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Month: July 2019
Forbidden PLANET
Before Star Trek, There was… FORBIDDEN PLANET!
On Saturday, July 27th, Svengoolie showed Forbidden Planet. The movie is a technologically savvy film that dared to take a look at future events. I really enjoyed assessing the film’s ideas of modern culture and modern technology from today’s perspective. Within the first few minutes of FP you immediately realize that you’re watching the model on which the series Star Trek was based. In opening scenes the handsome and swashbuckling Captain, played by Leslie Nielsen identifies his vessel as a member of the federation of planets. Ever heard that before? The ship on which they travel through the vastness of space has a good and well seasoned crew of officers and men. And science is their motivation, as they boldly go where no space crew has gone before.
Forbidden Planet also introduces us to the famed Robby the Robot. Robby has a whole back story to himself which will be covered in a future blog post.
Forbidden Planet touches on many things that challenge us today. Including the responsible use of advanced technology, artificial intelligence, ethics and human relationships.
One very interesting aspect was how Robby the Robot was programmed. Surely Asimov’s rules for robots played a part in how Robby’s part was written.
Asimov’s Rules
A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm. A robot must obey orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.
I won’t give away too much of the movie plot in this blog post. As it’s probably a foregone conclusion that most of our readers have seen Forbidden Planet. And if you have not seen it. I highly recommend that you do. Forbidden Planet is best viewed on a large formatted TV. The film was designed to be viewed on a large theater screen. It’s deep colors, attention to detail, animation and large sweeping backgrounds look great on a high def T.V.
Monsters After Midnight.. Promoted! #37
Our hard work is paying off. Monsters After Midnight has moved up to #37 on the feedspot’s top 100 Horror Blogs site’s list! Our site is all about MONSTER KIDS! And this is a great honor!
Angus Scrimm.. Best Supporting Horror Actor of The Month
Congratulations to Angus Scrimm Monsters After Midnight Best Supporting Actor of the Month! Angus was best known for his role as the “Tall Man” in Phantasm. Which was a bad ass horror movie! Be cure to check out the official Phantasm web site There is a ton of great Phantasm news there!
http://phantasm.com/legacy/content/view/41/
The Monster Club; Omaha Nebraska By Gene Stevens Monsters After Midnight.
If you love classic horror and monster movies while your having dinner or lunch… You’ll love the “Monster Club”. The club is a restaurant and local bar located in the Old Market area of Omaha Nebraska. They feature monster themed food and drinks.
MY MONSTER EXPERIENCE
There I was sitting at home watching T.V. when my wife, who is a native Iowan, mentioned a place in Omaha Nebraska called the Monster Club. Being an avid user of facebook she happened to run into a post from a friend. I was immediately excited to hear about the place and photos posted online had images of Dracula, Freddie Krueger, the Wolfman and other horror figures. 
Upon entering the building I was immediately thrilled to see Lon Chaney in the front lobby (well at least a very realistic likeness of the Wolfman) As you can see by my photo. I was thrilled to death to meet one of my personal heroes. As I walked deeper into the dark chambers of the Monster Club. I found that the restaurant was filled with tons of monster items. From full size figures of Dracula, the Wolfman, The Creature of the Black Lagoon and may more monsters, crashing through the windows of the restaurant. The tables are set up like old time carriages (or hearse). In the background we could hear the various themes from movies being played from movies like Halloween, Poltergeist and the Exorcist.
THE FOOD
The menu contained a wide variety of burgers, sandwiches and salads. I personally had the chicken sandwich which was awesome. The other family members at the table had burgers. I was so tempted to yell out that the “burgers were people”.. But I refrained. I didn’t want to scare anyone else in the restaurant. But over all the service was great and the food was very good.
Unique Experience
The Monster Club a pub and grub, is a unique experience for everyone. But for a monster kid, its especially cool. I highly recommend the Monster Club!
Writers Wanted
Help us fill this blank page! We are looking for a few good articles. No minimum words required. You get your own by line.. We are looking for classic horror monsters, classic sci fi, monster legends and more. Please contact the Editor at gene9156@yahoo.com.
Aurora Monster Models; Still Relevant.
I wanted to share this picture from the San Diego Comicon. It was posted online by our good friends at Scary Monsters Magazine. I’m proud to say that the classuc horror genre is still alive and kicking! The booth is from the Bunky Brothers!
Thanks Scary Monsters!
The B-Movie List of Monster Movie Actors!
This IMBD’s comprehensive and exhaustive list of B-Movie Actors! There’s a lot of my favorites on this list!
B MOVIES ALL THE WAY!
Lon Chaney; Phantom of The Opera, The Great Unmasking. By Gene Stevens Monsters After Midnight
Art imitates life and life imitates art. No where is the more apparent than in the movies. Those who produced movies in the early days of film knew this. They used it and profited from it. Love and hate are the most powerful emotions that humans know. People need to be loved, acknowledged and affirmed by other people. These are among the greatest needs of people. We express our needs through body language, facial expressions and words. In the early days of film. One of the most critical elements of expression was missing.. And that missing element was the use of language.
I’ve always loved Lon Chaney’s portrayal of the people that he created on the silver screen. Early Silent films were just that………….. Silent. Free of the encumbrance of speech, free of the beauty of color and free of the deep complications that modern cinema presents to the viewer. Everything was left to the interpretation of the movie goer.
Silent movies spoke to people through body language and facial expression. The human face has forty three different muscles, which are capable creating hundreds of facial expressions. Movements of the face and eyes can instantly and instinctively convey complete messages to other humans at the speed of light by mental thought. The unmasking of Lon Chaney in the Phantom of the Opera is perhaps one of the most iconic moments in cinematic history.
The sequence runs about a minute and half as the viewer watches Mary Philbin who plays Christine Daae as she becomes overwhelmed by her curiosity and unmasks the Phantom, Played by Lon Chaney. In the following moments after the unmasking (not in the above video) Chaney uses body language and facial expression to express his thought. To express love, hate, need and sorrow. In those moments we see a man unstrung, filled with hate, anxiety and deep sorrow mixed together in one fluid motion. He is a man intent upon destroying all that exists around him. In this one minute and thirty seconds of film, Lon Chaney’s portrayal of the Phantom lays the ground work for all future horror and suspense.
The umasking scene would be repeated many times in cinematic history. One of my personal favorites is House of Wax with Vincent Price. I believe that Vincent’s acting was an extension of Chaney’s work. Price was brilliant and eloquent and had roots in Shakespearean acting. A huge asset in suspense and horror. But Vincent Price had the use of make up, technicolor and Sound. And his vast experience to give to his performance. But the fright was surely born from Lon Chaney’s work.
The House of Wax is the Phantom of the Opera repeated.
Much like the Phantom, a badly burned and disfigured Vincent Price who has been cheated out of his profession.. Shades of the Phantom. is unmasked as a frightful scene reveals his face.
Both the Phantom of The Opera and House Wax walk out of the light and into the darkness of the human spirit. They use a physical mask to cover the damage spirit of their characters.
Remembering Bradford Dillman
REMEMBERING BRADFORD DILLMAN
By Gene Stevens
Monsters After Midnight
Monsters After Midnight 