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What’s up Sorry Staters?
Sorry if you all missed me last week. Sometimes life’s too busy for me to coherently recommend records effectively haha. But hey, screw that, I shouldn’t make any excuses. I did want to chime in and mention that the new Yellowcake record is amazing, but it seems like Daniel and Usman already covered that last week.
So, what’s been going on with me? Currently, I’m still fried from the Ejaculators show last night. Even with my lack of attendance in doing a staff pick last week, I’m still trying to throw this thing together last minute. Those dudes stayed up with me drinking beers and jamming records, but then left and went to get gyro at this Greek restaurant that’s open til 4am, and then I was awakened early this morning to the sound of my needle scraping and “Beat My Guest” by Adam and The Ants playing at maximum volume. At least they were getting hyped. As for me, I’m feeling sluggish as hell. I would love a falafel NOW.
Meat House is going on tour in just a few weeks with Bloodstains from LA, and also Sorry State’s household primate Shaved Ape will be along for the ride. Just a few gigs up and down the East Coast. I’m stoked as hell for those shows.
Speaking of package tours (lol), I don’t even think I’ve mentioned that Public Acid is doing a run of dates with Dillinger Four and Paint It Black. Pretty wild. Very appreciative they invited us to play these shows. With our heavy noisy ass guitars, it will be an interesting complement to those bands. Hopefully, the people that are coming specifically to see either D4 or PIB won’t absolutely hate us haha. I’m sure it’ll be killer. I’ll have fun no matter what.
I must admit, after John Scott choosing Maniac Cop for his staff pick last week, I wouldn’t say I was “jealous” exactly, but I thought to myself: “Damn, I coulda been talking about movies this month in the newsletter all along!” Maybe people who come to the newsletter for records (specifically punk and hardcore) don’t care to read about movies. I’m hoping there’s some crossover here, though. As I’m sure is the case for many of you readers, when October rolls around, I start getting really excited. I love this time of year. The weather finally starts getting cooler. I love wholesome activities like going to a pumpkin patch and selecting the perfect gourd for carving. I love all the corniest aspects of the season as Halloween approaches. If any of you have seen my entirely self-driven committed endeavor to transform Sorry State’s storefront into a spooky alternate universe with decorations, you’ll know exactly what I mean. I’m talkin’ “Monster Mash.” I’m talkin’ cheesy old school spooky sound effects records with cartoon Frankenstein and Dracula as cover art. I’m talkin’ Misfits and The Return of The Living Dead soundtrack on repeat. But of course, my favorite thing is to try and binge as many horror movies as possible. I wouldn’t say my VHS habit is quite as concerning as my record collecting, but I have amassed a few tapes over the years.
So all that said, I’m gonna talk about Dead Alive. People who dig horror love this movie, right? If you know those movies from the 00s that were super popular with like hobbits ‘n elves and all that shit, the same guy who became famous for directing those movies also directed Dead Alive. In the late 80s and early 90s, Peter Jackson got his start in New Zealand making some pretty fringe independent flicks. Dead Alive was originally released in New Zealand with the alternate title Braindead. For all intents and purposes, Dead Alive is a zombie movie.
A quick synopsis without too many spoilers: The movie opens with some Indiana Jones looking explorer types in the desolate Skull Island where they have captured a rare Sumatran rat-monkey. Unbeknownst to them, this genetic hybrid is a plague-carrying beast with a vicious temper. Back in the small community of Wellington, we meet our leading man Lionel, who lives with his elderly mother. Lionel meets the lovely Paquita at the local grocery, and these two go on a date to the Wellington Zoo. Lionel’s mother, jealous of his new flame, spies on them at the zoo and gets unexpectedly bitten by the Sumatran rat-monkey, thus infecting her with the plague. As her body begins decomposing, mother effectively becomes the living dead. Lionel, attempting to hide his mother’s newfound condition, tranquilizes her and still arranges a proper funeral. However, with her sedation wearing off, Lionel’s mother arises from her grave, bites the local priest, a nurse, and a local hoodlum grave robber, also infecting them with the plague. Lionel hides the four afflicted zombies in his basement back at his mother’s mansion. However, when his uncle unexpectedly arranges a huge party at the mansion after the funeral, bringing an overwhelming number of guests, the zombies break loose and infect everyone at the party. Thus, a chaotic mess of blood, violence and hilarity ensues.
If you’ve indulged me this far, I’ll just say a few more things about the movie. Over the years, this has become one of my all-time favorites. Peter Jackson’s blend of comedy and over-the-top splatter gore is such an odd sensibility, but truly expertly executed. Really, the acting in the beginning of the movie is so campy that almost feels as if the actors were given direction to ham it up on purpose. It feels almost like a frickin’ soap opera. With so many incredibly corny one-liners, there’s a lot of sorta wink-at-the-camera performances by the actors. But for me, this is brilliant because it settles you into an eye-rolling, corny, but false sense of comfort as the movie unfolds. More sequences jack up the budget for buckets of red corn syrup and pus-like goop, eliciting reactions of disgust, and you realize that Jackson is amping up the intensity scene by scene. It’s a brilliant crescendo, all building to the final sequence. Seriously, when the party inside the mansion transforms from a dance scene out of Grease into a glorious splatter-tastic zombie invasion, it’s such an amazing payoff. A splatter-fest to end all splatter, this sequence must have broken some kind of record for most over-the-top bloody gore special effects in movie history. Bloody disgusting—maybe even difficult to stomach for some, but still somehow not offputtingly dark or gruesome? Clever slapstick comedy levity with laugh-out-loud jokes will keep you along for the ride. For my money, it’s a TON of fun. Or maybe I’m just desensitized at this point? I’ll leave you with this: If you’ve never seen this movie and can make it through to the end… you’ll never look at a lawnmower the same way again.
Welp, that’s all I’ve got for ya this week. As always, thanks for reading. Hope you watch spooky movies before the season’s over.
‘Til next week,
-Jeff