The Info Zombie Podcast #95 - Am I The Worst Guest Ever? Probably Not, But I'm At Least Part Of The Discussion . . .

Brother Theodore and a flummoxed David Letterman

     The Info Zombie never says die.  Carl invited me back for my third guest shot on The Info Zombie Podcast, even though I forgot to plug in my mic last time.  The jury is still out as to whether or not my comments being intelligible constitutes an improvement.  I also made a conscious effort to breathe quietly, modulate the volume of my speaking voice, and form complete sentences.  It's a good thing Carl is so adept at keeping me on topic.  Does anyone remember back when Brother Theodore used to do guest shots on Late Night With David Letterman?  Just me, huh?  Check out the clip.  It's not easy to keep a grouchy old man on topic.

     We are a little all over the place this time, but it was fun to see where the conversation would take us.  Carl and I talk a bit about old horror movies, new horror movies, found footage movies, unreleased movies, and books about movies.  So...movies, I guess.  
  
     -- I now realize we were actually pretty focused --

     You can listen to Episode #95 of The Info Zombie Podcast right here, or download the episode on iTunes if you prefer listening on the go.  Be sure to subscribe when you  visit iTunes, and check out all the goodies on display at The Info Zombie website, as well. 

Lost In The Forest, All Alone - Fear Forest In Harrisonburg, VA Haunts Pre'Ween Again Throughout October

The entrance to Fear Forest in Harrisonburg, Virginia

     It may seem surprising, but I don't care much for haunted attractions.  They're great in theory, but I'm a big ol' wuss when it comes to actually visiting one.  It's incongruous, I know, but there's just something too tangible about the scares in a haunted attraction.  I need my scares once removed by way of a video presentation so I can deal with the horror intellectually.  I once literally ran screaming from a haunted attraction in Virginia Beach and then out into the traffic in the street beyond.

This thing spins in person, folks...

     Even so, every Pre'Ween celebration demands at least one trip to a live haunt.  When the day grows short and the air grows chilly, my inner child - wuss though he may be - craves it.  Fortunately, I have Harrisonburg's Fear Forest just a few miles away each and every October.

     Fear Forest - where they say only the trees can hear you scream - is a spooky trek nearly half a mile long through haunted woodland dotted with thrills, chills, live performers, and ghoulish attractions every step of the way.  There's just something irresistible about walking a dark woodland path by moonlight as the screams of others echo through the trees.  Plenty of other haunted attractions operate nearby here in Virginia, but Fear Forest has earned my allegiance.  I'm sure it helps that it's outdoors, and I can always run screaming without the need to dodge oncoming traffic.

     I'll also be taking my first trip through Fear Forest's second attraction this year, an interactive zombie laser showdown called the Fear Crops Zombie Harvest.  It's an interactive haunted hay wagon ride through a cornfield crawling with the undead.  This isn't just target practice, tough.  These zombie gunslingers are shooting back!

Fear Forest hours of operation for October 2014

     Fear Forest is open to the public beginning Friday, October 3rd.  You can check the Fear Forest website for complete details.

     Admission is $12.00 per person per attraction, or $17.00 per person for admission to both attractions.  If you can't stand spending too much time dreading the horrors that await, you can opt for a Fast Pass Admission to both attractions for only $27.00.
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     Fear Forest co-creator Brandy Nesselrodt generously made time in her busy Pre'Ween schedule recently to answer a few questions for Movies At Dog Farm.  She tells us a bit about the history of her haunted attraction, and she also hints as to what might be lurking in those haunted woods this October...

How did Fear Forest come into being, and was its creation initially your brainchild?

     Fear Forest actually started as an ATV trail.  My husband Chad Nesselrodt, a few friends, and myself sometimes would ride the trail at night followed by a campfire in the field.  One night Chad and I were talking about how spooky it was in the dark...and that's where Fear Forest was first imagined.  We were actors in a haunted cornfield attraction when we were younger, so we thought it would be a fun idea we could do together.  We never imagined that we would still be going bigger and better nine years later.

How many volunteers do you typically get for the Fright Crew?

     We have two attractions at Fear Forest - the haunted woods trail and Fear Crops Zombie Harvest.  The haunted woods trail usually is occupied by forty-five to fifty "monsters" a night.  Fear Crops is a laser tag attraction where the attendees get to shoot twenty or more of our walking dead.  Then there is ticket staff, tractor drivers, tech support members, and security.  That adds up to a full staff list of about eighty people a night to make our show operate.  Our volunteers do receive a cash bonus for participation at the end of the season.

Have any of your volunteers every been a little too into it?  

     We've been very fortunate that most of our Fright Crew love to scare, and have what it takes.  I would say more volunteers join thinking it is going to be easy and a lot of fun.  The exact opposite is true!  Haunting is hard work, and it takes a special person to do it.  They have to be level-headed, willing to try different techniques, and not afraid to put themselves out there. 

Have you ever had an idea for the event that you ultimately decided was too intense or inappropriate for the general public? 

     My mom actually monitors some of my ideas!  "Nothing to do with babies, religion, or devil worshipping!"  We do have church and youth group organizations that attend.  We want to keep our show on the verge of extreme, but refrain from being offensive.  I think that is why it is so well-perceived.  It's like the good old scary movies I grew up on, intense startles without having to be graphic or...(laughs) I don't even know what to call some scary movies these days!

How many visitors did Fear Forest host last year? 

     Weather is a big factor in our attendance.  Weekend nights we could have between eight hundred to a thousand attendees, while weeknights average four hundred to seven hundred attendees. 

What was the origin of your second attraction, Fear Crops?

     Zombies are a big thing right now.  We attend a trade show for haunted attractions every year.  Zombie paintball was a new thing that some vendors were promoting.  But considering how cold it gets here in Virginia in October, we felt none of our zombies were going to want to get pelted by over a thousand frozen paint balls a night.  So we took what we saw and altered the idea to suit what we wanted to offer our customers.  

     We switched it up to laser guns, and we thought it would be cool if our zombies got to shoot back!  Also, we made it a ride on old transformed ensilage wagons.  It's sort of like a safari, but the wagons suit our theme much better.

What new and exciting additions can visitors expect to see this year at Fear Forest/Fear Crops? 

     This year we've added several new scenes to Fear Forest, and we've switched some of our more popular scenes.  We have added some pneumatic props this year and some awesome visual effects our attendees have never seen at Fear Forest.  There's more detail and a lot of hard effort.  I think after nine years our guests will be pleasantly surprised by what is waiting for them.  We've also made the trail a little more tolerable for those who had a phobia of exercise.  At four-tenths of a mile, a steep climb in the middle wasn't the brightest decision in our initial trail plan.  Now the path gently follows a less strenuous curve. 

     We are hoping to continue to build an audience for Fear Crops this year.  The western theme continues there this year.  But what's more fun than an old country shoot out? 

I have to assume you probably like scary movies.  What are a few of your favorites, and why? 

     I'm really into the horror I grew up on!  Carrie, Friday The 13th, Halloween, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and Fright Night - the ORIGINALS, of course!  There was something about those horror movies I loved when I was a kid that makes them my favorites still today. 

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     Thanks again to Brandy Nesselrodt for taking the time to give us a peek behind the curtain!  Be sure to visit www.fearforest.net for more info!  NOW KEEP SCROLLING...

 

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Welcome, Pre'Weeners, To The Heart Of Darkness - The Return Of The Dog Farm To The Info Zombie Podcast #84

      In what is an almost unheard of circumstance, I find myself posting twice in the same day.  Pre'Ween just makes everything craaazy!  Carl at The Info Zombie was kind enough to invite me back for my second guest shot on The Info Zombie Podcast for episode #84.  Check it out, because he may not make the same error in judgement a third time.  You can listen to the episode below or by downloading The Info Zombie Podcast #84 on iTunes.  Be sure to subscribe to Carl's podcast while you're visiting iTunes, and check out The Info Zombie website, as well.

     I also wanted to take a moment to welcome Carl and all the other bloggers helping the Dog Farm celebrate Pre'Ween this year.  Following is a list of participants already on the roster, with hopefully even more to be added later.

Giovanni Susina at At The Mansion Of Madness
Jonny Dead at Bloodsucking Geek
Bob Smash at Candy-Coated Razor Blades
Barry Cinematic at Cinematic Catharsis
Matt St. Cyr at Midnight Cinephile
Carl Boehm at The Info Zombie
The Vern at The Vern's Video Vortex
Steven Shaw at Watching The Dead
Kev D. at Zombie Hall 

     I encourage everyone to visit each of these fine websites, and you can stop by here at the Dog Farm for updates on all of the most recent posts, as well.  Just click any of the Pre'Ween 2014 graphics that currently litter the site for all of the latest!

     "Just one more thing..."
     

     This month's Movies At Dog Farm Virtual Drive-In is scheduled for Saturday, October 4th at 9:30 pm Eastern Standard.  We'll be watching Invasion Of The Bee Girls (1973).  Yeah, that's right... Invasion Of The Bee Girls.  If you're interested in joining us - and I know you are - click here for details.
    

Barking At The Vacuum Cleaner - Phantasm Exhumed, Pre'Ween 2014, And My Second Podcast Guest Shot

     I had already prepared a post about Dustin McNeill's fantastic new book Phantasm Exhumed: The Unauthorized Companion about a week ago, but then the text mysteriously vanished.  The labels and the title remained, but it seemed as though the body of the post took a trip through the Spacegate.  Cue the Phantasm Theme as you contemplate that...

"Dude, where's my Phantasm post?"

     Random thought: how cool would the Phantasm Sentinel Spheres be in 3-D?  Hell, even the halls of a mausoleum would translate pretty well in three dimensions.  I'm not greedy, though.  Just get Phantasm V: Ravager to me before year's end and I'll be tickled to death.

     But now back to the topic at hand...  

     Phantasm Exhumed: The Unauthorized Companion is quite simply one of the finest books of its kind I've ever had the pleasure of reading.  Author Dustin McNeill is the proprietor of the Phantasm Archives as well as the moderator of the Phantasm Community forums, and his new book covering the entirety of the franchise was clearly a labor of love.  Just check out the bullet points below from the jacket copy for a preview of all the goodies buried within.

 • An Introduction by Angus Scrimm 
• Exhaustive coverage of the film productions 
• More than 250 rare photographs, many never-before-seen 
• Information on deleted scenes and script changes 
• Unprecedented insights into effects, props & set construction 
• Rare letters, memos and production artifacts 
• Excerpts from Angus Scrimm's 1977 set journals 
• Sections on Phantasm 1999, the remake and Phantasm Forever
• New details and photos from the upcoming Phantasm: Ravager! 
• Tips and tricks for better embalming (just kidding)


     Phantasm Exhumed: The Unauthorized Companion is deserving of a spot on any fan's bookshelf.  It's so detailed, well-researched, and enthusiastic that it might even convert a few non-fans.  My only complaint is that I would have liked to see this in a hardcover edition with a few of those 250 rare photographs in color.  The good news, though, is that the softcover edition keeps the price down to a modest $18.89 on Amazon, so there's no excuse not to order a copy for Pre'Ween.

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     Wait...what?  Pre'Ween has crept up on us again?  Why yes, it has.

     What is Pre'Ween, you may ask?  In simplest terms it's a month long celebration of Halloween, but there's more to it than that.  Take a moment to check out Ghoulish Gary Gatorbait And The Horrible Truth About Pre'Ween from last year's celebration for info about the origin of Pre'Ween, then check the link at the end of that post for a deeper examination by Carl at The Info Zombie.  You can also just click the Pre'Ween badge to the right to see a listing of all the posts - mine and Carl's - from 2013.

     We're planning on having some fun with Pre'Ween again this year, and I'll keep that badge link updated with all the new posts from this October.  It seems likely that Matt at Midnight Cinephile will be joining in this year, too.  If anyone else would like to participate, just let me know in the Comments below, or shoot me an email at brandonearly8888@gmail.com.

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     ...and speaking of The Info Zombie, Carl has graciously requested that I join him again for my second guest shot on The Info Zombie Podcast somewhere around the start of Pre'Ween.  In my first guest shot Carl and I discussed the Phantasm franchise.  Odd coincidence, huh?  I'm tellin' ya, it's that friggin' Spacegate swallowing its own tail.  I will, of course, be sure to mention the new episode here as soon as it becomes available.  Until then you can catch up on all of the recent episodes of Carl's podcast by visiting The Info Zombie website or downloading them for free from iTunes.

     I'm sure one topic of conversation on that upcoming episode will be why Carl never mentioned to me that he was about to publish his new book Defying A Diety: The Chronicles Of Harold Pringle.  Believe me, folks, if I ever actually publish anything, you will never hear the end of it.

     Defying A Diety is available now in a Kindle Edition from Amazon, so click the link above to add it to your cart!

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The Info Zombie Podcast #73 - Movies At Dog Farm Finally Succumbs To The Subjugation Of The Pod People

Movies At Dog Farm shows its new face after assimilation. 

     Movies At Dog Farm hasn't branched out into podcasting yet, but I finally got my first taste this week when Carl at The Info Zombie invited me to guest on The Info Zombie Podcast #73.  Carl and I discuss how we became acquainted with each other, how this blog first came to be, the upcoming Movies At Dog Farm live event, the Phantasm franchise, and just exactly how friggin' old I am.  Hint: VHS didn't exist back when I first dipped a toe in the bloody pool of horror.

     Thanks to Carl for inviting me to guest on his show and effectively busting my podcast cherry.  It was a pleasure.  If you're so inclined, you can listen to the end result below or by downloading The Info Zombie Podcast #73 on iTunes.  Be sure to subscribe to Carl's podcast while you're visiting iTunes, and check out all of the other goodies on display at The Info Zombie website, as well.