Spock's Pickled Brain

Whether you call them wolf people, werewolves, skinwalkers, or lycanthropes, one of the classic monsters is a person with something a bit lupine about them. In the Universal pantheon the first of the movies is The Werewolf of London (1935), but the werewolf film became popular in its time with Lon Chaney Jr.'s portrayal in The Wolf Man (1941). Although the performances bring these monsters to life, a lot of the magic comes from the makeup and costuming. Not being much use in the makeup department, I decided to attempt a costume that would evoke werewolf without using prosthetics or makeup. So, casual werewolf or similar were-creature in time for Halloween? 1. Vest I found this vest in a thrift store for about $4. 3. Camisole A basic brown camisole that's already a part of my closet. 4. Pants A pair of brown jeans, found in a thrift store for about $7. 5. Boots Another find from a thrift store, these ankle boots cost about $2.50. I used these in th...

Okay people, time for another round-up of movies that I wouldn't say are great art, but they are great. The flavor of the week is classic movie monsters, as they are transcribed into modern movies and settings. The Loonatic already put together a list with this same theme, so bear with me as we go a little Halloween-crazy. 1. Ginger Snaps Honestly, who needs Teen Wolf ? Sure, the 80s take on the wolf-man story is pure, wacky, cocaine-driven camp, and the new series, uh...well, it pretends that lacrosse is a normal American sport. Just kidding, I actually enjoy some parts of the man-pain-powered modern TV series. But if you're looking for a  modern retelling of the classic wolf-man story that retains the emotional tension of one person slowly being driven from gentle humanity to visceral beastliness, I would direct you instead to the glorious Ginger Snaps . It's a classic tale of teenage angst, using the lens of lycanthropy to show the emotional dissonance that teens...

Well I neglected to write why the last post jumped from post-apocalypse to Universal monster movies, but Halloween is on the horizon and we though it would be interesting to make a detour down a wolf-ridden track that heads off to a gothic castle or two. We'll be getting back to the apocalypse soon enough, but in the mean time here are some movies, songs, and whatnot fitting for All Hallow's Eve. All right, so I'm still working out the order on these, but the songs make a pretty good playlist for monsters in general, but here are some electrifying tunes to make even the most shambling of corpse creatures manage a can-can or a waltz. (I don't know who painted these horror portraits but they're fantastic!) 1. The Sermon II (The Creepshow) Listen closely as your radio plays A program of a slightly different strain 2. Lovecraft in Brooklyn (The Mountain Goats) When the sun goes down, the armies of the voiceless, several hundred thousand strong Come out with...

1. Van Helsing (2004) Deep in the wilderness of Transylvania an ancient evil has preyed on villagers for centuries. As the country's family of protectors dwindles, the Vatican calls in its most dangerous operative to assist. Known as a murderer and a holy man, Van Helsing has faced down many treacherous creatures as redemption for a bloody and forgotten past. But never has he faced such a villain as the vampire Dracula, who commands others of his kind and even enslaves werewolves to do his bidding. Will he succeed where generations of Transylvanians have failed? Or will he and his comrades fall victim to greater schemes of a cold and cunning enemy? To be honest, I watched the original Dracula with Bela Lugosi and was pretty bored. And then I tried watching the Dracula with Keanu Reeves in it and killed it with fire. So maybe I don't have a great track record with the classic vampire film. But I did love this movie. By turning back the clock and focusing on the actu...

I had been thinking of what kinds of things I like to have with me when hiking into nowhere. One extremely handy piece of clothing is a buff, which is essentially a flexible band of fabric that can be worn in several different ways. Mostly I've used a buff as a mask against breathing dust and to keep my neck warm, but it can also be used as a headscarf, etc. I remember first seeing them as a kid on the reality TV series Survivor, though undoubtedly they were used long before then. And worn as a head scarf: So though I've owned a buff for a long time, I wanted to see if I could make my own functional buff. I could use in the field and in my post-apocalyptic costume build. It doesn't seem terribly complicated, and so I set about looking for tutorials online to get the gist of it and figure out if there were any pitfalls. Buff are pretty useful because, if done right, it can be used many ways. Here are the details from the original Buff company. I ended up fol...

I don't know about everyone else, but for me, the absolute best part of post-apocalyptic chic is the fact that it's supposed to look sort of homemade and worn out. If you cobble together something that you absolutely have no idea how to make properly, and only used a pair of pliers and some paperclips to make it, that's a credible look! Held-together-with-dirt-and-pipe-cleaners is an acceptable post-apocalyptic aesthetic! Sure, it's not the only post-apoc look, but it's a fun one to work with. Anyway, this particular post is documentation of my winding, unplanned build of a post-apoc belt. Hilariously, this belt is kind-a sort-a maybe going to be used for a completely different cosplay, but for now it's just an example of how to modify/build things out of random crap for all your apocalyptic needs. 1) Start with a wide woven belt At the beginning, I wanted to build this belt from the ground up rather than starting with a pre-made belt. After some...