Editorials
Horror-Themed Fireworks for Your Fourth of July Celebration!
Many horror fans look at the Fourth of July as merely a waypoint for Halloween. Last year’s offerings have disappeared from the discount bins and the stores haven’t yet stocked up on this year’s goodies. The Fourth of July is usually sunny and hot. Something we tend to avoid like the vamps we are. Standing over a grill will just melt our battle jacket enamel pins and make our black eyeliner run into the potato salad.
Aside from a handful of holiday-set movies, finding holiday horror themed items is fairly difficult. No limited edition, super exclusive red, white and blue striped sweater Freddy from NECA to be found anywhere. And there are no events for us to hang our fangs on. Zombie George Washington’s Hayride really should be a thing.
But look no further, fiends. The fireworks companies have had our hunched backs for ages and many of us didn’t even know it. Every year, I like to cruise the fireworks stands and see the wonderful art on the packaging and giggle and hoot at the insane names they give their sparklers, fountains, firecrackers and blow-the-sky-to-smithereens offerings. Being in California, where anything that lifts off the ground means a hefty fine, the offerings are pretty small and quaint. But go to a real state where they encourage all-out war between neighborhoods and the loss of fingers, and buddy, there is horror to be found in them hills.
Here’s a little visual of what you can see, or what you’ve missed over the past few years at your local fireworks stand.
Somebody over at Area 51 Fireworks is a big horror fan. Or at least, they know how to pry our wallets open. They offer a ton of themed fireworks, the most of any other company right now, ranging from classic monsters like Dracula and Frankenstein to today’s favorites, like Godzilla and ACK! ACK! MARS ATTACKS! Now, the fireworks, themselves, don’t rain blood or black cats, but it’s all about the packaging. And seriously, get a load of Freddy in those Minion Goggles. All the better to see that Jason bomb when you create your own sequel on your street.
TNT Fireworks also offers quite a nice range of horror goodies to blow up the front porch. Like this Texas Chainsaw and Pennywise… er… Zombie Clown, which shoots flaming balls. But just pretend they’re exploding balloons.
Other companies are no slouch when it comes to the scare factor. Check out these movie maniac inspired packages. My favorite being the “damn the licensors” Maximum Overdrive (I’ve been looking for this one, so if you can help a bud out…) and Killer Klown. And those Draculas are to die for. I’ve been looking for those for ages. That Night of the Living Dead-inspired art is still waiting for me to frame it. But be careful with that one. It aims for the head.
But for me, the ultimate thing for fireworks is the classic firecracker. The art on these are gorgeous, and often highly collectible, due to the product being so disposable. And flammable. These aren’t simply slapped together in Photoshop. These are true works of art, with some using a stone litho printing process. I lit and threw many of these into the neighbor’s yard when they were sun tanning, and wish I had the forethought to save some of these masterpieces. I was fortunate enough to find that Werewolf one many years ago, before prices went sky high.
About Shane Bitterling: Writer with 26 produced movies that I don’t often admit to and an unproduced, big one I never shut up about. Prose can be found in the horror anthology, Hell Comes to Hollywood and I talk about “ALF” a lot.
Editorials
‘The Vampire Lestat’ Concert Event Launches New Season With The Ultimate Expression Of Fandom
There are thousands of passionate fans decked out in gothic chic and champing at the bit like feral creatures. They’re screaming for Lestat, a legendary vampire-turned-rock star, as if the entire crowd has been glamored into submission.
The entire experience is magic, but not because some supernatural thrall has been activated. What’s going on is even more special. It’s the power of the effusive fandom that’s been authentically assembled by AMC’s sublime Immortal Universe, namely Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire, now, The Vampire Lestat.
The Vampire Lestat is far from the first Anne Rice adaptation, and it’s not as if there’s been a lack of erotic vampire material for audiences to sink their teeth into. On June 2nd, during a one-night-only spectacle, New York City’s prestigious Beacon Theatre shook from Sam Reid’s bravado performance and an audience full of adoring fans who had already memorized Lestat’s songs.
It’s clear that The Vampire Lestat just hits differently than its predecessors. It’s become more than just a TV series at this point, and this opulent display of ego, swagger, and pure sex is the perfect way to premiere the new season and give back to the fans who helped make Interview with the Vampire/The Vampire Lestat such a breakout success. It’s exactly the sort of hyperbolized hedonism that would make Lestat cackle.
For all intents and purposes, AMC has successfully created the illusion that this concert/premiere is just one of the many destinations on Lestat and his band’s 54-stop tour that is simultaneously playing out on this season of television. It’s such a sophisticated and thorough level of interactive fan engagement that the audience doesn’t just understand, but also manages to accentuate through its involvement.
It’s a level of seamless synergy that’s not unlike the give-and-take relationship of vampire and victim.
Before the concert started, “LeStans” were sitting in the Beacon and flipping through a fake Rolling Stone issue with Lestat emblazoned on the cover, complete with interviews with the undead frontman inside. Other fans were admiring the vinyl pressing of Lestat’s EP as they walked past a section of undead band merch. Fandom and fantasy blur together, and it all becomes this elaborate, immersive experience. Fan celebration, erotic gothic fantasy, and a lavish rock concert transform into one beautiful thing.
To this point, AMC Global Media’s Chief Content Officer and President of AMC Studios, Dan McDermott, introduced the event by reiterating to fans, “You are the heartbeat of the series.” That’s abundantly clear on nights like this as that heartbeat collectively pulses to this performance. In terms of how AMC engages with The Vampire Lestat’s fans, it’s as bold a reinvention as the season itself.
This intuitive gamble speaks to AMC’s creativity in this department and a fandom that is eager to seize such opportunities. It’s the same innovation that led to zombie walks for The Walking Dead and real-life Los Pollos Hermanos restaurant pop-ups from Breaking Bad. It’s a great way to pump up the audience for The Vampire Lestat and then maintain that enthusiasm for the whole season.
For most series, a rock ‘n’ roll concert just doesn’t make any sense as a promotional tool. The Vampire Lestat finds itself in a very unique position where it can deliver an excellent concert at an iconic theater, but also use it to showcase The Vampire Lestat’s music by Daniel Hart (who was shredding on stage alongside Reid and the rest of their band) and, more than anything, Sam Reid’s endless charisma.
The way in which Reid feeds off of the crowd’s energy, modulating his performance and giving different sections of the Beacon life, is a perfect distillation of the series’ thoughtful relationship with its audience and how it’s become such a breakout success for AMC. AMC Studios President Dan McDermott emphasized that the fans are the reason that the show is still here and why an event like this is even possible. It’s rare to see a series in which every single cog in the machine is so perfectly attuned to its fans. Reid’s fans already cheer whenever they see him, so why not translate that to a concert setting?
It’s clear in this season of television that Reid was born to be a rock star, but it’s surreal to see him effortlessly command the stage — and the audience — at every step of the concert. He recites Shakespeare monologues and bitches out Armand between songs, all while the audience screams in support. For the duration of this concert, Reid is Lestat, and he’s given thousands of fans a memory that’s as immortal as any vampire.
Now bring on the encore and get this show on the road!
You must be logged in to post a comment.