Gross, but they still get the girls!

In the early 90s, I discovered the Toxic Avenger thanks to a random renting of Toxic Avenger 3. I fell in love with that lump headed hero instantly. Shortly after that, Toxie hit the small screen with a cartoon in which his ragtag band of toxic friends known as the Toxic Crusaders fought crime and saved the environment. This cartoon followed a trend that gave a lot of R-Rated movies a Saturday morning cartoon. Movies like Rambo,  Police Academy, Swamp Thing(Although, it's more of a comic book adaptation) and other violent movies were marketed toward us kiddies and turned into merchandising machines. Toxie and his crew were no different.

In addition to the cartoon, action figures followed. Backed by Playmates, the company responsible for Ninja Turtles, Toxie and his friends march into our hearts(even if my mean mom never let me have any. ha!) witht heir bright colors, bizarre sculpting, and gross features. Indeed, they were following a trend that the Ninja Turtles set in action figures and in fact, some even used parts from their Turtle friends. And quite frankly, they just looked so darn cool! I mean, look at them!

A truly toxic collection...

So, popular horror/scifi/cult film t-shirt company Rotten Cotton will be releasing a brand new Toxic Crusaders shirt (which can be seen below). They released a teaser image today and it's a pretty rad looking shirt. If you're a Troma fan or just have fond memories of the Toxic Crusaders, you have to pick this up! I mean, the bright colors, the design itself is very faithful to the characters and their designs, and not to mention the fact that we have yet to see a new Toxic Crusaders shirt in some time, makes it quite a cool piece to add to your collection! It also has quite a nice retro feel. It looks like a shirt that could've been released in the early 90s. I think this shirt design definitely stands out. I will gladly be in line to pick this one up and proudly wear this out on the town any night! You can pick up this shirt very soon on http://www.rottencotton.com.

-Chad

Well, the Christmas season is over. All the presents have been opened, the leftovers are rotting in the fridge and you're most likely still whining about that sweater you've received from your Aunt Bedelia. Now, if you're like me, you've been haunting the Christmas clearance aisles at Target and K-Mart for stuff to prepare for next years Christmas.  But, if you're not like me, than you're most likely watching a good horror movie. And today I've got a review of a new independent horror movie. Today's topic of discussion is "NO CLOWNING AROUND".

No Clowning Around is the brainchild of Rob Dimension, who's been somewhat of a renaissance man in the horror world. He's the host of podcasts, he's the moderator of many, many, many Q&A's at Monster Mania conventions, a host of his own horror show, and now he can add director, writer and actor to his resume with this foray into film. And for a first time director, he didn't too bad...

No Clowning Around is a short film, clocking in at under 30 minutes. In it, we meet Mumbles The Clown, a formerly successful childrens TV host. I seems time has not been kind to Mumbles. Mumbles seems to have run out of work, become depressed and drowned his sorrows in bottles while succumbing to depression and alcohol. It seems the only thing that drives him during the movie is his hatred for local asshole Lenny(played by notable wrestling bad guy/jerk Steve Corino.). After deciding that enough was enough and guided by his puppet sidekick Mr. Peepers and the corpse of his girlfriend Trixie, Mumbles finally snaps and takes matters in his own hands...

Now, as I pointed out, this movie is a rather short trip into insanity. But a pretty darn good one. No Clowning Around had to rely heavily on a very low budget and first time actors and director. As far as the acting goes, it's pretty solid all around by all involved. Rob Dimension himself plays Mumbles and does a pretty good job, finidng that insanity and pressure very well. And his conflict with Lenny is a pretty fun aspect of the movie as well. Maybe it's the wrestling fan in me, but I've always said Steve Corino plays an excellent jerk so his role of the bully-like Lenny was the role he was meant to play.

Production for a low budget movie, as said by Lloyd Kaufman, can be hell. But, all in all this movie is pretty solid and a very fun watch. For a movie under 30 minutes, it tells a story, gives a good character and ends with us asking "is there more to the story of Mumbles?". I certainly hope we see more from Rob with the story of Mumbles, be it a sequel, prequel or whatever. After watching the movie, I feel this comes off as a throwback to 1980s low budget, straight to vhs movies that we all loved finding on the shelves and took home and became our favorite cult classics. In fact, I dare say this could be a new cult classic just waiting to be discovered.

In my honest opinion, I really think that Rob could be onto something. It may be a bold statement, but I think Mumbles could be a major player some day in horror. And that could be something to look forward to. You can find more info on this film, including how to order it at noclowningaround.blogspot.com/ .

So, here's to Rob Dimension and his film "No Clowning Around". A great effort and a fun movie to watch!



(photos credited to the official No Clowning Around page)


-Chad

In between of writing blog entries, I wanted to wish a very happy 2013 to all my readers, friends and family! i hope it to be a very fruitful and great year for all of us! And remember to stay positive!

-Chad

Random WWF Hasbro Review: Sgt. Slaughter

Welcome to the Slaughterhouse, maggot!

So, I've spoken a lot of my love of horror on this blog, but not enough on my love of wrestling. I've been a huge fan of wrestling for almost my whole life. And in that time I've collected a lot of wrestling memorabilia. Especially action figures. And growing up in the early 90s, WWF Hasbro figures were top notch. The Hasbro figures were about 4-5 inches and each figure had a special mechanism. You could make a wrestler punch, jump, bodyslam or whatever. The figures didn't have a lot of movement, but they were pretty bright and colorful as well as cartoony. Many superstars of the day were turned into these little figures and today, I'd like to review one of my favorites...Sgt. Slaughter!

A loose sample

Sgt. Slaughter was one of the most popular wrestlers of his day. And in fact, this may be the best representation, outside his G.I. Joe figures. The sculpting is pretty good. His lower torso was perfectly done with his belt, baggy camo pants and combat boots. Thankfully, his days of being an Iraqi sympathizer was not made into a figure. But if it did, his elf-like Iraqi boots would've no doubt been made. Maybe that would've been the best part. Who knows.

His upper torso is also perfect. Slaughter was never a slim, barrel chester wrestler to begin with. He was pot-bellied and this figure shows it. And I'm kinda happy to see that. Most of his figures before AND after have been slim and muscular. Those figures, while capturing his facial likeness greatly, don't depict his portly mid section. This figure also depicts Sarge with just a black tank top, which he would wrestle in most of his career.


Hasbro would make their WWF figures as basic and simplistic as they could, but at the same time very effective. Slaughter's trademark hat and glasses are present as well which makes this figure extra perfect. Afterall, no one would've bought the figure if he was showing his baldness and his shades were gone. Slaughter was intimidating looking, but not very pretty. Be grateful. Slaughter's pose was also pretty awesome as well. With one finger sticking out, you can almost hear him saying "Now that's an ORRRRRDERRRRR!" as he delivers his "Sgt's Salute". The feature just requires you to lift his arms(not recommended for the real Sgt. Slaughter especially after a match) and he pounds you right in the face with his fists.

The carded figure.

 It really is a great figure. One that fans certainly love. This figure captures his glory days and is a welcome piece in any collection. The sculpting, the pose, the faithful gear and proportions make it a solid 10 in my book. i gladly put Sarge up there with the best Hasbro has to offer.


And don't take my word for it...

"Buy my figure, you maggot!"

-Chad

Obey!

I'm a huuuuuuuge fan of They Live. I think it's a great movie with great action, fantastic acting, great visuals and special effects, and a strong political statement(event hough I'm not political in the least, it has great points.)So, I received my copy of They Live yesterday. I'm super excited! I've been looking forward to getting this for some time now. So, after getting a little extra cash for Christmas I decided it was time to buy the dvd. And I'm very happy I did.

They Live has been released before but more of a "barebones" release(no special features except commentary and maybe a trailer). But this past November, Scream Factory(subdivision of Shout! Factory) gave us a brand new, special edition of this classic. With commentary, making of featurete, TV Spots, trailer, and a new interview with the director himself, John Carpenter, it's a can't must buy. The transfer is terrific, the artwork(see photo at the top) is amazing and the packaging even has a reversible cover featuring the original poster art! At an average of 15 bucks, it's a real bargain. And for diehard fans, it would look great to get signed by all the cast members and Carpenter at upcoming conventions.

For our first Christmas, my girlfriend Laurie knitted me a John Nada doll(seen above).  It's one of my favorite Knit Terrors dolls she's made for me. And she also knitted a rife!

And here's me with the stars and John Carpenter himself!

Rowdy Roddy Piper

Keith David

Meg Foster

Director John Carpenter

-Chad