He's lost his stomach...

The Missing Guts prop is a rarity these days and to be honest, I don’t have much info to share. Here’s what I do know…

Source Info: Mine was handed down to me in a large dumping of Halloween props and I unfortunately didn’t get a lot of background info. The prop’s name is Missing Guts and it’s at least a few years old. I don’t know the retail price but I’m pretty sure it wasn’t cheap.

Missing Guts!

Design: It’s hard to find props like this nowadays. Many items you see in stores are made with cheaper materials and less design detail – but not this guy! The body parts and gore are shaped really well and the paint job looks like it was hand painted.

Dissembled, this prop comes in 5 pieces (see photo gallery below.) All of the parts fit nicely together with strong metal tubing. Because of this tubing, the prop has some weight to it and that’s a good thing. Assembling him can be a bit tricky if you start with the wrong part or if you don’t have a helper. It’s best to assemble is with him laying on his back. Attach all of the parts and then carefully stand it up. The weight keeps everything together and it wont tip over easily.

Animation: This is a static prop so there’s no animation to it. The prop is gesturing as if he had just punched his fist into his stomach and now he’s ripping out his guts. Lovely!

Final Thoughts: I’m thrilled to own this prop and I would appreciate any additional info anyone can provide.

Note – If you look at the close-up of this guys face in the photo gallery, you’ll notice some blood dripping down his face and on his nose. I believe this is fake blood added by the previous owner. It’s a good match if that ’s the case!

Missing Guts Prop - Photo Gallery

Here you'll find several photos of this prop in all it's bloody gore. I've also included a shot of it before assembly. More photos are available upon request!

8 Photos

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Pros: Attractive Design, Sturdy Construction, Unique Concept
Cons: Assembly
Best Uses: Home Haunt, Pro Haunt
Bottom Line: Buy it if you can find it!

Frankie's hurting...

Frankenstein is a classic in the horror world. He’s one of the original Universal monsters and he’s a staple of any haunt. So what’s the harm in making a life size foam version of him? Well…

Source Info: This guy (like many of my recent and upcoming prop reviews) was handed down to me in a large dumping of Halloween props. And just like all the others I didn’t get a lot of background info. I don’t know the manufacturer or what name they gave him, and I don’t know the retail price. I’m guessing he went for around $150, maybe $200 tops…

Design: It’s hard to judge since this prop is pretty old and it’s taken a beating over the the years. It looks like a pretty quick and sloppy paint job. This isnt meant for up-close viewing, but more of a background item.

The back is flat which means you can only lay it flat on a table. The top of his legs are a bit hollow so the torso has something to sit in, but this doesn’t provide enough stability to stand it upright. You could place him on a board tilted up as if he were in the Frankenstein lab, but if it’s too vertical the top half will fall over.

The arms are also very flimsy and are really designed to be on a flat surface. The legs are one solid piece of foam with no space between the legs. While that adds to the stability, it takes away from the realism of the prop.

Final Thoughts: This guy may have been a little more impressive when he was new off the factory line, but it’s still a poorly made prop. Frankenstein collectors might still be interested but if you’re looking for something to use in your home haunt, look elsewhere!

(The Frankencuted “animated” prop by Spirit Halloween is a good alternative, but only if you buy it at a deep discount (maybe find it used.) It’s not worth the $250 sticker price. Full review of this prop coming soon.)

Note – If you look at this guys head and chest in the photo gallery,  you’ll notice some blood and a stab wound/syringe. I believe these are after market effects added by the previous owner.

6ft Foam Frankenstein - Photo Gallery

Here you'll find several photos of this prop. One shot is the prop being used in a home haunt. This was the previous owners haunt, not mine. More photos are available upon request!

5 Photos

Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
Pros: Classic Monster
Cons: Cheap Materials, Poor Design
Best Uses: Home Haunt
Bottom Line: Buy it only if you really want it.

Source Info: I got this prop from a friend, and I believe it was several years old. I don’t have an exact date or the original retail price. I suspect it was a Spirit Halloween prop, but don’t hold me to that…

Design: Lets start with the base – something you can’t actually see in the photos, but it’s made of thick heavy steel. It’s not tipping over any time soon! The latex “neck” of the skull covers this base and it does it well. Just watch when you place this prop on a table… the weight can be deceiving and the metal base will put a dent in a wood table.

The neck, head, and horns are nicely designed and painted. It all meshes well together and looks like one piece.

The actual candles are unfortunately nowhere near as sturdy as the quality base. All it would have taken was a better design for mounting the candle. Instead its just glued on, and this results in frequent trips to the garage for more super glue. But as long as the prop isn’t moved around too much you’ll be okay. The bulbs are replaceable and you can use standard lights or the more appropriate flicker bulbs.

Controls: This part is pretty simple and just what you would expect. Plug it in and turn the dial to ON or OFF. This is better than having it always on when plugged in. I like having options…

Final Thoughts: Overall this prop was made with good care and design. The candles are a bit sensitive so don’t let the kids near it. I would still suggest buying it.

Skeleton Candelabra - Photo Gallery

A few notes about the images. The yellowish line you see down the middle of the skulls face was glue that dripped down from the previous owner. I kinda like it!

You'll also notice one of the candles is crooked. This is not by design, but rather the glue not holding properly. This I don't like!

5 Photos

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Pros: Attractive Design, On/Off Control, Quality Base
Cons: Fragile Candles
Best Uses: Home Haunt, Halloween Party
Bottom Line: Buy it if you can find it!

George Romero, Grandfather of the Zombie

Today’s the day folks! The man who started it all, aptly titled the ‘Grandfather of the Zombie,’ George A. Romero turns 70 years old.

He’s best known for kicking off the zombie craze with his 1968 classic Night of the Living Dead. In those 96 minutes of glorious black and white, Romero took the audience to a place they had never been before.

For me, my introduction to the movie was an old VHS bootleg I picked up in my hometown’s spring festival. I was browsing through a stack of tapes when the guy at that table stopped me, picked out the Night tape and said “This is what you’re looking for.”  I brought that tape home and watched in awe as the dead came back to life and proceeded to eat people.  I was hooked! Shortly after I watched Dawn of the Dead at a friends house and I’ve been a Romero follower ever since.  His “Dead” series has been through quite a few twists and turns. Some groundbreaking and some disappointing, but it’s always a fun ride walking into one of his movies.

The next installment for the series is due out later this year and will be called “Survival of the Dead.” In the meantime, I think a viewing of Night is in order to honor Mr. Romero. Tonight I’ll be watching the 1969 classic – Millennium Edition of course (never the 30th anniversary re-edited nonsense) – followed by 1990 Tom Savini remake.

Happy Birthday and keep the zombie flicks coming…

Chest Splitting Zombie

This one is an oldie but a goodie! The “Chest Splitting Zombie” may be one of the older Spirit Halloween products but it doesn’t disappoint!

Source Info: I was lucky enough to get this prop from a friend as a gift, but I understand it was released around 2006 or 2007 and the retail price was $200. That seems a bit steep but considering it’s age, that seems about right for the time. Spirit’s line of animated props was more limited and you paid a premium for something like this.

Design: The base of the prop could use a little work. It’s sturdy and heavy, which is a good thing, but it looks fake. In comparison to the rest of the prop design the base is a disappointment. Is he rising out of a volcano? Why are there several hands reaching up? It cheapens the look of the prop.

The body itself looks great! The color of the latex on the body parts don’t match perfectly, but that’s not a huge concern in the dark. The head/face looks good and the hairs hanging in front of his face are a nice touch!

The inside parts (that you see when he rips his chest open) look good but they did a poor job of hiding the foam stuffing. You’ll see this if you look at him from an angle. This could have been easily fixed with a little extra latex on the insides.

Animation: The animation is sound activated. I’ll never understand why motion activation is ever excluded from these animated props. Home haunters want that option – so give us that option. Even if it raises the final cost for the addition parts. That issue aside, the movement is great! Once he’s activated, he pulls his chest open to reveal a beating heart. At the same time he slowly kicks his head back (as if looking up at the sky) and lets out a scream. Unlike many other animated props, the movement here is very fluid – making this one of my favorite props.

Controls: Normally these props don’t provide you with many control options. It’s either on or off. This time time Spirit added a much appreciated volume control for the screaming sound effect. A home haunt can vary greatly in size and location, so having the ability to adjust the volume makes sense. My only question is why have they stopped including this feature?

Final Thoughts: This prop was innovative at the time of its release and it’s stood the test of time. You’ll be hard pressed to find one available for purchase and if you do, I suggest you go for it!

Chest Splitting Zombie Animated Prop - Photo Gallery

Here you'll find several photos of this guy in action. I also added some shots of the box. More photos are available upon request!

8 Photos

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Pros: Attractive Body Design, Movement, Sound Effects
Cons: No Motion Sensor, Poorly Designed Base
Best Uses: Home Haunt
Bottom Line: Buy it if you can find it!

Night of the Living Dead's Ghoul Girl

If you haven’t already checked out Morbid Decor on ETSY, well, you’re clearly not as cool as me, but you’re also missing out on some pretty sweet lighting for your home, dungeon and/or cave

With a nice selection of lamps and hanging or standing light-boxes you’re bound to find something to meet your needs.  These products feature stills shots from some of the greatest horror movies of all time. Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Night of the Living Dead, and Nosferatu just to name a few!

I prefer the hanging light-boxes and my personal favorites are the Night of the Living Dead Ghoul Girl (featured in the image to the left) and Leatherface Flipping Out! There’s something special about capturing the moment of young girl trying to eat her parents brains… or a psychotic killer having a hissy fit because he couldn’t catch you in time to cut you up with his over sized chainsaw. Poor babies!

Go check them out now before they’re all gone! Also, look for them at Monster Mania this March 12-14 in Cherry Hill, NJ.

I Can Has Zombie Kiteh?!

[via: icanhascheezburger.com]

This legitimately gave me goose bumps - no joke!

Yeah, you heard me right. Zombie snails! Feed Me Brains covered this topic but it was lost when the old site crashed. I felt it was a worthwhile topic to re-post so present to you (again,) zombie snails…

So here’s the deal. The poor snail gets infected by a mind controlling parasite. Said parasite takes over the snails brain and deforms/colorizes its tentacles which causes them to pulsate. WOW! But hold on, it gets worse!

The zombie snail then makes it way to the top of the rain forest to catch some rays, but unfortunately its fun in the sun wont last very long. The crazy pulsating tentacles look like maggots that birds feed on. Eventually a bird will swoop in, tear off a tentacle and eat it! The snail lives on in it’s zombie form and will regrow its missing tentacle – only for the parasite to reinfect it! The bird on the other hand also becomes infected and proceeds to poo all over the forest spreading zombie poo which more snails eat, they become infected and the whole cycle continues!

This is one crazy zombie snail parasite with psychedelic tentacles which birds eat and poo which snails eat. WTF!

So I pretty much ruined the story for you, but watch the video anyway…

Ready to Kill!

I knew the moment I saw this guy I would be buying him. I have many of the other products in this line (Freddy, Jason, Leatherface, etc) and I’ve always wanted Michael Myers to complete the collection.

Before I get into the review details, lets cover some of the basic info from Spirit’s site…

This is the Life-Size Animated Michael Myers (Item #01030071) which a Spirit Halloween exclusive product.  The retail price is $249.99.

Greet your guests with the face of true evil. Evil has a destiny and it is in your home with this Rob Zombie Halloween life-size Animated Michael Myers figure. Hear the Halloween movie theme and heavy breathing as his head turns and his eyes move from side to side in search of his next victim – could it be you? You’ll be breathless with fear when you see his knife-wielding arm move in your direction! This motion activated prop will astound and terrify even the bravest guests and fascinate horror film fans and Halloween buffs.

* The officially licensed life-size Animated Michael Myers from the Rob Zombie Halloween film is an authentically attired jumpsuit-clad figure with an incredibly detailed likeness. His face was sculpted by the famous FX make-up artist Wayne Toth and it captures every tortured detail.
* The motion-activated figure stands an imposing and full six feet tall and his eyes move while his head turns from side to side; he plays the Halloween movie theme and heavy breathing while performing menacing and spooky arm movements with his knife.
* For indoor use only.
* Uses standard household electric and includes a six ft. cord.

Looking Shabby!

Ok, now it’s my turn!

Let me start off by saying this is a great prop but it still needs some work.

This guy is big and perfect for a home haunt. Some people may be turned off by the fact that its branded as a Rob Zombie Halloween 2 Myers and not the traditional white mask Myers. I would be happy to own either version so this wasn’t a problem for me. I was turned off by the typical base he’s attached to. Why can’t they come up with something better than a black base with a big purple button in the center How about putting the button in the back so its not too inconvenient to press but its out of sight. Not a big deal, but it seems like a simple and logical change.

I love the head. It really looks like a guy wearing a Myers mask. The hair looks much better in person compared to the online photos. His body needs a bit more stuffing to bulk him up a bit. He looks too scrawny when he comes out of the box – as seen in the photo to the left.

The body and head movement is great. It feels very random. He turns his body side to side, and he turns his head and eyes. He also raises his arm, but I was disappointed with this movement for two reasons. First, the up and down slashing of his arm looks very robotic. It’s too slow to come across as a threatening movement. I knew it would be like this from seeing the online video. The other bothersome aspect is the position in which he holds his knife. The knife points upward. It should be pointing downward as if he were stabbing someone. It just looks awkward. Now that I think about it, I might have been able to reverse the knife when I placed it in his hand. I’ll have to check when he comes out for Halloween 2010. One final complaint about the knife. I don’t know if this was a defect with my model or a problem with all the Myers out there, but getting the knife handle into his hand was difficult. The pre-cut holes didn’t line up nicely and it was a frustrating job to say the least! They should have done a better job cutting the holes or better yet, the knife handle should have come already placed in his hand. (The blade gets attached to the handle after assembly to keep it from getting damaged.)

I’m still really happy with this guy so I’ll end my review on a positive note. If you’re a Myers fan and you’re ok with the new Zombie version, this it a worthwhile buy. You’ll feel better about your purchase if you use a coupon code like I did. They’re sold out for now but I’m betting he’ll be back soon – and lets keep our fingers crossed for continued production of these life-size animated Halloween decorations!

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Pros: Size, Attractive Design, Movement
Cons: Delicate, Knife Position, Typical Base
Best Uses: Home Haunt
Bottom Line: Buy it! (only after seeing in person or online video)

UPDATE: After writing this post, I came across another image of this prop (the above photos are direct from Spirit.)  I would have taken a photo of mine but he’s all packed up at the moment. I don’t have the photographers name but I remember I got it from the Halloween Forum (if you haven’t visited, I highly recommend it!) discussion on Gemmy/Spirit props and it was taken in a Spirit Halloween store.

Michael Myers in the store!

Dead Heat Cover

Name: Dead Heat
Year: 1987
Tag Line: “You can’t keep a good cop dead”
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Where do I even begin with this movie? It’s staring Joe Piscapo so you know from the start you’re in for some laughs. The packaging on the Anchor Bay DiviMax edition has you curious from the get-go. Is it a comedy? Is it horror? Well it’s a little bit of everything.

The basic premise unfolds rather quickly and we learn that previously dead cops are returning to life. Creepy! Things spiral out of control as they investigate these deaths (and a few other things I wont spoil.) The Chinese restaurant scene is a must see (think reanimated animals) and there’s a guest role with Vincent Price – so you know it’s worth checking out.

Me Hungry!

The effects are pretty good considering the age of the film. You know you’ve done something right when when you have a zombie/monster biker in your movie.

The relationship between Piscapo and Williams feels very much like Glover/Gibson in Lethal Weapon but it lack Weapon’s character development. Still, they play off each others and there’s more than enough laughs to make it worth your time.

I almost forgot – my favorite part of the movie… the awesome 80’s, no CGI, totally real looking decomposing lady scene!

I'm Melting!

Final Thoughts: This movie is like Beverly Hills Cop meets Lethal Weapon meets Robocop meets Night of the Living Dead!

It was simply fun to watch and I recommend it!