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Charles Band

RAVENWOLF TOWERS, EPISODE ONE: BAD MARY

(FULL MOON FEATURES/FULL MOON ENTERTAINMENT (32 minutes; Unrated); 2016)

ravenwold-towers-ep-1-wrap

Populated by the usual freaks, degenerates, mad scientists and monsters that have become staples in any of his devilishly off-kilter features, Charles Band’s new web series, RAVENWOLF TOWERS, will be an acquired taste for the uninitiated, but… for those familiar with such delightfully gory offerings as THE GINGERDEAD MAN, PUPPET MASTER or GHOULIES, this first episode is like manna from the dark gods. The premiere installment of the seven-part series debuted on December 13, to coincide with the full moon; future episodes will follow suit, bowing on the six subsequent full moons. RAVENWOLF TOWERS can be viewed at Full Moon Entertainment’s streaming platform and their Amazon channel; each episode will also be offered as a stand-alone DVD release (no word yet on a collected DVD release).

RAVENWOLF TOWERS (George Appleby) (publicity still)
RAVENWOLF TOWERS (George Appleby) (publicity still)

The half-hour opener is titled “Bad Mary” and begins with an obligatory sexual encounter which – in true Band fashion – ends with one of the participants dying on the floor, minus an arm after checking the couple’s wardrobe for a boogie man. The horribly deformed giant in the wardrobe (so hideous, in fact, that he has to be played by two actors – Robert Cooper and Nihilist Gelo) is a member of the freakish, incestuous family who inhabits the top floor of the formerly opulent Hollywood hotel. And, then, things start to get weird… GENERAL HOSPITAL, soap opera weird. The newly hired assistant manager of the Ravenwolf, Jake (Evan Henderson), is warned by his histrionic boss (Sonny King) to stay away from the eleventh floor unless specifically requested by the family living there. During this admonishment, a suspicious character calling himself Doctor Ivan Ivanoff (a dark, understated performance from George Appleby, who has a resume that includes GAME OF THRONES and SHERLOCK) appears, seeking to rent a room. When the manager asks him to fill out an application for the room, the good doctor produces a stack of hundred dollar bills and is immediately given a key, offering insight to the management’s priorities. Once in his room, it becomes apparent that Ivanoff is a very different kind of doctor.

RAVENWOLF TOWERS (Shiloh Creveling, Evan Henderson) (publicity still)
RAVENWOLF TOWERS (Shiloh Creveling, Evan Henderson) (publicity still)

As fate – or, someone’s insidious plan – would have it, Jake is called to a room on the tenth floor due a leak from the floor above. By the way, as part of what Charles Band calls a “love letter to Full Moon fans past and present,” the occupant on ten will look very familiar to Band and Full Moon devotees. Jake’s repairs on eleven are interrupted by a beautiful young woman (Shiloh Creveling), crawling down the hallway, asking for help. Thinking the girl is being held against her will, Jake does the only reasonable thing he can think of: He takes her to his room and beds her. In the meantime, two of the occupants on the eleventh floor, a bedridden and irascible old coot (played with venomous glee by Arthur Roberts) and his daughter (portrayed in true scenery-chewing fashion by Full Moon mainstay, Maria Olsen) are told by their creepier-than-thou offspring that her son and brother, the giant in the wardrobe has disappeared. After dealing with the mess left by the brute Samson (collecting and destroying the remains in the room, as well as dragging off his traumatized bed-mate for a little late night blood-draining ritual), the father/brother/uncle/son/what-have-you asks a very simple question: “Oh, by the way, where’s Mary?” At which point, things reach a crescendo of weird… we’re talking ANOTHER WORLD weird here, with twisting plot-lines that will leave even the most clear-headed among us feeling a bit dizzy and scratching their head in an “I did not see that coming” sort of way as the credits roll. And, I haven’t even mentioned the very familiar clown who inhabits room 1012!

RAVENWOLF TOWERS (publicity still)
RAVENWOLF TOWERS (publicity still)

With this first episode, it might seem that Band is attempting a bit too much – getting most of the exposition (or “origin,” if you rather) out of the way before charging full-tilt into the mayhem in the next six installments. Time – and episode two – will tell; so, strap in, kiddies… another full moon is nearly upon us!

PUPPET MASTER, VOLUME 1: THE OFFERING

(Shawn Gabborin/Michela Da Sacco/Yann Perrelet; 67 pages; ACTION LAB: DANGER ZONE; 2015)

PUPPET MASTER VOLUME 1

I’ve never been a huge fan of Charles Band’s PUPPET MASTER movie franchise. Ever since my first viewing at age seven (yes, I watched rated R films as a seven year old child… thanks, Mom), I’ve always found the series to be overtly desperate without providing much quality to back up the undeniably ambitious plot. So, naturally when Unka D asked me to review the recent continuation of the PUPPET MASTER mythos from Action Lab’s Danger Zone mature readers imprint, my expectations were thoroughly embedded beneath the soles of my Vans sneakers. Luckily for me, I was pleasantly surprised.

PUPPET MASTER Issue 1 cover, page 3 (Written by SHAWN GABBORIN, cover and art by MICHELA DA SACCO and YANN PERRELET)
PUPPET MASTER Issue 1 cover, page 3 (Written by SHAWN GABBORIN, cover and art by MICHELA DA SACCO and YANN PERRELET)

Familiarity settles in quickly as the story kicks off at the well known Bodega Bay Inn. For newbies to the series, the aforementioned lodge has become a staple setting in the ten film (yes, ten film!) franchise. After a quick intro sequence involving an unlucky vagrant who meets his untimely demise, we’re introduced to the protagonists of the tale, a group of horny college students who, in typical ’80s horror fashion, have decided to get hammered and spend the weekend at the abandoned inn.

PUPPET MASTER Issue 2 (Cover by MICHELA DA SACCO and YANN PERRELET)
PUPPET MASTER Issue 2 (Cover by MICHELA DA SACCO and YANN PERRELET)

Script-wise, these books are topnotch. All the recognizable puppets make their triumphant returns (Blade being my personal favorite.). The narrative is paced like a horror film, which really keeps you immersed in the overall linearity of the story. Ladened with genuinely creepy moments, the tone of the miniseries-within-a-series (this collection features the first three-issue story arc of the current ongoing series) walks the line between black humor and horror very well. The artwork, courtesy of Michela De Sacco, really captures the dark, yet kitschy vibe that is so identifiable with the franchise. Chock-full of brutal death scenes, there is more than enough blood and guts here to please the gore hounds, as well.

PUPPET MASTER Issue 3 cover, page 3 (Written by SHAWN GABBORIN, cover and art by MICHELA DA SACCO and YANN PERRELET)
PUPPET MASTER Issue 3 cover, page 3 (Written by SHAWN GABBORIN, cover and art by MICHELA DA SACCO and YANN PERRELET)

Shawn Gabborin has done an admirable job of taking a brand that has been contrived (at best) for the better part of the last decade and breathing new life into it. This reviewer looks forward to seeing where the story goes from here. PUPPET MASTER, VOLUME 1: THE OFFERING is available at comic shops everywhere, as well as the usual on-line places, including digital download outlets such as ComiXology. For more on the PUPPET MASTER movie franchise, as well as signed, limited edition comics and more visit: Full Moon Direct.