For fans of Egyptology, the Royal BC Museum’s visiting exhibit, Ancient Egypt Obsessed with Life, follows the soul through the underworld. There’s just one problem: Where’s My Mummy?
When news dropped about The Mummy 4 being titled The Book of the Dead, I knew it was time to check out the Royal BC Museum’s visiting exhibit, Ancient Egypt Obsessed with Life. It’s a nicely varied display of funerary artifacts, with plaques explaining the beliefs surrounding what happens to the soul after death. Nearly everyone knows about the embalming process, but as for the spiritual side, what’s revealed shows what both the living and the deceased experience.
For the latter, a three panel panoramic video imagines what that journey looks like as the spirit travels through the gates of the underworld. After being judged, one is either allowed into the Aaru (Field of Reeds) or consumed by Ammit!
Spirit Tasting raises a glass to old friends and dangerous wishes as Chris LaMartina’s New Year’s Eve horror comedy heads out on an American roadshow with filmmaker and cast appearances.
Chris LaMartina‘s Spirit Tasting is off on a roadshow, and if you’re lucky to watch this movie on the big screen, I’m sure you’ll be celebrating festive cheers way before others. In this story, three former punks (Sean Doherty, Melissa LaMartina, and Trevor Wilhelms) toast their late bandmate at a distillery on New Year’s Eve. When a strange sommelier (Matt Lake) invites them to a top-shelf tasting, they discover there’s only one catch: Every bottle requires a “wish.” But as each of their desires twist into doom, these old friends discover that every pour at the Red Bat Distillery comes at a deadly price.
From the Press Release:
Director Chris LaMartina appeared last Friday, October 23rd, on The Last Drive-In with Joe Bob Briggs to screen his modern seasonal classic WNUF Halloween Special, and first noted there that his new film would be out before the end of the year. SPIRIT TASTING was formally announced this morning at Variety. This film was shot in just four days for $40K to celebrate his 40th birthday and he said this sobering horror/comedy is about life at its midpoint, in order to wrestle with the “what ifs” of the past and the aspirations of the future…
It’s the stuff every middle-aged adult has pondered at some point.
Step right up, ladies, gentleman, for Atomic Vaudeville’s annual Spooktacular! FUN HOUSE you say? Welcome to a history of tradition, and come what may if you dare enter….
Tickets can be bought in advance here. Limited tickets at the door.
The theatre company Atomic Vaudeville has been a Victoria, BC, institution since 2004. For those in the know, it is also a place where emerging local talent can find mentorship and opportunities to hone their skills. Some performers have graduated from the Canadian College of Performing Arts; others, I honestly don’t know. But when the team gathers to create its annual Halloween show, I take notice!
This year’s FUN HOUSE sounded like one I had to check out. Although I don’t get to see Atomic Vaudeville every year, I’ve followed with interest ever since 2016. It’s not only because certain luminaries honed their craft here and moved on to establish careers of their own but also they have other events throughout the years.
There’s Mike Delamont (God Is a Scottish Drag Queen), Wes Borg, the comic musician who co-founded Three Dead Trolls in a Baggie before joining the Atomic Vaudeville team, Ingrid Hansen, the puppeteer known for her work on the Fraggle Rock revival, and Trevor Hinton, an actor who appeared in Bones of Crows. The latter is amazing because I’ve seen him perform in numerous genre shows over the years.
From Disney ballrooms to vampire masquerades, Nocturne Gala founder Anna Stankevich discusses the magic of formal dances and bringing the Vampire Ball to Victoria, BC.
Get your passes for the upcoming Blood Moon Ball in Victoria here.
Formal balls may seem like a thing of the past, something only seen in cinema, but that’s not the case! Based in the Greater Vancouver region, Nocturne Gala is an operation that wants to change that perception. Founder Anna Stankevich (pictured right) is a ball enthusiast and she says they are still ongoing. When she and her husband immigrated to Canada in 2022 and didn’t find anything similar, she started up this business. Balls still happen across Europe and as for why they never took off here, not even historians have an answer.
This organizer said, “A good number of guests attending Nocturne Gala events have a European background and recognize the format immediately, while others are discovering it for the first time. What I particularly enjoy is that these dances can be accessible and easy to learn.”
Depending on the generation, some will fondly recall either Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Phantom of the Opera and others Francis Ford Coppola’s Dracula. But other films, like Luchino Visconti’s The Leopard predate both, and this is regarded as one of the greatest films ever made. For anyone who knows the song, “The Music of the Night,” the following lyrics say it all:
Slowly, gently
Night unfurls its splendor
Grasp it, sense it
Tremulous and tender
Turn your face away
From the garish light of day
Turn your thoughts away from cold unfeeling light
And listen to the music of the night
In the animated front, it began with a certain Disney princess, Cinderella, and that movie set a precedent future films from this studio must follow. Anna believes it’s about how the feeling, the music, the costume, and the magic come together. She also believes it’s essential not to go over the top.
When asked about the animated, theatrical, and live-action versions of Beauty and the Beast, Anna noted a difference. She said, “Compared with the polished, formal balls in earlier Disney films like Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty, the 1991 Beauty and the Beast ball scene feels warmer and more inviting and real due to more realistic ballroom layout, sweeping camera movement, and the use of 3D. The 2017 live-action version is different. It’s at the end of the movie, and feels more like a theatrical vision of a royal court, perhaps something you could imagine at Versailles, not polished, sometimes even a bit quirky.”
Kevin Rottaris brings his special effects experience to Rotty’s Creations in Victoria, where collectibles and original creations are just the beginning of a shop with plans for gaming and hands-on workshops.
Holding an original creation, an Alien facehugger mask!
791 Fort St.
Victoria, BC V8W 1G9
Phone: (250) 590-1418
Tues to Sun 11am to 8pm
(10pm Sat/Sun)
Kevin Rottaris wears many hats. He grew up on a farm, served in the military as a combat engineer, and has always had a passion for the geekier side of life. Whether that is with Aliens or Star Wars, he certainly has a love for the movies of the 70s to 80s more so than any other era. During my sneak preview of Rotty’s Creations, a maker space and retail store that will be opening Oct 16th, his interests were easy to spot on the shelves. Anything newer, like Pokémon and the TCG market, came from his business partner, Reese Bourdon.
But this is more than a store. Cinematic nostalgia is everywhere, and there are plans for a makerspace that will be the second level. Before coming to Victoria, he spent about a year and a half running the operation in Red Deer, Alberta, hoping to return to more work in the film industry as a special effects artist. Sales were terrific, but he wasn’t doing everything he’d hoped to get back to after “settling down.”
Cursed goods, Cthulhu fan art, and a vendor count that didn’t match the press release. Here’s how Vancouver’s second Oddities and Curiosities Expo measured up to the hype.
Oddities & Curiosities Expo Canada Edition
Some travelling expos are worth the commute. And when they tout goods that would make Louis Vandredi from Friday the 13th: The Series salivate, the Oddities and Curiosities Expo will draw in more than just collectors seeking random old goods. Instead, this event is more like an Etsy on wheels, an arts and crafts show with a splash of Johnny J. Jones Exposition on the side. Based on what I saw of the stage show, it’s hardly a big draw.
I bought my pass a week before. When I visited, this city’s version wasn’t packed when compared to Youtube videos of other shows from other locations. Also, I was happy to notice a bit of pop-culture spillover! No Pikachu bones were found here. As for Cubone, there were none. Instead, there was artwork and some not-so-unusual variants for those who want a bit of goth in The Pokémon Company’s flagship mascot. Considering the dark critters in this franchise, I’m not surprised. Had I spotted a Gothorita figure, I most likely would’ve picked her up over anything official!
Although I didn’t expect Dungeons and Dragons, a random d20 and Beholder did catch my eye!
When news dropped about The Mummy 4 being titled The Book of the Dead, I knew it was time to check out the Royal BC Museum’s visiting exhibit, Ancient Egypt Obsessed with Life. It’s a nicely varied display of funerary artifacts, with plaques explaining the beliefs surrounding what happens to the soul after death. Nearly everyone knows about the embalming process, but as for the spiritual side, what’s revealed shows what both the living and the deceased experience.
