Misc
Calling all Kaiju Lovers of the Northeast!
Something colossal is coming to Brooklyn for another year of monster mayhem!
Community might be the best thing to come out of fandom, and when it comes to Kaiju, I know exactly where to find your fix. Kaiju Brooklyn is a new grassroots convention that celebrates everything in the realm of Japanese monsters, the art, and the mayhem. With only a single year under its belt, Kaiju Brooklyn has already proved to be 100% for us, and 100% by us.
The convention has a stacked lineup of programming across Industry City, including panel discussions with kaiju filmmakers, veteran toy collectors, seasoned artists, and dedicated creators like Aaimz Tako and RX Superstar. You’ll definitely find me listening in on A Tale of Two Godzillas with filmmaker Yoko Higuchi and FX artist Will Caban as they discuss their time working on Shin Godzilla (my personal favorite).
But that’s not all. The celebration creates a safe space for Kaiju culture with outdoor screenings, and by highlighting cosplayers, local artists, and “the backbone of the Kaiju fandom”, the Japanese toys and collectibles are well worth wasting your atomic breath on.
A Quick Interview With Kaiju Brooklyn Founder John Belotti Jr.
I got the opportunity to speak with John Belotti Jr, also known as Robo7 Art, who founded Kaiju Brooklyn, a staple of the northeast Kaiju community.
Xero Gravity: What is your personal Kaiju origin story? What introduced you to the genre?
John Belotti Jr: I’ve been watching Kaiju and Kung-fu movies since I was a kid when they used to come on TV every weekend. I was the only kid in my class watching Asian sci-fi and action films while my friends were watching Star Wars stuff. So, I’ve been indoctrinated with this stuff forever! Like every kid, I grew up loving dinosaurs, and lo and behold, on TV were giant dinosaur-like monsters fighting and destroying cities!
XG: How did the inception of Kaiju Brooklyn come about?
JB: I’ve been doing Kaiju fan art since 2015. Since then, I’ve sold my prints of my art at conventions all across the country. Two years ago, my friend Seismic Toys and I set up tables at The Japan Society where we were able to sell my artwork along with his toys before a screening of the original Mothra movie. We had such great success that we felt there was a ripe market for some sort of Kaiju themed event, but we just didn’t know where to do it.
I got the license to make Ultraman T-shirts with my artwork that same year, and because of the timing, I missed all the big conventions around NYC. I got excited because I really wanted to sell these shirts but I had no local venue to do so. I approached Japan Village in Industry City about doing something on the second floor, maybe setting up a table on a weekend and just selling my shirts, but it went nowhere. This is when the stars aligned for me. Around June 2023, a friend of mine who works at Industry City mentioned that a friend of his opened up a theater space just a month earlier next to St Mark’s Comics and was looking to do events there. I went over to meet Anthony of bkONE Productions and pitched him the idea of collaborating on a Kaiju themed convention. He immediately wanted to work with me, which was kind of amazing!
I would also like to preface this with another event that shaped the creation of the show; I work on movies and TV in New York. When the writers and actors went on strike last summer, I was left with a huge amount of time to get this thing off the ground. So as you can see, there were a whole lot of different events coalescing in my life at the same time!
XG: Kaiju Brooklyn has grown exponentially in only its second year. After a killer year 1, in what ways were you able to expand for year 2?
JB: We were so blown away by the reception for the first show that we knew we had to do it again. We were highly aware of the original show’s shortcomings: lack of panels, proper cosplay contest, and more. We only had two months to prepare for the first show, so we had no time to do much else. This time we gave ourselves six months to prepare and incorporate all the ideas we had for the original show, including panels inside the different bars and venues around Industry City as well as an art gallery for myself! We’re also doing a pretty big cosplay contest sponsored by St. Marks Comics!
On top of that, we have so many wonderful collaborators this year aside from who I mentioned, including Tsuburaya Productions, which owns the Ultraman characters, and Mill Creek Entertainment who have brought all the Ultraman media to fans in the West. We are doing an Ultraman themed VIP party the night before the con at Brooklyn Kura sake distillery with a DJ, a special Ultraman panel from the good people at Ultraman Connection and a screening of the first Ultraman Belial and Zero movie!
XG: Please brag a little bit. What are you most proud to have accomplished with the Kaiju Brooklyn group? Is there anything you are looking forward to in the years to come?
JB: I was 100% confident that the first show would be a success. I’m so proud that my instincts were correct. People thanked me for creating this event and bringing a taste of Kaiju into their backyard. That was incredibly surreal to hear from random people as well as friends. On top of all this, all of the vendors and artists did incredibly well- that really brought it home for me.
In the years to come, I’m looking forward to continuing to build a good support team because I want the show to get bigger, but I can’t do it alone. Right now we are slowly building that with some really good people who want to see us grow. My goal is to move the show to a two- and possibly three-day event in a larger space with multiple screenings and panels. I also want to have an Ultraman stage performance show at our event as well as exclusive toys and merchandise.
XG: Over at Horror Press, we’re running with “Monster MAYhem” as our theme for the rest of the month. Give the people some homework! Can you recommend a piece of Kaiju media that the fandom should have crossed off their lists?
JB: Sure! The OG film that started it all: Gojira. Also, Mothra vs Godzilla, Monster Zero, Godzilla 85, GMK, the 90’s Gamera movies and for sure Godzilla Minus One! For Ultraman, the original show, Ultraseven, Ultraman Tiga, Gaia, Max, Nexus, Zett and Blazar.
If You’re in the Area Get Your Tickets to Kaiju Brooklyn Now!
Kaiju Brooklyn 2 takes place from the evening of May 31st to June 1st at the Tom Kane Theater in Industry City. The celebration is sure to be an event with a spirit much larger than any naturally occurring threat to your city. Tickets start at $25 and are available now! For the Kaiju family outside of the northeast- stay tuned to Horror Press on social media for on site convention coverage.
Stephen King probably has the most iconic mix of villains of any horror creator. Yes, Wes Craven has both Krueger and Ghostface, and John Carpenter has Michael Myers and the blue-skull aliens, but let’s be real. King comes out on top for his sheer variety of colorful, nightmare-inducing, iconic, sexy characters.
Hold up, did I say sexy? That can’t be right. Oh…it seems I did, and that can only mean one thing: a smash or pass ranking of Stephen King’s most iconic villains. Pennywise the Clown and Leland Gaunt can steal your soul, but can they steal your heart? And just to clarify the ranking, we are going solely on the characters themselves, not the actors who have portrayed them.
SMASH or PASS: Stephen King Villains Edition
SMASH: Annie Wilkes
Yeah, she’s crazy, but come on. She loves to read, is resourceful, and knows her way around… a sledgehammer? Just don’t kill off her favorite character, and you’re safe. Her farmhouse also seems super cozy, so any time spent there would be lovely. As long as she doesn’t have any problems with my screenplays, I’ll take my chances.
PASS: Leland Gaunt
This is the hardest pass on this list. Everything is a mind game with this guy. Sure, he’ll pay for dinner, but he’ll probably later make you pay him back by stealing a dog or performing some other bizarre task. Everything would be a bargain and transactional. With no clear communication, he is actually the worst imaginable partner on the list. Besides, according to the book, he is a reptilian demon riding a white horse? Check, please…
NEUTRAL: Pennywise
Pennywise’s attractiveness varies wildly. This interdimensional shapeshifter can be literally anything…Sure, Bill Skarsgard is plenty attractive, and his take would absolutely be a smash, but knowing there’s a cosmic spider under there might be a turn-off. He is also a cannibalistic chaos demon, but so are half the characters on this list. You win some and lose some when you open Tinder in Derry, Maine.
PASS: Randall Flagg
Every iteration of Flagg going back to the books has portrayed him as really hot. So why a pass? Well, his whole character is built on the concept of false promises. He feels like your worst ex-situationships. Always promising something bigger, he is a total manipulator who will use you for his own power. Also, he looks real nasty with the devil horns…and not in a good way.
SMASH: Christine
Hear me out. Let’s ignore the fact that she’s a cosmically possessed car. Christine is loyal, loving, and protective. Sure, she’s manipulative and pure evil, but she is obsessed with you. Flagg, for instance, would dump you the second he got what he wanted. But Christine wants you and only you. Maybe that’s worse, given you now have to walk down the aisle with a 1958 Plymouth Fury. But hey, if you don’t have commitment issues, Christine might be your gal.
PASS: Jack Torrance
Going off of the book, it’s a no, solely because when he qualifies as a villain, he is possessed by a sentient hotel. In the movie, he is psychotic from the start of the film. There is no way to spin the possessed Jack Torrance in a positive light.
SMASH: Kurt Barlow
I have no defense for this. I just have a good feeling about him. How can you say no to those eyes! Vampires are sexy. Well, some vampires. I feel like he has kind of an Eggers’ Nosferatu appeal? You LITERALLY cannot resist him. So hey, this seems to be a SMASH whether I want it to be or not.
PASS: Warden Samuel Norten
Unlike most of the villains on this list, Norten is not a fun, supernatural being. This is a real kind of evil. There is not even a joke to be found with this one-this guy sucks. Pass on all accounts. What does it say about your politics when I would rather take my chances with an interdimensional spider-clown?
SMASH: Rose the Hat
Does this even need an explanation? Rose is BY FAR the most attractive Stephen King villain. Sorry Mike Flanagan, the eerie little glowing eyes are kinda hot. I am sure that was not your intention. But here we are. As long as you don’t have the shine, you should be safe. Not sure if I would be down to join her weird RV demon-polycule, but otherwise, it’s a done deal. Actually, you know what? Why the Hell not. Let’s get some shining-mist together!
SMASH: The Creep
It’s so hard to find funny guys, right? Not anymore! The Creep is a total jokester. Funny, intelligent…what’s not to love? Well, the rotting skin and exposed skeleton can be a turn-off, but no one’s perfect. It’s what’s on the inside that counts!
Ah, Urban Legend…the plucky younger sibling franchise to Scream. If this is the first time you realize that it’s a franchise at all, that is totally fair. The cult classic slasher’s only theatrical sequel was a critical and box office flop. The third film, Bloody Mary, was direct-to-video. The film has an interesting comparative pitch to Scream. While Scream is a meta-slasher toying with the rules of horror, Urban Legend has its killer basing its slice-and-dicin’ off of famous urban legends…and then they just basically did a version of Scream 3 for its sequel. It’s a fascinating trilogy, particularly in how the movies connect. In Final Cut, the first film exists as an urban legend itself. Bloody Mary, however, is a complete standalone that could be read as an urban legend within the universe of the first entry.
The Urban Legend Franchise Ranked From Worst to Best
So…how do these three films rank against each other? Are the sequels worth checking out at all? Pull up a chair, relax, and start mixing your Pop-Rocks and soda; this is the worst-to-best ranking of the Urban Legend trilogy.
Urban Legends: Bloody Mary (2005)
Unsurprisingly, the straight-to-video, nearly completely forgotten supernatural entry is last. Directed by Mary Lambert of Pet Sematary acclaim, the movie is a straightforward supernatural horror. Three teen girls say “Bloody Mary” three times into a mirror, and it resurrects a vengeful spirit.
The movie is not terrible by any means. It is just pretty standard, with some good moments of schlocky, 2000s fun. For those that grew up in this era, it can be a goofy little nostalgia trip! The cheesy SFX, hilariously awkward teen acting, and cinematography of a Coke commercial make it a really easy watch. It’s almost like a much bloodier Goosebumps episode! However, for those not fans of this divisive era of TV-horror, it can be a bit of a slog.
The idea of making a movie that feels in-Universe to the first film is clever. However, it is unclear whether that was the exact intention. Despite this critic’s personal, nostalgic love of this film, it is not connected to the franchise at all. Even if this was a masterpiece, this detail makes it hard to put it anything above last place. Sorry Bloody Mary, I still love you.
Urban Legend (1998)
Ready the guillotine. Light up the torches. Find the IP address this article was written on-but let me explain. Yes, it is controversial not to put this one in first place. Still, it is really more of a tie than second placement. This and Final Cut are vastly different, which makes the franchise interesting, nearly incomparable. They each succeed in their own sub-genres…but this one misses the mark.
Urban Legend is a cult classic for a reason. It is completely itself as a late-90s, teen campus-slasher. The movie takes a simple premise, combining it with a likeable cast and a gothic, dark-academia setting. It feels like it was made for slumber parties and sleepovers. A combination of 80s slashers and campfire tales? Amazing. Plus, the soundtrack is killer.
That being said, the mystery, story, and characters are all just okay. The answers to the mystery (spoilers…?) fall in line with I Know What You Did Last Summer, and many films from the 80s. Prom Night, April Fool’s Day, and The Burning all come to mind. If this came out before Scream, this would be number one, for sure. It is probably, technically, the best film of the franchise, if I had to be objective. However, it just doesn’t reach the levels of originality the final film on this list does.
Urban Legends: Final Cut (2000)
Urban Legends: Final Cut is fantastic. No, really. It’s great, and one of the most underrated slashers of its time. While Scream picked apart the slasher genre in a meta-horror classic, this movie picks apart the horror film industry. The film has a lot of commentary on toxicity in the industry, and it is matched by an on-brand mystery.
A big issue with movies is finding a decent throughline. Look at the first Urban Legend, for example. The reason the killer kills has nothing to do with urban legends themselves-it is just a creepy MO. However, the killer in Final Cut has a motive rooted in filmmaking itself. The movie stays on brand, delivering on its promise. It is distinctly different from Scream, while still being perfect for fans of that franchise.
Without spoiling, the mystery is great. While the final reveal is somewhat predictable, the twists and turns of the story itself are great. For fans of lost media horror like Red Rooms or Cigarette Burns, the mystery veers into that. One part of the film involves a student film with a mystery splice in the film spool. While the movie is funnier than it is scary, and somewhat outdated at points, it still feels the most rewatchable of all three movies.
