RHPS and R!TGO Shadowcasts

Sooo, since this is a blog about horror and Massachusetts, I would be doing you guys a dishonor by not posting these lists. They are: A list of Rocky Horror Picture Show shadow casts in MA and a list of Repo! The Genetic Opera shadow casts in MA. For those of you who don't know what a Shadow Cast is, it's basically a play about a movie that goes on in front of the movie, which is generally played at a cinema on a big screen :D My best friend and I used to go see RHPS almost weekly when we were 12-14ish. It's a lot of fun, whether you like the movies or not. Usually Audience Participation is allowed (and often encouraged), which makes the whole thing that much better. If you've never heard of either of these movies, stay tuned because eventually I'll be doing reviews. Until then, google is your friend! Without further ado:

The Rocky links:

The Full Body Cast
City: Cambridge
Theatre: Loews Cinema

RKO Army
City: East Bridgewater
Theatre: East Bridgewater Cinema 6

Come Again Players
City: South Hadley
Theatre: Tower Theater

(cast and theater information from: http://www.rockyhorror.com/participation/showtimes_location.php?country=US&stprov=MA)


The Repo! links:

Genetic Imperfection
City: South Hadley
Theatre: Tower Theaters

The Legal Assassins
City: Boston
Theater: Coolidge Corner, Brookline, MA | The Regent Theatre, Arlington, MA | New England Fan Experience

RKO Army
City: Foxborough
Theater: Orpheum Theater

(Cast and theater information from: http://www.reposhadowcast.com)

If I've missed any casts, please let me know in the comments!

Movie Review: Survival of the Dead

Well folks, I finally got to see George A. Romero's Survival of the Dead, which I've been very excited about for a long time. Mr. Romero is my favorite director and I always look forward to his movies. Truth be told, I was a little nervous that after making so many, he'd run out of ideas and this one would fall flat. But after watching it, I'm proud to say, he's still got it!

Survival of the Dead follows the story of the ex-soldiers from Diary of the Dead (the ones that robbed the main characters of that title). After watching their brothers in arms fall and then rise again one too many times, the 4 decide that they'll be better off on their own and desert. They come to meet a man who has a score to settle on a nearby island, and they all sail over under the premise of starting a zombie free life.

Near the beginning of the movie, there's a really bad exploding head effect, which lead me to think that we were in 'B' Movie territory (and we all know that modern b movies aren't as good as the oldies were.), but that was the last of the cheese. The rest of the gore checked out beautifully.

I was happy to see Athena Karkanis in a lead role. She was previously on a show called 'The Best Years' and she had a small role in Repo! The Genetic Opera. The Best Years was a flop, and I was hoping to see more of her acting in roles without the over-dramatic teen writing. Kudos to Mr. Romero for finding this obscure, talented young woman.

Overall, I am overjoyed to give Survival of the Dead 5/5 skulls. Keep 'em comin' George!