Tag: Anthology

Battle in Space: The Armada Attacks Jan 12th in this Anthology Release

The stories are all about survival against all odds, even though not all of them make the cut for keeping viewers interested.

Battle in SpaceBy Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

UNCORK’D ENTERTAINMENT

ON DEMAND, DVD AND DIGITAL
including iTunes, Amazon, Google Play
January 12, 2021

Spoiler Alert

In Battle in Space – The Armada Attacks the Earth has been occupied! This independent movie has all the hallmarks of a SyFy level production, and the budget to pull off some terrific space battles you’d expect from today’s movies on the big screen. This anthology collection of mildly related shorts sees humanity fighting back, but when we’re dealing with wizards and aliens (two words which typically alludes to two different genres of storytelling) in the same breath, trying to decide if this collection is science fiction is tough.

Lukas Kendall, Toby Rawal, Scott Robson, Andrew Jaksch, Sanjay F. Sharma, and Luis Tinoco have ideas on how to tell this story as though it was from the Robotech saga. That’s because Doug Jones is wearing a costume that evokes the image of Lord Doza in the overarching narrative. He preaches a good life and is certainly having fun with the role. However, before I knew it, we’re knee deep in the first tale: the people of Earth aren’t happy with this alien takeover and plot a rebellion.

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Want Some Christmas Scares? All the Creatures Were Stirring is Sure to Chill!

The bigger story, concerning Max and Jenna who are watching these stories along with other non-merry makers is that one of them must be in on the gag. If there’s to be a payoff, perhaps that, for the season, it’s better to make merry with friends or family, and enjoy life so that you don’t end up like them!

All the Creatures Were Stirring Movie PosterAvailable to Stream on Shudder, Amazon Prime, iTunes and Google Play.

‘Twas the night before Christmas,
when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring,
not even a mouse;
When no one’s around,
but the sound of a scream.
All anyone can hope is
the scare was a dream.
When out on the lawn
there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from my bed
to see what was the matter.
The moon on the breast
of the new-fallen snow,
Gave a lustre of midday,
of broken people seen far below,
When what to my wondering eyes did appear,
I shuddered, I muttered, “oh dear, oh dear!”

All the Creatures Were Stirring is a gentle horror anthology by Rebekah and David Ian McKendry to remind viewers about what the holiday is about. My play on Clement Clarke Moore’s poem, “A Visit from St. Nicholas” reflects upon the changes these two producers have done to the holiday classic. They’ve effectively switched the cheer to create some holiday fear, as some people want to enjoy a scary Christmas story as the time nears. Usually that’s a tale about phantoms, and we do get one of the four stories within a story play with that idea.

All is not safe in the theatre Max takes Jenna to. They’re on a date and they have no idea what they’re about to witness. They must be checking out a Winter Fringe Festival; the episodes are performed with minimal props but when we jump into those tales, they are fully realized nightmare fuel.

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Reading Undergods as a Post Apocalyptic Gothic Thriller

The best bits are when the film cuts back to the future and K and Z discuss amongst themselves what it all means.

Battle in Space

By Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

Playing at Fantasia Digital Film Festival 2020 on Sept 2, 5:00 PST. Buy your virtual ticket here.

SPOILER ALERT

Chino Moya’s Undergods has everything I want in a horror anthology. The plan was to build a utopian future, but somehow, along the way, paradise is lost. What we see is a the post apocalyptic world of Eastern Europe. The stories K (Johann Myers) and Z (Géza Röhrig) tell each other–as they search for bodies (lost souls)–is their odd way of consoling each other.

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Digging Deeper into What Makes the Mortuary Collection Work

Filmmaker Ryan Spindell’s work is a retrospective on modern-20th century horror—four tales said in summary to start from the 50s and leap each decade to spotlight a particular style of horror relevant for that time.

Battle in SpaceBy Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

Playing at Fantasia Digital Film Festival 2020 On Demand till Sept 2. Buy your virtual ticket here.

From Fantastic Fest 2019 to Fantasia Digital Film Fest. 2020, The Mortuary Collection is making its rounds to other celebrations on cinema. Filmmaker Ryan Spindell‘s work is a retrospective on modern 20th century horror—four tales set in the 50s and onwards to spotlight a particular style of horror relevant for that time. If further screenings and a home video sell out prove successful enough, maybe he will consider making a second volume where it goes back to the ages I adore–The Wild West, Renaissance and Victorian Age.

Although the stories presented here are good, I feel he can go deeper with the subject and offer a thematic package instead of what he made here.

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Recognizing Noisemakers during Women’s History Month

Book Cover
Available to purchase on Amazon USANoisemakers DVD Cover

By Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

For much of March, Women’s History Month will have many events taking place all over the world to honour those who helped make this world great. Noisemakers: 25 Women Who Raised Their Voices & Changed the World – A Graphic Collection comes from the creators of Kazoo, a quarterly magazine for girls ages 5-12. This anthology encourages young readers to aim for the top. Plus, it’s a very affordable book!

The women profiled here did more than just inspire. While it’s easy to name Amelia Earhart and Joan of Arc, there’s a lot more. Hedy Lamarr is a brilliant inventor actress. The underlying radio technology she developed with composer George Antheil is in use today in the form of Bluetooth. Josephine Baker was more than just a spy during World War I. She was pivotal to the Civil Rights Movement afterwards–all while being a fabulous cabaret singer. Kate Warne was more than the first lady detective. She saved the life of President-Elect Abraham Lincoln and the list does not end there. In the literary front, Mary Shelley’s influence goes beyond simply writing Frankenstein.

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On AH Comics Bringing Jewish Comix Anthologies 1 & 2 to Life

SCI-Jewish-Comics-Anthology-Volume-2-Cover
Enter a caption

By Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

This week is a time for many cultures to make be merry. Whether it’s with Solstice, Hanukah or Christmas or another tradition, it really does not matter. Some may even prefer to cozy up with a good book to read instead. That’s what I normally do when the rest of the world is ready to hunker down for the holidays (and play video games). I marvelled at how well put together SCI The Jewish Comics Anthology Volume 2 is.

The writing and artwork by all the various contributors (David Mack, Ty Templeton and Michael Norwitz are just a sampling of the 26 talents recruited), make this collection a worthwhile add to any science fiction enthusiasts collection. I also had the opportunity to speak with Andy Stanleigh, the President of Alternate History Comics Inc who published this series.

I see on Amazon, the first volume encompasses various genres–from adventure to horror. Why make volume two all about science fiction?

Volume one was unique in that it was, at the time, one of the largest collections of Jewish-themed comic book works. It included original stories and republished works by some of the largest creators in the industry–Will Eisner, Art Spiegelman, Robert Crumb, and even a story originally edited by Stan Lee.

In the years since, with the resurgence of Star Trek, Star Wars and other sci-fi properties in mainstream media (and of course, in all the decades prior), “sci-fi” has become a category by itself, which contains sub-genres of romance, horror, comedy, drama, etc. Within the genre of sci-fi, many stories can be told. This was the connecting thread that we were looking for when planning Volume 2.

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