Random Ramblings from the Vault...

• You know, during the 1960s and 1970s, the Italians proved quite proficient at making westerns and zombie movies. So why, I ask, did we never see a spaghetti western/zombie flick? And how cool would one have been? Of course, this is the part where I'm inundated with a million comments informing me of all the Italian western/zombie movies of which I was unaware...

• So as many of you know, Richard Dreyfuss appears at the beginning of Piranha 3-D in a cameo that may just be the highlight of the movie. He's also fishing, and singing, "Show Me the Way to Go Home," the same tune he sings in Jaws. My dad postulated that we may be meant to understand that Dreyfuss is actually supposed to be Hooper, the same character he played in Spielberg's classic. What do you folks think? Possible? Or is my pops delusional?

• I always found it so bizarre that the final film of Hollywood legend Fred Astaire was the 1981 chiller Ghost Story. I kept expecting him to break out into song and dance, but instead we kept flashing back to full frontal nudity from future Borg Queen Alice Krige. If only Ginger had been so bold...

• I happen to be of the opinion that you should still be able to have your pudding, even if you don't eat your meat. But that's just me.

• Not only will I admit to watching Sharktopus on Saturday night, but I will proclaim it from the highest mountain. I even gave my boy a special treat and let him stay up late with me to catch it on SyFy. We made it about 75 minutes through, before I had to be a good daddy and switch it off due to copious bloodletting, but it was fun while it lasted. And exactly what one might expect from a SyFy Channel movie in which a shark/octopus hybrid is pursued by Eric Roberts. And by the way, were you aware that Sharktopus has his own theme song? Well, allow me to enlighten:

"This twisted fish/Eats surfers as a side dish/When you see that frenzied feeding,/You will be the next bleeding." Who said Tin Pan Alley was no more?

• Important question: Was the SyFy Channel Man-Thing movie that "jump the shark" moment for Marvel Comics adaptations? Not sure, it might have been "Don't Make Me" Ang Lee's Hulk movie. Of course, there will always be those bitter naysayers who hated them even going back to the first X-Men--to whom I say, "Bah!"--or those overly forgiving souls who adored watching an emo Peter Parker jive-walk the streets of Manhattan in Spider-Man 3.

• So I'm going vampire for Halloween. Even got me some fancy fangs and everything. Tried them on for size just yesterday in fact, and proudly scared the blue blazes out of my daughter and her friends practicing for chorus in the living room. It's good to be the king.

• Just as a heads-up, there will be an amazing 12-hour horror film festival happening in Poughkeepsie, New York on November 6. Evil Dead II; Demons; The Gates of Hell; Cannibal Ferox and more, all showing in 35mm. Yours truly will be on hand, and so should you. Expect further coverage of the Hudson Horror Show in the days to come...

• Congratulations to fellow LoTT-D member Steve Jencks of The Lost Highway, who recently celebrated his blog's fourth anniversary with a special poster giveaway. The posters, each one dedicated to a classic horror flick, were created by Jencks himself--and even though the giveaway is over, you can still head over to Lost Highway and pick up one, or even two. You'll have to pay, though. Suck it up, kid, things are tough all around.

• And speaking of anniversaries, The Vault's third is fast approaching (October 14, y'all), and I've got an interesting proposition in place to help me celebrate. What is it, you ask? Well, just keep your greasy eyeballs plastered to the VoH Facebook page in the coming weeks, and you'll see what I mean. VoH Facebook page, you ask? Why yes, surely you knew there was one? If not, feel free to have a look. I mean, come on now, what else are you going to do? Work? Yeah, I thought so.