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Happy Dirty 30! Top 10 Horror Movies of 1992!

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1992 is often labeled by genre fans as a pretty sup-par year in horror, but I’m here calling bullshit on those misguided spun tales via cinephile snobs. There were some stinkers in the form of sequels via some heavyweight franchises like Hellraiser 3: Hell On Earth and Alien 3 (my opinion folks, they DO suck balls); which may just be the reason why horror fans give this year, in particular, some grief. But the horror season of 1992 brought some FANTASTIC cinematic terror to the fans that really shouldn’t be overlooked in the shadow of these popular franchise failures.

So here we go, an official ranking here at Nightmare Nostalgia of the best horror movies of 1992 turning the dirty 30 this year!

Honorable Mention: Demonic Toys

Before you ask, the answer is yes: I would much rather sit through Baby Oopsie Daisy’s devilish sense of potty mouth humor than sit through Alien 3.

Full Moon’s whacky horror about a couple of toys in an abandoned warehouse that are anything but, is Full Moon doing what it does best; to entertain. It’s not Puppet Master material but it was popular enough with the Charles Band crowd to spawn a couple of crossovers and sequels, including one with Toulon’s marionettes themselves. It’s cheesy bad but in all the right ways. Sometimes I just want to watch a bunch of powerful demons parading around as innocent playthings trying to help bring about the birth of the Antichrist, and this does the job.

Don’t be a Moby fuckin’ Dick and grab it at Amazon here!

10. Mikey

Mikey- another killer kid film that gives all skeevies that well, killer kids in film do so well. Family Ties star Brian Bonsall goes from loveable child star to Terry O’ Quinn Stepfather staus in this 1992 psychological horror. Mikey is an abused child and that trauma leads to his homicidal tendencies, including one gnarly scene with a baseball bat that would leave Negan from the Walking Dead grinning like a proud father.

Worth noting a few Nightmare On Elm Street alumnis’ make an appearance in the movie- Whit Hertford (A Nightmare On Elm Street 5: The Dream Child), and Mimi Craven (A Nightmare On Elm Street and Wes Craven’s wife) while also using Freddy in the tagline for the film: “Remember, Jason and Freddy Were Kids Once, Too.” Just an interesting tidbit I thought I’d throw in.

Get it on Amazon here!

9. Lawnmower Man

While Stephen King absolutely hated this adaptation of his short story from “Night Shift” so much he sued to have his name removed from the film, in actuality I don’t think it’s that bad at all. And a horrifying precursor to how advanced technology can really fuck with your mind. Men sure love to play God as history has told time and again and as mankind advances, the more maniacal we become.

Anyway, I appreciate it for what it is. Mind fuck your way over to Amazon for a copy for your collection!

8. Sleepwalkers

King had some serious displeasure with Lawnmower Man, but in ’92 the master of horror wrote his first featured film NOT based on any of his previous works in Sleepwalkers, and is completely underrated if you’re asking me. The film has a ton of horror icon cameos like Clive Barker and Tobe Hooper and is a Stephen King penned movie directed by Mick Garris surrounding vampires and cats. That’s really all I need to enjoy myself here.

Pick it up at Amazon here!

7. Dr. Giggles

If you’re asking me, Larry Drake’s Dr. Giggles is an entirely overlooked horror icon and I’m here to set the record straight: “Laughter is the best medicine.” And if you read any of my mental health and horror-related pieces and resonate, you would totally agree. It’s full of fun, gore, and smart filmmaking where you wouldn’t think you would find any. Yet here we are, talking about Dr. fuckin’ Giggles.

Just give it a jab. Pick it up here!

6. Bram Stoker’s Dracula

Anyone trying to fill the shoes of Bela Lugosi is likely going to come up a fang or two short, but goddamn I do love Gary Oldman as Dracula. Plus, any movie with national treasure Keanu Reeves in it, is okay by me. The Academy, although they mostly get these things wrong, recognized the 1992 visual stunner with four awards that year. Pretty impressive and a monumental win for the horror genre. The gothic tale of romance and horror is a great watch for a dreary Sunday afternoon or just any time you feel like watching Oldman at his best.

Snag the 4k edition here at Amazon!

5. Pet Sematary 2

Without question, the greatest thing about Pet Sematary 2 is Clancy Brown as asshole Gus Gilbert. While that may not be much of a powerpoint in terms of ranking it so high here, Clancy birthed a horror cult icon of sorts here and basically carried the film with this egregious character, and that counts for something. Especially in a film with a trending star such as Edward Furlong. He stole the whole show and gave us another side to Stephen King’s immaculate tale of tragic death and the human experience.

Salute the Clancy Brown by revisiting it here!

4. Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me

David Lynch doing what he does best and fucking with the minds of audiences is nothing short of just fantastic. The prequel to the television series “Twin Peaks”, Fire Walk With Me chronicles Laura Palmer’s final days leading up to her death and finally revealing her killer. It was pretty goddamn exciting back in the day and watching it now just brings me pure hypnotizing joy diving into Lynch’s strange world of visual symmetry.

Dive down the rabbit hole again here!

3. Braindead (Dead Alive)

Although Peter Jackson’s Braindead wasn’t released in the US, and had a name change, until early 1993, it was released in the director’s home of New Zealand in 1992 as Braindead and that’s where I think it counts as a 1992 film; and by God, it is one of the best.

Hailed as one of the goriest movies to this very day, and exceeds all expectations in what a horror comedy can and should be. As a zombie film, it stands out from all others as being over-the-top pure fun but with a black-box warning as some of the scenes in this genre treasure are almost too sickening to watch, at least for those who have a serious gag-reflux anyway.

All hail the Braindead here and relive the classic once more- just don’t eat prior to viewing.

2. Army Of Darkness

I don’t even need to explain this all. If you question Army of Darkness‘ greatness in any shape or form, you shouldn’t even be here pal.

I’m one of those that enjoys Army maybe even a little more so than Evil Dead itself. Bruce Campbell’s character of Ash really came into his own as a legendary horror hero with memorable one-liners and a full-circle scope of who Ash Williams really is. Plus, the clay skeleton army is just a lot of fun.

Shop smart. Shop S-Mart and pick up the Screwhead edition Blu-Ray here!

1. Candyman

Sweets to the sweet and there as shit isn’t anything sweeter to come out of 1992 than Candyman.

Clive Barker’s story of “The Forbidden” went visual this year, birthing a rare POC horror icon and no one could have done it or WILL EVER do it better than Tony Todd. This movie is so beautiful in terms of score, cinematography, and real-world horror revenge with a love story underneath all of it. There hasn’t been anything like it before, or since that moves my emotions in every direction quite like this film and stands as not just one of the greatest horror movies of 1992, but of the entire decade in itself.

Be his victim once more here!

That about wraps it up nostalgic nuggets! What would you add to the roster of 1992? The Gate II? Perhaps Innocent Blood? Sound off in the comments!

Horror Nostalgia

[Watch] Remembering An Icon Of Gateway Horror: Zeke The Plumber

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The Nickelodeon block in the early 90s’ was something really special folks and nestled right in-between Hey Dude and Are You Afraid of the Dark on a typical Saturday afternoon, was Salute Your Shorts; the light-hearted show about a group of kids spending their Summer at Camp Anawanna. We held it in our hearts, and when I think about it, it definitely doesn’t make me want to fart. That is reserved for the Zeke the Plumber episode where we not only farted but shit our pants entirely.

The episode entitled “The Ghost Story”, came out swinging as the second interlude in season one, and goddamn that shit should have had a warning label put on it! The campers channel their inner Midnight Society and try to scare each other with PG tales of terror until good ol’ Budnick (Danny Cooksey), the camp douchebag, breaks off this Freddy Krueger like-story about Camp Anawanna’s former toilet cleaner that lost his sense of smell because of an angry parrot in the Philippines, (I have since looked at said beautiful birds with a watchful eye now). The story goes, according to Budnick, Zeke was digging a hole and hit a gas line. With no sense of smell, the poor custodian couldn’t detect the gas leak and for some reason lit a match, causing an explosion. Or by Budnick’s own colorful description, becomes a “human party popper”. His body was never found, but his plunger remained among the ruins and the only remnant of a sad toilet cleaner’s life. The legend states, anyone who finds and touches the plunger is cursed with nightmares of Zeke.

If this isn’t a pre-curser gateway to some of the greatest slasher films of our generation, then I don’t know what is. Camper Z.Z. (Megan Berwick) even states, “What is this guy, the Freddy Krueger of custodians?” Yes dear, Z.Z. You are correct.

Michael (Erik MacArthur) and Telly (Venus DeMilo Thomas) both have an unpleasant night full of Zeke nightmares where they are threatened with murder. MURDER FOLKS. In a daytime kids program, that’s pretty traumatizing to the right age crowd. For the younger generation of the 90s’, Zeke the Plumber was the stuff of nightmares and quite literally, a true gateway to the world of the horror genre. Played by Kirk Baily (Ug), who sadly passed away at 59 due to lung cancer recently, I felt there was no better way to honor a Gateway Horror Icon of our childhoods than to give the guy credit where it’s due.

Zeke the Plumber is a combination of the holy trinity of horror icons Freddy, Michael, and Jason. Zeke died in a fire and is badly burned; also haunts your dreams, (Freddy). He then hides his face with a stiff as hell human mask that is probably more terrifying than what’s hidden underneath, (Myers). And of course, he terrorizes campers, (Jason). To be quite frank, Zeke was way scarier than he rightfully should have been. That mask was nightmare fuel for many years and traumatized the shit out of an entire generation. Much more so than the network’s actual “somewhat scary” program, Are You Afraid Of The Dark? In all honestly, Zeebo the Clown didn’t have shit on Zeke.

There truly is no better introduction to the slasher genre than Zeke the Plumber to a group of young, curious kids. And if you’re in the mood, the entire episode is available here via Halloweengoodies and Dailymotion!

RIP Kirk, aka Zeke. Thanks for all the nightmares including a fear of parrots and plungers.

News

Halloween and Horror Con Midsummer Scream Is Back And Bigger Than Ever!

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Horror cons are rising from the dead once more and fan-favorite Midsummer Scream is back and bigger than ever this Summer amidst a two-year absence. The world’s largest Halloween and Horror con is celebrating its welcome return with a five-year anniversary celebration over a three-day period at the Long Beach Convention Center July 29-July31st, 2022 with pre-sale tickets available online beginning this Saturday, March 5th, 2022!

Photos Credit: Hatbox Photography

Per the Press Release:

“As Midsummer Scream returns we’re putting a renewed focus on what made us love Halloween as kids, and the traditions we’ve continued through our lives,” says David Markland, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Midsummer Scream. “That includes, the magic of trick-or-treating, celebrating the classic monsters of our childhood, and preserving the history of our favorite holiday.”
 
The Hall of Shadows returns with the theme of “Halloween Comes Home”. Guests will step into a darkened realm filled with fog, haunted attractions, and lurking monsters. Over a dozen home and pro haunters including CalHauntS, Fear Farm, Reichland Asylum, Temecula Terror, and Corona Haunt will create stunning mazes and displays for guests to explore. The Decayed Brigade will thrill audiences with incredible displays of sliding prowess and showmanship daily.
 
“The excitement for the return of Hall of Shadows is palpable,” says Rick West, Co-Founder and Creative Director of Midsummer Scream. “The haunters, the fans – everyone is more than ready for this, and these amazing teams are ready to bring it home and create the best Hall of Shadows experience yet! Let’s go!”
 
Continuing Midsummer Scream’s tradition of world-class presentations, “Original Monster Kids” will be an unprecedented gathering of the Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, Lon Chaney Jr./Sr., and Vincent Price families on stage to share pictures, home movies, and discuss what it has been like growing up the children and grandchildren of the most famous horror and pop-culture icons in the world.
 
Other thrilling presentations throughout the weekend include the Winchester Mystery House, LA Haunted Hayride, and “Composers of the Apocalypse” which will feature legendary horror genre musicians… and perhaps even a live performance or two!
 
Brand-new for 2022 is the Museum of Halloween, displaying a variety of vintage collectibles, costumes, and more, alongside original artwork created just for the event, celebrating the culture, community, and even commercialism of the spooky season.
 
Featuring more than 350 vendors and artists, the Midsummer Scream show floor is a stunning collection of shirts and apparel, artwork, masks, posters, toys, oddities, and decorations for all Halloween and horror lifestylers as well as haunted attraction creators. Vendors and companies found on the show floor will include The Mystic Museum, Tee No Evil, Vamp and the Fiends, Trick Or Treat Studios, Backstitch Bruja, Discount Cemetery, Nocturnal DesignZ, and Immortal Masks. 
 
Also on the show floor, guests will find notable film celebrities such as James Jude Courtney (Michael Myers in Halloween 2018, Halloween Kills, Halloween Ends), Jeff Daniel Philips and Daniel Roebuck (Rob Zombie’s The Munsters), Eileen Dietz (Pazuzu’s face, The Exorcist), Instagram legend Christine McConnell, and popular YouTubers Dead Meat and Grimm Life Collective.
 
More fan favorite components of Midsummer Scream will include the Black Cat Lounge kitten adoption space, Paranormal Pixie’s Pumpkin Patch children’s zone, and the Screaming Room Film Festival presented by HorrorBuzz. Midsummer Scream’s educational lineup of classes and workshops on creating haunted attractions and other Halloween skills will be developed in conjunction with the university-themed entertainment organizations TEA@USC and TEA@UCLA.

Tickets go on sale Saturday, March 5th at 10:00AM at MidsummerScream.org. For a limited time, General Admission tickets will be 40% off. VIP Gold Bat passes will be available while supplies last (discounts not available for Gold Bat tickets).