The Green Inferno (2015) Review

Written by Stu Cooper

Nearly one year ago theaters and horror fans alike were supposed to be treated to Eli Roth's newest horror incarnation The Green Inferno. Due to several financial issues within the production company, the film was delayed almost an entire year. This is one of those films that was hot and heavy out of the gates with advertising, but due to the massive delay, a lot of people have most likely forgotten about it's release. I remember seeing trailers for this film over a year ago in theaters, and being quite excited for it. It wasn't until about two weeks ago that I saw a short TV spot, and thought oh wow that movie still hasn't come out. Several films have endured similar fates. One that comes to mind was Joss Whedon's Cabin In the Woods which was delayed several years. Thankfully the substance of "Cabin In The Woods" was able to save it and create a fan base. Unfortunately I cannot say the same for Eli Roth's odd Cannibal Holocaust satire film The Green Inferno. After over a year of waiting, I was able to finally sit in a local theater to watch the film, and it made me cringe...out of embarrassment.

The Green Inferno is a film that was made almost two years ago, but is just now seeing it's first commercial release. The film was written and directed by Eli Roth, and co-written by Guillermo Amoedo. The film stars Lorenza Izzo, Ariel Levy, Daryl Sabara, Kirby Bliss Blanton, and Aaron Burns. The film began shooting in early 2013 and had a 6 million dollar budget. A sequel was also greenlit by the production company but due to financial problems, it is unlikely to see the light of day unless the project finds a new home.

The film begins at a college in New York City as we follow the stunning Lorenza Izzo who plays Justine, a freshman. Despite most of this cast being awkward and amateur, Izzo stands out as a stunning beauty who brings a lot to her role. She has incredibly piercing eyes that the camera focuses on quite a bit. The eyes end up being a big part of her look later in the film when she is covered in white tribal paint. I have a feeling that is part of the reason she was cast in the lead. Sadly she is one of the only interesting characters in the film. The film is riddled with actors and characters that seem poorly written and amateur. Starting with her roommate Kaycee (Sky Ferreira) who is one of the most unlikable characters to ever grace the screen. Not only does she deliver her lines with the enthusiasm of a second year high school senior in detention, but she appears to have just woken up. I'm not sure if they did her make up a certain way to convey this, but she looked like a tired strung out homeless girl. She also delivered her lines with a dialed up obnoxious attitude. At first I thought this was intentional so the audience would be rooting for her to get killed, but it never really leads to anything other than annoyance. As quickly as we are introduced to this bond between two best friends, she disappears from the film and bares no importance. Then we are introduced to a group of incredibly annoying college social warriors who have founded their own environmental group. The group marches on campus and does hunger strikes, often preaching for a cause that goes unnoticed. Justine runs into the group and finds them interesting after meeting a slap happy member of the group named Jonah (Aaron Burns). Jonah asks her to come to a meeting which is where she meets the rest of the group.

The group consists of some of the douchiest, dumbest, and most obnoxious characters imaginable. Some seem to be written this way, while others seem to just act that way. One thing I immediately notice is that a majority of the group seems to have very thick foreign accents, despite them being at a college in America. I actually had to double check and make sure she wasn't attending school in a foreign country because some of these people sounded Spanish, while others sounded French. I'm not sure if that's just supposed to be representative of the melting pot in New York or what, but it comes off like a bunch of amateur actors delivering cheesy English dialogue they seem to struggle with. I would say the film's biggest downfall is the acting and dialogue. This problem is showcased immediately when we meet Alejandro (Ariel Levy) and his girlfriend Kara (Ignacia Allamand) who both deliver their lines like they are reading off of cue cards. To say the dialogue was amateur is an understatement. You can blame the actors for their awkward delivery, especially since English is apparently their second language, but you cannot blame them for the script. I found some of the lines laughable, in scenes that weren't meant for comedy. Anytime Alejandro or Kara spoke...I laughed. I'm not sure what the writer was thinking with these characters, but the vision was not coming out on screen. Needless to say, I was ready to see all of these terrible actors get killed off and it couldn't happen soon enough.

After Justine blindly joins a social warrior cause led by fellow oblivious college kids, she flies to Peru with the group. Once the group arrives in Peru the film starts to pick up and we are introduced to the main storyline. The group of kids is trying to stop part of the rainforest from being destroyed because it will kill off a local tribe. The club shows up to the construction site and attempts to delay this from happening. Without spoiling it, their journey becomes slightly more complicated and they find themselves stranded in the hands of a cannibalistic local tribe. The tribe doesn't speak English and they seem to have fun skinning people alive and putting their heads on posts. Through some visual storytelling the tribes people are made out to be rather terrifying. I was concerned about this film until the moment the tribe came in, then I had a bit of hope. The fear that the people experience seems genuine and you can really feel how overwhelming the whole experience is just by watching on screen. The film does bring some terror onto the screen through these moments of hopelessness. Unfortunately whenever the film starts to get a real scary vibe going, it's completely ruined by bad dialogue or misplaced comedy. At one point there is intense drum music happening, leading you to believe something intense is about to happen, and it's actually just building up to a girl having diarrhea. That's right, there's an orchestral build-up to diarrhea. I would say that is actually symbolic of my feelings on this movie. Lots of epic build up, ready to jump out of your seat, then BOOM! ...diarrhea.

Now one thing everybody wants to know is, is it gory? Eli Roth isn't exactly known for making quality films, but he has always delivered on the gore factor. He became famous because of his association with HOSTEL, so fans of his have come to expect a certain level of violence. I think you won't be disappointed in that aspect, as there is some pretty gut wrenching scenes involving dismemberment and cannibalism. There is some practical effects used early on that provide an extremely visceral scene, which makes for good horror. I also noticed Greg Nicotero's name attached to the film so I'm guessing that was him who helped with that scene. Unfortunately one scene involves some pretty terrible CGI and it totally kills any intensity that death scene had. So it's a mixed bag in terms of effects.

Overall The Green Inferno is a sub-par horror film that reeks of bad student films. The dialogue is poorly written, the acting is awful, and the storytelling really falls flat. However the film does supply a few scary moments and it explores the idea of social media warriors. So if you hate all of those people on the internet preaching and posting petitions, you might dig where this film goes. It's truly a hipster's worst nightmare. It pokes fun at the absurdity of social media campaigns and how easily young minds can be fooled into thinking they are intelligent. I have to give the film some points for being clever in it's choice of victims. Unfortunately for this young mind, I was fooled by the trailers, and I thought this film was actually going to be good.

Nightcrawler (2014) Review

Written by Stu Cooper

The last film I had a chance to see in theaters was a little gem called "Nightcrawler" starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Rene Russo, Riz Ahmed, and Bill Paxton. The film was written and directed by Dan Gilroy. Gilroy had previously worked on Real Steel, The Fall, The Bourne franchise and many other pictures. The film made it's debut at the Toronto Film Festival earlier this year but premiered nationally on Halloween Day. The Halloween day release would prove appropriate for this crime thriller, but more on that later. The film just left my local theater but if you have a discount theater or Alamo Drafthouse theater you may still be able to catch it. The film proved to be a character departure for the clean cut Gyllenhaal. It would prove to be one of his most bizzare, and memorable roles.

"Nightcrawler" tells the story of a lonely psychopath who is looking for some direction in life. Louis Bloom, played by Jake Gyllenhaal, is a bizarre unhinged introvert who is desperately searching for a purpose. He steals fence chain and mugs people to get by, but he is clearly searching for something more. Something that could prove more profitable. After being rejected when trying to get a conventional job, it's not until witnessing a car accident that Bloom gets his idea. Bloom witnesses a car accident and as the police try to save the victim from the flaming vehicle, a cameraman looms over the accident. The man films the victim screaming and almost burning up, without a bit of remorse. This gets the of attention of Bloom who begins to question the man. He finds out the cameraman (played by Paxton) is what the journalism world refers to as a "Nightcrawler". He listens to police scanners and tries to arrive at incidents in time to film the gory outcomes. It's a rather despicable job by most peoples standards, but Bloom is intrigued.

After being inspired by the local crew, Bloom sets out to start his own "Nightcrawler" operation. He starts off stealing a bicycle and trading it in for a camera. He attempts to film some local accidents, but ultimately fails due to inexperience and poor equipment. It's not until Bloom captures a rather gruesome death that he gains momentum. He sells the gruesome footage to a local news producer, played by Rene Russo. Russo encourages him to bring in more footage like that to get more money. This leads Bloom down a dangerous path of a bizarre nature. Bloom progressively evolves into an even bigger psychopath who has a fancy for filming the dead. Like all psychopaths Bloom finds a way to be charismatic and uses that to get what he wants. Bloom hires a helper named Rick who he immediately exploits. Rick is down on his luck and basically homeless, so he is easily manipulated.

After continuing to film gruesome events, Bloom's stock begins to rise. Bloom upgrades his equipment and continues to up the ante. Bloom blurs the lines of morality and journalism with every thing he films. The news producer also continues to encourage him, despite knowing the sadistic nature of what she's paying for. There is another producer who objects to the whole thing, but he doesn't have any pull and immediately gets shut down. A massive real life commentary on how news and professional journalism works. It brings to light a dark side of the media that people don't like to think about.

With his increasing popularity Bloom turns into an egotistical monster. It's quite the sight to behold. There is some amazing monologues from Gyllanhaal. The interactions between Gyllenhaal and Russo are chilling. There is also a moment when Bloom stares at himself in the mirror and shatters it in frustration. Saying that his character is unhinged is the understatement of the year. As with most movie psychos, this makes for great cinema. It actually reminds me a lot of Robin Williams in "One Hour Photo", mixed with Christian Bale in "American Psycho".

I was pretty underwhelmed with Bill Paxton's role in the film but I was very impressed with Riz Ahmed. Bloom's assistant Rick was a pretty likable character, and you could see how someone in his situation could be manipulated by someone like Bloom. You can't help but root for the guy to get out of the situation before he is corrupted. Russo plays the heartless News Producer very well. There is some great stuff between her and Gyllanhaal, highlighted by a disturbing sexual situation that I won't spoil. Overall the cast works together smoothly, but it is definitely the Jake Gyllenhaal show!

The film says a lot about the current state of journalism, and that's the scariest thing about it. It's no shock to anyone who watches FoxNews,CNN,Access Hollywood, E! News, local news, etc. that sex and violence is what sells. In this case, it focuses on the violence. It's all about the saddest thing that happened that day. In some cases the news actually exploits death and unfortunate events. People get paid thousands of dollars to report and film this kind of thing. There is also something to be said for the growing popularity in the past decade of paparazzi. Whether it's the death of Princess Diana or the idea that someone like Kim Kardashian is famous enough that people flock to her while she is grocery shopping. The Bloom character sees all of this, and sees dollar signs. He is able to make a cold separation and rake in the dough. That is absolutely psychopathic, but totally realistic. I wouldn't be surprised if many journalists are equally as twisted. That's what makes this film particularly scary and effective.

The cinematography in the film is quite impressive. It displays the lonesome ambient tone of the film that fits Bloom's character. You also get a sense of that hip "DRIVE" feeling anytime Gyllanhaal is out driving at night. There is some great driving cam footage with some impressive car mount cameras. I remember noting to the person I went with that some of the car shots had to be very difficult to get. The camera view is a switch between first person POV to normal style, which can be a bit jarring. That style proves effective in the last act of the film when there is a gigantic car chase. It feels like a rollercoaster at some points.

Lastly I'd like to talk about Gyllenhaal's performance. Gyllenhaal brought a new kind of character to the table, at least for him. He often plays the hero or the protagonist, so it was cool to see him as a villain. Gyllenhaal also lost 30 pounds for this role, just to look extra creepy. Gyllanhaal also reportedly shadowed real life Night Crawlers in preparation for the role. He goes the extra mile to fulfill the role and it shows. He plays the perfect long gangly creeper. If anything I was left wanting to see MORE of this character and his story. The ending of the film is quite up in the air, and leaves you wanting more. I would suggest everybody check this one out, and see for yourself. "Nightcrawler" was a excellent film and I would highly recommend it.

31 Days of Monster Mania: Day 17: Star Trek Enterprise "Impulse"

Written by Stu Cooper

It's time for yet another entry in the Monster Mania countdown! Today I'm going back to the vast Trekverse to discuss another creepy Halloween themed Star Trek episode. The episode I will be discussing isn't exactly Halloween themed, but it's the closest thing we will ever get to a live action "Night of the Living Trekkies". For today's entry I'm discussing the Star Trek Enterprise episode "Impulse" which is essentially about Vulcan zombies!

For those who aren't familiar with Star Trek: Enterprise it's the last Star Trek series to air on television, but timeline wise it's the first. It's a prequel to all the other series, so this is before Picard, and before Kirk. It's essentially about the first group of Starfleet people to explore space. This makes for a pretty interesting series that people seem to either love or hate. The look and feel of the show is far different from it's predecessors. Since it's a prequel a lot of the technology and costumes look different than what we are used to. That rubs some people the wrong way, but I'm pretty neutral about that factor as long as the storytelling is good. The captain of the Enterprise in this incarnation is Scott Bakula who plays Captain Archer. Some of the other crew members include the insanely beautiful Vulcan T'Pol (Jolene Blalock), Engineer Trip Tucker (Connor Trineer), Dr.Phlox (John Billingsly), Hoshi Sato (Linda Park), Malcolm Reed (Dominic Keating), and the always smiley Mayweather (Anthony Montgomery). The crew experiences all sorts of first time adventures while in space, but one they couldn't have possibly predicted is an encounter with zombie Vulcans!

The episode starts with Captain Archer looking battle damaged and he is hauling an irrational acting T'pol into sickbay. There is something seriously wrong with T'pol. She's acting like she is losing her Vulcan mind! Cue Rod Stewart theme tune. Flashback to one day earlier. The crew of the Enterprise receives a distress signal from a Vulcan ship called The Seleya (beautiful name) which was a ship lost in the expanse over 9 months ago. The crew follow the distress signal which leads to an asteroid field full of a rare mineral called trellium. Trip seems to think the Vulcan ship went out into the asteroid field to collect this mineral and something happened. Archer wants to investigate but realizes the Enterprise is too big to navigate through the asteroid field. Archer decides to take the shuttlepod over to the Seleya, he is joined by T'pol and Reed. T'pol reveals that she actually served on the Seleya for over a year as a science officer before joining the Enterprise. She had already left the ship by the time they had gotten stuck in the expanse. The Seleya appeared to become a victim to a "subspace eddy", never to be heard from again. Any ships sent to retrieve them were never heard from again either.

The shuttlepod makes it to the Vulcan ship, and Hawkins joins the crew as well. Reed, Archer, T'pol, and Hawkins all board the Seleya. T'pol and Archer are investigating some odd biosign readings. After Reed finds trellium and Vulcan blood covering some of the bulkheads. This is obviously not a good sign. Soon after this Archer and T'pol are confronted by a Vulcan who appears crazed. He charges at them with a weapon and takes several phaser shots to dispose of. The Vulcan also appears to have warped skin, as if he has some kind of virus. The crew continues to be attacked by Vulcans throughout the ship, all with the same crazed virus. The Vulcans seem to have lost all sense of reality and logic, bent on killing the crew. The crew uses the stun setting and continues to take out every Vulcan they see. Reed decides to set his phaser to kill, which causes a dispute between him and T'pol. T'pol believes he has no issues killing her people, despite the fact that they could be saved. Archer agrees and orders the crew to continue stunning the Vulcan zombies instead of killing them. The crew realizes that there are 147 Vulcans on board, and they are going to have a serious fight on their hands.

After battling through several decks, T'pol begins showing signs of the same Vulcan virus the crew of the Seleya have. It becomes Archer's priority to get her help before it's too late. Meanwhile Tucker and Mayweather are using another shuttlepod to mine trellium from a nearby asteroid, which isn't going so well for them. Archer and the crew eventually reach the sickbay of the Seleya where they run into a Vulcan that T'pol knows. The Chief Engineer of the ship, but unfortunately he gives into the madness and is unable to give them any answers. T'pol begins getting irrational and angry, and Archer knows her time is running out. The crew decide to continue battling their way through the Seleya, fighting off Vulcan zombies one by one.

Meanwhile back on the Enterprise Trip and Mayweather are able to gather the materials they needed from the asteroid, but as a result of their messing around a giant asteroid is now heading directly for the ship. Two asteroids collide in front of the ship and cause a serious delay in any kind of rescue. It's up to Archer and his crew members on the Seleya to save themselves. As they continue battling the zombies, T'pol begins to turn crazy. She starts making lots of snide remarks towards the crew members, including a remark to Archer about his father's failed work. She soon convinces herself that Archer just wants to kill the Vulcans and get revenge against them. She sets her phaser for kill and holds the crew hostage. Thankfully the crew are able to disarm her and subdue her. Archer realizes the only way to free themselves is to override the ship, which would lead to a warp core breach. Archer sends Dr.Phlox some bio information that will allow him to treat T'pol and the crew are rescued at the last minute by Trip and Mayweather. The Seleya explodes. T'pol is treated afterwards but is still haunted by the memories of the zombie Vulcans and feels a bit betrayed by her crew. She felt that it was not necessary to kill all of the infected Vulcans, but they had no choice.

"Impulse" was a Season 3 episode and by this point we had gotten to know the characters quite well. The crew was actually in the middle of a big story arc with an alien race called The Xindi, but it's not a factor in this episode. The episode originally aired in October 2003, just in time for the Halloween season! The episode itself is pretty one dimension but it's a lot of fun. If you ever wondered what "Night of the Living Vulcans" would be like, this does it justice. It's basic zombie movie scares, but in a Star Trek universe. The one interesting layer of depth to the story would be the psychotic breakdown of T'pol. We get to see T'pol become very emotional, which for a Vulcan is rare. She ends up expressing her true feelings regarding some of the crew members and says some things that can't be taken back. This issue reaches such a heated point that she actually requests that the Captain leave her on the next habitable planet. It provides a pretty interesting element to the bland zombie story we've seen 1,000 times. If you're looking for a good Star Trek Halloween episode, you can't go wrong with "Impulse", even if you aren't an Enterprise fan!

31 Days of Monster Mania: Day 14: Odd Thomas

Written by Stu Cooper

It's time for the Monster Mania countdown to get odd. Today's edition is all about the 2013 mystery horror film “Odd Thomas”. The film is based off of Dean Koontz’s novel of the same name. From my understanding the book and the film are quite similar with only a few minor differences. The film is written and directed by Stephen Summers. Sommers had worked on The Mummy series, Van Helsing, and most recently Rise of Cobra. Needless to say, Sommer's IMDB reads like a whose who of corny science fiction movies. That's why I was pleasantly surprised with “Odd Thomas”. The film stars Anton Yelchin as the lead Odd Thomas, Willem Dafoe as his father Wyatt, and Addison Timlin as Odd's girlfriend Stormy.

“Odd Thomas” is all about a teenager named Odd who has a special power. Odd has the power to see dead people. Not only can he see dead people, but he can also see demons. Instead of approaching this concept like “The Sixth Sense”, this film does the total opposite. It gets right to the point, tells you what is going on, and the action kicks off. Almost immediately we see that Odd uses his power to be a bit of a hero. He helps his detective father solve murders by communicating with some of these dead people. Not only does he help solve the mysteries, but he randomly opens a can of whoop ass on a few of these guilty parties. It definitely has a Scott Pilgrim feel when it comes to the action sequences and the dialogue between the characters. The film's tone however is a bit darker than Scott Pilgrim.

One downside to Odds powers is the demons that he can see. He refers to them as bodachs. These “bodachs” feed off of the negative energy produced by evil acts being committed. If someone dies, they want to feed off that dead person. Odd also realized that the bodachs were invisible to the rest of the world. So he has to pretend he does not see them. That's some serious concentration. The amount of bodachs in his town begins to increase, which leads Odd to think something's up. Odd is correct and there a lot of murder that's about to take place. It's up to Odd to solve the mystery and stop the event from happening. This leads to some pretty interesting ghost investigation stuff, along with some random fight scenes and horror scares. This movie is all over the place in terms of tone. You have some comedy, some Pilgrim-esque quirky dialogue, some fight sequences, and some serious horror scares. I would say it's on the same level as “Scream” in terms of handling multiple tones at once.

Anton Yelchin is very likable in the role of "Odd". I already liked the actor after his role in "Fright Night" and his fun version of Chekov in the new "Star Trek". The character is kind of like an apprehensive super hero. He didn't ask for this power, but the power chose him. Odd proves throughout the film that his level of commitment is high. The film balances the scooby doo mystery feel with a splash of real horror. There is a sequence where Odd and Stormy are trapped in a church being hunted by a ghost and it's quite intense. You really get a sense of darkness in the character's world, despite the comical style of the dialogue.

Overall I found “Odd Thomas” to be a pleasant surprise, with a dark underlying theme. The film deals with some dark subject matter, but in a very light way. I really felt myself caring about the characters. The relationship Odd has with his father, and his girlfriend seem incredibly genuine. The actors all really mesh well and feel like real people.

Addison Timlin is intoxicatingly cute in the film. She does a superb job playing the supportive girlfriend that Odd really needs. She also has lots of quick comedy and fun dialogue with Odd's dad. I think she was cast perfectly in the role. Willem Dafoe is great as always, tho it left me wanting to see more of him. Gugu Mbatha-Raw also stars as Viola Peabody, a good friend of Odds. She doesn't have much to do in the film, but it's always nice to see her pop up. We also get a creepy performance out of Nico Tortorella who plays a cop in the film. He played a villain in "The Following" and I thought he brought a lot of the same creepiness to the table in this one.

I'd love to see a sequel to the film or a series based on the film. Odd could easily go on more ghost adventures. I'm hoping to read the book at some point just to see more of this character. There is also some graphic novels based on the character that I may track down. I highly recommend this film. It's not exactly a Halloween horror film, but it's a cool unique take on ghosts that will leave you entertained.

31 Days of Monster Mania: Day 13: WWF's 1985 Halloween Special

Written by Stu Cooper

Anyone who knows me personally knows that I am a massive pro wrestling fan and have been since I was a toddler. So it should come as no surprise that I've tracked down a wrestling oriented Halloween special to discuss! For Day 13 of Monster Mania I have hopped in the time machine once again and traveled back to November 1st, 1985. At this point the WWF had begun running a special show called Saturday Night's Main Event. The show would be once every couple weeks, and this edition happened to fall on the Saturday after that year's Halloween. Even tho it was technically November, the WWF decided to celebrate Halloween anyways. What resulted was about an hour of absolutely hilarious costumes, and various halloween competitions between The Heenan Family (Bobby The Brain's group) and The Hillbillies (Jim, Elmer, and some cousins). Let's sink our teeth into this hilarious hour of 80's television!

The show begins with Jesse "The Body" Ventura interviewing Roddy Piper who is dawning a "Super Roddy" costume. Roddy mocks the Hillbilly group for being trash, and makes remarks about Uncle Elmer's recent wedding. Piper said he vows to confront the Hillbilly family tonight on Piper's Pit. We then cut to Mean Gene who is with Bobby "The Brain" Heenan. Heenan is dressed up as Davey Crockett with the coon-skin cap on, but he is immediately mistaken for a weasel and that becomes a running joke through the episode. Heenan is training for a miniature pumpkin bobbing contest that will take place later in the evening. I was unaware that bobbing for mini-pumpkins in chocolate was a thing. You can't exactly just eat a pumpkin right through the skin, so what's the point? Bizarre that they didn't just do apples. We will get back to that contest later.

We get some camera shots of children and adults throughout the audience dressed as some of their favorite WWF Superstars. Which results in an incredibly creepy shot of a kid in a Hulk Hogan mask. We are then introduced to our commentary team for the night which consists of Jesse "The Body" Ventura and Vince Mcmahon. The opening contest for the show is Terry Funk vs. The Junkyard Dog. Funk had recently been going around beating up ringside attendants and using his branding iron on wrestlers (despite the fact that it can't possibly be hot). We get a short interview from Funk where he spits chewing tobacco all over the camera (and probably the poor camera man). The superstars hit the ring and the match is off to a hot start. We see both men trade punches, headbutts, piledrivers, etc. Jimmy Hart is managing Funk at the time and he interferes every chance he gets. Funk ends up using Hart's megaphone to hit JYD over the head for the pinfall win. After the match Funk attempts to brand JYD, but JYD fights it off and ends up using the branding iron on Jimmy Hart's bum. It's classic goofy 80's WWF.

Next up is the pie eating contest between King Kong Bundy and Captain Lou Albano, two staples of 80's wrestling. Albano represents the Hillbillies, and Bundy represents the Heenan Family. Each side is accompanied by various good guys and bad guys dressed in costume. The highlight of these costumes is the absolutely ridiculous Iron Sheik as Batman and his partner Nikolai Volkoff as Robin. Seeing the two of them dressed up is just priceless and brought an immediate smile to my face. Macho Man and Liz are also dressed as Tarzan and Jane. Liz has never looked hotter in the Jane outfit, and Mean Gene gets an eye full every chance he's got. After 60 seconds of pie-eating, Albano is declared the winner. Bundy doesn't take this well and a food fight ensues.

The next segment is Piper's Pit which was hyped up earlier on the show. This segment was quite boring and uneventful compared to the rest of the show. You can tell it was taped several days before and there isn't really anything Halloween about it. The feud between the Hillbillies and Piper doesn't really lead to anything, but we do get a fun appearance by Ventura. Ventura runs down Uncle Elmer's wife and doesn't back down when threatened. It was cool to see Ventura get all hyped up, even tho his in-ring career was done at that point.

Next up was the Pumpkin bobbing game! This game would consist of a member from each team bobbing for pumpkins in a giant bucket of chocolate. Whoever has the most when the time runs out, wins. Heenan represents his team, and Cousin Junior represents the Hillbillies. With ease Heenan is able to defeat Junior, probably thanks to his practice from earlier. We get to see the always intense Macho Man hamming it up helping Heenan put the pumpkins into a trash bag. It's all pretty stupid, but fun none the less. This means that the Hillbillies and the Heenan Family are tied 1-1 and the final deciding game will be a "Pumpkin Toss" later on in the evening.

The next match up is dubbed the "Dream Team" matchup which pits Hulk Hogan and his partner Andre The Giant vs. Heenan's boys Big John Studd and King Kong Bundy. The four of these men had been feuding for several months leading up to this. The match itself is really just a heavy hitter brawl between Andre and Bundy, with Hogan hitting some ax-handles and boots every once and awhile. There is a false DQ finish where a ref gets knocked out, only for the match to end on a disqualification anyways. A nice reminder that you're watching a free TV match, which usually means no clean win. After the match we have Mean Gene interviewing Macho Man and he asks him possibly the dumbest question ever when he says "Why a woman manager?". Macho quickly retorts with "You're either a blind man, or a stupid man, which one are ya Gene?".

After Macho's interview he goes to the ring for his chance at the IC title against Tito Santana. Macho was quickly climbing the ladder at this point and his IC title reign was coming up soon. Unfortunately for those in attendance in Hershey,PA, it wouldn't be that night. The two go at the mat pretty hard and there is some good moves and exchanges. There is a good spot near the end where Macho goes for his classic top rope axe handle, and is hit in the gut by Santana. The two end up brawling outside and both men are counted out. Yet another non-finish on a special show. Unfortunately a common thing in 80's WWF.

After this match we are off to Roddy Piper's house for a bizarre skit. Vince Mcmahon has arrived at the house to ask Piper about Halloween. Piper is wrapping up giant bricks to make them look like giant chocolates, and bowling balls disguised as giant candy apples. He says that the Scottish like to celebrate "the trick" part of Trick or Treat. Piper then receives some Trick or Treaters. Piper invites them in and in true asshole fashion begins to ridicule the children and trick them into giving him their candy in exchange for his fake candy. It's a literal translation of the saying "like stealing candy from a baby". A real prick moment in the life of Roddy Piper, but I loved every second of it.

Next up is the final match of the evening which is a special "Kung Fu Challenge" between Ricky Steamboat and Mr.Fuji. The rules of the contest are quite vague. So much so that the commentators don't seem to know. From what I gathered tho, the wrestler's were only allowed to use Karate-like moves. You see the two of them exchange hyper exaggerated chops and kicks. Ultimately Steamboat gets the better of Mr.Fuji and gets the win, but afterwards Don Muraco runs in and spits red mist on the eyes of Steamboat. Steamboat gets beat down, and I guess the trick is on him.

The final segment of the night is the tie breaker between the Heenan Family and The Hillbillies! The WWF chose to settle this in possibly the most awkward way possible, by having teams of wrestlers pass a pumpkin underneath their chin. You know that game you do at middle school parties in a weird attempt to get close to the opposite sex? Well instead of that, you get a bunch of giant wrestlers in costumes trying to do it. Lots of awkward hilarity ensues. The good guys go first and get through 5 people before Captain Albano drops the pumpkin. The bad guys then follow and unfortunately for Liz, she drops the pumpkin and loses the game for the team. But who cares about that when we are all treated to many shots of Elizabeth in her Jane outfit. Savage of course goes ballistic and blames Liz for every problem ever known.

That concludes this absolutely bizarre and fun 1985 Halloween special. If you have access to the "WWE Network" I would highly recommend checking this episode out before Halloween hits. It's one of the more entertaining Saturday Night Main Event episodes, and a great flashback to the "good ole days" of the WWF (now WWE).

31 Days of Monster Mania: Day 11: Horror of Dracula

Written by Stu Cooper

We are getting closer to Halloween and it's time to whip out the big guns. Let's talk Dracula. My personal favorite Dracula is Christopher Lee. I absolutely love the Bela Lugosi version and the Gary Oldman Dracula, but there is something about the brutality of Hammer films that gets me interested. Not only do you have Christopher Lee playing a remarkably creepy Dracula, but you have the acting legend Peter Cushing as the Vampire Hunter Dr.Van Helsing. The pairing of the two ends up being movie magic and is still talked about by horror fans today. The film I'll be talking about today is Hammer's "Horror of Dracula" which went by just "Dracula" outside of the U.S. but "Horror Of" was added to the title to avoid confusion with the Lugosi version. Like the Lugosi version, this one was loosely based on the concept of the original novel. This would be the first Christopher Lee Dracula film ever, tho Cushing and Lee previously worked on Hammer's "The Curse of Frankenstein".

The film was released in 1958 and Directed by Terence Fisher. Fisher would go on to direct several Hammer films starring Lee and Cushing. The plot revolves around Dracula's reign of terror moving from Transylvania to London. The film opens with a man named Johnathan Harker arriving at Dracula's castle and he is apparently there to serve as The Count's official book keeper and Librarian. Secretly Harker is actually there to kill Dracula and declares himself a vampire hunter in his diaries. Tho we don't really know what kind of qualifications he has to be such a thing. Immediately you can tell something is up with Dracula because he locks Harker in his own room, despite telling him he is free to explore the castle. Obviously he is not THAT free. Harker is confronted by a crazed woman inside the castle who asks him for his help, but a midst the craziness she decides to bite Harker. Dracula pops up out of nowhere and takes the woman off. The next day Harker discovers the coffins where Dracula and his minions sleep. Harker has time to kill the female minion, but Dracula is able to get away. The next day Van Helsing discovers a vampire Harker and is forced to kill him.

As a result of Harker's death Van Helsing is forced to deliver the news of Harker's fate to his widow Lucy, his brother Arthur, and Arthur's wife Mina. Together the four of them plot to track down Dracula and make him pay for what he did. Unfortunately Dracula has already gotten to Harker's wife and bitten her. Talk about a dick move, first you ruin a guy's life and turn him into a vampire, then when the guy dies, Dracula goes after the dead guy's wife! Dracula has never heard of bro code, that's for sure.

After Van Helsing finds out about Lucy's health, he attempts to cure her, but his attempts fail. After Lucy turns into a vampire and attempts to take the life of a child and Arthur, Van Helsing hits her with a cross and drives her off. Later Helsing stakes Lucy and continues his quest to track down Dracula. After Arthur's wife Mina is taken by Dracula, the final straw is broken and Arthur helps Van Helsing locate Dracula. Dracula has infected Mina and is attempting to bury her, but Van Helsing and Arthur save the day! This results in an epic final showdown between Dracula and Van Helsing. The fight ends when Van Helsing exposes Dracula to sunlight and the audience is treated to a gory body melting sequence. Dracula's body crumbles and Dracula is defeated...for now.

This film marked the beginning of the Hammer Dracula era and it was a fun ride for horror fans. Christopher Lee seems to not share the fond memories, probably a result for him getting such low pay for his appearances as Dracula. Still, the man returned to the role 6 times after this, so some part of him must have loved it. Lee actually only had 16 lines of dialogue in the entire film and most of it takes place in the beginning of the film when Harker arrives. The scene where Dracula decays at the end was actually edited because of the intense violent nature of the effect. The footage of the extended cut was thought to be lost, but was found in Japan and added to the newest version of the film on bluray. Audiences were quite shocked by the film due to it's gore. Cushing and Lee would team up for several sequels, but you are best sticking with the first 3 films in the series. It starts to get a bit weird once the series enters the 70's. If you have a way to watch this film, I highly recommend it. The Hammer horror films are a nice break from the tame nature of the early Universal Monster films. Hammer pulls no punches and it can get weird, but that's part of the charm.

31 Days of Monster Mania: Day 6: Dr. Chaos (NES)

Written by Stu Cooper

It's Day 6 of Monster Mania and I've decided to take a different route today. Today I will be talking about a horror video game called "Dr.Chaos" for the Nintendo Entertainment System. This was of course a decade before South Park made it's debut, so unfortunately you do not take the role of Butters, but I assure you it's almost as cool. "Dr.Chaos" was released for the original NES in November of 1988. In Japan the game was known was "Dr.Chaos: Hell's Gate". So it's obvious right off the bat, this is probably a horror game. The cover art is also some of the coolest cover art I've ever seen on a game, but as veteran gamers know, great cover art does not equal great game-play.

"Dr.Chaos" is the story of two brothers trying to reunite after a catastrophic event takes place. One of the brothers is a mad scientist named Dr.Ginn Chaos and he has come up with the brilliant idea to create a device that can open up a gateway to other dimensions. This idea immediately backfires on the scientist and he is sucked into another dimension. Now the gates between dimensions are open and monsters are coming in and out of them. You take the role of the mad scientist's younger saner brother Michael. Michael is on a journey to find out what happened to his brother, and retrieve him from whatever hellish dimension he is stuck in. This game certainly has an interesting story, and it's one that may sound familiar to you. H.P. Lovecraft wrote a story called "From Beyond" that was about almost the exact same thing. A man creates a device that allows people to see and visit other dimensions, he tries the device himself and ends up losing control of it. This results in scary entities traveling between dimensions. For a story written in the 1920's, that is quite imaginative and petrifying. Lovecraft was kind of good at that sort of thing!

Now that we know the story is pretty cool, what about the gameplay? Well unfortunately the gameplay is not on par with the story. You start out the game as Michael, wondering around a haunted house, trying to find places to warp into other dimensions, which basically serve as the levels. The only problem is that the game gives you very little in the way of guidance and you could find yourself wondering around the house for an hour trying to figure out what the hell you're suppose to do. Not only that but you have a series of re-spawning bats and rats constantly coming towards you, slowly draining your life.

In order to advance through the game, you enter doors in the haunted house. This is when the game switches to a first person perspective. While in the first person perspective you navigate different rooms, gathering items and ammo. This part of the game can also be confusing because what the gamer doesn't know is that in order to advance to stages, you must punch random parts of the walls in these rooms, and you will find random portals that suck you into levels. The levels you get sucked into are much cooler than the haunted house, and thankfully more fun. But if you don't have the instruction manual or any access to the internet, it may take you ages to figure all of this out. One cool thing about going into all these random rooms is that sometimes the room are full of boogey men! You will run into some pretty freakish looking creatures, ranging from Slimer looking demons, to giant incarnations of Frankenstein.

Once you figure out what you're suppose to do, you progress through a series of dimensions and fight a boss at the end of each dimension. After defeating a boss, you are given some type of device that will assist you in the game. Once you gather every device you need, you get a laser which you can use, and then of course you find your brother. In terms of weaponry I will say the variety is pretty nice. You get access to a knife, handgun, machine gun, grenades, and a laser! You also get power ups like rocket boots. So there is certainly a lot of depth to this game, it's just an incredibly confusing game.

I would compare it to something like "Goonies 2" for the NES if you have ever played that. A lot of trial and error, and a lot wondering through random rooms. I do give the game credit for also trying to add depth by making it a side scroller AND a first person perspective, so it gives you a sense of really being the character of Michael, at least it did in 1988. The game also features some pretty decent music with some halloweenish effects. The opening title screen is also something that will give you nightmares. For a children's console, this game could be considered rather scary. It's actually scarier than the "Nightmare on Elm Street" game that was put out, but not quite as fun as the "Friday the 13th" game. If you want a retro game to play during the Halloween season, this one might not be a bad choice. My only warning is that you must have a lot of patience, and you may have to take some time to figure out what to do. That's a common problem with some retro games, but thank god for the internet. If you see this game, you should pick it up. It only cost me about 8 bucks, and I'd say it was worth it.

The Purge: Anarchy Review

Written by Stu Cooper

The Purge: Anarchy is officially my dark horse pick for film of the summer! In 2013 a film called "The Purge" was released and became quite the financial success. The plot revolved around "New Founders" of America making a new ritual where once a year, all crime would be legal. This event is called "The Purge". The premise is certainly frightening and gives way to infinite possibilities. Unfortunately the first film restricts itself to a lame home invasion plot that is poorly executed and even features someone getting lost in their own house. I really felt disappointed by the film. I went into "The Purge: Anarchy" with very low expectations. It's 2014, which means that's only a year between films. Typically when a sequel is ordered so quickly, it means danger. I am kind of glad I had low expectations because as a result, this film hit me like a sack of bricks! I absolutely loved this film and it surpassed the original in every way possible.

The film follows several different people and begins just 2 hours before the annual purge. This installment takes place in 2033. I think the near future is a good choice because it makes the political themes grounded in reality, which works to it's advantage as the film progresses. The cast of characters includes a waitress named Eva (Carmen Ejogo), her teenage daughter Cali (Zoe Soul), a young man named Shane (Zack Gilford),his wife Liz (Kiele Sanchez), and a police Sergeant named Leo (Frank Grillo). Each of these people have separate paths, but they all converge thanks to the purge. First you have Eva and her daughter, who live in the projects and due to medical expenses, they are barely getting by. Then you have the young couple who are going through a separation and are on their way to a relatives for protection from the purge. Then you have Leo the Sergeant who is dealing with the death of his son, and vows to exact revenge. Thanks to a range of mishaps and encounters with well equip psychos, the group ends up on the streets. I don't want to say the circumstances that land them there because they are critical to the "scare factor" of the film. The Sergeant reluctantly offers help to the group, and that's when the movie really kicks off.

Frank Grillo really steps it up in his role as Leo. I was already a fan of his work thanks to his appearance in The Winter Soldier but he really showed in this film that he could lead a group of actors, and take the starring role. I've heard rumors that he is supposed to be the main villain in Captain America 3, and after this film I'm sold on his ability to be bad-ass. The Sergeant is your classic tragic hero. He is a man who is filled with despair, anger, and thoughts of revenge. His character loses his son due at the hands of another, and he is using the purge as an excuse to take his revenge. This guy just doesn't want to take revenge, he wants to dominate. The early scenes of his character depict him armoring up, loading his assault rifle, putting on a bullet proof vest, and then he hits the streets in an armored vehicle that looks straight out of "Mad Max". A wrench is thrown into his plans when he encounters a group of innocent people (the ones mentioned before) and opts to guide them through the purge safely. He is a reluctant guardian angel, and often reminds me of "The Punisher". Seeing this character fight was certainly a highlight of the film.

The film really introduces A LOT of heavy political themes. The biggest theme revolves around class warfare. Civilians are starting to figure out that the Purge is targeted towards those who cannot protect themselves, the poor. A rebel group forms and through a series of viral videos, threatens to interfere in the Purge and make the rich pay for their blood lust. This brought a very real and often uncomfortable tone to the film. I felt like this situation may be exaggerated, but it is commentary on a very real class war going on in America right now. The story really pushes boundaries when it comes to vilifying the government. The government is really the main villain of the film. Without giving away too much, let me just say that big brother is watching and no one is safe. Eva the waitress and her daughter experience this conflict with the government first hand. The class warfare also comes up when a rich hunting game takes place, in which people bid on victims to hunt. It is very similar to the way a lot of sex slavery is handled in real life. Yet another disturbing tie to reality that makes you think of the real life villains that exist out there.

Not only do these strangers all deal with a series of psychos but they deal with a level of violence that rivals "Grand Theft Auto"! The way the city of Los Angeles is setup, it really feels like a video game battleground. I'm not sure how they got the streets so empty, but there are some beautiful and incredibly eerie shots of the empty city. It really makes you feel like this world is real, and adds to the tension. You could actually say this situation is more dangerous than "Grand Theft Auto" because in that game the cops at least try to stop people. If you're a fan of the GTA games, I have a feeling you'll love this film even more than the average viewer.

The film really touches on a lot of political themes, hits you in the face with a Tarantino level of violence, and throws together a team of unknown actors that fit together perfectly. The combination of those three things is what made this film good. I can't recommend this one enough. The great thing about this film is that it is also a stand-alone film. You don't have to see the original to grasp the sequel. "The Purge: Anarchy" is a gritty, brutal, emotional ride. I enjoyed the film so much, I'm actually looking forward to watching it again. If you like chaotic action films with a heart, this one delivers.

Youtube Gem: Real Life Peter Griffin

Written by Stu Cooper

If you've gotten on the internet this week you've probably ran into this guy. Robert Franzese is a cosplayer who bares a striking resemblance to Seth MacFarlane's icon cartoon character "Peter Griffin"! Not only does he resemble him physically, but he can imitate the Peter character to perfection.

The judges in the video don't seem too impressed, not sure what that's about because this is a home run! The man behind the character is a cosplayer from Long Island who usually does G.I. Joe cosplay. He decided to give Peter a try and it's gone viral. Enjoy the video and let's hope we see more in the future. Also his faces during the photos at the end of the video are priceless!

You can find "Real Life Peter Griffin" on Facebook: Real Life Peter Griffin

You can also find him on Youtube: Robert Franzese Youtube Channel

July 4th Countdown: The Top 5 Patriotic Wrestlers

Written by Stu Cooper

If there is one thing in american pro wrestling that stands out, it's the rabid patriotism. You could not watch an 80's or Early 90's WWF pay per view without hearing the words "America" about a thousand times. Since then the patriotic american gimmick has been fairly prominent in professional wrestling. Not to mention the countless tributes to the american soldiers, the desert storm/gulf war storyline, and most recently the resurrection of the Russia vs. America cold war feud. These kinds of gimmicks can be traced back almost to the birth of professional wrestling. Showing pride in your homeland seems to be the go-to gimmick for a lot of pro wrestlers throughout history. Since today is July 4th, I have decided to honor some of these patriotic wrestlers with a Top 5 Countdown. There is literally hundreds of patriotic wrestlers, so I really tried to focus on the wrestler's overall impact and their usage of patriotism. Let's get into it!

5. The Patriot

"The Patriot" was a wrestling superstar from the 90's who dressed in Red,White, and Blue from head to toe. "The Patriot" was a walking US flag. He had the USA mask, the USA tights, and even named all of his moves after American things. My favorite move of his would have to be the "Patriot Missle"! The man under the mask is Del Wilkes, a man who started out in the AWA under his real name, then later became wrestling police officer "The Trooper". Soon after his run as "The Trooper" Wilkes started wrestling as "The Patriot". He began working for Global Championship wrestling where he won the TV title. His popularity began to soar after this and he was soon wrestling in All Japan and WCW. While in WCW he tagged with Marcus Bagwell to form a very cheesy tag team called "Stars and Stripes". Bagwell must have had a fetish for patriotic tag teams because he also went on to be in a tag team called "The American Males".

In 1997 Wilkes entered the WWF and began feuding with Bret Hart. Hart was in the midst of his Pro-Canadian heel turn, so it became a USA vs. Canada feud. The two had several matches including the obligatory Flag match. The most notable match-up between the two was at WWF Ground Zero: In Your House where "The Patriot" and Bret met one-on-one. Unfortunately soon after this Wilkes would get injured and with the Attitude era on the rise, he really didn't fit in. He was released from the WWF in early 1998. Since then Wilkes has retired due to a broken collar bone but just like the Doink gimmick, many wrestlers around the country wrestle as "The Patriot". Wrestler Tom Brandi claimed for years that he bought the gimmick from Wilkes and that's why he uses it, but Wilkes denied the claim. Funny thing is I can actually remember going to a local bingo hall indie in Georgetown,Kentucky when I was a teenager and I got very excited because I saw "The Patriot" was on the card. I couldn't believe Del Wilkes was coming to such a small town to perform in front of 15 people. I was quite shocked when he came out and he was about 4 inches shorter than Wilkes, 50 pounds lighter, and much hairier. Needless to say, I was disappointed.

4. "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan

"Hacksaw" Jim Duggan is perhaps one of the most memorable patriots in pro wrestling due to his longevity. Duggan started out in Mid South wrestling where he picked up the idea of using a 2x4 as a weapon/ringside companion. After wrestling in Mid-South and UWF, Duggan was hired by the WWF. Duggan's debut feud was...you guessed it, a Russia vs. America feud with Nikolai Volkoff! In the weeks leading up to Wrestlemania 3 Duggan would save several wrestlers from Volkoff and would interfere a few times. Later in the year he competed at The Survivor Series. Not too long after this Duggan actually won the first ever Royal Rumble. This didn't seem like a big deal at the time, but in retrospect it was the beginning of a long tradition that became one of the most beloved wrestling ideas ever.

Duggan would continue to be a regular in the mid-card where he would feud with legends like The Honky Tonk Man and Andre the Giant. Duggan never really ascended to main event status, but that seemed to be by design. Duggan often served as "The Hype Man" for the faces in the company. This is what led to the chants of "U-S-A" and "HOOOOOOO". Duggan never held any titles in WWF and really began to sink down the card as the 90's approached. In 1993 he would have a mini-feud with the Japanese Monster "Yokozuna" but soon after this he left the company. After WWF, Duggan moved onto WCW where he did the exact same gimmick for the next several years. He would hold the US Title and TV title in WCW. I can actually remember towards the end of WCW he had a long feud with this Cuban guy on Saturday Night, and they had flag matches against each other on a weekly basis. There was also a short time period where Duggan betrayed his country and joined Team Canada...but let's pretend he just did it to bang Major Gunns and that's it. After WCW closed "Hacksaw" began showing up on Old School events and various legends matches on WWE television. He is now a regular cast member of the WWE's reality show "Legend's House" and is still a proud American.

3. "American Made" Hulk Hogan/Mr.America

If you live on the planet Earth, you've probably heard of Hulk Hogan. He is one of the biggest icons in entertainment, and certainly in professional wrestling. Hogan is part of a select few in wrestling that have actually transcended it. So it's no shocker that he is on this list. If you grew up in the 80's or early 90's you probably got to witness the shirt ripping, the leg drop, or you caught Suburban Commander on TV.

Hogan did not start out as The Hulkster. He began his career working for various territories in Florida and Alabama. He had a short run in the WWF, and then found fame in New Japan Pro Wrestling. Afterwards he played a pro wrestler named "Thunderlips" in Rocky 3. I personally love that character and I often whip out the term "ultimate meatball". Soon after this he re-signed with WWF and began his run as "The Hulkster". It started out with just the red shirt and eventually evolved into full blown mania after he defeated Iron Sheik for the WWF Title. Now the patriotism came in shortly after this when Hogan began cutting intense hype filled promos, encouraging people to support the troops, take vitamins, and workout. These promos came to their peak around the time of the Gulf War when Hogan feuded with turncoat Sgt.Slaughter.

After his WWF run he switched over to WCW and for a short time tried to carry the "American Made" gimmick over. Fans were tired of it and began booing him and this led to his eventual heel turn. You could say his involvement in the N.W.O could disqualify him but he really wasn't against the country, he just wanted to rule it BROTHER! Hogan would return to WWE some years later and in possibly his most patriotic moment ever, dawned a mask and called himself MR.AMERICA! It was absolutely absurd, but very patriotic.

2. "The Olympian" Kurt Angle

Kurt Angle is another obvious choice on this countdown that couldn't be ignored. This man oozes Americana. Angle started out as a very successful NCAA Amateur Wrestler. After college he went on to win a gold medal in the 1996 Olympics despite having a severe neck injury. It was truly an incredible feat. Soon after this, Angle started showing interest in pro wrestling. He appeared on commentary for an ECW show but left the show after he witnessed the Sandman/Raven crucifixion angle. It wasn't until 1999 that Kurt Angle began competing for the WWE. He instantly made an impact with his smartass prideful olympian persona. Angle would come to the ring dressed in red,white, and blue and would often wear his Olympic medal to the ring. His patriotism was certainly part of his gimmick, and it was glorious. He used his look and smug attitude to move through the ranks and became a hated villain.

Angle was a instant success and within a year he won almost every WWE title available. Later in his career he would compete in TNA and Japan. One thing remained the same no matter what his character was doing or what company he was working for, and that was his love of America. In his promos and interviews Angle would constantly remind the audience and viewers at home that he was a Olympic Gold Medalist for Team USA. He would often wear sweatsuits covered in the colors of the flag. The medal he wore became a source of inspiration for him and would often serve as bait in a storyline. A wrestler stealing it was often the start of a grudge. In one case "Stone Cold" Steve Austin actually threw the medals off a bridge. Angle somehow recovered them shortly after.

1. Sgt. Slaughter

It's time for the number one entry in the Film Enigma Patriotic Wrestler Countdown. Number one is none other than Sgt.Slaughter! This one might actually be considered controversial because Slaughter actually turned on the country during the Gulf War but since it was such a short period of time, I let it slide. Slaughter began as a bad guy managed by "The Grand Wizard" but in 1984 he showed up to defend America's honor against the Iron Sheik and that's when his path to patriotism began. Slaughter feuded with Sheik all over the world for the next year. The feud peaked when the two sold out Madison Square Garden when they competed in a "Boot Camp Match". The "Boot Camp Match" would later become a signature match for Slaughter. Slaughter left the WWF after a dispute involving his role in G.I. Joe but he would keep the Sgt.Slaughter persona for the rest of his career.

Let's talk about the reasons why I chose Slaughter to be the top patriot in the countdown. Slaughter really used the patriotism gimmick to it's fullest potential. Before Hulk Hogan, he had the crowd in the palm of his hand. The point where I believe he transcended the others in the countdown was when he began appearing on the "G.I. Joe" cartoon and toy-line which was wildly popular at the time. Slaughter even voiced his own character on the cartoon. It doesn't get much cooler than that. Slaughter became a recognizable figure among most children as a result. After this the Iraqi controversy comes into play.

After a run in the AWA, Slaughter returned to the WWF. When he returned "The Hulkster" was the king of the mountain and he was also the one waving around the American flag like Slaughter did before. Slaughter returned as a villain in 1990 during The Gulf War and revealed himself to be an Iraqi sympathizer. This started one of the craziest angles of the early 90's, possibly in history. Slaughter got a lot of heat for this, and supposedly received death threats from patriotic Americans. I would say this is grounds for disqualification but Slaughter says in interviews that he had a very hard time delivering the anti-american promos. The program would end in 1992 and Slaughter would go back to his old Pro American Drill Sgt. routine. Slaughter has actually been a good guy ever since. Slaughter used the patriotism to push him to the top of the wrestling world AND the cartoon world. That's something special.

I hope you enjoyed the countdown. I ran a little bit longer than I originally planned but I feel like the information is important to include. I had a lot of honorable mentions like Jack Swagger, Bob Backlund, Craig Pittman, and others but I had to keep it simple with just a top 5. Please LIKE, SHARE, COMMENT, and SUBSCRIBE if you like what you see. Have a safe and happy 4TH OF JULY!