BLOOD - REVIEW - 'Maniac' returns, making the old new again

by Bowie Ibarra

One of the things I noted at Texas Frightmare was a new poster for 'Maniac', a classic, underrated, and forgotten slasher gem from the late 70s.  When I asked about it, I was told they were remaking it with Elijah Wood.  Then I found out that they were having a showing of it that same night, and I couldn't help but have to attend.

In a way, I regret it.  It was that horrifyingly good.

The movie starts off pretty hot, and takes off from there, with the first victim eating it before the first five minutes of reel has run its course.

Like the original, the protagonist is a psychological mess who hunts down women to kill them before scalping them.  All his victims can thank his mom for raising him in such a Manson-esque environment.  Those scarring moments from his crappy childhood are put on display for all to see, the images that haunt Frank to the very day.  They are the driving force behind his mania and need to be heavily medicated to prevent from falling into his psychotic episodes.

The movie is very loyal to the original script, but turns up the violence several notches.  The first-person perspective that it is shot in also adds a massively creepy dynamic to the movie that will chill you, putting you in the driver's seat as he murders young women.  This choice, as well as others, make it just as disturbing as the original, if not more so.  You kind of have to let go of the 'CCTV' cams that would have picked up a lot of suspicious activity that he did publicly, but it's still plausible that it could go down the way it did.

As you learn more about the character's past and what a piece of shit mother he had, you can't help but feel a little sorry for Elijah's Frank.  It helps that Wood does not look half as sleazy as Joe Spinell's original.  He's just as big of a mess, though.

There are some great homage's to the movie's past, including a great shot that harkened back to the original poster, and a nod to 'Silence of the Lambs' when 'Goodbye Horses' begins to play at a curiously appropriate time in the movie.

I found myself frightened more at how truthful the experiences of the character could be building (have built?) a madman at this very moment in our modern world. 

With poor internet supervision, a gateway to great ideas or ghoulish terror, it wouldn't take long for a kid to right-click their way to naked chicks making out and then taking a shit in a cup before eating it, or a first person POV of all sorts of once-hidden freakshow intimacy put on eternal international display for cold cash.  Hell, I knew a dude who said his very own family member, who was 8, wakes up early and dials up porn on the internet.  That's the same kind of mindfuck that happen's to Frank's character in his youth, except Frank had to watch his own mother get violated of her own volition in front of him.  That gets a kid medicated, and that's even scarier.  Look at the latest string of mass murders that have a pharmaceutical culprit that is also at fault that is never talked about in the controlled news because of Big Pharma's deep pockets. 

Knowing that these kinds of monsters could be nurtured in similar environments as Frank's character was right this very moment was enough to keep me frightened even as he hunted down and sliced his way through the victims in the movie, leading to his ultimate bloody meltdown.

A wiser man than myself once said to me after I told him I was scared of spiders, that the only thing that scared him more than anything else was people.  This movie was a great example of that.  Like Manson and others, poor Frank didn't have a chance as a kid.

This movie is terrifying in so many ways that it is completely ZombieBloodFights.com approved if you can handle it.  Get a hold of the original if you can.  It will totally creep you out and is just as chilling, if not more so, than this reboot.








Check out the old and the new trailers here:

Maniac (1980)

 

 

Maniac (2013)

 

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BOWIE V. IBARRA is the author of the 'Down the Road' zombie horror series from Permuted Press and Simon and Schuster.  His latest book, 'The Cruel Fate of Dr. Brewster' McGill' is a weird western tale of snake oil, Aztec Magic, and the dead rising from the grave to attack the living.  It is available in Kindle and paperback from Amazon.com.

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ZOMBIES/BLOOD - ZBF.com pics @ Texas Frightmare 2013

by Bowie Ibarra

ZombieBloodFights.com mastermind Bowie V. Ibarra was able to join Permuted Press as well as some of their stable of writers at the 8th Annual Texas Frightmare Convention in Dallas, Texas.  Ibarra takes a moment to document some of the fun that was had.

 

Permuted Superfan 'Brave Blue Mice' was in attendance, having driven from Minnesota through a blizzard to the event.

 

Dude was wearing a Huracan Ramirez shirt.  I had to get the shot.  And how appropriate I was wearing my Star Man shirt.

 

Me with my foster dad Jacob Kier, Permuted Press kingpin.  I'm not sure why I'm doing the 'lucha hands', but there you go.

 

Permuted author Peter Clines (of the hit Ex-Heroes series) drops the big elbow on Bowie.

 

Great privilege to sit with Peter.

Holy crap!  Mercy the Rotten Cotton poster girl was in attendance!  She's even more stunning in person.  Not pictured was when she kicked me right in the ass with her studded high-heel shoes.  People thought that was weird.  People thought it was weirder that I begged her to do it.  I thought it was funny.

 

Loyal reader Scat Caserole made an appearance.  His shirt was the best.  It was great to finally say hello in person.

 



 

Nazis zombies.  I hate Nazi zombies.

 

Darren Tompkins of the Houston Zombie Walk was also in attendance.

 

Meeting readers who have been following the series even before I was with Permuted Press is always the best.  Here I am with reader Carrie and her husband.

 

Reader Chuck Mutch showed up as well.

 

Predator.

 

Zombie Santa

 

Female Beetlejuice and Lydia Deetz.

 

Jigsaw.  Man, it would have totally rocked if she had a tricycle.

 

D-List zombie horror hack Bowie Ibarra.

 

Tim Long of the "Among the Living" zombie horror series giving the snooty author look.

 

Marilyn Burns is the reason I could not finish watching 'The Texas Chainsaw Massacre' the first time I saw it on VHS.  I stopped it as grandpa was trying to bash her head in with a hammer at the dinner table and did not watch it again for several years.

 

Rounding out my evening, having just seen a sneak preview of the 'Maniac' remake with Elijah Wood and finally getting my pic snapped with the elusive and mysterious DL Snell, author of 'Pavlov's Dog' among others.

 

It was a great time with some great people and great stuff all around.  I look forward to doing it again soon!

 

=================

 

BOWIE V. IBARRA is the author of the 'Down the Road' zombie horror series from Permuted Press and Simon and Schuster.  His latest book, 'The Cruel Fate of Dr. Brewster' McGill' is a weird western tale of snake oil, Aztec Magic, and the dead rising from the grave to attack the living.  It is available in Kindle and paperback from Amazon.com.

If you are a blogger and enjoyed the blog, please follow me.

Enjoy the blog?  Share it with your friends using the 'Facebook', 'Blogger' and 'Twitter' buttons below.

Leave a comment below using your Google+ or Blogger account.

Follow Bowie on Twitter @wingback20

Follow Bowie's Facebook page.

You can network with Bowie and read about his Tex-Mexploitation stories and check out his book trailers at his personal website, ZombieBloodFights.com.

FIGHTS: RCW SuperShow '13 teeters between fun and insanity

GENITAL MUTILATION, POORLY RUN CONCESSION STAND MAR WILD EVENT

by Bowie Ibarra

River City Wrestling has been a constant provider of pro-wrestling action for over ten years now.  As the Texas wrestling revival grows in strength, RCW has always been around, and is benefiting from the attention Texas wrestling is currently receiving.

On this night, it was the presence of TNA SuperStars at the event, joining with the already talented roster of the organization, that made the event wild and fun.  Here are some notes from another fun, yet out of control, event.

RETURN OF DINGO WALLABY

-- It was good to see Dingo Wallaby back from neck surgery.  We'll see soon if he chooses to compete again.  He did a good job announcing in spite of a poor sound system in the Aztec Soccer Arena.

LOW RIDER vs. STRAIGHT EDGE DUDE

--  Straight Edge Dude entered to a unique pick of a song:  Justin Beiber's 'Baby'.  Hmmmm....
--  Low Rider would power up in the ring by pantomiming taking a hit from a jay.  Now, wait a second.  This has become interesting, because 'straight edge' dudes are supposed to kick the asses of anyone doing drugs or drinking beer.
--  Straight Edge Dude wins, but then jumps the rail to get in the face of a fan.  It was a sign that things were going to get wild.

SIX MAN MATCH

--  A big six man match followed up the opening match, featuring the reunion of Dingo Wallaby with Honky Kong.

-- Ryan Oshun was a part of the team, too, and seemed to relish being with the good guys.

--  A third talent joined, too, who was said to be one of the students of the RCW school of wrestling.

-- The sleazy Joey Spector was a part of the heel faction, and man he looked like he put on some weight for the winter.  He was just as sleazy and gross as I remember him, and it was good to see him in action again.  He teamed with 'Twix' Rob Love and Jerimiah Jones.

ALISSA FLASH vs. KYRA MYA

--  Alissa Flash returned to RCW looking for answers as to why she was stripped of the RCW International Title.  Instead, she was greeted by the mammoth Kyra Mya and the Samoan Islander from Norman, Oklahoma, Michael Faith.  Its then that Sicodelico, Jr., joined Alissa at ringside.  The ringside partners were soon ejected, however, and things got out of hand.

--  Alissa took it to Kyra, who couldn't seem to get things going.  Alissa smashed Kyra with trash cans outside the ring, turning the match hardcore and taking out her aggression on being stripped of the International Title on the massive Mya.

-- Back in the ring, a masked 'large luchador' made it to the ring and trashed Alissa with a swirling slam, giving the win to Mya.  Thanks a lot, ref.

GRUDGE MATCH
'Ring King' Don Juan vs. Hernandez

--  Hernandez shows up jacked as usual in sweat pants and street shoes.  But he did paint his body blue with the superman logo emblazed across his chest.

-- Hernandez let a local fan dressed as Aquaman enter the fray and beat up on Juan.  Good old RCW-style fun.

--  After faking an injury, Don Juan jumped Hernandez and messed him up.  When he took the mike, he said how great he was.  That's when Rob Terry entered the ring to everyone's surprise and jacked up Don Juan with a power move.

 

Then Joey Ryan came in and joined in on the RCW wackiness.

 

 

That's when things got completely out of hand with the arrival of Aces and 8s.

 

 

Okay, three bad dudes on one bad guy.  People cheering.  TNAs in town.  I get it.  Get in some moves, lets have some fun.

 

 

Fans are overjoyed, now calling for the table.  Okay, well, still three bad guys.  Still just Don Juan, this is a little much, but okay.

 

 

Then the Aces and 8 hammer comes out, and now things are a little out of hand.  Are we really going to cheer for Aces and 8 to mutilate Don Juan's genitals with a hammer blow?  Is this Looney Tunes?  No, that's a real dude in there, and though this is still clearly theatre, the bloodlust that came over this crowd kind of chilled me.

 

 

Look, its one thing if a dude signs up for a hardcore match.  I get it.  Whatever happens to him he had coming.  You signed up to wrestle Masada, Onita, Cactus Jack, whatever.  You signed up for it, you deserve the brutality of whatever weapon gets used in there, and I'll watch it.

 

Don Juan might have deserved to get punked out by some of TNAs big stars, but he didn't sign up to have his eggs scrambled.

 

Time to go to the concession stand while these crazy bikers celebrate cracking a dudes nuts open in front of the now rabid RCW fans.

 

 

THE WAR OF ATTRITION AT THE CONCESSION STAND

 

This concession stand was the worst concession stand I have ever had a chance to wait in line for at an indy wrestling event.  Two people with their heads up their asses looking at the crowd like they never saw or expected this kind of crowd.  What is wrong with this place?  How do you not have people, at least four people, ready to go for the large crowd they had to have seen last month.

 

Then, one of the concession stand people bailed on the stand and left one poor high school sophomore with no gloves on to grab chips from the bag to put cold cheese on and put in a microwave(!!) because they were not ready with cheese in crock pot?

 

Boo this stand.  I'll just have a beer instead of a Frito-Pie.  20 minutes to get one beer.  Fix that, Aztec Soccer stadium.

 

RCW PHOENIX TITLE MATCH

"Most Interesting Wrestler in the World" Mitch Baxter vs. 'Centerfold' Matt Palmer

 

-- A great matchup.  It was cool to see Centerfold branch out in to other territories, and I think he did a great job against newbie Baxter.  The fans really liked him and I think were prompted by the section I was in.  Baxter takes the win with a cheating roll up.

 

--  I had fun telling Mitch Baxter's mom was a slut, because, well, she does bang out guys for money on film when she's not managing her son to wrestling victory.  Don't ask me how I know that, however.

 

 

RCW TITLE MATCH

'The Samoan Oklahoman' Michael Faith vs. Sicodelico, Jr.

 

--  Sicodelico, Jr., arrives at the ring in full Aztec Warrior themed regalia.

 

-- FAith arrived to the ring with Mya in tow for the match and put on mask to mock Sicodelico, who didn't take kindly to it.

 

--  The fight spills outside the ring and gets crazy!  Here are some snaps.

 

--- It was basically two on one in the match, and Sico lost to the Samoan Oklahoman.

 

All in all, I still had a good time.  RCW always delivers, and though I couldn't get behind the genital mutilation with the other fans, I still had fun.  That's why I pay my $10 to go to the shows.  RCW always delivers a good time.

 

Thank you for taking the time to read the blog.  If you liked it, show some support for ZombieBloodFights.com by picking up the combat sport themed book 'Pit Fighters: Baptism by Fire', a great story featuring a Mexican luchador who crosses over into MMA.  Available for .99 cents for Kindle and $7.99 paperback.  Get it today.

 

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BOWIE V. IBARRA is the author of the 'Down the Road' zombie horror series from Permuted Press and Simon and Schuester.  His combat sports themed book, PIT FIGHTERS: BAPTISM BY FIRE, features a luchador from Mexico who transitions to mixed martial arts competition.  It is available in paperback and on Kindle for .99 cents.

Enjoy the blog?  Share it with your friends using the 'Facebook', 'Blogger' and 'Twitter' buttons below.
Follow ZombieBloodFights.com on Twitter (@wingback20)

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You can network with Bowie and explore his other titles at his personal website, ZombieBloodFights.com.

 



FIGHTS: @WWE Elimination Chamber '13 ZBF.com Notes

by Bowie Ibarra

Punk uses Rock's finisher on him on a table,
a hilarious moment in the match.

The 'Road to Wrestlemania' goes through the Elimination Chamber.  Once a bloody and violent affair has taken midcard status to some of the other rivalries going on.  Here's are some notes from the event, courtesy of ZombieBloodFights.com.

WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE MATCH
ALBERTO DEL RIO (c) vs. BIG SHOW

-- Wild title defense that sees Del Rio take the victory with his armbar.

US TITLE MATCH
ANTONIO CESARO (c) vs. THE MIZ

-- Miz is an idiot and gets himself DQ'd by accidental knee drop on Cesaro's crotch.  Way to go, stupid.  He kicked him there again for good measure.  What's Miz got against Cesaro's junk?

ELIMINATION CHAMBER MATCH FOR
#1 WORLD TITLE CONTENDERSHIP
Swagger v. Bryan v. Kane v. Henry v. Orton v. Jericho

-- Jack Swagger entered his pod first, but not before having Zeb Coulter cut a radical racist right promo about 'crossing borders' and 'making things right'.  I like this so much.  Not for Swagger and Coulter being racist assholes, but because it evokes a real emotion in me to boo these pieces of shit.  It's great!  It's variation on a theme of Sgt. Slaughter/Iraq War. 
Say what you will, but I think pro-wrestling is best when it is reflecting the cultural and social discussions of its time period.
-- Thankfully, Jericho and Bryan started the match, so it featured great scientific wrestling with sweet counters by Bryan to Jericho's vaunted Crab hold. 
-- Bryan went for a pin on his tag-partner Kane, but missed it and had to answer for it.  That was pretty hilarious.
-- It was great to see Mark Henry return and clean house in the cage, throwing Orton through a pod and putting away Bryan and Kane with the World's Strongest Slam.  He would fall victim to the 'Lets all defeat the big guy with all of our power moves' by the last three dudes, Jericho, Orton, and Swagger.
--  Loved the finish, with Orton putting away Jericho before suddenly falling victim to a simple scientific rollup from Swagger for the win.

Racist Right Asshole gets to meet the Rich Mexican Aristocrat at WrestleMania!  What a great matchup, and I'll be interested to see how the audience responds to this match.

GRUDGE MATCH
THE SHIELD vs. CENA, SHEAMUS, AND RYBACK
--  It was a pretty good match, with Shield dominating with quick tags and control.
--  The best part for me was looking at Seth Rollins and thinking, 'Wow, that's Tyler Black.  Not even two years ago, he was competing in the Ring of Honor rings.  Now he's punching John Cena in the face.
--  Great finish, with Cena and Ryback going for their finishers.  But Ryback was more concerned about showboating with his march before dropping Rollins.  That left him vulnerable for Roman Reigns to spear the hell out of Ryback, as Sheamus was out of commission after being speared through the guardrail, and Cena was distracted with his own pride for dropping Dean Ambrose in the FU.  Rollins rolls on a hurt Ryback and takes the victory.

DOLPH ZIGGLER vs. KOFI KINGSTON
-- After Ziggler won, the best part was Big E. Langston returning to the ring to smash Kofi as payback for jumping on him twice on the outside during the match.

DIVA'S TITLE MATCH
TAMINA SNUKA vs. KAITLYN (c)
-- The highlight was Tamina Snuka missing her Superfly Splash.  Kaitlyn retains.

WWE TITLE MATCH
ROCK (c) vs. CM PUNK
--  Start was a great reversal of their first match that started fast.  This time, out of respect for each other's skills, they started slow with some science.
-- Good match up to the point that Punk decided he needed to use underhanded tactics to take out Rock.  I swear, he needs to stick with science, because this skullduggery shit hasn't worked out for him. 
-- Punk hits a Rock Bottom on Rock on the announce table, and the table doesn't break.  That was hilarious.
--  Ref gets knocked out because of Paul Heyman up on the apron, but Punk hits the GTS.  Punk and Heymen set this up, and now Punk could have won had the plan not played out so well.  That's on Punk.
--  WWE refs have brittle bone syndrome, as the next ref got hurt immediately, ala Mr. Glass in 'Unbreakable'.
-- It should be noted that Punk kicked out of a Rock Bottom and People's Elbow.  Ain't that some shit.
-- Rock wins clean, and Punk has no one to blame but himself.

Weeks away from WrestleMania.  We'll see how it plays out from here.

ZombieBloodFights.com endorses Alberto Del Rio, for damn sure.

===

BOWIE V. IBARRA is the author of the 'Down the Road' zombie horror series from Permuted Press and Simon and Schuester. 

His combat sports themed book, PIT FIGHTERS: BAPTISM BY FIRE, features a luchador from Mexico who transitions to mixed martial arts competition.  It is available in paperback and on Kindle for .99 cents.

Enjoy the blog?  Share it with your friends using the 'Facebook', 'Blogger' and 'Twitter' buttons below.

Agree?  Disagree?  Leave a comment below using your Google+ or Blogger account.

You can network with Bowie and explore his other titles at his personal website, ZombieBloodFights.com.

FIGHTS: Royal Rumble '13 Road to Wrestlemania notes from ZombieBloodFights.com

by Bowie Ibarra

It was pretty much WWE going 'lets return to the status quo, back to what everybody hated before' so they can pander to the people who are only going to stick around for 'mania and abandon them for the remainder of the year.  Ah, well, it had its moments.

DEL RIO VS. SHOW - WORLD TITLE MATCH

It was about two Rumbles ago now that Del Rio won the entire event.  And at that event, he was the 'Mexican Aristocrat' that was a not-so-subtle angle similar to the immigration issue that was at the forefront of politics at the time.  Now, with the issue being buried and only recently resurrected again, it was a good time for Del Rio to be a smiling good guy.  Either way, I've been a fan and will always be a fan.

Del Rio and Ricardo Rodriguez made show look stupid by taping his leg to the ring rope and having Del Rio humiliate him, taking the victory.  But Del Rio paid a steep price for it on Raw the next day.  We'll see how this progresses on the road to 'mania.

Photo courtesy WWE.COM

THE ROYAL RUMBLE

It was a good time.  I didn't mind it, and thought it was better than last year.  Here are some notable moments:

  -  Jericho returns at the number 2 spot - My buddy Brandon Stroud made sense of it on his review (which you need to read and follow to get his great 'Best and Worst' blogs).  But for me, it was just whatever.  He showed up before, and I thought it was cool.  But then he bailed afterwards.  I support him, bought the DVD, etc.  I just hope more comes from this run than just getting a check to finance his rock career.

-  Goldust vs. Cody Rhodes aka Brother against Brother - It was a confrontation the Twitterverse was calling for for years, and it went down finally at the Rumble.  It was great, with Cody getting the advantage on his brother and throwing him out.

- Kofi gets kicked out of the Rumble by Rhodes - After taking the time to hop back to the ring after being placed on the announce table by Tensai, Kofi hopped on a chair back to the ring.  But his return was short lived as Rhodes drop-kicked him the f**k out of the Rumble.

- Shemus getting kicked out near the end - I took great joy watching the fans cheer for that POS Shemus before getting kicked out near the very end.  I swear, if that turd won again, I was going to be mad.  So it was great to see him get thrown out at the very end and cheer in front of his supporters.

- Cena wins Rumble - And, for a minute there, I thought someone else was going to win.  This has definitely turned into a Hogan 'I'm sick of you always winning' run.

Photo courtesy WWE.COM

PUNK VS ROCK - WWE TITLE

Wild match up that ended strangely.  But it started strong, with Punk getting in the Rock's face with the title and the announcement like a pro-boxing title fight.  That was cool.

-  Rock 'breaks the count'  - I have to admit, I absolutely positively 'LOVED' Rock going old school and breaking the refs count during some crazy action outside the ring.  I wish I could see this more these days.

- Heyman needed to help pace Punk - I was upset at all the highspots Punk was taking to defeat Rock.  Lots of top rope maneuvers were killing me and taking a toll on Punk.  He grabbed at his knee several times, a clear sign he was not at 100%.  I've had knee surgery and it sucks.  It also takes time to heal.  I didn't want to see Punk re-injure it.  And for that, I felt Heyman needed to pace him on those risks.

- Rock gets jumped in the dark - Rock gets jumped in the dark, somehow, by mystery people, and Punk pins him for the win when the lights come back on.  That was a crappy finish to what was a pretty good match up to that point.  Then it got even more craptacular.

- Rock wins WWE Title - Rock calls off McMahon, who wants to strip Punk of the title with no definitive evidence of The Shield interfering, and gets back into the match and wins it.  I have to admit, I was okay with that, because Punk taking the win that way was kind of crappy.  I hoped he had enough to put a hurting Rock away, but a healthier and stronger Rock got the best of a recovering from knee injury Punk.

Considering that, I would have liked to see a 100% Punk against a 100% Rock.  I think Punk not having a match that pushed him like this one, a tune-up match so to speak, really played to Rock's advantage.  Rock's a beast when it comes to training, and even though he'd not been in the ring for months in a match like this, I think his strength, conditioning, rich WWE main even experience, and healthier overall fitness helped him out.

You got to respect Punk's title run, which is the longest run in recent memory.  And you've got to respect him stepping into the ring running on half a tank to defend the title he earned, loves, and has shown the most respect to.  Rock was just too much for an unhealthy Punk, and he takes the WWE Title down the road to WrestleMania.

============

BOWIE V. IBARRA is the author of the 'Down the Road' zombie horror series from Permuted Press and Simon and Schuester. 

His combat sports themed book, PIT FIGHTERS: BAPTISM BY FIRE, features a luchador from Mexico who transitions to mixed martial arts competition.  It is available in paperback and on Kindle for .99 cents.

Enjoy the blog?  Share it with your friends using the 'Facebook', 'Blogger' and 'Twitter' buttons below.

Agree?  Disagree?  Leave a comment below using your Google+ or Blogger account.

You can network with Bowie and explore his other titles at his personal website, ZombieBloodFights.com.