All posts by Andrew Swartz

I am a life long fan of popular culture. This web site is filled with links to clips of musical, movie, and media video clips of things I have found of interest over the years. I hope you find some of this stuff to your liking. Drop me a line and let me know.
action, end of the world, monster movie, mysterious places, science fiction, science fiction films, suspense

THEM – (1954) – Regular Ants Are Bad Enough!

Leave a comment

A real creepy premise in this flick:  giant, mutated ants are on the loose and stalking victims in isolated areas of the God forsaken desert!

I bring you this cinematic, sci-fi gem because of a recent summer time invasion of the small variety of ants in our house in pursuit of the cat’s food.  These little beasts are annoying enough in their present miniature state as they scamper in all directions as you try to eradicate their presence inside your home.  In addition to the trouble of getting them picked up and removed, you get the sinister feeling that the insects are crawling all over you!  Imagine how you’d feel if the ants in question were 10 or more feet in length?

This is a classic science fiction film from the 1950’s that postulates that exposure to radiation could mutate a small ant into a formidable, potentially man destroying monster.  And what if there were a nest of these giants?

You get the idea.  Arm your self with a flame thrower and an automatic weapon and you may stand a chance of survival against these denizens from some unnamed Hell!  Give it a look and drink up the lovely desert studio set ups!  Some definitely scary set pieces crop up in this engaging science fiction thriller.

action, comic books, end of the world, entertainment, fantastic television, FAntasy films, Horror, mysterious places, outer space, scary tv, science fiction, science fiction films, star trek

HARLAN ELLISON – R.I.P.

Leave a comment

Legendary science fiction and fantasy writer Harlan Ellison has passed away.  Call him an iconoclast, outspoken, a larger than life character who didn’t suffer fools, especially those he felt tampered with the integrity of his work.  He reached a settlement with CBS 40 years after his script for “Star Trek”-TOS, “City on the Edge of Forever” had been delivered to reclaim his share of the profits generated from his work.  He had more impressions on the television industry collected in his series “The Glass Teat”.  Acidic observations to say the least.

I count Ellison as an early influence in my life.  He was outrageous, profane, and definitely embodied a punk sensibility.  He didn’t take shit from anybody and let the world know it.  When I was maybe a teen or 12 years old, the years recede rapidly, I found out that Ellison would be in town at a book store reading from his latest work.  I got my dad to bring me down there and crowded in to the small store to be in the Man’s presence.  He read from his book and the profanity flowed.  It felt a little awkward with my dad there but he understood the content much better than I could hope to!  A good memory.

I highly recommend the novella “I Have No Mouth And I Must Scream”.  I reread it recently and it retains its nightmarish hold.  The idea has been a source of inspiration through the years.   Call it “Skynet” before it was known as such.  You’ll see what I mean.

Harlan Ellison was a great and influential writer.  Go find his stuff and enjoy!

documentaries, entertainment

Movie Cliches: Last Gasp Weapons Firing

Leave a comment

Have you ever noticed the greatly relied on device used in the movies where a character will emotionally discharge a big gun of some type?  I guess the reaction is supposed to characterize a last gasp burst of attack against a nearly undefeatable opponent (Independence Day: Resurgence).  Terminator Salvation has multiple examples of actors unloading weapons’ magazine after magazine in an attempt to stop a non human juggernaut.

To get an idea of what I am referring to, please go to the clip.  You can probably get away with this type of behavior at the target range.

haunted places, Horror, mysterious places, mysterious sounds, paranormal, unexplained phenomena

Theodore Roosevelt’s book “The Wilderness Hunter” Contains Scary Bigfoot Story – 1880’s

Leave a comment

I have come across this story a couple of times and see it as a truly chilling account of hunters turning into prey.  Hunters off in a very remote wilderness “trespass” across an unknown creature’s domain.  Things go very downhill from there. This story is given an air of credibility when it is discovered that this tale was relayed to Theodore Roosevelt by an old Mountain Man and included in Roosevelt’s book, “The Wilderness Hunter”.

After reading it several times over the years, it has yet to loose its fearsome, chilling effect.  Probably my favorite old time Bigfoot report.  Of course, come to find out that there are so many more stories of a related nature waiting to be told both modern and antique.  A little frightening when you think about it.

Well, pull up a blanket and prepare to have your flesh crawl as you listen to this vocal recital of Bauman’s story as presented by You Tuber Bob Gymlan.  My hat’s off to you, Sir.  A nice choice of material and a well done reading.

 

mysterious places, mysterious sounds, space mysteries, unexplained phenomena

Art Bell – R.I.P.

Leave a comment

Art Bell just passed away.  Bell was a very interesting fellow who started the Coast To Coast AM radio program.  Bell was a pretty good interviewer and would let his guests discuss their topics at length.  Bell followed his interests and featured a lot of paranormal topics and brought on guests who discussed UFO’s, Bigfoot, ghosts, and other strange phenomena.  I spent many a night listening to his program and getting scared out of my wits and avoiding sleep.  I have great memories of Bell, his beliefs and his sense of humor.

The clip I linked to is an example of the creepy subject matter so often featured on his show.  A true original who will be missed.

documentaries, FAntasy films, mysterious places, outer space, outer space sounds, science fiction, science fiction films

“A Dream Come True” – (1963)

Leave a comment

Twisted Russian fantasy film depicting a manned trip to Mars.  Propagandistic in tone in that Russian technology is capable of any space voyage/adventure in these films (see “Planeta Burg”) but the reality is that there was a long record of Russian space mission failures.  It seems that the plot formula in a lot of these films is that the homeland’s advanced technology delivers men to the Moon, Mars, and The Stars, but once there, things become unraveled and life or death situations materialize.  A drama is thus born.  There are no shortage of beautiful and eerie landscapes rendered in shockingly vivid color of the mysterious planet’s surface and a collection of weird, atmospheric synthesizer soundscapes of chirps and bleeps to accompany the strange sights.

The visuals, at times, remind me of Mario Bava’s “Planet of the Vampires”.  Not too shabby, in my book!

Break out the vodka and make it the main feature at your next movie night!

action, end of the world, horror movie

WORLD WAR 3 – (1982)

Leave a comment

Although this TV movie was released in 1982, it seems like history rolls around again and the Cold War is a timely topic again.  War and aggression in the World.  Some things never change.

A strategic United States “listening post” located near the Bering Strait becomes compromised by Russian agents masquerading as U.S. soldiers and suddenly a gateway opens up to an invading force to get onto American soil.  Hostilities have been brewing between both countries as a result of a grain embargo that would have otherwise fed starving Russian masses and then some KGB machinations take place which result in assassination and, Voila!  A standoff occurs between the two countries’ forces at an oil pipeline station.  Only the fate of both nations and maybe the rest of the world hangs in the balance.

Nice turn by David Soul who is best known for his beefcake turn as one of the cops in “Starsky and Hutch”.  He is tasked with the impossible role of being the commander of a tattered force of soldiers who are outnumbered by an invading horde.  There are the echoes of the American Revolution where guerilla warfare must be resorted to in order to cripple a superior force trying to kill you.  Not to be forgotten for his thespian skills is The Rock.  Hudson, that is, as the guilt ridden POTUS, appalled at the thought of World War 3 and the ensuing exchange of nuclear arsenals that is inevitable.  As you can well imagine, things don’t end well.

Horror, horror movie, monster movie, mysterious places, science fiction films, suspense, unexplained phenomena

THE MIST (2007) – PHANTASMAGORICAL BUMMER

Leave a comment

Watching “The Mist” again recently got me to thinking about the original source material, Stephen King’s novella, and the faint memories I had of reading it.  I watched the movie and then reread the story.  The movie is very faithful to the story.  But then there is that ending of the movie….

Once of the single most downer conclusions in popular culture storytelling, I would have to say.  Granted, the scenario is imagined in the story but not actually executed.  That grim prospect is dutifully carried out in the movie.  Oh, it is an awful choice to go down that path.  I suppose there is some solace for the rest of the town’s or country’s inhabitants by concluding it this way but there is also a great devastation for a few characters.

Anyway, the story concerns an unexplainable fog or mist descending on a Maine town and the unseen, monstrous “things” which hide in the white cover and attack the unwary.  A definite sense of dread hangs over this story and the hard choices which have to be made in order to survive the shadowy beasts and the crumbling humanity which results from the dire circumstances the characters find themselves in.  There truly is no easy way out of the situation.  Or answers.

I advise you to take the time to read King’s story and to also watch the movie.  Decide for yourself if one is preferable over the other.  I choose King’s written work.  Because the movie just kicks me in the balls.

haunted places, Horror, horror movie, monster movie, mysterious places, mysterious sounds, paranormal, unexplained phenomena

Are These The Worst Horror Films?

Leave a comment

Hello.  Back after a long absence of laying around.  So as not to strain myself too much, I am sharing a link for an article I found which talks about what the article considers the worst horror movies of all time.  I have to agree with a lot of them and then there are the many that I haven’t seen so I can’t really comment on those.

For one, I thought “The Darkness” was not that terrible.  I thought it had some good sequences which built up the tension of an unexpected demon settling in to a family’s home.  Slightly gave me the creeps.  It’s no “The Grudge” but then not every movie can make you shit your pants.

Go look at this:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/movies/gallery/50-worst-horror-films-of-all-time/ss-BBHSTlH?ocid=spartanntp

The actual video featured here is a very cool compilation of some of the most terrifying horror films.  If that makes any sense.  I haven’t done this for awhile.

 

action

Where Eagles Dare (1968)

Leave a comment

Great World War 2 set action adventure movie starring the unlikely combo of Richard Burton and Clint Eastwood.  Burton was a movie star at the time and Eastwood was suddenly hot after his run of spaghetti Westerns.  Why not toss them together and pour them into this macho, adrenaline-fueled blockbuster?  This picture clocks in at around 3 and a half hours but it certainly won’t seem so!  In the days before Star Wars and Indiana Jones, this movie was the shit.  Completely absorbing espionage caper where a team of Allied agents attempt to go deep behind German lines to recover an officer from a heavily fortified castle.  Gun play and explosions and acts of daring do galore.  This is perfect holiday fare where if you have an afternoon or evening to burn, you should try to take this adventure epic in.  Highly recommended.

halloween, Horror, horror movie, monster movie

The Curse of Frankenstein (1957) – Assorted Debauchery

Leave a comment

Gruesome Hammer Films reinterpretation of the classic Universal monster movie vehicle of a mad, maverick doctor and his attempts to bring life to dead bodies.  Made in 1957, this horror remake is a graphic, Technicolor chronicle of the despicable practices that Dr. Frankenstein engages in.  Portrayed as a kind of sadistic, cold-hearted deviant, Peter Cushing is marvelous as the doctor.  Cushing carries on an affair with his housekeeper even while his long suffering fiancé is sleeping upstairs in the castle.  Having previously promised the housekeeper marriage, as well, Cushing laughs in her face and says he never had any such intention.  When he learns that the housekeeper is pregnant and threatens exposing his behind closed door hobby of reanimating dead things, the good doctor locks the lass in the lab with the hideous creature and lets him rip her to pieces.  Christopher Lee is more a less seen as one of the unluckiest characters in movie history.  The “creature” never asked for this treatment but endures a horrific, miserably short lived existence.  The brute stumbles out of Frankenstein’s estate and out in to the countryside.  Killing at least one other unfortunate he has come across, the Creature is put out of its misery with a bullet to the head by Frankenstein’s assistant.  If that isn’t enough, Dr. Frankenstein brings the beast back to life and the brain damaged result is converted in to a shambling, semi obedient pet following Frankenstein’s commands.  It is a pathetic sight indeed.  Frankenstein’s dream of creating the perfect “Superman” does in fact turn into a compete failure.  This Hammer Films reboot makes that point quite painfully clear.

mysterious places, scary tv, suspense, unexplained phenomena

Kinda Creepy

Leave a comment

OK.  Maybe the visual equivalent of paint drying at times but a genuinely creepy situation of some unknown creature baying in the woods.  The second half, with the rocks being thrown, features some sort of grunting primate perhaps?  I think I am glad that I didn’t get to see what was making all the racket.  Sanity is a terrible thing to waste.  Hehe.

music, mysterious places, outer space, space mysteries, unexplained phenomena

Music Of The Spheres – Alien Composed?

Leave a comment

I recommend this Top Ten List of Strange Space Noise recorded over the years by scientists and researchers.  Marvel at the mutterings of an actual Black Hole!  Hear the astonishing sonic wash of space telemetry (Brief Interruption Here.  Here is an explanation of Space Telemetry:  Data Transmission Space telemetry transmits information in the form of a radio signal. Sensors on the spacecraft collect analog data–a photograph of Mars for example–and send it back to Earth. Early space telemetry systems used Pulse Position Modulation (PPM) and Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) to transmit data.) in all its glory!  You get the idea.  There was an audio CD set released some years back that offered NASA’s recordings of similar Sounds From Space.  There were four CD’s in the set!  But it was pretty cool stuff.  You might be hard pressed to recreate some of the sounds with a synthesizer.  Wonder what ever happened to it?  Maybe the Deep Space creators silently invaded my space and took it away from my undeserving hands.

halloween, pranks

Good Clean Fun?

Leave a comment

As that special time of year comes around once again, the Halloween pranksters start to emerge from their drafty crypts and share their enthusiasms.

Go to this link to find one such gag fester:

http://wjhl.com/2017/09/20/halloween-decor-prompts-911-call-owner-says-its-all-in-fun/

I know the line “Kids don’t try this at home” has been used to death but remember to always proceed with caution when engaging in such shenanigans.