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Ben Reisman

Ricketts Glen

September 19, 2016 By Ben Reisman

Summer in Philadelphia, PA can be a brutal time of year. In the past two weeks we have consistently seen temps upward of 97 degrees. The sun beats down mercilessly, leaving no place to hide. Any shaded areas you can find offer little refuge from the relentless humidity.  Heat waves like this are sometimes responsible for the tragically avoidable deaths of the elderly. In fact, in the past week I have heard at least one report of such an occurrence.

With the hot weather out of control, there isn’t necessarily a need to lock yourself inside an air-conditioned cell. Philadelphia-area residents have a long-standing tradition of escaping by way of two nearby options; The NJ shore and the Pocono Mountains.

Some time in late July, my girlfriend Kate exclaimed we had just won the lottery.  A semi-expenses paid  trip to Ricketts Glen Campground (in the Pocono Mountains), courtesy of  some friends who were unable to stay the full length of time they had booked.  This meant three days to relax up in the mountains and escape the summer oven-like heat, which sounded great to me. The camp is located a couple miles up a VERY steep hill, and upon arrival you will have no internet access no matter what carrier you have.

One of the first things I did was go online to see if there was any  possible haunted background to the place or surrounding areas. While it didn’t appear that Ricketts Glen was regarded as an area featuring any kind of abnormal ghost sightings, there certainly are a couple of stories which could cause an uneasy night of sleep.

First is the legend of the ghost tree. Details are very scarce on this one and everything online just kinda says the same thing:  During the lumber boom days, a boy was cutting down a tree which, through poor planning, landed on top of him. A white, leafless tree subsequently grew in the same spot. Hmmm…..ok. Its odd that there are no names, dates or other details to elaborate on this more. From what I can find out, the ghost tree itself is not known for, or has caused any kind of disturbances. In fact, this story completely slipped out of my mind and I didnt even think to find out where the tree was or ask any locals for more details while I was up there.

Another notable story from Ricketts Glen occurs on Lake Jean, which I believe is considered part of the campground. It takes place in the wintertime while there was a not-so-stable layer of ice over the lake.  It is a familiar but no less horrifying story; a boy walks out on a thin layer of ice, only for a break to occur and the child falls through. According to the story, the parents were on the shore watching the event take place. Instinctively, they rushed across the ice themselves to save him, and inevitably the even heavier bodies also caused the ice to cave.  This horrifying chain of events has led to some locals claiming to see strange lights over the lake and the faces of the family in the water. Its unclear what time of year this happens,  but  wintertime would be my guess. Ricketts Glenn campground does in fact stay open year-round, and I could definitely imagine a much creepier vibe at that time of year.  I was actually thumbing through the guest logbook to see if there were any entries throughout the cold-weather months, and I found several from just our cabin alone.  No reports of any creepy stuff, mostly just frozen waterfalls.  I’m trying to even imagine what it would be like to vacation there in the winter, and the thought of being in a cabin with no internet access sounds like isolationism to a depressing level.

That pretty much wraps up the creepy stuff……and there was not much of it, nor did I see anything out of the ordinary. I did stumble across some rather disturbing stories related to an extremely steep hill on 487 leading up to the park.  On the last day of our camping trip, Kate and I stopped by the Colonel Ricketts Hard Cider operation. The owner was a pleasant gentleman who got into the cider making business late in the game. I was instantly impressed with the cider tasting samples that he placed in front of us. Somehow the topic of the enormous hill came up. The hill was so steep, that on descending it, the steering wheel shook rapidly back and forth. At the bottom of the hill when we got out I caught a glimpse of smoke coming out of the wheel wells of my truck. It was disconcerting to say the least. I knew the brakes on that truck were due for maintenance, but still….smoke?? I relayed this story to the Cidery owner. He immediately recalled tragic stories of 18-wheel trucks descending the hill without first shifting into lower gear. Failing to do that will cause your truck to gain momentum and accelerate to an out of control speed.  The brakes in most cases would burn out (thankfully mine didnt completely go) and become useless. Some drivers would attempt to shift into lower gear as they were speeding faster and faster, but at that point your clutch would probably bust apart if you actually had enough strength to put it in gear at that speed. You would then not be in gear at all, and once in neutral there would be no stopping the truck. The cidery owner did not go into further details except to mention that he remembered two specific examples of trucks going off the road and killing the driver. The hill is now well marked with warnings for trucks of that size to shift gears.  As I think back to the image of smoke rising off the brakes of my own truck like a ghostly pattern in the air, I try to block out the horrifying images of helpless drivers careening straight off the road.  Id rather look back at the three fun days of hiking and viewing amazing waterfalls, and I hope to return there again soon.

Filed Under: On the Road

Monster Mania Con 21–Stacey Nelkin (2012)

August 9, 2016 By Ben Reisman

With Monster Mania coming up this weekend, I was reflecting on the previous (and only) MM event I went to a few years ago.  This should have been written up on my blog ages ago and I dont know why I hadnt thought to write anything about it sooner!  I was only intending to write up the event in general terms of what I observed/remembered. As I was dissecting the details of the event though, I realized that the Stacey Nelkin autograph experience alone was worthy of a few paragraphs.

Stacey Nelkin isnt that well known and was never on my radar as far as my faves. She really hasnt done a whole lot besides appearing as the female lead role in Halloween III. With that movie being one of my horror faves though, having the chance to meet her (or anyone involved with that movie) is huuuuuge!

Nelkin was part of the “Women of Horror” collection presented at MM that year. I really dont know how the event works and if they always have themes like this. The women of horror were in a room separate from a lot of the other actors, i.e. Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Anthony Michael Hall, The Walking Dead crew, etc. In fact I almost walked out of there without ever seeing them. Upon entering  their corridor, I noticed significantly less traffic than in the rest of the event.  When I saw her table, I got super excited and thought about how many times I have seen Halloween III. How surreal it was to have a living, breathing part of the movie right in front of me. No one was at Stacey’s table. She looked good for her age, but completely different than in the movie….must have had some work done. She was laughing and talking to her neighbor. As I approached she suddenly sat straight up and got really serious-looking as I got closer. The kind of reaction a guilty grade-school student has as a teacher catches them in the act. As obsessed as I was about Halloween III as a kid, you’d think I would have thought of better questions than “uhhhh…..hows traffic been”? She asked if I would be interested in her autograph (for $20). Of course I was, but I was empty-handed with nothing to sign. She had a stack of still shots from movies, and I picked out a familiar scene from H3 which showed her and Tom Atkins staring at some Halloween masks (see below for the picture complete with autograph)! She then asked what movie quote I would like her to sign on the picture. Hmmm….another complete blank. She then suggested a sexual quote from the movie–“Where would you like me to sleep Dr Challis?”,  and like a jackass I lit up and said Oh yeaah! Thats a good one! While it WAS a good one, it was probably the same “good one” which had already been beat to death by other guys who came prepared with that line, or spoon-fed to guys like me with nothing to say. I hate being un-original, but hey…..you cant be on the ball every minute of the day, right? Besides, I actually took away more from this than the average autograph-seeker. I guess I was so surprised that no one was at her table, I just went the casual conversation route.  My co-worker and I both observed event-goers getting their picture taken with several of the actors. Not wanting to miss out on the fun, my coworker stood a distance back as he got us both in the picture. Then he suggested she come out in front of her table so we could get a shot together (see below). Not bad! Had there been crowds of people there, I never could have gotten a picture like that. Finally we walked out of there, satisfied that we spent enough money on admission prices and autograph prices. As we walked towards the exit, my buddy said to me: “You know….you really should have asked her out”. I thought that was kind of ridiculous given the volume of people that comes through these places and she must get those kinds of requests all the time.  With some more convincing, and consideration of how down to earth she was, I figured I would give it a shot. I kind of dicked around for about half an hour, until meandering back to the women of horror room. I slowly walked in and tried to project the appearance of doing a final lap around the place to make sure I didn’t miss anything. Once again, there was no one at her table, and she appeared to be looking at her phone. I got a little closer, and as our eyes met, I predictably announced that I was taking one last walk around to make sure I didn’t miss anything. I then asked how long she was in town for. She replied that she wouldn’t be there much longer either because she had to make her way back to NY. I told her that’s too bad because had she been around longer I would have invited her out for a drink. She then awkwardly smiled a little bit and seemed to pause, and replied, “yeah…Ill be heading out of here”.  Feeling like I had exhausted the experience with the women of terror, and having seen enough, I wrapped it up and told her to have a great trip back…..and that I’ll see her again next time I watch Halloween 3……and that hotel room scene.

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Filed Under: Horror Movies

Friday the 13th Part 3 (1982)

May 13, 2016 By Ben Reisman

Friday the 13th is here! What a gloomy rainy day it is too….just as it was set during the original movie. To properly acknowledge the arrival of the film’s namesake date, I am posting a review of possibly the most influential entry (and also the last to not feature a catchy tagline such as Final Chapter, Jason Lives, etc) of the whole series….Part 3.

Part 3 basically made Jason the way we all know him today for one single obvious reason; the hockey mask. In a previous post I mentioned that the series would not have lasted anywhere near as long as it had if he continued to wear the wheat sack over his head. It was menacing for one movie, but that image would not have sustained the endless onslaught of sequels that were churned out. As with other movies of its kind, the mask wasn’t intended or written in the script. I believe some kind of mask was needed, and some crew member just happened to be a hockey player with his gear on hand at the set. Its remarkable actually to think that if you were just to show a picture of a hockey mask to a non-hockey fan…..the first thing they would probably think of is Jason. Even hockey enthusiasts might actually think of Jason first.

Back in 1982 when this was released, I didn’t even know that movies like this existed. At 8 years old, my parents were taking me to movies like E.T. or whatever Disney release was out that year. That was really all I knew.  Speaking of E.T., this was the first film to bump that lovable alien out of the number one spot during its run.

The other obvious distinction of Part 3 (as with so many “part 3” movies in the early 80’s), of course is the 3D feature. I cant recall whether that made the admission ticket more expensive back then as it does with today’s 3D movies. The quality was no where near what 3D is today and I guess for that reason, movie goers grew weary of the gimmick quickly. Beyond the early 80s, I cant think of any examples which featured 3D, whereas more recently it seems there has been a much longer run since ’09 or ’10 Im guessing. Somewhere I have this movie on dvd or blu ray complete with 2 pairs of cheap cardboard glasses.

As with the other Friday posts, I referenced the characters. They are even more flamboyant than ever, and possibly more than any other F13. They range from nerdy, druggie, badass and sexy of course. It was kind of all over the place with characters…..even introducing a 3-man biker gang to be killed off.

Lastly, besides the film introducing Jason’s iconic hockey mask, it also features possibly the most iconic scene in the whole series: Jason falling out of a barn with a rope around his neck. We see flashbacks to this in later entries.

Happy Friday the 13th everyone!

Filed Under: Horror Movies

Friday the 13th Part II (1981)

May 9, 2016 By Ben Reisman

Friday the 13th week continues!

It starts getting interesting now. Mommy lost her head in the original movie, and now Jason has assumed the role of terrorizing Crystal Lake.
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The movie opens with a flashback to the end of part One. In an effort to fully showcase the decapitation of Jason’s mom, we are treated to a replay of Alice Hardy (Adrienne King) giving a mighty machete whack to the neck of Mrs Voorhees. Jason’s motivation for murder is now doubled up as he needs to avenge not only his own supposed death, but also that of his mother. He wastes no time getting to work as he stealthily sneaks in to Alice’s apartment and scares the shit out of her by planting his mom’s head inside her refrigerator. Jason is no doubt devastated by the death of his mom….but he is not above using her head as a prop to get a cheap scare out of someone. What’s also interesting here is the fact that Jason acquired the skills to break into an apartment after leaving the comforts of his shack at Crystal Lake. Sure, Jason smashing his way through a door is absolutely believable…..its his lock-picking finesse, and hiding undetected in a small apartment which is a bit of a stretch.

The characters in this movie show a little more personality than in the first one. Not necessarily in a good way.  One very annoying character is tall and lanky, dresses up in old skins and carries a spear. He spends most of the movie lurking in the shadows and scaring people…..which no doubt causes unsuspecting first time viewers to expect Jason as opposed to this dope. The first time I watched this, I couldn’t wait for him and Jason to cross paths…..only to see him safely leave the premises with a few other counselors for a night on the town, not even knowing the danger he escaped. I have to admit though….after what is probably my 40th time watching this movie he has grown on me a little. Today as I have acquired emotional intelligence and matured into adulthood (haha), I suppose I dont mind the fact that Jason never gets him. Make no mistake…..just because the characters do show more personality, doesn’t mean the acting is any better.

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One of the criticisms that ALWAYS comes up with this series is that you never get to know enough about the characters to become connected to (or care about them), hence the viewer does not, or should not care that they systematically get disposed of by Jason. I disagree entirely with this assessment. After watching these movies as many times as I have, any character will start feeling like a friend to you. How can you not feel bad for the skinny dipping babe who treats you to a show? What about the guy in a wheelchair who took a hatchet to the face and got pushed down a long flight of stairs? What about the cute brunette who’s only crime was preparing herself for a night of lovemaking with the wheelchair guy, and Jason sabotaged the whole thing with knives and blunt objects? What cold-hearted s.o.b. movie critic would not feel bad for these two?

What’s also different for part II is the counselors also show a little more skin…..we are treated to a very attractive young woman skinny dipping alone in the moonlight. Did I say treated? I meant “subjected to”. This sort of thing has no place in quality films like this. Just terrible.

Finally, I think its worth commenting on the sack with eyeholes compared to the hockey mask. I do think there is a very real element of fear regarding the sack. Its rudimentary in nature, and chilling to look at. On the other hand, I think it makes Jason look kind of dopey. Its perhaps too simple and I think the series would have only lasted maybe half as many movies if he had to keep looking at him with the bag over his head. I think the bag served this one movie well, but there was  nothing as truly terrorizing as the hockey mask. One look at that, and you just knew the shit was gonna hit the fan.

Filed Under: Horror Movies

Friday the 13th (1980)

May 9, 2016 By Ben Reisman

Friday the 13th is coming this Friday, May 13! With only one of these dates in 2016, (I think there were three last year), its time to dust off the old dvds, tapes, blu rays, or whatever you use and settle in for some Voorhees-style mayhem. This is actually a great time of year to watch (besides on Halloween) because its about the time of year camp counselors would be settling in to prepare for the summer. If I were to guess which month these all take place in, it probably IS May 13th. If you really want to feel connected to the films, then this is probably the best time of year to watch.

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Friday the 13th (1980)

Featuring:

*The debut of Kevin Bacon

*A lakeside decapitation

*Arrow through a neck

We all know this movie is essentially a rip-off of Halloween, but it probably rips-off better than any copycat of its kind. In fact….I believe the high body count and high gore quotient of Halloween II was more a competition with the original F13, rather than sticking with the suspenseful formula which made the original Halloween so successful.

Its hard to say why this movie became so popular when there were so many other slasher movies which were all essentially the same. Whatever they did, they set themselves up for a long string of successful sequels. In fact, Sean S. Cunningham, the movie’s director, actually took out an ad in the N.Y. Times declaring this the “scariest movie ever made” BEFORE it was even made. Genius marketing. To think that Jason didnt even acquire his trademark hockey mask until halfway through part three is a further evidence that the series pushed all the right buttons to hold fans’ interest through many sequels.

Some horror fans have since grown tired of the original. I guess it is a little tough to go back again after countless viewings to watch a movie which didn’t feature the iconic Jason in action. While its not my favorite in the series, I think it still does serve as an adequate appetizer to set up the sequels which do feature Jason front and center.  Despite its reputation for relying on shock value, it does have its suspenseful moments….especially the very end, featuring a long continuous shot of our female hero in the boat. Seconds feel like minutes as an ostensibly serene image with melodic music feels just a little too peaceful.

The acting is decent. The characters are believable and not as cartoon-ish as some slasher movies which seem to portray each character in an absurd light. While you dont really get connected to anyone in F13, the characters are all just ordinary people, and I think this does add a sense of realism to the story. If you haven’t seen it in a while, now is the time.

Filed Under: Horror Movies

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BenHello! Thanks for visiting my website and sharing my interest in horrific fun.
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