The living dead emerging from The Dead Pit (1989)
Balladeer’s Blog’s month-long celebration of Halloween continues! If you’re like me you’re bored with zombies and pseudo-zombies. The 21st Century is as mired in tiresome, cookie-cutter zombie flicks as the 1980s were in tiresome, cookie-cutter slasher flicks.
Here is a look at seven films which, while technically classified as zombie movies at least adopt unique perspectives and don’t follow established formulas.
THE DEAD PIT (1989) – This horror film was the directorial debut of the very prolific director Brett Leonard. While not a four-star movie The Dead Pit is enjoyable enough for the Halloween Season and should certainly appeal to anyone into 1980s horror flicks. This movie’s hybrid of zombie elements and slasher elements is both its charm AND the reason behind its love-it-or-hate-it status.
Don’t expect non-stop Resident Evil-level action but DO expect to see some in-your-face gore very early in the flick for lovers of guts and decomposition. A physician (Dr Swan) at a mental hospital discovers the secret sub-basement where a rival MD (Dr Ramzi) is subjecting hopeless patients to horrific experiments involving a combination of science and the supernatural. Continue reading
DOWN GOES NUMBER TWO – In the NAIA the 7th ranked GRAND VIEW UNIVERSITY VIKINGS visited the number 2 team in the nation – the BENEDICTINE COLLEGE RAVENS. The 1st Half was a defensive epic with the Ravens leading 6-3 at the break. From there Grand View shut out Benedictine College while adding 14 points in the 3rd Quarter and 10 in the 4th for a 27-6 Upset. 
AND NUMBER THREE COMES TUMBLING AFTER – Elsewhere in the NAIA the number 6 MARIAN UNIVERSITY KNIGHTS welcomed the country’s 3rd ranked UNIVERSITY OF SAINT FRANCIS (IN) COUGARS. The Knights grabbed a 7-0 1st Quarter lead which turned into a 21-10 advantage by Halftime. After the break Marian University scored the only points of the 2nd Half with a 4th Quarter Touchdown. The final score was Knights 28 Cougars 10. 
KNOCKING OFF NUMBER ONE – Meanwhile, down in the NJCAA, the 20th ranked HIGHLAND COLLEGE SCOTTIES played host to the number 1 team in the land – the storied HUTCHINSON COLLEGE BLUE DRAGONS. The Scotties handed the Blue Dragons their first loss of 2019, emerging on top in a 29-27 game for the ages. 
Why would anyone trust ANYTHING coming from a CIA employee? America’s CIA has a well-deserved international reputation for being the dirtiest of the dirty and the lowest of the low. After the 9-11 attacks the Democrats were reminding everyone that the CIA is trash and their actions around the world have made the U.S. many enemies. 
And let’s remember Democrat Chuck Schumer, rather than praise de facto Third Party President Donald Trump for the boldest stands against America’s dirty intelligence community since John F Kennedy, instead taunted him for defying them, saying “They have six ways from Sunday at getting back at you.” 
The thought of trusting ANY CIA-tainted figure on crucial issues is absurd. Remember their assurances that Iraq had Weapons of Mass Destruction? How much blood is on their and George W Bush’s hands for that? Plus George’s father has a CIA center named for him because of his past with the agency, including as director under Ford. 
LE DIABLE AMOUREUX (THE DEVIL IN LOVE) – Written in 1772 and translated into English in 1793. This story was penned by Jacques Cazotte and is a forerunner of the type of fantastic, oneiric horror stories that E.T.A. Hoffmann would specialize in. 
The House Democrats under Nancy Pelosi are basically admitting how unpopular their kangaroo court-level “impeachment inquiry” is by refusing to even hold a vote to proceed. Pelosi and her fellow Democrat criminals know that forcing a formal vote would endanger the reelection chances of many Democrats in the House who were elected from moderate districts, where Trump is popular. 
The House will not even allow their minority party, the Republicans, to subpoena witnesses themselves. Clearly the Democrats do not want an investigation or “inquiry” they are just hoping that this fraudulent impeachment attempt will succeed where Robert Mueller’s trumped-up “Russian Collusion” investigation failed. 
On a lighter note, deranged Democrat Rosie O’Donnell ran a poll on her social media feed regarding impeachment and 58% of her own followers voted AGAINST impeaching President Trump. Needless to say O’Donnell then took the poll down. A true Democrat! 
AMAZING ADVENTURES Vol 2 #27 (November 1974) 
THE WOLF IN THE GARDEN (1931) – Written by Alfred Hoyt Bill. This neglected novel is ideal for people who go in for horror tales set long ago. In this case the 1790s. 
