Going on a Heavier Trip

 

By Stephen Mezo

My last review "We're on a Mission From Say-Ton" was for the movie HEAVY TRIP (2018) that I absolutely loved. But this time around it will be for it's sequel HEAVIER TRIP (2024)

I was really excited to see this one because I had loved Heavy Trip so much, but for me it fell into the realm of a sequel not holding up as well as it's predecessor. I didn't hate it and it did make me laugh where it was supposed too, but maybe it hit a little too close to home.

The original became an instant favorite of mine because it's so incredibly relatable, but maybe because of my own real life experiences in entertainment - being relatable brought me down a little in this one. Just like in the first movie I had seen a lot of myself in Turo and it was kind of reliving parts of my professional life that I'm not really fond of...

And for everyone else out there that's lived the life of a fan - the movie gives them the insight of "Making it' isn't all it seems to be. For me the closer I got to the top the more I hated it. Because it turns from something you love into just another job real fast, where you have to do what someone else wants you to do. Your creativity is put on the backburner as you're given projects to do or outlines of what's expected to be done. And before you know it you're on someone else's clock being told where to be, what to wear and what to say. Even worse the person with the money may be only interested in you and you have to make the choice between loyalty to those that were with you on the climb up. Or take the cash and prizes while working with hired guns. And don't even get me started on how you have to make the choice between fame or friends and family. Because fame and fortune wants all of your attention if you want to keep enjoying it. 

Other than that the movie was fun with seeing characters from HEAVY TRIP back and all of the over the top physical comedy that made you love it the first time. Along with a big old nod to Spinal Tap in a Music Museum scene. And seeing Pasi (Xytrax) come to grips with an acceptance of the band Baby Metal.

  

 

We call him Dan The Monster Man!

By Stephen Mezo

Way back in 2013 my wife and I had the honor of meeting one of our forever friends on a Facebook Monster Collectable group by the name of Daniel White. Now a lot of people I've met on here have awesome monster collections, but something about Dan's sets his apart. 

He has quite a few Grail pieces, but he has a lot of really cool Western, Television and Sci-Fi hard to finds as well. And he has an incredible backstory to go with his vast collection of cool stuff. On top of that he is one of the absolute kindest people that you could ever know. 

*Dan "The Monster Man" White*

So, what makes him so special you ask? Well pull up a hassock and pour yourself a bowl of your favorite monster cereal as I warm up the trusty console TV that I keep here in the Storage Unit of Terror. 

Daniel had a great Monster Kid childhood with his brother Alan and his cousins Susan and Linda while growing up in Illinois, because of their Dads having artistic talents and a love of classic monsters. Even Dan's cousin Susan Aspen's son Rick Aspen carries on the family creativity by being a professional Captain Jack Sparrow performer.

 *Alan as Zorro and Daniel as The Wolfman* 

Daniel and Alan's dad Alfred had made Dan's Wolfman mask with a Frankenstein mask as a base then did a lot of modifications to it, as well as making hands and feet for the costume.

*Daniel and Alan's cousins, Susan as Frankenstein and Linda as The Witch*

*Daniel's cousin Susan's son Rick Aspen as Captain Jack Sparrow*

Daniel's father Alfred did the screen printing on Bally Pinball machines while his uncle Richard had painted each design for the scoreboard glass and play decks. And it's even wilder seeing Uncle Richard and Alfred's work on TV shows like "Nip It" on Happy Days, "Big Show" on Good Times and "Vampire" in American Graffiti that had the machines on camera.

*Dan's dad Alfred White*

*Alfred working on a Bally Pinball score board plate screen print*

Not only was Richard White painting for Bally, he was making Indie Monster Movies at home. Where he would build full sets with the help of Dan and other members of the family who also acted in them. 

*Daniel White on set for one of two of Richard White's Dracula films*

*Richard White*

 

*Richard White's work for Bally's VAMPIRE pinball machine scoreboard*

Fun City on the Keansburg Boardwalk had this machine along with Nip It and quite a few more. and you'll see this one in the background in American Graffiti when Richard Dreyfuss was doing his inhiation for The Pharos. And Daniel's Uncle Richard loved that I was able to play those machines - and raved about his artwork. 

The main thing I really love about Daniel's entire monster and western toy collection is the family history that is tied to it. Because not only were his dad and his uncle so much of a part of it, his mother and grandfather contributed to it as well. 

*Daniel's photo that appeared in Famous Monsters issue #92*

Getting into Famous Monsters was the only thing that I didn't get to cross off my bucket list that I wrote when I was six years old.

And then he had to appear in Famous Monsters again back in 1997!!!

This is just qa small part of Daniel's vast collection.

Another thing that Daniel's collection connects all of us Monster Kids together is it was a big part of Daniel still being here. Daniel had told me that when he was younger - he was very ill to where he had to stay in his bed for a long time. And every day he woke up to wasn't guaranteed, so his dad and his uncle helped him collect 8mm monster movies where they would sync up the audio to the films. And I think this was before Super 8mm came out with an audio strip. And the classic monsters were a constant comfort. 

Just like they were my escape as a Monster Kid (Weird Kid) then, and even today as a huge way to cope with a lot of adulthood stuff now...   

Getting back to the main story, Daniel is one of the kindest people I know and is the link that I share with a lot of other Monster Collectors. He really lets you enjoy what you have and is beyond chill with it. He never ever has that attitude of "I have cooler, rare, mint in box, complete, I know the underwear size of the factory worker that was on shift in 1960 whatever that assembled it" He just post a photo and gives you his history behind it and who had given it to him, because that's his value of what he has.  

Like if it weren't for him I would have never had the chance to get in touch with Bill Lindsey from the Heavy Metal Band IMPALER - and had the chance to thank him for being a driving influence in wanting to work on Indie Horror movies. Or get to type to Daniel Roebuck on Facebook and get to tell him how much I love Rob Zombie's MUNSTERS. And how a lot of us Monster Kids got to live vicariously through him as The Count/Grandpa.

Then there's the members of The Motor City Toy Mafia, consisting of Tesco Vee, Christopher Noble and Paul Seiler. They were a huge help in tracking down Monster figures that I was collecting and helped me with a lot of trading transactions. Or helping me find buyers for different Sci-Fi and Super Hero collectables I had so I could use that money to buy more monster collectables. 

Of course Paul Seiler had to one up me and went to see Dan The Monster Man's collection live! It's not enough that Paul constantly finds talking Herman Munster dolls everywhere, he had to make the drive to walk in Plastic Monster Paradise. But I did one up back by making Dan part of the Ghoul Crew at The Storage Unit of Terror. 

*The Motor City Toy Mafia 

Tesco Vee, Christopher Nobel and Paul Seiler*

*Daniel White and Paul Seiler in the Monster Man collection room*

I swear Paul has these growing out of his front lawn!

*Dan wearing his Tattooed Steve's Storage Unit of Terror Ghoul Crew hoodie*

*Daniel's hoodie in the Monster Man collection room*

You can see more of Daniel's awesome collection on Facebook, 

as well as finding some awesome deals on The Motor City Mafia FB group.

We're on a mission from SAY-TON!

 By Stephen Mezo

HEAVY TRIP (2018)

Heavy Trip is one of my absolute favorite Metal movies. And it earned that spot because even though it's a great comedy, Metal of any kind and it's fans aren't the joke or even the punchline of them. 

All of the characters immediately remind you of yourself or close friends that you have, or had the honor of having before life or fate separated everyone. There's even the girlfriends dad that couldn't stand you, chuckleheads that hate or hated you for being a Metalhead, the couple of years older than you douche club act that happens to like the same girl as you. And of course being the only Metalhead at work. Now don't let that change your mind because it is all part of the relatability that takes you right into it.

But I have to warn you that there is a sequence that will kick you square in the junk...

Again it's all part of the relatability that draws you right in.

But the rest of the story is great ride down memory lane or going to make you laugh till it hurts because it's your current life experience.

The main story is the adventure of a Death Metal band the started out as a enjoyment for four friends. They do all cover songs of all kinds of influences by more Black and Death Metal bands than I feel like typing. And after doing it for twelve years in Finland in their Guitarist parent's basement they got really good. 

Then accidentally creating their own sound/style "Symphonic-Post Apocalyptic-Reindeer Grinding-Christ Abusing-Extreme War-Pagan Fennoscandian Metal" along with the lyrics written by their lead singer called "Flooding Secretion" then a chance meeting with a Norwegian concert promoter gets them to come up with the band name Impaled Rektum.

Then the fun really starts!

      

It's on streaming and TUBI has it for free with ads. And once you get a chance to recover from laughing so hard the sequel "HEAVIER TRIP: ROAD TO WAKEN" will be coming out November 29. 2024 and you can see the trailer for both on YouTube. 

Talking about Ninja VS Shark

 

By Steve Mezo

Todays pick is one that I would have written myself if thirteen year old me were asked. And I mean this as the highest compliment possible because outside of what the Antihero did early on, everything else would definitely have been thought up and typed.

 

Ninja VS Shark (2023)

This one has it all! Magic Ninjas, a Giant Shark, a Wereshark, a Zombie, Shrouded Cult Members and more blood spraying than a GWAR show. It has the standard storyline of a Antihero being hired to protect a village and find some kind of retribution for things that they've done in their past. But the movie has absolutely no problem with immersing you into it's universe. 

Another thing I really liked about it is the CGI, because Sci-Fi Channel had turned me off to constant okay CGI sharks being pumped out. Especially after seeing amazing work from Hammerhead Productions that were done by Jamie Dixon, Dan Chuba, Thad Beier and Rebecca Marie when they decided to form their own production company in 1994, then getting their names and faces out there from their work on Deep Blue Sea (1999).  

But the CGI Shark in Ninja VS Shark did the job even in HD. I can't be a complete snob with the look after growing up with stop motion and Bruce's mechanical embodiment. But there is a big difference with the detail alone in what went into past CGI sharks VS this one.

Like I said the story is pretty standard to the ones that a lot of us older fans watched on Black Belt Theater when we were kids or early Westerns and The Mandalorian now. But the crew did an excellent job of making me root for the good guys and keeping me entertained. 

The only thing that could have made it any better was if it came with a free two dozen Hot Wings delivery.