This 5th edition of “This Is A Call” was actually inspired by a chance encounter I had yesterday with Mary Timony, the singer/guitarist that fronted the band HELIUM. I was on my lunch break, and she happened to skimming through vinyl records at the music/video store that I work at, so after much reluctance & shyness on my part, I finally walked over, said hello and introduced myself. (Turns out her new band WILD FLAG was actually filming a “What’s In My Band” segment, hence why she was at the store to begin with.) Regardless, Timony’s band HELIUM were on of my all time favorite bands of the 90′s. And when I say all time favorites, I’m talking top 5. Actually, most probably top 3 right behind Sunny Day Real Estate and Nirvana.

The first time I saw the band was when they only had two 7 inch releases available (The American Jean and Hole In The Ground) and they were opening for The Juliana Hatfield 3 (with Dig also on the bill) in New York City on the day of a huge blizzard that almost prevented my friends and I from going to the show. I can’t explain it, but that set was like nothing I’d ever heard before. A female fronted guitarist playing complicated chord progressions (rather than power chords like most of the ‘riot grrl’ bands I was in love with at the time) with dreamy, monotone vocals, a rock solid drummer in Shawn King Devlin. Thumbing bass from then bass player Brian Dunton – Helium was loud, noisy, melodic and strangely addictive. After that, I pretty much followed every HELIUM release and show. Hell, my “first date” with my first real girlfriend was to a HELIUM gig in New Jersey. So it’s safe to say that their music holds a lot of sentimental value to me.

So, the featured video for this segment will be their single Superball from their first full length feature album “The Dirt Of Luck“. (Although their first EP “Pirate Prude” stands out as a pretty impressive debut, which you should seek out asap!) The video for Superball captures the quirky, oddball nature of the band:

This next video I discovered only recently while skimming through You Tube and while I loved it when I first heard it on the record, it only recently became personally relevant to me. About 2 years ago, a week before I relocated from New York to Los Angeles, I was spending a night out with my friend Kristen. I recall dropping her off for what would most likely be the last time I’d see her for a long, long time and by mere fate my mp3 player randomly played Honeycomb by HELIUM. Hearing the song play out as I watched her walk away and out of my life suddenly summed up our decade long complicated relationship. So I love this song and video, because every once in a while, you’ll hear a song that completely captures what defines you with another person. This is that song for me and her.

And as a bonus, I’ll have to include Pat’s Trick from The Dirt Of Luck.

And last but not least, HELIUM‘s first video “XXX” from their first EP “Pirate Prude“, which features some of the darkest lyrics ever. (Hence why I fell in love with this band to begin with!) Enjoy!

Check out our previous entries to this column -

- This Is A Call – THE SPINANES “Noel, Jonah and Me”
- This Is A Call – SMILE “Staring At The Sun”
- This Is A Call – SEBADOH “Skull”
- This Is A Call – VELOCITY GIRL “Sorry Again”

If the answer to the above question is no, then you’re like me and many other people.  Lucky for you, we have codes to hand out to four lucky people to listen to the full album BAD AS ME before it’s released on Tuesday October 25th!

So, if you want the code, just go ahead and email me at aaron@massivehysteria.net.  Do it quick, though, I’m sure these codes will go fast! -Aaron P

Well it’s that time of year again! Halloween Season is in full swing and horror movies abound. This can only mean one thing, Screamfest is almost here! Every year, Screamfest has proven themselves as one of the best and biggest horror film festivals in the country. And once again, festival time is here. Starting tomorrow, Screamfest will once again bring 9 days of blood, guts, suspense, and movie fun.

The even will take place between the dates of October 14th through to October 22nd at The Grauman’s Mann Chinese 6 Theaters located at 6925 Hollywood Blvd, Hollywood, California. Go ahead and check out each film’s link below along with the full festival schedule!

Friday October 14th
SECTOR 7 3D (8:00 PM)

Saturday October 15th
CRAWL (12:00 PM)
PSYCHO (2:00 PM)
THE TUNNEL (With short film TIME’S UP EVE playing prior) (5:00 PM)
ROSEWOOD LANE (8:00 PM)
* The following are featured in the 10:00 PM Short Film Program
BAD MOON RISING
CHAINED
FRAGMENTS
PICNIC
ROAD DOG
ROID RAGE
AN EVENING WITH MY COMATOSE MOTHER
PATIENT ZERO
NIGHT OF THE LITTLE DEAD

Sunday October 16th
EXIT HUMANITY (12:00 PM)
DEAD HEADS (3:00 PM)
JULIA X 3D (7:00 PM)
CHILLERAMA (9:00 PM)

Monday October 17th
WRONG TURN 4 (7:30 PM)
MADISON COUNTY (9:30 PM)

Tuesday October 18th
VAMPIRIFICA (With short film HAIL SATAN screening prior) (8:00 PM)
URBAN EXPLORER (With short film THE NIGHT CALLER screening prior) (10:00 PM)

Wednesday October 19th
LIVID (8:00 PM)

Thursday October 20th
ISOLATION (6:00 PM)
ENTER NOWHERE (8:00 PM)

Friday October 21st
SOME GUY WHO KILLS PEOPLE (10:00 PM)
* The following are featured in the 8:00 PM Short Film Program
INCUBATOR
ROSA
THE LITTLE MERMAID
INFECTED
Y VOLVERE
HIDDEN SOLDIER
ELLA
NO REST FOR THE WICKED
ALL MEN ARE CALLED ROBERT

Saturday October 22nd
RITES OF SPRING (12:00 PM)
STORMHOUSE (With short film SINGULARITY playing prior) (2:00 PM)
CASSADAGA (4:00 PM)
KALEVET (6:00 PM)
THE INNKEEPERS (8:00 PM)

For the full schedule and ticketing information, you can also click here.

With the event so packed with films this year, we’ll do our best to bring as many reviews of the films listed above as possible. Stay tuned within the weeks to come for our Screamfest coverage. And for those of you planning on attending, I shall see you there! – Aaron P

With the 90 minute Season 2 premiere just a few days away, we figured this would be the perfect time to share the most interesting piece from THE WALKING DEAD press kit we recently received. The stakes this Season are higher, the zombies are hungrier, and the blood is…uh….bloodier! After the way Season 1 ended, we’ve been waiting with baited breath for any and all incoming details about the new story lines and whether they’ll keep on track with Kirkman’s books. Will they find Hershel’s farm? What will happen to Shane? Will more dead people eat more living people? I suppose we’ll just have to wait a little bit longer to find out. Until then, check out the insight and commentary for Season 2 of THE WALKING DEAD below. Oh, and if you haven’t seen Season 1 or read the comic books, there may be a spoiler or two ahead! – Aaron P
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BUENA PARK, Calif. (August, 2011) – Knott’s Scary Farm is preparing for the witching season, the annual opening of the world’s largest Halloween celebration in the world – Knott’s Halloween Haunt. Starting September 23 and running for 28 horrifying nights the typically family friendly theme park will transform itself for its willing victims into 160-acres of sheer terror.

Knott’s Halloween Haunt continues to be the leader in theme park Halloween events offering a whopping 13 mazes, seven hair-raising shows, four horrific scare zones and 1,000 roaming monsters roaming throughout the entire park.

A few weeks ago, we visited Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights (click here for our coverage) where I have consecutively gone on record with my opinion that it is more worth the time and money than Knott’s Scary Farm.   Although, Knott’s has the history and reputation as being the longest running Halloween Theme Park event, I still feel it’s more quantity over quality here.   Where Universal Studios shines with their movie studio resources, Knott’s matches with roller coasters and park size. But With only three new mazes to offer, let’s see how Knott’s Scary Farm brings the fear this year.
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Hey guys and gals, Aaron here!  We’re roughly two weeks away from the Season 2 premiere of THE WALKING DEAD and for some of us, that’s still too long to wait.  Thankfully, AMC has released a web series to appease the impatience.  Entitled THE WALKING DEAD: TORN APART, the six episode web series follows the back story of Hannah, better known to you and I as “Bicycle Girl” from the first episode of Season 1.

Seriously, what are you waiting for?  Click HERE to watch all six webisodes now!

Be sure to tune in to AMC on Sunday October 16th at 8/9c for the 90 minute Season Premiere! – Aaron P

Written and Directed By: Mike Bradecich & John LaFlamboy
Cast: Mike Bradecich, John LaFlamboy, Robert Englund, Tim Kazurinsky

I like it when a movie proves me wrong. Only a few minutes into this movie, I was ready to write it off because I wanted something terrifying and this movie didn’t seem even remotely in the same zip code as terrifying. But I stuck with the film and my initial reaction of writing off the film was replaced by the pleasant surprise at how entertaining I found this movie.

“The Mole Man of Belmont Avenue” is a horror/ comedy that explores what happens when a terrible situation is dropped into the laps of the two people least equipped to deal with it.  The Brothers Mugg can either step up to the plate and finally grow up, or they can wait and clean up the mess as a mysterious creature eats every living thing in the building, one by one.”

THE MOLE MAN OF BELMONT AVENUE is more comedy than horror, but that’s okay.  What saves this film isn’t really the story but more-so the characters who make up the story.  Bradecich and LaFlamboy, lead the way as the landlord brothers in the film.  The dry dialog delivery of Marion Mugg (Mike Bradecich) consecutively instigated a giggle or two from me.  You could tell these guys knew comedy.  It was no surprise at all when it’s revealed in the movie they are in Chicago.  The Improv / Sketch Comedy scene is huge out there.  What is also a pleasant surprise with this film are the STRANGERS WITH CANDY actors who appear in supporting roles, Robert Englund’s performance as the kinky old neighbor Hezekiah Confab, and the short but equally funny performance of Tim Kazurinsky (POLICE ACADEMY) as Harold.

Sure, THE MOLE MAN OF BELMONT AVENUE lacks any real scares but I feel it isn’t supposed to frighten the audience at all.  While I wished the Mole Man (Justin DiGiacomo) had more screen time, as well as wanted the film’s pacing to be a bit tighter, I felt this movie was pretty damn fun.  Full of quirky characters and dry wit, it’ll be no surprise to me at all when this film finds a home in midnight movie screenings across the country.

THE MOLE MAN OF BELMONT AVENUE screens this Saturday October 1st at 2:00 pm at The 2011 Shriekfest Film Festival.  For ticket information, click here.  For more information about the movie, check out their website here.

Written and Directed By Travis Betz
Cast: Sarah Lassez, Dustin Fasching

The next Shriekfest screener received, and thusly viewed, was THE DEAD INSIDE.  I want to go on record here and state I’ve been having a hard time coming to terms with this movie.  Everything seemed to be there: a unique perspective, above average acting, wonderful production quality.  But at the end of my viewing of this film, I seriously wanted to break something.

“Wes (Dustin Fasching) is a burned out photographer paying the bills shooting weddings. Fi (Sarah Lassez) is the author of a series of zombie novellas called, The Dead Survive. They are lovers who, at one time, were at the top of their creative game, but now have misplaced their muse. When Fi begins to show signs of mental illness, Wes does everything in his power to help her get better. But darker forces lurk inside her, and soon they realize the true horror of the situation. Fighting against a disturbed entity, they rediscover inspiration in the grimmest corners of this musical horror movie.”

THE DEAD INSIDE is a musical horror film.  Let’s be clear, I have a soft spot in my heart for a decent musical, so I am not angry at this film for going that route.  However, it seemed the story struggled with a consistent tone throughout.  Starting out, so I thought, as a zombie comedy, the film soon took a turn for a more depressing (and dare I say boring) story line.  Watching the film, with its musical interludes, I couldn’t help but wonder if Betz was inspired by Joss Whedon’s forray into the musical world with DR HORRIBLE’S SING-ALONG BLOG or that one episode of BUFFY everyone raved about.

I really am struggling in calling this movie a horror film, even though it does indeed deal with dark subject matter.  Once the opening credits finished rolling (this was my favorite part of the film), Travis Betz takes the viewer on a journey that goes from comedic, to quirky romance, to sombre drama, to WTF did I just watch?!  The glue that seemed to hold the whole thing together were the multiple musical numbers, which were sang pretty well by both Fasching and Lassez.  But you can only carry a film so far with such a gimmick, and ultimately the use of the musical interludes seemed more like a big neon sign reading “watch me, I’m different!” while ultimately distracting from the bigger target of delivering a well thought out story.

All this said, the film has more artistic merit than many in the world of independent horror films.  I acknowledge the talent it takes to write original songs and have them delivered in an engaging way.  Both Fasching and Lassez held their own as Wes and Fi, even though at some points during the movie I did not find their relationship believable.

With a lens that seemed to be  focused more on style than substance, THE DEAD INSIDE will be screening this Saturday October 1st at 9:30 pm at the 2011 Shriekfest Film Festival.  Still worth a view for the visuals and musical numbers so go see it and tell me I’m wrong! – Aaron P

Written and Directed By: Mike Flanagan
Cast: Katie Parker, Courtney Bell, Dave Levine, Morgan Peter Brown, Justin Gordon

When I started watching ABSENTIA, I had no idea what to expect.  All I had known about the film was that my old friend Dave Levine, whom I spent a good part of a year slinging coffee with at a big corporate coffee chain years ago, was one of the stars of the movie.  I had recently viewed the trailer and it indeed intrigued me.  I’ll tell you right now, ABSENTIA surprised me and I mean that in a good way.

The film begins with Callie (Katie Parker) moving in with her pregnant sister Tricia (Courtney Bell).  We learn very quickly that Tricia’s husband has been missing for roughly seven years and she is struggling with the choice to have him declared dead, or “in absentia”. Soon after the introduction of both characters and their relationship, we find Callie going for a morning jog.  As part of her route, she runs right through a dark and ominous looking tunnel (personally, I’d choose a different route!). While running through said tunnel, she discovers a creepy guy named Walter Lambert (Doug Jones). What a cameo! This run-in starts us down the creepy path that is the story of ABSENTIA.

Flanagan’s movie explores how one deals with grief in an uncertain situation.  Almost immediately, I was impressed with the production value here.  Working on many budget limitations, it’s pretty nice to see a film like this can still actually get made.  That, along with the above average writing and the performances of the cast kept my interest throughout.

ABSENTIA is technically a horror film, but seems to cross certain genres in its storytelling and subject matter.  Definitely a slow burn, the story really gets moving through its second and third act.  By the movie’s end, I found myself sitting there a bit dumbfounded.  Sure, there could have been more done with the story and what is actually shown to the viewer (less is definitely more in this film), but maybe that’s the point: to leave the viewer guessing as to what comes next.

Part drama, part horror, and even part creature feature, ABSENTIA is one of the few independent horror films I’ve seen in recent years that I feel is fully worth the viewer’s time.  Flanagan delivers a smart and creepy movie full of realistic performances and leaves the viewer wanting more.

Honored by multiple film festivals, you can view the movie yourself this Sunday October 3rd at The 2011 Shriekfest at 8:00 pm. The full schedule for this year’s Shriekfest is available here.  For more information about ABSENTIA, click here.

I’m going to just go out on a limb here and predict that after this weekend, ABSENTIA will have another award under its belt.  Prove me wrong, Shriekfest! – Aaron P

In a semi-buzzed state, my ninja photographer Calvin and I ventured from The Eyegore Awards out into the park for the opening night craziness that is Halloween Horror Nights.  There were two ‘must-see’ mazes on our list that seemed to be generating the most buzz from everyone we spoke to.  Our first stop, The Thing: Assimilation.

As per the official Press Release: “An abandoned scientific research center in the midst of a vast and frozen Antarctic will set the stage for “The Thing: Assimilation,” an all-new multi-sensory “Halloween Horror Nights” maze  based on Universal Pictures’ upcoming thriller.

A riveting and immersive trek into a science fiction nightmare, “The Thing: Assimilation” will draw upon the atrocities unearthed in the film and re-create the heinous crimes committed against humans by a parasitic extraterrestrial life form. 

A virtual three-dimensional sneak peek of the movie,” The Thing: Assimilation” maze will offer “Halloween Horror Nights” guests an unprecedented first-hand preview of the much anticipated thriller in advance of its release on October 14.  Eerily authentic, “The Thing” maze will feature elaborately designed and disturbingly real alien creatures and sets. They will match the film’s terrifying intensity to provoke both a memorable and disturbing experience.

Universal Studios Hollywood is collaborating with the film’s producers, Strike Entertainment’s Marc Abraham and Eric Newman (Dawn of the Dead) to create an experience that is authentic to the film. The sets, audio, musical score, creature and character references are all based on the thriller.

“We want people to live the film and experience the same terror that affects the film’s characters,” said Newman. “Our collaboration with Universal’s creative teams brought the vision of the film to life.  We’re excited for ‘Halloween Horror Nights’ guests to experience ‘The Thing’ in this frighteningly real way.”
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