The Zombie fad started for a reason...

These days zombies are co-opted more than bacon. But, there are zombie films out there that still hold their own, even in an exceptionally over-saturated market. Here are some of our favorite zombie movies in no particular order:

Dawn of the Dead – This is the movie that makes you wish you could live in a mall, while you slowly realize how hollow our materialistic lives truly are. Oh, and also there are tons of blue zombies!

The Beyond – For us, this is a pretty seminal Italian zombie movie. It takes place in 1970s New Orleans, it's 100% over dubbed, it never makes a lick of sense, the soundtrack is amazing, the story is strung together with more ambiance than substance, and it's chock full of amazing kills.

Fido – This moive takes place in the aftermath of a zombie apoclypse, an apocolyps that has apparently bathed survivors in the squeaky-clean glow of 1950s Americana. A heart warming boy-and-his-dog style entry to the zombie genre that hits its mark like you wouldn't expect.

Shaun of the Dead – This movie is the best example of genre-mixing: part buddy movie, part coming of age movie, part rom-com, and all zombie horror. (If you have never seen it in the theater, keep an eye on TrylonMicrocenama's upcoming flicks!)

Return of the Living Dead – Ever shuffled along moaning out for “braaaaains”? Well, you can thank this movie for that idea! Full of gems that have been nodded to in everything from The Simpsons to Mars Needs Moms. (Random fact: this movie takes place on July 3rd. The folks over at Horror for the Holidays are honoring that fact this year by screening it this July 3rd!)






Oh, and Undead and Dead Alive. And if you count Night of the Creeps and 28 Days later as zombie movies, then those as well! We could go on and on, but really, as annoying as some of the zombification-of-everything has gotten, it's important to remember that it all comes from a good place! Catch Return of the Living Dead on the big screen and get back to your roots!

Zombie Soundtrack Mix!

Once again we present a "mixtape", made from our ever expanding soundtrack collection! This time Tim has put together a Zombie movie mix in anticipation for next weeks Horror for the Holiday screening of Return of the Living Dead!
Enjoy!

The Shining button giveaway!

Come down to the Star Bar at 6:30 tonight and get yourself a button pack on us! At 7:00 sharp there will be a live presentation of the "true" conspiracy facts behind Kubrick's roll in the "moon landing". And 7:30, The Shining on the big screen. How much will all this fun cost you, you ask? Five bucks! How can you pass that up?

The Shining everything!

Awhile back Mondo put out their Room 237 clothing line and fairly quickly sold every single item. Lucky for us, Mondo was never the only name in the clothing-designed-from-famous-carpets business! The internet offers us everything from ties, to tee shirts, to shorts, to sport coats, to chef coats, to pants, to skirts, to more shorts, to belt buckles, to socks, and so on forever!

Now you might be wondering where we found so many amazing Overlook carpet themed items. Most of them came from the best tumblr you'll ever find on the subject of The Shining: The Overlook Hotel. It's wonderfully curated with posts about the movie's actors, wardrobe, set design, behind the scenes, current fashion, locations, homages, you name it! Check them out (or go on a impulse shopping spree) and get yourself pumped for The Shining on the big screen!

TheShining @ MOA Theaters, June 15^th, 7:30pm, $5

Biker movie mixtape!

A new mix tape in anticipation of Fathers Day! This time the theme is biker movies in honor of my dad who, back in the 70's, was out in California building custom bikes, looking like he was straight out of easy rider.

One of the stars of Easy Rider happens to be Jack Nicholson, who also happens to be the star of a movie called The Shining, which just so happens to be the Fathers Day Horror for the Holidays movie at the MOA. (See what I did there? Boom.)

Check out the mix, make your own and share it here, and have a happy Father's day!

Horror for the Holidays movie: Breeders! at the MoA Tonight!

Tonight! Sunday May 11th at 7:30 will be the Mothers Day movie Breeders! It is this months Horror for the Holidays movie and to celebrate once again we will be giving away a limited number of button packs! Arrive early and grab one while they last! As always at these screenings there will be a vintage 35mm trailer pack before the show!

Foreign-body birthing movies.

Not familiar with the “foreign-body birth” genre? Well, I kinda coined the term to write this, but it refers to any movie where a woman (or theoretically a man, but it's Mother's day folks!) is forcibly or corrosively impregnated by an alien/robot/demon/were-kangaroo, carries the fetus to term, and births whatever creature results from the coupling.

Now that you're familiar with the genre, I'll tell you: Never, in the history of cinema, has there been a compelling reason to show a foreign-body birth on film. Never has anyone I know ever exclaimed: “Oh my god! The birthing scene though! So amazing right?!”

What's that? A “foreign-body” birth is necessary for your story? Well, go right a head and put that in there if it helps you tell your story. But for the love of everything not cringe-worthy; do not show it on screen.

No one want's to see them.

They're uncomfortable, they're 100% not needed to convey ideas, and they're usually written by men. Men don't have a natural fear of giving birth like women do, and I get the curiosity to explore things you'll never be able to tangibly experience. Toying with biology is common place in storytelling, but seriously, really, truly; we do not need to see a non-human creatures coming out of a vag.

And, while we're on this topic, we don't need rape in movies either.

Never,

never,

never,

ever.

So, how about we spend this Mother's Day examining how amazingly disrespectful it is to force things into or out of vaginas. It's degrading to not only to the women on screen, but the people involved at all points of the creative process. There are better ways to convey pure evil, helplessness, power recovery, inhumanity, et. al. without relying on these tropes, so let's keep them out of our pop-culture. Let's do it for our moms, sisters, wives, neighbors, co-workers, and audience members at large. Let's do it not just because it's the right thing, let's do it because there are far cleverer ways to convey these ideas.

Happy Mothers day! And if you don't celebrate greeting card holidays, happy birthday to everyone born in May, including my mom!

-Colette