Random Ramblings from the Vault...

• In this day and age, there really is no excuse for referring to the monster created in Dr. Frankenstein's laboratory as "Frankenstein". I'm officially declaring a zero-tolerance policy on that. What are you, five?

• Turner Classic Movies has been breaking out some horror gems as of late, so I would definitely keep that channel on the radar. The other night, I checked out It Came from Beneath the Sea, The Monster that Challenged the World, and Them! all in one sitting. Glorious.

• And the one thing I learned from watching The Monster that Challenged the World? There is probably no more disturbing visual in all of nature than a close-up of a snail eating. "Yuck" does not begin to do it justice.

• I love introducing my little kids to horror, but the problem I face is that they totally love zombies--yet most of the zombie flicks fall into the "not cool for little kids" category. What to do?

• On the kids and zombies front, I did happen to show them Michael Jackson's Thriller video for the first time. Forgot what a damn entertaining 15 minutes that was! Did John Landis and Rick Baker really pull out all the stops, or what? After all these years, it truly does deserve its reputation as the greatest music video of all time.

• Just watched Hammer's The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll, a sorely underrated take on the classic tale. Very different from previous versions, it portrays Hyde not as a hideous brute, but rather a more suave and beguiling version of the doctor. Wonder if this inspired Jerry Lewis' The Nutty Professor three years later?

• A heads-up to those whose interest was piqued by my review of the last Kevin Geeks Out event at the 92Y Tribeca in NYC. There's a new one coming up this Friday--Kevin Geeks About Sharks! I'll most likely be on hand, and I hope some of you will come out, as well. Fair warning, though: If I see you out front, sitting on the sidewalk and reading a copy of Catcher in the Rye, I'm going back to my car.

• Speaking of, one of the special guests at that event will be Ritch Duncan, author of The Werewolf's Guide to Life, a very amusing little tome I happen to be currently reading. Highly recommended--expect a review as soon as I'm done. Basically, it's what The Zombie Survival Guide wishes it could be.

• VOH contributor and sister blogger BJ-C of Day of the Woman has officially joined the Bloody-Disgusting family as a movie critic, so please take a minute to check out her very first review over at B-D.

• If you haven't checked out the Cyber Horror Awards site recently, I got an amazing response from the legendary Christopher Young, winner of the Bernard Herrmann Award for Best Score:

  “I cannot successfully find the words that can express how truly honored I am that you decided to select my score for Drag Me To Hell for the Bernard Hermann Best Score Award. Especially since it is because of my love of Bernard Hermann's film music that I decided to become a film composer. God, this is a dream come true. Thank you, thank you, thank you from the bottom of my heart!"