DVD Review - Make Your Own Scratch Built Corpse by Christian Hanson

I got this DVD right before Halloween. Corpse making has been something I have wanted to try, but I have never really had the time to do it.
I was browsing on the Halloween Forum and I came across this post. I then went to The Monster Closet and saw that the DVD was only $14.95 plus shipping (for a total of $19.90) I thought "well, for under $20 even if it sucks I can take the risk." I am so glad I did.
Here is Christian Hanson's bio (taken from his website):

Christian Hanson has had an interest in makeup effects since childhood, and became a serious student of the craft in the late '90s. He is the creator, designer and administrator of The Monster Lab, a popular online forum for FX artists (no longer online). He is currently working in the art/fabrication department of museum outfitter and design firm, sculpting animals and creating realistic environmental and educational displays. Over 2007, he invented a new process for creating corpse props and teamed up with filmmaker Sam Thompson to produce "Make Your Own Scratch Built Corpse" DVD. Make sure to check the "News" section for current work and updates. With each project, he aspires to the highest quality of realism, design and craftsmanship. Christian lives in his hometown of Minneapolis, Minnesota.
The DVD is of professional quality. It appears to be an actual DVD not pressed from a home publisher. The film quality is excellant. I had a question after I ordered it and within hours my e-mail was answered. So a thumbs up on customer service. The techniques that are discussed are ones that I have not seen before (and believe me I have scoured the internet and forums looking) and they are very clearly described and demonstrated. The dialogue between the cast on the movie is a bit cheesy, but for the information you get from the DVD it is easily over looked.

Here is the preview video that they have:

Ok, so here's the bottom line: This DVD is awesome. Even if you don't plan on making a corpse from it, the information given can easily go into other projetcs. I believe this is one of the must haves for haunters and for the price you really can't go wrong. Go get you a copy while you can.

Happy Haunting!!!!

~Bill

Book Review - How to Haunt Your House Book 2 by Shawn and Lynne Mitchell

My mother in law and brother in law got me this book for my birthday last month. I was so excited to get it.
This book is a professionally put together product. I know I've ranted before on how I dislike the home publisher jobs we get all too often. the pictures are detailed and clear (and large enough that you can actually see them). This is what I've come to expect from these two authors.
So to the "meat and potatoes" of the book. I think all of the projects that are in this volume are explained in enough detail that a novice can be successful in completing them. In fact, my 10 year old son is working on one of them now. (Page 20 "Tomb Cover") All of the steps are clearly outlined. The only thing that might have been helpful for my son would have been measurements and quantities. However, for our purposes we would have probably adjusted the dimensions anyway. To be honest that is really the only negative I could find, and that isn't really a negative is it?
   As with Book 1, this volume gets you thinking of ways to do things that you may not have thought of before. My wife calls it a more "artsy" way of haunting. that it seems to hint of theatrical scene design techniques. I would still like to see a DVD companion to this series.
I highly recommend this book to every home haunter. the argument is always why purchase a book when a lot of techniques are available for free on the internet? My answer is simple... these are tried and true methods that produce top quality results... Support your fellow home haunters and go out and get a copy of How to Haunt your House Book 2>>>
Happy Haunting!!!!
~Bill

Book Review - How to Build a Corpse by Di Stefano Productions

Sometime last September I was browsing a forum somewhere and there was a post about this website that had pictures of a baby with a corpse. So being the ever curious one that I am I immediately searched for it and found the website Corpses for Sale. As I looked around the site I remember thinking, "These are some realistic looking corpses if I ever have seen some."
On the site there isn't much about the author/corpse maker and at the time of my site viewing the site hadn't been updated since 2007. So in April of this year I sent an e-mail to the site asking if the book they offered was still available. I received a prompt reply that it in fact was still available. So my wife (the ever trooper that she is) sent the $24.45 ($19.95 + $4.50 p&h). A few days later, I received the book. As you can see from the picture, the book is put together a lot like Steve Hickman's series is. The book appears to be produced either from a home printer or at a Kinko's or store like that. My assumption is that these are word documents that have been printed and comb bound (like you would use one of these for http://www.binding.com/catalog.aspx?catid=plasticcombpunching ) The formatting does look good and the pictures in the book are clear. I would have prefered the pictures to have been color though. Now for my disclaimer: I have not tried any of the instructions in this book yet. With that said, it is definitely on my list of "when I have the time to do this I will". The book is divided in several "chapters" and they give clear and concise instructions on what to do. the author appears to have researched how the body looks and decays very extensively. The techniques in this book are unlike any of the other online instructions that I have seen for "corpsing" techniques. Some basic techniques for body casting are also included in the book. At the end of the book, there is a list of suppliers for some of the materials needed. I figured that if I followed the directions in the book exactly, I can build a very realistic looking corpse for about $60 out of pocket...
So the question... is this a must have item? No, not in my opinion. The corpsing techniques that you can find online for free will suffice for most. I do feel that for under $25 this was a good buy for me. I do, however recommend this for anyone that wants to bring the "realism" factor up a notch (or several) in their corpses.
Happy Haunting!!!
~Bill

Book Set Review - The DC Prop Builder's Handbook Volumes 1&2 by Brent Ross

I know, I know.... I promised this review over a month ago. I got this set for Christmas last year. (We actually called it Scarymas we even had a haunted tree.) I believe I started "wishing" for this set of books around the same time that I wanted Steve Hickman's series. I found them doing a websearch after seeing the DC Cemetery on the fearnet.com series "Route 666.. America's Scariest Home Haunts". It was really one of the first home haunts that made me pause a moment and say, "Wow... I want to try that..."
So you can purchase this set at DC Props. The author is Brent Ross from Mountain View, California. There's a good bio/history at the DC Cemetery site, so I won't give it here.

The books are well put together. I haven't decided if they are a "home publishing" job, but if they are it's a good job. My biggest gripe with the books are the pictures. I wish they would have been in color and maybe a little larger in some cases so I could see them better. I like the contents of the books; however, I do feel that some of the projects are beyond my skill level. Volume 1 has a nice section on static props. In fact, my original Cemetery Gates project was based off of the project in Volume 1. The instructions for each project are very clear and concise. They are also easy to follow. In my opinion, the Animated propsare from basic to what I consider advanced. I'm not sure I will ever attempt to make most of them, but I do find myself seriously considering the pipe organ. Volume 2 has really great info on Pneumatics & Computer controls. Again, I think the projects in this volume is more advanced than I am able to tackle, but it definitely gives the reader all the info needed to begin their journey towards pneumatic prop building. (I'm just not sure if that's what I want to do yet.)
So I think this set is a must have set for the serious Home Haunter/Prop Builder. It is jam packed with information that is valuable for both the novice and the more advanced builder. Also, if you don't have the time to build the pneumatic lifters, erectors, movers, etc you can purchase them already built from DC Props website.

Happy Haunting ....
~Bill

DVD Review - Bad Boys Scenic Design: Styrofoam Masons

Ok, I finally received it from the “How to” rental site. It was worth the wait in my opinion. I first ran across Bad Boys Scenic Design about a year and a half ago. I was on one of the haunt forums and there was a post about them so I googled them. And I was impressed with what they do.


I’ll start with the technical aspects of the video. It seemed put together well. If I had to guess, it looks like it is a “home-made” video that was created with a DVD creating software. The video quality is good to excellent, meaning that you can see the details of what they are trying to show. I would have liked the audio to have been recorded a little “hotter” because I had to turn the volume up a bit so I could hear it. (But that could be because I am constantly in a noisy environment and I could be losing some of my hearing.) My wife however, agreed that the narrator was a bit soft spoken; however, my 12 year old said she heard everything perfectly fine. The DVD has menu’s and all and if I would have purchased it (verses rented) I would have little complaints about the quality of the audio/video.

As far as the content, it is exactly what I needed and hoped for. I am a visual person so seeing these techniques being done was a huge help for me. Like with a lot of home haunt techniques, I had read about these techniques on several of the forums but seeing it in “action” solidified things for me and I feel I can confidently move forward with some projects involving Styrofoam. What my wife liked about the video was that it gave her enough of a base level of knowledge that she feels confident that she can expand the techniques with experimentation. I appreciated some of the safety warnings… and my wife and I both laughed when we were told to use a respirator when using acetone only to see the guy in the video not use one…

So bottom line, if you can get a hold of this video it is a must have for the beginner foam mason. It describes what I feel are essential basics for a beginner. I would love to see another video from them with some more advanced techniques…

Revised Book Review - How to Haunt Your House by Shawn & Lynne Mitchell

So after reviewing Steve Hickman's series I decided I didn't really do a good review on this book. So since I make the rules here I am going to re-do my reveiw :)
As I said before I got this book for Christmas. The first time I heard of this book was shortly after watching an On Demand video of Fearnet.com's 2007 series "Route 666.. America's Scariest Home Haunts" featuring "The Mitchell Cemetery" created by Shawn & Lynne Mitchell in Pensacola, Fl. So after seeing this short video I thought "I wonder if they have a website that will share how they do some of the stuff they do...I stumbled across the website How to Haunt your House and realized that they have something much better than a how to section of a website they have a book!! This is another book I had wanted for a while. (And yes, my wife made me hold off on getting it because it would be a great present from the kids for my birthday or Christmas.)
I've already mentioned that the "Mitchell Cemetery" was a feature haunt on Fearnet.com's 2007 series "Route 666.. America's Scariest Home Haunts". They were also a finalist for the Haunt X Awards Best Yard Haunt 2007. You can imagine how excited I was when the offer to be promoted and transfer to Pensacola was given to me... Is it sad that one of the deciding factors for me was that I would be able to see this home haunt in person???
First the things I like about this book... It is an actual book!!! the formatting is excellant.. I found no editing errors... the pictures are very clear and colorful... From a book stand point it is well put together and is professionally done. (Which is what I expect when I purchase a book for $35.) It is clear cut and easy to follow. So easy that my 9 year old son was able to follow the instructions on how to Marbalize props and successfully do it.
Okay, now the negative.... I wanted more info...yes I know I'm greedy, but it is brilliant of the authors as I now will have to buy any additional volumes they come out with.
I would love to see a DVD companion maybe of them demonstrating some of the techniques. I don't know how cost effective that would be but I like to "see" how things are done.

For me, more than anything, it provided several ideas on how to take my yard haunt to the next level. I recommend this book to anyone that is serious about their yard haunt or halloween party. Would I buy this book again?? Absolutely I can't wait to see more from these two talented individuals.
Thanks for reading....
Bill

Book & DVD Review - Home Haunter's Prop Building Complete How to Package by Steve Hickman

So I got this set about 3 months ago. I think I started wanting this one in 2008 but my wife held off on getting it for me. (My A.D.D. tends to make me go all out on an interest to the point that I get burnt out quickly and soon move on. My wife wanted to see if my "obsession" with Halloween and Home Haunting would last... It did and has....)
So this set is 5 "handbooks" and 5 DVD's. You purchase them from Terror Syndicate . The Author is Steve Hickman. My wife had originally told me she would only allow me the books, but due to an error she made when ordering I lucked out and ended up getting the books and the DVD's. (So be careful when you order. It's real easy to order the DVD's instead of the books. And understandably, there's no refunds) The customer service was great. And we received the books and the DVD's in a very timely manner.Steve also included a one of his CD's (Terror Syndicate's Dark Soundscapes 5) with the order as a "little something extra" which eased the pain of the error we made. This also sealed the decision that I would be willing to order from him again.
So I'm going to start off with the books and the negative things. I guess my biggest gripe is a trend I have seen. The handbooks appear to be produced either from a home printer or at a Kinko's or store like that. Also the formatting could be better. My assumption is that these are word documents that have been printed and comb bound (like you would use one of these for http://www.binding.com/catalog.aspx?catid=plasticcombpunching) In several places it looks like the formatting is off as pictures cover up some of the text. For $30 a volume or $140 for the series I would have liked to have seen them be an actual book. Some of the techniques described have been frowned upon (i.e. using pvc piping for pneumatic cylinders, etc). Now for the good stuff... There's a lot of great ideas in the books and a lot of information that someone just starting out can benefit from.
The DVD's are produced from what looks like Steve's Garage or workshop and are low budget. They are burnt from a home computer. again for the price of $30 a disk or $140 for the series I would have liked to have seen them be of better quality. The pluses...I like Steve... he has some ideas on the DVD's that are not in the handbooks.
So bottom line... most of the info covered in this series you can find already on the internet for free... in fact before I got the series I had found a lot of it. (I just didn't realize it because I didn't know what was really in the books and on the DVD's) Would I buy them again?
Probably not. Am I glad I did buy them? Yes, because I helped a home haunter...
'Til next time....
Bill

Book Review - How to Haunt your House by Shawn & Lynne Mitchell

I received this book for Christmas and I've decided it's time to give it a review. (Even though no one reads my blog.)
The authors Shawn & Lynne Mitchell the creators of "The Mitchell Cemetery" in Pensacola, Fl. They were a feature haunt on Fearnet.com's 2007 series "Route 666.. America's Scariest Home Haunts" and were a finalist for the Haunt X Awards Best Yard Haunt 2007.
The book is very well put together. It has great pictures and clear cut easy to follow instructions. For me, more than anything, it provided several ideas on how to take my yard haunt to the next level. I recommend this book to anyone that is serious about their yard haunt or halloween party.