Canister X – A.P. Fuchs: Zombie, Paranormal Romance and Superhero Novelist, Blogger, Artist, Publisher

The Hills Have Eyes (2006)
Review by A.P. Fuchs
4 out of 5

The story is simple: a family’s off on a holiday and had taken a short cut through the desert to get there. In order to make the trip, they pull up to a lone gas station in the middle of nowhere to top up the tank. Problem is, the gas attendant is in on a little secret and points them to a “short cut” that’s supposed to save them a couple hours. Instead, this “short cut” leads the family on the fast track to death as a pack of bloodthirsty mutants hunt the family as their next meal.

No, really, that’s the story. But you know what? I love it. Simple horror, straight and to the point. Here’s the good guys, here’s the bad guys, here’s the setting. Let’s see what happens. It works for me and it works for The Hills Have Eyes no problem. Unfortunately, I didn’t see the 1977 original so I can’t compare the two, but what I can tell you is the idea, as presented in the movie, of human-mutants caused by nuclear testing’s radioactivity was done well, especially since the mutations aren’t over the top but very believable (i.e. a guy with a big head; a little girl with a lopsided face; even the grossest of the bunch just seemed to have a few tumors the size of pool balls bulging under his skin).

This movie started off with a quick action scene, then the credits rolled, and the main story got under way. Since we as the viewers knew this family was in jeopardy almost right from the start, the slow build-up leading to the explosion of danger and gore was well worth the wait. Actually, I’m glad there was a long lead up before things went crazy. Made you care and relate to the family first before things started happening to them. Made it all the more painful when they got killed.

The one part that really got me jumping was the involvement of the baby who, it seemed, was around six months old. Being a parent, the thought of your child getting kidnapped is just terrifying. Add getting kidnapped by cannibal mutants to that and it really makes for sensitive watching. Every scene where I thought maybe something would happen to the kid, I was, like, “No, not that baby!” (What? Horror fans can’t be sensitive?)

The 180-degree character development of our hero, Doug Bukowski (Aaron Stanford) , was impressive especially since I really didn’t like him at all in the beginning, which was the point, and which was a success on the part of the filmmakers. Truly awesome.

The Hills Have Eyes was a fun horror movie that pleased this roadside horror fan to the nines. Going to be renting the sequel. Definitely.

Go see this.

Leading independent horror, zombie mash up and superhero fiction publisher, Coscom Entertainment (www.coscomentertainment.com) has signed a Management and Production Deal with Hughes Capital Entertainment and newly formed, Management Period. The focus of the relationship is to integrate the Canadian-based Publishing company into mainstream entertainment via motion picture, interactive/videogame, and television mediums. Some of Coscom’s flagship titles such as The War of the Worlds Plus Blood, Guts and Zombies by H.G Wells and Eric S. Brown and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and Zombie Jim by Mark Twain and W. Bill Czolgosz are coming out under Simon and Schuster’s Gallery Books imprint later this fall. Standout titles like Alice in Zombieland and World War of the Dead will be the immediate focus of the HCE development team.

Hughes Capital Entertainment is currently negotiating a DVD deal for some of the titles, developing some as larger features, and focusing on top seller Zombie Fight Night as the break out video game title. “What’s better than playing a first person fighter where zombies, werewolves, vampires, samurai, kick boxers, robots, and superheroes like Axiom-man all battle it out to the death?” says HCE President/Producer Patrick Hughes.

Coscom joins HCE and Management Period’s already impressive talent and corporate list of clients which includes best-selling authors, top screenwriters, show creators, top musicians, and directors.

This book is hardcore. It’s 99.9% horror movies start to finish, with a few of those “other” movies (read: non-horror) peppered throughout.

Tim Gross is a guy who loves horror and his love for the genre oozes on every page with every review. And there’s loads of ‘em here. Tons. I mean, really, out of all of the movies he reviewed, I only maybe knew of, what, 40 of them? The rest were horror flicks ranging from the ’80s to the present, stuff made not just by the mainstream but all those cool underground movies as well. In other words, my DVD rent and shopping list just exploded.

This book is dense and totally horror info-loaded.

If you dig movies and want to hear somebody’s thoughts–and genuine fan’s thoughts and not just a mainstream reviewer’s whose job it is to “review stuff”–then Gross Movie Reviews Vol. 1 is a must-have hands done.

Grab a copy. You’ll have a blast.

Got hit by a major cold on Friday and it only started to let up yesterday afternoon. Today, I’m feeling pretty good.

That said, I have some catching up to do because, unfortunately, aside from yesterday, I wasn’t too productive over the weekend. The business I’m in demands a clear head and when your sinuses are loaded, well, you get the picture.

So today I’m hoping to make up for some lost time and record a new segment of Blood of the Dead for you, as well as another chunk of DVD reviews for the Canister X Youtube channel. Likewise, of course, I’ll be writing and editing and bringing you new stories.

Enjoy your day.

Superman: Doomsday (2007)
Review by A.P. Fuchs

4 out of 5

Digging deep beneath the planet’s surface, Lexcorp accidentally unearths the merciless killing machine known as Doomsday. Immediately, the behemoth of rage goes on a rampage, destroying everything in its path, and all efforts to stop it fail.

The Man of Steel, learning of the destruction and deaths in Metropolis, takes it upon himself to take the monster down before more lives are lost.

The battle is epic.

The action is huge.

The consequences are dire.

Superman fails, falls . . .

Dies.

Adapted from the biggest and most shocking comic book story of all time, Superman: Doomsday is the emotional and action-packed tale of the life, death and return of the world’s greatest superhero.

This story is dark, and not just because Superman dies. This isn’t a kids cartoon. The themes are mature (i.e. Lois half-naked in the Fortress of Solitude), Lex Luthor, distraught over Superman’s absence in his own weird way, is the most evil Lex ever seen in a cartoon and the things he does at some points in the film make you go, “Man, that’s evil. Not just evil. HUGELY evil.”

What was most astonishing was the swearing. I never would have expected that from a Superman cartoon.

On the plus side, the battle between Superman and Doomsday is the greatest slugfest this reviewer has ever seen in a superhero cartoon (and I’ve seen nearly all of them). The story is solid and packs a lot in given the amount of time Warner Brothers seems to allow for these direct-to-DVD cartoons of theirs.

The animation is dynamic, the coloring bold, the art in the style of the Justice League cartoons.

This DVD includes a few special features, most notably the enthralling documentary on the life, death and return of Superman, chronicling the death saga from conception to fruition, with interviews with the many artists and writers and editors on the project.

Language warning: Cursing and blasphemy

Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker (2000)
Review by A.P. Fuchs

5 out of 5

He was thought dead. The laughter was supposed to have ended.

But evil never dies.

The Joker is back!

His mission? Why, give Gotham a wedgy again!

But this Gotham is different than the one the Joker left behind. It’s a new Gotham with a new Batman.

Plenty of surprises abound in this thrilling chapter in the Batman Beyond universe.

This movie is brilliant, pure and simple.

I’ve seen both the regular and the uncut versions of this film and it’s the uncut version that’s being reviewed here (the regular is virtually the same and has only a few altered scenes).

The uncut version doesn’t hold back and isn’t sensitive to the viewer’s eyes. This one’s much more violent than the regular version. In the original release, certain events were only implied. In this one, they are shown. (If anything, I was surprised at how graphic this cartoon was compared to the Batman Beyond and Batman: TAS episodes.)

Ah, yes, the joys of direct-to-DVD releases.

The Batman in Batman Beyond, Terry McGinnis, is real. You care about him, you relate to him. You want to be him even when the tension mounts between him and his mentor, Bruce Wayne.

The Joker’s nasty in this and once more Mark Hamill, with that creepy laugh of his, reminds us why he was born to play the Joker. The dialogue, the jokes—utterly fantastic!

The story is stellar, with multiple plots going on at once. It also answers the questions you have about the fate of the characters from Batman: TAS, which had a series finale that fell flat. (It was just another episode, really.)

The first time I saw this film I couldn’t believe what happened to one of the Bat regulars. It still blows me away every time I see it.

Wow.

Language warning: Blasphemy