Definitely more horror than comedy, Sam Raimi nonetheless made an indelible mark in a short film that was part of master-of-the-macabre John Carpenter’s 1993’s anthology, Body Bags. (Raimi made a couple of cameos in it; keep yer eyes peeled. Horror king Wes Craven also makes a cameo, and one of the main roles.)
Continue readingArchive for John Carpenter
If Sam Raimi’s ‘Send Help’ Has You Begging for More Horror-Comedy, Watch This John Carpenter Short Film in Full
Posted in Favorite Films, Features, Videos with tags Body Bags, David Naughton, John Carpenter, Sam Raimi, The Gas Station on 05/12/2026 by Kurt OrzeckFavorite Films: Dying Remains’ Frontman Treasures ‘The Thing,’ ‘Suspiria,’ ‘City of the Living Dead,’ ‘Wounded Fawn’
Posted in Favorite Films, Features, Interviews, Lists with tags City of the Living Dead, Damon MacDonald, Dario Argento, Dying Remains, John Carpenter, Maggot Stomp, Suspiria, The Thing, Wounded Fawn on 11/29/2025 by Kurt Orzeck
Two months in, we’re still savoring the delicious drivel dealt by death-metal band Dying Remains via Merciless Suffering following its mid-September release. We’re also grateful to have recently connected with the Maggot Stomp band and chatted up vocalist/guitarist/bassist Damon MacDonald about its debut LP.
While we had MacDonald on the horn – or the Zoom, or the whatchamacallit – we picked his brain about movies, as we were armed with the knowledge ahead of time that he’s a fan of horror movies. Here are his choice picks:
1. The Thing (1982)
“The first movie that comes to mind is John Carpenter’s The Thing,” MacDonald said. “That was one of the first couple of horror movies I saw when I was young. I think I was 7, and my old man showed it to me, and I was like, ‘This is so cool.’ [My love of horror movies] started there.”
When asked whether he believes in the notion publicly proffered by notably untrustworthy director John Carpenter that there’s a way to determine whether the two guys at the end, MacReady (Kurt Russell) and Childs (Keith David), had become The Thing, he replied:
“There was a game that came out tied to The Thing on PS2 and Xbox in 2002 – and it’s been stated that it’s canon – and Carpenter made a jab by having MacReady alive at the end of the game. But it’s still just one of those things that are open to interpretation. You’re never going to figure it out. [There’s also the theory that] the whiskey [the characters drink at the end of the movie] was actually gasoline, but it’s like I don’t know if I buy it.”
When asked to identify his favorite scene in the film, MacDonald said: “The defibrillator scene when [a] stomach opens up and rips [the] hands off [another character is] so sick. It’s gnarlier than the [first] Alien scene with the [chest burst].”
Anciients Ready to ‘Hammer’ Boise Tonight With First City of Trees Gig in 12 Years
Posted in Interviews with tags Anciients, GWAR, John Carpenter, Kenny Cook, Opeth on 08/29/2025 by Kurt Orzeck
(Go here to read my post-mortem on Anciients’ performance in Boise on Friday and why you should make every effort to see them on their current tour.)
Criticize awards all you want, but there’s something to be said for a band that has more hardware than they can carry with two hands. One of the more unlikely bands faced with this honor, problem or whatever you wanna call it is Anciients.
The Vancouver prog-metal crew snatched the Juno Award for Metal/Hard Music Album of the Year in 2018 for their second record, Voice of the Void; their debut, Heart of Oak, was deemed a long-listed nominee for Canada’s other major award for artists, the 2013 Polaris Music Prize.
Adding to their accolades, the complex, challenging band scooped up their second Juno Award for the same category mentioned above on the strength of Beyond the Reach of the Sun, released exactly one year ago. They beat out the likes of Spiritbox, Devin Townsend and other bands you’ve probably never heard of (PSYCH!).
Two days ago, Anciients initiated their first U.S. tour in eight years, dubbed “Quest Beyond Our Minds,” in Seattle. Call it a victory lap celebrating all the awards they’ve accumulated, a refresher course in their three reputed Season of Mist records and/or a jaunt serving to boost their latest Beyond the Reach of the Sun single, “Is It Your God,” their performances are a must-see for anyone who even remotely has an affinity for Anciients or their kindred spirits Opeth.
The Bad Penny touched base with Anciients vocalist/guitarist Kenny Cook mere hours before they took the stage in Seattle to pick his brain about various matters, including their concert tonight in Boise, which will mark the first time they’ve played in the potato pueblo in a dozen years.
Continue readingDoppelgängers: ‘It Follows,’ ‘Hereditary’ and ‘In the Mouth of Madness’
Posted in Doppelgängers, Favorite Films, Features with tags Ari Aster, David Robert Mitchell, Hereditary, In the Mouth of Madness, It Follows, John Carpenter on 01/31/2023 by Kurt Orzeck
Three of the scariest horror films from the past 30 years deeply affected audiences for radically different reasons.
Continue readingCover Me: French Miami’s French Miami
Posted in Cover Me, Features, Interviews with tags Brian Eno, Daft Punk, Death, French Miami, Genesis, John Carpenter, Kraftwerk, Minor Threat, My Bloody Valentine, Nirvana, Polvo, the Fucking Champs, the Mae Shi, the Velvet Underground, Trans Am on 01/03/2010 by Kurt Orzeck
An ongoing series in which musicians reveal the artists they’d most like to hear covering their songs. Continue reading
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