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Author: Sue Granquist

Goth Chick News: The (Hot, Vampire) Boys Are Back in Town

Goth Chick News: The (Hot, Vampire) Boys Are Back in Town

Lost Boys for Goth Chick News

Long before new-age, flannel-wearing vampire Edward Cullen pouted and emo’d his way through not drinking blood in the Twilight series, there were the dangerously sexy boys from Santa Carla who introduced the 80’s to motorcycle-riding vampires with incredible fashion sense.

The Lost Boys premiered in the summer of 1987 with the tag line, “Sleep all day. Party all night. Never grow old. Never die,” basically summing up every 80’s kid’s deepest desires. Though The Hunger arguably provided vampires with their first 20th century panache, Jason Patric and Kiefer Sutherland brought us the idea of a teen-vamps in all their dark, leather-clad, bad-boy glory; effectively changing the genre forever by then giving rise to the Joss Whedon-helmed television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and its subsequent universe.

Two unfortunate and highly-forgettable sequels followed, neither of which managed to capture the magic of the first. Lost BoysThe Tribe (2008) saw the return of only one original cast member, Cory Feldman, and tried to make up for its shortcomings of pretty much ripping off the original plot, by throwing in a whole lot of skin. Lost Boys – The Thirst followed two years later with Feldman still in tow and fared slightly better with fans, but it was clear the whole concept either needed to be dropped, or get a reboot for the 21st century.

And voila… here we go.

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Goth Chick News: Another Extreme Experience to Quell Our Overstimulated Psyches…

Goth Chick News: Another Extreme Experience to Quell Our Overstimulated Psyches…

Goth Chick News

We’re reported on haunted attractions which have patrons basically paying to be tortured, and we’ve seen an amusement park ride which simulates you being buried alive, both of which make us a tad worried about our fellow human beings and their increasing appetite for ‘extreme’ experiences. Apparently, our collective need to have our overloaded senses shocked even further has given rise to escape rooms that require 20-page liability releases and…

Well, and this…

Beginning January 27th, the annual Goteborg Film Festival in Sweden will be offering up 32 “sarcophagus screenings” of Aniara, a Swedish-language apocalyptic sci-fi film.

What does this entail exactly?

Billed as “The World’s Most Claustrophobic Cinema,” the word “sarcophagus” in this case equals “coffin”. Eight volunteers per screening will be chosen to be shut into specially-made caskets outfitted with screens, speakers and oh yeah, air vents. You can check out the promo reel for this great big bucket of ‘nope’ after the jump below.

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Goth Chick News: Filed Under “Is This Necessary?”

Goth Chick News: Filed Under “Is This Necessary?”

Goth Chick Ghostbusters

As you might recall, in 2016 Sony Pictures decided the time was right to reboot the 1984 classic Ghostbusters using all female leads.

Oh, you don’t recall that?

That’s okay, because those of us who do would like to forget it.

But here we are, having barely shaken off the bacchanalia of the holidays, when BOOM, Variety hits us with this gem. Sony Pictures is having another go barely two years later.

News broke this week that Jason Reitman, son of Ghostbusters 1 & 2 director Ivan Reitman, is officially attached to direct a new Ghostbusters sequel. The film is said to be taking place in the original universe, and Reitman, like the rest of us, is ignoring the 2016 reboot entirely.

Reitman is also co-writing the screenplay with Gil Kenan (Monster House, Poltergeist), and Ivan Reitman’s Montecito Pictures is set to produce so we’re at least keeping this all in the family. Filming begins this summer and summer 2020 is targeted for release.

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Goth Chick News: Bats and Bacardi… These Are a Few of My Favorite Things

Goth Chick News: Bats and Bacardi… These Are a Few of My Favorite Things

Bacardi Bird Puppy

I love bats.

True, this may seem like an obvious statement, but goth chick stereotypes aside, I have always found bats fascinating, not for the least reason that many species look a lot like puppies with wings, and contrary to what Bram Stoker may have taught us, only three of the more than 1300 types of bats actually drink blood. In fact, those bat species which do, rarely try to do it on humans and only require about a tablespoon of blood per meal.

I also love rum.

Now this may sound like a non sequitur. Unless you’ve taken a close look at a Bacardi bottle; then you’ll notice Bacardi’s logo is indeed a bat. Why? Because the company’s first commercial distillery in Cuba was full of fruit bats hanging from the ceiling and, considering the high illiteracy rate back in 1862, it was an easy way for customers to identify their favorite adult beverage.

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Goth Chick News: The Stranger Things Kids Wrap Gifts for Stranger Things Fans

Goth Chick News: The Stranger Things Kids Wrap Gifts for Stranger Things Fans

Stranger Things cast

This is every bit as awesome as it sounds.

As you likely are aware, we have to wait all the way until summer before getting to binge the next eight episodes of Netflix’s Stranger Things so we’ve spent quite a lot of time scrounging for clues on what to expect. Executive producer Shawn Levy already confirmed that season 3 would take place a year after season 2 during the summer of 1985. Steve has graduated from high school and is working at an ice cream shop in the Starcourt Mall, which is where we see him in the teaser trailer. Levy also indicated the romantic pairings of Eleven-Mike and Max-Lucas remained steady and also revealed this tidbit, “We ended season two with a clear signal that the Shadow Monster was not eliminated, and maybe he’s even identified his foe. And that darkness, and the battle that it requires, only grows in Season Three.”

David Harbour, who plays Sheriff Hopper, told The Hollywood Reporter that everyone on the cast was “taking a lot of risks.” These may or may not include Hopper’s new dynamic as Eleven’s adoptive father.

We also know that much like how Season 2 riffed on the release of the first Ghostbusters movie, Season 3 is aiming for something closer to traditional horror in its focus on movies from directors like John Carpenter (Halloween, The Thing), David Cronenberg (The Fly, Videodrome), and George Romero (Night of the Living Dead). We can only guess what that means for the residents of Hawkins, IN.

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Goth Chick News: A Gingerbread House for the Rest of Us

Goth Chick News: A Gingerbread House for the Rest of Us

Gingerbread Overlook Hotel

Honestly, the holidays can be a bit of a slow time here in the underground offices of Goth Chick News. Seeing I was looking a bit down, our Big Cheese John O. conceded to make the boys on staff move their D&D game out of the biggest basement room, so we could give our offices a bit of an upgrade. Though Bob and Ryan groused about being further from the fridge, John graciously explained we could not continue to expect Black Gate photog Chris Z. to work off a laptop in the disused lavatory under the stairs. So, once I get the smell of cigars and Cheetos out of the walls, we’ll be moved in with enough outlets for my blender and Chris’ Nespresso machine.

And just when I thought this would be about as much activity as I could expect at the Black Gate offices in December, this happened…

Three best friends turned filmmakers, Natalie Jones, Aaron Keeling and Austin Keeling, best known for their 2015 breakout horror film The House on Pine Street, just produced something even more entertaining. Probably feeling a bit down as well, these superfans got baking and created what is probably the greatest gingerbread house of all time.

Behold, the Overlook Hotel from The Shining.

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Goth Chick News: Carrie White Joins Twitter and It’s Awesome

Goth Chick News: Carrie White Joins Twitter and It’s Awesome

Carrie at the Prom

Let’s be honest, social media can be a serious bummer sometimes. If you’re active on all the various platforms then you know that for every adorable puppy video there’s at least one or more trolls who can’t help but spread negativity. Between mean-spirited memes and the general lack of empathy for fellow human beings it’s enough to make you pack it in and decide it just isn’t worth being that ‘connected’.

But then something like this happens.

Someone in the Twitterverse decided to create an account and assume the persona of Stephen King’s telekinetic, introverted teenager Carrie, made famous in his very first novel and played by Sissy Spacek in Brian De Palma’s 1976 film adaptation.

The account has only been up since December 4, but it went from having 8 followers a few days ago, to 86 as of this morning, and the goal seems to be to give voice to some of Carrie’s inner musings while reminding us all there are still fun people out there.

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Goth Chick News: Godzilla and Stranger Things 3 or More Reasons to Love Millie Bobby Brown

Goth Chick News: Godzilla and Stranger Things 3 or More Reasons to Love Millie Bobby Brown

Though there is no shortage of great offerings from the likes of Netflix, Hulu, etc, it’s hard to not heave a sigh knowing we’re still a way off from our favs. Game of Thrones final season has been confirmed for an April, 2019 release, though an exact date hasn’t been announced. We also know we’re going to have to wait until sometime in the summer of 2019 to binge season 3 of Stranger Things, though that is about as much detail as has been let out. There is a very amusing teaser trailer which I’ve included above if you haven’t seen it in all its 80’s mall glory, but other than confirming Steve is awesome, it doesn’t say much about what to expect from our friends in Hawkins, IN.

Word on the underground grapevine is that a substantial trailer as well as the exact release date for season 3 will come out during Super Bowl 53 on February 3rd. We also know filming wrapped in the fall, from the blurb that star Millie Bobby Brown posted on her Twitter feed for the first official Stranger Things Day which occurred on November 6th (the day Will originally went missing).

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Goth Chick News: Before the Turkey There Was Days of the Dead

Goth Chick News: Before the Turkey There Was Days of the Dead

Days of the Dead 2018-small

For the last six years, Goth Chick News has concluded the haunt season with a final show which rolls through Chicago each November. Days of the Dead (DotD for you cool kids) has always been an interesting experience and the 2018 show which occurred last weekend was no exception.

In past years DotD has resulted in memorable encounters with the likes of Vampire Santa, Carrie Henn who played “Newt” in the movie Aliens, and my spiritual hubby, Brad Miska aka “Mr. Disgusting” owner of the premier horror website Bloody Disgusting. It has also been the source of quite a lot of under-the-breath commentary from Black Gate photog Chris Z such as his whispered “What the f***?” when Sleepy Hollow actress and former Tim Burton muse finally showed up to her press call (click here for why) and his speculation on the cause of Tara Reid’s extreme tardiness which likely wasn’t the “late lunch” her handler offered.

The 2018 event was a little thin on “celebrity” front with the biggest names being Clive Barker, who was quite a score since getting someone out of LA to Chicago in November is no small accomplishment, and the rapper Coolio who I guess was there for his appearance in the 2004 movie Dracula 3000 and not his web foodie show Cooking With Coolio. Nonetheless, there was still a lot of fun stuff to share.

So let’s dive in shall we?

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Goth Chick News: Killing Time Until the 2019 Show Line Up

Goth Chick News: Killing Time Until the 2019 Show Line Up

Ripley and Newt

With the 2018 “season” behind us and cold, dark Chicago winter ahead, it’s time to hunker down with what remains of our current reading list and wait for the start of a new set of Goth Chick News adventures in 2019.

On that note, I told you about three new horror releases a few weeks back, which were currently on my nightstand. I can now report that having finished Dracul, written at least partially by a great, great nephew of Mr. Stoker himself, it’s definitely worth your time. I wasn’t a fan of author Dacre Stoker’s first foray into Uncle Bram’s iconic character via a Dracula sequel entitled Dracula, the Undead. However, this time around Stoker teamed up with a co-author (or was teamed up with one by his editor). J.D. Barker has impressive horror creds and the results for the overall storytelling are definitely better.

Dracul is a pre-quel of sorts with Uncle Bram as the main character. The story concerns the events that inspired Bram Stoker to write Dracula, and though it is so slow in places you’ll think perhaps that was when Barker turned his back on the writing process to grab a sandwich, the overall story is clever and connects entertainingly enough to the source material to be a good read for fans of the original Dracula, as well as those who just like a good gothic vampire tale.

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