, but slowly. This is now my down time where I get to catch up on reading, video games, and watching things other than random horror movies.
With that in mind, I am going to do things a little bit different with this break. I'm going to try to do at least one post a week, just to keep some fresh content on here during that time. I'm set to do an interview with Brad Twigg (producer/director) of Wrestle Massacre. That film is due to come out in the next few months and I couldn't pass up the chance to reach out to someone that's doing a wrestling horror film. I'm going to also reach out to some other smaller films and try to get some interviews or screeners.
Speaking of that: If you are making a film and would like me to give it the 30 Days of Plight treatment with a review, you can e-mail me at 30daysofplight@gmail.com
For all other things, feel free to check our Twitter (30daysofplight) where I try to keep active on it.
Otherwise, thank you for being with us for these two years. We'll be back to our normal reviews/mon-fri posting schedule on Monday, June 11th. Until then, check for those once-a-week posts, and as always...
I don't think anyone can say that they never emulated (even a tiny bit) a character they saw in a movie or on TV. To this day it still takes effort to not act like Razor Ramon if I'm using a toothpick, and he was just emulating Scarface! Also, as kids, I'm sure we all ran around with plastic vampire fangs cutting our gums, drool running from our mouths, as we mumbled about sucking blood. There is a line that most of us don't cross though. We don't begin to believe we are who or what we are copying. So when someone blurs that line between reality and fantasy, we get something like today's film.
The Transfiguration focuses on Milo, a teenage boy living in project housing with his older brother. He's an outcast, friendless, and referred to by others as "freak." His primary solace is found in his collection of dubbed vampire flicks and online nature videos. Eventually he befriends a girl named Sophie and she gets close. So close that she finds out that his obsession with vampirism goes beyond watching it on the screen.
I wasn't sure where this film was going while I was watching it. It took elements that I normally find frustrating while watching a movie and turned them into art. There are long periods of just ambient noise of the world around Milo, and rather than push me away from the film it pulled me into his isolation. I kept waiting for the real supernatural element to drop and when it didn't come I felt as though I lost my footing. Stumbling to understand Milo's actions more and more.
There's also a great scene which reminds me of Taxi Driver, when Robert De Niro takes Jodie Foster on a date and it's to the porno theater because he doesn't have the social experience to know better. In this, Milo hangs out with Sophie and he puts on one of those PETA-esq videos of how a cow is killed and processed. He has this flat affect while watching it whereas she is revolted and leaves him wondering what he did wrong.
This isn't a film for just anyone, and I wouldn't recommend it for a movie night with friends, but I will say if you have some free time and can actively watch this film, then do it.
I give The Transfiguration 4 Barnabas Collins portraits out of 5:
I've never been super strong with math (aside from geometry). I can handle the basic day-to-day type stuff but aside from that it was never my thing. So odds are I couldn't survive the Cube on my own. Although, I would totally poop in it. You're stuck there, trying to figure things out, and only one person has to pee the whole time? If death is coming then I'm going out with nothing to lose. Literally.
Cube gives us a bunch of people that wake up inside of large rooms with a door on each wall. Most of the rooms connecting have some sort of death trap but over time everyone starts to find out there's a skill each one has in order to survive and hopefully find a way out. Shit turns Lord of the Flies kind of quick.
The best parts of this film are probably when someone triggers a trap. I love a good body slice and that's one of the first things we get. There's also a great moment where they establish one of the people to be their hope on getting out and then ten seconds later his face gets melted by acid. Unfortunately, these were the only moments I enjoyed.
All of these characters could have survived or they all could have died and I wouldn't have cared. Actually, that's partially true as I think the only person that should survive out of this gaggle of assholes does survive. The structure is stupid and there's not logical sense for its existence. Seriously, who fucking paid for this shit?! Also, I'm confused on this room moving thing if it's as massive as they say. Wouldn't its size mean that certain rooms would never be reached or utilized? Did my tax dollars pay for this shit? Because I want that money back!
Initially I wasn't sure if this movie was set in the 90's or if Australia is somehow two decades behind us when it comes to music. It was probably one of my least valid thoughts about Australia ever, not that I'm thinking about Australia a lot. It's not like I sit by the phone waiting for Australia to return my calls. We only went on one date after all...
Boys in the Trees is set in 1997, just so we're all on the same page. Of course the soundtrack of Marilyn Manson, The Presidents of the United States of America, and Rammstein should tip you off that we're in that decade... or that you're riding in my car. Being that this isn't in my car, you're in Australia where a bunch of skater kids are dicks to another boy (Jonah). We find out that our main character (Corey) was once friends with the outcast but Corey ran away when Jonah needed him. Later that evening Jonah wipes out a quarter pipe and hits his head. He convinces Corey to walk him home but their journey takes them further down memory lane than initially thought. The whole time things seem off with Jonah. It isn't until we reach the end of the journey do we find out why.
This isn't a horror movie. It's a hard drama that just happens to have a small supernatural reveal. However, this film does a really good job of making you feel as though something is going to jump out at you. Stories of ghosts, shadows of wolves, and ominous visuals trick your mind into expecting the spook that never comes. The fact it's Halloween night only adds to this false tension, especially when we encounter the gang of skater miscreants.
I'm not going to spoil it, but there's a really good moment at the end where the "leader" of the skaters does something out of character and the other skaters all remove their Halloween masks. It's very much a "under this monstrous exterior they're still just lost boys" moment, but it creates such a sense of change in that world. Or maybe it's a sense of self-realization among that group. Either way, it makes the overall ending that much stronger. At least to me. You might totally hate that kind of thing, but then the real monster was you all along!
I give Boys in the Trees 3.5 boy in tree Hummels out of 5:
I have never seen The Collection prior to this viewing, but before I even started watching it I had it confused with about five other films that came out around this same time. All of them slightly interchangeable in content and plot but pretty much the same. It also doesn't help that the villain here wears a modified version of the mask from Nightbreed, which, while I'm on the subject, what the hell are those masks made of?! They look like hard plastic but then are some sort of weird fabric. What is your secret?!
The Collection focuses on a nameless serial killer that has the news all atwitter. While unconfirmed, it's believed that they kidnap at least one person from a scene. One of the Collector's captives (Arkin) escapes at a night club slaying but he's replaced by the sole living woman. This woman is apparently from a loaded family because some sort of mini-mercenary team lead by Lee Tergesen (Beecher from Oz, or Chett from the Weird Science TV show) grab the escapee and make him help find the Collector's hideout. Then they force him inside despite his refusal. Then it's some of the dumbest traps you've ever seen for about an hour.
This movie came out in 2012. That's eight years after Saw, seven years after Hostel, and 17 years after Seven, and yet it still felt like it was ripping all of these movies off. The traps were so absurd and overthought that they don't make any sense. Tripwires are fine but three giant spikes coming down from the ceiling in a very specific spot seem a bit excessive. This film also starts strangely similar to Blade. Both have an underground nightclub where the audience knows everything is going bad. The only difference is that while Blade had the "bloodbath," The Collection had a thresher from the front of a threshing machine just mow down an entire crowd of people.
While I'm complaining about things, I don't get the giant cubes of weird skeleton and body part things he made. If they're just suspended in water then that would mean that the flesh would still decay in there, but if it's something like formaldehyde, well that shit would definitely not put a fire out. It would make your face explode. Explain this to me! Honestly, explain to me anything this killer does because I don't get it. He's eccentric just for eccentric sake and it stinks like a steak fart.
I did like how Arkin helped them find the hide out and his overall problem solving in this film. Lee Tergesen is also a shining light in this darkness, but he has to die for the good of all mankind. He's too pure for this world.
I give The Collection 1 Decker from Nightbreed out of 5:
