New Classic Monsters Fabric at JoAnn!

 

Many of you may recall the Classic Monsters fabric that was released 20 years ago.  That fabric became a “must-have” for Halloween and Universal Monsters enthusiasts alike.  Well, there’s a brand new fabric in town featuring all of your favorites, a few surprises, and the scariest thing of all — an homage to a Celine Dion song-driven theatrical motion picture!  Yes, there’s a brand new Classic Monsters Fabric available this year at JoAnn featuring the Universal Monsters!  Check out all of the classic monsters of the movies and a few BIG surprises – from The Wolf Man to The Mask of Fu Manchu to Godzilla!  All your favorites are here!  Retailing at $16.99, the fabric is now discounted along with other Halloween styles.  Hurry in before it disappears forever!

Classic Monsters Fabric at JoAnn

Talbot Castle on Classic Monsters Fabric

Godzilla on the New Classic Monsters Fabric

Fu Manchu on Halloween Fabric at JoAnn

 

Monsterville: Target’s Universal Monsters Line

For those of you who don’t know, Monsterville is Target’s new line of officially licensed Monster Movie merchandise featuring the Universal Monsters.

I have managed to get mostly every piece I can find, and I can’t tell you how awesome they are. These are the best Halloween decorations I have found in a big box store in years! Not only do they have movie-accurate likenesses, but they play dialog from the films and trailers… Plus the stuff is just genuinely well-designed. Here’s what I have found so far.

First up is the Boris Karloff Mummy Head, probably the best piece. It moves side to side, the eyes light up, and it plays phrases from the movie and trailer when you walk by..

Target Monsterville Universal Monsters Mummy Talking Head

 

Next are the Frankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein Cloches (globes) The burning windmill is one of the best Halloween decorations I’ve ever owned. Such amazing detail! And the sound effects are great. The LEDs in these are super bright. They light up the whole room!

Target Monsterville Universal Monsters Frankenstein Cloche Globe

Target Monsterville Universal Monsters Bride of Frankenstein Cloche Globe

Target Monsterville Universal Monsters Frankenstein Cloche Globe

 

The Frankenstein, Mummy, and Creature Screamers are really awesome and a great steal at 5 bucks each! They each play about three movie phrases, lasting about 10 seconds each. The Mummy and Creature are my favorites. Really awesome little shelf-sitters! Again, these are crazy bright!

Target Monsterville Universal Monsters Frankenstein Mummy Creature from the Black Lagoon Screamers

 

The Frankenstein Door Greeter moves its eyes and mouth, says spooky phrases, and lights up as it greets Trick-or-Treaters at the door!

Target Monsterville Universal Monsters Frankenstein Door Greeter

 

Finally is another great piece, the Frankenstein Head in Dome. This is a really beautiful piece. Fantastic sound and lights, but an even better Karloff Monster sculpt. Sooooo cool! I cannot recommend these enough!

Target Monsterville Universal Monsters Frankenstein Head in Dome

Target Monsterville Universal Monsters Frankenstein Head in Dome

Feel free to post your finds here!

 

 

World Market’s Frankenstein Collection

The Universal Studios Monsters are invading Cost Plus World Market once again this year with some truly astounding additions to their home entertaining and decor collection.  The new offerings feature the Frankenstein family: the man, the monster, and the mate!  A brand new tote bag featuring the likeness of the great Colin Clive (Dr. Frankenstein) on the front and Boris Karloff (The Monster) and Elsa Lanchester (The Bride) on the reverse is available in stores now.

Universal Studios Monsters Home Decor at World Market

In addition to the new tote, a fang-tastic series of pillows is also on sale.  They feature Dr. Frankenstein, Fritz (his mad assistant portrayed by the amazing Dwight Frye), and the Glenn Strange Frankenstein Monster.

The pillows join several new trays, platters, and even coasters.  These designs are available online as well as at local World Market retailers.

Halloween Treats: Universal Monsters and Frito-Lay

The following does not constitute an endorsement of any product or retailer.   It is for information purposes only.

Many of you may remember the 1990s, when the Universal Monsters, Pepsi-Cola and Frito-Lay Chips were inseparable.  Recently, that relationship has been revived, although to a lesser extent.  Whilst Halloween shopping this past weekend, we were pleasantly surprised to stumble upon these monster-sized bags of chips bearing not only a Frankenstein image, but an official Universal Studios Monsters logo.  And while the artwork doesn’t look much like the classic Karloff Monster, it is nice to see Universal getting a shout-out from food makers, especially at this time of year.  Each sack holds 20 individually-packaged bags of chips.  If you don’t get too many Treaters, these might make a nice surprise for the kids that do show up, and they would definitely be good for a Halloween Night party.  Another Universal-licensed chip sack features Dracula, but the artwork doesn’t look much like the Universal Dracula or Bela Lugosi.  These are available while supplies last at various grocers, including select Wal-Mart locations.

Halloween Home Entertainment Preview: Pet Sematary, Mad Monster Party, Meet Frankenstein, & More!

 This week, we have a complete lineup of the “must-have” home entertainment releases of the season.  Check out our round-up below, and return tomorrow for our take on the upcoming release of the original Dark Shadows feature films on Blu-Ray and DVD.

The News:

The 1989 adaptation of the Stephen King classic, Pet Sematary is coming to Blu-Ray on October 2!  The film features Fred Gwynne, best known for portraying the lovable Herman Munster on the classic monster sitcom, The Munsters.  Gwynne’s character is not quite as lovable in this, but his inner-Herman certainly shines through (at times).  Over all, in our opinion, the story is both frightening and compelling, and we don’t think the classic theme by The Ramones can be beat…  Let us know your thoughts.  And read more about the film here.

We also wanted to note that there were a number of Halloween Blu-Ray releases that occurred earlier this month that we didn’t have a chance to cover.  You can check out our round-up below:

The Rankin/Bass animated classic Mad Monster Party was released on Blu-Ray disc for the first time on September 4.  It’s a Blu-Ray/DVD combo pack, so you will receive both discs if you should decide to pick it up.

The Disney Halloween cult classic Hocus-Pocus was also released on Blu-Ray disc on September 4.  It also comes in a Blu-Ray/DVD combo pack.

In addition, yesterday, we mentioned that Meet Frankenstein was not included in the Universal Monsters Blu-Ray collection, but the terrific film is available on Blu-Ray disc.  It came out on August 28, another release in celebration of the Universal Studios centennial.  It stars Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Bela Lugosi and Lon Chaney Jr.  The film follows the comedic duo and their hilarious encounter with Count Dracula, whose sinister plans are thwarted by the Wolf Man and an out-of-control Frankenstein Monster.

You can purchase all of these Blu-Ray releases online, and some of them may pop up in a store near you!  So be on the look-out!

And now we want to know… What are your favorite Halloween films?  Will you be picking them up on Blu-Ray?  Share your thoughts in the comments section!

*The pictures on this page are not from any film.   They were taken by THE BIG SCARE.

Halloween Home Entertainment Preview: Universal Classic Monsters: The Essential Collection

 This week, we have a complete lineup of the “must-have” home entertainment releases of the season.

The News:

Every so often Universal re-releases the classic Monster movies on home video.  A decade ago, they released an “essential collection” on DVD.  Half a decade ago, they re-released the titles and added additional ones in the Legacy Series.  Now, for the first time, the studio is releasing the classic Universal Studios Monsters on Blu-Ray Disc.  The collection features 9 films and eight classic monsters.  The movies featured in this collection are Dracula (1931), Dracula – The Spanish Version (1931), Frankenstein (1931), Bride of Frankenstein, The Wolf Man (1941), The Mummy (1932), The Invisible Man (1933), The Phantom of the Opera (1943) and Creature from the Black Lagoon.  Bonus features are included. The eight disc set comes along with a 48 page book featuring behind-the-scenes photographs, and will be released on October 2.  This collection is unique because it features Creature from the Black Lagoon in 3D, a first for the Monsters on disc.  It should be interesting to see how that particular feature works when this set is released.  It can be pre-ordered here.

The Views:

So just how good are these movies anyway?

This collection contains nearly all of the greatest monster movies ever made.  From Bride of Frankenstein to Creature from the Black Lagoon, they are almost all here.  The only major ones missing are Phantom of the Opera (1925),  Son of Frankenstein (1939) and Meet Frankenstein (1948).   Bela Lugosi’s Dracula, Boris Karloff’s Frankenstein Monster and Lon Chaney’s Wolf Man are all present; and whether this is your first time seeing them or your ninety-first time, we’re sure you will find yourself chilled to the bone .  We’re a little biased here, but we’re giving most of the films in this collection 5 Electrodes out of 5 Electrodes.  The major exception would be the version of The Phantom of the Opera included in this collection.  It is not the Lon Chaney original.  Rather, it is the remake starring Claude Rains.  And while Rains is fantastic, the rest of the movie is very humdrum — a little too much opera, not enough Phantom.  But the rest of the films are truly essential to the collection of any genre fan.

*The pictures on this page are of the 12″ Figures produced by Sideshow Collectibles and are not from any film.   They were taken by THE BIG SCARE.

Big News: Frankenstein and his Bride, Hitchcock and his Birds Return to Movie Theaters!

For the first time in decades, some of the greatest Horror films of all time will return to movie theaters nationwide.  In celebration of Universal’s 100th Anniversary, Frankenstein (1931), Bride of Frankenstein (1935) and The Birds (1963) will be arriving at cinemas near you.

NCM Fathom Events, Turner Classic Movies and Universal Pictures have  teamed up to bring these exciting films to cities all across the country.  But the catch is they will only be shown one night!

A newly restored version of The Birds is the first to make its HD debut on the silver screen.  The Alfred Hitchcock masterpiece will be shown Wednesday, September 19 at 7:00 p.m.  Not only will viewers be treated to a stunning print, but they will also have the opportunity to hear from the film’s star, Tippi Hedren, in an exclusive interview that will play right before the film.  You can see if The Birds will be arriving in your town by checking out this list.

Boris Karloff’s most memorable character, our favorite Monster, will be resurrected on Wednesday, October 24, also at 7:00 p.m .  Certain locations are also offering a matinee showing.  The original James Whale classic will be followed by the sequel, Bride of Frankenstein, making the Frankenstein event quite reminiscent of the Monster Movie Double Features of yesteryear.  Bela Lugosi, Jr. along with Sara Karloff and Rick Baker have all been interviewed, and those interviews will be showcased before the start of the first film.  To see if the Frankenstein double bill will “come to life” in your area, check out this list.

View the official site for more information.  (Note that listed talent is subject to change.)  Can’t wait to see you all at the movies!

Toy Fair 2012 Monsters | Pictures of All the New Toys

Any opinions expressed in the following article do not constitute an endorsement of any product or retailer.   The following is for information purposes only.

They have risen again.  Nearly 15 years ago, the Universal Monsters saw a resurrection from the grave with the introduction of Classic Monster Postage Stamps.  The stamp collection prompted the release of Universal Monster figures from a major toy studio – Hasbro – and eventually led to the impressive Sideshow Toy line of figures.Now, they’re back.

Two major toy companies have the license  and will be producing some great toys over the next few years.  The first, of course, is Diamond Select, which secured the license from Universal a few years back.  Since that point, Diamond has been issuing two Mego-style Monster figures in their “Retro-Cloth” series and three PVC Monster action figures every Halloween, along with a selection of Mini-Mates and alternative sculpts.  All of those lines are going to continue into the foreseeable future.

This year, Diamond will release two new “Retro-Cloth” figures:  The Bride of Frankenstein and the hotly anticipated Creature from the Black Lagoon.  The 2012 PVC figures include The Phantom of the Opera and Metaluna Mutant from This Island Earth.   The 2012 Mini-Mates include The Mummy and The Hunchback of Notre Dame.

In 2013, Diamond will release  new PVC action figures:  The Hunchback of Notre Dame, The Mole People and a Boris Karloff Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

Diamond is also planning on releasing a Frankenstein Bust Bank.

This year, Mezco also secured a Universal license and will be producing some terror-ific looking pieces.  They will be releasing three stylized figures of The Mummy, Frankenstein and The Creature from the Black Lagoon.  In addition, they will be releasing the Universal Monsters in their Living Dead Dolls series.  The first two will be Dracula and Frankenstein, both of which will be released in 2013.  The final product from the upcoming assortment will be a “Big Frankie” version of their stylized Frankenstein figure.

Let us hope that Mezco will also take on the concept of playsets and introduce all of our favorite characters as small action figures with accompanying “scenes” and “play environments”.  But time will tell…

Another exciting story out of Toy Fair 2012 is that the characters of Mad Monster Party will finally be released in action figure format.  This long-anticipated toy series will be coming from Diamond Select.  Wave 1 will include Boris Karloff’s Baron Boris von Frankenstein, the character of Count Dracula as well as that of the Frankenstein Monster.  Surely, all of our other favorite Monsters are waiting in the wings…

Finally, Diamond will also be producing new Munsters figures, in addition to “Silver Screen” versions of the first series.