D.I. in Costa Mesa, 2001 Maniacs finally came out, and Brian Yuzna's latest film - Rottweiler, it sucks

new horror blog alert - Fatally*Yours - from a girl in Costa Mesa, read it.

Went to see D.I. about 4 blocks from my house in Costa Mesa the other night. I will only be going to one more punk show in Orange County before movie next month, The Dickies in Huntington Beach. The crowd at these punk bars is pretty tough, a little more menacing than what I was used to in Boston. A random girl ran her hands threw my hair at the show. I bet she regretted that instantly, it has been a few since it was last washed. I had to hide in the corner, hoping not to attract any more attention, perhaps from thugs and gang members - going to shows alone is a bit of a drag - with all that in between band time and other people being there and all.

offensive band alert: The Cliftons. Even though these guys brought lots of friends with them to the show, it looked like the Cliftons were playing to an empty room. I guess there friends know enough not to get too close or already know they don't want to see what goes down on the stage at all when the Cliftons are playing their Meatmen-style anthems. These guys are very hostile, claim to be "fags" and "gays" and whipped their dicks out, sending anyone with 30 ft of the stage running in the opposite direction. They got the lights turned off on them and then smashed all their gear for an audience of like me and two other guys. It seems weird that this crowd of Orange County lowlifes could be offended by anything, but clearly they can be and this was it.

The band is named after Andy Kaufman's asshole alter-ego, Tony Clifton.

horror: So three or so months ago, 2001 Maniacs finally came out on DVD. They really wanted this one to get a theatrical run and had been holding off the release. Cub and I have seen the director and cast speak a number of times, including Robert Englund and Lin Shaye. We have also seen the majority of the gore scenes, as Tim Sullivan screened a reel of them at Fangoria last year. Word is that Sullivan may be getting his own Masters of Horror episode, which seems premature. Still, 2001 Maniacs is pretty damn funny and recommended for almost any horror fan and Herschell Gordon Lewis fans will not be disappointed with the adaptation.

Brian Yuzna's latest since Beyond Re-Animator (2003), is Rottweiler, which came out on DVD about a year ago, but was flying low under my radar at least until I noticed it at the video store a few weeks ago. Why I would pick up a DVD with this junk on the cover? I should be ashamed, but it was like looking at a car wreck that you gotta see. Imagine my amazement when I saw it was a Yuzna movie. I looked it up when I got home and saw that it stars Spanish horror legend Paul Naschy, one of my favorites. I guess this movie qualifies as Euro-horror as it is shot in Spain and may have had a theatrical release there. Naschy can't save this movie, which is total crap (surprise) and besides, he is not on camera that much anyway. What can I say that is good about this movie - well for one the picture is crystal clear - it looked terrific on my TV screen. Also, there is a lot of gore (and not much CGI), but Yuzna's worst film, Return of the Living Dead III, also looked very crisp and had terrific FX, but there are something's about this movie and that one, probably the dialogue and storylines, that just makes you hate the shit out of them.

I praised Yuzna recently in a post about James Gunn's Slither where I wrote about his best and first movie, Society.

Rottweiler has a lame 80's sci-fi type of script where an escaped American prisoner travels through the wastelands of post-apocalyptic Spain, always just a few steps ahead of a robotic Rottweiler. Enough said? Perhaps, but I'll add that the hero, Dante, also rescues a little girl, who is briefly his travel companion. A bunch of sentimental bullshit ensues.

How about the sex scene? I won't say much, but it is the least erotic I've seen, as the female seductionists grunts out her life story to Dante as she bangs him. Painful to watch.

"They call me Riverman." Does anyone else remember a line like that from Return of the Living Dead III? That might as well have brought that guy back, because Dante is visited by a know-it-all black mystic in ghost form as he comes across a graveyard in his travels. As goofy as the moment is, I felt more sympathy for the unfortunate mystic than for Dante himself. You see, Dante is a cocky American asshole, traveling through fascist nations for kicks as some sort of extreme sport. He mocks the real black refugees in an early scene, moments before they are massacred by the Europeans. I suppose we are supposed to see Dante's transformation over time as the film progresses, especially regarding his sexist/jealous behavior (I won't spoil this with an example, it's the most interesting factor...) or - maybe Dante is put before us as an anti-hero, either way, he resembles Kid Rock. You'll hate him and fifty bucks says you are gonna be rooting for the fuckin' robot dog anyway.

I'd like to say that this movie does not belong in Blockbuster horror section, alongside Sci-Fi channel crap like Frankenfish and Spring Break Shark Attack, but it most certainly is at home among the crap.