THE MIHMIVERSE MONTHLY AUDIOCAST
The latest episode of the
Mihmiverse Monthly Audiocast has arrived!
This month, writer/director Christopher R. Mihm tells stories about the many exciting misadventures experienced while filming "
Demon with the Atomic Brain," reminds you why
YOU should
contribute to the film and reads an Amazon.com review of the just released "
The Monster of Phantom Lake: The Musical!" DVD!
Also included: "The Creature Connection" with Derek M. Koch of
Monster Kid Radio, another "bad" joke from Dr. Bob Tesla of
Midnight Monster Movies with Dr. Bob and a reading of the first chapter of "
For Your Ice Only," writer/director Christopher R. Mihm's ongoing 1960s-set serial starring international spy and world champion curler, Beef McCormick!
To download an .mp3 of the audiocast, click
HERE, visit
archive.org where the file is stored or download it free from
iTunes!
Otherwise, if you'd like to listen to the episode right from this browser window, click the play button on the player below!
The
Mihmiverse Monthly Audiocast is hosted by writer/director Christopher R. Mihm and is focused specifically on what's going on
RIGHT NOW in the Mihmiverse. In addition, Mr. Mihm will discuss the monster movie-making process, touch briefly on the future of the 'verse, pontificate on random subjects, and be joined by guests from within and without the Mihmiverse.
PLUS, each episode will include something unique you won't find anywhere else!
MEET THE NEW FACES OF THE MIHMIVERSE!
In the interest of expanding the reach of the Mihmiverse, for his next film, "
Demon with the Atomic Brain," writer/director Christopher R. Mihm has cast a handful of actors new to most Mihmivites. To introduce these fine folks to the fans, we'll be including a short interview with a different person each month leading up to the release of the film!
This month, we talk to Tyler Haines who will be performing the role of Agar, one of the male leads.
Introduce yourself to the Mihmiverse!
My name is Tyler Haines, and I'm so excited to be a part of the Mihmiverse! I've always wanted to act, write, and direct film or theater. I didn't start acting until I was in my mid-twenties. My first real acting role was when I was attending Minneapolis Community and Technical College. I was cast in a non-speaking role as a military policeman (MP) in their production of "
A Few Good Men." As rehearsals began, students kept dropping out of the show, so I ended up with three roles in all—and two of them had lines! I started taking acting classes at MCTC, and when I auditioned for my second play, I received the lead role of Nick in "
Over the River and Through the Woods." I learned as I went and it is still one of my favorite plays and characters to this day!
I've also discovered improv theater and have dabbled with stand-up comedy. As of February 2017, I took on my first behind-the-scenes role directing a production of "
Twelve Angry Men" for
Locally Grown Theatre. I joined the US Air Force out of high school and now, when I'm not performing, I work for the Department of Veteran's Affairs in St. Paul as a Veteran's Service Representative. I have two teenage boys that keep me running. I'm always looking for my next opportunity for writing, directing or performing.
Auditioning for the film was very unique. My audition was set for a Thursday evening. The previous Monday I had an audition for a local play and I received a call-back and, wouldn't you guess it, my callback was scheduled for Thursday night—the same night for my audition for "
Demon With the Atomic Brain!" I emailed writer/director Christopher R. Mihm and he told me to just come to the audition and he would fit me in. I figured I'd only be at the callback for about an hour and then I could dash over to the film audition. Of course, that's never how it goes!
My callback ran
SUPER LONG. By the time I left the callback, it was 8:30pm. I wasn't sure how late the "
Demon with the Atomic Brain" auditions were going to go, so I tried calling Mr. Mihm...and he didn't answer...because he was in the middle of auditions! I pulled up the address where auditions were being held and, to my surprise, it was only 20 minutes away.
SO, I said to myself, "Just go and see if you can make it."
It was about 8:52pm and I finally arrived at the two story library where the auditions were taking place. I darted in, walked up to the front desk, asked where auditions were being held and they pointed up a flight of stairs, adding, "But, we close in seven minutes. They're probably done by now."
I turned and ran up the stairs! I searched and searched, but I can't seem to find the conference room they're supposed to be in! I saw a receptionist and quickly asked, "Auditions?"
She pointed and said, "They are around that corner in the conference room. However we close in four minutes."
"Thank you!" I said as I zipped toward the audition room. Finally, I found the room and saw a guy standing outside the door. I could see a table with two people sitting around it. They were talking with a female, and as I noticed a video camera was set up, I assumed she is auditioning. I walked up to the gentleman at the door, asked if he was helping out with auditions and he answered in the affirmative. I informed him that I was there to audition but, as we looked into the conference room, we noticed that the camera was being taken down. A voice over the intercom stated that the Library is going to be closing in the next two minutes. I felt deflated, thinking I had missed the audition.
I handed the door guy my headshot and resumé and asked, "Could you make sure they get this, and tell them I'm sorry I was late?"
"Want to go in and meet them and hand it to them yourself?" he surprisingly replied.
"YES!" I over-enthusiastically blurted out. He let me into the room and I was excited; I started talking a mile a minute as I introduced myself and apologized for being late. Mr. Mihm was still in the process of putting his camera away and asked, "Well, since you're here, do you have a monologue you can perform very quickly"?
I smiled, and as fast as I could, I jumped right into my monologue. It was a comedic piece and, to my surprise, I received a few laughs. I thanked them numerous times for letting me audition. With all the craziness of the audition, you can imagine my surprise when I received a callback and ultimately, was offered the role!
So far, shooting is going
GREAT! I'm having so much fun, I wish we could shoot every weekend!
"
Demon with the Atomic Brain?"
What makes you most nervous?
Since being cast, I've learned a lot about the Mihmiverse. I can't explain how excited I am to be a part of this universe. I'm delighted to be playing the role of Agar, and to have been given this opportunity to be in a feature film. I sincerely can't wait to see the finished product!
What makes me the most nervous? I just hope that I'm giving the production everything it needs from me as an actor. I don't want to let anyone down.
Any parting thoughts?
I can't thank Mr. Mihm enough for this opportunity! I have my fingers crossed that this leads to more opportunities to live and breathe in the Mihmiverse!
April 9, 2017 - 2:00PM, $5.00
April 15, 2017 - 7:00PM
Join us for a special screening of "
Weresquito: Nazi Hunter!" Writer/director Christopher R. Mihm and the first lady of the Mihmiverse, Stephanie Mihm, will be on hand to introduce the movie and (afterward) answer questions about all the films of the Mihmiverse!
Plymouth UCC, 124 West Washington Street, Burlington, WI
April 28-30, 2017OdysseyCon welcomes writer/director Christopher R. Mihm as their media guest of honor! In addition to panels and screenings of Mihmiverse films, the first lady of the Mihmiverse, Stephanie Mihm, and several actors from the films will be there to hang out, sell merchandise and sign autographs!
Radisson Hotel Madison, 517 Grand Canyon Drive, Madison, WI
Don't live near one of the cities where the films of Christopher R. Mihm are screening? Why not check with an independently-owned theater near you about hosting a Mihm-movie-night event?
Please contact us at
info@sainteuphoria.com for more information. Depending on scheduling and distance, writer/director Christopher R. Mihm and a monster or two may even make it to your event!
For a complete list of Mihmiverse-related events, visit (and bookmark) the SaintEuphoria.com
events page!
CLASSIC MOVIE OF THE MONTH
The Tingler (1959)
Directed by
William CastleStarring
Vincent Price,
Oliver Higgins and
Judith Evelyn
In this William Castle horror classic, Vincent Price plays Dr. Warren Chapin, a pathologist with an interesting theory about the origins of that tingling sensation experienced during moments of extreme fear. He believes it is the result of a caterpillar-like parasite (dubbed a "tingler") that lives on the spine of every human being, feeds on fear, and can only be neutralized by screaming. When the deaf and mute (and therefore incapable of screaming) wife of a silent-movie house owner dies after a series of seemingly supernatural events, Dr. Chapin is able to test his theory by cutting her dead body open to look for—and ultimately find and capture—a tingler. The good doctor keeps it in his lab but, after being heavily dosed with LSD (seriously) by his cheating wife and attacked by the stronger-than-expected tingler, Dr. Chapin is barely saved by the screams of his sister-in-law. Deciding that the tingler is too dangerous to survive outside the human body, Dr. Chapin decides to return it to the corpse of the theater owner's wife so that it may die with her. While in the theater, the creature escapes and all heck breaks loose! Director William Castle is best known as the filmmaker who used gonzo gimmicks to make going to screenings of his films more of an interactive experience. During certain showings of "
The Tingler," Mr. Castle had certain seats wired with "joy buzzer"-like devices that, at the proper moments, would give moviegoers an unexpected "jolt" to replicate the experience of being attacked by a "tingler." Those who were "attacked" were encouraged to stand up and scream as loud as possible to ward off the creature! Though the film itself received mixed reviews, the gimmick has since become a part of Hollywood history and legend. In my opinion, the movie alone is a decent example of Mr. Castle's work. Though not my favorite of his films (that honor goes to 1959's "
House on Haunted Hill"), it's still quite enjoyable and worth seeing—especially if you can find a local movie-house willing to show the film in full "Percepto"—joy-buzzer wired seats and all!
— Christopher R. Mihm
Trivial Demons
The "
Demon with the Atomic Brain" won't be the first demon to haunt the screen—but it will no doubt be the best! Here are some other cinematic demons. See if you can conjure up their titles.
1. (1957) American Doctor John Holden ventures to London to attend a paranormal psychology symposium and expose
devil cult leader Julian Karswell. Things do not go well. By the end of the film, Holden believes he is under an
evil curse. Dana Andrews starred.
2. (1958) Fred and his girlfriend Jerrie wash up on an uncharted tropical island, where they are captured by Nazis who
have also imprisoned a group of beauty contest winners. The Nazi leader has been extracting a glandular substance from
the girls to inject into his disfigured wife in order to restore her beauty. Then the US Air Force bombs the island. Whew!
3. (1959) After exposure to radiation, an atomic research scientist finds himself changing into a murderous lizard-like
creature every time he is exposed to sunlight. Robert Clarke, who had a 60-year career in film and TV, wrote, directed
and starred in this film.
4. (1977) A group of teenagers are hanging around a cemetery when they meet a satanic priest who opens a gateway to
Hell. Gunnar Hansen, whose only other role at this point in his career was Leatherface in the original "
Texas Chainsaw
Massacre" in 1974 was the biggest name in the cast.
5. (1977) A scientist creates an organic super computer with artificial intelligence. Unfortunately, it becomes obsessed
human beings, the creator's wife in particular. Based on a novel by Dean R. Koontz, the film starred Julie Christie and
Fritz Weaver.
Scroll to the bottom of the Mihmiverse Monthly for the answers.
— Mike Cook
IMPORTANT MOMENTS IN SCIENCE with DR. BOB TESLA
This month, I'm going to take you to another dimension! 64 years ago this month, big studio movies got more depth to them. No, the writing didn't get better; these movies were the first to be released in 3-D! Gather 'round because Dr. Bob Tesla has a tale to tell.
3-D movies were around before 1952 but they were short films or cartoons, not full-length movies. That changed on November 30th of that year when "
Bwana Devil" was shown at two Los Angeles movie theaters. Not only was it the first full-length (79 minutes) 3-D motion picture but it was also in
COLOR and with
SOUND! It didn't do well with the critics but the audience loved the novelty of 3-D. The plot was based on the same story that 1996's "
The Ghost and the Darkness" was based on so the audience got to see "A
LION in your lap" as the poster touted it. While that was the first movie in 3-D, it was made by the small Arch Oboler Productions company and not by the major studios. That came less than five months later.
Columbia Pictures rushed "
Man in the Dark," a film noir 3-D remake of "
The Man Who Lived Twice," through production in just eleven days! They had to hurry; they premiered "
Man in the Dark" on April 8th, just two days before Warner Brothers premiered
THEIR first 3-D film, "
House of Wax!" Columbia Pictures was able to (just barely) claim to have been the first major studio to release a 3-D film. They probably should have just waited and tried to make a better film however, since "
House of Wax" is, by far, the better-remembered. Was it just a better a film? Was it because a horror film in 3-D is a better draw? Was it because of Vincent Price's career-making performance? I couldn't say as I am just a scientist and not a film critic...but it was probably Vincent Price.
As a scientist, I do want to correct something that most people have wrong about 3-D films from the 1950s. They were
NOT viewed with anaglyph glasses (the red-cyan tinted glasses)! Edwin Land of Polaroid had invented polarized filters years before and these were the glasses people used. That's right, they were practically the same glasses used for 3-D HDTVs and modern 3-D films! Using the polarized process provided a very solid 3-D effect but it had some drawbacks that led to its decline. You needed two projectors showing two different film strips and they needed to be perfectly in synchronization. If a projectionist tried to repair or splice the film or the projectors had a timing issue and the film got just one frame out of sync, it would screw up the effect and could cause headaches. The films also needed an intermission to prepare the second reels on each projector to make sure they were set up perfectly. The films also had to be projected onto a silver reflective screen. If the screen didn't reflect the right way, the polarization effect was useless. Because of these projection headaches (as well as the headaches caused by bad projection!), the two-strip polarization went out of fashion and the 'cheap' red-cyan glasses became the standard of 3-D until the 1990s. Eventually, better 3-D options became available and now we're back to the point that we are able to watch a raccoon and a tree shoot aliens and it looks like they're really standing in front of us. Thanks to
SCIENCE!
"
The Monster of Phantom Lake," "
It Came From Another World!," "
Cave Women on Mars," "
Terror from Beneath the Earth," "
Destination: Outer Space," "
Attack of the Moon Zombies," "
House of Ghosts," "
The Giant Spider," "
The Late Night Double Feature," "
Danny Johnson Saves The World" and "
Weresquito: Nazi Hunter" DVDs are now available at
SaintEuphoria.com, the online home of the films of Christopher R. Mihm.
In addition, exclusive movie posters, collectibles and other merchandise are now in stock. Everything is available in extremely limited quantities, so get yours today before they run out!
The Trivia Corner answers: 1. "Curse of the Demon," 2. "She Demons," 3. "The Hideous Sun Demon," 4. "The Demon Lover," 5. "Demon Seed"
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