Horror News: Critters A New Binge

Critters A New Binge Coming to Shudder!

My favorite horror streaming service on the web, Shudder, has just announced a brand new series coming to their platform in March! Critters: A New Binge! That's right, a brand new entry in the Critters franchise! It looks goofy, it looks gory, it looks like everything I'd want! Check out the trailer below. And just in case you need to catch up on all the little furry critter action, make sure to pick up Scream Factory's special Blu-Ray collection of the movies!

Mini Macabre Review #13

Todd and the Book of Pure Evil (Episode 2)

How to Make a Homunculus

Episode 2 of Todd and the Book of Pure Evil brings in my favorite character as a regular member of the "book hunting" team of teens. Hannah is the nerdy, smart, yet cute girl who wants nothing more than to be a great scientist like her parents. However, as this school is full of strange and horrible adult figures, the science teacher is a scuzzball who tells her she has no future in science. As luck would have it, the Book of Pure Evil passes to her and she uses it to make a Homunculus--a little demon who reminds me of a Ghoulie or Gremlin. 

The creature effects in this episode are fun and reminiscent of Full Moon Features, featuring a creepy looking puppet that looks a little like Todd himself. Of course, watching the Science Teacher get killed was a fun and bloody treat. I enjoy it when gross men in horror shows and movies her what's coming to them. The second episode isn't quite a fun, or as metal, as the first one--but it keeps with the same irreverent spirit that will be the staple of the entire show. 

Cthulhu Nights (FREE Role Playing Game)

A ChapBook RolePlaying Manual

I can hear it now, "What's this? Another Cthulhu and Lovecraft inspired role-playing game? Don't we already have, like, a thousand of those on the market?"

The answer is "Yes. Yes, we do."

So why another game in that same theme? Simply put, I love the genre. I recently was playing the new Arkham Horror 3rd edition but felt disappointed by it. It dragged on too long, was a little complicated for my game group (since there is no clear goal at the beginning of the game) and it got too muddled near the end.

My response? Make up my own ultra-simple rules that I can use to play with my friends and family--something I might even be able to teach to my younger nieces and nephews. The result is Cthulhu Nights, a ChapBook RolePlaying Manual. However, seeing as we have the internet and don't all live in isolation tanks, I also didn't see any trouble in sharing my game design with others outside my game group and family circle.

So, without further ado: Welcome to Cthulhu Nights, a ChapBook RolePlaying Game (CBRPG). What is a ChapBook game? It is a light pen and paper game where the rules take up no more than thirty pages total. It is intended to be fast to learn and easy to play.

What is Cthulhu Nights? It is a game of horror adventure and investigation set in the 1920s, loosely inspired by the works of Howard Phillips Lovecraft.

What do you need to play? You’ll need this ChapBook, a single six-sided die (known as a D6 in these rules), pencils, paper, one friend to act as Game Master (GM), and one to five friends to act as Investigators.

You can pick up the rules for free for a limited time at DriveThru RPG.

Thanks a million to anyone who decides to pick up a copy. If people seem to like it at all, I'll consider making a paperback version as well based on feedback.

Mini Macabre Review #12

Todd and the Book of Pure Evil (Episode 1)

Todd the Metal God

Rockus, raunchy, violent, gory, and overly vulgar are all terms I might use to describe Todd and the Book of Pure Evil. However, it may also be described as humorous, silly, over the top entertainment as well. If Buffy were a pot-smoking sex-focused idiot teen boy, she would be Todd. Todd is a loser who wants nothing more than to be a Metal God. However, when he finds The Books of Pure Evil, it seems his dream might just come true. What he doesn't realize is that his music will now cause people to hemorrhage from the inside, at least not until the school's Battle of the Bands. The opening episode to this Shudder exclusive series sets the stage for exactly what you can expect from the rest of the show. While it steers away from blatant nudity, it does not shy away from plenty of blood, practical effects, and sex jokes. The best way I can think to describe it is if Family Guy made a trip in the live-action high school of an 80s b-satanic horror flick. If goofy over the top gore and comedy is your cup of tea, you'll enjoy this show. Make sure to stay tuned to my website for mini-reviews of all the episodes in this series.