Tagged: astral projection
‘976-EVIL 2: The Astral Factor’ is a 90’s Out of Body SLASHER Experience!
Today we talk about the Jim “CHOPPING MALL” Wynorski helmed sequel 976-EVIL 2: THE ASTRAL FACTOR and why it’s even better than the original! The Out of Body Experience has never been so damn cheezy and EVIL! Also we get woo woo and discuss Astral Projection, OBE’s and Lucid Dreaming in the real world. A deep dive episode for those who’re looking to embark on the ultimate journey into the UNKNOWN!
Forgotten Halloween Gems: Brad “CHUCKY” Dourif Astral Projects in THE HAZING!
Over the years I’ve always wondered what Brad Dourif was up to in the early 2000s in between his stints as the horror icon Chucky-well this year I can tell you in 2004 he was in a largely overlooked and forgotten Halloween themed gem called THE HAZING from 2004. Believe it or not the 2000s had some under looked horror gems and this one’s ripe for the season. Released on VHS as ‘Dead Scared’ we’ve got a flick here that’s in need of a bigger cult following and a fancy pants blu ray release as well. It’s got all the right spooky moves and is the perfect party monster mash up. From director Rolfe Kanefsky who also is known in die hard horror circles for his cult classic ‘There’s Nothing Out There’ from 1991 and his weird erotic 90’s software films, this appears to likely be his only “other cool” horror film.
Taking place on Halloween we have the spooky tale of a deranged college professor played by none other than ‘Chucky’ himself Brad Dourif. He’s a weirdo who loves to dabble in occult black magic with his cursed demonic book and brutally murder hot women who are essentially throwing themselves all over him and keep their dead bodies in his basement dungeon! What gives Brad?! You just don’t know when you got it so good as an old geezer! Anyway as he’s doing what he apparently loves to do on his downtime, a Frat & Sorority are conducting their annual Halloween “hazing” ritual where in costume, they’ve got to go on a weird wild goose chase for some strange objects and one of the items is a book similar to the one Brad uses. Can you see where this is going?
Things get off to an innocent start, until one pair of “hazee’s” decide to break into Professor Brad’s house to find the book-there they stumble upon him down in his dungeon of terror, get into a scuffle and nearly kill him by pushing him onto a taxidermy animal horn. They flee the scene with his cursed book thinking they won’t get caught and head over to complete “the hazing” at a spooky mansion where the frat bros and sisters are waiting to scare them. One BIG problem-Brad Dourif isn’t dead, but in some sort of coma as the police rush him to the hospital. There in his altered states he astral projects and possesses the college kids and traps them inside the mansion where he can open a gate to hell and steal their souls!!
There’s a ton of Halloween themed fun here, great atmosphere, some well done but cheezy practical fx, likable characters and some pretty good scares too. Brad legitimizes the whole affair, the guy to his credit never phones in a damn performance. Yeah Brad shines as the creepy villain and when his astral body possesses the guys AND the gals their face via some nifty make up fx look just him in his more advanced age.
It’s a highly amusing aspect of the movie and the film most definitely draws it’s frenetic energy more the the 1980s than the early 2000s. Brad’s definitely one of the main attractions here and the other being “scream queen” Tiffany Shepis’ butt!! I’m sorry I HAD to say it and I’m not trying to be pervy but (no pun intended) I watched it with a group of guys and gals and at the end of the movie they all brought up the elephant in the room-how awe inducing her butt was-trust me if you watch ‘The Hazing’ you’ll know EXACTLY what I’m talking about!
Anyway enough about that. The Hazing was a great little surprise with plenty of the season’s spooky cheer. The 2000’s seems to get shit on a lot for it’s horror films but there are actually quite a few solid gems out there and The Hazing has joined the ranks as one of the good ones. If you took Night of the Demon, Hell Night and the Evil Dead 2 and put them all in a blender in the Y2K era you’d end up with this little obscurity. Not quite as iconic as all of those by themselves but a decent blend filled with lots of creepy halloween atmosphere, hot babes, some surprising twists and some gooey fx.
Plus the characters here don’t fall prey to the normal tropes, IE the nerdy asian guy & the “blonde bimbo” played by Nectar Rose aren’t playing by the somewhat tired stereotypical horror rules that came before in the 1980s and 90s. So if you’re looking for HALLOWEEN themed horror from an era that’s not quite as pretentious as most of today’s horror films you just can’t go wrong with The Hazing!
Movie Melt Podcast: 1984’s ‘FURIOUS’ Excels in Chicken Themed Martial Arts in the Astral Plane!
Some movies are just sooooo strange it’s hard to even describe the plot without sounding like you’re losing your mind! That would be most definitely be 1984’s FURIOUS! A movie I’m not sure was supposed to be as weird as it turned out to be? Fear not though I went back on the MOVIE MELT podcast and jumped deep into the void! It’s a strange So-Cal Martial arts adventure that feels like it takes place in an alternate reality, where everything is just slightly off with bizarre things going down on screen for no apparent reason and plot that seems to incorporate transforming people into chickens! Yeah, there’s a lot of chickens in FURIOUS as well as some, lets say “questionable” but entertaining martial arts battles to tantalize your mind!
I’m a big fan of dream-like movies and this one definitely feels pulled straight from the REM sleep arena for all to enjoy and try to make a lick of sense of! Could FURIOUS be the most dream-like film off all time? Should Christopher Nolan have taken notes from this one before directing ‘INCEPTION’? I personally think so! I mean people transform into pigs for no reason, take that ‘Inception’!!
If you’re a fan weird forgotten action cinema this episode will not disappoint! We get DEEP into the meanings all the onscreen nonsense, talk about cool movies you need to check out and even have a “chicken themed” battle of the bands competition!! Plus soooo much more cinematic trash to load your brain with than you ever imagined possible! Check out the EPISODE RIGHT HERE!!! Oh and if you want to experience the strange world of Furious, the whole damn thing is right here on Youtube!
The Best TANGERINE DREAM Song of ALL Time?!
Tangerine Dream is easily one of the best instrumental synth groups of all time, they have scored some iconic movies and even some sweet lower grade B-flicks. Creating true atmosphere that can take you to some pretty stunning places with their beautiful scores and trippy albums. Very few can go toe to toe with their brilliance, maybe the likes of John Carpenter & Goblin, come to mind.
This German electronic synth group was founded in 1967 by Edgar Froese with many different musicians joining the fold over the years. Sadly he passed in 2015 but the band continues on without him, for better or for worse. Anyway if you don’t know the group at least I can say you have probably heard them unknowingly in a movie over the years. The other day I came to a bold conclusion, which is in my opinion my top 3 favorite songs by the group. This is an open invitation to have my selections challenged and discover more of their best songs as I haven’t explored their vast scores and albums in their entirely. That being said here are my current picks for their BEST compositions of ALL time!
‘No Man’s Land’ from Hyperborea (1983)
As things currently stand I’m gonna have to go out on a limb and say that this is the best Tangerine Dream song of all time. As far as I know this was never used in a soundtrack and that’s a shame because this one takes you places places you’ve never been before flying through different dimensions sit back and close your eyes close your eyes take a puff off your joint and let your mind go wild! If it’s not their best track it’s at the very least my current favorite…
The close 2nd goes to their mystically dreamy atmospheric track from the soundtrack of 1977’s brilliant mega tense adventure film ‘Sorcerer’ called ‘The Journey’. This song doesn’t play for nearly long enough in the movie but you get just enough of it there to make you search out the full version and behold it’s true glory…
I’m also gonna have to mention ‘Love on a Real Train’ from 1983’s ‘Risky Business’ soundtrack. Let’s face the facts without the brilliant tendering dream soundtrack this movie would lose a lot of it’s appeal and emotional flavor. Simply a stunner…
So my question to you is what do you think are the best Tangerine Dream songs of all time? Please share!!
Hong Kong Horror Gems: 1985’s ‘Those Merry Souls’!
Here’s a sweet little Hong Kong horror/action/comedy hybrid from 1985 that really put a BIG smile on my face, ‘Those Merry Souls’. Yeah this all but forgotten flick has some serious star power, featuring the likes of martial arts legends like the charming Yuen Biao & the late horror icon “Mr. Vampire” himself Lam Ching Ying (RIP) together for one spooky comedic action packed romper.
Now as you can see the poster here. makes it look maybe like a full on comedy, and in many ways ‘Those Merry Souls’ plays out like one. However it also has a serious supernatural aspect and threat that slowly rears it’s head to the final genuinely creepy action packed finale. This one tells the story of two stuntmen one a wildly talented martial artist and his bumbling whiny cousin who’s obsessed with a beautiful local club singer. Oh yeah and their uncle has recently developed a rare creepy ability to astral project and has been helping people who die find their way to the other side. He helps those merry souls but during his waking life doesn’t remember a lick of it ever happening.
The two bosom buddy stuntmen spend most of their time trying to ridiculously find romance and getting into trouble while doing so, one of the best scenes takes place on a beach where Yuen Biao shines showing his kick ass martial arts skills taking on a gang beach bullies in only his skimpy little swim suit. Biao really should have been an international star, he’s got the skills and a similar raw charisma of Jackie Chan. Things do get a bit dark and scary here though and what starts off like the perfect 80’s Hong Kong buddy comedy morphs into a pretty thrilling little supernatural tale.
This happens when their uncle, while in his astral form is instructed to take the soul of his own nephew when he’s injured doing a wild stunt on a movie set. At the moment of truth though he decides to let him live & spare his soul a mistake that costs him his own life and sets forth an evil entity upon them. In a way it’s a tiny bit Final Destination and when they employ the help of their other uncle, played by Lam Ching Ying, who’s of course got some secret magic skills of his own to ward off evil, things get really interesting.
The film’s finale is joyous as the whole gang along with their girlfriends all face off the evil entity along with their taoist priest uncle in an action packed final showdown. The stakes get high and the action is off the rails bonkers in true Hong Kong fashion as the entity possesses members of the group and soon things erupt into a crazy supernatural kung fu battle.
We even get to see Lam Ching Ying and Yuen Biao go at it full force, which is treat to behold. Bottom line here, ‘Those Merry Souls’ is a damn good time balancing out the comedy, kung fu & supernatural elements in all the right ways, something I’ve noticed many Hong Kong films of this era seem to fail at in my opinion more often than succeeding.
If you’re looking to get in 80’s Hong Kong Horror I highly recommend ‘Those Merry Souls’ as the perfect party movie to share with a hungry gang of movie maniacs!
And for fans of Yuen and LamChing Ying check this out too..
VHS Verdict: ‘976-EVIL 2’ Deserves Some Serious Love!
l’m BACK & I never saw this one coming: for some reason I decided it was time to finally check out ‘976-EVIL Part 2: The Astral Factor’, which I’ve literally been putting off for years & what a sweet little horror flick indeed! I like part two so much I’d say it’s definitely more fun than the original. There’s a big difference here in directorial duties, the first installment featured horror legend Robert “Freddy” Englund in the director’s chair for the first of only two times, while part 2 features Jim ‘Chopping Mall’ Wynorski. Yeah Wynorski being at the helm here immediately got me amped, as he’s done some pretty undeniably awesomely cheezy 80’s flicks besides just Chopping Mall. A few of my favorites like Return of the Swamp Thing, Hard To Die, Not of This Earth, Sorority House Massacre 2 & Deathstalker 2, so it’s no surprise really that 1991’s ‘976-EVIL 2’ delivers a similar formula only this time we find him playing the horror a bit more straight, at least in by his standards like he did in ‘Chopping Mall’.
We’ve got one of the the stars of the first movie back as well, Patrick O’Brien returns as ‘Spike’, who now roams the back roads of the USA ridin’ on his bad ass chopper, clad in tuff black leather. Yep a total “bad ass dude” for sure after the events of the last installment…That evil phone number is out there, still tormenting people randomly, calling pay phones & a college professor ends up the prime target of evil when he picks up! Soon the local college campus is being terrorized by a crazy supernatural slasher & a curious student named Robin decides to take on the case. Of course bad ass Spike rolls into town on his hog looking for trouble, meeting Robin and immediately decides to help her sleuth out the case.
One of my favorite aspects of the ‘976-Evil 2’ is the villain played by Rod McCary, the evil professor uses astral projection to hunt down his victims. Most of the movie he’s locked up in the county jail and uses his creepy supernaturally powered astral body to do the damn dirty work! He also utilizes the ‘976-Evil hotline’ to mess up the college kids and all of it is a ton of fun to behold. The movie opening sequence sets the perfect tone of schlocky fun that rarely lets up throughout it’s run time making this one a nice lean cheezy supernatural adventure.
It’s surprisingly solid (and admittedly stupid quite often) with some really fun, spooky 80’s style fx I just can’t seem to get enuff of, some fairly ambitious action sequences and some good ol’ explosions. There’s also an excellent sequence where a college girl gets sucked into her TV set and arrives on the scenes of It’s a Wonderful Life & Night of the Living Dead that makes the movie worth a watch alone. Also expect a ton of babes n’ beefcakes, even a super kick ass cameo sequence by an ultra sexy, sultry Brigitte Nielson!
If you’re a Wynorski fan and haven’t checked this out I highly recommend, if you’re just looking for a great party horror flick this one a damn good choice! Who’d a thunk it?!
VHS Verdict: ‘Vibes’ Starring Jeff Goldblum & Cyndi Lauper Is a Forgotten Gem!!
I do tons of hunting around town here in Portland Oregon and beyond for awesome VHS tapes for my own viewing pleasure and also for my shop Hollywood Babylon. The fun is always running across cool movies, often times I never even knew existed. This is most definitely the case when I ran across a VHS copy of ‘VIBES’ from 1988 starring Cyndi Lauper and Jeff Goldblum!? Yeah, at least for me this was a surprise as I’d never even heard of this one before and the unlikely pairing of Goldblum as “Nick” & 80’s pop icon Lauper as “Sylvia” kinda blew my mind. At first I thought it was simply an 80’s rom com, but upon reading the synopsis on the back I was even more excited to find that Vibes is actually a supernatural adventure flick with light elements of Indiana Jones sprinkled about it’s odd colorful plot.
Talk about a movie that sounds right up my alley? Vibes was indeed a ton of fun and it’s two unlikely leads make it a full on trip down 80’s nostalgia lane. Both Lauper and Goldblum play quirky down on their luck psychics who are hired to head off to Ecuador to find the missing son of a mysterious wealthy fortune hunter. Both seem reluctant to work together even though Sylvia who’s major bad luck with men, seems immediately enamored with Nick who’s character is as over the top Godlbum-esque here as they come. Both use their unique powers to piece together the mystery they become entrenched in, Sylvia speaks with a dead woman named Louise and Nick can see the psychic history of objects from merely by touching them.
Once the two leave the city they quickly realize there’s a supernatural element at play and their employer hasn’t been entirely honest about why they’ve been hired for the job. It’s a total pleasure to see the two leads playing off each other and it’s quite obvious from the get go it’s gonna be physically impossible for Golblum to resist the cute as a button Lauper. Cyndi shines here with her extra thick New York accent and most of all it’s the unlikely pairing of these two icons that really make this one such a treat.
The back of the VHS boasts something of a special fx extravaganza from one of the dudes from Ghostbusters which was sadly a bit misleading. There are a few neat scenes of 80’s fx at play here but ultimately the supernatural spectacle here wasn’t nearly as impressive as I’d hoped for. A few more scenes of paranormal mayhem would have made this one a full on lost 80’s classic. It does have some great sets though and the Ecuador back drop gives this a bit of a Romancing the Stone vibes at times although with less physical adventure actually going on. There’s a great dance sequence between the two as well that’s pretty darn cute as well. The main reason to seek this out is the two leads, it’s an interesting pairing and filled with a ton of fun moments despite it being a full on bonafide box office flop. One of the best parts of the movie is the closing credits song by Cyndi Lauper called “Hole In My Heart” which is one of her best and adds to the pure nostalgia of this little forgotten gem of an 80’s movie.
Astral Projection, Shadow People & Sleep Paralysis in Current Pop Culture!
I’ve been noticing more recently the increased interest in astral projection, sleep paralysis & the shadow people phenomenon (all three that often times go hand in hand) becoming quite popular subjects lately in pop culture. If you’re unsure of what the three of these things are let me briefly explain. First astral projection (also referred to as an out of body experience) is when your consciousness or “soul” separates from the physical body. Sleep paralysis is when someone “wakes” from sleep and finds their body paralyzed for a short period of time. Finally “the shadow people phenomenon” has been reported by countless people while in the state of sleep paralysis and involves coming in contact with shadowy beings who appear near you or around you. These encounters are often described as terrifying, with strange voices and sometimes feelings of being attacked or suffocated by these shadowy beings.
What many people don’t know is that sleep paralysis, despite how modern horror movies depict the phenomenon, is actually a state that people who attempt or practice astral projection strive to get to. So to some who might not understand what’s happening during sleep paralysis this is a frightening experience but to others this is the sweet spot needed to induce an out of body experience. You see, when someone attempts astral projection it involves a certain amount of concentration or meditation, basically you are trying to let your body completely fall asleep while keeping you mind awake. When doing so successfully you body once calmed enough will become paralyzed, we all experience sleep paralysis every night when we go to bed, it’s what keeps us from acting out our dreams physically. In some cases sleep walking occurs when the body isn’t paralyzed completely. If you can successfully keep conscious while the body falls in sleep paralysis you’re actually very close to astral projecting, which is an amazing thing. Sleep paralysis is considered in a way the gateway to another dimension. Most of the movies and such out there today portray the experience in a negative & frightening way when in reality it’s a direct step to an incredible, life changing experience. Continue reading
Astral Projection: The Theater Method!
I’ve expressed my interest in lucid dreaming here at Universal Dork a couple times in the past and today I thought I’d take a moment to talk about ‘astral projection’. First though, if you’re not quite sure what lucid dreaming is let me make it simple, it’s when you have a very vivid dream and something within the dream triggers you to become aware that you are dreaming (movies like Inception & Dreamscape are good examples). In many of these cases often with a little practice and focus you can learn to have them quite regularly. To be honest it makes movies like ‘Inception’ feel pretty boring. It’s one of the most incredible things I’ve experienced and anyone can do it with a little effort.
There’s another practice that’s linked to lucid dreaming called ‘astral projection‘, also known as an ‘out of body experience’ or OBE. I’ve worked a ton on different methods to experience this phenomenon with various degrees of success. I can tell you with honesty that it’s lead to the most bizarre & unexplainable experiences of my existence. I’m to this day a bit uncertain exactly what astral projection really is at it’s core, some believe it’s just an elaborate lucid dream while others believe it’s the complete separation of consciousness from the physical body. I intend to find out for myself what the truth really is behind it. Thus far I’ve had several unexplainable experiences that have lead me to believe that perhaps there’s abilities humans have that involve being able to enter into different dimensions of existence that are not of our physical material world. It’s also made me question heavily my beliefs on life after death. Perhaps there’s more to us than just our bodies of flesh and bone? Continue reading
Does “The OA” Need a Second Season?!!
Have you seen the new Netflix series “The OA” yet? If not STOP reading and go check it out, it’s super damn good. Netflix is killing it these days with the amount of quality content they have been putting out and this series is easily one of my favorites. It’s basic premise discusses the possibilities of life after death by exploring the phenomenon of Near Death Experiences or NDE’s. The series has got quite an original and fully intriguing story at it’s core and it’s the type of show that by the season finale will have you perplexed and left thinking for days about the entire thing.
So what the hell really happened at the end there? There were a few different ways of interpreting what exactly went down, though none of the theories out there have been proven. Spoilers alert!! The theory that I like the best is that indeed the main character Prairie has gone to different dimensions and survived death several times. That her story IS true.
I’ve been a lucid dreamer most of my life & had always been quite interested in astral projection (also known as an out of body experience or OBE), I was really doubtful that there is anything after we die. Having someone close to me pass really kickstarted my interest in astral projection which is very closely linked to NDE’s. I began to practice everyday and I’ve had some truly bizarre experiences that I can’t explain happen to me. These experiences have led me to a place where I do beleive there is a strong possibility there’s more to life than the physical body & that there IS indeed something more awaiting us all after our hearts stop beating. Perhaps I’ll do a blog in the future about it all. Anyway the brilliant thing about the series is that it really leaves it up to the viewer to decide and by peoples personal experiences it will be clear which version you will lean more toward by the season’s end.
The funny thing was about half way through I’d jokingly said “what if this woman was just full of shit, crazy or some kind of narcissistic cult leader? That’d be pretty crazy..” Well in the last few minutes of the show we were left with that very possibility and I realized if this show did continue it could go in two very different directions. We could have the fantastical supernatural meta physical journey continue or we could have the story of a strange woman who’s fooled a group of people into thinking they’re on to solving the ultimate questions of our existence. As it stands, as much as the finale was fully frustrating and completely perplexing I kinda like the way the show has left us all wondering just what version of the story is true. It’s the wonder sometimes of not knowing all the answers that makes things in life so incredible, so if The OA remains a one season show I think it’d be kinda brilliant actually. We’ll see what happens as of right now there’s no word if the story continues or not, but damn you Netflix you did it again…
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