The REAL Van Helsing(?) and more from Monster Complex 4/2/24
Plus a look back at classic Kong, and a look at some of the best horror authors and their fiction!
Welcome to another issue of the Monster Complex™ weekly newsletter! We take a look at some surprising info about the vampire killer from the original novel Dracula. We also go behind the scenes with the original King Kong classic movie, and look over a list of 70 of the most popular horror authors and their most influential fiction. All that plus links to the latest chapters from my crime comedy I CAN’T BELIEVE IT’S NOT KINGDOM COME.
Have a great week!
Chris
Chris Well
Monster Complex™
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WATCH THE NEW EPISODE OF THE SHOW!
Dracula vs Van Helsing: Who’s the REAL Van Helsing?
Watch this video HERE! DRACULA author Bram Stoker said that Van Helsing was based on a REAL person. But WHO? We look at the history of the vampire hunter, including possible inspirations, and some of his more interesting appearances. Watch the episode and find the whole article HERE!
King Kong 1933: How The Movie Was Made
One of the greatest monster movies of all time, I’ve posted videos that take you behind the scenes with King Kong’s historical significance—including a look at the special effects, the motion picture score, the storytelling, and more! Read the article HERE!
Bonus link: Did it Fight Godzilla, Gamera, or Kong?
Top 70 Horror Authors and Their Work (According to Google)
Who are YOUR favorite horror authors? We’ve got behind-the-scenes info on popular horror writers Stephen King, Tananarive Due, Mary Shelley, Koji Suzuki, Ray Bradbury, Silvia Moreno-Garcia, and many more! Find the list of authors and info about their fiction HERE!
I CAN’T BELIEVE IT’S NOT KINGDOM COME
Continuing to serialize my crime comedy novel I CAN'T BELIEVE IT'S NOT KINGDOM COME about a religious man’s confused decision—and how it gets him in a LOT of trouble with bad people.
I’m posting a chapter every Thursday and Saturday. (And including the links in each week’s Monster Complex™ newsletter.)
I’m also posting audio commentaries. (We’ll see whether I can think of enough things to say for that many chapters.)
MOST RECENT CHAPTERS
LET'S DO THE MASH!
When Arts Collide: Celebrating mashups that have captured my heart--including movies, books, music, and more
I love when creative types grab hold of more than one idea or genre or song to create a new work of art. I love seeing them mix seemingly disparate artworks together. After all, if each of these things were already cool, then combining them can just amplify the achievement.
THIS WEEK: THE WARRIOR'S WAY
I'm going to start this column with the 2010 movie THE WARRIOR'S WAY, which mixed fantasy and historic Asian swordplay with the Old West... with a swordsman carrying a baby into the Old West and ending up in a town populated by former carnival folks. And the swordsman AND the carnival people are ALL in danger of whole gangs of bad guys coming to kill them...
If memory serves, this is one of those cases where the movie was OK, but not nearly as amazing as the trailer. The movie trailer floats all these ideas and makes me DESPERATE to know how all these pieces fit together.
One example of the problem: The funniest line in the trailer does not actually exist. In the trailer, cast member Geoffrey Rush says “Ninjas. Damn.”
However, in the movie, those two words are actually completely separate statements. Whoever edited the trailer put them together in the same moment. So I spent the whole movie waiting for him to say it... and it never happened.
The Warriors Way | trailer #1 US (2010)
The Warrior’s Way (2010) is a New Zealand-South Korean fantasy action film starring Jang Dong-gun, Kate Bosworth, Geoffrey Rush, Danny Huston and Tony Cox. A 19th-century warrior named Yang is ordered to kill the last member of an enemy clan—a baby girl. He refuses the mission, fleeing with the child to a broken down town in America. However, when his master closes in on him, Yang must fight to protect the child and his newfound comrades. But it turns out they have a tragic past, too—and people coming for them as well…
Find The Warrior’s Way on Amazon
Find from JustWatch whether you can stream it
Thanks for hanging out with me again!
Have a great week.
:)
Chris
Chris Well
Monster Complex
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