REVIEW: Delusion: The Blue Blade (2019)

With the 2018 haunt season now dwindling to a distant memory and this fall's impending offerings little more than a faint glimmer on the Halloween horizon, we're in a bit of a creepy dead zone at the moment - such is winter, I suppose. 

And then an invitation appeared in my inbox - an invitation to shake off the shackles of February and tear through the fabric of space and time as a participant in the latest iteration of Los Angeles' renowned interactive play Delusion: The Blue Blade. 

Really, how could I refuse?

Stage Review: Theatre 68's THE AFFLICTED (+ Post-Halloween Recap)

At first, like any good Halloweenie, I was disappointed that my favorite holiday was going to fall on a Thursday this year. Now that the Halloween season is behind us (well...mostly), I have to say that I really dug this Halloween-on-a-Thursday business! Did anyone else feel like they had at least 3 separate Halloweens? It was like no one could agree whether or not the weekend before or after the 31st was going to be the unofficial party/celebration day, so both weekends were infused with Halloween goodness, in addition to the day itself. I had a particularly full Halloween season this year. Among my activities:

• Pumpkin carving, natch
• Lots of solo nighttime horror movie watching (the Paranormal Activity movies - especially 3 and 4 - REALLY freak me out still)
• A wonderful visit to Knott's Scary Farm, complete with a live Elvira show
• American Horror Story: Coven premiere party, at which I (very, very briefly) met Kathy Bates, saw Jessica Lange and Angela Bassett in person & drank themed cocktails...later in the month, one of my band's songs was featured on the show's Halloween episode (!)
• One-year wedding anniversary celebration at the Magic Castle, my favorite place in LA
• Cemetery screening of The Craft, which also doubled as my birthday celebration
• Witnessing astonishing live performances from Goblin and Danny Elfman
• Seeing one of my poems published in a UK horror magazine and reading one of my short stories at Stories in Echo Park

All told, this was my best October (actually mid-September through beginning-of-November) in memory. And I had a particularly great weekend planned to send it off in style: On Saturday, Mr. Spooky and I visited the Eternal Rest Cemetery yard haunt in Venice for the first time (LOVED it!) and attended a friend's costume/birthday party. And, finally, on Sunday, we headed out to the Valley to catch Theatre 68's production of The Afflicted, a zombie play at the NoHo Arts Center that bills itself as a "dark comedy" - albeit one with perhaps the most fake blood I've ever seen in a stage production...and hey, I've been a cast member at Zombie Joe's, so that's saying something. Like, oceans of fake blood. Like, here-are-some-ponchos-for-the-front-row fake blood. This was to be my last official Halloween-related event for 2013, so needless to say I was tickled.

But The Afflicted has more going for it than simply fake blood. Theatre 68 used to have its own location in Hollywood, where it would host a really cool annual haunted house, but they're currently in a transitional period as they look for a new home. While they couldn't pull off a haunted house this year, they did manage to put on a really fun zombie show that heavily - and explicitly - references George Romero, but often with tongue lodged firmly in cheek. The vibe is a bit like Night of the Living Dead meets Scream, as characters discuss the "rules" of a zombie apocalypse, or whether or not the Z-word should be used at all to describe "the afflicted."

All of the action takes place in a church, and the set design, while simple, is nicely done and very evocative; it's easy to lose yourself in this play. This is also an extraordinarily action-packed production: Doors fly open and slam shut, blanks are fired, power tools are utilized to gory effect, characters burst through windows and blood, of course, is spilled, squirted and splattered.

I have to admit that I do have some complaints about the writing. For example: It's 2013, dude. Can we please have a zombie apocalypse in which the female characters actively participate in, you know, boarding up windows and popping zombies instead of just crying, screaming or sniping? I know the hysterical woman is a genre convention, and this is a production that plays with conventions, but I still felt like rolling my eyes when not one of the three major female characters were given much to do in the way of actual and effective anti-zombie strategy and/or execution. At 80 minutes, the play also felt a little bit long - just a bit - especially during the "talkier" stretches.

Fortunately, all of the actors attacked their roles with admirable gusto. Jeremy Luke, who plays "Cop Guy," is all masculine swagger borne of intense insecurity, making his character both the primary source of comic relief and the most dangerous wild card among the survivors that populate the cast. (Incidentally, the program says that he has been cast as Mickey Cohen in an upcoming TNT show called Mob City, which sounds like great casting to me.) Shelly Hacco, as Tamara, displays a saucy vitality as a street-smart stripper who winds up seeking refuge in the church, and Eddie Alfano is memorable as a character called, simply, "Douchebag." 

Perhaps the best part of the entire play is the last 5 minutes. It's not exactly a surprise, but I'm going to refrain from saying too much about what happens and instead encourage you to go check out The Afflicted if you've got the post-Halloween, pre-Christmas blues.  It is, mercifully, running until November 16 (yay for Halloween things that extend past the end of October!), so you still have a couple more weekends. And don't forget to use that poncho if you snag a seat in the front - because, oh yes, there will be blood.

Theatre 68's The Afflicted runs Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays through November 16 at the NoHo Arts Center, 11136 Magnolia Blvd., North Hollywood, CA 91601 . Friday and Saturday shows start at 8pm, and Sunday shows start at 7pm. 
 
Disclosure: I was provided with complimentary passes to review this event.

Review: Haunted Play Presents "DELUSION"

It seems like every year, just as I'm starting to feel like I might be (gasp) a little burnt out on haunted houses, a new (or at least new-to-me) attraction comes along that restores my faith in Halloween and, you know, humanity as a whole. Quick recap of this phenomenon: 2008, Universal Halloween Horror Nights - I hadn't been in years and I was absolutely floored by how rad it was. 2009, L.A. Haunted Hayride's inaugural year - a totally unique experience for me, as it was my very first haunted hayride. 2010, Reign of Terror in Thousand Oaks - I couldn't believe the attention to detail and length of the maze. And what takes the creepy cake this year? A haunted house/theater hybrid known as Haunted Play presents "DELUSION."

Much has been made about one very specific aspect of Delusion's online FAQ:

• Q: Will they touch me?
  

• A: All haunted houses say their actors won’t touch you. That is NOT the case here.

This is basically the haunted house equivalent of the old Psycho trick of killing off the star of a horror movie well before the end of the film - it creates anticipation and makes the audience feel like all bets are off, and absolutely anything could happen. Well, rest assured that you probably will be touched if you attend Delusion, but it probably won't be as traumatic or violent as what you're imagining! (But really...who knows? Mwahaha.)

Yet my favorite aspect of this play/attraction isn't wondering whether or not the actors would touch me - it was being able to walk through such a fabulously creepy crumbling old mansion. Yes, the above photo is actually where Delusion takes place - an eerie, rundown, Haunted Mansion-esque estate. And the interior is even more deliciously spooky, with the kind of attention to detail that really makes a haunt.

Since Delusion was created by a Hollywood stuntman, you're probably expecting some cool stunts, right? Again, you won't be disappointed. The actors in this haunted play execute stunts more sophisticated than anything I've seen in a haunted house. When one of the "patients" (check out the website for the full Delusion backstory) laughs maniacally and then suddenly flies up out of view, it's like witnessing something out of The Exorcist in real life. Likewise when another character is dragged down the hall kicking and screaming by an unseen force. You expect these kinds of effects in movies, but not at a haunted house.

Another quality that sets Delusion apart is the fact that it forces you to become an active participant in the story. You will be asked to perform certain tasks, and your life (and the lives of your dozen or so companions) may hang in the balance. Oh, and wear comfortable shoes - you may be running from room to room in order to evade the ghouls!

Halloween is just two days away, but if you're looking for some last minute scares, I recommend trying to fit this one in. And if you miss out this year, go ahead and mark your calendar for October 2012 - I guarantee Haunted Play is going to be one to watch for many Halloweens to come.

Disclosure: I was provided with complimentary passes to review this event.

GUEST REVIEW: Zombie Love: The Musical

NOTE:
I'm proud to present my very first Spooky Little Guest Post! This review of Zombie Love, the latest October offering from a theater group known locally for its annual live staging of Night of the Living Dead (read my review of last year's production here), comes courtesy of Madame Magnet, the mastermind behind Magnets de los Muertos Halloween magnetic poetry. Enjoy!
xo
SLG

Zombie Love: The Musical

The Maverick Theater in Fullerton is always doing fun, strange, and entertaining new things. They’ve had a successful five-year run of Night of the Living Dead (my favorite show at the Maverick), and they aren’t afraid of bold moves like their recent adaptation of the Hobbit to a small stage.

This year they premiered a new musical, Zombie Love, adapted from a short student film of the same name. When I text messaged my friend to see if she wanted to go to a zombie musical, she responded Zombie musical? Like ‘Brains. Brains! Braaaiiiiiiiins!’? I’ll admit that I didn’t know what to expect from a musical zombie romance play, but I was pleasantly surprised.

The story focuses on Claudia (the girl who is in distress) and Dante (the boy who is a zombie) and their perilous journey toward love. The story invokes a little Cyrano de Bergerac since Dante pretends to be a human as he woos Claudia. Dante’s friends get in the way, and they mock him when they find out that not only does he feel bad about eating humans, he was, in his human life, a vegetarian.

The story is pretty straightforward, but the charm of Zombie Love is in the tongue-in-cheek humor, references to other musicals, and pop culture. It is funny and sweet, and the songs are good enough that I heard my musical-disliking date laughing at them. The idea of parodying a love story with zombies and then adding music is enough to win some points from me, so I was pleased that the execution exceeded my expectations. Don’t read this if you don’t like spoilers: some of the funnier gags were when they lampoon the Lion King’s Circle of Life, invoke a little West Side Story, and perform a bit of the Thriller dance.

The cast and show were both funny despite a few crackling sound problems. One character in particular, a blind, transsexual prostitute, helps Dante change his image. He was a particular stand out with his performance and appearance; he definitely stole the show.

If you like musicals, zombies, and taking a risk on a local performance of a movie you’ve never heard of, I think you’ll enjoy the hour-long show. Tickets are $10; the bar has beer, wine, soft drinks and candy for dirt-cheap prices. The staff is really accommodating, and the shows are always a bit twisted or strange.

Now that I’ve seen the stage adaptation, I want to see the movie. The DVD is also available at the Maverick if you’re curious like me. Zombie Love: The Musical runs Fridays and Saturdays at 9:30PM until October 30th; Tickets are $10.00/$5.00 with a Student ID.

-Madame Magnet

Madame Magnet writes over at blog.magnetsdelosmuertos.com, loves legitimate theater like Planet of the Apes: The Musical, and sells zombie poetry magnets.

Stage Review: Maverick Theater's NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD

This may be a bit of sacrilege, since I consider myself something of an actress, but I've always have mixed feelings about live theater. On one hand, I think it's a lot of fun to do - when you're acting in front of a live audience, you get a certain immediate gratification (laughter, gasps, applause) that acting in films just can't offer. On the other hand, however, plays are sometimes not as much fun to watch as they are to be in. Let's be honest here! How many times have you been dragged to a play and found yourself wondering, a la The Simpsons, "This is better than a movie why?!"

Rest assured, the Maverick Theater's stage adaptation of the George A. Romero zombie classic Night of the Living Dead is NOT that kind of play.

An absolute joy for horror fans - or anyone looking for a good seasonal scare - from start to finish, the Maverick does a fantastic job of making the living dead come to life (pun intended) on stage. The less said about the details, the better; you'll want to go into this one sans spoilers. Even if you've seen the original NOTLD a million times, the Maverick will still manage to find ways to surprise and thrill you.

The cast, led by Scott Johnson as Ben, handle their roles capably, and Hannah Butcher (as Judy) certainly has an ear-piercing scream queen shriek that must be heard to be believed, but the real stars here are the zombies - a whole slew of them, in fantastic makeup and unafraid to get their hands dirty, so to speak. A word of advice: Make sure you show up early so you can...erm...relax and have a drink beforehand. Heh heh heh. Oh, and if you happen to be seated at the end of an aisle, watch out!

But whatever you do, make sure you get yourself down to Fullerton to check out this play. Maverick's Night of the Living Dead is likely to be the best time you'll have at the theater all month - and, quite possibly, all year.

The Maverick Theater is located at 110 E. Walnut Ave., Fullerton, CA 92832. Night of the Living Dead runs Fridays and Saturdays through November 1st, except for Halloween week, when it runs Tuesday (10/27) through Sunday (11/1). Shows start at 8:30 PM. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit the Maverick's online box office.