Monster Scholar

It was a rainy morning in 1932 when Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi, the men behind two of the most legendary screen monsters, would officially meet at Universal City. The two posed for publicity stills in their dapper tuxedos, bandied words and finally made a wager as to who could scare the other to death. While the tone was subdued, the meeting would hit on the palpable rivalry that would exist between Karloff and Lugosi for years to come; a rivalry clearly displayed in their collaboration on Universal's The Black Cat and The Raven. In The Black Cat, Karloff plays Hjalmar Poelzig, a satanic cult leader who plays a game of chess with Lugosi’s Dr. Werdegast for the soul of a young woman Poelzig wants to sacrifice to Satan. Dr. Werdegast wants his wife Karen, who Poelzig ran off with, and his daughter. It is revealed that though Karen is dead, Poelzig has made her daughter (also named Karen) his wife. The film ends with a startling clash between Karloff ad Lugosi, as Dr. Werdegast

The Oatmeal has provided the answer to this burning question in its hilarious guide to "How Twilight Works" The author (that's you Stephanie Meyer) creates a cipher character with no real discernible characteristics (that's you Bella aka Pants), which allows thirteen year old girls to project themselves into the cipher character's shoes (much like Carol Clover saw the Final Girl as a way for teenage boys to assume the victim position, but nowhere near that smart). Enter Edward, or as the Oatmeal labels him the "He-man/Jesus Christ" who worships the whiny cipher/reader and is worshiped in return and you get thousands of screaming Twihards who eat this stuff up. Witness the madness.

Just another reminder to vote for me in the Ms. Horror Blogosphere contest over at the Vault of Horror . Voting ends Friday December 4th. Moving on, welcome to the first installment of Fast Forward Features here at Monster Land. I have the bad habit of fast forwarding through movies and whenever there’s a lull in the action, my trigger finger just itches to press the remote. Now my bad habit is being put to our advantage with Fast Forward Features. In short, I watch these movies so you don’t have to. First up is AVPR, the thrilling sequel to the blockbuster hit Alien versus Predator (note the sarcasm). John Deer and John Deer Jr. discover the remains of a crashed predator ship containing the PredAlien and a number of face suckers. The face suckers escape and attack the intrepid duo. John Deer shoots one of the face suckers, splashing the creature’s acid blood on his arm which eats through his flesh, causing the arm to fall off. Needless to say, both the kid and the father end up suckin

In the spirit of friendly competition, B-Sol is hosting the first ever Ms. Horror Blogosphere contest to find the web's favorite female horror blogger. I am among the ranks of the proud female bloggers vying for the top prize. Click here to see my entry and learn even more about your friendly neighborhood Monster Scholar. Voting begins tomorrow @ 10AM at the Vault of Horror and the following graphic will be activated starting then for your voting pleasure. So get your mice ready and click away for your favorite horror blogger femme (that's me!).

On the heels of my review of Sorority Row here on Monster Land, I was contacted by the director of SR, Stewart Hendler. After I recovered from the shock, I was given an exclusive interview with the director as he recounts what motivated him to film a horror remake with a positive message for women. As we’ve seen in the past with films like feminist Rita Mae Brown’s Slumber Party Massacre , it can be hard to make a horror film with a positive message for women. How did you set out to do just that? All horror movies are (or attempt to be) morality tales, so there’s a built in structure that allows you to use them to make a statement. I’m a big fan of the genre, but not particularly proud of how it treats women, so I wanted to do something different with Sorority Row. When I read the script, it appealed to me because it examined a very particular and very bizarre subset of American culture—the sorority. Built on the principles of sisterhood and service, I truly believe that sororit

SNL has been rolling out the monster spoofs lately. In addition to the digital short “Firelight”, which replaced the monsters of Twilight with mummies and Frankensteins, SNL also has a skit on Dr. Jekyll and his randy counterpart Mr. Hyde. Dr. Jekyll addresses a theater of medical men at a scientific symposium and reveals the existence of Mr. Hyde, his dark alter ego. SNL capitalizes on the suggestion of a homosexual “other” that Hyde represents, and Dr. Jekyll confesses that his serum transforms him into the “peculiar” Mr. Hyde who “has sex with men.” He then asks the academy for a research grant of 10,000 pounds to do “experiments” (either sexual or scientific) at Fire Island. This comedic representation of Jekyll’s homosexuality brings out the implications of Robert Louis Stevenson's original text. The author never fully describes Hyde’s dark deeds, but like Oscar Wilde’s Dorian Gray , the suggestion of homosexuality is implicit, as can be seen in Jekyll’s full statement of the

I was clicking my way through the horror blogosphere and came across John Morehead's insightful article on New Moon, Monsters and Mormons at Theofantastique, which explores Mormon ideas of pre-existence and free agency in relation to Stephanie Meyer's monsters in Twilight. John's article left me in the mood for lycanthropy and so I present to you this fine selection of werewolf articles from the far reaches of horror blogdom. Happy hunting. Cursed (2005) Towerfarm Reviews: Check out Billy and Jeremy's review of this Wes Craven werewolf feature. Beware the Moon and Paul Davis Interview Zombos Closet of Horror: Scott Essman interviews Paul Davis, the director of An American Werewolf in London . Werewolves on the Moon: versus Vampires Unspeakable Horror!: Werewolves and campy horror are a match made in comic book heaven. ‘Wolf Man’ has horror hounds howling! Musings Across a Continuum : Ms Harker addresses critics of the upcoming Wolf Man remake by reminding us that it

I don't often get the chance to critique popular music here on Monster Land, but Shakira's video for the new single "She Wolf" is just begging for commentary. The video opens on our girl Shakira as she awakens in the light of the full moon and prepares for a night on the town. Needless to say thinks get a little interesting from here on out. Shakira delves into her closet Narnia-style to find a new world in the form of a womb-like, sparkly red cavern. She then begins to dance with jerky movements that fall somewhere in between doing to the the robot and having a diabetic seizure. Shakira's she-wolf counterpart is depicted in a golden cage, and the camera pans and zooms as she contorts herself in odd positions.They do some reverse camera work while Shakira is hanging from the bars of her cage that gives the video a slightly uncanny effect, but it could have just been a goof. Though the song is called "She-Wolf" the closest we ever get to a transformation

Happy Friday the 13th monster devotees! Before we get on with the homage to Jason, I have a few tidbits to share. First I was featured on Zombo's Closet of Horror for Meet the Horror Bloggers . I suggest you swing by there and find out why I love monsters so much. I am also in the running for the Vault of Horror's Miss Horror Blogosphere contest. Voting will take place in a few weeks after all the contestants have been spotlighted on B-Sol's blog. Check back soon for voting information.But enough jibber jabber, it's time for a visual feast of terror as we look at the slasher who makes promiscuous teens shake in their sketchers... Jason! Friday the 13th Friday the 13th: Part 2 Friday the 13th: Part 3-D Friday the 13th Part IV: The Final Chapter Friday the 13th Part V: A New Beginning Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan Friday the 13th Part IX: Jason Goes To Hell Friday the 13th P