It's that time of year again, when we each come up with our fantasy "wish list" of horror goodies, and hope that our loved ones pick up the hint and get us something we want, instead of another bland stocking stuffer we have to pretend to be excited about. That's why I've gone to the trouble once again of putting together this special catalog of brand new horror-related gift ideas for Christmas, Hannukkah, Kwanzaa, Solstice, Festivus, or whatever.
Whether you print this out and hand it over to the folks buying you gifts this year, or if you're the woeful significant other of a horror freak trying to figure out what the hell to buy for them, I hope you find this useful...
Video
Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer - Blu-Ray, $17.98 (Big Blu-Ray releases are the order of the day this year. Sign of the times...)
Gremlins - Blu-Ray, $28.99 (The Dante/Spielberg '80s classic comes to Blu-Ray for its 25th anniversary.)
The Monster Squad - Blu-Ray, $19.99 (I confess this cult favorite has lost a bit of luster for me personally, but most from my generation go nuts for it. Here it is on Blu-Ray for the first time.)
Near Dark - Blu-Ray, $19.99 (Another, more deserved cult fave takes a Blu bow. And to think, there was a time when all prints were believed lost...)
Don't Be Afraid of the Dark - DVD, $19.99 (The sole DVD release I've included is of my personal favorite horror TV movie of all time. Believe it or not, this is Warner Bros.' first official DVD release in the United States.)
Books
English Gothic: A Century of Horror Cinema - Paperback, $32.95 (This acclaimed 2001 history of British horror films from the silent era to the 1970s has finally come to paperback. Yeesh, I wonder how much the hardcover cost!)
Saga of the Swamp Thing, Book 2 - Graphic novel, $24.99 (More of Alan Moore's groundbreaking run on DC's greatest horror character. I've got a review copy from DC that I can't to jump into. Yes, it's good to be me.)
Strange Suspense: Steve Ditko Archives - Graphic novel, $39.99 (An amazing collection encompassing the first few years of Ditko's work in comics, when he pumped out uncompromising horror tales, just prior to the inception of the Comics Code.)
Eerie Archives, Vol. 2 - Graphic novel, $49.95 (In addition to Creepy, Eerie was one of Warren Publications' innovative mag-sized horror comics of the 1960s and 1970s. This Dark Horse compendium collects more of the best of them.)
Toys
Last Night on Earth - Board game, $57.95 (A zombie survival board game. Pricey, but looks like a lot of fun.)
Arkham Horror - Board game, $59.99 (An even pricier, yet even more fun board game based on the works of H.P. Lovecraft.)
The Simpsons Tree House of Horrors Monopoly - Board game, $35.95 (I know, I know, we've all had enough of these themed versions of Monopoly, but I like this one, don't you?)
Edgar Allen Poe - Action figure, $12.95 (How cool is this? It even comes with a raven accessory...)
1954 Godzilla - Action figure, $15.25 (Bandai outdid themselves when they put out this 6-inch vinyl figure of Godzilla as he appeared in his original movie. A must-have for any G-fan.)
Music
The Definitive Horror Movie Music Collection - CD box set, $39.98 (This four-disc collection was just released last Halloween, and features the City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra performing a vast array of beloved horror themes from movies such as The Omen, Young Frankenstein, Let the Right One In, The Thing, Poltergeist, The Haunting, A Nightmare on Elm Street, The Exorcist and yes, Twilight.)
Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark is on DVD? Holy crap that is awesome news!! Can finally throw out that old bootleg. Thanks for posting that. :-D
ReplyDeleteMy pleasure, happy to spread the news about one of my faves!
ReplyDeleteThe Ditko is great, but a little buyer beware for horror fans: Less than half the stories in the volume are horror stories. Most of the book is comprised of crime and sci-fi tales, with a western and a romance story thrown in for good measure. They are still neat and the crime story often shade into horror conventions, but if you're buying it to get a straight shot of pre-Code horror, you might be let down.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the heads-up, CR!!
ReplyDelete