Top five WTF moments in horror movie.

I love horror movies. Hell I've wrote about my favorite (and not so favorite). Watching American Horror Story Freak Show and freaking out at all the scenes of Stabby the Clown (I still refuse to call him Twisty) it got me into thinking of some of the biggest "what the fuck" moments I've seen in horror movies. So with Halloween in a week I thought I'd do another Top 5 horror movies, this time the biggest WTF momemnts.

Number 5: Misery - the hobbling scene
When I think of Kathy Bates and horror I think of this scene (and the nude hot tub scene she did in About Schmidt *wretch*). I remember watching this movie and getting terrified as Kathy Bates' character descended more and more into madness. Then this scene came up and as soon as that sledge hit poor Sonny Corleone's foot I was screaming in shared agony. But when she says "God I love you." I was effing done. To me movies like this will always scare the shit out of me more than gory ones.




Number 4: The Exorcist - spider crawl scene
Another of my favorite horror movies (I even sweded it) and this scene is seriously a huge WTF moment. This scene is just plain wrong. Something about seeing Regan walking backwards like that down the stairs is just plain wrong. This was cut out of the original theatrical release, but not because it terrified people so much as the legends say. It was cut because the special effects of the day weren't able to make the scene believable. The scene was reinserted later when the wires holding up the actress were digitally removed.




Number 3: Dead Alive - the lawnmower scene
Oh Peter Jackson, I love you man but after watching this movie I wonder how in the hell he was able to convince New Line to do Lord of the Rings. Don't get me wrong, I love Dead Alive, it's one of my favorite zombie movies, but going from this to LotR baffles me (yes I know he's done movies in between but still). That being said I had heard of this movie for years and the famous lawn mower scene. Let me just say Rick on Walking Dead could learn from this scene. Interesting bit of trivia here. This scene used over 300 liters of blood, a record for fake blood used in one scene.



Number 2: Scanners - head explosion
Something about this scene. I swear there are times where I wish I was Michael Ironside and I had his head exploding powers. I sometimes catch myself staring intently at someone annoying me, but the only thing that happens is I get a headache and a weird look from the person. That being said this is one of my favorite death scenes and definitely a WTF moment.



Number 1: The Shining - guy in dog costume
Oh Stanley Kubrick you bat shit insane man. I could have done an entire post dedicated to you (perhaps in the future I will) but I had to go with this scene from The Shining as when I first saw it I literally said "what the fuck?" The scene where Wendy is running wildly through The Overlook when she comes across a man in a dog costume getting real friendly with a guy in a suit. It was just so random and chaotic and made no sense. Only years later when reading the book did I find out that the man in the suit was a former owner of the hotel and the guy in the dog suit was his lover. The movie didn't go into this story, so I don't know if Kubrick had to cut the story or just threw this in just to add to the chaos of the scene. Whatever the case it's the most bat shit fucked up scene I've ever seen. Even the screen clip shot below is just fucking weird. Scenes like this are why Kubrick was the best at what he did. Mind fucking with you.



So that's it. Bit different I know. Have a favorite WTF scene of your own? Let me know. I love a good mind fuck.

The return to the Fright Night Scream Park

Remember how I had mentioned all the strange phone calls I had been receiving for the past week or so on the Weird Fresno hotline? A woman kept calling me and leaving cryptic messages about how she needed my help, but wouldn’t say what she needed exactly. Curiosity got the best of me and I finally called her back. Little did I know what a huge mistake I was making.

The woman had said she needed help with a haunting and that she wanted to meet me in Clovis. She gave me an address that was at the intersection of Shaw and Clovis Avenues. It should have rung a bell with me, but I blame the lack of sleep (created by 2:00 am phone calls from said woman) for me not picking up on things sooner. When I got there I realized the error in judgement I had made. I was at the Fright Night Scream Park.

A place I had promised myself that I would never visit again.

I was already there, so I grabbed my camera that I always keep in my car and walked towards the entrance. I was hoping this was still someone who needed my help, but at this point my gut feeling was that it was a trap. As I approached the front doors, they opened and out walked a pretty young, pale woman. She said she and the other “residents” were expecting me and was glad their little trick worked. At this point I knew I was screwed.

She beckoned for me to follow her in and she wanted to show me the upgrades they had made to the locale, stating that she was for sure certain that I would meet my demise there and join their ranks as one of the undead. Boy do I know how to piss someone off or what?

The first attraction we went to was Psychosis 3D. I figured if I could get through the creepy clowns right away then I’d be able to handle anything. You think I would have learned by now, but no. The clowns were way worse than last year, and of course they remembered me (Rule #31: never piss off a clown). I was able to shoot a bit of video; I apologize for the shaky footage as I was running for my life.

After that little sunshine filled trip to the crazy farm, my guide grabbed me and dragged me to the Necropolis. She told me it had been “revamped” and laughed. To me this pretty much meant I was screwed. Even worse was that this was where my guide “lived” and said she wanted me to join her there. I’ll be honest and was tempted as like I said she was pretty cute, but I avoided temptation and declined her offer. Which was probably a good thing.

After that little excursion through hell we went to what was now called Quarantine. Last year it had been called Desecration, but apparently some sort of virus outbreak had occurred and now they were all zombie cannibals. Oh good, I thought, cause regular cannibals aren’t bad enough. What I find humorous about this was the glee my guide had for trying to have me meet my demise. You’d think I’d somehow wronged her. But no, she just didn’t like me. This bit of video I shot proves that.

We finally got out of there and the Asylum was last on her list of places to kill me. And unlike my guide from last year, she went in there with me (I liked her, she had gumption). Yeah this was even more bat shit crazy than last year. I don’t want to give anything away, but whoever decorated that place has some serious issues. A little Prozac might help, just a suggestion is all. I was able to get some footage of the attraction, but the “guests” there weren’t too happy about this.

As I left the Asylum I head something that terrified me . Somehow the Fresno Beehive has teamed up with the Fright Night Scream Park to do a tweet up (or screamup as they called it). The event is on October 21, at 7:00 pm and ticket prices are half off what they normally are. But you have to RSVP to @FresnoBeehive to be on the list and follow @FrightNightSP (even the undead are on Twitter it seems). For more info I’m linking the page to the Beehive’s blog. Apparently there’s a pre-tweetup going on at Rio Grill in Sierra Vista Mall starting at 5:30. Most likely I will go as I want to see what the hell is going on. Well that and I want to see if the offer to join my now former guide there as a resident is still good or not. Hey, I can’t help it. As I said, she was cute and spoke with an accent.

And somehow I was able to make it through all four attractions yet again. I’d like to say it was because of my guile, wit, and charm. But we all know it was due to sheer luck. As I was walking out of the attraction (ok running like a scared little girl) I saw a familiar looking gentleman.

As an old school Michael Jackson fan I was glad to see him working again. Mr. Jackson was generous enough to give me several free one attraction passes to the Fright Night Scream Park (I don’t think this are good for the screamup as that’s a different event). I’ll be posting something mid week regarding giving away the passes. So stay tuned.

How to Make a Zombie

Now anyone who has met me knows I love zombies. Zombie movies, zombie video games, zombie protests on Blackstone and Shaw, you name it. Something about the mindless undead chasing you with only the thought of eating your brains on your mind terrifies me. But zomies are just fictional right? They can't really exist can they?

Are these real zombies? Photo courtesy of Philip Kromer from Flickr.

According to a recent article on AOL News, zombies are definitely real and they exist mainly in Haiti. But there's a difference. They aren't the undead, just innocent victems drugged to a point that they have no willpower and are forced into a life of slave labor. And it's all due to voodoo.

First a voodoo priest or bokor needs to find a victim. There was a case of a man from Miami visiting Haiti and was dancing with a lonely looking Haitian woman. He felt a little prick on his arm but thought nothing of it. The next thing he knew he had woken up and was still wearing his suit. But he was covered in dirt and was in a field holding a hoe. Luckily he regained conscsciousness and was able to make it back to Miami. Most aren't that lucky.

The main ingredient in the "zombie potion is a poison extracted from puffer fish, tetrodotoxin. Basically what tetrodotoxin does is it inhibits the nerves in a person to the point where it paralyzes them and lowers their metabolic rate. Once the toxin has taken effect, the vicitm for all intents and purposes appears dead and is buried (why an autopsy is not done wasn't said, but I imagine in Haiti these things aren't done for everyone). The bokor then unearths the body and applies a paste of sorts to keep the victem in a trancelike state, and they are now a zombie and forced to do slave labor.

Still, turning people into zombie isn't that common in Haiti and the other countries that voodoo is widely praticed in. And it's not like there is an assembly line of zombies (imagine the union on that one), but most likely some bokors who lack the morals that would prevent others from creating a zombie. Still it's interesting how in this modern day and age that there is a magical potion out there that can turn someone into a zombie.

Now to find the recipe.

Full source: AOL News

Written by Lee Speigel

Zombies to sue police for wrongful arrest

An appeals court in the northern United States has allowed a group of zombie-dressed protesters to press ahead with their lawsuit against police who arrested them for disorderly conduct.

The Minneapolis appeals court in Minnesota overturned a lower court in finding the group of seven zombies had been wrongfully detained during a 2006 shopping mall protest against consumerism.

The three-judge panel ruled Minneapolis police lacked probable cause to arrest the demonstrators for disorderly conduct.

At the time of the protest, the zombies were wearing make-up including white face powder, fake blood and black circles around their eyes that gave them a "living dead" look.

They lurched stiff-legged through the halls of the mall, urging shoppers to "get your brains here" and "brain clean-up in aisle five".

The protesters carried audio equipment in various bags, including loudspeakers and wireless phone handsets, which police described as "simulated weapons of mass destruction".

But the appeals court sided with the protesters in ruling police had no reason to imprison them for two nights simply for "dressing as zombies and walking erratically in downtown Minneapolis".

"An objectively reasonable person would not think probable cause exists under the Minnesota disorderly conduct statue to arrest a group of peaceful people for engaging in an artistic protest by playing music, broadcasting statements and dressing as zombies," the appeals court ruled.

The decision allows the protesters to revive their lawsuit against Minneapolis and its police.

Original story can be found here.

Zombie protest in Fresno, CA

As I had mentioned yesterday, there was to be some sort of gathering of zombies at the intersection of Blackstone and Shaw area. Armed with my camera, my iPhone for video, and a hell of a lot of courage I headed to the area around 6:00. When I got there I was a bit surprised. There were actually two groups that were protesting. Feeling that the safer group was the one against zombie rights I headed to that one first. Not really sure if that was a a smart idea or not.


The anti-zombie rights group of people

Upon arriving at their corner, I was greeted with anti-zombie chants of how they were taking people's jobs, brains, etc. I talked to them for a few minutes and was even able to get some video asking them to share their views on why zombies should not have the same rights that us living have.



After recording that bit of video I decided to muster enough courage and head across Blackstone where the (larger) group of zombies were at. I figured if they came after me I could just run into traffic and let Fresno drivers take care of them for me. As usual I was wrong.


This is what waited for me across the street.


At this point I started to change my mind, they looked
a bit hungry.

As soon as I arrived at the zombie corner, they eyed me rather hungrily. Thankfully when I told them I was there to document their plight, they backed off. I tried asking questions but all I got was a series of moans, grunts, and cries for "Braaainnnnssss". As I read their signs I realized all they wanted was equal rights that us living have. From jobs, to fair treatment. And these zombies seemed to come from all walks of life.


Even the undead are hurt by the current
recession. If I had kids I'd hire this one to
look after them.

Feeling a bit safer now I decided to take even more photos and some video. Apparently that was a bad idea.



The only way I had escaped that was that a car had mistakenly turned into the parking lot where the zombies were at. There were a group of people in the car and thankfully the zombies turned to these new treats allowing me to get to a safe distance.


I almost pitied these poor people, but they should
have been more aware of their surroundings.


Luckily the group got away. What you don't see is
the carcass of a zombie being dragged from their
back bumper.

At this point I realized I had better get the hell out of there. I thought I would do one more video just to show the plight these poor zombies were going through as I still felt sorry for them. Once again I found out that recording video of zombies is a bad idea.



Thankfully I was able to get out of there with no zombie bites and my brain still intact (though if it was intact before I had shown up is debatable). As I was leaving I noticed several zombies (and even a few of the living) holding up signs for a Halloween attraction called Fright Night Scream Park. Apparently this is where both groups will be staying during the month of October (along with other groups of friends apparently). For more info you can go to their website here. I'm going to try to venture to there next week just to see what exactly is going on.

Zombies to invade Fresno today!

Could road signs like this be a daily occurrence in Fresno? Let's hope not.

I get plenty of strange e-mails here at Weird Fresno. From people claiming to have seen Bigfoot in their back yard, to seeing lights in the sky. But after doing this for over a year now, I recieved the strangest e-mail yet. Zombies are to invade Fresno today.

You read correctly. The walking dead are in Fresno.

Now I'm not really sure what is going to happen. The e-mail I sent was rather cryptic. All I was told is that there is to be a gathering of zombies on one of the corners of Blackstone and Shaw today from 5:00 to 6:30 or so. Nothing else was said. Blackstone and Shaw has been known lately for protest gatherings. Could the walking dead be protesting something? And why here in Fresno?

Whatever the case may be, this blogger of all things weird and completely bat shit insane intends to find out. I'll be armed with a camera, a video recorder, and a sawed off shot gun. Expect a post tomorrow of what happened. Assuming I don't get bit and join their ranks. Or you can check out for yourself what is going on this evening, if you have the stomach for such things.