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Happy New Year!

Since the very first edition of the original Phantom Lake Almanac (the title of this newsletter before becoming the Mihmiverse Monthly in August 2011), the January issue has served to provide an in-depth look back at all the significant Mihmiverse-related events that happened during the previous calendar year.

In honor of such a long-held tradition, we take this opportunity to revisit all the exciting Mihmiverse-related happenings in calendar year 2021!
 

Mihmiverse-related news was hard to come by in February, but only because writer/director Christopher R. Mihm and his crew of family members spent the majority of their time filming "The Mihmiverse Holiday Special," reaching the halfway point near the end of the month.

Also, DVDs and Blu-Rays of "The Phantom Lake Kids in The Unseen Invasion" arrived at the Saint Euphoria warehouse early in February and, as a result, shipped out to contributors and folks who pre-ordered weeks before originally expected!
 

Pre-production of "The Phantom Lake Kids in The Day the Earth Abruptly Almost Ended" quietly began in March as the Mihmiverse production crew continued to commit "The Mihmiverse Holiday Special" to film (digital video, actually)!

The final scene to be shot required a snow cave set and all the kids involved had a little "cave building party" to create one! Check out the photo below to see the beginnings of that party!


Writer/director Christopher R. Mihm guested on a few podcasts in March, including "I Love That Movie" to discuss "The Phantom Lake Kids in The Unseen Invasion" and "Frightmares!" to discuss his film universe and horror movies in general!
 

Outside of a handful of small special effects shots, principal photography of "The Mihmiverse Holiday Special" wrapped up just a few days into April!

Also in April, writer/director Christopher R. Mihm announced that he was "pulling the plug" on his unfinished film, "That Which Lurks in the Dark."

Originally slated to go before cameras in early 2019, scheduling proved to be an unsolvable puzzle and, as a result, the "Mihmiverse machine" had to be refocused toward making "The Phantom Lake Kids in The Beast Walks Among Us." Then, in early 2020, production of "That Which Lurks in the Dark" found itself back on track but, after shooting a full third of the film, the COVID-19 pandemic swooped in and shut it down. This also led to the unfortunate postponement of the release of "The Phantom Lake Kids in The Beast Walks Among Us"—but the unexpected blessing of "The Phantom Lake Kids in The Unseen Invasion!"

With the coronavirus pandemic still continuing into the foreseeable future (even to this day!), Mr. Mihm concluded that, since the Phantom Lake Kids cast and crew live directly within the "Saint Euphoria bubble," the only safe Mihmiverse project to produce at the time would be another Phantom Lake Kids film. Because of that, the absolute earliest "That Which Lurks in the Dark" could return to full production would be in later 2022 and would have to start shooting from scratch to ensure consistency. Thus, with all the unknowns concerning the project, it was deemed appropriate to cancel the film and offer refunds to all contributors.
 

Two weeks into May, principal photography of "The Phantom Lake Kids in The Day the Earth Abruptly Almost Ended" began and the first image from the day's shoot was released!


Also in May, it was revealed that an alternate release schedule for "The Phantom Lake Kids in The Beast Walks Among Us" had been decided, with the film to debut digitally at the end of June and on physical media on or around Labor Day.
 

Writer/director Christopher R. Mihm completed his first "rough draft" edit of "The Mihmiverse Holiday Special" in early June.

The first still from the next Phantom Lake Kids movie, "The Phantom Lake Kids in The Day the Earth Abruptly Almost Ended" was released to the public. Check it out below!



"The Phantom Lake Kids in The Beast Walks Among Us" held its digital world premiere on the last day of the month!

When a local man is suspected of having been transformed into a hideous monster, it's up to a scrappy gang of local kids (Danny & Evelyn Johnson, Butch, Chip, and their friend Billy Blue) to uncover the truth and save Phantom Lake County—and everyone in it—from certain doom in writer/director Christopher R. Mihm's tribute to the creature-features of the 1950s, the history of the Mihmiverse, and "Scooby Doo!"

The disc contains a high quality digital transfer of the film and several exclusive special features, including a blooper reel, two photo galleries, feature-length commentary with writer/director Christopher R. Mihm, English subtitles, Esperanto audio & subtitles and much more!

Feature Run Time: 1 hour, 19 minutes. Black & White, Widescreen, NOT RATED.

$9.99 (DVD) / $19.99 (Blu-Ray) (+$4.99 shipping & handling)
format:	DVDBlu-Ray

	Check here if the shipping address is outside of the U.S.
	Check here to include writer/director Christopher R. Mihm's autograph
NOTE: Autographs require removal of a disc's protective plastic wrap. By selecting this option, you agree to allow us to do this!

 

JULY

The Phantom Lake Kids crew spent most of July continuing to brave the summer heat while filming their next adventure, "The Phantom Lake Kids in The Day the Earth Abruptly Almost Ended!"

Also, writer/director Christopher R. Mihm used some of his downtime to appear on the Monster Movie Happy Hour! Check out the episode below!

 

AUGUST

August is a traditionally quiet month in the Mihmiverse, particularly when it comes to "public-facing" events. However, much was happening behind-the-scenes as half the cast of "The Phantom Lake Kids in The Day the Earth Abruptly Almost Ended" filmed their final scenes in the movie, with only David Mihm (Butch), Michael Kaiser, and writer/director Christopher R. Mihm still having a few scenes left!
 

SEPTEMBER

In September, as Mr. Mihm continued to put the finishing touches on "The Mihmiverse Holiday Special" and work on the next Phantom Lake Kids film, he received word that Graham Garfield Barnard, the creative force behind "The Schlocky Horror Picture Show," an irreverent Australian television program hosted by a snarky skeleton named Nigel Honeybone, had passed away.

Mr. Barnard's generosity in prominently featuring the films of Christopher R. Mihm on his show helped to create a rather voracious group of Australian Mihmiverse fans who, to this day, continue to support the films and "spread the good word" internationally. Mr. Barnard was always kind to a fault, supportive-as-hell, hilarious, and spot on with his wry observations, particularly when taking well-deserved potshots at the Mihmiverse!

AND, without "The Schlocky Horror Picture Show," writer/director Christopher R. Mihm would never have met Norman Yeend, the insanely talented artist behind all the stop-motion creatures featured in several films, most notably the Plutonian brain creature in "The Wall People" and Meat in "Danny Johnson Saves the World."
 

OCTOBER

Principal photography of "The Phantom Lake Kids in The Day the Earth Abruptly Almost Ended" wrapped up in October with only a handful of special effects shots still outstanding.

Mr. Mihm finished authoring of the physical media for "The Mihmiverse Holiday Special," pre-orders started rolling in, and a surprise trailer appeared the next day!

 

NOVEMBER

November's arrival heralded the announcement of the first-ever Mihmiverse-inspired card game: The Last Mihm Standing!

The game was created by super-fan Barry Perkins (with the assistance of the rest of the Perkins clan) as Mihmiverse-related "pandemic project." For reference, Mr. Perkins appeared as a townsperson in "The Phantom Lake Kids in The Beast Walks Among Us" and designed & built the St. Euphoria Cemetery seen in the same film.

The game is made up of 71 cards inspired by all 17 films (and one musical) and contains tokens for keeping track of certain events, an instruction book, and a die (because sometimes it's better to be lucky than good). Players take turns using cards to do things like releasing a giant spider to attack their opponents, asking "Basement Jesus" to watch over them, or just hiding out in an admittedly-familiar looking forest.

It's a Battle Royale where you win by being the only person not to lose—although, if you're clever enough, you might find a loophole around that! Knowledge of the Mihmiverse is not needed to play the game, but the cards are clearly written by a fan for the fans.

This game has been professionally manufactured and is available in EXTREMELY limited quantities! Get yours NOW while supplies last!

U.S. Residents $19.99 (+$5.99 shipping & handling)

Outside U.S. $19.99 (+$19.99 shipping & handling)

Also in November, after MANY years, the entire catalog of Mihmiverse DVDs was FINALLY made available once again! AND, the full set of 17 Mihmiverse DVDs is currently available for a special price of only $99.99—a savings of more than 40% if you were to buy them individually!

From the first Mihmiverse movie, "The Monster of Phantom Lake," through the recently-released "The Mihmiverse Holiday Special," this exclusive set includes everything ever released by writer/director Christopher R. Mihm, including the 2017 performance DVD of "The Monster of Phantom Lake: The Musical!"

U.S. Residents $99.99 (+$19.99 shipping & handling)

Outside U.S. $99.99 (+$59.99 shipping & handling)

Lastly, after a tumultuous genesis, weather and pandemic-related delays, and several fits and starts, the first-ever holiday-themed Mihmiverse special officially arrived on Vimeo, DVD, and Blu-Ray just a few days before Thanksgiving!

Designed to be a love letter to retro holiday TV specials like 1965's "A Charlie Brown Christmas" and 1966's "How the Grinch Stole Christmas," and to pay direct homage to 1964's sci-fi "cheesefest" "Santa Claus Conquers the Martians," "The Mihmiverse Holiday Special" also serves as a de facto mini-sequel to the 2015 fan-favorite film, "Danny Johnson Saves the World," and as a "side adventure" for the Phantom Lake Kids gang!

In this Mihmiverse mini-movie, little alien Steve has gone missing but, luckily, his loyal sidekick (and nephew) Stu knows EXACTLY what to do to find someone who can help locate his uncle: get human help! Unfortunately, Stu has no idea what a human is! BUT he knows he can find out by locating Steve's old friend, Danny Johnson—or the next best thing, Danny's sister Evelyn! With Evelyn's help, Stu embarks on a wild adventure that takes him from outer space to the North Pole and several exotic points in between to do battle with an old nemesis, meet up with one of the most legendary holiday characters on Earth, and celebrate the joys of the season!

"The Mihmiverse Holiday Special" stars Alice Mihm as Evelyn Johnson, Elliott Mihm as Stu, Stephanie Mihm as an old adversary, and writer/director Christopher R. Mihm as Santa Claus!

The DVD & Blu-Ray include a high quality digital transfer of the film, a blooper reel, two photo galleries, feature-length commentaries with writer/director Christopher R. Mihm and actors Alice Mihm and Stu the Alien, and much more!

Feature Run Time: 39 minutes. Black & White, Widescreen, NOT RATED. Includes English subtitles.

$9.99 (DVD) / $19.99 (Blu-Ray) (+$4.99 shipping & handling)
format:	DVDBlu-Ray

	Check here if the shipping address is outside of the U.S.
	Check here to include writer/director Christopher R. Mihm's autograph
NOTE: Autographs require removal of a disc's protective plastic wrap. By selecting this option, you agree to allow us to do this!

 

Most of all, the final month of the year brought calm and quiet to the Mihmiverse as "The Mihmiverse Holiday Special" finally debuted, the next Phantom Lake Kids movie continued to truck along, and 2021 Mihmiverse Mystery Boxes & Holiday Ornaments, and 2022 Wall Calendars went on sale... all selling out quickly and completely!

Though the status quo of HOW his films are released has been greatly affected by the continuing COVID-19 pandemic, writer/director Christopher R. Mihm is proud to have been able to keep his "at-least-one-movie-a-year" streak alive—and has no plans to stop!


2022 is here and with it, a sense of cautious optimism that this new year will be filled with lots of Mihmiverse-related wonder and joy brought to you by the leader in indie-retro-monster-cinema!

We continue to pray for an end to the pandemic and writer/director Christopher R. Mihm hopes to be able to safely do more live screenings, events, and appearances in the coming months.

Remember, the future is unwritten! Anything can happen and life is short, so make a point to never take ANYTHING for granted! We wish you a happy and safe new year filled with cheesy, black-and-white monsters and good health!  

The latest episode of the Mihmiverse Monthly Audiocast has arrived!

This month, host writer/director Christopher R. Mihm bemoans conspiracy theories, talks about where he's at in editing "The Phantom Lake Kids in The Day the Earth Abruptly Almost Ended," and explains why, regardless of the fact that principal photography of the next Phantom Lake Kids movie is complete, YOU should contribute to help finish it!

Also included: The next installment in "An Oral History of the Mihmiverse," and the latest edition of "Atomic Tales," a monthly short story from the author of "The Canoe Cops vs. The Mummy," Stephen D. Sullivan!

To download an .mp3 of the audiocast, click HERE, visit archive.org where the file is stored or download it free from Apple Podcasts!

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!

Welcome to the Mihmiverse Monthly feature where we talk to YOU, the fans! Every month, we choose a random Mihmivite and ask them a few Mihmiverse-related questions in an attempt to get to know them better and find out what they REALLY think about the films of Christopher R. Mihm!

Oh My Gothic!

Gothic horror can be defined as "Horror-Plus." That's horror plus atmosphere plus medievalism plus emotion plus romance plus morbidity plus death plus...well, you get the idea!

This month, we're taking a look at 5 gothic horror films. Below, you'll see two lists. Match the plots to the titles, then go watch a few...and have a Creepy New Year!

5. Phillip enters his fiancé Madeline's mansion and not only discovers a family curse, but her brother Roderick, who seems to have sinister plans of his own. The film stars Vincent Price and is based on a story by Edgar Allan Poe.

E. "The Haunting" (1963)

Eegah (1962)
Directed by Arch Hall, Sr.
Starring Arch Hall, Jr., Marilyn Manning and Richard Kiel

"Eegah" is the kind of movie that's next to impossible to describe well enough to do justice to its wonderful awfulness. After a young, beautiful socialite nearly runs her car into a 7 foot tall caveman (seriously), she tries to convince her writer father and wannabe-Elvis-Presley boyfriend of the primitive creature's existence. The two are unconvinced until the next morning when she leads them back to the scene of the incident and they find a larger-than-average footprint—which is apparently enough to convince her pseudo-adventurer father to charter a helicopter and have it drop him off, alone, in the middle of a remote mountain area in search of the beast. Not surprisingly, the prehistoric giant finds him first. When her father doesn't return, the socialite and her boyfriend load up the boyfriend's groovy dune buggy and set out to locate the lost man. Unfortunately, while the swingin' kids take an inexplicable sleep break, the caveman realizes they're there. The man-monster subsequently stalks them, kidnaps the woman, and takes her back to his lair. Once there, she finds her quite alive father and the very dead mummified remains of the caveman's ancestors. In an overlong segment of the film, the woman and her father learn the giant's name (Eegah) and try to find ways to distract him from wanting to mate with the sexy young woman—even going so far as to convince Eegah to let her shave off his ancient caveman beard! Meanwhile, the girl's beau desperately searches for her knowing that with every passing moment, anything could happen! Everything about this film is terrible in all the right ways. The director cast himself to play the father and his real-life son to play the young a-rockin' lead. In fact, with the ample number of so-so musical interludes that have very little to do with the story, it's pretty clear the director included his son to give him a place to show off his musical "talents." The audio is almost entirely overdubbed and is so poorly synched that it often looks like the script was written AFTER the film was shot! The one bright spot (if you can call it that) is the late Richard Kiel as the title character. Best known as "Jaws" from a pair of 1970s James Bond films, the 7' 2" actor looks scarcely older than a teenager and is decked out in a cheesy, almost-Flintstones-esque costume complete with a large, bulbous, and very fake-looking club—very much like the one baby Bamm-Bamm Rubble sported in "The Flintstones" cartoon! Young Richard Kiel also bears a certain resemblance to Mihmiverse monster-of-all-trades Michael Kaiser! Again, "Eegah" is a terrible, terrible movie in all the right ways. If you are a fan of movies considered "so bad they're good," this one might be the worst... or best!

If you're like most people these days, you tend to stream your favorite TV shows and movies, particularly because it's way more convenient and you have access to them in more places! Did you know that there are now several places to stream the entire Mihmiverse catalog?

From the movie that started it all, "The Monster of Phantom Lake," to its musical offshoot, "The Monster of Phantom Lake: The Musical!," and "The Mihmiverse Holiday Special," everything you need to "visit" the denizens of Phantom Lake County is available for your streaming pleasure!


The ENTIRE filmography of writer/director Christopher R. Mihm (including the recently-released "The Mihmiverse Holiday Special") is available through the Mihmiverse Vimeo VOD portal!

Every film is presented using the same ultra high-quality renders used for the official Blu-Ray releases and actually feeds video content to the Drive-in Monsters Roku channel. Most importantly, the Mihmiverse Vimeo VOD portal is the ONLY PLACE to legally own the films digitally!


Retro-style monster movies from the wild & weird imagination of cult filmmaker Christopher R. Mihm! From giant, rampaging spiders to alien invasions and bug-eyed horrors, the Drive-in Monsters channel includes the entire catalog of Mr. Mihm's films, exclusive extras, and long lost special features originally released on currently out-of-print physical media! Explore the worldwide, underground cult phenomenon known as the "Mihmiverse" and enjoy the rebirth of the golden age of "drive-in cinema" with the Drive-in Monsters channel!

As of right now, the channel is free... but, that most likely will not last forever! So make sure to enjoy the Drive-in Monsters Roku channel while it's still completely free of charge!


Most of the films of the Mihmiverse are available on Amazon Video. Sadly, as Amazon continues to revise and rewrite its policies, they have downgraded the entire Mihmiverse catalog from "available with Prime" to rental only. Though this wasn't entirely unexpected—given the way the service has been slowly ridding itself of the films of Christopher R. Mihm—we CANNOT guarantee they will still be there on any given day! So, if Amazon is your preferred place to watch the Mihmiverse, enjoy it while it lasts!

NOTE: Amazon has barred writer/director Christopher R. Mihm (and MANY other independent filmmakers) from adding any new films to their service. As far as we have been able to figure out, the service is taking a more "curated" approach to its catalog and, unfortunately, does not have any more room for the cheesy goodness of the Mihmiverse! Therefore, if you're interested in watching the newest films of the Mihmiverse, we highly recommend checking out the Mihmiverse Roku channel, Drive-in Monsters!

Mihmiverse DVDs & Blu-Rays 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!