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Dry Bones is an independent horror movie written by Gregory Lamberson, directed by Michael O’Hear and starrIng cult actress Melantha Blackthorne.

It is being shot this spring in Buffalo, New York.

Not only is Gregory Lamberson the writer and director of the cult movie classics Slime City and Slime City Massacre, he is also the writer of the Jake Helman series of books and my favorite, the Frenzy Cycle series.

He is also an old friend. We worked together at the Paris Theater in the late ninties. For a short time, he was going to produce my first short film way back in 1998 when a bout of movie making madness took hold. These were the days when DV cameras were running about $2000 and I’m not even sure how people were cutting the footage. I hadn’t actually thought that far ahead.

But I wasn’t letting that stop me. I had written a script and had the actors. We were having readings, production meetings and I was busily assembling costumes. I even had an executive producer to front the money for the camera.

If my memory serves me correctly, we were only a few weeks away from actually shooting the damn thing until one morning I awoke and started to feel another bug creeping on.

In 1996, I had an informal development deal with Interscope Records. I was working with a producer and we recorded 6 tracks to which Jimmy Iovine listened to and then passed on. (He said the tracks sounded “dated.” He was probably correct.)

After that experience, I had pretty much quit my pursuit of rock stardom. Until that particular morning I felt I should give it one more go. I arrived at the theater a little later and made two phone calls. The first to Gregory to tell him I was not going to make the film and instead start a band. He felt that was a good decision. Then I called the executive producer who was also the bass player in my first New York City band to tell him to drag his bass out of the closet.

I then put an ad in the Village Voice looking for a female singer. (This is still 1998.)

To make a long story short, the singer I found was Tanuja Desai-Hidier who would eventually introduce the band to our violinist, Jeannie Kim. Jeannie would eventually become my wife and 5 years later we had our first child, Rose, who will eventually be starring in my first short film shooting this year, Azrelmelda: The Witch Warrior.

Full circle? Maybe.

I should also point out that the the actor who was suppose to be the lead in my short film, Matt Reese, has a role in Dry Bones.

And with that, I’m happy to announce that I’m an associate producer of Dry Bones. Please take a look at the Indiegogo site and see if it’s a project you may want to contribute to:

http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/291738/x/1515726

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

You can check out more info on THE JAKE HELMAN FILES: AFTERLIFE PROJECT here; THE JULIAN YEAR TREEBOOK here; and you can read more about Lamberson on his author late here.

This was a quick read (more or less 100 pages) but it was a good one. It’s almost like a very dark violent version of The Walking Dead. There’s plenty of blood and gore, and it’s brutal. Much more brutal, it makes the zombie books I’ve read in the past seem like ‘zombie fluff’. That being said, I really enjoyed reading this.

Boone and Walker are a classic friendship duo. Walker seems to be the more serious one of the two but their banter is fun to read – typical language and thinking you’d see in a motorcycle gang. (So, no. No swoon worthy guys here. But that’s the least of your worries when the zombies are coming, isn’t it?). They’re likable and made the book interesting and enjoyable.

I’d also have to say, it’s pretty realistic as well. It paints a grisly but possibly realistic picture as to what would happen in a situation like this. There were some parts where other people were just as dangerous (even more so) than the zombies themselves. The Hollywood part was fun to read though it made me giggle. Just a bit.

I’m not sure what to think of the ending. In one sense I liked it because it’s realistic, it’s what I expected but, there was this small little voice inside of me wanting to crave more and was sad at the outcome. So I could go both ways on this. Nevertheless I really did enjoy this novella and I urge everyone who likes zombie lit to pick this one up. It’s a quick read and can be finished in a day.

I give it a 9 out of 10

You can see Gregory Lamberson’s website here

Thank you to Tracee for letting me participate in this tour!

Carnage Road 

The members of the motorcycle gang The Floating Dragons have stuck together in an effort to ride out the zombie apocalypse that’s ravaged the world’s population and cut their own membership in half. They’ve got a fortified compound that they used to hang out in and now depend on for survival, and all things considered they are doing pretty well. It only takes Lamberson a couple of chapters to decimate the good thing they’ve got going, however, sending surviving members Boone and Walker out on the road in a last-ditch effort to survive and see America…or at least, what’s left of it.

The New York-based duo, suddenly free of anything resembling responsibility or obligation, decide to head for California. Along the way it’s not America they see, but rather the death throes of America; it’s a nation dying with new ways, new rules and a new order rising up to take its place.

Look, I love novellas – I think the length is almost perfect for good, quality horror – but this is an epic idea that really could have benefited from a little breathing room. Lamberson clearly has a lot to say, but the vignette-like structure the book takes on once Boone and Walker hit the road doesn’t give him the opportunity to say it all. The individual situations they find themselves in – the movie theater, for example, or the commune-like society that briefly captures them – could have been novellas in and of themselves. In fact, I’d love to see all of these “episodes” expanded into a series of novellas tracking the two across the country. It would give Lamberson more time to tell the stories and to flesh out the characters. As it stands, he’s in a breathless rush to get us out of one situation so he can show us the next cool thing he’s dreamed up for his anti-heroes to endure.

That being said, this is a thoroughly entertaining piece of zombie fiction, and Lamberson does manage to turn Boone and Walker into living, breathing characters in economical fashion. I meant it when I called the two “anti-heroes” above – these guys are out to survive first and foremost, and they make some tough decisions along the way to ensure that survival is achieved.

The ending feels final, but there’s certainly room for Lamberson to bring us the further adventures of Boone and Walker if he chooses to do so. I hope he does. Carnage Road is a great read, and even though I wish he’d slowed it down a bit, I can’t deny the entertainment value of a book that flies by and refuses to let you stop reading.

by Gregory Lamberson

Medallion Press

I’ll begin by telling you how impressed I was with Medallion’s production of this trade paperback. The covers – both front and back – are stunning. Before even cracking open the book, the action starts with Tommy Castillo’s and James Tampa’s cover design. It’s nice to see a publisher put that much care into how a book looks. You don’t that these days from the New York big boys.

Right off the bat by examining the cover you know you’re in for a no-holds barred werewolf novel. And The Frenzy Way does not disappoint.

Vampires and zombies have taken over the book shelves and the minds of readers, so a lycanthrope novel that actually delivers a serious bite of entertainment is a delicious change of pace. Lamberson delivers a quick read that burrows into your brain like a silver bullet. Filled with Native American and European lore, you can tell he’s done his research but doesn’t bog the reader down with details as the body count rises.

In The Frenzy Way werewolves try to live in peace with humans, staying under the radar, until a member of the pack goes rogue. The NYPD thinks they have a copycat on their hands, so in comes hero cop, Captain Anthony Mace; the man who put away the city’s last serial killer with a werewolf complex. Except this time all the evidence is pointing to the real thing. Eyewitness accounts describe a beast leaving the scene of each crime. And the killer is taunting Mace, getting bolder with each crime. The clues are mounting, pointing at werewolves and an Inquisition dagger used to slay the beasts. But the investigation is going in circles.

Cue mysterious John Stalk, a police officer from the Native Reserve who could be either ally or obstacle. Mace suspects Stalk knows more than he’s saying. The man shows up at the crime scenes as fast or faster than the cops and he seems to be on the hunt.

Lamberson develops the werewolf mythos with skill, making it intricate enough to be believable without losing the machine-gun action. No matter which direction he turns, Mace faces a new murder or a battle for his life. It’s easy to care for the hardworking cop each time it looks like he might not make it. Those scenes really pack a punch to the reader’s gut.

The end of the book left me wanting more, which is something every reader looks for in a book that keeps you reading even after your eyes are too tired to follow the lines.

According to other fans of the book a sequel is in the works. I’m hoping there is.

Have you read The Frenzy Way? What did you think?

Christopher Hurt narrates this audio book based on DESPERATE SOULS, the second book in Gregory Lamberson’s The Jake Helman Files series. This time, private eye Helman tangles with drug lords who use a deadly new narcotic called Black Magic to create an army of zombies in the streets of Manhattan. But Helman must contend with more than undead gang bangers, as who new enemies are hell bent on destroying him with the dark powers of voodoo.

PERSONAL DEMONS is a cross genre melange of crime drama, noir, SF, and gruesome horror, tied together with fast paced action. This novel won the Anubis Award for Horror, and the IPPY Gold Medal for Horror.

“Another fine novel from this increasingly interesting writer.” – Booklist

“Dark fantasy fans will be impressed by this action-packed, gory, and witty read.” – Publishers Weekly

“This is the occult detective genre done right, with finesse, charm, and nonstop action from an author at the top of his game.” – The Occult Detective

Audible.com
ISBN_10=B004INR2R4
ISBN_13=B004INR2R4

(THE SCENE: A blasted-out housing project after a nuclear apocalypse.  As L.L. SOARES and MICHAEL ARRUDA approach, they notice that there’s a banner strewn between two bent lampposts that reads, “WELCOME BACK.” A glowing, radioactive JOHN TRAVOLTA pops up from behind a street sign, dressed as Vinnie Barbarino and begins singing…)

TRAVOLTA: Bar – Bar – Bar .  Bar-Bar-Barino

LS: No, no, it’s not that old TV show WELCOME BACK, KOTTER! This is Cinema Knife Fight.

TRAVOLTA: Who?

LS: I’m not gonna play this game. Why don’t you go make some more awful movies so we can make fun of you in a future column.

MA:  Actually, Travolta’s made some pretty good movies.

LS: Really? Let’s see. (Counts on one hand) PULP FICTION (1994), GET SHORTY (1995) and FACE/OFF (1997). That’s barely “some.”

TRAVOLTA: What?

MA: Ahh, the old Barbarino schtick!  I used to love that.

LS: Figures. You probably loved Arnold Horshack, too.

TRAVOLTA: Where?

MA: As much as I used to enjoy WELCOME BACK KOTTER, you do realize that nobody under the age of 30 is going to understand this joke.

LS: What about reruns? Besides, this is fun because it will piss off Greg Lamberson. I know he’s reading this right now wondering “When the hell are they going to review my movie!”

TRAVOLTA: Who?

(LS throws TRAVOLTA in front of a passing car, getting splattered with blood)

MA: Why?

LS: Don’t you start!  We have a movie to review.

MA:  Yes we do.  Otherwise I wouldn’t be caught dead in SLIME CITY.

LS:  You don’t like it here?

MA:  It’s not bad, but it feels as if we were just here!

LS:  That’s because we were, and the last time we were here was to review THE SLIME CITY GRINDHOUSE COLLECTION on DVD (Note: we originally reviewed this box set in August 2009 for Fear Zone, and it was republished here in February 2010). But that was a collection of movies director Gregory Lamberson made from 1988 to 1999 (and a video he did in 2007). This time, we’re here to see something brand new, SLIME CITY MASSACRE!

I’m not sure if SLIME CITY MASSACRE is going to get a proper release, but I hope so. Either way, it’s bound to come out on DVD at some point. And it has been making the rounds of several film festivals. It was just nice to have someone send us a screener disk, instead of having to pay for a movie ticket.

MA: Yes, it certainly was, and wouldn’t it be nice if it happened more often?

Why don’t you start this one and tell the fine people what SLIME CITY MASSACRE is about.

LS: Well, in the original SLIME CITY (1988), Robert C. Sabin, as a young guy named Alex, moved into an apartment building where the followers of alchemist Zachary Devon used Himalayan yogurt and weird-looking wine to control, and eventually possess, the bodies of young people, in order to live forever.

MA:  The brightly colored yogurt looks like something conjured up on SESAME STREET.  Had the stuff looked more like real yogurt, I would have found that scarier, but obviously that’s not the point here, to scare.  We’re not talking serious horror here.  We’re talking camp.

LS: This time we get to see more of Zachary Devon himself, in the past, as well as several people in the future, after a nuclear blast, trying to survive in a post-apocalyptic world – who happen to stumble upon Zachary’s stash of weird edibles.

The 1950s scenes are shown as flashbacks in black and white, and this time Robert Sabin from the original movie is now portraying Zachary – a weird guy who runs a soup kitchen in the city and brings in stray people like Nicole (Brooke Lewis), a prostitute. Zachary is a kind of cult leader, and when he finds out that he is dying of cancer, he convinces his inner circle to commit suicide with him, thus setting the stage for them to “live forever” by possessing other people over the years who eat the yogurt and drink the wine.

Kind of like a strange unholy communion.

MA: With the emphasis on strange.  These people are about as believable as SCOOBY DOO villains.  I know, I know:  camp.

But, if I were to find a way to live forever, this wouldn’t be it.  They just become slime monsters and kill people.  What kind of existence is that?  It’s boring!  If I could live forever, I’d be doing things, things I wouldn’t normally do, since I can live forever!

LS: Then, in the future, four people try to stay alive in a bombed-out housing project, much like the one we’re standing in now. One couple, Cory and Alexa (Kealan Patrick Burke and Jennifer Bihl), are looking for shelter from the streets. The other couple we focus on are Mason and Alice (Lee Perkins and Debbie Rochon), who live in the “abandoned” building that Cory and Alexa try to squat in. The four become allies and begin foraging for food together. When the two guys stumble upon Zachary’s now-abandoned cellar, they get more than they bargained for. Desperate for supplies, they bring back jars of neon-colored yogurt and bottles of Zachary’s “special elixir,” that looks like homemade wine. But this turns out to be a bad idea.

MA:  You think?

LS:  As we know from the original SLIME CITY, both of these things turn people into slime-oozing monsters who must kill to revert back to normal. Meanwhile, as they undergo their weird transformations, Zachary and his followers slowly get a foothold into the world of the living through them.

Hey, look what’s inside this dumpster! A jar of Himalayan yogurt. This one is bright purple! And it’s unopened.

MA: You’re not going to eat that stuff again, are you?  Don’t you remember what happened to you last time you ate that?

LS: No. What happened?

(LS opens the lid and gulps down the yogurt)

MA: Is it just me?  Or does anyone else out there think it might not be such a hot idea to eat stuff in jars that you have no idea what it is?  Like the folks in the movie.  It could be radioactive for all they know, yet they eat it.  I realize they’re supposed to be starving (though they don’t look it at all) but I’m not sure I’d go the route of neon-colored goo, but then again, maybe I’m wrong.  (LS burps and wipes purple yogurt from his mouth, chucking empty container into dumpster).  Wow.  You finished that quick.

LS:  That’s because it’s yummy for your tummy – which you would know if you ever ate the stuff.

MA: I’ll stick to yogurt from the supermarket.

LS: I found a few aspects of this movie interesting. Like the link to the horror writer community. Director Lamberson is not only a filmmaker, he’s a novelist who has several books out (many of which are published by Medallion Books, who also helped produce this movie).  But he hired a few writers as actors here, too. Kealan Patrick Burke plays Cory, one of the main characters, and Sephera Geron plays Zachary Devon’s wife, Ruby, in the flashback scenes. Burke, in particular, is actually pretty good for someone who is new to acting. Not that anyone here is Shakespearean trained, but it was interesting to see.

MA:  I’ll go one step further.  I thought one of the strengths of this movie were the performances by the four leads, and Burke in particular.  Burke came off as a professional actor.  He was really good.  I thought he had the strongest performance in the movie.

LS:  Yeah, Kealan rocks here.

Probably the most famous name in the credits, for a major role at least, is “scream queen” Debbie Rochon who plays Alice, and she turns in a good performance here. Lee Perkins, who plays Mason, has also got a lot of previous credits in mostly character roles, and he’s pretty good, too.

But my favorite was Jennifer Bihl as Alexa. I sympathized with her character the most.

MA:  Yes, they were all excellent and really made the proceedings, which so often bordered on the ridiculous, enjoyable to watch.

LS: Like the original movie, there’s lots of multi-colored slime, and people walk around wrapped in bandages like the Invisible Man, to hide their oozing faces.

I liked parts of SLIME CITY MASSACRE, especially the future scenes. The scenes in the 1950s weren’t as good, and I never really bought that we’d gone back in time. Despite the black and white, people don’t seem to be wearing genuine 50s clothes or have the hairdos of the day. It just looks like modern-day people in black and white.

MA:  Yes, I would agree with you here.  These scenes really didn’t work all that well, for that very reason, they looked like modern-day scenes shot in black and white.

LS:  And while it’s good to see Sabin here, (I really liked him in SLIME CITY), he’s not in this movie enough.  Then again, I thought Zachary would be a much more sinister character.

MA:  He’s in it TOO MUCH for me.  I mean, Sabin’s OK, but the four leads deliver much stronger and much more believable performances.  And you’re right, his Zachary is not scary at all.

LS:  His co-star from the original, Mary Bogel (back in 1988, she was credited as Mary Huner), is in it as well. Even Lamberson regular Tommy Sweeny shows up (from UNDYING LOVE (1991) and NAKED FEAR (1999) as McBain, another soldier who meets a grisly end. I always thought Sweeny should have had a bigger acting career.

The production values seem to be a step up from Lamberson’s previous films, but a big “killer brain” scene toward the end – that pays homage to the original film – just didn’t look as cool this time around. I actually preferred the original brain scene! Sometimes low-budget horror is more effective, I guess.

MA: Yes, I would agree.  The production values were much higher this time around, and SLIME CITY MASSACRE looks much better than the original.  That being said, I agree that the killer brain scene toward the end was also kind of a letdown, though the little brains oozing around reminded me of the critters in the old 1958 chiller FIEND WITHOUT A FACE.  I thought the brains in their bright neon colors looked rather silly, though.

LS: Really? I thought the creatures in FIEND WITHOUT A FACE were kinda scary for a 50s movie.

MA:  Yes, they were scary, scarier than the ones in this movie.  They just reminded me a bit of each other.

LS:  The brain monsters in this movie were kinda “cute.”

MA: The whole movie wasn’t all that gruesome, either.  While there were some gory scenes, I thought this one was a bit milder than I expected.  Were you surprised there wasn’t more gore?

LS:  I’m always looking forward to gore. And yeah, this one didn’t really deliver on that. There’s barely any nudity for most of the film, either – although Rochon solves that toward the end, at least. But it’s too little, too late.

There are also cameos by Lloyd Kaufman (of TROMA fame) playing himself in the beginning of the movie (He’s reading the newspaper and does a goofy reaction shot when the nuclear bomb goes off), and Roy Frumkes (the director of STREET TRASH) as an evil corporate guy who wants to wipe out the homeless people who are squatting on his property (Frumkes is actually pretty good!).

As characters get hooked on the slime stuff, it could have been an allegory for addiction, but it never gets that poignant. Overall, I’d hoped this movie would be more serious – and more dark – than it is. With a bigger budget, I was hoping Lamberson would roll up his sleeves and give us some bonafide horror. I wanted some real scares, but a lot of the characters are kind of goofy.

MA:  There’s a lot of goofiness in this one.  If you’re looking for something dark, this isn’t the movie for you.  To me, the neon colors say it all.  They’re happy colors, silly colors, colors you’d see on PBS kids’ shows.  When all was said and done, I wasn’t feeling all that dark and depressed.  I felt like eating birthday cake and ice cream, and singing “Here Comes the Sun” by George Harrison.  I don’t think that was the intended effect.

Not that this kind of formula couldn’t be successful.  Take THE BLOB (1958) for example, considered a classic science fiction movie.  THE BLOB has silly special effects, a bright red giant globule of goo that looks horrendously fake, and an upbeat theme song by Burt Bacharach!  But it was anchored by a young Steve McQueen, and it took itself seriously, and by the end of the movie, it didn’t matter that the blob looked like a massive jelly spill, it mattered that the believable characters in the movie were in danger, and we as an audience cared about that.

That’s one major flaw with SLIME CITY MASSACRE.  I didn’t find myself caring all that much.

Plus, in THE BLOB, there was enough of a budget for the director to craft some creative scenes, like the “blob-in-the-movie-theater” bit.  That scene really resonated.

SLIME CITY MASSACRE really doesn’t have anything like that going for it, there’s no scene here that really resonates and lifts it to another level.  I will say though, that what happens to Alice in the bath tub was an interesting scene, and while I wasn’t blown away by it, I did like it.  So, I’ll give credit where credit is due.  The slime in the bath tub scene was a memorable image, but it wasn’t enough to save this movie.

LS: I like Rochon, and I liked that scene a lot. The face floating in the slime was cool, and what she eventually becomes is even cooler. (Eyes grow wide)  Hey, look what I found in the dumpster while you were yammering! A copy of Zachary Devon’s book FLESH CONTROL which teaches you how to control your own flesh and possess the bodies of others!

MA: That thing is huge.

LS: That’s what she said.

MA:  Hey, a joke that someone under 30 will get!

LS:  Gotta stay contemporary. But do you really think anyone has ever read Zachary Devon’s book? It looks more like a door stopper.

MA:  You could eat dinner off that thing.

LS:  I’ll admit SLIME CITY MASSACRE wasn’t perfect, and it could have been even better – but it was a fun flick. Don’t you like anything that’s fun?

MA: I like a lot of things that are fun, but I wouldn’t describe this movie as being all that fun.  It was more like— eating a yogurt.  When I eat yogurt, I enjoy it, but it’s not the same as eating, say, an ice cream sundae!  It’s just not that exciting, nor all that fun!  I feel the same way about this movie.  It was just sort of there.  If you like straight horror, then it’s certainly not scary enough, and if you like camp, I don’t think it’s campy enough.

I said this when we reviewed THE SLIME CITY GRINDHOUSE COLLECTION, but I liked Greg’s novel JOHNNY GRUESOME better than any of his movies.  I hope that his next film project is a bit more like that novel, more serious and ambitious, and darker as well.

(LS wipes his forehead, which is covered in slimy purple ooze. His entire head is purple)

LS: It sure is hot out today.

MA: You’re turning into slime!

LS: Oh yeah. I forgot that’s what happens when you eat Himalayan yogurt.

MA: I told you not to eat it.

LS: And I’ve got a stomach ache!

MA: We better leave before you become a slime monster. See you next week, everyone!

—END—

© Copyright 2010 by Michael Arruda and L.L. Soares

(Correction: In the original post of this article, it was stated that Kealan Patrick Burke also starred in the short film, “Peekers.” However, this was wrong. He wrote the short story that film was based on, but he did not act in that one).

Funnily enough, Greg’s brand new movie, a sequel to SLIME CITY called SLIME CITY MASSACRE, had it’s world premiere screening last night. Hope it was a big success, Greg ~ LLS)

CINEMA KNIFE FIGHT: SLIME CITY GRINDHOUSE COLLECTION
OR
“MICHAEL AND LL GO TO SLIME CITY”
by Michael Arruda and L.L. Soares

CHAPTER 1

(FADE IN: MICHAEL ARRUDA and LL SOARES stand outside an old-looking brownstone in a bad section of town. They are greeted by LIZZIE, an old woman who owns the building)

LIZZIE: Hello boys, you must be here for the room.

MA: Room?

LIZZIE: I put an ad in the paper. Didn’t you see it?

LS: No, we don’t want to live here, you old bag.  We’re here to review Gregory Lamberson’s SLIME CITY GRINDHOUSE COLLECTION.  (To audience) This one is actually going to involve some travel, but it’s mostly a walking tour. First stop, the house from SLIME CITY! (To LIZZIE).  How about setting us up with some of that Himalayan yogurt? I’m famished.

LIZZIE: Well, this isn’t a restaurant, boys, but I’m always excited to hear that someone is a fan of my father Zachery’s recipe. Follow me.

(They go down into the basement. Shelves line the walls, full of old-fashioned Tupperware containers of various colored gelatins and bottles of green wine)

LIZZIE: Just sit down at that table, boys.

(She gets them some containers)

LS: And bring some of that wine to wash it down with, too.

MA:  You’re not seriously going to eat that stuff, are you?

LS:  Hell, yeah!

LIZZIE: Here you go. I’ll be upstairs if you need anything else. It’s time for my soaps.

LS: Yeah, yeah. Don’t get your dentures in an uproar. We’ll be fine down here.

LIZZIE (goes upstairs): Okay. Have fun.  Why don’t you read my father’s book, FLESH CONTROL?

MA (looks blankly at bright green yogurt):  It’s so— colorful.

(LS already eating blue yogurt, and taking gulps of green wine):  This stuff is delicious!

MA (sniffs yogurt cautiously):   Smells pretty good.

LS:  It tastes even better!  Are you going to eat yours?

MA (quickly slides green containers across table towards LL): Be my guest.  And while you gorge yourself, I’ll start our review of SLIME CITY.

LS:  Hey, I thought I was starting this one?

MA:  Aren’t you eating?

LS:  I can do two things at once.  SLIME CITY was director Greg Lamberson’s first film back in 1988. And it’s a good example of the micro-budget horror movies that were so plentiful in the 80s. It was the time of the VHS boom, when mom and pop video stores were on every corner, and this new form of entertainment needed more and more product.  So horror films that were quickly and cheaply made were attractive to distributors. (Stops.  Groans)

MA:  What is it?

LS:  I think I ate too fast.  Take over for me for a minute.  (Face dripping with slime, LS stumbles in search of a bathroom).

MA:  Not a problem.  In SLIME CITY, a young artist named Alex (Robert Sabin) takes a new apartment in New York City.  He wants his girlfriend Lori (Mary Huner) to move in with him, and while she’s thinking about it, he meets his neighbors, a strange young couple who invite him over for dinner, which turns out to be a brightly colored slime concoction that he agrees to eat.

Soon after consuming the colorful yogurt, Alex discovers a strange slime covering his body.  Things go from bad to worse, as Alex eventually becomes a slime-covered murderous monster.  The proceedings lead to a bloody slime-filled showdown between Alex and Lori, an ending that is not for the squeamish. (LL returns).  Speaking of which.

LS (face is bright yellow and covered in slime):  I’m good.

MA:  You look like crap.

LS: Gimme more of that yogurt!

You know, despite its tiny budget and its flaws, I like this movie a lot. It’s goofy fun. Yogurt that turns you into a monster who has to kill in order to revert back to normal? Devil cults trying to take possession of renters’ bodies? People dripping gooey slime? Women doing crazy dances for no reason?   And with the low-budget effects, a lot of the scenes are unintentionally funny. Or maybe not so unintentional. Even though the film is mostly serious, there are enough one-liners and gags peppered throughout to give the movie a decent sense of humor.

But what about poor LIZZIE? In the movie, we hardly see her except for a big scene toward the end where she tells her father’s story to a horrified Alex in the basement. I wanted more LIZZIE, and I wanted more about her father’s cult.

Robert Sabin is very likable and an effective lead. Huner actually does a decent job playing two roles: Alex’s good  girlfriend Lori and Nicole, the slutty punk chick who lives across the hall (a black wig differentiates them).

There’s even a nosy cop snooping around. Although why he’s always hiding in stairwells and alleyways is kind of strange. And if he’s so sure Alex is the killer, why doesn’t he just arrest him?

MA: I think he would need some evidence to do that.  Just because a guy has a fridge full of fluorescent yogurt doesn’t make him a murderer.

LS: The gore effects are pretty funny. There’s one scene where Alex’s stomach is cut open and his innards drop to the floor. Instead of looking like intestines, they look like fruits and vegetables! He picks them up and stuffs them back in, and I was on the floor laughing. And don’t ask why Alex has a mouth in his stomach in other scenes. It’s never really explained. But I bet it has something to do with FLESH CONTROL, the book Zachary the cult leader wrote. Did I mention the spirit of Zachary is trying to take over Alex’s body?

The big finale is gruesome in a funny way, and the main reason why this movie has a cult following. It will definitely stick with you. All in all, this movie impressed me for the work of someone who had never directed a movie before and who had hardly any money. If you’re a fan of Troma films, and stuff like BASKETCASE and STREET TRASH, chances are you’ll really enjoy this movie.

MA:  Well, I’m not a fan of those movies, and so I didn’t really enjoy SLIME CITY.  That being said, I will say it’s clearly apparent that Gregory Lamberson knows how to shoot a movie.  I was very impressed by the way he crafted a lot of the scenes.  I also enjoyed the various nods to classic horror, especially the nod to Claude Rains in THE INVISIBLE MAN (1933).  The bandages Alex wears over his face to hide his slimy appearance are clearly reminiscent of the bandages Rains wore in THE INVISIBLE MAN.

LS:  A character even calls him the Invisible Man at one point.

MA: Yes, that’s right.   And I agree with you about the two leads.  Robert Sabin is very likable, and I was very impressed with Huner’s dual performance as both the goodie-goodie girlfriend and the dark, vampy neighbor.  But this wasn’t enough for me to recommend this film.

To me, the problem here isn’t the low budget.  With what he had, Lamberson did a masterful job at the helm.  The problem is the excessive bloody violence, even in a film like this, where the effects obviously look so fake.  See, when the fruit falls out of his gut and you’re on the floor laughing, I’m shaking my head wishing this had been taken more seriously.  I might have cared.

LS: How can you really think this movie was “excessively violent?” And where’s your sense of humor?

MA:  Um, in one scene alone, we have a guy’s stomach sliced open and his guts fall out, and then his head’s chopped off.  Now, before I say anything more, I will readily admit that I’m not the target audience for this movie.  It’s an exploitation film, and that’s why it is what it is.  I have no problem with this.  What I’m saying is, for others like me who are not in that small target audience, there’s nothing to lift this movie above the level of a low-budget exploitation horror movie.  If that’s your bag, you’ll love it.  If not, skip it.

(To LL)  Wipe your face. You’re dripping all over the place.

(Suddenly SLIMER from GHOSTBUSTERS pops up)

SLIMER: Boo!

MA: A ghost! This place is haunted! Will the horrors never cease?

LS: Aaargh! We’ve been slimed.

(Both jump up and run up the stairs. LIZZIE watches them run away from her apartment window, scratching her head).

***

CHAPTER 2

(LS and MA find themselves at a party in a Brooklyn apartment.  LS is no longer covered in slime.  A beautiful woman walks by them.)

MA (to woman):  How’re you doing?

(Woman smiles and flashes fangs at him).

LS (to MA): Stop flirting, will you?

MA (gulps):  Sure.

LS:  We’re at this party to review the next movie in the collection, UNDYING LOVE (1991). It was originally released on video with the title NEW YORK VAMPIRE. This time Robert Sabin has a smaller role as a photographer, and the lead is played by Tommy Sweeney, another interesting actor who has appeared in Lamberson’s films. Sweeney has an almost perpetual sneer, and is the perfect bad boy.

(VAMPIRE Woman takes MA aside and hands him a glass of wine.  They chat in the background)

LS: In UNDYING LOVE, Sweeney plays Scott Kelly, a guy who recently tried to commit suicide. His gloomy demeanor attracts Carmilla (the very striking Julie Lynch), a model who is also a vampire.

MA (excusing himself from the VAMPIRE Woman):  Yes, Julie Lynch is very striking! (Returns to chatting with VAMPIRE Woman).

LS:  She wants to make Scott one of the undead, but her master, Evan (Andrew Lee Barrett) isn’t as sold on the idea. Will Scott become a vampire? Will Evan try to stop the transformation from happening? And what will happen to Scott’s girlfriend Leslie (Mary Huner) who saved him from his initial suicide attempt?

There’s even another old guy cop snooping around. This time he’s looking for the vampires who killed his partner 20 years before. The trail leads him to Carmilla and Evan.

I thought UNDYING LOVE was more subdued than SLIME CITY, but also a more mature work. The characters seem more fleshed out this time around. And there’s not as much of that “bloody violence” you hate so much, Michael.

So what did you think of the movie?

(VAMPIRE Woman attempts to bite MA on the neck.)

LS:  Hey, stop that!  (Pulls out hammer and stake and chases VAMPIRE Woman away.)

MA:  Gee, thanks!  Not that I would have minded a little hickey action, but thanks all the same.

LS:  Don’t mention it, and I mean, don’t mention it! I have a reputation to keep up, you know. I’m supposed to be a bad-ass cinema knife fighter!  I’m not a hero or a  role model….

MA:  You’re no actor, either.

(LS pops MA over the head with the hammer):  After you’re through seeing stars, tell us your opinion of the movie.

MA:  The movie, yeah, the movie.  You’re right, UNDYING LOVE is more subdued than SLIME CITY.  I enjoyed the two leads very much, and Julie Lynch as Carmilla was by far my favorite part of the movie.  I enjoyed the movie that much more whenever she was on screen.  But I didn’t buy the cop subplot, and thought it was rather weak.

I also thought the pacing for this one was off a bit, as it seemed slow and plodding.  Also, I don’t think I’ve ever seen such sloppy vampires in a movie before.  They spilled more blood than they drank.  They need to buy some napkins.

LS: Yeah, I always wonder about vampire movies where victims are left in a pool of blood. Would an alcoholic leave a glass with some booze still in it? No. And a vampire probably wouldn’t leave without drinking every drop of blood.

MA: I thought UNDYING LOVE was okay, but again, it’s aimed at a small target audience.  I think most fans of mainstream horror will be unimpressed.

LS:  Hell, I thought it was pretty good. And I’m a big fan of Sweeney. I wish he’d been in more movies.  I’m all for doing something different with vampires, but I have to admit, it is kind of a bummer that you can kill them with knives and guns in this movie. That’s the only thing I didn’t like.

MA:  Consider yourself lucky.

***

CHAPTER 3

(LS and MA are in a sparsely-furnished condo.  There are several locks on the door)

LS:  Lamberson’s third film is called NAKED FEAR (1999), although I’m not really sure how the title fits.

MA:  Especially with the opening shots of New York City adult video stores and peep shows, I thought that’s where this film was headed, but strangely, the movie has nothing to do with this.

LS:  It is an interesting movie though. This one is even more character-driven than UNDYING LOVE, and, aside from some bloody murders, is almost a drama. There are a lot of things I like about this movie. It’s the first time Robert Sabin and Tommy Sweeney are co-leads in the same film – Lamberson’s two best actors. It almost reminds me of those old classics where Karloff and Lugosi teamed up.

MA (nearly chokes to death):  Whoa!  That’s a major stretch, wouldn’t you say?  Sabin and Sweeney are not even on the same level as Freddie and Jason, let alone two of the most iconic and talented horror actors ever to grace the screen, Karloff and Lugosi.

LS: I said “almost.” It’s like Lamberson’s version of Karloff and Lugosi.

MA: Their pairing is more like George Zucco teamed with J. Carrol Naish.  No, I take that back.  Zucco and Naish are better.  I think I’ll go with John Agar and Richard Carlson, or maybe Ed Wood and Tor Johnson.

LS:  Are you through?

MA:  I could go on.

LS:  Shut up.  I’m getting back to the movie.

This time around, Sabin plays Camden, an agoraphobic whose parents were killed by a mugger outside their apartment. As a result, poor Cam hasn’t left the apartment in 10 years! He has everything delivered to him, and lives off the inheritance his parents left him. His lawyer and his only friend (Terry Spivey) tries to get Camden to see a shrink, but he won’t have any part of it. Instead, he is trying to heal himself. First, he puts an ad in the paper asking for a roommate. This is how Randy (Tommy Sweeney) moves in. Despite his surly aura and sneer, Camden likes Randy right away, for some odd reason. Secondly, Camden forms a relationship over the phone with Julie (Peggy Crown), a girl he “meets” on a party line. Slowly, it looks like Camden might actually be moving toward a more healthy mindset.

But Randy really came to case the place for his buddy (Nelson Wakefield) so they could rob Camden. When Randy changes his mind and kills his partner instead, when the guy comes to burglarize the place, it’s just the first of many murders Randy involves Camden in. Suddenly, Camden is thrust into a lot more human interaction than he bargained for!

Despite the fact that NAKED FEAR is the only one of Lamberson’s movies that was shot on High Def Video (his previous movies were shot on film), it actually looks pretty good. A lot of movies shot on video annoy me – they just look “off” – but this one looks better than most, and the video quality doesn’t distract the viewer from the movie. I also thought Sabin and Sweeney gave great performances in this one. They really play off each other well.  And their characters are pretty three-dimensional for a low-budget horror flick.

The only problem I had with NAKED FEAR was a segment near the end where a bunch of previous scenes are shown, almost like a montage, and rather than being flashbacks, they just seem like filler to pad out the running time. But that’s a minor complaint. Otherwise, I thought it was the best of Lamberson’s three early films.

What did you think?

MA:  Well, it certainly was the most subdued of the three, and I liked the idea of building a story around a character suffering from agoraphobia, but that being said, this one just didn’t work for me.  I didn’t find it believable, and since it was supposed to be a believable story, not a tale about slime monsters and glowing yogurt for example, the fact that I didn’t buy into it really did this one in for me.

I found the whole “searching for a roommate” process extremely phony and forced.  Here we have a guy like Camden, who hasn’t left his apartment in ten years, who’s messed up because he witnessed the death of his parents, and he decides to search for a roommate on his own?  Not buying it.  First of all, I didn’t even buy the notion that a guy like Camden would even want a roommate.  Why, all of a sudden a change of heart?  He says it’s because he’s lonely.  Did he just get lonely all of a sudden?  There should have been a more compelling reason.

Then, when Randy shows up, you can’t get a guy who looks any creepier and more suspicious.  But a smiling Camden accepts him right away!  Where are his references?  It’s bizarre enough even for a well-adjusted apartment dweller to accept Randy so quickly, but we’re talking about an agoraphobic, frightened person like Camden.  I just didn’t buy it.

I also found the way he meets Julie over the phone and their subsequent relationship just as phony.  This movie just didn’t ring true for me, and for this reason alone, I thought it weak and uninspiring.

I also did not like the High Def Video.  Movies shot on video always make me feel like I’m watching a soap opera.  The video here was no exception.  Movies look much better on film than video.

LS: I’ve seen a lot of shot-on-video movies, and like I said, it can be pretty distracting. For some reason I didn’t think it was that bad in NAKED FEAR. I’m not really sure why. Maybe because it was High-Def?

MA: And I didn’t find the characters three-dimensional at all.  Camden, for example, is way under-developed.  He’s agoraphobic.  He’s afraid to leave his apartment.  Yet, he’s never forced into a situation where he has to leave.  Where’s the conflict?  Much more suspense could have been generated if to stop Randy, Camden had to go outside, but alas, the action pretty much takes place inside the apartment.

LS: Well, if you want to nitpick…. To get rid of Randy, all Camden had to do was get the locks changed when Randy left for awhile. And then he could just call the cops and report the murders.

And I will say that when Camden finally does leave the apartment, it seems a bit too easy. You’d think it would be a real struggle after ten years of isolation.

MA: Then, there’s Randy.  We learn he’s the way he is because his parents treated him badly, but the question I have is, just what kind of person is he?  Murderer?  Psychopath?  Why does he even choose to betray his partner and stay with Camden in the first place? If I knew more about him, I might have been interested in his story.  He comes off as just a weird bad guy.

We also learn that Randy’s claustrophobic.  Yet, in a key scene where he’s in a closet, that fear isn’t exploited at all.

LS: Really? I thought the scene was well done. And the flaws didn’t bother me enough to ruin my enjoyment of the film at all.

MA: Well, as a result, I can’t recommend NAKED FEAR either.

LS: Man, you don’t like anything!

***

CHAPTER 4

(LS and MA are driving in a two-door Cutlass Supreme.)

LS: Which bring us to the last of the films in this box set, JOHNNY GRUESOME. Actually, GRUESOME is more of a music video than a movie. Set to the music of Giasone Italiano (who does a great job with the tunes, especially the song “Gruesome”), Lamberson uses the music video format to tell a condensed version of his novel JOHNNY GRUESOME, about a bad boy teenager who comes back from the dead to get revenge on everyone who ever crossed him. This one even has Erin Brown (Misty Mundae!) as Johnny’s girlfriend.

It works for what it is, and the songs are great – they really stuck in my head –  but it’s more of a trailer for a movie than an actual movie.

What did you think, Michael?

MA:  This is getting painful for me.  I was disappointed.  I mean, it’ s not bad, but after having read the novel, I would have preferred to see a feature length version of the story rather than a music video, but for what it is, it’s not bad.

LS: Yeah, I would have preferred a feature film as well. But you take what you can get.

MA: Though to be honest, I was very disappointed with Johnny’s make-up.  He wasn’t all that gruesome.  The book is much, much better.  Which brings me to a point I want to make, and that is, Greg Lamberson can write, just read his novels and you’ll know, but sadly, writing isn’t considered a priority when making movies, I guess.  It’s too bad.  Most really good movies usually have terrific scripts.  And if any of these films had had scripts equal to the level of writing in his novels, I think I would have liked them better.

LS: Y’know, I grew up on low-budget horror flicks, and I must have watched hundreds of them during the VHS days. So I guess I have a kind of affection for this kind of stuff. If nothing else, I’m a bit more forgiving of these kinds of movies if I feel the filmmaker tried to be ambitious. I don’t think these are great movies, but I do think they’re a lot of fun, and I really enjoyed watching all of them.

MA:  I grew up watching Hammer Films, so that might explain the difference in our tastes. Strong atmosphere, great acting, and great production values, that’s what I like.  Not that I can’t enjoy a different kind of horror movie, because I can, but that’s where I’m coming from.

LS: Which means you have no appreciation of “campy” humor.  That’s kind of sad.

MA: Not really.

LS: The DVD box set also includes director’s commentaries of the films, “behind-the-scenes” shorts, and even an interview with Robert Sabin and Mary Huner in celebration of SLIME CITY’s 20^th Anniversary.

MA:  The interview with Sabin and Huner was my favorite of the specials on the DVDs.  It was fun to hear them speak about SLIME CITY all these years later.

LS:  Greg recently got done filming a sequel to SLIME CITY, called SLIME CITY MASSACRE. And while I enjoyed these films, I’m really curious to see how much his style has changed over the years – this is his first feature film since 1999, after all.

MA:  And while I didn’t enjoy these movies, I’m always looking forward to new horror, and so I’m also looking forward to SLIME CITY MASSACRE, though if I had to wager a guess, I’d say you probably will end up liking it more than me, but that’s okay.  Different strokes for different folks.

LS:  Can I ask you a question?

MA:  Sure.

LS:  You dislike so many of the movies we review.  Why do you even like horror?

MA:  Well, it’s a long story.  When I was a young boy, I was locked in a closet for hours on end—.

LS:  You, too?  Wasn’t that the best place to play as a kid?  And how about the crawl space underneath the house, with the worms and the rats?  Wasn’t that the best?

(LS and MA drive the two-door Cutlass Supreme into sunset.)

—END—

(Originally published on Fear Zone on 8/4/2009)

© Copyright 2009 by Michael Arruda and L.L. Soares

Author: Gregory Lamberson

Publisher: Medallion Press

Release Date: October 1st, 2009

ISBN-10: 1605420727
ISBN-13: 978-1605420721

Author Website

Ex-NYPD homicide detective and recovering drug addict Jake Helman gets a shot at redemption when he is hired as the director of security for Tower International, a powerful genetics company owned by reclusive billionaire Nicholas Tower. But what’s inside the massive glass sphere inside the Tower’s secretive laboratory, and who are the strange people who appear outside the building each morning? Jake must take on ghosts, a demon, and a serial killer who steals the souls of his victims to learn the chilling answer, and the fates of heaven and hell hang in the balance.

“Personal Demons is a great debut… a hell of a novel…” – SFReader

“Lamberson’s ability to twist a scenario and offer up descriptive, shiver-inducing murders makes Personal Demons a unique noir that quickly becomes a gripping must-finish.” - Rue Morgue Magazine

“Lamberson has delivered an irresistible, scary, action-packed novel full of intrigue and deep thoughts on life and death.” - The Horror Fiction Review

(Note: This is a long one, so I’m splitting it into sections…)

On May 22nd, I awoke, slightly hungover after an unscheduled get-together with some friends the day before, tossed some clothes and essentials in a small suitcase and boarded a plane at Columbus International airport, bound for Buffalo, New York.

I know now that I had subconscious expectations of what was going to await me at the other end of that plane ride. All along, the director Greg Lamberson had made a point of emphasizing that SLIME CITY MASSACRE was going to be a low, ultra-low budget film (which I guess in Hollywood terms means anything less than seven figures.) A good film, he would say, but low-budget nonetheless. This conjured up worst-case scenario images of badly-lit home movies shot in a tool shed with appalling production values and atrocious acting.  Even so, I didn’t care. Like I said in the last entry in this diary, I loved the concept and wanted to be a part of it. Nobody goes into these things with notions of red carpets, Variety spreads and Oscar nods. It may be the one and only film I ever do, and that won’t bother me in the slightest. I’m not Brad Pitt, or even Steve Buscemi. I have no delusions of grandeur. I’m a pasty Irish guy who smokes too much, has too high a tolerance for alcohol, thinks he’s funny, and plans to live as much as possible until the day that priviledge is revoked.

So, fuck it, I thought. A new experience. Off I go.

I arrived at Buffalo airport right on time, and after a brief scare that the airport had gobbled my sad, single suitcase, I emerged into the sweet air and gave silent thanks that suicidal geese had not flown into the engine of the plane.

A few minutes later, Greg Lamberson pulled up to the curb. I hopped in, we shook hands, and five seconds later, despite this being the first time we’d met in person, we were chatting and laughing like old friends.

Greg’s an affable guy, seemingly uncomplicated and unassuming, but it’s pretty clear from the outset that the guy’s a human hurricane lamp, and there’s a fiery passion for what he does constantly fluttering around inside him. His tone seldom wavers, no matter what the subject, but when it turns to filmmaking, no amount of stoicism can hide the enthusiasm and excitement the guy feels for the artform.

In the back seat of the car, strapped into a carseat, was Greg’s 2-year-old daughter Kaelin (and yes, the similarity of her name to mine caused quite a bit of confusion over the weekend), a little cherub with golden ringlets and big blue eyes that melted the hearts of all who met her. She was shy at first, as all kids are with strangers, particularly those who talk like the guy from the Lucky Charms commercial, but she warmed up soon afterward, a development that led to me running around Greg’s house with his daughter on my back, playing horsie while I pretended to look for her.

At the hotel, I checked in, and then promptly stepped out for a breath of fresh smoke, and spotted Sephera Giron making her way toward the lobby. Though very familiar with Sephera’s work, both for the HWA (for which she was finally honored with a well-deserved award this year) and as an author, I had never met Sephera in person. As was the case with Greg, it was an effortless affair, and soon we were ensconced in comfy chairs in the hotel lounge and chatting up a storm while Greg returned to the airport to pick up yet another guest, seasoned actor Lee Perkins.

As was the case with Sephera, I had never met Lee Perkins before, though again I was familiar with his work, having seen his wonderfully unsettling turn in the underrated if slightly overwrought Katiebird: Certifiable Crazy Person. And just like his character in that movie, the real life Lee Perkins proved to be unreadable, seemingly reserved and distant. Initially, the conversation was stilted, and only really got comfortable once we gathered at a local greasy spoon. As it turned out, Lee and I have a mutual love for the golden days of Formula 1 motor racing. In fact, he drove in Formula 3000 with many of the big guns and when they moved on to the majors, Lee moved on to stuntwork in Hollywood.

It wasn’t until much later that Lee and I really clicked. But we’ll get to that.

After the diner, Greg, Kaelin, Lee, Sephera and I took a drive to the location, where the majority of the movie will be shot. On the way, I kept an eye on the skyline, wondering which of the monolithic buildings that crowd Buffalo’s redbelt was the one we were headed for. Then it came into view, Buffalo Central Terminal, and it very literally sucked the breath from my lungs.

For more background history on the place than I can possibly fit in here without dividing the post into chapters, check out the building’s website.

It’s impossible to adequately describe what the interior of this place is like, and the pictures don’t do it justice, because the one thing they cannot capture is the sheer enormity of the location. It’s immense, a veritable self-contained ruined city, which of course makes it ideal for the purposes of our movie. As soon as I walked past that endearing swatch of yellow crime scene tape (apparently once the sun goes down, it’s a popular hangout for the kinds of people other horror movies are made about), I knew Greg had found himself the kind of location other directors only dream about (or pay a sizeable portion of their budget for.) Every chaotic room was different in its degree of decay, and each told a story.

As we engaged in a walking tour of the location, stepping over debris, scaling ancient stairs, and sidling into narrow openings in cracked walls, it was difficult to take it all in. There’s a pervasive sense of age and sadness to the place, which makes it unsurprising that famed ghost hunters TAPS have investigated the place twice. But whether or not the place is a legitimate haunting ground for the dead, there are clear signs that the living occupy the building, from the stained mattresses and broken beer bottles, to the graffitti and rooms with broken glass mosaics on the walls.  

(Photos courtesy of Sephera Giron, because this dumbass forgot his camera…)

Stairs end in deep black water. Collapsed roofs leave gaping maws that cast hazy spotlights on the floor. Cryptic messages tell tales decipherable only by their authors. Trees grow up through the floor. Ominous figures are tattooed on long-dead generators. Rooms are crowded with furniture, with filing cabinets, with safes. Tunnels vanish into darkness. Crawlspaces hide behind every turn. Hallways stretch into forever. It seems like stepping into a separate universe. And being in that incredible building, knowing we’re going to be spending over two weeks in there up to our necks in dirt, dust and slime, making a movie, making monsters…it’s almost too much to register.

Unfortunately, the movie never came to pass after some decidely underhanded moves by a self-proclaimed producer who failed to honor any of the promises she had made to that point. For the full story behind the debacle, you’d have to ask Greg himself as I heard only enough to know that it was a disaster, and one that left a bitter taste in the director’s mouth.

Cut to January of this year when I heard from Greg again. He has, in the years since DEADLY RITES, been somewhat stunned by the continuing interest in a small low-budget B-movie he made back in the 1980′s, which, following in the footsteps of such over-the-top gems as BASKET CASE and STREET TRASH, involved the disintegration of the human body in increasingly nasty ways.  The movie was SLIME CITY, and while some of it seems dated, and the inexperience of some of the actors (one in particular, who, when slashed across the face with a knife, reacts as if someone farted in her direction) is evident in places, the special effects still hold up remarkably well. The film quality is also leagues above a lot of similar movies released at that time. After a short theater run, the film found new life on VHS and did well in the foreign market.

Ultimately, SLIME CITY’s cult following led to the recent rerelease of the movie on DVD, with tons of additional features, including another of Greg’s films, NAKED FEAR, and a very entertaining making-of featurette, which documents the fun and frustration involved in bringing the movie to the screen.

Clearly, the film is remembered with great affection by those who grew up with it, and the sheer weight of that affection led Greg to start pondering a sequel to the movie. And so he began writing the screenplay for SLIME CITY MASSACRE, a script that reads as if it was written by a director who has learned a lot in the two decades or so since the first film, but hasn’t forgotten why it endured.

By the time he emailed me, Greg had already cast some of the roles and started financing the movie. He asked if I’d be interested in playing one of the lead roles, that of Corey, an army deserter making his way through the post-apocolyptic ruins of Manhattan with his girlfriend (Jennifer Bihl) in tow. Together they seek refuge in an abandoned train station, where they unite with another couple (played by Lee Perkins and Debbie Rochon)  and encounter paramilitaries, cannibals, and a (familiar-to-fans of the original) soup kitchen stocked with elixirs and yoghurts that contain the spirits of the dead cult members from the first film (played by, among others, Robert Sabin, Sephera Giron and scream queen Brooke Lewis). It’s a wild script, filled with comedy and action and over-the-top gore, but of course, to say much more than that–yet–would be to spoil it.

After reading the screenplay, I promptly wrote back to Greg and told him there was no way I could not do the film. It sounded like way too much fun to pass up.  As enthusiastic as I was, however, I admit to not being totally convinced that the film would ever materialize, as I’m intimately aware from a screenwriter’s perspective, just how unstable things are in the movie world.

But now, four months later, a lot has happened, and the one thing I can tell with great certainty, is that barring natural disaster, the film will shoot in July, that’s little more than six weeks from now. I have been to Buffalo and visited the location, met the director, the crew, and some of the actors, signed contracts, participated in a cast reading and have gotten to glimpse the machinations of movie-making first hand. I have hashed out scenes with my costars and talked on the phone with those I have yet to meet. So, the movie is happening, and I’m more than a little excited to be a part of it.

From here on, with exceptions when necessary, I will be using this journal to chronicle the highs, the lows, and the wtf’s? of my involvement in the SLIME CITY MASSACRE.

Next up: A Weekend In Buffalo, NY – Meetings, Monoliths, and Monsters