Surprise! Deadly Premonition: The Director’s Cut Ultimate Edition Hits PSN!

Posted on October 18, 2013 by geelw

EDIT: It was TUESDAY when this dropped on PSN (Oops! Thanks David Bruno! Hey, I was THAT shocked by this news that I forgot to check!)

“Wait, Whaaaaat?“ was my first response to this rather sudden news and after I found my face (it popped off and rolled under a table), I had to do a few double-takes and check the calendar to make sure it wasn’t April 1st again. Anyway, Rising Star Games and developer Access games have been keeping this a huge secret until this week, but if you’re a PS3 owner jealous of your PC gaming pals getting that lovely Steam version of Deadly Premonition: The Director’s Cut this Halloween (well, this October 29th to be more precise), now you can stop being that jealous git and do some fancy dancin’ of your own around the room (go put some pants on first, though – i can see you through that monitor or other device, y’know).

As for what’s IN that Ultimate Edition? Well, look down and find out! No, not down THERE, silly – on your screen:

Included with Deadly Premonition: The Director’s Cut Ultimate Edition:

Espresso Suit – Tolerance to Hunger and Tiredness x3
Field-Ops Suit – Increase HP and Attack Power x3
High Roller Suit – Money Rewards x3
Happy Songkran Suit – Money Rewards x3
Special-Ops Suit – Increase HP and Attack Power x2 – Tolerance to Hunger and Tiredness x2 – Money Rewards x2
Catgirl Outfit – Character skin only
Friday Night Outfit – Character skin only
The Blue GT – Enhanced Handling
The Devil’s Red – Increased max speed and faster acceleration
The Green Drifter – Expert car, drifting capabilities
Chibi Chibi Bang Bang – Vehicle skin only
Greenvale Real Estate – Take up roots, rest, and recover from the comfort of your new home in Greenvale!

Sure, that PC version has additional enhancements over this one, but that’s showbiz, kids. Anyway, like the retail version of DPTDC, the Ultimate Edition will set you back a mere $29.99 on PSN and comes highly recommended if you’re a big SWERY65 fan who wants MORE DP and FK in that coffee or it’ll make a great digital gift for a fellow PS3 owner you know who STILL hasn’t been to Greenvale.

And if you’re an PS3 and/or PC AND happen to own an iPad, you NEED the awesome Deadly Premonition: The Director’s Cut Visual Companion, now available on iTunes for a mere $9.99. 350 pages of art, notes and other fine stuff about the game that’s currently available nowhere else (unless you happen to kidnap Swery and make him tell you everything. That, by the way is a bit extreme and we don’t condone kidnapping here at DAF. Well, in MOST cases…

Oh, and if you’ve read this far, stick around for another surprise. As in I’ll be giving two codes away of that Ultimate Edition… soon. Really. Soon.

The Four Horsemen Have Been Busy @ The Movies For Ages. You Should Be Very Pleased About That.

Posted on October 18, 2013 by geelw

So, Nick Powell over at The Cinematic Katzenjammer asked for contributors this month to write up a post or do something creative using The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse as a starting point and any horror-themed movies that happened to fit one or more of their particular talents. I decided to have a bit of fun picking four films (one for each rider) and pointing to moments in each that to me, define the essence of their namesakes. They’re not all horror films, but if you’re in the right mood you’ll see the horror in parts of them.

Amusingly enough, the devil has gotten his due here as well. ALL of these were done up as Random Film of the Week entries at one point, but three were lost when I misplaced a USB thumb stick with a ton of other fresh content I’d done for the site a few years back when it was on Blogger. One good reason for me doing this post was to kick myself in the butt hard and get on to full rewrites soon of those three.

In addition, I’ll warn you now that the Fifth Horseman (Spoilage!) is on board. So if you haven’t seen any of the four flicks listed here… you’ve been warned in advance. Which is unusual in this day and age, as spoilers usually just spill out and all over you in the oddest of places. Hell, I heard the end of Gravity from a yakky lady babbling like a jerk on her cell phone in a grocery store a few days ago. I wanted to throw a large can of low-sodium black beans at her head, but I’d be typing this from a jail cell, it was the last can of that brand on the shelf and I needed it more than her head needed a two-pound can-sized impression in it.

Anyway, saddle up and get ready to ride (or duck behind something and hope you’re unseen)… we’re off! Continue reading →

Humor: My Potential Halloween Costume Options (If I Were To Venture Outside That Day)…

Posted on October 15, 2013 by geelw

I don’t go out on Halloween anymore because I’m old, slow, cranky in crowds and shouldn’t eat so much candy. All that and it’s just not safe in this city under certain circumstances. I used to pop out in costume and attend all sorts of activities up until the late 80’s/early 90’s so all those memories (fading or not) suit me fine. That said, thanks to a recent wave of nostalgia hitting me over the head, I’ve decided to at least go to the trouble of picking out potential costume ideas if I was going to hit the Halloween party circuit this year. Both choices are from ancient TV ads I saw too many times growing up and yeah, both outfits are bizarre in their own ways for a number of reasons. Anyway, the first one is cool because I actually never liked Fig Newtons all that much until I saw this ad. Later on, I could blame D.H. Lawrence for making me confused about figs, but that’s another story for another time, *ahem*…

(thanks, BICUSAWriting!)

As for that other costume, hey – who doesn’t like bananas that can draw cartoons? Well, I know a few folks who despise them (well, just the bananas part) and I used to hate them myself for a while. But they’re LOADED with potassium and other good stuff and I need that good stuff to keep breathing. I was thinking of a few other costume options, but I don’t even think anyone would even get a huge box of Calgon strolling down the street other than a few old ladies who’d chase me down and ask for free samples. Or I’d be chased down the street by actual Asians calling me a racist for my stupid cardboard and paint outfit. Who knew nostalgia could be so dangerous to one’s health?

Hmmm… maybe I’ll stay home after all and just watch spooky flicks on TCM all day. Yeah, that’s the ticket…

Random Film of the Week(end), Too: Horror Castle

Posted on October 13, 2013 by geelw

(thanks, sleazeorama!)

Given that it’s been released with no fewer than three titles (The Virgin of Nuremberg and Castle of Terror are the other two), it’s not surprise that I didn’t get to see this Italian horror flick until it popped up on TCM a few days ago. Of course, if I wasn’t up and half dying from the scratchy throat that mutated into the cold I’m now getting over, I’d have missed this frightening little import gem. Sure, it’s got a score that sounds a bit out of place, some odd dialog (although I’m not sure if this a translation issue) and yes, plenty of cliché gone wild moments that would sink a lesser effort. Nevertheless, the overall gloomy atmosphere and great color photography, a great extended cameo by Christopher Lee (misspelled as Cristopher Lee in the credits) and a pretty damn excellent scene involving rats, a cage and a young woman’s face make this one worth tracking down…

Continue reading →

Random Film of the Week(end): MARTIN

Posted on October 13, 2013 by geelw

(thanks albademorti!)

I think I like MARTIN the best out of all George Romero’s films because despite its age it still holds up one of the best modern takes on the vampire genre (even though the titular character only thinks he’s one) and is about as uncompromising as it gets from beginning to end.

It’s also an extremely hard to watch film if you’re squeamish about a few things like needles, fresh razor blades and blood, but everything clicks on multiple levels and there’s a powerful payoff at the end that offers up a bit of slyly amusing social commentary common to Romero’s work. If all you know about vampires is that tween sparkly Twilight crap or even the used to be interesting before it went into fairy fantasy crazyland True Blood, this one will stake a claim in your brain as soon as you meet the titular character doing his version of the bloodsucking thing he needs to slake his thirst…
Continue reading →

Saturn 3 Blu-Ray/DVD Bound: Heckling Hector and Company For Their Less Than Stellar Work…

Posted on October 13, 2013 by geelw

OK, I didn’t think it was possible, but it looks as if someone is actually putting the wretched mess Saturn 3 out on Blu-Ray. The otherwise great director Stanley Donen’s flawed folly of a feeble flick is headed out to retail on December 3, 2013 from the fine folks at Shout Factory.

This big budget sci-fi/horror non-epic non masterpiece (it’s not even a “so bad it’s good” experience) completely wastes the talents of all involved and is a total mess from start to finish. Thankfully, it looks as if the disc’s handful of bonus features just may save this one from being the “WTF did you get me this crap for?” movie of the year. Trust me, there’s not one redeemable quality about the theatrical version, but I know some movie fans find elements of this junk heap intriguing enough to want to go back and watch this a few too many times.

Continue reading →

Deadly Premonition: The Director’s Cut PC: The More Things Stay The Strange…

Posted on October 11, 2013 by geelw

You’d think that after playing and reviewing this game a few times on the Xbox 360 and PS3 plus spending well over a month creating daily random screenshot posts about the updated Director’s Cut and a few more on the upcoming PC version soon to pop up on Steam would mean I’m tired of Deadly Premonition. But nope, I still love this weird, funny and compelling horror adventure, warts and all. If you’re a big fan as well you can clearly see above that the game isn’t going to look much different than the console versions, but I’m betting the higher resolution and what should be a more solid frame rate on a decent PC will help smooth out a few issues some had with the other versions. The game also packs in Steam Achievements and Trading Cards plus a bit of extra content at no additional cost and yes, there’s already a page up on the Steam Store where you can keep abreast of the launch date (which is Halloween, of course) and other gory details. Naturally, all that FK in the coffee I’m drinking is keeping me up with a haunted look on my mug much like FBI Special Agent Francis York Morgan, but hey – he’s got skills I could use on a daily basis…

A Little Remider From AMC: Sundays Are For Zombie Lovers…

Posted on October 10, 2013 by geelw

And not those of you who lounge around the house in your jammies chilling in front of football games until your arteries lock up. The Walking Dead is back for a fourth season and this one looks to be even more grin than previous ones. That’s a refresher on what happened last season below in case you’ve forgotten already. I don’t know about you, but after that Breaking Bad finale, Sundays have been DEAD in terms of good TV. OK, well, there are a few things I do watch, but yeah… Ol’ Walt is definitely missed!

Shout Factory’s The Vincent Price Collection: Timely, Indeed (Warts and All)…

Posted on October 7, 2013 by geelw

Someone hipped me to this upcoming Shout Factory box set of six classic horror flicks featuring the late, great Vincent Price (who’s also Star of the Month on TCM all October) and I had to give it a thumb and a three-quarters up just for that lovely cover art alone. Oh, alright, the six sick flicks here are all top picks (and on Blu-Ray for the first time, I believe). But I’d still have to gripe out a grape sized whine about the total lack of love for Doctor Phibes Rises Again, which SHOULD have been grafted into this sextet just because it’s the darn sequel to The Abominable Doctor Phibes and yes, I’m STILL waiting my ass off for Tim Burton to announce he’s remaking both Phibes philms at the same time like Peter Jackson did with his epic The Lord of the Rings trilogy.

Granted, Phibes’ offbeat mix of camp and 70’s era gore “lite” isn’t anywhere on the same level as Tolkein’s works, folks. But hey, I grew up glued to the tube with many of Price’s films and those two hold a very special place in my still beating heart. Hey, it’s not as if I’m asking for Scream and Scream Again, right? RIGHT? If you ever see that one, you’ll understand, kids…

Anyway, if you’re too lazy to click links, that collection costs $55, features tons of special features and the six films are as follows:

THE PIT & THE PENDULUM

THE MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH

THE HAUNTED PALACE

THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER

THE ABOMINABLE DR. PHIBES

WITCHFINDER GENERAL (aka THE CONQUEROR WORM)

Who needs to go out on Halloween and get a tummy ache from some lousy cheap candy bought at the dollar store? Get this Blu-Ray set, pop up that dried out corn display you’ve had on the table for years and sprinkle some chili powder on it, slap a few razor blades into a pomegranate (apples are SO last century!) pull up a chair and veg out! Friends optional, but go “borrow” some (have some rope and gags handy) so you can show them a good time before you kick them out in a more bewildered but appreciative state (like Maine or maybe California, ha ha)…

Guillermo Del Toro Makes The Simpsons More Than Interesting This Year…

Posted on October 5, 2013 by geelw

OK, since the great burnout I had from this show a while ago, I haven’t watched an entire episode of The Simpsons in a few years. However, I’ve always made time to catch a bunch of the Treehouse of Horror shows over the years just to see haw far they go on that one night the Fox censors get tossed in the closet (or sent a bit further back than they usually get thrown). This year’s show is a must watch just for these awesome Del Toro-designed and directed titles, but now that I’ve seen them, it probably means I’ll be disappointed by the show that won’t live up to the eyeball riot on display above. I was playing “pick out the references” and yes, even got (and LOVED) Maggie driving THE CAR from that goofy 1977 film. From what I’ve read on a few fan sites, Del Toro has a custom built replica of that rolling purple/black bathtub, which also cracks me up as I’d rather him have that replica and drive it around any time he feels like it than go remake that stellar turd of a “horror” flick.

But of course, if he DOES go there at some point in the not too distant future… I bet it’ll scare the crap out of too many folks (me included)…