Being Human No More...

By Wayne Brekke
Host - The Necronomicast

So we finally come to the end of the US version of Being Human. It was a good run in the woods and for the most part, wrapped up nice and neat. Much better than the third season of the UK version. Though it did have its divergence from the UK story, I thought it stood well on its own. Fans seem to love the characters and the story kept the interest of the viewers.

It had its trails of ghostly obscure story lines, such as the vampire killing virus and the whole "ghost turned zombie turned witch" thing. But for the most part, the finally tied up most of the loose ends (or simply cut them off).

Now to get a bit picky...

I have to say I felt like the writers were hard pressed to figure out how to make happy endings for the flatmates. Who would have thought to make the vampire struggling to be as human as possible somehow a ghost? What a stroke of luck! Packs never work for Josh, so everyone dies. There, done. Let's start our own! And of course the apartment had to burn, thanks to another obscure plot device thrown in as what we could only figure was a demon, ghost, or house energy manifested somehow in the last days of the rental. And how did the roommates not get sued? I wouldn't think they'd be getting their deposit back at least.

With all the strangeness and head trip story the series finale had going on, I have to say I'll miss the show. I liked the UK version up to the 3rd season, and wish they would have stopped there (I did). The actors and the writers did a great job of developing these characters through the years and fans loved them. The music was always good, the action and fight scenes were exciting, and there was plenty of blood and sex. As we watch Josh and Nora's wolfie kids playing in the final scene, I found myself going back to the beginning of the series. Simply three roommates who just happen to be supernatural, all wanting to quietly get on with their lives. It also made me appreciate how well the UK version was done (up until the 3rd season that is) and impressed that the horror genre at least on television has stepped up its game and given us everything a horror fan would need to keep tuning in.

In upcoming episodes of the Necronomicast we'll be talking about horror on television. So many shows. Their popularity growing. Sadly we won't be seeing any more supernatural roommates, but never fear, with shows like True Blood, Lost Girl, Salem, Bitten, Sleepy Hollow, Helix, Bates Motel, and Hannibal, there is plenty of blood to go around.

Bringing "The Shining" and the Benson Theater Back to Life in Omaha, Nebraska - A 5-act play, a historic theater, and a story of haunted murder...

By Wayne Brekke

It's a well known fact that Stephen King didn't like the movie version of his book "The Shining." In fact, the original story was written as a 5-act play. Even the mini-series had to take liberties. Now, for the first time, The Benson Theater Project in Omaha NE is currently in rehearsals to produce The Shining as a stage production. In fact, the production is fully endorsed by the man himself, Stephen King. The author even sold the rights for a buck! He also has approved the cast and the script.

The main reason for this is the Benson Theater is currently being restored to its former days of glory. Not by a big architecture firm or corporation, but by a small, non-profit and an entire community of creative and dedicated volunteers. King knows Omaha. He comes here for the College World Series sometimes and I like to think realizes the historic potential of small neighborhoods and the buildings that founded them. Maybe that's the reason he was gracious enough to lend his story to help bring this theater back to life.

From the facebook page, here are some details of the play's production and team:

"“The Shining” will be the Benson Theatre’s first major production, and we could not be more excited about what we have in store. What better way to introduce the Benson Theater into the world of performing arts than with a big, bold, innovative new work from and for our community.

 Helping to advise the production are Tom Elkins, director of the film “The Haunting in Connecticut 2: Ghosts of Georgia”, and Kevin Lawler, Producing Artistic Director of the Great Plains Theatre Conference and co-founder of the Blue Barn Theatre. Lighting design is being developed by Tommy Wilson, Charlie Wagner, and the rest of the team at JSAV. Our set designer is Kit Gough, who has worked in the Omaha theatre community for several years, most recently as the set designer for “Seussical The Musical” at The Rose Theatre.

Providing the artwork for our marketing is local artist Jeremy Caniglia, whose beautiful and terrifying work can be seen gracing the covers of books by authors such as William Peter Blatty (40th anniversary edition of “The Exorcist”), Douglas Clegg, Peter Straub, Max L Brooks, Anne Rice, and yes, Stephen King. The play will be directed by Jason Levering, from a script written by Levering and fellow writer Aaron Sailors and approved by Mr. King. Questions can be directed to jason@bensontheatre.org."

The play runs March 21st and 22nd, at the Sokol Auditorium in Omaha, Nebraska. For more information, visit the facebook events page : STEPHEN KING'S THE SHINING - A PLAY

IT'S ALIVE!

Hello friends and fans.

Podcast hosts need brains

It's a new year and we are picking up where we left off. The Necronomicast took a few months off to reevaluate what we wanted to do with the show. Our co-host Dr. Death (Tim Welch) left the show with our blessing as he was getting very busy with the success of his special FX company Scream in the Dark, as well as the Dr. SanGuinary Creature Feature. He is doing great and we are very proud of him.

As the host and creator of the show, I have to admit, when I had a  falling out with our talent agent, it was a bit disheartening. The show was very interview heavy with little commentary on new horror movies and I felt it was lacking the vision I had for the show. It had to be fixed. I briefly thought of cancelling the entire project, but later realized that I can't let the negative drama of a single person ruin something I created out of the love of the genre. So it lives.

Our guest list is impressive and I believe we have made some amazing friends over the past few years. I want to expand that list and present our listeners with a variety of entertaining interviews and commentary about all things horror.

A new show will be up soon and it includes some great friends. We talk about recent horror movies we've seen, dig into some streaming favorites, and set things up for a great season of podcasting. We are still planing on getting our listeners some amazing interviews from actors, directors, screen writers, authors, FX talent, and more. Additions will include a bigger focus on movie reviews, horror/Sci-fi conventions, and TV commentary - all in the horror genre.

We are also looking for interviews and promos, so if you have a website, book, podcast, business, or are any of the above, contact us for a possible interview and / or promo play.

Thanks to all the fans who have continued to support the show. Get ready for some bloody fun.

Wayne Brekke
Host - The Necronomicast

Playing catch up, New fans, Twitter, and Sponsors!

It's been a rather crazy month. So many things happening and lots of interviews. I've been trying to get caught up on the podcasts and have been putting out more than normal. Each interview takes time to record, edit, produce, and publish. In order to help promote the show, I've been actively participating on our facebook site. You'll see me posting some of my favorite photos and checking in with fans.

Keeping organized is a big thing. Here at Necronomicast HQ we are scheduling more efficiently so we can keep up on all our social media, marketing, interviews, and editing. It's scary how much has to be done on any given day.

Our new website is up and it now has our full guest list, testimonials, videos, and even a sponsorship page. Big shout out to horrordecor.net for being a new paid sponsor this month, as well as to a very generous donation from a fan. It's super easy to be able to help out the show via an ad on our site. We will even mention you on the show each week and post organically in our social media. That's my pitch. And truly, it helps pay for a show we love and devote many hours to. We don't get paid for producing it, it's fun and a great outlet for our love of all things horror. But it sure is nice when fans kick in and make us feel all warm and fuzzy.

Keeping up on our Twitter feed as well. Follow us and we will do the same. Share our shows, photos and updates. Our show downloads are increasing as well as our fans on social media! Thanks to all that have helped promote the Necronomicast and to our amazing guests that make the show what it is.

We have some big plans for this year. Expanding the show to new heights, in person appearances at film festivals and conventions, and bringing in some very special guests. So stay tuned and give us some feedback.

Horrifyingly yours,

Wayne

Evil Dead. You get it or you don't.

A few comments on Evil Dead

No, I'm not going to review this film. I simply have a few things to say.

You are either going to get this movie or not. I believe most fans of the franchise will enjoy the remake of the classic low budget indie-flick of Sam and Bruce. I've read a few disparaging reviews on this film and honestly I don't know if they got it at all.

Let's be honest, the original Evil Dead was a basic, very low budget gorefest. The story was fantastical and shallow, the scares were obvious, the makeup was horrid. They even remade the film and named it Evil Dead 2. And Army of Darkness? Uber-campy, cheese horror at its finest. And yet, I still love each film and remain a big fan of Rami and Campbell to this day. Much in part to reading the book by Bruce Campbell, "If Chins Could Kill."

That being said, I went into the new remake of the Evil Dead with an open mind. I was also tired of people asking me if it was "funny like the first one." THE FIRST ONE WAS NOT MEANT TO BE A COMEDY! Sure it was meant to offer a touch of humor, but it was meant to scare, not generate a barrel of laughs. To those that have reviewed the film as a simple gore-fest with no story and horrible acted lines, you just don't get the point of the Evil Dead, or possibly horror films in general.

I found the Evil Dead to be a great way to bring what the original film had intended, back to life. The initial story of Mia being the subject of a sort of intervention made sense. It offered a reason for them to be there. I also thought the pre-story of the girl being dispatched as a demon gave a bit of reasoning behind the cabin and the evil that remained. In fact, much of the plot in the first half gave a lot of back story to the characters and setting that the original lacked or glossed over.

Homages to the original abounded, especially for those that read the book by Campbell and have enjoyed stories of what happened during the filming of the original. They wanted the original to be incredibly bloody. It was. They wanted it to rain blood down the screen. Well it actually did in the remake. Want to see the "Classic?" It's in there. If you don't know what the "Classic" is, then you don't get it. Camera angles often gave a nod to Rami, while touches of humor and story points all seemed to tip a hat to the efforts of the original cast and crew who were simply young adults trying to make a horror movie in the worst possible circumstances.

I even enjoyed the twist ending and overall change of the story. For some reason it didn't bother me. The Evil Dead was a great remake in my opinion  Rami and Campbell approved  it offers the all the gore and more of the original, an expanded story, scares, evil, suspense, and tops it off with even more blood. All in good fun. There was never much of a story, so don't go searching for it. Rami and Campbell even get the last word for those that were begging for a Campbell cameo. You'll get it if you stay past the credits.

So give it a rest you Evil Dead nay-sayers. Take it for what it is and enjoy the honest re-interpretation. It's a worthy addition to anyone's Evil Dead collection. And besides, this movie was endorsed by the original makers. So your argument is invalid. Groovy.

Leave your two cents below. I'd love to get your view of the film.

-- Wayne
Check out the official Necronomicast site for more bloody cool stuff.

Warm Bodies - Review

3.5/5 Skulls

First off, let's get one thing clear, this is a film in the zombie horror genre. You have to suspend belief just walking into the theater. It's not a gore-fest, so be prepared for that. Warm Bodies is a simple love story parallel the lines of Romeo and Juliet. Yes, the classic story of young love. This story though, offers a less tragic ending.

The premise is simple, the world had a zombie apocalypse and we the audience follow a young member of the undead (Nicholas Hoult), gaining the back story from his inner monologue. He can't speak and yes, needs to feed on brains. Though he is dead, he still longs for something more than roaming the walkways of the local airport along side the other zombies. Then, during an attempted feeding on a group of young survivors out on a supplies run, he sees the girl of his dreams, who happens to be fighting for her life. This is where the love story begins. The Romeo and Juliet parallel happens here also as her name is Julie (Theresa Palmer), and all our young zombie can remember is that his name begins with an R. So she calls him "R". Julie's father is the head of the refugee camp, safe behind a giant wall around the central part of the city. This leads to obvious tensions, especially since our young zombie friend does not eat Julie, but instead rescues her and protects her from the other undead and the skeletal "Bonies." What happens is during the course of his interaction with Julie, something sparks life inside his heart. R starts to gain back life. Let the trials of romancing the dead ensue!

Without going into too much detail, I have to note that the movie did its best to twist the zombie genre. It was also much better than I expected. Sure, there are parts that you have to give a pass strictly because it's a fantasy and to get too technical on some minor points defeats the purpose of the overall story. A story that was in fact, well written. Nothing was over acted or too dramatic, in fact the movie itself was well cast with the young actors as well as names like John Malcovich, Rob Corddry, and Analeigh Tipton. There were several scenes that gave nods to other films, scenes which may or may not get panned by zombie aficionados. But I have to say that the film makers seemed to be aware of the popularity of the zombie genre and as aware of horror fans hating the Twilight series. It was a love story sure, but it didn't take itself too seriously. In fact it almost had a distinct indie feel to it with an interesting soundtrack and thoughtful shots of the environment of the living dead. That being said, it also didn't delve into slapstick or camp.

Worth seeing in the theaters? Sure. A good matinee for sure. Go into it with a lighthearted mind and you might be surprised.  This movie tends to grow on you. Will it stand up to the test of time like Shaun of the Dead? I don't think so, but it also won't be forgotten as quickly as some of the other slapped-together zombie movies that have besieged the movie going public over the last 10 years. And at this point, to be surprised by any zombie film is a good thing.

- Wayne Brekke

Reviews!

We have decided that the best use for this blog is to turn it into a review blog. This means we will be posting reviews of books, television, movies, and more. Also, if you have a review you would like to see posted, feel free to write it up and email it to us. We will check it out and post it here for all our horror fans to see. Send links and/or photos as well.

Wayne