A death in the HMT family.

It's with great sadness that we must report the passing of Matthew "Puma" Goddu. "The Giant Puma" as many of his friends knew him was a very special person. He was an incredible Son, Brother, Dad, husband and true friend to so many.

Matthew approached me about helping out on the blog last year and I was extremely excited to have my wrestling brother "Puma" as a contributor to the site. He was a passionate person who's word was his bond. His reviews were exactly what I was looking for.

Matthew brought to the table his love of the movies he grew up with and the memories surrounding those times when he first discovered them. He was one of our strongest supporters and I'm extremely proud of his contributions. We shared a lot of interests including professional wrestling which is how we first met. I had the honor of officiating many of his independent wrestling matches through an organization called the USWF in Rhode Island. He was a bright and intelligent person who could write beautifully. He was also a giant of a man who could hold his own in the ring or on the street.
He was one of a kind.

My prayers and thoughts go out to his family, friends and loved ones. To me "Puma" was not only a friend but someone I could look up to for guidance and support. He will be greatly missed and I hope that whatever we accomplish in the future will honor his memory.

Today's Listen of the Day! goes out to Puma. May we see you on the other side brother!

Puma's Horror Movie Review - The Lost Boys

 THE LOST BOYS

Release Date - July 31st, 1987

Directed by Joel Schumacher

Primary Actors: Jason Patric, Corey Haim, Kiefer Sutherland, Jami Gertz, Corey Feldman, Dianne Wiest, Edward Herrmann, Alex Winter, Jamison Newlander, and Barnard Hughes.

   Welcome back to another addition of Puma's Horror Movie review and if you're like me, your thankful for the fact that by end of this treacherous holiday season, there might just be a few good horror flicks in your stocking. Growing up in the 1980's, there were so many different choices of films you could actually get excited about. Nowadays, they're few and far between. Hollywood seems to have no idea what to do with the genre, they just continue to insult our intelligence by remaking or rehashing the same shit we saw thirty years ago. All the greats, ruined by a generation owned by Jk Rowling. I'm sorry but my world is not fifty shades of twilight. They've ruined my youth seemingly without ever looking back at what made that time so great, originality. Yes all of the great films have fallen, except one.

Sam & Michael

   In 1987 a movie came out that would change the landscape of horror to pop culture forever. Directed by Joel Schumacher, The Lost Boys is a story about two brothers who, with their mother, move from Arizona to Santa Carla California to live with their grandfather and get a fresh start. Upon arriving they quickly realize they're out of their element and have settled down as to what the locals affectionately refer to as "The Murder Capitol Of The World". Sam and Michael, played by Corey Haim and Jason Patrick, decide to not be confined to their grandfather's old school ways and venture out separately to seek a reprieve and find excitement. Little do they know its more then they bargained for. Sam stumbles upon a comic book store run by a bunch of washed out hippies and their sons, known as the The Frog Brothers. As Sam grazes through the selection of high colored prints, the Frogs try to inject some local folklore into the meeting by introducing Sam to a stack of horror comics that Edgar, played by Cory Feldman, claims could one day save his life.

David

    Meanwhile, Sam's older brother Michael is busy venturing the boardwalk when he meets a beautiful girl named Star, played by Jaime Gertz. Star and Michael flirt as they walk along until David, played by Keifer Sutherland and his group of young misfits show up and challenge Michael to a race to the bluffs. Michael accepts and nearly comes close to losing his life, which seems to excite and impress David, who then invites Michael back to the gangs hide out for some heavily needed libations. He is courted and mesmerized by the power of freedom shown by these lost boys and is eventually offered some wine to drink, which Star tells him is blood. Not to be denied the good time, Michael drinks the wine and finds himself drifting further into a euphoric state of mind body and soul. When he awakes the next morning he finds that his body's weak and the sunlight seems to bring pain to his eyes. Unbeknownst to him, Michael has joined the ranks of the undead, almost.With the help of Sam and his new friends, The Frog brothers, Michael is determined to undo this curse and seek out and destroy the coven of bloodsuckers that made him this way.

   Lost Boys became an instant classic now and forever. With a who's who of a cast and action packed terror, what's not to love about this movie? Lost Boys takes me to several different places and was the integral film that helped me seal the deal with my wife. If you've never seen it, see it!

Puma's Horror Movie Review

Nightmare on Elm Street

Release Date - 1984

Directed by Wes Craven
Primary Actors: Heather Langenkamp, Robert Englund & Johnny Depp

    Welcome to the second edition of Puma's Horror Movie Review. It's the most wonderful time of the year, a time when the abnormal becomes normal, when the streets are blanketed with the colors of its autumnal shed and when night arrives, ghosts and goblins make this world their own. If you're like me, you can't wait for Halloween night and that means you've already decided what movies to watch. If not let me make a suggestion: Why not try out the original Nightmare On Elms St. If you've seen it, no explanation necessary. You know this movie delivers on all levels. However if you just crawled out of a bad whirlwind of Disney musicals, then sit back and allow your Uncle Poomz to enlighten you on a movie so scary it'll haunt you, even in your dreams.
    In 1984 New Line Cinema greenlighted an independent film based off of the night terrors director Wes Craven had after reading about a boy who was so afraid to fall asleep he took an overabundance of no doze and hid a coffee pot in his closet only to later be forced by his parents to go get some real sleep.When he adhered, they found him dead the next morning. Craven relished at the theory that something in this boys dreams possibly was terrorizing him and keeping him from wanting to sleep. "Nightmare" centers on a group of normal teenagers slowly coming to grips with the fact that everyone has nightmares, but in their dreams they share something in common.
  A dark figure that reaches deep into their psychological canvas and paints his own reality with their blood. Ultimately in doing this he then can manipulate them and take their souls. The teens come up with a plan to figure out, Who is this dark, burnfaced oppressor of sleep and what does he want with them before he picks off the rest?

  One by one the children of Elm St. fight the good fight but ultimately meet their demise with the exception of our heroine Nancy, played by Heather Langenkamp. She dives deep into the history of the evil that raids her sleep and murdered her friends. She comes to find the towns dirty secret unveils some twenty years before a witch hunt for a child killer named Fred Krueger turned into a vigilante homicide by chasing Krueger down and setting him on fire. Now he's come back to claim the lives of all the children of the original mob. Freddy's rebirth will only allow him to catch them in their sleep. Once Nancy figures out the pieces of the puzzle, she then devises a plan to capture and kill the monster. Will Nancy endure and survive the night or will she be last of the Elm st children? Either way she'll have to stay awake to survive the Nightmare on Elm st. This film went on to produce seven sequels but none with a dark gritty feel as the first. Nightmare has stood the test of time as far as original terror. Please watch and see for yourself just try and stay awake.

Puma's Horror Movie Review

 

 

THE EVIL DEAD

Release Date - 1981

Directed & Written by Sam Raimi

Executive Producers - Sam Raimi & Bruce Campbell

   Welcome everyone to our first edition of Puma's horror movie review. Today and from here on out we want to talk about some of best horror flicks we've ever seen, and of course some of the worst. Remember this is just my opinion. Who am I? I'm a 34 year old horror movie maniac. I lived throughout the best years in the industry trying to collect and watch everything out there available to me, from Halloween to I spit on your grave. I survived the rebirth of horror in the nineties, with the Scream and I know what you did series. I've also had to endure the recent remake phenomenon. I've seen enough to give a quality opinion and hope you share it with me.

SEE BELOW - Within The Woods - Sam Raimi's Original short film that served as a prototype for The Evil Dead

   

  Tonight's review will be based on a movie that changed the face of horror early on. The original Evil Dead came out in October of 1981, a time when the new wave of horror was being taken very seriously in an industry that no one takes seriously to begin with. Horror was always looked at as the bastard child, court jester of film. Sam Raimi's The Evil Dead not only explicitly grabbed you with a gore soaked toe to toe fight with itself(and I'm sure it's budget), but it also brings you the type of tongue in cheek humor that kicks you in the balls. Bruce Campbell is the perfect lead in this film and the two sequels(Evil Dead 2 and Army of Darkness) that followed. His ability to make you believe in his fear just enough that even he realizes how absurd and campy the situation he's been put in, is flawless. The physical comedy he omits helps you ask the question, how far would you go to survive in that environment, in that situation? Me? I would have never read from the book in the first place. However, if they never did, we would have never known of the Evil Dead.

   If your more familiar with the recent remake, I implore you, please watch the original. The remake I enjoyed, however, this is one of those rare films where the original people who had a hand in the 1981 version came in to adapt the remake, including Sam Raimi. I'll always be a fan of horror new, old, however the older I get the harder it gets to scare or make me see something original. Hence the reason I enjoy the throwbacks. I'll never be four year's old, sitting on my grandmother's couch again but I'll remember the fear that some of these films made me feel. I hope some of you feel the same. Until next time, bolt your windows, lock your doors, check your closets because you never know what lurks behind.