The weirdly male, 50's-ish monster-kid-oriented Rondo Awards are happening yet again, and while no one really knows who would nominate almost unheard-of blogs like Obscure Hollow (really? last review on Dec 20, 2009? Is it abandoned?) or newbies like Dollar Bin Horror (seriously? two-paragraph, badly-written reviews?) there are some women nominated who really deserve a look before you vote!
First off is our pick for best blog, Final Girl, run by staff contributor Stacie Ponder. Funny, mostly sarcastic, silly, and much more enjoyable than the films reviewed, Final Girl has our official endorsement. There are also surprising nominees for best article, best TV episode, and more that you need to check out before you vote because they show that women have taken a really effective part in this year's horror phenomenon...
For TV: MEDIUM, 'Bite Me,' CBS, 10.30.09. Allison's nightmares throw her into scenes from 'Night of the Living Dead.' Elvira guest stars. 'I'm not sure I like what this black-and-white is doing to my skin.'
Best film restoration: MESSIAH OF EVIL: THE SECOND COMING (1973). Restored, Techniscope transfer. Directed by little-known Gloria Katz.
Best new DVD: AMERICAN SCARY, finally on DVD, co-directed by John Hudgens and Sandy Clark, it highlight dozens of horror hosts old and new.
Best Book: GRAND DAME GUIGNOL CINEMA: A History of Hag Horror from 'Baby Jane' to 'Mother,' by Peter Shelley. How mother complexes, and aging actresses, found work. Written by a man, strong enough for a woman.
Best magazine article: 'The Bad Moon Rises Again,' by Jason Lapeyre and Jovanka Vuckovic (with Brice McVicar). RUE MORGUE #93. A retrospective on the making and influence of An American Werewolf in London.
While we'd love to see more women nominated for articles, we're delighted that Rondo has expanded into modern horror, where more women spend their horror-oriented efforts.
I couldn't agree more that Final Girl deserves best blog. Stacie is absolutely brilliant. Every review is better than the last, and her sense of humor is top notch.
I don't think Dollar Bin Horror deserves to be put down like that though. I'm not saying that it deserves to win, but Rhonda is a sweet girl and she has a lot of enthusiasm for the genre.
I don't know Rhonda, but her writing is juvenile and she doesn't actually add anything to her reviews except an 'I like it' or 'don't like it'. And since I don't know who she is, that isn't really interesting to read. That's all. I think Stacie is a superior writer with a great deal of wit and film knowledge, and the fact that Rhonda was nominated is a mystery to me that shall be solved only by saying 'someone who is her friend nominated her'.
By the way, I was putting down Rhonda's blog, not Rhonda as a human being, just to be clear.
I feel that the sites they got right, they got VERY right. The sites they got wrong, they got VERY wrong. They overlooked a ton of amazing sites in favor of ones that don't deserve to be there.
The ones they got wrong aren't even close to a classic site. At all. Like, I didn't expect to be nominated because I'm not a classic site, but the blogs nominated I don't agree with aren't classic either, and then the ones that aren't classic that got nominated aren't particularly well written either. *scratches head*
I must agree with Rhonda that my post was 'just plain rude', so to show her how sorry I am, I would like to offer my services as a grammar coach. First, let's start with this last post of hers, in which I will italicize everything that is grammatically incorrect, a run-on sentence, and that needs to be corrected in order to be taken seriously:
Quote:
Today, I heard about a post on Pretty-Scary that I could not believe what I read. Heidi, the author of said article, apparently has a problem with the fact that I was nominated for a Rondo award. Look, If you don't like my blog, fine, I'm sure a lot of people don't, but to post such a negative and hateful comment about it is just plain rude. "Dollar Bin Horror (seriously? two-paragraph, badly-written reviews?)" Really Heidi, if you don't think I deserve the nomination, thats cool, I'm sure your not alone, but to outright bash my blog just shows how classless and thoughtless you can be. I write short reviews because not everyone wants to sit down to read a ten paragraph review, they wanna know if it's good or bad and why, period. If you think there badly written,thats on you, the readers of DBH like what I write and thatsall that matters to me. I know that not everyone's gonna like this blog, but to outright bash it is not only offensive and disrespectful to me, but to the readers of the blog. I find it ironic that the author of Pretty-Scary could be so Ugly with her words....
I would also like to thank Rhonda for the numerous links to Pretty/Scary she placed everywhere, and the shout-out.
I'd also like to correct the grammar for her comment on this same article, as an added bonus favor of friendship:
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but when someone insults me or all the work I've put into this blog, Imma speak up and defend it! To be honest, I like Pretty-Scary, I just think Heidi needs to think before she types [I just thought that was funny - Heidi] and stop hating on everything...The Ms Horror Blogosphere, The interview on Fatally-yours with Fascination with Fear, and now me! [run-on sentence - Heidi] She just makes herself sound so bitter, like she needs to start shit in order to get attention, and yeah I fed into it by responding, but dammit Imma stand up for my blog and myself!
I'd also like to draw attention to the wonderful comment from Alleata Illusion who gracefully defends her friend.
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Here we go again with Heidi bashing yet another good independent horror blog. I'm sick of the negativity being written by this (I'm gonna say it) Dumb Bitch. [Heidi's note - dumb bitch should not be capitalized here] The only thing she does is cry about other people's blog when she should be supporting others. Especially the female side of horror, now isn't that what her website promotes? Come on now...she's a joke. Someone seriously needs to knock her down a peg and by that I do mean meet her in person and punch her in the face! Yeah, I had to be a blunt about it. Rhonny your blog is awesome and keep doin what your doin!
Thanks Illeata! Anytime you would like my help with your bad grammar, I am here to help you too.
To answer these concerns, I do not promote everything created by females. I have a few minor standards. I also have a right to say that Rhonda's blog is written poorly, and that doesn't mean I do not support women. Understand that I am going to speak the truth about people's writing abilities and not support them 'just because' they have vaginas. By the way, I did endorse a blog written by a woman - Final Girl.
And I seriously doubt I will be supportive of a blog that threatens to punch me in the face, for future reference.
First of all Heidi I want to start out by saying that I do respect you and what you have done, don't think that I don't. That being said (like I said on Twitter to you) I don't understand why you feel the need to rip people to make your point.
Your are more than entitled to your very own opinion and have all the rights in the world to express them but why not do it in a more respectful manner than the path you keep taking with a number of subjects?
You're 30 woman not 13, why don't you feel the need to act like it? For a lady that is suppose to represent all women in horror yet you sure do seem to have a weird way of showing it.
I was always given the impression that you were above this type of stuff but sadly I think that has proven to be wrong.
I do not see why criticizing a blog's consistent grammatical errors is wrong when that blog is nominated for an award for writing.
If saying Rhonda writes grammatically-incorrect, two-paragraph reviews is 'bashing' her, then I'd like to know what I am supposed to say. I defy anyone to prove that she writes grammatically-correct reviews that are rich with information.
Rhonda has a limited writing ability and compared to the dozens of other horror blogs out there, it isn't worthy of being nominated for a Rondo. In my opinion.
Why does this anger people to the point that they need to publicly threaten me physically? Don't you agree that those reactions are a bit extreme?
By the way, Chuck, you are not always respectful yourself, on your blog, of other's feelings. And I don't think you NEED to be. It is your blog. You have a right to accuse me of PMS if you want, and I have a right to respond, and that's okay. We can engage in a friendly, lively rivalry and disagree about many issues. That is one of the best things about the Internet.
Some horror bloggers get so offended by my mild criticisms to the point of violent threats, and that's just plain weird. And frankly, it is funny.
It is also funny that Rhonda, who does nothing to promote women in horror except have a vagina, accuses me of not promoting women in horror when that doesn't seem to be a big concern of hers. Maybe if she'd practice her writing ability instead of expecting instant and complete loyalty from anyone and everyone who likes horror, she'd have a better argument. But I reserve the right to have standards relating to the quality of blogs I promote.
Rhonda has a limited writing ability and compared to the dozens of other horror blogs out there, it isn't worthy of being nominated for a Rondo. In my opinion.
Why does this anger people to the point that they need to publicly threaten me physically? Don't you agree that those reactions are a bit extreme?
Anyone who tries to set a tough front and threaten violence is obviously overcompensating for being on the losing side of a debate.
"The weirdly male, 50's-ish monster-kid-oriented Rondo Awards are happening yet again..."
Why "weirdly" male? The largest segment of fans of OLD horror movies (i.e. the "classic" part of "The Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Awards") are probably men who grew up in the monster craze days of the late Fifties through the Sixties, a time when horror-hosted programs and monster magazines were being avidly consumed by boys and teenage males. How many subjects have equal proportions of fans of both genders, ESPECIALLY for older stuff?
As to Obscure Hollow, the woman who runs that blog may have run into personal problems that keep her from blogging now. I don't know, but I do know that last year she kept up the blog, and it's last year's output that is nominated. Obscure Hollow has done a great job of getting attention to the superior work of the set designers, prop, lighting and decor people who worked on classic horror films. I thinks she fills a niche very well, getting readers to see more closely the quality of the backgrounds seen in film.
I agree with you on other points, and certainly Final Girl is a fantastically funny, smart blog.
Merryme, I think you misunderstood what I meant by 'weirdly male'. It isn't weird that the majority of monster kids are all male - rather, the majority of these men who are fans happen also to be 'weird' people. That's a personal assessment from me about the ones I have known. Those tend to obsess on a particular monster, or say, force me to watch 20 terrible, boring films that I hate that are arguably badly made, poorly acted, lacking in humor, and sheer agony for me on an indescribable level, despite my protests. I also think it is odd that those particular 'Monster Kids' can't seem to relate to anyone else except in the capacity of their jobs. I'm sure they aren't like every single monster kid ever, but those are the only ones I have met.
So, I consider these guys 'weird'. Sorry about the confusion.
Well, hopefully Obscure Hollow's author is all right. In any case, when people check out the blog for voting purposes, as they will if they haven't heard of it before, they will be disappointed by the lack of recent content, even if voting is based on 2009's content alone.
Thanks for making the "weirdly male" sentence more clear.
Your assessment of the guys who make up the majority of the participating members of the Classic Horror Film Board seems a bit overreaching, but hey-- we all go with our own observations. Jovanka Vuckovic-- who'd be a good write-in for "Monster Kid of the Year"-- knows those folks and might disagree with you. But I can't speak for her. That's just my guess.
I hope no one will judge a blog's efforts by anything other than what is posted in the year being considered. Otherwise any blog that stopped due to the death or incapacitation of its owner would be skipped over for consideration. That would send the message "no matter how good your blog is, if you croak before the ballot comes out we can't honor you." That would more disappointing to bloggers and voters, I think.
The Classic Horror Film Board is alright with me. I posted there for a time and found them to be really nice and knowledgeable people. It's a good board.
Jovanka's no Monster Kid - Monster Kid's do not advocate horror after, like, the Hammer films of the 1960's. Everything they think about and do and create is somewhow based on the classic monsters someone else created first.
Okay, yes, I acknowledge my prejudice.
But the fact that Jovanka can stomach horror from recent years automatically makes her not a Monster Kid, in my book.
I think Jovanka combines a love of past horror movies with an appreciation of contemporary horror film. Her editorship of Rue Morgue shows this. It endeared her to people of different generations.
I think the voters of the Rondo Awards appreciate her. RM got four Rondos last year.
The term "Monster Kid" does refer to monster movie fans of a certain generation, but I think the meaning is expanding to mean anyone with a passion for classic horror films.
I love silent horror, myself. (ugh, except Vampyr) but can't stand many of the classic horror movies, with the exception of Frankenstein. And even that isn't really that great. The whoe Mummy franchise is quite possibly the worst franchise in film history.
Firstly, so funny that you should mention Vampyr--I've always found that one to be a crushing bore as well, and I generally enjoy silent horror. As for the Universal stuff, I find most of the 1930s movies to be pretty terrific, especially the first two Frankenstein films. As for the '40s Mummy movies, yes they're campy and low-rent, but they are definitely guilty pleasures of mine--I just find them so much fun.
But yeah, the whole thing is subjective anyway. Everyone has their prejudices--in my case, I have very little patience for most "classic" slasher flicks of the late '70s and '80s. I find them tedious, formulaic and cynical, and I usually feel like I'm in the minority in that opinion.
On the Monster Kid issue, I have no doubt you've run into a few real "winners" in your time lol--and that's colored your perception of them. However, not that it needs mentioning, but they're not all that way. My dad fits totally into the Monster Kid age demo, he loved all that classic stuff, but he also continues to be a huge horror fan right up to the present day. He probably likes even more of the contemporary stuff than me lol
Also, the Classic Horror Film Board may indeed be slanted toward an older male group of fans, but I do have to say that in my experience it's one of the most fun, easy-going and friendly horror message boards I've ever been to. Most of them, which shall remain nameless, tend to devolve into ridiculously hostile, immature comments from pimply-faced jokers living in their parents' basement.
Anyway, great post. Rondo time is getting close--I'm excited! I wish Stacie the best of luck--don't wanna jinx it, but she's got to be one of the heavy favorites to win! Or at least, as the highest profile horror blogger of them all, she should be.
"...she's got to be one of the heavy favorites to win!"
BRIAN ARE YOU CALLING ME FAT?
;p
Just kidding. And I really appreciate the well-wishes and send them back. While it really is an honor to be nominated, the blog category is strange- I mean, Final Girl rarely touches on 'classic horror' of the silent/Universal type. I intend to work more into this year's slew of reviews, but in general my blog is about...mmm, slashers, I guess. Or it used to be- I'm not sure it has a single focus anymore or not. I don't know if that's good or bad.
Of course, if the nominees were strictly in the vein of 'classic horror', then the pool would be much smaller. If anyone fits the bill, really, it's Frankensteinia- I know a lot of people are pulling for it to win!
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Final Girl is my business and my business is good.
The weirdly male, 50's-ish monster-kid-oriented 
I couldn't agree more that Final Girl deserves best blog. Stacie is absolutely brilliant. Every review is better than the last, and her sense of humor is top notch.
I don't think Dollar Bin Horror deserves to be put down like that though. I'm not saying that it deserves to win, but Rhonda is a sweet girl and she has a lot of enthusiasm for the genre.