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Editorials

Happy Bloody New Year and Goodbye 2021- A Love Letter To My Nostalgic Nugget Fans

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Another year around the sun has come to an end and while many of us are saying good fucking riddance to another monumental hot-mess of a shitastic year, I’m grateful. I’m grateful for the opportunity to be a voice in the horror/retro community that some appreciate and enjoy what I have to give to a world that’s so entirely messed up right now.

I began horror blogging in 2014, quite by accident actually. A friend had given me the cue that a pretty well-known horror site was looking for writers, and she thought I would be perfect for the position given my ridiculous jeopardy of knowledge on the horror genre. Never done it before, I figured I had nothing to lose so I went for it. And although the experience itself had its ups and downs, I’m very grateful for the ride and the knowledge gained from it. I became Editor for the site, but after a while, it was time for me to move on to focus on my mental health as the tasks at hand became too pressuring. Being a mom and also running a business with my spouse on top of being a top contributor/editor AND running social media accounts while getting yelled at for not being at their disposal at every minute of the day, was more than enough for me to take a break and work at my own pace. I guest spotted at a few other horror websites for a while, (you name it, I wrote for the guys) until the time came where I realized I wasn’t happy writing for all the “Big Boys”. Boys, being the word of the day here. Favoritism, egos, and competitive attitudes sort of took a lot of the joy out of it for me, (I want to add this wasn’t my experience everywhere, but the only ones I didn’t seem to have an egomaniac down my back was the ONE female-led one). You can’t be your best if you’re not enjoying what you’re doing by being cock-blocked.

There aren’t very many retro/ horror blogs run by females. Why not? Well, being in this business, it’s a tough one. It’s always been a man’s world- case in point when certain websites/podcasts found out the person running this one, in particular, was female, I was given the cold shoulder. Not sure why this is. But a girl can love horror movies too. A girl can be knowledgeable. And a female can build and run her own website.

I did it. And some of you seem to keep coming back to hear me talk about retro horror shit. And for that, I’m forever grateful for you giving me a chance to give you some escapism from a pretty crappy world we’re currently living in. That’s why I’m here. Probably why you’re here too. Nightmare Nostalgia was made as a break from reality. To reminisce about the things that make us feel good. To forget the bullshit that can sometimes consume our lives and all the other negative, click-bait crap you’ll see on the social media/internet.

This wasn’t easy for me to be this vulnerable and open, but I felt that those who come here to read my ramblings, deserve the raw honesty. I truly appreciate you guys and I have some exciting new things coming in 2022 for the website- perhaps, a physical location store-front….? It’s an idea in the works- one I’ve had for many years that I feel like it’s time to bring to fruition. Along with moving myself into a new home with my family, this next year will be chaotic. But, I’ll still be here. With my weird fetishes with Ecto-Cooler, McDonald’s Pumpkin Pails, and my undying love for Stephen King’s Silver Bullet. Also, if you have anything you’d love to see more of here, feel free to drop me a line here in the comments or send me an email. There’s a handy contact form here on the blog- so reach out!

Happy New Year nostalgic nuggets. Here’s to another year of me shitting on the Nightmare On Elm Street remake and holding films like Maximum Overdrive in the highest regard.

News

“Chucky” Series Renewed For Season 2!

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If you would have told me that in 2021 we would have a successful TV series based on Child’s Play, I definitely would have said that’s a great thought, but never gonna happen. And yet here we are and I couldn’t be more excited that the original creators and cast brought forth a truly fresh look, feel, and a fantastic story to the franchise many of us hold dear to our Damballa hearts. To boot, the series has been renewed for a second season to premiere in 2022!

Across all platforms, “Chucky” has reached 9.5 million viewers in its first season, and is a monumental reach for the “Good Guy” himself conquering the small screen as opposed to dominating box offices.

“We’re thrilled to start pulling the strings on a second season of puppet mayhem with ‘Chucky,’” said executive producer Don Mancini. “Many thanks to our partners at USA, SYFY and UCP for their incredible support and guidance bringing ‘Chucky’ to the small screen, bigger than ever. And to the fans, Chucky sends his still-undying thanks and a message: ‘This isn’t over, not by a long shot. You better watch your backs in 2022!”

The season finale of “Chucky” airs Tuesday, Nov 30 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on USA and SYFY. Season 1 of “Chucky” is available to stream on Peacock starting Dec. 1, 2021.

Creature Features, Retro Reviews

Forgotten Playthings: 30 Years of “Dolly Dearest”

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I was nine years old scouring our local Mom and Pop video rental store with a friend after devouring a Personal Pan Pizza from Pizza Hut next door when I first laid my eyeballs on Dolly Dearest. Of course, I was intrigued right away as killer dolls were certainly high on my personal interests list; yeah I was a twisted kid. The late 80s’ and early 90s’ brought terrifying playthings front and center in the horror genre with films like Stuart Gordon’s DOLLS, Puppet Master, and the massively successful Child’s Play. However, this one looked different from the rest. Not only was the antagonistic toy shown as a female, but it featured mainly a female led-cast as well; also to note it has a female director as well- Maria Lease but of course you’re not looking at these things as a kid. Being a young girl, this hit all the right horror notes for me and I immediately rented this sucker to see what this was all about.

Needless to say, my 3-day rental turned into a week-long bender on this Sanzia devil doll because I couldn’t get enough of this fuckin’ movie.

The story goes, a well-to-do picture-perfect family of four moves from Los Angeles down to Mexico where dear ol’ Dad seizes an opportunity with an empty doll factory in an effort to start up a successful business. Young daughter Jessica (Candice Hutson) is undoubtedly upset about this up and sudden move but has a change of heart when she and her father discover a plethora of “beautiful” (I think they’re rather creepy) dolls inside their families’ newly acquired factory that seemed to be never released to the masses. Father Elliot (Sam Bottoms) allows Jessica to take one and that’s when the fun begins as they leave the factory and stroll right on past an underground Mayan tomb of Sanzia, (Satan on Earth) where prior to the family’s arrival, an archeologist accidentally released the malevolent spirit of Sanzia; a devil child spirit that, SPOILER ALERT, possesses these dolls.

Now we got a movie!

As soon as this creepo doll is brought home Jessica begins acting strangely. Drawing weird demonic pictures, lashing out, all-around acting like a typical spoiled brat-zo. Which wouldn’t really raise any red flags except the kid starts speaking devil language to the housekeeper in a threatening manner- who is by the way very religious. Well, being as how Dolly Dearest is possessed by a Devil spirit, this doesn’t go over too well with the girl who is rapidly being manipulated by this doll, and she doesn’t last long in the movie. Mom Marilyn played by Pet Sematary’s Denise Crosby, notices these changes right away, most especially after an Omen-like incident with Jessica in the car sensing the house is being blessed by a priest. Elliot is about as blind as a bat to any of this shit and chalks all these outbursts up to tantrums so he is of NO HELP at all in this situation. Soon, Jessica is totally consumed by the spirit of Dolly and Sanzia and it’s pretty much up to Marilyn, older brother Jimmy (Christopher Peter Demetral), and Sanzia Expert Archeologist Karl Resnick (played by Rip Torn) to put a stop to Dolly and the rest of the possessed porcelain freaks in the factory from taking over children’s souls all over the world.

On top of some cool casting, there are some really great behind-the-scenes people attached to the movie. Dolly took a lot of hints from Child’s Play, including using Ed Gale as Dolly for a few of the more difficult scenes that required human-like movement. The doll itself was sculpted by Brian Wade (The Thing) and brought to life by puppeteer Vance Hartwell (Army of Darkness). The unsettling score was composed by Mark Snow, who is probably most famous for his television work on shows like “The X-Files” and “Smallville.”

Dolly Dearest hasn’t gotten quite the love I feel like it deserves over the years; possibly due to the overload of killer doll flicks of the time and it came too little, too late. Grant it, it’s not the greatest movie in the world, however, I feel it has so much charm and is a nostalgic blanket for me personally that warms me to the bone anytime I watch it. It sure as hell doesn’t deserve the sweeping under the rug treatment. Vinegar Syndrome recently released a blu-ray that has been long-overdue and if it’s been a while, or have never seen it, give Dolly a watch (click here) and bask in the peak of 90s’ killer doll flicks.