Well it's been a few months since I wrote in this blog. To be honest, I've been super busy working on my other project The Cat is Dead, Put Her Out For Garbage and all the hard work has finally paid off. I was recently contacted by an agent who is going to help me turn this concept into a coffee table book (which has always been the goal). But anyway that's not why you're here . . . you want horror! I've been watching lots of great movies since Halloween when I last wrote, but something else grabbed my attention last week and inspired me to write a new entry here at The Big Toe . . . this weekend I picked up a copy of Lunchmeat #4, a home-made zine that dives deep into the lost world of VHS cinema and all the horrors that came along with it. Truly an amazing publication with great reviews on some really obscure films. The design has a pulp feel, and the glossy heavyweight cover lets you know you're holidng something special! And best of all, the writers know their subject . . . I've seen alot of horror movies in my day, but these guys manage to find some real gems! Published out of PA by editors Josh Schafer and Ted Gilbert, Lunchmeat takes me back to my old days on the Long Island Hardcore scene, when self-published black & white zines floated around at shows, containing reviews of 7" records from bands on the local hardcore scene, grainy graffiti photos from Long Island, and interviews typed on a type-writer, accompanied by cut & paste images from comics and magazines. Simply put, reading Lunchmeat is a nostalgic experience, and I cannot put the thing down!
Thinking even further back, I remember when I was a little kid in the early 80's and my Mom would take me food shopping. At first I didn't like to go - it was boring and I would have rather been home watching cartoons. But as soon as I discovered the VHS movie aisle and the horror section, I suddenly couldn't wait to go! This was back in the day when Pathmark in my neighborhood used to rent out movies, long before Blockbuster & Netflix even existed (and long before DVD and Blu Ray). While my Mom was stocking up on food, I would pace up and down the movie aisle, absorbing the cover art on "big box" VHS titles, reading the plot summaries on the backs of the tapes, and memorizing the titles. I'll never forget the cover art for movies like Chopping Mall (body parts in a shopping bag being held by a robotic arm), Funhouse (killer clown holding a knife), Critters (little furry creature smiling back at me saying "rent me!"), C.H.U.D. (something coming out of a manhole . . .), Ghoulies (who could forget the ugly bald green guy coming out of the toilet?!), and so many more classics . . .
As a kid I remember telling my Mom how excited I was to one day "finally be old enough to rent them." My Mom laughed it off, but little did she know these VHS boxes were molding me into the horror-obsessed genre fanatic that I am today. Over 20 years later, I find myself cruising around Ebay trying to find those memorable VHS movies, and one peek at the box takes me right back to the movie aisle at Pathmark! So for someone like me, Lunchmeat is like a Bible. I sent in my check for $20 (for a 1-year subscription) and even wrote to the editors to pat them on the back for creating such an awesome piece of literature. I strongly suggest you hurry over to your local comic shop - the issues are super limited and #1 and #2 are already out of print . . .
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