Digging up Robbie Graves - Patron Saint of Plagues Bassist

For dead guys, Patron Saint of Plagues never speak ill of their dead. They just don't speak about them. Trying to learn more about Ezzo is like pulling teeth. Asking what happened to Dread is like putting those teeth back in again and nearly impossible. With Dread gone, and Deadboy taking up a different instrument, the last gaping wound left to suture was a new bass player. Enter, Robbie Graves.

Not the quietest cadaver in the group, off-stage he is a viable counterpart to the psycho frontman, Opi. This balances out the nearly dead silent Bonez and stoic nature of Deadboy, who he has technically replaced. Robbie took over bass and Deadboy gravitated to his natural instrument, guitar.  "I was a guitarist before and have been kind of filling holes in PSOP," said Deadboy, "The biggest change was having a band member pass and have a new one come in with no experience in a band setting who jumped in with both feet. Opi and I are guitar players and click well together. Robbie pulls his weight." I sense a hint of an inside joke where I imagine pulling weight to have something to do with coffins or body bags, but having interviewed the band over a year ago with a different line-up, I was afraid to press the issue and just dug up what I could on Robbie Graves.

"Well, I was brought up in a little town not too far from here. After high school I followed my family lineage and became a grave digger. One day, I was walking along and a hand reached out from an open grave and pulled me right down. I stayed down there for a while. They respected me since, you know, I was the one that put them down there! They all new my name."

Now, I was not clear on how dead he actually was. See, I am not that clear on how dead any of them actually are as Opi is simply possessed, and former band members just sort of disappear after contracting the mysterious plague. Or do Patron Saint of Plagues members die twice? So I asked, and got a typically loud sarcastic answer punctuated with a curse which led me to trust he is likely the most dead of all.

"I spent years down there, entertaining them, played some music for them, you know, and they loved it. They thought I should bring the sound of the dead up to the world of the living so I came back up and started playing bass."

He learned a lot underground as his body decayed and his dead soul grew. "I try to just bring the stories of the people in the land of the dead - the murdered and diseased - and remind people what they are going to end up as."

Robbie traded his cemetery shovel for a Washburn Oscar Schmidt  bass and has been playing for 7 years, self taught, with no formal lessons. Metal was his genre of choice and still is, so that is where he started then progressed  naturally to punk. After seeing Patron Saint of Plagues play several times, he looks forward now to growing as a musician instead of growing funeral flowers on fresh grave dirt.

"Really, I just started, so I try to progress and keep up with them." He describes being in the band as, "straight up amazing. They are amazing. Not sure how I am going to last two weeks with these fuckers [on tour], but I do have a lot of patience. A LOT of patience." Patience was one thing he learned as he transformed from young grave-digger to the corpse staggering before us today.

So, horror. Its a horror punk band. The blood, the ghosts, the morbid nature; being dead and having grown up in a family of grave diggers he does not continuously steep himself in the dark and dying as one may think."I like underground punk films... I am more into political satire, anything anti-goverment or anti-authority. books, movies about taking it all down."

The style of the band has shifted slightly, "I don't have as much spirit as Deadboy," said Graves. "I never said it was a GOOD spirit. Things have become faster than the bass I played when I was alive. A lot harder, faster, more gruesome."

This new addition could not have come at a better time. All winter, the ground would have been frozen solid, making it impossible to find a suitable musician. So far there are weekend dates for PSOP in Montreal June 16th and 17th, The Bovine Sex Club June 24, Kingston on the 27th, then to Cochrane for the Touch of Death Metal and Punk Festival. In July, they will be in Oshawa Friday July 13 for the Pabst Blue Ribbon sponsored Horror Punk vs. Psychobilly show. In August, they will return to Oshawa during a two week tour hitting southern cities then dates in Quebec and Halifax.

Get more off the PSOP facebook page, keep track at Reverbnation, or get it all at patronsaintofplagues.com.

Zombie Beauty Contest Shakeup

Final thoughts first, we need to have more of these Zombie Beauty Contests. Oh yes. If we use our brains, I am sure we could scare up some sponsors and hold another closer to Halloween.

So, sandwiched in between two visits to the Mayfair to see Father's Day we had a different kind of event to attend. I had been invited to judge a Zombie Beauty Contest alongside my pals, the Zombie King and Zombie Queen of zombieinfo.com.

The Alice Hearts Welsh Zombies book launch and signing was what brought this wonderful day to Collected Works Bookstore. More information of the book and authors lives on Victoria Dunn's facebook, the AHWS website and some preview on zombieinfo.com ~ check back there for the book review too.

The bookstore was packed, which is to be expected for such an extravaganza. The reading was comedic and engaging, and so was the food. Bone pretzels. Finger cookies. Brainmelon. Then of course, the main event and book signing were beasts of their own.

Full disclosure.. and I do mean Full... one of the authors works there, I had my signing there, Chris Carroll is my pal and best latte-making shelf monkey around, one of the winners was our own lovely Amy Jane and the Mr. Zombie winner can also be seen in our coverage of Zombie Walk 2011 and the wonderful Zombie Couple we initially met at The Aftermath, an Ottawa Goth event. So. I gotta say, it's a pretty small town, this city of one million souls! Honestly, I had fingers crossed for stiff competition. That competition simply failed to materialize... or shamble in, as the case may be. Just more reasons to hold another since you have no idea how fun and theatrical this competition was!

Splatterpictures was in attendance, as well as Brian of Tooma Productions who took wonderful images on our behalf. All winners are invited to order prints of their official photos if they wish, just contact Tooma via facebook. You can also see more images of the attendees, zombies, authors and their publisher from The Workhorsery.

This all happened to go on during Save The Bookstores, which was a global event which I covered at typicallydia and ended up with mention in Publishers Weekly. Please do support our independents! Faithful readers know that's what makes Ottawa Horror go 'round, right? Indie filmmakers, bands, authors, artists. Head to Collected Works for a copy of Alice Hearts Welsh Zombies, or for gorier fare, a copy of Nightface.

Amy Jane Von Purr - Ms. Zombie and Zombie Supreme Winner

After sign-up and all of the amazing contestants had said their piece, we were greeted by the show-stopping sight of the most dashing and wonderful zombie couple ever. Of course, I greeted them and apologized in my way (with curses and balled fists) and retired with the ballots to make the final decision as to who would walk away with the grand prize. Good thing we are a democratic trio: the first vote was 'shall we ignore the rules?'.

Is the Zombie King known for his quiet, simple and rule-following nature? No! Not at all. While polite as a devil, he was the ringleader of anarchy in the Deliberation Chamber. Hence, the winners, thus;

Zombie Junior Winner

Mr. Zombie Winner

Zombie Couple Winners 

One last little detail. For Arrogant Worm and book trailer fans, here was the special treat that some missed by heading out for fresh air after prizes were awarded. All in all, it was an amazing weekend of bloody delights. I will hopefully be following this up with a nice relaxing read ~

Troma Fans Thrilled at the Mayfair

Father's Day Round One. Ding Ding Ding! This film was so much fun and full of everything I personally adore in cheesy horror, that I am certainly attending the Sunday screening as well. Gotta hand it to the guys at Astron-6 - they know how to deliver a grindhouse, late-night throwback feel like nobody else.

All in all, I had an awesome time and so did all on their way out of the theatre. As much as I anticipated a walkout in the first ten minutes (A Serbian Film had walkouts with similar subject matter) everyone stayed put.

If you missed it, no problem, come Sunday. There will be a few Ottawa Horror prizes but you did miss out on the Fangoria goodies. Pre-issues of the upcoming edition and rare back-catalogue were up for grabs and as luck would have it, some huge fans won big.

These guys were not your regular Troma fans. They were extras in the Ottawa-made exploit-action flick Harry Knuckles and the Pearl Necklace, which features Lloyd Kaufman himself. Of course they loved the film, and had all the trivia answers for sure. Awesome guys!

Also in attendance was OH pal, Splatterpictures. Since this post would be six pages long with a review, we invite you to head over to his Ottawa-based and cancon-centric site for this review. I am a huge fan of Wes' insight and style. Those who regualrly read horrormovies.ca may know him well...

"Fathers day is like watching a hyperactive child hopped up on pixie sticks tell you about their day. It’s fast and chaotic at times. Characters spew out their dialogue and then random stuff happens. It took me the first 20 minutes or so to get used to the pace but once I allowed myself to bow to the absurd I started liking it more and more."

... continue reading at splatterpictures.net

I must say, I enjoyed the pace. From the word go to credit roll, I was enthralled. With a few smash-cuts from laughs to visceral gore, my attention deficit nature was appeased. Not a fan of comedy, personally, I found the camp was held to a dull roar making it exceptionally subversive. Read: Perfection. I thought it was perfect. A great introduction to Troma for the virginal, and a great treat for Dad if he is into cannibal torture rape gore.

Happy Father's Day!

Tonight's the Night! Father's Day Comes to Town!

That's right... tonight's the night.

Ottawa Horror, Fangoria, and The Mayfair Theatre are proud to present the Ottawa premiere of Astron-6 and Troma's Father's Day

Ottawa Horror will be on hand with prize packs from Fango and OH! By all accounts this is one hell of a film for the horror fan, so don't miss it - premiere's only happen once.

See you tonight!

Slaughter in the Sand: Your Grisly Guide to Summer Gore

 With the steadily climbing temperature and the scent of BBQ wafting through the air, one can no longer deny that summer is upon us. And what better way to the celebrate the season than to take a look back at some of the most popular summer horror flicks of all time. From Jason Voorhees chopping up promiscuous campers to creepy cabins and deadite invasions, the horror genre loves its summer vacation. Read on for a list of five of the most influential and interesting additions to the genre set during the sweltering months of summer.

1.      The Friday the 13^th series

Ah, nothing says summer quite like “Camp Crystal Lake”. Come for the picturesque view of Crystal Lake, the quaint little cabins and the excessively friendly staff, but stay for the sadistic slayings by local legend Jason Voorhees! Beginning in 1980, and banking heavily on the success of other slasher films such as Halloween (1978), Friday the 13^th tells the heart-warming story of a mother’s love for her son. Young Jason is an outcast at Camp Crystal Lake where the young camp counsellors are more interested in exploring each other than watching the children. Naturally, when the very un-buoyant  Jason winds up in the lake, he goes unnoticed by the hot-and-heavy staff and meets his untimely end. Jason’s mother, Mrs. Pamela Voorhees, is so distraught over the loss of her son that she does the only reasonable thing: brutally murders everyone who dares try to re-open Camp Crystal Lake. However, Mrs. Voorhees herself is rather old and not well suited to a life of serial killing partially clad teenagers and she ends up decapitated. But fear not, gore-lovers, for the presumed-dead Jason returns from the grave with his trademark machete to finish the work his dear matriarch began… And so begins the Friday the 13^th franchise…

Best in Show: Jack and Marcie proceed to have sex unaware that their murdered friend lies on the bunk above them. Following coitus, Jack is murdered when an arrow from beneath the bed punctures his throat, forever perpetuating the fear of something evil waiting under the bed.

Keep a Bloody Eye Out For: A very young Kevin Bacon in the first film of the series. Also, Jason supposedly taking Manhattan, but instead opting for a murderous boat ride. Jason killing in space. Freddy Krueger showing up at the end of Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday (1993) foreshadowing 2003’s Freddy vs. Jason
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Filmic Legacy: The Friday the 13^th franchise includes 10 sequels, one remake and one television series. Jason is officially a pop culture icon with his image available on t-shirts, posters, home décor and even in the form of a cuddly Living Dead Doll. The iconic music used throughout the series is easily recognizable and heavily parodied.
…Ki ki ki…. Ma ma ma…

2.      Cabin Fever (2002)

Oh, Cabin Fever. A secluded cabin. A weekend’s supply of beer. A gang of wild teenagers ready to party. A flesh-eating virus. What could go wrong? After renting a cabin in the woods, strange things start happening for the young group of partiers. But that does not stop them. Let the drinking and promiscuous sex commence! As a flesh-eating disease begins to spread through the woods, the teenagers start becoming infected. When it is revealed that the water may be to blame for the spreading infection, some of the gang are temporarily relieved that they decided to drink only beer for the duration of their stay. But soon enough, even they are not safe and the infection spreads to even the drunkest. In a disgusting conclusion, a bottled water company is shown obtaining their supply from the contaminated waters, suggesting it is only a matter of time before we are all infected…

Best in Show: Nobody could ever forget the horrifying scene when Marcy is shaving her legs in the bathtub. Suddenly, her flesh begins to shave right off…

Keep a Bloody Eye Out For: Giuseppe Andrews of Detroit Rock City (1999) fame as the young, hunky and completely insane police officer/party animal.
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Filmic Legacy:  Cabin Fever was the directorial debut of filmmaker Eli Roth. Love him or hate him, Roth would go on to perpetuate the “torture-porn” genre with his films Hostel (2005) and Hostel: Part II (2007). Cabin Fever also spawned a sequel, but the less said about that the better. Andrews was the only actor to return for the sequel.

3.      I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997)

The year was 1997. You could have spent your time watching Jack romance Rose on the Titanic, Al Pacino prove he’s a little bit devilish in The Devil’s Advocate or the British boys strip it all off for the Full Monty. And you might have… But let’s face it, you watched Scream 2 and I Know What You Did Last Summer, too. I Know What You Did Last Summer  was lambasted for being a terrible film and little more than a vehicle for showcasing young Hollywood hunks and starlets, Freddie Prince Jr., Ryan Phillipe, Jennifer Love Hewitt and Sarah Michelle Gellar. However, the marketing worked and the teenagers flooded the cinemas, for better or worse. I Know What You Did Last Summer tells the story of a young group of friends who accidentally murder someone and decide to cover-up their crime. After going their separate ways, the gang thinks they have indeed gotten away with murder but find out that it is never quite that easy… The film utilizes some of the main conventions of the horror film, including the idea that teenagers are reckless and foolhardy. Furthermore, adults in horror films are next-to-useless, unless they are the ones doing the killing, and never seem to believe anything the young ones have to say. The film also introduces “The Fisherman”, a mysterious killer out for revenge.

Best in Show: Helen watches helplessly from on-stage during a beauty pageant as the Fisherman hacks up her boyfriend, Barry.

Keep a Bloody Eye Out For: Johnny Galecki, who would gain his greatest fame as Leonard on TV’s The Big Bang Theory, playing Max, the cynical, loner best-friend who never gets the girl.

Filmic Legacy: Throughout the film, the characters receive messages from the killer in black ink written on small, white pieces of paper. This is parodied in many films after including the Scary Movie franchise. The film also spawned two sequels, the first of which, I Still Know What You Did Last Summer (1998) takes place in the Bahamas and features Jack Black in an un-credited role.

4.      Evil Dead (1981) and Evil Dead 2 (1987)

The Evil Dead films are truly cult classics in the world of horror. Few people, even non-horror fans, would fail to recognize Evil Dead’s chainsaw-armed, catch phrase spewing, S-mart workin’ Ash. However, it is important to return to one’s roots and remember the first Evil Dead film when Ash was a shy, sweet, innocent fellow and a rather reluctant hero. The first film finds a group of rowdy teenagers on their way to a cabin in the woods for a special summer vacation. They were not expecting to raise an evil army of the undead but those are the risks you take when you go on vacation. After discovering the Naturan Demonta, or the Book of the Dead, the teenagers listen to a recorded incantation, which summons the evil. One by the one, the teenagers are possessed and killed by the deadites, leaving only Ash to rise to the occasion and stop the madness. In the sequel, the story of the first film is entirely re-written and given a comedic treatment. Bruce Campbell, as Ash, becomes the sole focus of the film as he must battle his dark side and remove his hand in order to prevent possession by the evil deadites.

Best in Show: In one of the most famous scenes, Cheryl is attacked and raped by evil trees. No, seriously.

Keep a Bloody Eye Out For: The scene in Evil Dead 2 when Ash fights his own hand. This scene is paid homage by Jim Carrey in Liar, Liar (1993). Also, the entire re-writing of the plot during the beginning of the second film. When watched back-to-back, it is even more glaringly obvious.
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Filmic Legacy: The Evil Dead franchise bore two sequels, Army of Darkness being potentially the most famous. While the first film was grotesque but serious, the two sequels were tongue-in-cheek and filled with quotable catch phrases. In addition to the films, there is also an Evil Dead musical in which audience members can purchase “blood seats”, in the understanding that they will be splattered with blood during the production.
“Shop smart. Shop S-Mart.”

5.      The Cabin in the Woods (2012)

My first introduction to The Cabin in the Woods came as a briefly seen interview with the director and producer. During the interview, Joss Whedon talked about the film and how he was not a fan of the horror genre. Right away, I felt unsure about the film and I was not sure if I wanted to give it my time. However, I am very glad I gave it a chance. The Cabin in the Woods marketed itself as not being what you expect and utilized the tag line “You think you know the story”. This is accurate, the film twists and turns in many unexpected ways. In fact, when I went to see the film, two men walked out within the first five minutes, refusing to give it a chance. As I watched the film, I strongly felt that it reads as homage to the horror genre and any horror-loving fan will notice these tactics. The cabin looks nearly identical to the Evil Dead cabin. The elevator scene near the end makes it impossible not to conjure up images from The Shining (1980). A villainous creature with a murderous box is easily mistakable for Pinhead of Hellraiser franchise fame. The film comments on the use of horror film conventions, such as the sexualized blonde female and prudish, intelligent final girl. The one drawback to such an approach is that the film seems to be constantly trying to divert expectations, so much so as it begins to lose its effect. However, it stands as a clever and enjoyable horror film regardless of your particular feelings for the genre.

Best in Show: The film actually forgoes the use of blood in many murders. However, the most memorable death is hinted at in the trailer. Macho-man Curt attempts to jump the canyon on his motorcycle is met with an invisible force field.

Keep a Bloody Eye Out For: Your favourite monster.
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Filmic Legacy: Whedon has called this film a “love-hate letter” to the horror genre, as he considers the recent over-use of torture porn to be spelling death for the genre. He has said that The Cabin in the Woods was meant to revitalize the horror genre. Only time will tell…

Written and Researched by
A.J. Von Purr, Summer 2012

Win Tickets to Father's Day!

~ CONTEST CLOSED ~

THANK YOU FOR ENTERING!

Ottawa Horror, Fangoria, and the Mayfair Theatre are proud to present the Ottawa Premiere of Troma's "Father's Day", this Friday, July 15th at 11:55PM.  We've got Fango, giveaways, and one hell of cool movie... what's not to love?

From IMDB:
Ahab, a man obsessed with exacting a brutal, violent revenge on the man who murdered his dad, joins John, an eager priest, and Twink, a hot-headed street hustler, on an epic quest to find and defeat this mythical monster known as Chris Fuchman AKA The Father's Day Killer. 

If you've been around Ottawa Horror for a while, you may be aware that I have a fondness for the "Father's Day" segment from "Creepshow"... Well it looks like the good folks a Troma may have found me a new favourite for this particular Holiday.

And of course it wouldn't be an Ottawa Horror Premiere if we didn't give away passes.

So here's how it works. First 3 emails to contests@ottawahorror.com with the name of their favourite Troma film (can be any one) will win double passes to the show.

Horror in the Hammer just had their premiere and they packed the place. Let's consider this a throw down and show them that Ottawa loves it's Horror!

See you there!

What to do, what to do?

Ahh yes, Summer is here... and the eternal question on everyone's mind... what are we doing this weekend?

Glad you asked- we here at Ottawa Horror have some suggestions!

First up, tonight at Cafe Dekuf, Patron Saint of Plagues, Dead Culture Society AND The Crypt Club rock the house starting at 8 p.m. Tomorrow night BrainHunter (the kind folks who brought us Zombiefest last year) and a Darker Day blow the roof off Avant Garde starting at 9 p.m. That's TWO wicked nights of Horror Rock and Roll! (cue Thunder and Lightning).

And of course NEXT weekend, Fangoria, Ottawa Horror and The Mayfair present the Ottawa Premiere of "Father's Day" - You do not want to miss this. Stay Tuned...we'll be giving away some passes to this in the near future!

Forensic Photography : Elementary for Leesa Watson

Porcelain skinned and red lipped, the perpetually smiling Leesa Watson did not strike me as a future cop or desk-bound laboratory drone. If all goes well, that blend will mesh nicely with the career that suits her warm and friendly personality best; photography. Criminology, forensics and capturing reality as it lays sounds like a nearly poetic practice when your goal requires several rounds of college and university to attain.

After running a story on the Flash Freeze Mob at Winterlude 2010 that she co-organized, we got talking about cops and cameras - two things we have an affinity for. She was enrolled in police foundations at the time, and within the next year had graduated and returned to take photography. For a student so easy to smile and laugh, She was not kidding around. then, I saw her crime scene portfolio. 


Here are some snippets from an online conversation we had in April. She has shared some of her second-year portfolio with us, which showcased her expertise from police foundations and criminology. 


Typicallydia: Have you lived in Ottawa all of your life?

Leesa Watson: Yes I have lived in Ottawa all my life. I have been wanting to move to Toronto, and next year might be the time take forensic science at the University of Toronto.

TL: From police foundations to photography is a little bit of a stretch. Is this culminating in the goal of crime scene photographer?

Watson: Taking police foundations does culminate with forensic photography, but I was planning on taking criminology, and to get in, since I took college courses in high school, I had to take the Police Foundations. I realized [there was] no need for the criminology anymore, but it is good to have under my belt.



TL: You take wonderful photos of any subject, (exhibit A: her online portfolio). Why such horrific scenes?

Watson: Well, our portfolios this year needed to have a theme. Some could tell a story, others didn't need to. I chose a theme of 'Elements of Crime' because I want to be a Forensic Photographer, so what better way of showing it, by having a portfolio of it! My theme also runs along a story-line as well. It starts off with the murder scene, running into the press, having to talk to the detectives, getting a coffee break, taking mug shot photos, interrogating the suspect, having to go to court, writing everything down, showing your evidence, the murderer going to prison, finding out you convicted the wrong person and they are still on the loose, and a movie breaks out of theaters... (Exhibit B: A re-creation of the iconic Black Dahlia movie poster with photography by Leesa Watson)

TL: do you have any particular idols in horror photography, film, or literature?

Watson: I am a HUGE horror film freak! I LOVE them to death. No pun intended.... My favourites would have to be Nightmare on Elm Street, and Friday the 13th. Nothing is better then the classics... I find the humor in all horror movies which doesn't really make them scary to me, but its still a great time.

TL: What was the most interesting aspect of the crime scene images you took? They look like it took a lot of preparation!

Watson: The crime scene photo ended up being two separate days. I went and found an alley, shot the first day... just to get the idea, and to see if it was really what I wanted. About a week later, my models and I went back to the alley and re-did it all for real this time. It took about two hours to get the lights right, and even then, they still didn't work out how I wanted them too. The main focus was supposed to be on the girl... in the end, I did a 'Dexter' type thing where the cop ends up being the murderer.

If you missed it above, check out her portfolio Leesa Watson Photography for her full bio and other wonderful images.