Universal Monsters Trading Cards by Impel and Wrapping Up the Halloween Countdown.

We're here at last folks. October's almost over and I'm giddy for the big day to finally arrive. Everything's nearly ready but there's still enough to deal with that this will most likely be the last part of our Halloween countdown. Much thanks to those of you who checked in to read about Hostess snacks, flesh rending crafts, and voodoo flicks from the 70's. Today I figured we'd send the countdown out in style with crafts and old trading cards. That's a kind of style, right?

First off let me present what is most likely the final Halloween craft for the season. For years one big house in town has been the big horror display with these monster mannequins frequently featured on the front lawn. Several other house in town, including my own, endeavor to compete with this titan and I figured why not work some of the same game. Been wanting to make some for a while and circumstance made that a possibility as my sister had PVC pipe leftover from another project. Pretty proud of the results and a bit baffled by the fact that while glue guns leave me injured, saws are no problem whatsoever. With the showboating outta the way, let's take a gander at the original reason for this post. A full set of old Universal Monsters trading cards.

Believe it or not, these have been waiting in the wings since February. A friendly boardgamegeek user offered to send me a complete set from the enormous stash they'd found while thrifting. They actually have their own collectors blog over at http://undercovercorner.blogspot.com/. Seems only fair to give em a little advertising in exchange for the cards.

In case you're wondering how many cards were in the set, it's just six. These were an early 90's promotion from Impel who I learned later changed their company name to Skybox. They had enough brand variety from Marvel Comics and Disney movies all the way down to basics sports, so there's a good possibility almost every kid in the 90's had at least something from them. All the more so when you consider a special small collection like this that was actually meant to be handed out to trick-or-treaters on Halloween night in place of candy. As a general rule, most people who fail to hand out candy should be egged back to the stone age but in this case I'd probably let it slide. Every pack came with three of the cards, necessitating some friendly trading if you wanted everything. Presumably this would be worked out during the candy sorting phase of the night with some poor soul trading away his last root beer sucker for a missing Mummy card.

The first three cards really didn't want to stay in focus so you'll have to forgive the somewhat muddy view. First we have the Wolfman doing his usual mad dash across a moonlit wilderness. One would presume he's in pursuit of a budding victim though traces of violence are nowhere to be found within this set. Blame it on the early 90's. Kids were still allowed to worship villains as they had during the 80's but the blood & guts element was in steep decline due to concerned (translation: Whiny) parents.

On the far right you'll find Dracula likewise in his native environment, someone's bedroom. Once again there's no sign of whoever he may be harassing. Frankly I'd find his behavior more frightening if he'd taken to just posturing in empty rooms.

The middle finds both of Dr. Frankenstein's creations forced to share the same card. The image is fairly iconic for the couple with the bride attempting to shoulder check an incoming awkward hug. Jeez; give a lady corpse the correct skin tone and suddenly she's too good for basic affection.

The second set offers both The Mummy and Creature from the Black Lagoon doing their best rapper impersonations. Actually, the Creature is probably my favorite card in the entire series as the somewhat crude art works perfectly to convey his personal brand of horror whereas Mummy just looks slightly too cartoonish.

In the center is a classic group shot which proves a tad bothersome as it features empty space that could've easily been filled by the Invisible Man, Phantom of the Opera, or some of the other players in the Universal Monster Franchise. It's still fairly common for these guys to get the shaft during promotions so I've always held extra appreciation for any UM based item that remembers to fir a floating fez cap in somewhere. Still; this group shot is pretty solid with everyone looking plenty fearsome. Even Frankie and the Bride seem to be getting along, using terror as a crouch for their failed marriage.

The back of four cards feature rough details of the monster and their accompanying plot line. Whoever wrote these didn't miss a chance for lame puns, especially when they suggest Dracula enjoys driving women “batty.” Yeah.

For some reason, Wolfman is saddled with safety tip duty. Perhaps Larry Talbot's tale was deemed too melancholy for kids so they just decided to throw in some standard issue prattle about reflective clothing.

The group shot may well win the prize for weakest trivia question ever. It asks if kids are able to list the release dates of these six primary UM movies only to then list them in normal sized font directly underneath the question. Nobody bothered to flip the text, make it small, nothing. It's like someone asking you to ignore them while they kick you in the goods.

And that's the tale of some now 20 plus year old trading cards. More than likely there won't be a new post until at least November 1^st. I'd like to wish you all the best possible Halloween weekend. Have some treats. Take a nice autumn walk. Scare yourself silly. Whatever you like best about this season be sure to fit it in. The Skeleton salutes you from atop horror movie mountain.

Show and Tell: October 2015 with Hostess Pumpkin Spice Twinkies and Donettes

The final week of October around our house isn't too dissimilar to a play before opening night. There's scheduling issues to work out, props to double check, not to mention all the last minute touches. Jut last night we filmed, edited, encoded, etc this years cable access special. Tonight I should commence work on PVC characters for the front yard. None of this comes without some sacrifice. I've already burned one finger and my hands will most certainly be cracked & bleeding by Friday night given the sheer quantity of pumpkins to carve. It's all worth it for that one night when our house becomes a hotspot of activity. Folks really get into the Halloween spirit when they swing by for a baggie of candy and witness all the nonsense scattered in every inch of the yard. Of course one should always leave time to sit and enjoy the ambiance. So how's about while I watch Mad Monster Party, we go through another round of show & tell?

Those are the lanterns which lead to my finger injury. I've actually owned them for well over a year. It wasn't until I found a couple bags of beads with accompanying ghosts & skulls that I finally had an idea for something to do with them. Two hours with a glue gun, complete with the smell of burnt flesh yielded three fine item to hang from the tress. Unfortunately each one is missing it's bottom hatch which means I'll be taping glow sticks inside. The effect will should prove to be otherworldly at best, and not unlike inbred hillbilly art at worst.

Also on the crafty front are these wall pumpkins. You might remember when I bought these during last month's crazed shopping spree. Well I finally carved into them this past week and they didn't come out half bad. Picking out a pattern for these is possibly the most difficult part of the process. The design can't be too complicated or flimsy as you risk destroying the fake pumpkin, at the same time it has to be something cool enough to warrant keeping around. Somewhat classical jack o'lantern faces seemed like the best option overall and even those provided plenty of nerve racking moments. Since you're dealing with a hollow half pumpkin, there's very little material to provide leverage and support so I was sweating bullets with every fresh slice.

Also on the pumpkin front, I was able to get my paws on a box of Pumpkin Spice Twinkies last week. Supposedly these are only available from Kroger though it seems like something they'd like to keep secret as they're own employees couldn't find them for me. Thankfully my niece spotted a display near the entrance or I woulda come home empty handed. And that would be a shame cause ohh boy these are tasty. Similar to the cupcakes, Hostess didn't hold back on flavor. Think of something more along the lines of an actual pumpkin pie mutated into a mini frosted cake with strong cinnamon sprinkles.

If you're in the market for a more laid back pumpkin spice experience, Hostess donettes may be the treat for you. I'd pretty much ignored these all season, opting instead for proper doughnuts but yesterday brought some stress as I tried to replace pumpkins that prematurely rotted and many local stores seem to think those things are unnecessary during the week of Halloween. Fucking twits! These lil dough rings helped to sooth that anger with some nice sweet flavor.

Of course nothing goes better with baked goods than lovely coffee and Donut Shop brand has given us something unique in the form of Sweat Maple Cream. Don't run away in disgust just yet. Even some of this household's maple haters had to admit this is pretty decent stuff. The experience is a good bit different than what you'd expect, coming across as an almost creamy chai style drink. Don't have the nutritional info on hand but the caffeine content seems pretty low as I've been able to warm up with a mug late at night without much of a boost.

Naturally staying up late means there's plenty of time for viewing plentiful amounts of horror movies. Every Halloween I try to have a batch of previously unseen flicks to send the holiday out in style. UPS was nice enough to deliver Saturday's triple feature along with one fun extra. The Brood is going to be our main feature for Halloween night, with I, Madman and Night of the Demons offering strong back-up. I've got some loose titles sitting around to fill in any blanks though I imagine we'll be fine with Ash vs. The Evil Dead starting that same night.

Sometimes They Come Back was a little treat for me. It's one of those films you know to be sub-standard yet there's an odd feeling of contentment only it can provide. This hellishly corny TV movie based on a somewhat lesser Stephen King tale revolves around a man who returns to teach in his childhood town only to be terrorized by undead greasers. Most people would never accuse it of being scary, unless they grew up terrified of the fonz. What can't be denied is the glorious Autumnal atmosphere which is made all the better by the surprisingly nice video quality on the blu-ray.

Now if you'll excuse me, I must get back to work. There's still plenty to accomplish over the next few days, including at least one more post for you all. See you in 48 hours or so.

The Berenstain Bears: Trick or Treat

Sorry for being gone this past week folks, it's been a tough one. Monday afternoon kickstarted a whole bout of stomach bug nonsense bad enough to get me puking, a mercifully rare event. As you might imagine I accomplished almost nothing over the week. Didn't even leave the house until Friday night and even that left me a lil exhausted. Saturday finally marked a proper return to the land of the living as I was able to go out for plenty of hours and had almost normal people poops again (hooray!). This mean I've got some major catching up to do if I actually want to fit in all the topics I wanted to cover before the big day gets here. Let's dive straight into this month's Berenstain Bears book as those fuzzy fools go Trick or Treat. Oh, but let me pee and fuel up with a twinkee first.

Alright, back and refreshed with twinkee goodness. The pumpkin spice ones are delicious by the way. Our story begins with Mama walking home from the store and taking in the sights & smells of autumn. Indoors, Brother and Sister try out their Halloween costumes. Sis has opted for a classic female stereotype in the guise of a ballerina. Brother picked generic monster, though it looks remarkably close to a devil for such christiany books. Being the turd that he is, Brother attempts to scare his mother who pretends to be frightened before teaching her kids the adage of appearances can be deceiving. I smell a lesson coming our way. It's ok though cause Papa's still a dick.

The topic of the day is how the kids are going trick or treeting without adults this year. Of course there's a laundry list of rules like staying within the neighborhood and not eating candy until returning home to inspect it. Interesting fact: all proven cases of candy tempering have been committed by someone close to the child. That's right, kids. Fear the ones who love you. The conversation finished at last, Papa lights the jack o'lantern in a drawing I simply can't resist showcasing thanks to my obscene love of lanterns.

The following morning finds the kids planing their route for optimal candy gathering. There are plenty of stops to be made with one notable exception. The nearby home of Miz McGrizz whom Brother proclaims to be a witch like that's an everyday thing. Mama commences her moralizing post haste and informs her children that the old woman is perfectly nice. Soon enough, the other kids arrive and it's off into the night for some proper treat collection. Their happy march doesn't go far before getting sidelined by Too-Tall Grizzly. As I recall, he was the standard issue bully of the series which is understandable as his given name is a perfect title for his future in the bear mafia.

Too-Tall and his crew of flunkies recruit our kids to “put the trick back in trick or treat.” To that end, everyone slinks over to crooked lane where the gang plans to TP Miz McGrizz's house. They also plan a few other pranks like coating her broomstick in honey so she'll stick to it while in flight. I'd give em points for ingenuity if I wasn't so creeped out by the strange sexual overtones of their pranks. Nothing happens before the old lady opens the door to announce “I'm ready for you.” A statement that would've carried more weight had she been wielding a butcher knife at the time.

Turns out the witch....err, nice old lady just wants to invite all the kids inside to give them nice candy apples. Does anyone else find it odd that for all the rules the kids had to follow, entering other people's homes wasn't off limits? Having apparently learned their lesson, the kids continue on their way. Oh and I guess Too-Tall gives up pranks for the night. Those candy apples were just that good.

The next morning finds the kids enjoying their candy haul. When papa asks where the apples came from, he's surprised they trace back to the old grouch down the lane. Sister repeats how appearances can be deceiving to which Papa walks away to read his paper with a look of “what the fuck ever.” Love that guy.

With my strength returned, I'll be trying my utmost to get at least three or so updates done by Halloween. In the meantime, I hope everybody's enjoying the season. Go have some hot drinks, cold walks, and visit some place spooky. See ya soon.

Book Sale 2015

It's a simple fact, not to mention am easy opening statement, that everyone's got their own traditions. Long time readers may recall among pumpkin carrying and horror marathons, I also look forward to the annual library book sale as part of my Halloween celebration. While this year's haul wasn't quite as large as past visits, the crazy factor more than makes up for it.

Alright, so I couldn't resist the opportunity to shoehorn my new mask into this post. It's just so rare not only to have one this far in advance, but to actually have one matching my chosen costume. Most years I go searching only to end up with just the best I could afford. That method often necessitated the reuse of old costumes but not this time. I was dead set on being one of the three classics costume types I'd yet to wear, with scarecrow being tops on that list. Witch was second. Not Warlock mind you. I'm going full cross dresser when that day finally comes. Mummies are in third place as the notion of an overweight ancient corpse just doesn't seem right. If this mask looks familiar to any of you it's because it's officially licensed from the classic TV movie, Dark Night of the Scarecrow. A major advantage to this costume is that I can wear enough comfy regular cloths to stay warm. This is vital since most of our Halloween nights have been very chilly and nobody want's to worry about their member freezing off while handing out candy.

Back to the books. The primary point of interest for me during every book sale is horror novels followed by fantasy and downright pulp nonsense. There's a pretty solid offering of each, so let's take a look.

Despite a long standing love of spooks & scares I'd generally avoided printed horror until our first trip to this sale made me think it was time to finally dive in. Since then the genre has overtaken fantasy for reading frequency. Neither group matches up to the amounts of classic literature or comics, but that's competing with titans right there. Nabbed four titles in this area with The Hellbound Heart being far & away the big score. Not the biggest fan of Clive Barker though there's still enough interest for me to occasionally dig into his work. Really wanted to read this one for a number of years as I'm eager to see the differences from Hellraiser and I thought it'd make for a nice segway to his new novel that serves as an almost comic book style crossover for his horror creations.

Two Vampire stories caught my eye enough to warrant picking up. The description for Vampire Knights makes the story seem pretty basic with a woman investigating her husband's secret life which just so happens to be vampire hunting. I imagine there's more to it than that since the book runs well over three hundred pages. The Last Vampire sounds like a post apocalyptic tale with a girl struck by the virus that destroyed civilization. Honestly, the cheesy cover art kept my attention more than anything plus a look inside revealed a section about boning in an old farmhouse. Somehow that was enough to earn it a trip home.

Last on the spooky line-up is a licensed Universal Monsters book about Frankenstein. Seems there was a whole series of these where a group of friends have to stop classic film monsters that escape into reality. The Wolfman entry in the series was also available but it was in pretty bad shape and had a clump of hair in it which instinctively made me want to vomit in terror. It's short and simple looking enough that I should be able to whiz through it without an issue. Maybe it'll warrant a post before Halloween gets here.

Even with the rise of horror fiction taking up my reading time I still enjoy a solid fantasy tale from time to time, and there was an ample supply at this years sale. If there had been a return trip I'd probably be buried in Forgotten Realms titles by now. As it stands I was very pleased to come across some Terry Prachett that's perfectly tailored to the upcoming Christmas season. Nearly Jumped with joy at finding the first book in the Druidhome Trilogy as I'd previously bought the second and third books at hospice thrift. Nice stroke of luck there. Then there's quite the wild card with The Devil Wives of Li Fong. Asian inspired fantasy is too rare an item to pass up and demonic serpent women make this one look like a winner.

Finally we have the less easy to classify stuff. For whatever reason I'm always intrigued by licensed superhero novels (actually keep an enormous list of em for shopping purposes.) Both of these team-up novels belong to separate trilogies but there was no way I was gonna leave them behind. May not even wait to hunt down their prequels as some confusion might add to the entertainment value. The x-men/Avengers one is by Greg Cox who I've heard is actually a fairly decent writer. If nothing else, both of these may allow me to pick up the review work I started so long ago with Fantastic Four: To Free Atlantis. It will probably take a while but keep an eye out for reviews over the next few months.

Towering above all my other finds is something my sister brought over to me just a minute after entering the sale. It's a tiny Space Ghost novel complete with illustrations, which is essential for the inevitable moment when Jan & Jace get captured. The only thing that could make this book more awesome would be appearances by Zorak and Moltar, or even Brak for that matter but they're sadly absent from this adventure. Instead old SG has to contend with some space witch. There really is a lot of supernatural stuff happening in outer space, ain't there?

I was a little disappointed at the lack of VHS tapes this year after nabbing some nice ones during the previous sale. Still; I'm quite satisfied with what I got, and it cost next to nothing to bring all this madness home. Sure I coulda gone back for more fantasy and a heaping selection of Star Trek stuff but at least this way I'll actually finish reading everything before another sale rolls our way. No reading for now though. I've gotta get my beauty rest for work. Had a surprising amount of hours lately which means there should be plenty of scratch to make the holidays even more fun. Start your week off nicely, everyone.

Sugar Hill (1974) Blu-Ray Review

Every October for the last...however many years, I run a marathon of at least one horror flick per night. Thankfully horror is a genre with plenty of variety. I've already watched flicks with vampires, zombies, crazy slashers, cat people. Not to mention watching old chief woodenhead go full Bronson on some punks. Even with all those options available it's still nice to dig into something more unique like today's picture; a blaxsploitation voodoo story by the name of Sugar Hill. Please forgive me in advance if this entry turns out a little listless as sleep-deprivation is the phrase of the day. I'm seriously so far gone, a few minutes ago I tried taking the blu-ray remote into the bathroom with me.

The movie starts off with the standard issue voodoo dance/ritual which just so happens to be the show at Club Haiti, a cool joint run by a cat named Langstone. Don't get overly attached to him though as he's dead within the first few minutes. The real focus is on his lady, Diana “Sugar” Hill. Girl's pissed at the mafia for taking out her man. As you might guess, her only recourse for vengeance is to find an old voodoo mama and make a pact with the dreaded Baron Samedi. The next 80 minutes are comprised of zombie powered revenge, and with that I've pretty much explained the entire storyline.

Alright, so it's not the kind of movie one watches for plot, or character development for that matter. What you're here for is over the top deaths, hideous fashion, and frequent racial slurs. Oh you better be ready for some distinctly non-PC dialogue here, especially from the head mobster's girlfriend, Celeste. She's actually responsible for what is probably the film's most popular sequence wherein she faces off with Sugar in a quickly escalating cat-fight for the ages. A scene made all the better by a nearby bartender who accepts the whole affair like it's just a normal Tuesday.

The film's got a rather odd assortment of talent. The director has this as his only real credit behind the lens. He's more known as a producer, particularly of the entire Police Academy franchise. Speaking of which, did you all know there were both animated and live-action shows in that series?Most of the actors had fairly odd careers as well with possibly the biggest star being Robert Quarry of Count Yorga fame.

The true highlight of the production is Don Pedro Colley as Baron Samedi. Every scene with him is an absolute delight as he plays the role cranked far past 11. His performance really embodies the spirit of the film as it's neither scary, nor thought provoking, but there's enough raw enthusiasm to make the viewing experience a total joy.

Really, that sort of goofy joy is the point of watching something like this. Even with all the classics I play during this month, few share Sugar Hill's ability to put a smile on my face and help me forgot life's idiocy for a while. Seeing as that's essentially my goal for October activities so you should probably consider this a recommendation.

As for the blu-ray itself, both the audio and video are significant improvements over the version Netflix had on tap a few years ago. There's an incredible amount of detail visible in all the gaudy suits, not to mention Sugar's collection of form-hugging onesies. Sound's pretty good overall too. I'm always appreciative of any movie that doesn't require the volume to be cranked just to understand a conversation. Points earned there.

The Extras on the other hand are a tad on the meh side. What's on tap is a selection of interviews with a few of the actors and the director who also has a commentary. Didn't listen to that track but the interviews are just too lite and uninformative. I got hooked on the notion of learning more about Paul Maslansky's strange filmography but there's only a slim amount of info about this film along with Raw Meat, and just a couple others. The piece with Don Pedro also has this weird thing were you can hear the interviewer occasional whisper and steer the conversation, which comes across as creepy. Somehow there's no chapter menu either which is simply inexcusable in this day and age.

Misgivings for those few oddities aside, I still think this movie's outstanding fun. It's got CosmicSparky's seal of approval and makes a great excuse to fit a voodoo film into your holiday celebrations. All the more so now as it's currently on sale at amazon for around thirteen bucks. Pick up a copy, you wont regret it. Now if you'll kindly excuse me, I require about 13 hours of sleep followed by two energy drinks.

Shuriken Sentai Ninninger Episodes 21, 22, and 23.

It's officially October my friends. That dark yet colorful month when so many of us are at our best. I'll need that boost in productivity too since I picked up a secondary part-time job this week. For the foreseeable future my Friday nights will be spent wondering the streets to deliver papers for a decent bit of extra scratch. Guess this means I won't miss out on fine autumn walks. Believe it or not this small life update was supposed to somehow segway into the importance of superheroes on Halloween but given that steam cleaning has made my seating situation a bit perilous you'll forgive me for loosing focus.

Getting back to the point, I've found over the years that the second best genre of entertainment for this month is superheroes. While not directly terrifying or seasonal in any fashion there's something to be said for folks who dress in garish costumes to face off against the worst threats imaginable. To a certain extent I usually have a craving for such fare about halfway through the month, especially for things like the Spider-Man trilogy. Today's post isn't about arachnid people though. In fact, it's about three more episodes of ninninger, and things are starting to get downright spooky lately. Let's do this.

21

Since I'm a little overdue on this post it's actually been a while since watching this episode. Not that big a deal though as it was a mostly stand-alone affair. The biggest development by far is the introduction of yet another main villain in the form of Ariake no Kata. She's the wife of the big bad demon general and so far has proven to more irritating than an actual threat. Lady at least comes up with a decent plan featuring a dream eating elephant.

As I said though, it's mostly self-contained as it revolves around Kinji struggling to get into the groove of normal ninja training now that he's officially part of the group. While practicing in the park he befriends a kid who dreams of being the best baseball player ever (do kids still like baseball?). The aforementioned elephant eats both the kid and Takaharu's dreams so the rest of the team has to play ninja vs monster baseball to save the day. Fairly entertaining, all things considered and it makes further strides in ensuring that it's an actually team show instead of constantly focusing on Taka.

22

Likewise to the previous tale, it's been a couple weeks since viewing so this will be rough. I do recall this being a very solid episode though with an even broader focus on the whole group. It kicks off with a summer present from Saika the monk. He's made a new shuriken that'll allow all the robots to combine with lion ha-oh. Problem is, it doesn't work. Turns out old lion doesn't much care for Kinji and Yakkun since they're both too stiff for his tastes. Being sentai, there's of course a monster who makes the boys face their current issue so they can bond and loosen up. Meanwhile Ariake actually joins in the fighting and proves to be a pretty tough opponent.

This episode also marks the moment I noticed Fuuka getting a good bit more attention. In recent episodes I've viewed she seems to be getting at least one good moment even when she has almost nothing to do with the story proper. Perhaps she's taken hold as a favorite among Japanese viewers. Can't blame em, girl's awesome.

23

Supposedly there's a balance to everything in life. Belief in such a concept may be the only way to accept the complete disparity between the greatness of Fuuka and wretchedness of Kasumi. You all might recall that I'd softened my opinion towards pinkie after a few decent episodes but she was back to her shitty antics in this one. It's a real shame too as it nearly ruins an otherwise fun tale.

We find the team suffering through the Summer heat. Kasumi reveals she's been practicing combining different elemental powers. Nagi asks for pointers on the subject so she brings him down for relying on people (cause that's something you don't want in a team). During a fight she ticks off a few other teammates by jumping on em like platforms. When asked if she has any fears, she confesses to Fuuka that ghosts frighten her. Nagi listens in and convinces the other boys preform a ninja courage test where they take the girls to a supposedly haunted building and scare the wits out of em. It all goes smoothly until they realize Kasumi's missing. I fail to see the problem.

One by one they reenter the building only to disappear, leaving Fuuka and Nagi to figure out what's going on. They find everyone's been frozen by a ghost lady. A fight ensues wherein Fuuka is injured and frozen, leaving Nagi to combine different elements in an attempt to defeat the ghoul. Then Kasumi shows up at the last minute, revealing that the ghost just froze a duplicate. They thaw everyone out and save the day with Nagi mixing three elements at once.

In the end, Kasumi tells all that she faked being afraid of ghosts and let Nagi hear about it so the villains would make one as the monster of the week. Then she simply decided not to tell her team anything about it, thous putting them all in danger. Why would you do that? You stuck up, rotten....urgh! She doesn't apologize to the boys since they tried to prank her but she does seek forgiveness for putting Fuuka in harms way which only increases my theory that Fuu has become the big favorite.

I was left highly conflicted after this episode. It was tremendous fun to watch them all dress up as ghosts & ghouls and play pranks. The action was solid and we got yet another Fuuka/Nagi team up which are always gold. Then Kasumi had to be an asshole and shit all over. On the upside, we get a small cliffhanger when Ariake gets tired of weak Japanese monsters and summons some baddies from the west. We're talking Dracula types here folks. If that's not a perfect lead-in for October, I dunno what is.