Now, I need to start this blog post with an apology. The last time I went to Liverpool Comic Con in November 2024, I took my trusty Canon camera and took loads of photos of Cosplayers and props etc. But, when I got home, the memory card died on me. Meaning that all of those photos were lost forever before I could back them up. So no November 2024 blog or photos.
This time around, I just used my brand spanking new Samsung phone for the photos, and they turned out pretty good. I’m going to keep the words to the minimum this time around though, and let the pictures fo the talking.
I will mention that there were some big guests again at this event. Star Wars was well represented by Hayden Christensen and the very lovely Rosario Dawson. I may well have a huge crush on Rosario Dawson, but decided not to meet her as autographs cost an absolute fortune. And she would’ve immediately fallen for me and wanted to elope, which would be kind of unfair on our families. So it was for the best.
But yeah, lots of interesting guests including a load of Starship Troopers people (Denise Richards!), Michael Ironside, Dirk Benedict and so on.
As these photos hopefully show, there was a respectable number of amazing Cosplayers frequenting the event. Daugthertron went dressed a Monster High character this time, but again I’m forbidden from sharing the pics. Well done to all the other costumed visitors, you were fantastic. Thanks for letting me take your photo.
Other than that, there were some great props and famous vehicles, plus dozens of stalls selling all manner of wonders. But we’ll cover those in Part 2 – stay tuned!
What an excellent way to spend Star Wars Day. May the Force Be With You!
Two horror reviews for you this time, friends! Read on, if you dare…
The Revenge of Frankenstein (1958)
The second instalment in a series of Frankenstein films produced by Hammer, The Revenge of Frankenstein followed hot on the heels of its predecessor. The Curse of Frankenstein had been released the previous year, and was such a hit that a sequel was demanded. Despite, of course, the fact that the evil Baron had been executed at the finale last time.
No matter, Baron Victor Frankenstein (Peter Cushing, of course) is saved from death with a fairly sneaky twist, and is soon practicing medicine in a far off town. Going by the name of Doctor Stein (no one’s gonna figure that out, right?), the doc sets up a successful practice for wealthy patients, whilst also looking after the poor at a hospital.
Joined by a younger doctor, Hans Kleve (Francis Matthews) – who learns Dr Stein’s true identity and wants to learn from him – Frankenstein is soon up to his old tricks. This time around, his creation (Michael Gwynn) at least looks normal, if only at first. It isn’t long before the inevitable happens and everything goes downhill, big time.
The production looks quality and performances are great, in particular Cushing who brilliantly darts between menace and a steely charm. Some gory surgery provides the bloody horror required and The Revenge of Frankenstein admirably fulfils its role as gruesome entertainment. We just know that another sequel will be along soon!
8/10
The Return of the Living Dead (1985)
So this is the film that establishes the concept of zombies eating brains, yeah? OK. One thing is for sure, this comedy-horror is not a sequel to Romero’s brilliant Night of the Living Dead. The Return of The living Dead is a very different beast, though still in a cult league of its own as a horror punk classic.
At a medical supply warehouse, two employees accidentally release a load of toxic gas which reanimates a cadaver and causes all kinds of health and safety high jinks. The morgue over the road has a crematorium, which seems ideal for permanently destroying the undead evidence. Until the escaping gas contaminates the clouds above, and rainfall on the nearby cemetery causes the dead to rise…
Oh, did I mention the gang of punks in the cemetery, waiting for their friend to finish work at the medical supply place? No? Well they are, and you can guess the rest.
This mid eighties movie is not something I’d usually watch. In fact, the main reason I wanted to watch this film is because of the legendary soundtrack, which features a load of awesome horror related punk bands like The Cramps, The Damned and TSOL. A vinyl copy has been on my shopping list for a long time, but I wanted to see the film first so I didn’t feel like too much of a fraud.
The film is pretty good fun, though. It’s fairly dumb and only occasionally does the black humour raise a smile, but The Return of the Living Dead was certainly worth a watch. It’s over the top – unapologetically so – but that’s part of it’s success. Disengage brain and go for it. The soundtrack is bloody great, by the way. I’ve got it on clear with red blood splattered vinyl. AT LAST!!!
What’s For the Love of Horror all about, then? Well readers, it’s basically a Horror themed convention that takes in all manner of frightful pop culture, be it movies, television, comic books and everything else you can imagine. If you’ve been to a Comic Con – or read one of my previous blogs about the ones I’ve visited – then you’ll know what to expect.
Except of course, that For the Love of Horror really is concentrated on all things horrific!
As you’d expect, there are numerous actors to meet, have photos with or autographs from. And you can listen to their Q&A sessions, ask questions, and gain insight into the real world behind the fantasy.
There are dozens of stalls with traders selling wondrous merchandise, for all your spooky needs (whether for you or someone else). There are also props and set displays for cleverly placed photo ops.
Not forgetting the guests themselves, a large number of whom dress as their favourite genre characters (or clever interpretations of). Yes, the Cosplayers here at For the Love of Horror are truly amazing – check out the pics on this blog for evidence! Halloween outfits never go out of style here!
It was a family day out for us, and we arrived early at the exhibition centre to get straight in and crack on. After getting an idea of our surroundings, we were happy to explore and wander round the trade stalls for a start.
At the very first stall I visited on the day, I picked up a Vampira Reaction figure that I’d been hoping to find. Only just recently released in the USA, this was the first one I’d ever seen for sale in this country. Needless to say, I snapped Vampira up immediately. Not a bad start to the day, first stop and an item for the collection!
Mrs Platinum Al had booked to meet the one and only Chris Sarandon, alias Jack Skellington (amongst many other credits) and have a signed photo taken. Daughtertron accompanied her to meet Mr Sarandon, leaving me to take a few photos elsewhere.
We took some pics at the various set displays, including a Chucky box which I stood in – a kind couple let me borrow their life size Chucky doll for the photo!
The best display, however was The Lost Frog Comics – a replica of the Frog Brothers comic shop in The Lost Boys. The owner has meticulously curated a collection of comic books that appeared in the film, from stills and reference shots, utilising some amazing detective work. As a comic book collector I was fully geeked out, admiring all the titles on display. It’s an incredibly impressive labour of love that recreates one of my favourite scenes in the film.
Speaking of The Lost Boys, several of the cast were in attendance on the day, including Kiefer Sutherland, Jason Patric, Billy Wirth and Alex Winter. Did you hear me???! I said Alex Winter!!! Bill S Preston himself! Sorry, I know Bill isn’t a horror character, but come on. All three of us went up to get a signed photo from Alex, because you just have to do these things sometimes.
We also caught some Q&As where we could, including Brad and Fiona Dourif and Lou Diamond Phillips. All entertaining speakers, showing another side to their screen personas (often with hilarious results!).
There was plenty more shopping to be had – I picked up a Geeki Tiki mug in the shape of Elvira, Mistress of the Dark which I’d wanted forever. The family managed to go slightly crazy and blow the Christmas money on a range of freaky merch!
Of course the fantastic Cosplayers were the real stars of the show. My thanks to all the wonderful costumed people who let me take their photo for this blog – you’re all awesome! I’m not a professional photographer by any means, so my pics aren’t perfect – I’m just a fan who loves to see the creativity on display.
There was a quick visit to the outdoor fairground (in the spirit of the Santa Clara fair in The Lost Boys), and I had a cheeky pint in the bar upstairs, that’s themed after the Mos Eisley cantina in Star Wars. That was very cool. Eventually, it was time to make our way home, ull of the love of horror.
It’s time for some more mini horror movie reviews, as the spooky month of October demands. Settle down, kids!
Scream 2 (1997)
We’ve covered the first Scream film a while back (2016, hot tub fans!) and eventually I’ve got round to watching the sequel. Unlike Scream, which I had seen before my Halloween Horror Fest review, I’d never bothered to watch Scream 2 till now.
Slasher movies ain’t really my bag, as I know I’ve mentioned before. Nor are “modern” films (OK, this is 25 years old, whatevs) or films about teenage Americans. Never the less, I’d enjoyed Scream and the second instalment has been on my watch list for a while.
Here the survivor from the first movie, Sidney (Neve Campbell) is now attending college when a spate of copy cat killings, inspired by the deeds of Ghostface in the previous film, start to occur. There follows a series of nasty murders and numerous twists and turns as the killer stalks and slays various characters. All the time, the audience is trying to guess the identity of the new Ghostface.
There’s nothing supernatural here, but there are plenty of jumps and surprises. Like the first film, this sequel attempts to play with the audiences expectations with numerous well observed references to other movies. Also like the first film, I found Scream 2 far more entertaining than I expected.
7.5/10
Renfield (2023)
Bang up to date now, with this 2023 movie starring Nicholas Hoult as the titular character, the familiar of Dracula. Yes, THE Dracula, played here with demonic glee by the one and only Nicholas Cage.
Here the trusted and sort-of immortal Renfield, the Count’s trusted servant, becomes dissatisfied with his lot – what with all the seeking victims and removing the gory evidence his life entails. Renfield joins a counselling group for people in abusive relationships, initially to stalk the abusers for Dracula’s prey. Eventually, the familiar decides to remove himself from his toxic existence, but not without resistance from his former master.
I was looking forward to seeing this movie, but sadly missed it in the cinema. The short time it ran in cinemas should have given me a clue as to whether it was any good…
What could have been a fresh look at the horror of the Dracula legend instead morphs into an action comedy, with guns and explosions and over the top fight scenes. It’s still an entertaining movie, but not what I hoped for at all. I hate dumb action movies and Renfield steers far too close to those waters.
Having said that, Cage is brilliant as the Lord of the Undead and I’d love to see more of him in this role.
Wow – what a cast! Bill Murray, Adam Driver, Tilda Swinton, Danny Glover, Iggy Pop, Tom Waits – amongst many others – star in this comedy horror from director Jim Jarmusch.
The Dead Don’t Die tells the story of a zombie apocalypse in a small US town, as we see events unfold from the point of view of two cops on patrol (Murray and Driver). Natural phenomena begins to go awry, and following the murder of two workers in the local diner, events escalate quickly. Soon enough, the police (together with Swinton’s samurai funeral director) scramble to retain control as hordes of zombies take over.
Although there are some wonderful performances in this film – Murray and Driver’s brilliantly understated cops being the best – this film doesn’t really succeed as a comedy or a horror film. The zombie arrival is very slow, and the conclusion seems rushed. The comedy is rarely laugh out loud hilarious, it’s mostly dry humour and deadpan delivery, and there’s a lot to enjoy in the approach that the movie takes.
The Dead Don’t Die follows it’s own path, avoiding the much more in-you-face approach of Zombieland. The film is an enjoyable and worthwhile watch, but it doesn’t quite achieve its potential. It’s more of an Indie arthouse spoof of the genre, but whilst it has it’s own peculiar charms, I was expecting much more. Maybe I should know more about Jim Jarmusch. Who is he, anyway?
7/10
The Mummy (1959)
Frankenstein? Check. Dracula? Check. Next on the horror hitlist for Hammer was The Mummy, and boy does it look great in splendid colour. Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee are, of course, on hand; as are Terence Fisher (director) and Jimmy Sangster (writer). You can’t go wrong.
It’s 1895, and an archaeological dig in Egypt finds the ancient tomb of of Princess Ananka. John Banning (Cushing) has a broken leg, and can’t enter the tomb, though it’s probably for the best. His dad Stephen does go in, despite the protestation of the Egyptian Mehemet Bey (George Pastell) and is driven mad by… something.
On returning home, Banning senior (Felix Aylmer) is in a nursing home, receiving care for the mentally disturbed. He becomes lucid enough to warn his son that he fears the mummy of Kharis, the high priest will destroy them all for entering the tomb.
Sure enough, the Mummy of Kharis (Lee) is awoken by Bey, and begins to take revenge for the disturbance. Will Banning be able to stop it’s rampage?
Predictably excellent work from Cushing here, as expected. And Lee is imposing as ever as Kharis, looking incredibly grim emerging from a swamp. The film does drag a little in the final third, but with the beautiful sets, a lush score and a decent story, The Mummy is unmissable for any Hammer fan.
For some reason, I thought I’d never seen this Mel Brooks comedy homage to the Universal monster movies, so I bought the DVD. Turns out, I have seen this film – I remembered it as I watched. Even so, the DVD (which cost a fiver) has turned out to be a good investment.
Seann Walsh plays Frederick Frankenstein – sorry, that should be Gene Wilder plays Frederick Frankenstein, or as he pronounces it, “Fronkensteen”. Grandson of the late Victor Frankenstein of monster making infamy, Frederick inherits his family’s Transylvanian estate.
Aided by a beautiful assistant, Inga (Teri Garr) and hunchbacked servant Igor (Marty Feldman, stealing every scene), the younger Frankenstein discovers his grandfathers secret manuscripts. Abandoning his previous scorn of his ancestors work, Frederick decides to resume the experiments and reanimate the dead…
Young Frankenstein turned out to be very enjoyable. It’s genuinely very funny – not every gag works, but there’s enough life in the script to generate some real laugh-out-loud moments. The cast are perfect – Marty Feldman is great, and Peter Boyle as The Monster has both comedy and pathos.
The black and white cinematography is gorgeous, and the sets and scenery make this film a great tribute to the old monster movies. Highly recommended for some light-hearted Halloween fun.
8.5/10
The Resident (2011)
It’s a Hammer film, and Christopher Lee is in it! What more do you need to know? This is the modern incarnation of Hammer, and good old Chris Lee is here to add a touch of class.
Juliet Devereau (Hilary Swank) is an ER doctor, who has split with her husband and rents a too-good-to-true New York apartment from Max (Jeffrey Dean Morgan). It doesn’t take long for Juliet to feel that something isn’t right. In fact, someone is stalking her, watching her every move, and her life is at risk…
Not supernatural in anyway, this film has more in common with the old thrillers that Hammer used to churn out. The Resident is actually a very suspenseful movie, slow burning at first, but accelerating through paranoia to a violent climax.
It’s great to see Christopher Lee, but the two leads are the real stars. In particular Jeffrey Dean Morgan in a pre-Negan role, showing his masterful ability to personify a charming psychopath.
Right back atcha with some more fabulous photos from the recent MCM Comic Con at the NEC in Birmingahm. Here’s Part 2, ‘cos one blog post just wasn’t enough. So many photos, you see.
There’s not much else to report that I haven’t covered in previous editions of my MCM Comic Con blogs. You know the drill, right?
So let’s just crack on and you can witness the awesome Cosplay photos of these amazing, talented people.
Here’s a bit of fun for you, though – can you spot my pal Darf Dork hanging around in one of these pics? There might be a prize for someone who can…
Finally, another big THANK YOU to everyone who posed for a photo – the true stars of the day. See you at the next Comic Con!
Halloween may be over, but as usual, I’ve still got a few left over Halloween Horror Fest reviews to write. So don’t get too comfortable, you’re not safe just yet…
The Wolf Man (1941)
Yes! This is what it’s all about – classic Universal Monsters! The Wolf Man is one of my favourite movies of this type. It’s massively influential – most of the folklore we know about werewolves was actually created for this film – and it’s great fun for Halloween.
Larry Talbot (the legendary Lon Chaney Jr) returns to his ancestral home (actually set in Wales, fact fiends!). He reconciles with his father (an excellent Claude Rains), and tries to find his place in the community.
When defending a friend from a wolf attack, Larry is bitten by the creature. Of course, there’s no prizes for guessing that the beast was a werewolf (human alter ego played by another horror legend, Bela Lugosi). Larry is condemned to become a werewolf too, as his life takes a tragic turn.
The Wolf Man boasts great performances, a fantastic score and a story that is pretty much definitive in the realm of cinematic lycanthropes. Larry Talbot’s story is both thrilling yet sadly ill-fated. Iconic make-up effects from Jack Pierce also help to create an unforgettable monster movie that’s amongst the best from Universal. And it’s set in Wales.
9/10
Little Shop of Horrors (1986)
Geeky plant shop worker Seymour Krelborn (Rick Moranis) is downtrodden, unsuccessful – and has a crush on his colleague Audrey (Ellen Greene). Seymour discovers a strange plant which he names Audrey II. The mysterious plant has an appetite for blood, and flourishes when it feeds on Audrey’s sadistic dentist boyfriend. Soon the amazing Audrey II becomes a sensation, bringing fame and fortune to Seymour – but at what cost?
Now I’m no fan of musicals, but I’ll make an exception for Little Shop of Horrors. It has a fun story, some great songs and a quality cast – including cameos from some comedy greats. Frank Oz directs, and the whole movie is a gruesome treat from start to finish. A different, but wholly appropriate, Halloween movie.
8/10
Lust for a Vampire (1971)
The final film for this year’s Halloween Horror Fest is another from my beloved Hammer Films. Lust for a Vampire forms part of an unofficial trilogy, sandwiched between The Vampire Lovers and Twins of Evil, being loosely based on J. Sheridan Le Fanu’s “Carmilla”.
Beautiful Mircalla (Yutte Stensgaard) arrives at a girl’s finishing school, situated somewhere vaguely Eastern European. However, Mircalla is actually a reincarnation of Carmilla – one of the evil, vampiric Karnstein clan.
The school headmaster (Ralph Bates) pledges his unholy allegiance to Mircalla and visiting author turned school teacher Richard LeStrange (Michael Johnson) falls in love with her. But pupils and local villagers start to die off – and soon suspicion falls on the Karnstein’s and their demonic resurrection.
In Lust for a Vampire, Hammer plunge into more sexually explicit themes, resulting in cheap titillation and camp silliness. This approach has caused the film it’s fair share of harsh criticism over the years. Indeed, the story is a little cheesy and predictable, but the boobs’n’blood approach has never been an issue for me, unsurprisingly.
In fact, I found that there’s plenty to enjoy in this movie: terrific gothic sets and atmosphere – always the hallmark of Hammer – are really effective here. It lacks a Peter Cushing or Christopher Lee, yet the cast have a decent stab at creating a novel tale.
Any cringe worthiness generated by Lust for a Vampire can just as easily be enjoyed as “they don’t make ’em like that anymore” 70’s kitsch. An entertaining film that whilst not a major shining jewel in Hammer’s crown, is still pretty much unmissable.
A lonely forest at night. The full moon peaks through the gnarled branches, as the wind whistles a mournful lament. In the distance, a wolf howls… and the hairs on the back of your neck stand on end, involuntarily.
It’s October, and that means it’s time for – Halloween Horror Fest!
For the last few years, I’ve spent the month of October watching a load of scary movies. Some spooky; some creepy; some funny – and some shit-your-shoes-off horrifying.
And then I write a little review. Like this…
The Frighteners (1996)
Okay – so The Frighteners isn’t a full-on horror film exactly, but it has plenty of supernatural elements that make it ideal viewing for this time of year. And anyway, we needed to watch something that wouldn’t scare the little ‘un too much, if she overheard it while trying to get to sleep upstairs!
Michael J Fox stars as Frank Bannister, a one time architect turned dodgy psychic investigator. Bannister can actually communicate with spirits, but chooses to employ his ghostly buddies to help him exploit customers with phoney exorcisms.
Except townspeople are dying from fatal heart attacks, and Frank suspects that the ghost of a deranged killer is behind it all. Unable to convince the law that his supernatural powers are genuine, Bannister becomes the chief suspect – and must clear his name and stop the killer.
Directed by Peter Jackson, this film makes a decent attempt at being spooky, funny and entertaining all in one go. Quality performances from Fox and the cast (including a small role for the great John Astin) – combined with the directors flair and skill – keep the film rolling along enjoyably.
The special effects were state of the art in 1996, and still hold up well today – with several creepy moments realised with CGI that is actually tastefully done.
The Frighteners just manages to steer away from becoming silly, and remains good fun. Ideal for a Halloween movie that won’t cause nightmares, it’s like Most Haunted with a plot and (more) laughs.
Well Halloween 2018 is over, sadly. But there are a few other movies I’ve watched in October as part of my Horror Fest, so here’s a quick overview of them. I promise to keep this short and sweet…
The Brides of Fu Manchu (1966)
Is this even a horror movie? I consulted the oracle of all things frightful, my old Horror Top Trumps, and YES – Fu Manchu is in there. If he’s in that card pack then this counts as horror, as far as I’m concerned.
Having said that, The Brides of Fu Manchu is more Indiana Jones style adventure than scary movie, despite some gruesome elements.
Fu Manchu is played by Christopher Lee (in make-up, the sort of Hollywood white washing that would quite rightly cause uproar nowadays). The evil criminal mastermind is kidnapping the daughters of prominent scientists, to bribe them into helping him create a death ray. It’s up to Scotland Yard’s Nayland Smith (Douglas Wilmer) to stop him.
The Brides of Fu Manchu is terribly dated. But if we can all agree to be adults and appreciate that this film was made in another age, reflecting views of an even older age, then it’s quite a rip-roaring yarn. Take it with a pinch of salt and watch it with a wary eye.
7/10
The Viking Queen (1967)
It’s Hammer, but it’s not really horror! The Viking Queen is (very) loosely based on the story of Boudica in Roman Britain.
Here we have the tale of British Queen Salina (played by Carita) and nice Roman leader Justinian (Don Murray) who plan on creating a fair land for all. And they fall in love. Predictably, there are grumps on both Briton and Roman sides that conspire to make a right old mess of things for the romantic couple.
On first viewing, I found the historical inaccuracies too much to swallow. Further viewings have allowed my expectations to be lowered and I’ve begun to enjoy it more. Not for the history buffs, but The Viking Queen is an enjoyable tale (with some nasty gory bits to remind us it is Hammer, after all).
7/10
Arachnophobia (1990)
It’s Jaws with Spiders! New doctor in town Jeff Daniels is an arachnophobe, who just happens to move his family to a new town that’s about to become deadly spider central.
I saw this film in the cinema and don’t think I’ve ever watched it again since. So I was surprised that it was actually still quite good fun, with the sort of scares that force the viewer to move away from any possible spider hiding places in the living room.
Good fun and quite gruesome in places, it’s too scary for young children (as I found out), although completely obvious plot-wise. Disconnect brain and enjoy.
8/10
Monsters vs. Aliens (2009)
Much more suitable for your younger monsters, this animated feature from Dreamworks manages to entertain and pay homage to classic B-movie monsters from the past.
Susan Murphy (voiced by Reese Witherspoon) is hit by a meteorite that mutates her into a giant, Attack of the 50 Foot Woman character. She’s whisked off to a top secret military installation and holed up with some other monstrous types. Eventually the creatures are brought out of confinement to defend earth from an alien invasion.
Monsters vs. Aliens features a great voice cast including Hugh Laurie (a mad scientist/The Fly-like Dr Cockroach), Seth Rogen (as The Blob-like B.O.B.), Will Arnett (as the Missing Link, a Creature from the Black Lagoon specimen) and Kiefer Sutherland as the General in charge. Rogen in particular is hilarious.
Lots of fun, great animation and a nice message if that’s your thing. Monster vs. Aliens is a winner.
Platinum Al's Virtual Hot Tub 