Happy Friday! It’s the return of Friday Fright Nightcaps! Not gonna lie, I’ve spent two weeks chasing purple, a perfectly purple cocktail that is.
Unfortunately, my experiments have rendered every color but purple. In any event, I present to you the Tropical Void. It’s not purple. It’s not black. It’s something inbetween.
Ingredients:
2 oz. Grapefruit soda 1.5 oz. Dark Rum .5 oz. Blue Curacao .5 oz. Grenadine 1 oz. Pineapple juice 1.5 oz. Cranberry juice Splash of lime juice
Mix ingredients well. Garnish with Maraschino cherries or fresh fruit. Serve chilled.
Happy Friday! It’s the return of Friday Fright Nightcaps! Tonight, we’re choosing another refreshing concoction with a twist, the Bloody Paloma!
It’s a basic Paloma with some grenadine, a bit of cranberry juice, and splash of lime juice to cut back the sweetness. It also gives it a darker red hue. Best when served chilled.
The real stars of a good Paloma is grapefruit soda and tequila blanco
Ingredients: 4 oz. Grapefruit soda 2 oz. Tequila Blanco (white) .05 oz. Grenadine 1 oz. Cranberry juice Splash of lime juice
Opt Garnish: Red syrup or Black rim salt
Bloody Paloma easy ingredients
Pour chilled ingredients into a glass and mix well.
Bloody Paloma, best when served chilled.
Even though I chilled my ingredients, it’s been so hot out west that I threw in some extra ice cubes.
Garnish would really make this picture pop better but unfortunately I ran out of black rim salt.
From Black Sunday’s vengeful Princess Asa Vajda, seeking retribution against the descendants of her treacherous brother to the ill-fated family in Hereditary, whose souls were already promised to a demon, witches come in many forms. Some are good, some are bad, and some are just really really angry.
The Wretched
There’s no order to today’s list, these witches are hangry, vengeful, spiteful, or all of the above! I loved the witches in every one of these movies. Many titles show up on previous horror movie lists I’ve made, but I have to point out two new film faves.
The first is Weapons and Amy Madigan’s Oscar winning role of Gladys, pure nightmare fuel, such brilliance. After the shock of realizing who the real villain in the story was, I was terrified every minute the red wigged clown face was on screen. I look forward to seeing more of her in upcoming Gladys sequel.
Oscar Winner Amy Madigan in Weapons, Warner Bros.
The other new movie is The Witch: Revenge, a low-budget indie horror from Ukraine, released in 2024 and set at the start of Putin’s invasion of Ukraine just two years prior, filmmakers actually collected uniforms of real Russian invaders and used them as costumes for their cast. While the bad guys are wildly over the top and their dialogue is on the nose, it’s not a stretch to believe the Russian army is mindlessly raping and killing innocent civilians. It’s a moody, atmospheric witch movie, and while not exactly a rousing crowd pleaser, these guys all deserved what was coming to them. This is a good little witch flick and it deserves more eyeballs.
The Witch: Revenge now showing on Tubi
13 witchy films you need to see right now!
Black Sunday (1960) Autopsy of Jane Doe (2016) Drag Me to Hell (2009) The Conjuring (2013) Gretel & Hansel (2020) The Last Witch Hunter (2015) The Witch: Revenge (2024) Hellbender (2021) The Blair Witch Project (1999) Suspiria (2023) Hereditary (2018) VVitch (2015) Weapons (2025)
Remember, there’s no going back once you cross a vengeful witch. Madness, mayhem, death and destruction are coming your way.
I wanted to pay a little tribute to the great horror icon Udo Kier, who passed away last month.
Udo Kier, the charming blue-eyed German actor with over 280 film credits across multiple countries, worked with every director under the sun, and starred in every type of genre movie you can think of, from arthouse cult classics to Marvel blockbusters. He was mostly a champion for small and independent foreign films, and a LGBTQ rights advocate.
Udo Kier and Jim Carrey from Ace Ventura Pet Detective 1994
Udo Kier made small movies and big movies. He loved making art. He was smart, funny, and understood the movie business. He understood sometimes you went in to make money, and only money, and sometimes you went in to make art, no matter what it cost.
Kier often played villains, weirdos or deviants, and his immense talent could elevate even the smallest roles. He once said “The villain is the character that people remember.” Udo Kier’s menacing villains will always be remembered by horror fans and filmgoers.
Severin Films has a great collection of enamel pins celebrating horror directors and horror stars of The Theatre Bizarre, a horror anthology from 2011, with wraparound segments featuring Udo Kier.
I think Blood of Dracula is one of Udo Kier’s best roles. This is autograph reprint is a great small gift for anyone who loves those old indie euro subculture films.
Blood for Dracula and Flesh for Frankenstein starring Udo Kier and Joe Dallesandro, directed by Paul Morrissey were arguably both actors’ most memorable films. Filmed in Italy, the films were repackaged and released in the US under Andy Warhol’s production company. This Italian box set looks amazing.
One of Udo Kier’s first roles was a supporting character in the infamous Hexen bis aufs Blut gequält a.k.a Mark of the Devil, a 1970 German knock-off of The Witchfinder General. This horror historical film was known for its realistic scenes of torture and violence towards women, and featured a marketing campaign that leaned in and promoted the film with the slogan “rated V for violence.” Theaters even handed out sick bags. It’s no wonder the filmed eventually got banned in England under the video nasty age and wasn’t publicly shown again until heavy cuts were made.
Udo Kier had a small but important role in Dario Argento’s 1977 classic Suspiria. As Dr. Mandel, Udo showed off his range. Yes, he was known for over-the-top villains, but he could tone it down when he needed to.
Brand New Blade Trilogy (Blu-ray, 2024) Exclusive Slipcover, Wesley Snipes, $26 (varies by eBay seller)
In Marvel comic book adaption of Blade starring Wesley Snipes and Stephen Dorff, Udo Kier had a small but fitting part playing Vampire Elder Dragonetti who butts heads with young rebel vampire Deacon Frost played by Dorff.
Udo Kier joined fellow scene chewers Willem Dafoe and John Malkovich for a spine-tingling movie about the filming of Nosferatu in 2000 Shadow of the Vampire.
Udo Kier and John Malkovich Shadow of the Vampire, 2000
Obviously, with 280 films, there’s no way I can post suggestions to all of Udo Kier’s movies, but he has starred in some pretty iconic films that would make cult-film lovers and horror fans mighty proud to have on their shelf. He worked with Lars von Trier and Gus Van Sant a lot, so be sure to check out all those titles.
Buyer Beware Warning: Be sure to check specs before purchasing any movie DVDs, as some of these are in PAL format and won’t play in the USA. You can find almost anything on Amazon, but I suggest shopping small and independent this holiday season.
Whether you’re joining the shopping boycott on Black Friday to send a message to oligarchs or just need to recharge and rest, Thanksgiving weekend is the perfect time for binging spooky TV shows. Here are ten of my favorites.
Castle Rock (Hulu)
The fictional town in Maine that serves as the terrifying locale for most of the stories in the Stephen King universe gets its own supernatural show produced by JJ Abrams’ Bad Robot. True to any Stephen King novel, it’s a dark, mysterious, creepy mind-bender, filled with compelling characters. Sadly, it only got two seasons. A real shame cuz I had so many questions…
The Strain (Hulu)
Back when the CDC were the good guys, the show about a doctor investigating a viral outbreak with ties to an ancient strain of the vampirism was created by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan based on their vampire trilogy. Hollywood superstar showrunner Carlton Cuse of Lost fame wrangled this thrilling action horror for four seasons on FX.
Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (Netflix)
Witches, warlock, humans, hobgoblins, old deities, and Satan, this ain’t your grandmama’s Sabrina. Forget the 90s WB sitcom, this is a much darker, scarier, and sexier show for Archie Comics breakout star.
Ash vs Evil Dead (Starz)
Evil Dead trilogy fans rejoiced when Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell brought their chainsaw-wielding hero and the Deadites to television for Starz in this action horror-comedy that squeaked out 3 seasons. It’s been 30 years since Ash left the Army of the Dead behind, working at Value Mart with his young friends Pablo and Kelly, drinking his lonely existence into oblivion and ignoring his responsibilities to protect the world until the evil dead come calling for the one that got away.
Stranger Things (Netflix)
Coming-of-age show about a group of friends investigating the disappearance of their friend and the supernatural acts happening in their small town of Hawkins, Indiana is Netflix’s most popular show. Season 5 premieres on November 26, so binging the first four seasons now is perfect timing.
The Haunting of Hill House (Netflix)
Mike Flanagan’s chilling first entry in the Haunting series for NetFlix was loosely based on Shirley Jackson’s 1959 novel of the same name. Part ghost story, part family drama, horror maestro Stephen King hailed Flanagan’s vision of Jackson’s story as brilliant. I guess that’s why King keeps agreeing to let the guy direct movies of his own novels.
Brand New Cherry Flavor (Netflix)
A mind binding thriller set in the 90s about young female filmmaker in Hollywood, whose career gets derailed after mixing it up with a catty bohemian witch. This limited series wasn’t supposed to go beyond 8 episodes, but fans can still dream.
Marianne (Netflix)
This smartly written and wonderfully acted French horror show created by Samuel Bodin about a writer haunted by an ancient evil witch only got one season, but that’s probably for the best, cuz it’s the scariest show on the list. It’s better to watch in French with English subtitles. Your eyes will be glued to the screen anyways.
Kingdom (Netflix)
Not quite Game of Thrones or The Walking Dead, this Korean gem is filled with colorful characters, political intrigue, and hordes of zombies. Based on a webtoon series The Kingdom of the Gods created by Kim Eun-hee and Yang Kyung-il, this Josean period action thriller was never officially canceled, so fans are still hoping for Season 3, despite the many years that have passed.
The Walking Dead (AMC)
I once read in a Hollywood rag, that studio execs believed no one wanted to watch a zombie TV show and it would be far too expensive to produce. 15 years and 8 spin off shows later, Robert Kirkman’s The Walking Dead franchise is still churning in some form, while knock off shows have come and gone. I believe it’s all due to the genius of Greg Nicotero and his special effects and make-up team. It’s the first, and the best zombie TV show ever produced, period. And, it totally proved the world loves zombies enough to watch them every week!
Happy Friday! Tonight’s Friday Fright Nightcap is The Bride’s Nightcap, a Midori and pear vodka cocktail in celebration of Frankenstein Friday.
Ingredients:
2 oz. Midori 2 oz. pear vodka .5 oz. Malibu (or white rum) .5 oz. Key West lime juice (or lime juice) 4 oz. lemonade
Mix ingredients well. Garnish with Maraschino cherries or fresh fruit. Serve chilled.
I got a little exotic using Malibu and Key West lime juice. Honestly, regular white rum and lime juice will work too. It’s a little sweet if you don’t add the lime juice and Isuppose regular vodka is fine too. F*** it, use what you got. Midori is the star of the show no matter how you dice it.
This is my last post in October. Such a bittersweet moment. I thank everyone who stopped by all 31 days this Halloween season!
Today’s Wicked Art Wednesday artist is goth legend Roman Dirge. I can’t believe it’s taken me this long to pay a tribute to the amazing creator of comic book series Lenore, the Cute Little Dead Girl and his own unique creepy gothic cute style.
Lenore reboot The Time War, variant issue #1 from January 2025
Why we love it: Magician turned goth artist and comic book creator who never gave up on his dreams on being an artist… we all should admire anyone who pursues their passions and creates a lane for themselves.
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