31 to the 3rd Power - Day 17: Hellraiser (1987)

Over the next 31 days I plan on reviewing MY PERSONAL FAVORITE HORROR FILMS... and I am going to do it in exactly 31 words!

Today's Entry (10/17/16): Hellraiser (1987)

Sadomasochistic horror at its finest, writer Clive Barker steps behind the camera & delivers us a blood soaked gem. The Cenobites serve only one purpose: To blur the lines between pleasure & pain!

The CCD Podcast: Episode #94 - Randall Kaplan's Boxhead: An Animated Horror Film

We spend a lot of time here at CCD critiquing and analyzing popular films from Hollywood all the time... especially before they come out. But what about the indy filmmakers and the movies they are making? Why aren't we spending more time looking at them? I know what your thinking... where would we find an indy filmmaker in the process of making his own film to talk with? Funny you should ask....

See More After the Jump...

Join Jedi Rob in the Nerdcave as he chats with not one but TWO filmmakers about an independent animated horror film that is in production! Longtime CCD collaborator Leland James checks in for another rodeo at the CCD Podcast, and he is joined by Randall Kaplan. Randall is the creative force behind Boxhead, a traditionally animated horror film. You can see what he has done already by heading over to the Boxhead official web page and Facebook. You will also hear him talk about the creative process behind this ambitious process and  what we can expect from the finished product! Listen to a REAL LIVE filmmaker who is currently MAKING A FILM talk with us LIVE! 

Follow the CCD Podcast Instagram & Facebook... it's tons of nerdy fun!!!

The CCD Podcast: Episode #91 - A Discussion On Psycho-biological Horror

Before anybody brings it up, we know PSYCHO-BIOLOGICAL is a made up word... but when trying to describe this sub-genre of films it really is the only title that fits.  These films are visceral... they explore the lack of comfort that most people traditionally have with their bodies and how that effects them in a mental capacity as well. And no two directors have films that fit into this genre more than David Lynch and David Cronenberg. Jedi Rob sits down with two filmmakers, Leland James (The Fix Documentary) and Randal Kaplan  (Boxhead) to discuss those two influential filmmakers as well as many other directors and films in this bizarre genre. The conversation gets a bit interesting to say the least...,. 

Follow the CCD Podcast Instagram & Facebook... it's tons of nerdy fun!!!

Nightbreed by Sean Hartter

I have posted about one of my favorite 90s horror movies, Nightbreed, a shit ton of times here on CCD. I mean alot... like here, here and here. So when I saw that my man Sean Hartter created a Japanese version of a Nightbreed poster, I flipped my shit. But what I think has to be the coolest part of the poster is that he managed to get a ton of the Midian monsters up in there as well as Dr. Dekker, who is probably the creepiest killer in the history of film that no one has heard of. Another excellent poster from Hartter... and now I gotta buy another one from him!!!! Can't wait to see this one on sale at our booth this October during NY Comic Con!!! Check out the poster after the jump...

Nightbreed ala Deviant Art: A Retrospective Through A Random Art Search

Clive Barker's Nightbreed is one of my favorite childhood horror movies. The reason is because it scared the fucking shit out of me when I saw it for the first time. It wasn't the plentiful amounts of bizarre creatures, or Boone's trip from an out of control loner to a Monster of Midian. No... it was the man in the mask. Dr. Dekker. What a freaky fuck! This is a freaky mask to end all freaky masks... and even though I was a nut job horror freak it spooked the shit out of me. Now that I think about it, the monsters of Midian played a significant part as well. Not that they were particular threatening,  but Narcise, Shuna Sassi, & Peloquin were weird enough to put a chill in you. The movie's individuals stuck with me through adulthood, and although the movie doesn't hold up particularly great (it is still pretty good) some certain aspects stand the test of time. There are certain qualities of the film that are important. first of all, Barker directed the film himself from his novel Cabal and wanted to create a very unique vision of his creature creations. Secondly, David Lynch's cold portrayal of Dr Dekker is one of the greatest villains of all time. Plus you get a killer early career performance from Craig Schaffer , which is all one can ask of an 80s movie... am I right? I recently got the DVD for Christmas from my lovely Tara, and I re-watched the film. I am also about to read the original short story, Cabal, so I decided to pop over to Deviant Art and see what deviations based on Nightbreed I could turn up. I found 10 killer ones, and I plan on sharing them after the break. Enjoy them all, and click each artists name to be brought to their page an view all of their other cool ass art. Long live Cabal... Long live the Children of the Moon... Long live MIDIAN!!!!

Boone by Vazoline

Dekker by Juhoham

Mask no. 12 - Nightbreed by Malevolent Nate

Cabal/Nightbreed by Elmo Art 82

Boone by Cole Munro Chitty

The Gates of Midian by Sinistra 

Messiahs of Midian by Brett Gray 

Clive Barker's Nightbreed by Blackzarro

Peloquin by Peloquin's Queen 

Shuna Sassi by Dreekzilla

A Blast From The Past: Clive Barker's Nightbreed - Does It Hold Up?

I was over at my favorite horror blog, Freddy In Space, catching up with my man Johnny's musings when I came a cross a post for a long lost intro video that Clive Barker made for the VHS edition of Nightbreed. This particular article jumped out at me for two reasons: 1) Nightbreed is one of my favorite childhood movies and  I must have seen it 1,000 times between the age of 11 & 15 in the good ole days of VHS rentals from the Mom & Pop video shop... and have not seen it again since! 2) I am in utter shock & awe that Johnny, Mr. Horror Blogger Extraordinaire, has NOT SEEN THIS HORROR CLASSIC!!! Both of these are travesties that I hope are remedied shortly. I am hoping that somebody (ANYBODY) picks me up the Nightbreed DVD on Amazon for 13.99 that I have put on my Christmas List, and I have made a personal plea for Johnny to watch the movie and join the cult of Midian. Lets hope both get done before Christmas. But since I have not seen the film in at least 15 years and I think I will be acquiring it soon, I will have to re-watch it and see if it holds up...

Click for more after the jump...

For those of you who do not know what Nightbreed is all about, here is what all the fuss is all about (click here for the Wikipedia page) . The film came out in 1990 , was directed by Clive Barker, and is an adaption of his book Cabal. It features Craig Schafer & David Cronenberg and is a very cool monster/slasher movie hybrid. Barker is not one of the greatest film directors of all time, but he is certainly one of the best horror authors of all time... and Cabal is one of his best short stories. The monsters of the lost city of Midian are not really well described in the story, so it is super cool to see what director Barker decided they looked like once it was time for him to film the movie. And I love Cronenberg when he steps in front of the camera, cause he is super fucking creepy.

Creepy mask Cronenberg... well done!

Here is a cool video clip that was shot for the VHS release of the film. It features Barker providing some insight behind why he wanted to make the film and what he hopes the viewer takes from it. It is another great find from my boy Johnny... his site is really fantastic when it comes to unique horror posts, so check it out by clicking here. Enjoy the video:



Check back shortly after I get the DVD and re-watch the flick to see if it holds up to what I remember it to be. Also, check out the Occupy Meridian homepage. This is the main page for the newly finished Nightbreed: The Cabal Cut version of the film... which is an extended cut of the movie that features almost one hour of cut footage in it and gives a much better idea of what Barker intended for his adaption. It screens all around the world (upcoming screenings in France & England) and at various horror conventions around the country. I hope that one day I can view this awesome version of the film myself. Extended cut blu ray anyone?????