Titans Terrors and Toys

This December has seen the release of two movies that evoke the imagery and symbolism of ancient Egypt: the Biblical epic Exodus: Gods and Kings and the found footage horror film The Pyramid . Such releases are a very rare occurrence for U.S. movie theaters during this time of year, but it puts horror fans like me in a mummy state of mind—and just in time for the holiday season! In honor of this embalmed state of yuletide bliss, here’s a look back at some memorable mummy merchandise that have been released over the years, merchandise that may still be available so that you can put some cursed undead mirth under your Christmas tree for your special someone. Read on ....

I'm sure that most Alien franchise fans have this item by now, but I'll say it anyway: the Alien ornament from Hallmark is fantastic! Dozens upon dozens of Alien statues, model kits, busts and action figures have been released during the last few years, but this is the first collectible that has been made for your Christmas tree. The ornament's design is based on H.R. Giger's original "Big Chap" costume from Alien and the amount of detail on the ornament is extremely impressive for its scale--it even includes the semi-transparent dome that masks the creature's skull-like face. Furthermore, the creature is sculpted in a hunched position, making it look somewhat like a gargoyle perched on the edge of a cathedral. For as impressive as the ornament is, the Alien uber-fan side of me would have preferred to have the creature depicted in a slightly different way. In the director's cut of Alien , there's a brief glimpse of the Xenomorph hanging ...

Unless you decided to take a vacation under a rock over the weekend, you'll have heard by now that the first trailer for the next Star Wars movie, The Force Awakens (a.k.a. Star Wars: Episode Seven ) has arrived at both movie theaters and on the Internet. It's been met with great fanfare--within hours of its debut, the 'net was swamped with new updates, analyses, and complaints about this 88 second bit of film. There's even a stop-motion remake of this trailer that's been made purely with Lego toys. How fanboy-ish can you get? The new trailer is a teaser in the most literal sense. It doesn't give any hints about the film's plot; instead, it gives us fleeting glimpses of what this era of the Star Wars universe looks like. What I think most critics, commenters and curmudgeons have missed it how the trailer emphasizes familiar aspects of Star Wars, details that fans will instantly recognize such as vehicles (X-Wings, TIE Fighters and the Millennium Falc...