Tom Savini: Horror Effects (1989)

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I would suggest “Horror Effects” only to the most ardent hardcore Tom Savini fans, as “Horror Effects” is mostly about, well, horror effects. Truly, “Horror Effects” focuses mainly on a small portion of Savini’s creative work, as he spends most of his time recollecting working on other films that don’t involve George Romero. Is it perhaps because John Russo is the host of this special? Aw, who knows, really? But there’s a surprising lack of talk about his zombie movies in favor of stuff that Savini has done with his company and what they’ve done on the outside of the US, including a slapstick comedy involving facial prosthetics.

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Digging up the Marrow (2015)

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You figure a pro like Adam Green would remember rule number one about film making: Never star in your own movie. Green isn’t exactly Woody Allen, and doesn’t take his advice opting instead for a starring role in a movie that’s thick with smug nods and pats on the back from Green to Green. I don’t mind a little self indulgence from filmmakers, but “Digging up the Marrow” focuses on a guy who’s barely in to his film career and wants to convince the world he has a hardcore rabid fan base. He advertises it as such.

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Ranking The “Home Improvement” Halloween Episodes from Best to Worst

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There are very few shows that have Halloween based episodes, let alone Halloween based episodes every year. Beside “Roseanne,” Tim Allen’s show “Home Improvement” celebrated Halloween almost every year, and it was almost always memorable. “Home Improvement” is one of my favorite sitcoms of all time, a family oriented laugh aloud comedy about accident pseudo-celebrity Tim Taylor, his very patient wife Jill and their rambunctious trio of sons. “Home Improvement” in its golden age was often hysterical and heartfelt, and reveled in devising new ways to put the characters in to scary situations involving the holiday.

The writers genuinely came up with interesting ideas almost every year, and it was fun watching Tim pull pranks on his family, and watching the pranks unfold in to hilarious reactions. From a head bursting through a wall, to Tim losing an arm while dancing with wife Jill, no one took on the holiday like Tim Taylor. To celebrate an often too overlooked sitcom from the nineties, here is a ranking of the Halloween episodes from the series from the absolute best, to the utter worst. What are some of your favorite “Home Improvement” episodes?

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Night of the Living Dead: Darkest Dawn (2015)

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I honestly don’t want to dislike anything with an association with George Romero, but when sub-par independent filmmakers unleash a sub-par remake of Romero’s 1968 “Night of the Living Dead,” you just have to call a spade a spade. It’s irritating that there are still filmmakers that think they can perfect the formula better than Romero did. The rush of “Night” remakes doesn’t seem to be stopping any time soon, either. Which is unfortunate, because time can be better spent on films that aren’t glorified fan fiction. “Darkest Dawn” is essentially “Night of the Living Dead” all over again. Except this time, “Night” is set in modern times, and in a city.

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ICYMI: Diora Baird: Queen Scream Queen

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In celebration of Women in Horror Month (now defunct unfortunately) Fatally Yours ran a series of articles focusing on the women of horror from guest contributors. Articles ran the gamut from spotlighting women authors, women filmmakers, female characters in horror films, scream queens, horrific artists and more and ran every Friday in February 2011. This was my contribution and dedication to horror bombshell Diora Baird. This article prompted a response by the Queen herself on Twitter thanking me.

John Lennon and Yoko Ono once presented a performance art routine that was most unorthodox. What they did was completely cover themselves from head to toe with a white amorphous body cover, and explained that the cover is meant to explore how human beings have biases whether they know it or not. Hearing a person talk without indication of their physical appearance is a much more interesting way of getting to know someone, especially when you’re not noticing blemishes, body language, and race. If we could listen instead of judge, we’d be able to learn so much more.

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I Am Nancy (2011)

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Surely, “I Am Nancy” isn’t one of the best documentaries ever made, but it will definitely go down as one of the most unique. How often do documentaries focus on the final girls of horror movies? “I Am Nancy” is that documentary about Heather Langenkamp who ended up playing one of the best final girls: Nancy Thompson. But unlike people like Jamie Lee Curtis and Neve Campbell, actress Heather Langenkamp’s fate as a performer was much different. Rather than become a big star, Langenkamp slowly slid in to obscurity as the film’s villain Robert Englund became an icon of pop culture and film history.

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Crystal Lake Memories: The Complete History of Friday the 13th (2013) [Blu-Ray]

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If you’re like me, you left “Never Sleep Again” completely sure about your love for all things Krueger, and then wondered if Jason would ever get his turn. Thankfully, the folks at 1428 Films have indulged Jason Voorhees fan boys with an utterly extensive and incredibly detailed chronicle of the “Friday the 13th” series. At an intimidating six hours, director Daniel Farrands pays homage to the series that influenced dozens of copycats and wannabes in the eighties. Narrated by series star Corey Feldman, “Crystal Lake Memories” is another of the classic horror documentaries from 1428 that doesn’t just chronicle the rise of a pop icon, but also pays tribute to independent film.

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