A number of superior horror, fantasy, and sci-fi stories earn this collection a hearty recommendation, but only one of them emerges as the author’s finest short-fiction triumph. 

With all the hubbub regarding the recent film adaptation of THE MONKEY, I figured now would be a good time to revisit Stephen King’s short story collection, “Skeleton Crew”, which traverses more than 15 years of short fiction from the King of Horror. 

I still remember when this book was originally released. I had just moved to Los Angeles the week before, and my first outing to a true L.A. mall was where I saw a huge display of hardcover copies of “Skeleton Crew” artfully stacked in a circle outside the main entrance of Waldenbooks.

Yes, “The Monkey” is included here, and while the story definitely serves as one of the collection’s more popular stories, it pales in comparison to more memorable offerings such as “The Raft”, which was faithfully adapted in CREEPSHOW 2 (1987), and “Mrs. Todd’s Shortcut”, a whimsical tale of a woman so obsessed with finding the fastest possible route home that she zooms straight through the laws of quantum physics.

Other stories find King thriving at his most bizarre when he wanders further into the sci-fi realm. “Beachworld” and “The Jaunt” both offer unsettling glimpses into the future where interplanetary travel and exploration become increasingly more complex. 

Undoubtedly, one of the most infamous stories of the collection is “Survivor Type”. Even a casual Constant Reader will know about this pitch-black tribute to cannibalism, which King once described as a story that “goes a little bit too far, even for me”. Gallows humor abounds as a drug runner washes up on the shore of a desert island with only a journal and a clutch of heroin to stave off his inevitable madness. It’s no surprise that, even considering King’s stature in the publishing world, the story took years to get published. 

In the end, one story in the collection stands heads and shoulders above the others. “The Mist” takes a generic, end-of-the-world premise and stands it on its noggin–the world we know is slowly overtaken by the titular menace, which hides a seemingly unending battalion of creepy crawlies intent on desecrating mankind. While King obviously took a cue from George A. Romero and DAWN OF THE DEAD (1978), as the bulk of the story’s claustrophobic drama unfolds in a small-town supermarket, the story owes just as much to the likes of John W. Campbell’s 1938 novella, “Who Goes There?”. King limns a volatile world as newfound distrust leads long-time friends to quickly become enemies. However, the story turns awe-inspiring once the army of insects, spiders, and dinosaurs begin to attack. Whether you agree with the twist ending director Frank Darabont fused onto the 2007 feature film adaptation (for the record, I thought it was genius), every horror fan owes it to themselves to check out its original source material. Therefore, “Skeleton Crew” isn’t just for King fans, it’s must-read material for fear fans everywhere. 

#boundhorror #skeletoncrew #stephenking #constantreaders #beachworld #thejaunt #themonkey #theraft #mrstoddsshortcut #survivortype #themist #frankdarabont #johnwcampbell #whogoesthere #georgeromero #dawnofthedead #creepshow2 #shortstories #novellas #scifi #horrorfiction #waldenbooks

Time for another prism sticker, and this time it’s a two-fer!

Today, we have two stickers from Embassy Pictures’ 1986 Civil War zombie extravaganza , THE SUPERNATURALS. This thing was everywhere back during the 80s VHS boom, but it’s surprising to find out it still hasn’t ever been released on DVD or Blu-ray.

#fearflashbacks #thesupernaturals #zombies #civilwar #vhs #embassypictures

We all know about the legal issues plaguing FRIDAY THE 13th the past decade or two, but when New Line Cinema was recently asked about the status of Freddy Krueger, the answer was disappointingly murky.

The folks at Bloody Disgusting have recently given us the news that, due to the rights reverting to Wes Craven’s estate, it would take a fancy dance to get Freddy on the silver screen again. Craven’s estate, New Line, and/or a new distributor would have to be on the same page to get things moving.

No, it’s not the answer we wanted to hear, but at least we know where we stand. You can check out the original article over at Bloody Disgusting.

#horrorhappenings #anightmareonelmstreet #wescraven #newlinecinema #fridaythe13th #bloodydisgusting

As we head into the weekend, it’s probably a good time to remind you of the three golden rules of slasher films:

1. Don’t fall down when the killer is chasing you (and don’t wear heels, ladies!)
2. Make sure you get into a car that will actually fucking start when you turn the key (I don’t want to hear anyone pleading, “Come on, car, come on!!”)
3. And most importantly, don’t have sex if you want to survive the night (you can screw when you get home!!!)

#killermemes&comics #halloween #fridaythe13th #jasonvoorhees #michaelmyers #sex #rules #slasherfilms

I’m not gonna mince words: this flick sucks. Jesus H. Christ, what a mess. There are a few scenes that aren’t bad, but the rest is an abrasive catastrophe.

The good news? If you sat through this turd at the drive-in, you got rewarded with Wes Craven’s THE HILLS HAVE EYES as a second feature! You know what they say: no pain, no gain!

#fearflashbacks #dontgointhewoods #wescraven #thehillshaveeyes #drivein #doublebill

With Alfred Hitchcock’s PSYCHO (1960) being a textbook example of how to make an effective horror film, it was inevitable that a sequel would never really get a fair shake.

Having just come off of the equally impressive Jamie Lee Curtis vehicle, ROAD GAMES (1981), Australian director Richard Franklin was the lucky/unlucky guy drafted for the job of somehow making Norman Bates relevant again after more than two decades. I thought he did a wonderful job given the lofty expectations. To boot, his cast puts in fine efforts all around, supporting the thread of very black humor that runs through Tom Holland’s screenplay.

And now we come to the poster. The first time I saw it is still etched into my brain. I had just come out of a shopping mall and the poster was there among a couple of others sporting unfortunate artwork that simply faded into the light of the bright afternoon sun. Not PSYCHO II. Look at all that black, red, and blue. It’s a wonderful use of color and shadow. Understandably, the image was used extensively in promos, helping the film ultimately gross around $35 million domestically.

The movie is somewhat forgotten these days in the wake of numerous subsequent sequels, along with the well-received BATES MOTEL television series, but there will always be a place in my heart for PSYCHO II’s kooky blend of offbeat terror and toasted-cheese sandwiches.

#onesheetwonders #psychoii #richardfranklin #alfredhitchcock #tomholland #jamieleecurtis #roadgames #batesmotel #normanbates

Picture it: Los Angeles – Spring, 1986. Me and my friend were rabid Jason Voorhees fans, and so the notion that there was a new horror film coming from “the makers of FRIDAY THE 13th” was enough to get our asses in the seats on opening weekend.

Well, I have to admit that I was a bit disappointed walking out from seeing APRIL FOOL’S DAY. For those who haven’t seen the film yet (get with it!), I won’t blow the surprise ending, but the whole thing just seemed too fucking unsure of itself for my taste. I saw it again a few years ago and didn’t think much better of it, but there’s something interesting about how director Fred Walton seemed to pull the rug out from under audiences and their expectations. The film wasn’t a true horror film…or a comedy, for that matter. It certainly wasn’t a dumb skin flick, but it wasn’t exactly a cerebral workout, either. This cinematic identity crisis more than likely was the reason it stalled a couple weeks into its release and was quickly shuffled out of multiplexes.

Forty years on, I’m still not sure what demographic Walton, Paramount, and executive producer Frank Mancuso, Jr. were aiming for, but it certainly is different, I’ll give it that.

#letsallgotothelobbytogetourselvessomemeat #aprilfoolsday #fredwalton #frankmancusojr #paramount

Time for another horror prop, courtesy of those crazy-ass folks at Seattle’s Museum of Pop Culture (MoPOP).

Today is one of the famous ‘stick figures’ used to scare the hell out of those kids in THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT! Much like the other low-fi frights used in the film, it’s an incredibly simple but truly effective device that helped the movie land in the Guinness Book of World Records as one of the most profitable films ever made (a dollar to box-office ratio of more than $10,000 made for every $1 spent).

#fearflashbacks #theblairwitchproject #guinnessbookofworldrecords #museumofpopculture #mopop #seattle #washington

Trivia time!

ALIENS was the first and only film I ever watched on Betamax. My friend down the street had a sweet Beta setup (I can’t believe I just typed that) with stereo speakers and a decent-sized television (25 inches!). I’m a jaded 50-something now, but it was much easier to impress me when I was in junior high.

This is a little something I saved from the movie’s original CBS/FOX video release in early 1987.

#fearflashbacks #aliens #betamax #cbsfox #homevideo

You gotta admit, it’s probably a blast riding a trikey down that corridor. Weeeeee!

#killermemes&comics #theshining #saw #dannytorrance #overlookhotel #billy #jigsaw