18SEP2K1

Reading... Sandman	Listening... Align	Watching... Wishmaster
As many of you noticed, I didn't do any updates last week. For one thing, my suster lives and works in Manhattan, so it was kinda scary for a while. I had no idea if she was OK - Mostly because she's an accountant and easily could've been at the WTC. Secondly, there's a great new evil invading my life. I have my friends Bill and Mary to thank for this... Crack for geeks. But enough of games that kidnap your thoughts and wallet, let's get down to bid'ness. The folks at Electric Artists and FlixMix were kind enough to send me a preview copy of the upcoming DVD Boogeymen. The disc isn't what I expected, but then, I'm not quite sure what I expected. The closest product I can think of is Terror in the Aisle, a horror movie trailer compiliation (which you can still find at a lot of Blockbuster and Hollywood Video stores). This product takes that idea to the Nth Degree. When you pop the disc into your DVD player and press play (or start on your PS2), you find yourself watching a collection of clips from some of the greatest horror films of all time. HalloweeN, Hellraiser, Child's Play, Scream, A Nightmare on Elm Street, and yes, even good old Friday the 13th is represented here. These clips are not just the endings or the first appearances of these characters - these clips seem to be the best 2 to 5 minutes scenes showcasing each character. However, you're not just watching clips. At the bottom of the screen, FlixFacts about the movie and it's stars appear. If you'd rather watch the scenes without the facts, you can turn them off. After you watch through the clips, you can check out other features of the DVD. There is a section giving you the history of each boogeyman. If you've haven't been able to track down all of the Nightmare on Elm Street movies, and you wonder why Freddy does what he does, the history section brings you up to speed. There'a a trivia game and "Name that Frame" that tests your horror movie knowledge. You can even watch the trailers for the films (although I'm not sure if EVERY trailer is availible on the final product, but there's enough here to satisfy you). There's even an audio track from Robert Englund (Freddy in An nightmare on Elm Street, but you already knew that, right?) giving you his insight and opinion (but it wasn't included in my preview copy). If you have a DVD-ROM drive on your PC, there's even more info packed away. This isn't just a clips show, this is an Encyclopedia of Slasher Films. Everything about this DVD is well done. The soundtrack is alive and clear and the clips look fresh and crisp. Some clips, like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, look as best as they can considering the original wasn't made for $1,000,000 and no one really took care of it over time. Other clips, like A Nightmare on Elm Street, look like they were filmed yesterday. If a remastered edtion of a movie exists, it looks like it made it onto the disc. It looks as if the VHS edtion will not include the trivia, histories, commentary, or trailers. But then, that's what you get with just video tape. The DVD takes full advantage of everything DVD has to offer. The materials included state that the disc will be availible on October 2nd for only $19.98. At that price I cannot recommend this DVD enough! If you love slasher films (and if you don't, why are you even here?) you owe it to yourself to buy this, watch it, and commit it to memory.
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