Tag Archives: Retro horror

Creature Features

Creature Features: A Closer Look At The Movie Magic Of “Independence Day”

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CREATURE FEATURES: A CLOSER LOOK AT THE MOVIE MAGIC OF "INDEPENENCE DAY

Creature Features is back and we’re forgoing the BBQ to celebrate the 90s’ classic that would not go quietly into the night- Today we celebrate INDEPENDENCE DAY.

Man, I’ll never forget the hype for this movie. I was fourteen years old and was basically the talk of the Summer. The “Fresh Prince” himself Will Smith, Jeff Goldblum and aliens? WE’RE ALL IN ALREADY.

The film originally titled Doomsday, but was sealed with a chef’s kiss to what we now know as Independence Day thanks to Bill Pullman’s pumped up ‘MURICA speech in the film, was indeed a visual spectacular for audiences in 1996. And of course, a big round of applause for practical effects as it wins again- this time even an Oscar!

As we all understand, something like this takes a massive team to pull off. However, Volker Engel, Patrick Tatopoulos, Douglas Smith, Clay Pinney, Mike Joyce, and Joe Viskocil were some of the most notable faces of the special effects mastery. Unlike the films’ latter sequel, the movie relied heavily on old school tricks like miniature models for some of the more complicated scenes; like you know blowing up the White House which was actually measured at 15-feet wide and 5-feet high. In fact, 95 percent of the film was shot using miniatures with motion-control cameras.

As cool as that is, what really tickles my nostalgic tits is the movie magic aliens. Grant it this was supposed to be a family affair with it being a holiday Summer Blockbuster and all. But we all damn well know when President Whitmore went face to glass with one of these suckers’ at Area 51, you got the goddamn chills in that scene. Don’t you deny it.

Engal (seen below in the video) states he wanted to do something familiar yet new when it came to designing the creatures. The shots for the creatures were mostly dudes in fantastic costumes with effects coordinators controlling the limbs mechanically. So once again, puppeteering wins this round for monster magic.

Editorials

The Art of Horror: Celebrating The Best Horror VHS Cover Art!

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Back in the 80s’, heading to your local Mom and Pop video store without parental supervision with a group of friends looking for that perfect horror movie, was a rite of passage. Prior in my younger years heading to rent videos for the weekend with my parents, I was left alone to wander and always ended up in the Horror section gawking at the enticing and illustrious covers of films I had never seen. But oh boy, did they sell me on my curiosity enough to want to take it and run with it. Now, my parents weren’t strict or uptight when it came to horror movies. My Dad was a tried and true horror fan through and through and set me on the path of gory righteous at a young age. I was well-seasoned on the Halloween films, Universal Monsters, and hell even JAWS. However, the other parental unit wasn’t so keen on me renting Return of The Living Dead when I was seven-years-old just because I was infatuated by the cover art alone on the VHS rental box. I suppose in a sense she was correct, as Linnea Quigley dancing around naked in a cemetery probably wasn’t the best choice for someone my age. Still, I grimaced at the blue balling of the verdict and humbly walked up to the counter with my copy of Pee Wee’s Big Adventure for the 86,000th time- give or take.

Anyway, the day had finally come when I was around 10-years -old when I got the go ahead to ride my bike around the block to our neighborhood video shop, Action Video and use the rental card all by myself with a group of friends for a sleep-over. This was WAY better than getting dad’s credit card for the day I TELL YOU. The time had finally come where I could go nuts in the horror section and grab the films I had eyeballing for what seemed forever.

This, boils and ghouls, is why the coveted VHS cover is forever a national treasure and cherished for so many. Beyond the painstakingly beautiful raw art that well, we just don’t see these days when it comes to selling movies, it was a window into a world of horror and fantasy of movies we may never have had seen had it not been for the boxed art popping off the shelves. In many cases, when a horror movie went straight to video, this was the ONLY selling point. If you didn’t have a grabbing VHS cover, you were dead in the water; end of story. Case in point, for us nostalgic nuggets, VHS will never die as it remains an important fixture for us in the horror community. We owe a lot to these artists for opening the door to fantastic movies like Dolls and Popcorn. Without the box art screaming at us, “Hey! Pick me up!”, they may have just been lost forever in the dimension of forgotten films.

That being said, I racked my brain to the best of my ability to remember what exactly, were the coolest looking Horror VHS covers to ten-year-old Patti? Well, in the name of science and a lot of memory enhancing coffee breaks, here’s what I came up with!

These are just some that really stood out to me at that age. Oh, and for the record, I popped that solo video rental store cherry with Return of the Living Dead and The Blob.

What are some of your favorite VHS covers? Get crackin’ on those comments Nostalgic Nuggets!

Horror Nostalgia

[Full Show] The 1991 Horror Hall of Fame Awards!

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If you were a blossoming horror fan and of sound mind in the early 90s’, you may remember the glorious annual Horror Hall of Fame Awards. The Oscars for horror films, as they advertised it, only ran from 1990-1992, but goddamn it was the coolest thing ever. Oh, and Robert Englund hosted all three ceremonies. Fantastic times my friends.

The first annual Horror Hall of Fame ceremony at Universal Studios, California in 1990, was really something special in honoring the best of horror films, TV, actors, and special effects designers that would otherwise most likely not get recognized by that snooty little fellow by the name of Oscar. Alongside the induction act, are some really great segments and horror movie trivia from the cast and crew of said honored movies. The fact this only stuck around for three years is a damn shame. Sure, we had the Scream Awards 15 years later, but that since has gotten the ax as well. And sure, we have various virtual awards offered through some great horror magazines, but it’s just not the same. I long await for the day where this could be a thing again.

Anyways, marking 30 years since the 1991 awards returned to Hollywood, let’s focus on the second installment. The awards ceremony kicked off with Englund hosting once more, with the fantastic Cryptkeeper serving as co-host; and by co-hosting I mean slipping some awesomely random puns and gags in between inductee segments. The horror duo together set the stage for a new set of inductees to imprint their mark into the genre’s horror history books. And what better way to open the festivities, than a tip of the hat to Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds with a parody starring Freddy himself?

Yeah, I can’t think of anything right now.

The darkly lit stage sprinkled with generic Halloween decorations set the tone for the all-time greats to receive recognition for their hard-earned contribution to the horror genre, and of course, you Fred-Heads may remember this was indeed the year Freddy Krueger was to make his final appearance as the Springfield Slasher on-screen in the form of Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare; the sixth and presumably at the time, final chapter in the Freddy saga. So along with issuing achievement awards to the likes of Bela Lugosi and Roger Corman, the iconic slasher that Englund had made so legendary in a span of seven years, got his own little farewell tribute in a sort of twisted “In Memorium” piece brought to you by the late, great Sam Kinison. Kinison in true Sam fashion rushes the stage in the middle of Robert talking, takes over the podium, briefly roasts Englund, and goes on to present a tribute video to the fallen slasher, Freddy Krueger. All While Robert is laughing hysterically in the background. Priceless entertainment people.

The program also included make-up bits performed by special effects wizard Steve Johnson and the lovely Linnea Quigley, with sneak peeks for the upcoming and highly anticipated Addams Family movie. The Horror Hall of Fame 2 was every bit as fun as its predecessor the year prior. And some damn fine people got the recognition they so well deserved. 1991’s gallery of horror heroes included the following:

  • Film- Texas Chainsaw Massacre 
  • Film- The Birds
  • Publisher- EC Comics
  • Production Company- Universal Studios
  • Producer/ Director- Roger Corman
  • Actor – Bela Lugosi
  • Award for best movie of the year went to Silence of the Lambs. Nominees included were Misery, Child’s Play 2, Predator 2, and Jacob’s Ladder.

And well, maybe just relive it yourself! With a courtesy upload from Youtuber Doug Tilley, let us thank the Horror Gods for this little slice of treasure that once was, and maybe one day, can be again!