YEP-YEP YEP-YEP-YEP let’s do this thang! Zombie Zane here stepping in for the lovely Sasha Slaughter this week as I review episode three in the Masters of Horror series. So kick on back, make yourself uncomfortable and let me tell you my take on episode three, "Dance of the Dead."
As I mentioned, ‘Dance of the Dead’ is the third installment in the Masters of Horror series. It’s directed by Tobe Hooper (ya gotta know that name by now) and written by Richard Matheson. It’s original air date was November 11, 2005. This episode stars Robert Englund (now you better know that name) and a couple of other people that I don’t really know about. Except for Ryan McDonald. I do know him.
This episode takes place in a postapocalyptic world just after World War III. The story revolves around a young waitress named Peggy who decides to rebel against her over protective mother by going with a group of punk looking kids for a night at the Doom Room. Which the afore mentioned Robert Englund is the MC and owner of. Now the Doom Room just ain’t your typical postapocalyptic club. Hell to tha NAW! This certain club has a different kinda of entertainment. And no, I’m not talking zombie lap dances. Although, that may be cool. Just thinking....Ok, I got off point. Sorry. We’ll delve into zombie lap dances another time. Back to the Doom Room. As I was saying, this isn’t your ordinary club. The entertainment is a bunch of dancing reanimated corpses! Pretty neat, yes? And Peggy gets another HUGE jolt when she recognizes that one of the dancing dead is somebody from her past...(Cue the dramatic music now.) I could tell you who it is, but that would fuck up the whole episode. It’s better to have just enough than to have to much. That’s my opinion in anyway. So if you wanna find out who the person from Peggy’s past is, than I suggest you hit Netflix and give episode three a gander. One more little tidbit about this episode: Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan scored the episode, so if you’re a fan of him, you’ll wanna check that out as well.
Ok, that’s the plot, I guess it’s time for my rating. I give this episode a 2.75 out of a possible 5. Not my favorite in the series, there are worse ones. And we’ll be reviewing those as well. I think next week Sasha will be back doing this part and the next episode in the series is ‘Jenifer.’ At least I think that’s the next one. I’m too lazy to look it up just now. Sorry.
Ok, there ya have it. Episode three in the Masters of Horror series. Until next time, take care, stay a-scared and I am out.
WELL GODDAMN HERE I AM!! What’s good? Zombie Zane here coming at ya live and always direct from the seven six one oh seven. This week at DEH we’re talking about alien abductions, the film ‘FIRE IN THE SKY,’ and I’m gonna be giving you my top ten horror/sci-fi movies. And of course we’ll be reviewing episode three in the Masters of Horror series. I know that MOH doesn’t have jack shit to do with our main topic, but who cares. Our blog, our rules. So why not kick on back and check out this weeks shit. It’s good and you will love it!! But on second thought, this episode of MOH DOES have a sci-fi element to it. SHIT, we rule! Not really, it was just a happy coincidence.
As I said in the afore mentioned paragraph, I’m gonna give you a list of my top ten cross genre horror films. Now on an average, I’m not a huge fan of pulsars, quasars, and moons and shit like that. The sci-fi genre is not one of my favorite genre’s but when you add the horror element into it, ehh, it gets better. And there are
a shit load of good horror/sci-fi films out there. So, on that note, let me give you my list:
ZOMBIE ZANE’S TOP TEN HORROR/SCI-FI MOVIES
10. At the number ten spot ya gotta have 1983's "TWILIGHT ZONE: THE MOVIE." Some of the names associated with this film of short stories are as follows...John Landis, Joe Dante, and of course, one Mr. Steven Spielberg. My favorite one of these shorts has got to be the one with the kid who can wish for something and make it happen. Remember his sister with no mouth? CREEPY!! And remember the story with the small creature who was fucking shit up on the wing of the airplane? MORE CREEPY!! And what about this line..."Wanna see something really scary?" Fucking classic!
9. Coming in at the 9 we got the film "THE FLY" from 1986. This film stars Jeff Goldblum and is directed by David Cronenberg. It also stars Geena Davis by the way. Ya can’t have a horror/sci-fi list without one or two monster movies and this one had to make the cut. Nothing better than a half fly- half man puking up acid everywhere and losing various body parts. And by the way, the original film isn’t that bad either so ya may wanna look into that as well.
8. Monsters, monsters and more monsters! Another monster movie that had to make the cut is 2008's American made monster movie, "CLOVERFIELD." Another one of those (now famous) found video tape deals. I must admit, it was a little over-hyped for me but nonetheless, I liked it. It was kinda cool to see a monster besides Kong and Godzilla fuck up New York. Plus this movie has a killer soundtrack.
7. Returning once again to the 80's, how about the film, "VIDEODROME." Another offering written and directed by David Cronenberg. This outer body horror/sci-fi flick stars James Woods and Deborah Harry (a.k.a. Blondie) This movie deals with mind control and conspiracies and is in my humble opinion, (was) a bit ahead of its time. So if you happen to stumble upon a TV channel that broadcasts extreme violence and torture, STAY AWAY!! Or you’ll end up like Max Renn.
6. Ok, out of the 80's and into the 2000's with the movie, "PANDORUM." Dennis Quaid and Ben Foster head up the cast in this sci-fi/horror thriller. Now this movie got shit on pretty good due to the convoluted plot but still, it had an element of horror in my opinion. I mean fast moving outer space creatures, dead bodies, and the possibility of going insane. If that ain’t horror, shiiiiiit. Pretty trippy stuff, Jack.
5. It would not, COULD NOT, be a true horror/sci-fi list without the movie, "ALIEN." Ridley Scott directed this iconic film which went on to spur three other films and even the whole AVP thing. (Which, eat ass.) But I digress. This film was everything you could possibly want in a horror/sci-fi feature. I’ll never forget the first time I saw the ‘chest burster’ burst out of that poor dudes gut. I could practically write a book about this film and what it meant to me but I’ll spare ya. Just if you haven’t seen it, YOU SUCK!! Just kidding. But all kidding aside, one of the best films ever made.
4. At the four, we have this here movie: 1998's "THE FACULTY." Horror master Robert Rodriguez and Kevin Williamson team up to make this high-school alien horror film. It’s one bad motherfucker. I loved everything about this movie. From the plot to the killer soundtrack this movie is one of my all time favorites in the cross genre horror.
3. Time to rock it old school! We goin’ back to the 50's y’all. 1953 to be exact. "WAR OF THE WORLDS." No, not the 2005 Spielberg remake. This is the real deal here. I know that there wasn’t CGI and all that cool shit that we have now, but this movie really is good. It has that old school nostalgic kinda feel to it. It’s the kinda film you watch on a Sunday afternoon and pig out on junk food, ya know? It’s considered to be the best sci-fi film of the 50's and it won an Oscar for special effects. So, on that note, GO WATCH IT!!
2. So if you’re still reading this, we’ve just about come to the end. And we’ve listed some pretty good films, no? Okay, the next to last film on my list, is the Carpenter remake of "THE THING." When I was a kid, this movie frightened the shit outta me!! Nasty little alien that takes control of your body and then discards you like a used condom. (Was that a bad analogy?) In any case, I DVR-ed this movie like a couple of days ago and plan to watch it over the weekend. You should join me.
1. Last but not least we have the film, "THE FOURTH KIND." This list wouldn’t be complete without an alien abduction movie now would it? Now this film is ‘loosely’ based on real events but it seems like now all the movies say that so you can really take it with a grain of salt. Nevertheless, this film stars Milla Jovovich as Dr. Abigail Tyler an Alaskan based psychotherapist whose patients video taped sessions offer some of the most disturbing counts of alien abduction.
Well, there it is. And kudos to you if you stuck with me for the whole list. And if you just scanned it and are still reading the end, well, kudos to you to I guess. That’s all I got for now, be sure and check out the talented Sasha Slaughter as she tells you about Travis Walton and the film, "FIRE IN THE SKY." Until next time, take care, stay a-scared and I am out.
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This week at Dead End Horror, we'll be talking Sci-Fi/Horror!! I'll be writing a little about alien abductions...oohhh! More specifically, I'll be telling you about the supposed alien abduction of Travis Walton. Ever hear of him?? Me either. So sit back, relax and as always, enjoy!
Travis Walton (born February 10, 1953) was an American logger who claims he was abducted by a UFO on November 5, 1975, while working with his crew in Arizona. Walton was nowhere to be found after several days of searching, but reappeared five days later, after the supposed abduction. His case received a large amount of publicity and is one of the best known cases of an alleged alien abduction. It was one of the few alien abdcution cases that actually had several eyewitnesses, all claiming to have seen the same thing.
The abduction was said to have happened a little after 6 p.m. Walton and his crew were getting ready to go home after a long day of work. They piled in to Mike Rogers' , (who was Waltons boss) truck for the drive back to Snowflake. Shortly after beginning the drive home, the men reported seeing a bright light from behind the trees. They drove closer to the light and claim to have seen a large silvery disc hovering above a clearing. They estimated it to be about eight feet high and twenty feet in diameter. Rogers slowed the truck to get a better look, as he did Walton jumped from the truck and ran towards the disc. The other man shouted at Walton to get away from the disc and to get into the truck, but Walton stood there, awestuck and unable to move.
Walton was almost completely under the disc when it started to make high pitched mechanical noises and moving from side to side. Walton started to retreat from the object but a beam of blue-green light emanated from the disc and struck Travis. The crew reported that Walton then "rose a foot in the air, his arms and legs outstretched, and shot back stiffly some 10 feet, all the while in the glow of the light. His right shoulder hit earth and his body spralwed limply over the ground". Waltons boss was convinced that he was dead, so they drove away quickly afraid that the disc was chasing their truck. After some discussion, the men decided to go back and look for Walton. After a half hour of searching, he was nowhere to be found.
At about 7:30 one of Waltons coworkers called the police and initally claimed that one of their loggers was missing, not elborating on the fact that he was taken by a silvery disc. The men told their story to Sheriff Ellison, who later said "If they were acting, they were awfully good at it". Ellison notified Sheriff Gillesepie and he told Ellison to keep the men there until he could get there and question them. Rogers insisted that they go back to where it all happened to search for Walton with tracking dogs. There were no dogs available, but they decided to return to the scene. Many of the crew were too upset to help in the search, so the Sheriff elected to go back to Snowflake and relate the bad news to friends and family.
Meanwhile, back at the scene, officers were getting suspicious of the story told by the crew. There was no physical evidence to back up their claim. More police and volunteers arrived to help search for Walton, they found no trace of him. By the morning of November 6, several officals and volunteers continued to scour the area where Walton had went missing. Still there was no trace of him anywhere and the police were beginning to think this was a hoax made up to cover up a and accident or a homicide. After interviewing some of the crew, police found out that a few of them had an interest in UFO's and they were sure that all of this was a prank being played by Walton and his coworkers. The Sheriff suggested that the crew had a light a balloon and released it at the appropriate time, trying to fool everyone.
On Monday November 10, Rogers's remaining work crew took a polygraph test. They were asked if they had intentionally caused harm to Travis, if they knew where his body was buried, and if they were making up the UFO story. The polygraph tests proved conclusive, thus proving, for at at least the time being, that all of the men were being truthful about their knowledge of the incident. Following the outcome of the polygraph tests, Sheriff Gillespie announced that he accepted the UFO story and that "Theres no doubt they are telling the truth".
Just before midnight on November 10, Grant Neff, who was married to Travis' sister, received a phone call from someone who claimed to be Walton. He said the caller spoke in a weak voice and told Neff that he was at a gas station and for him to come and get him. Grant was doubtful and thought it was a prank until the caller got hysterical and told him that he needed help. Neff arrived to find Walton collapsed in a telephone booth, still wearing the exact same clothes he disappeared in. On the way back to Snowflake, Walton repeatedly mumbled about terrifying eyes and seemed scared and anxious. After finding out that he had been gone not for a few hours, but for five days, Walton was stunned and stopped speaking.
The Walton family kept Travis' return a secret, which led to charges that he was covering up evidence that he didn't want the police to see. Following a promise made to the authorities, Duane Walton drove Travis to Pheonix, Arizona to get a medical examination. The Waltons then learned that the doctors they went to see, were actually hypnotherapists. They left and went home. Duance received a phone call from Coral Lorenzen of APRO, a civilian UFO research group. She promised to have Travis examined by two certified medical doctors. Duane agreed and the examination was to begin on tuesday at 3:30 p.m. The examination revealed that Walton was in relatively good health except for a small red spot on Travis' elbow that looked like a hypodermic injection and the fact that his urine lacked ketones, which should have been higher due to him not eating for five days.
Travis agreed to tell Sheriff Gillepie his tale of abduction. He said the last thing he remembered was being struck by a beam of light. When he woke he was in a reclined bed, which he thought was a hospital bed. He realized he wasn't alone in the room, he saw three greyish figures in orange jumpsuits surrounding him. He realized these figures weren't human. He recalls them being below five feet, with large bald domed shaped heads, and looking like fetuses with enormous eyes, almost all brown with no white in them. He said it seemed like their eyes just stared right through him. He said he feared for his safety and jumped to his feet, ordering the creatures away. He said he grabbed a glass like cylinder from the shelf tried to break it to make it into a makeshift knife, but found the object unbreakable. After waving the cylinder and shouting at the creatures, they simply left the room.
Travis then said he left the "exam room" and went down a hallway which led to another spherical room with only a high-backed chair in it. He said he sat in the chair and was using a lever on the chair that brought up a screen of stars on the ceiling, he said after a while of playing with the lever he decided to stop when he saw a rectangle shape in the corner of the room, which he thought might be a door. On his way to the door, he heard a sound behind him and thought it was one of the creatures. Travis reported that instead he was pleasntly surprised to see a tall human figure wearing blue coveralls and a glass helmet. Travis said he asked the man a number of questions, and the man only looked at him and smirked. He motioned for Travis to follow him, so he followed the man down a hallway which lead to a door and a steep ramp down into a large room.
Travis was lead into yet another room, this one containing three more humans, a woman and two men. These three weren't wearing helmets, so Travis began questioning them, and they responded with the same smirk as the man with the helmet. They led him to a small table and had him sit down. Travis says he realized the woman was holding a device that looked like an oxygen mask in her hand, but before Travis could fight her off she placed it over his mouth and he passed out. When he woke up, he was a gas station in Heber, Arizona. The disc shaped craft was hovering over the highway and after a moment, the craft shot away in the night sky. After hearing the story of Waltons abduction, Sheriff Gillepie thought that perhaps Travis may have been hit on the head and drugged, then taken to a real hospital which he had mistaken for the alien spacecraft.
Gillepie asked for Travis to take a polygraph test and promised to keep it a secret. Duane agreed and they drove to Scottsdale, Arizona where they first met with APRO consultant James Harder. He hypnotized Walton and tied to get as much information as he could about the five days Walton was missing. It was reported that Travis encountered an impenetrable mental block and said that if the regression continued, he would die. Meanwhile, the two hypnotherepists Duane had taken Travis to see before, claimed that they talked to Walton for two hours and found many inconsistencies in his story. Gillespie had arranged for the polygraph, but somehow news of the polygraph was leaked and Duane Walton canceled, thinking that the Sheriff had somehow leaked the news. The National Enquirer wanted Walton to take a polygraph test and arranged for one after Duane made them promise that they have the power to veto any disclosure to the public.
The polygraph examiner insisted that Travis failed and at one point tried to cheat. He was asked if he had "colluded" with anyone to perpertrate a hoax. Travis said he didn't know the word so the examiner explained that it meant planning or conspiring with others. After completing the exam, it was determined that Travis was lying. The examiner said that "Based on his reaction on all charts, it is the opinion of the examnier that Walton, in concert with others, is attempting to perpertrate a UFO hoax, and he has not seen any spacecraft". He also reported that Travis would his breath, in an effort to "beat the machine."
In 1978 Walton published The Walton Experience in which he had his own narrative for the aftermath. And in 1993 Waltons book was adapted into the film Fire in the Sky directed by Robert Liberman and starring D.B. Sweeney as Travis Walton. The film found moderate success and ufologists' complaints about inaccuracies and exaggerations. Travis Walton and Mike Rogers made a few promotional appearances for the film and appeared on Larry King where he and Walton debated with Klass, who called Rogers a "goddamned liar". At the time of the Fire in Sky's release, Walton re-issued The Walton Experience under the same title as the film.
After the inital publicity subsided, Walton remained in Snowflake and became foreman at the lumber mill. He married Dana Rogers and they had several children. Over the years, Travis has occasionally appeared at UFO conventions or television specials. In 2009 he appeared on the game show Moment of Truth and when asked if he had really been abducted in 1975, he responded yes, an answer that the polygraph examiner had determined to be deceptive. In a 2011 interview, Walton revealed that he he is still suffering from post traumatic stress from the abduction.
Umm...wow!! To be honest, I don't believe this at all. I'm more of a believe it when I see it kind of person, you know?? I mean, some parts seem relatively believeable but then theres the back and forth between whether or not he lied during the polygraph test. What I'm wondering is what happened between the time he passed out from the oxygen mask thinger and woke up at the gas station?? Did they anal probe him? Did they dress him up in girl clothes? Did they touch his fun bits?? IDK!! So, anyway, theres all the things you need to know about Travis Walton, supposed alien abductee. Now don't forget to check out Zombie Zanes list of top Sci-fi/Horror movies and his review Masters of Horror episode 3: Dance of the Dead. You'll know it before I type it, check back next for more new stuff at Dead End Horror. Thanks mucho!!
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The movie starts off in Snowflake, Arizona with a truck speeding out of the woods. The truck pulls into bar and five visibly shaken men get out of the truck and walk slowly into the bar. They sit down and Mike Rogers, the boss of the logging company that the men work for, goes to the pay phone and calls the police to report his co-worker and best friend Travis Walton missing. The Sheriff shows up and question the men tirelessly about what exactly happened. The men all tell the same story.
They tell the Sheriff that while on the way home they see bright red lights above the trees. They followed the lights to get a closer look. They stopped a few feet away from what looks like a saucer hovering in the sky. Travis immediately gets out of the truck and runs toward the saucer, trying to get a better look. The men in the truck yell for him to come back but Walton stands there staring at the sky. Just then a beam of blue-green lights comes from the craft and strikes Travis and he falls to the ground and doesn't move. Travis' co-workers get scared and they take off in the truck. They stop a few feet down the road and Mike tells everyone to get out because he's going back to get Travis. Upon returning there is no sign of Travis anywhere, or the saucer they saw in the sky.
The cops don't believe the story and they suspect that the men may have murdered Travis and are making this story up. The next morning there are volunteers, men on horses, dogs, and helicopters combing the woods where Travis disappeared. One of the dogs finds something buried in the ground, and they believe they found Travis Waltons body, but it turns out to be the skeletal remains of an animal. Mike Rogers runs into some little creeper named Jarvis who believes in UFO's and wants to hear his story so he gives Mike his card and tells him to call if he wants to talk.
Meanwhile the police are trying to get the men to confess to the murder of Travis Walton because no one believes their UFO story. The entire town is convinced they had something to do with the disappearance and possible death of Walton. The Sheriff of the town asks Mike and his men to take a lie detector test to prove their innocence, but they refuse. Dallis, one of Travis' co-workers isn't cooperating with the investigation so Mike and TC go to find him and ask him to cooperate and take the lie detector test with him and he agrees. The town is holding a meeting to talk about whats going on with Travis' disappearance. Everyone is convinced that Travis is dead and Mike and his crew are responsible. Just then Mike appears at the meeting and pretty much tells everyone to shut the fuck up and if they have anything to say, to say it to his face. No one says a word and he walks out.
The five men go to the police station to take lie detector tests. The examiner asks them questions about the night of Travis' disappearance and if they did actually see a saucer in the sky. All of the men have the same answers except for Dallis. His test was inconclusive so the Sheriff tells them to come back tomorrow to do it again. Mike spazzes and tells him they're not coming back. After they walk out of the police station the examiner reveals that aside from the inconclusive test, all of the men passed the polygraph test.
Mike goes home after the test and his wife tells him they've been getting prank phone calls for the past few days. The phone rings and Mike answers it. The voice on the other end says that he's Travis and that he's at a gas station and he needs help. Mike, Travis' brother, Mikes sister Dana, and TC go to see if it was infact Travis calling from a gas station in Arizona. They pass one gas station with pay phones but theres no one there. They think it was a hoax but Mike drives to another gas station in town and they pull in. Dana sees someone huddled up and naked by an ice machine and they all realize it's Travis. He's freaking out and screaming when people try to touch him so Mike calls the creepy UFO guy to come talk to Travis.
The UFO guy shows up and starts taking pictures of Travis and asking for a urine sample. A huge fight breaks out and Travis sits there, staring blankly out the window until he sees what looks like an alien handprint on the window, and he starts freaking out. They end up calling 911 and he's rushed to the hospital. By this time he's completely silent and as they wheel him to the ER he's having flashbacks of what happened to him. After he calms down, Mike visits him and admits to him that they left Travis after he was struck by the light beam and that he came back to look for him. Travis got angry that they left him and Mike told him that it was his fault, that if he hadn't have left the truck, it never would have happened.
Travis gets out of the hospital and runs into the Sheriff who accuses Travis of making up the story so he can sell it to the tabloids to get money. He says he doesn't believe Travis and he'll be there when Travis decides to tell him the truth. They have a welcome home party for Travis and he starts to have more flashbacks of his ordeal. They become intense and he freaks out and hides under a table. His flashbacks are of him waking up in a cacoon like thing and falling out of it, but he floats. On his way out of the room he's in, he stumbles across a dead human body in one of the cacoon things he was in. He freaks out and tries to get out of the room. He floats into another room filled with what he thinks are spacesuits, but actually turn out to be aliens. They wake up and catch him and then drag him down a narrow hallway.
They put him on a table and rip of his clothes and then wrap him in some type of latex. They cover his whole body, including his face. Then one alien uses a metal object to cut out a whole in the latex covering his mouth, and a whole to expose an eye. They put some type of brown gooey stuff in his mouth and then they put a metal tool down his throat. They then pry his eye open and this white milky stuff goes into his eye. A metal laser comes from the ceiling and attaches itself to the thing in his mouth and a tiny drill comes out of it and goes towards his exposed eye, just before it reaches his eye, he wakes up in the hospital psychologists room.
He told the shrink and his close friends and family what happened and the shrink believes he's telling the truth. The Sheriff heard the whole thing but is still convinced they are lying and says he'll be there when they decide to stop lying. Fast forward two and a half years later and Travis is married to Mikes little sister Dana and they have a little boy and a girl on the way. Mike stopped talking to Travis the day at the hospital when he told Travis this whole thing was his fault. Travis decides to visit Mike and try to talk to him. They go for a ride and Travis takes Mike to the place where he was abducted. Travis admits that it is his fault and he never should have gotten out of the truck. He tells Mike he's not angry with him and they become friends again. AWWWWWW!!
Although I don't really know if I believe that this happened, this movie was actually pretty good. The actors were great and the acting itself was believeable, which is important. The special effects weren't amazing, it was 1993 afterall, but they looked real and the aliens were hella creepy! The scenes of his flashbacks where the aliens were experimenting on him were great. They showed everything the aliens did and it looked so real. There were some differences between the movie and what Walton described happened to him. The writers of the movie actually got complaints from Ufologists because they said it was exaggerated and some of it was inaccurate. One of the most inaccurate parts of the movie was his time spent in the UFO. It has almost no resemblance to what Walton said actually happened. Overall I'd give this a 2.75 out of 5. It was pretty good and I actually enjoyed watching, it kept me wanting to know what was going to happen next. So there you have it gals and ghouls. Don't forget to check out Zombie Zanes top Sci-fi/Horror movies and his review of Masters of Horror episode 3: Dance of the Dead. And as always faithful readers, check back next week for new stuff here at Dead End Horror.
