Ghoulish Grin Films

 As an '80's kid, I would always tease my little brother about how my decade was better than his decade...The '90's. Which with hindsight was an absolutely stupid thing to say. Because The '90's was a great decade. Probably the last great decade. The decade that gave me childhood joy (I was a teenager after all). It had Michael Jordan's legendary basketball dynasty, grunge and hip hop making their marks, and the last strong era of VHS rental stores to name a few things. And there was "The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air."  Originally airing on September 10th, 1990, it created a star out of young rapper Will Smith. He was an absolute joy to behold every week and as the years went by you can see his rapid improvement as a top young actor. He would appear in hits like "Bad Boys," but it would be the science fiction genre that would put him over the top as the most bankable star in Hollywood. 1996's "Independence Day," a modern day ode

 I believe it was 1984 (I would've been 8 years old) when I took a glimpse of the film "Cujo," and I was understandably shaken. I'm surprised I even wanted to attempt to return to that story and read the book but years later I did and was greatly entertained. I've quite enjoyed his books and film adaptations ever since. Born on September 21st 1947 in Portland, Maine, King displayed an early interest in horror, as he read some of the great classic horror comics like "Tales From The Crypt" and would later pay homage to those comics in the anthology "Creepshow." Dubbed 'The King Of Horror,' Stephen King has written 60 novels, 200 short stories, and his books and film adaptations have enjoyed great success over the years. Classics like "Carrie," "Salem's Lot," "The Shining," "IT," and "Pet Sematary" are ingrained in pop culture, as are many of his non horror entries like the film adaptat

  https://keyt.com/news/ventura-county/2020/09/15/ventura-county-says-no-to-door-to-door-trick-or-treating/ 2020 has sure taken its toll on humanity. So maybe reacting to one year of Halloween cancelled is being a bit selfish on my part. But as a major Halloween fan I'm heartbroken. I had held on to hope that out of all the holidays of the year, maybe Halloween would be the one that would be the most adaptable to these times. It has mask wearing. It's out in the open. And candy can be easily wiped down or quarantined. Apparently not so according to health officials.  I didn't take into account the weather change to that cold atmosphere that helps spread and the mass congregation of people who either may or may not practice mask wearing or social distancing. The outcomes aren't predictable. The flu season and the current situation we're in don't seem to bode well for the fall and winter. Here in Ventura County, the numbers of cases is going down and there's a

Back when mainstream record stores were a thing, I purchased a cassette tape (look it up, kids) containing two Black Sabbath albums. One was 1970's PARANOID and the other was 1980's HEAVEN AND HELL, both classic albums from the great granddaddy of heavy metal, Black Sabbath.  I was so jazzed, leaving Sam Goody (again, kids...look it up) with a great deal. Two albums from one legendary band that paved the way for my ongoing adventure into the world of heavy metal. I had already heard a handful of songs from the album on classic rock radio (including their two most popular hits "Iron Man" and the title track) and since I loved those tracks I was almost certain I would love the entire thing. And you know what? Sitting through that album was one of the great moments for me as a music lover. With Ozzy's signature wail, Tony Iommi's legendary riffs, Bill Ward's furious drumming, and Geezer Butler's head spinning bass playing, the album not only lived up to m

Born on September 12th 1957 in Frankfurt am Main West Germany, Hans Zimmer took a few weeks of piano lessons before he decided he was against the discipline of formal lessons. Mainly self taught thanks to computers, he has integrated classical music with electronic music and has created a sizable and otherworldly sound, thanks to his longtime partnership with the great modern director Christopher Nolan. His work from the '80's to today range from just about every genre in film. From dramas, comedy, animated, period pieces and genre film. He's created rousing pirate anthems for projects like The Pirates Of The Caribbean franchise to soaring superhero epics like "Man Of Steel" and The Dark Knight Trilogy. His scores for Christopher Nolan's original features like "Inception" and "Interstellar" are as sublime as any great piece of movie music. For all of his amazing work for any and all genre of film, I would like to point out his underrat

In 1983, when I was seven years old, my uncle took my cousin and I to the movies to see "Star Wars Episode VI: Return Of The Jedi." That one trip to the movies changed my live, as I became a lifelong Star Wars fan and would joyously pass it on to future generations. In that film, the mighty Darth Vader emerged from his ship to the dread of his commanders. Later on in the film, in a surprise to a young kid like myself, he kneels to an old man draped in a black cloak. This was my first introduction to the Sith Lord Emperor Palpatine. I loathed the character immediately and cheered greatly when Vader threw him to his (what I originally thought was) death. Fast forward to 1999, and I would see the character again. This time as Senator Palpatine, a member of the Galactic Senate but hidden in the shadows as Darth Sidious in "Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace." His character arc would be complete in 2005's "Star Wars Episode III: Revenge Of The Sith.&qu

Born on August 6th 1942, the fantastic character actor Tobin Bell started his career as many character actors do...spending years in stand-in and background work. He made appearances in many notable films in the 1980's and '90's, including "Tootsie," "Mississippi Burning," and "Goodfellas." Mr. Bell also starred in plenty of classic television, including episodes of "Seinfeld," "ER," "NYPD Blue," and "The X Files." His visibility would be put in the spotlight as he portrayed John Kramer (A.K.A. Jigsaw) in James Wan's bloody 2004 horror classic "Saw." He would go on to star in the entire SAW franchise, bringing his distinct voice to the big screen, scaring audiences (many times during the Halloween season). He's made some appearances at conventions, but not much convention activity going on this year. Here's to the potential return of this wonderful modern horror icon as we fan