GHASTLY!
WEIRD!
HIDEOUS!
GRUESOME!
My recreation of the classic "Life Size Moon Monster" comic book ad ... re-inked, re-lettered, re-colored and painted. I absolutely adored this ad as a kid, but the offer had come and gone long before I ever saw it. (I did have Sea Monkeys, though.)
Vampira was everywhere for about 15 minutes in the 1950s. Then she challenged the might of ABC television and was crushed under corporate foot. A statuesque, blond Teutonic goddess, Vampira (born Maila Nurmi) preferred to run with the weirdos, turning horror costuming into fashion and setting the stage for goth.
Nurmi would have turned 100 years old on Dec. 11, 2022. Her birthday was marked with events around Los Angeles, including a gathering at Hollywood Forever and screenings of Plan 9 from Outer Space and Ed Wood at the American Cinematheque. This is the poster I created to promote the various birthday events.
Tags:
ed wood, advertisement, cult classic, horror, plan 9 from outer space
My alternate movie poster for Hammer's Curse of Frankenstein, which remains among the meanest Frankenstein movies ever made. Plus: Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee make everything better.
Joe Flaherty's Count Floyd was the horror host for those of us without horror hosts. Stuck with miserable duds like Tip O'Neal's 3-D House of Representatives, he was as good a horror cheerleader as you could ask for. SCTV 4 LIFE.
Bob Wilkins was unique among horror hosts in that he wasn't playing a character. Except he also kind of WAS playing a character ... watching Creature Features was like taking a guided tour by one of the many scientific heroes/villains that haunted B-movies during the golden and silver age of horror.
Tags:
cult horror, halloween, horror movie addict, horror, san francisco
The Cramps could have quit after their first album, 1980's "Songs the Lord Taught Us," and their legacy would have been guaranteed. Looking back, rock and roll was probably invented just so we could have "I Was a Teenage Werewolf." Rock and roll has kind of been going downhill since then.
Tags:
cramps, lux interior, werewolves, rock, psychobilly
A tour poster for the Nov. 29, 1985, stop of Spinal Tap's "Lightning Strikes Thrice" tour, in Tacoma, Washington. Spinal Tap is not a real band. "Lightning Strikes Thrice" was not a real tour. But can you prove it didn't happen? Yes, you absolutely can. But that won't stop you from impressing your friends by displaying this print.
Tags:
classic comedy, concert, rock and roll, mockumentary, band
Probably the real reasons we’re still talking about 1931's Dracula is because of the performances delivered by Bela Lugosi and Dwight Frye. Lugosi’s screen presence, especially in Dracula, can’t be overstated. And Frye's work here is a legitimate performance, presenting Renfield as both a foppish sophisticate and an unhinged maniac. Renfield is hugely sympathetic in the film. He’s not only the movie’s heart, but the story’s ironic voice of reason.
Tags:
black and white, cinema, classic horror film, dwight frye, vampires
"Please welcome your host, the spawn of Moloch – Vincent Price!" Thanks to Bill Hader, Halloween happened several times during the year, courtesy of a classic running sketch on Saturday Night Live.
Tags:
humor, halloween, vincent price, saturday night live, horror
There are few actors as suited to the role of a werewolf as Oliver Reed. The dude was a couple of whiskers shy of being the real deal, which makes his performance in Hammer's 1961 classic The Curse of the Werewolf all the more interesting. This is my take on the film's poster, which leans heavily into the Famous Monsters of Filmland esthetic. I also made sure Reed got top billing this time.
The Ayatollah of Rock and Rolla himself, Vlad Dracula. Vlad III, commonly known as Vlad the Impaler or Vlad Dracula, was Voivode of Wallachia three times between 1448 and his death in 1476/77. He is often considered one of the most important rulers in Wallachian history and a national hero of Romania.
Plan 9 From Outer Space holds the title of "Worst Movie Ever" while Glen or Glenda was worse on just about every conceivable level. Ed Wood was a mirror-universe genius.
Tags:
plan 9, golden turkey, ed wood, edward d wood jr, bad movies