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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 2023!
 

February was an exceptionally muted month (publicly), as writer/director Christopher R. Mihm switched into "full post-production mode" and focused all of his energy on editing his next opus, "Annihilate All Humans!" The movie is very special-effects-intensive, which means putting the film together took quite a bit of extra time and effort to get just right!
 

Sadly, March was equally light on news coming out of "Mihmiverse HQ," albeit not because NOTHING was happening. In fact, A LOT was happening behind-the-scenes as Mr. Mihm continued to craft and hone the special effects for his next film.

Unfortunately, fear started to spread throughout the fan community because the announcement of the NEXT Mihmiverse film usually takes place before the end of March—but it had not! Granted, since the man-behind-the-Mihmiverse-curtain had no time to do anything other than meticulously create the cinematic illusion of flying saucers attacking large cities, he certainly had no time to write a new script!

To allay fans' fears, Mr. Mihm released a still which demonstrated exactly why things were taking so long! Check it out below!

 

April rolled in and fans were thrilled to read the news they'd been waiting to hear for over a year: "Annihilate All Humans!" was complete—at least the "rough draft" edit was! The final edit took a few weeks longer to finish, but the film was now guaranteed to be released to the general public, and excitement for the forthcoming announcement of the world premiere date began to build in earnest!

The month saw the 15th anniversary of the third Mihmiverse film, "Cave Women on Mars," come to pass on the 12th. "Cave Women on Mars" was the only Mihmiverse film to be produced under the Shadow Creek Studios label, the first of writer/director Christopher R. Mihm's movies to star Daniel R. Sjerven, and the first in which Josh Craig played a character other than Professor Jackson (though he did play an older version of the Professor in the film). Josh Craig later reappeared as Captain Jackson in 2010's "Destination: Outer Space." ("Destination: Outer Space" was also the last time actor Josh Craig appeared on-screen in a Mihmiverse film aside from a photo of him as "Professor Jackson" showing up in 2011's "Attack of the Moon Zombies.")

Lastly, an event celebrating the 10th anniversary of (arguably) the most popular Mihmiverse movie, "The Giant Spider," was announced. It was the first in-person 10th anniversary event since the one commemorating "Terror from Beneath the Earth" in 2019.
 

In May, the August 2nd world premiere date of "Annihilate All Humans!" was announced.

The "The Giant Spider" 10th anniversary event toward the end of this month ended up being quite successful. Attendees enjoyed a screening of the film (including appearances by several of its stars!), a "beat-the-Phantom-Lake-Kids" Mihmiverse trivia contest, games, surprises, snacks, and fun galore! Mr. Mihm also discussed his ideas for the film to follow "Annihilate All Humans!" at the event and, with thanks to input from attendees, he began to solidify which idea appealed to him the most!

The most important part of the event, however, was the reveal of the offical trailer for "Annihilate All Humans!" (It was released to the general public a few days later!) Check it out below!

 

Advance tickets to the "Annihilate All Humans!" world premiere went on sale in mid-June and began to sell quickly, with more than half the seats purchased within the first week!

Behind the scenes and unbeknownst to fans, writer/director Christopher R. Mihm decided on his next project and began writing a script...
 

July kicked off with the official announcement of the NEXT Mihmiverse movie, "The Wad: The True Story Behind the Phantom Lake County Chewing Gum Disaster!"

After making 18 feature films, helping develop a theatrical musical based on his first movie, and releasing a holiday special, Mr. Mihm decided it was time to "mix things up a bit" with his next project. According to the director, this new movie was to be presented in a documentary format while remaining, in essence, a cheesy 1950s-style B-movie done up as a "mockumentary," with the story fitting nicely into existing Mihmiverse continuity by directly addressing a line said by Evelyn Johnson in "The Phantom Lake Kids in The Day the Earth Abruptly Almost Ended" about the time Phantom Lake County was attacked by a "killer wad of gum!" It was designed to star several familiar Mihmiverse faces and include some characters and actors unseen in years.

In writer/director Christopher R. Mihm's first faux-documentary, KPHL Channel 6 Nightly News anchor Daniel Johnson (Elliott Mihm) hosts a "look back" at one of the most shocking events ever to transpire in Mihmiverse history. Through interviews with survivors and major players involved in the crisis, re-enactments, and never-before-seen archival footage, Mr. Johnson presents the complete and unabridged story of the wad of chewing gum that mutated, became sentient, grew to gargantuan proportions, and threatened the lives of every man, woman, and child in Phantom Lake County!

Contribution credits went on sale the same day as the announcement—and they are still available for purchase through this newsletter! For each $20.00 donation, all contributors will be entitled to having a single name* of their choosing listed in the contributors section of the closing credits of the film and a customized, frame-able document certifying their contribution!

IMPORTANT! Physical media copies of the finished film are NOT automatically included with a basic contribution. If you would like to be guaranteed a DVD or Blu-Ray of the film when it is released, you MUST order it separately (with the purchase of at least one credit)!

Credits can even be given as gifts! Imagine the looks on the faces of your loved ones when they find out their names will be immortalized on the silver screen!

"The Wad" INDIVIDUAL CONTRIBUTOR CREDITS

NUMBER OF CREDITS ($20 each) 12345678910 *ON-SCREEN CREDIT(S) Separate credits by commas, & or "and."  DVDS (+$10 each) none12345678910 BLU-RAYS (+$20 each) none12345678910 Is your mailing address outside of the U.S.? (All non-U.S. mailing addresses will be charged a shipping premium for physical media.) noyes

 

"Annihilate All Humans!" held its world premiere on August 2nd and was a roaring success! Despite an entirely unexpected and unforecasted torrential downpour before the festivities began, the audience seemed to greatly enjoy the new movie and reviews have been almost universally positive!

The image below was taken by the first lady of the Mihmiverse, Stephanie Mihm, just before writer/director Christopher R. Mihm "took the stage" to kick things off—and only minutes after the intense rainstorm finally ceased. If you look closely, you can even see the river of rainwater flowing down Central Avenue outside of the theater!

The world is under attack by flying saucers and only top scientists Dr. Edwards (Mike Cook) and Dr. Gabriel (James Norgard) can put an end to their unearthly aggression! Unfortunately, they have no idea it's even happening because they've been kidnapped by General Castle (Mark Haider) and taken to a remote cabin in the deep woods for some unsolicited rest & relaxation! Can our heroes find their way back to civilization in time to stop the alien menace, or will the seemingly unstoppable space invaders succeed in their quest to ANNIHILATE ALL HUMANS!?

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, and much more!

Feature Run Time: 1 hour, 14 minutes. Black & White, Widescreen, NOT RATED.

$9.99 (DVD) / $14.99 (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!

— — —

Less than a week after the debut of the latest Mihmiverse movie, an awesome event was added to September's calendar: a Mihmiverse Movie Marathon at the Time Community Theater in Oshkosh, Wisconsin!

The marathon schedule was organized by writer/director Christopher R. Mihm and included a handful of his personal favorites from his catalog, with the event set to conclude with the Wisconsin premiere of his just-released film, "Annihilate All Humans!"

— — —

The month of August finished with the release of an episode of the Scratch Claw Push podcast which featured Mr. Mihm as the main guest! The Scratch Claw Push podcast is co-hosted by actor Billie Jo Konze, who played Dr. Hackett in "The Giant Spider" and Ethyl in "Queen of Snakes."

Check out the episode below!

 

SEPTEMBER

Though principal photography of the Mihmiverse's first mockumentary, "The Wad," actually began the month prior, fans were treated to an exhilarating behind-the-scenes image from the next movie in which fan-favorite Shannon McDonough can be seen reprising her signature role of Julie Ann Saint Marie-Jackson, a character last heard (but not seen) in 2010's "Destination: Outer Space!" Ms. McDonough has starred in several Mihmiverse favorites, from her first appearance in 2007's "It Came From Another World!" through the most popular of Mr. Mihm's catalog, "The Giant Spider!"

Fans agreed it was great to see Ms. McDonough back in action and everyone can hardly wait to see what's in store for her iconic character. Not much information was given about what exactly is going on in the shared image, but it WAS canonically established in "Destination: Outer Space" that Julie Ann Saint Marie-Jackson spent her adult life cleaning the Atomic Waste out of Phantom Lake, so the photo below should provide a pretty good idea of where she is and why!

— — —

September ended with a flourish as the Mihmiverse Movie Marathon in Oshkosh, WI went off without a hitch!
 

OCTOBER

Principal photography of "The Wad" continued throughout October and, given the nature of the type of film it is, saw many of the actors involved finishing their parts quickly.

Writer/director Christopher R. Mihm spent his free time editing and, according to him, REALLY ENJOYING how it was (and still is) coming together! He admitted that he wasn't sure if this cinematic experiment was ultimately going to work, but given how things were turning out, he was feeling optimistic!

As the month came to its end, the following still was released and, for the first time, gave us a glimpse at what the title creature looks like! See for yourself below!

 

Besides the continuation of principal photography of the next film, little of note happened in November EXCEPT the reveal of the 2024 Mihmiverse 12-month wall calendar!

This year (2024), one of the most important people to ever be associated with the Mihmiverse will be celebrating his 60th birthday: Mitch Gonzales! Mitch is the insanely talented artist who has been responsible for the look and feel of the creatures seen in the films of Christopher R. Mihm since 2010! Therefore, in honor of Mitch's unparalleled talent and priceless contributions to the 'verse, each month of the 2024 calendar highlights the man, the myth, and, naturally, THE MONSTERS!

As in previous years, this Mihmiverse-inspired wall calendar was released in EXTREMELY limited quantities and have been selling VERY well! We have but a handful left and, since it's now 2024, they are now on sale for almost 25% off their original price!

 

A very special Mihmiverse-related item was revealed to the world in the final month of the year! However, some important background is needed to truly describe what it is!

In early 2020, writer/director Christopher R. Mihm was knee-deep working on what was to be his 16th film, "That Which Lurks in the Dark," about a group of "lonely hearts" spending their New Year's Eve battling their personal anxieties in the form of overwhelming darkness, otherworldly be-tentacled creatures, a pair of monster hunting scientists and, most frighteningly, their own awkward quests for love!

Unfortunately, after having filmed a third of the script, the Covid-19 pandemic forced the production to be shut down. As the crisis dragged on into 2021, Mr. Mihm had no choice but to cancel the project, worried that it would never see the light of day.

Enter author Greg Mitchell! After submitting a short video to be included in "Annihilate All Humans!," Mr. Mitchell approached Mr. Mihm about adapting his script into a novel! After reading it, Mr. Mitchell was on-board and writing began.

We are happy to offer exclusive copies through this newsletter which will be personally signed by writer/director Christopher R. Mihm! They've been on sale for a just over a month and we're sad (and happy!) to reveal that we only have five (5) copies left! If you'd like to own an exclusive signed copy of this electrifying tome, you need to order one RIGHT NOW! Don't wait! We're almost out!

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

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

 

After a roller-coaster year that ended with writer/director Christopher R. Mihm spending the holidays recovering from Covid, 2024 has finally arrived and with it, a sense of real 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 pray that this new year is filled with peace and good health for everyone, and we hope to be able to get back to doing lots of live screenings, events, and appearances in the coming months!

Remember, life is short, so make a point to never take ANYTHING or ANYONE for granted! The staff of the Mihmiverse Monthly wishes you a happy and safe new year filled with cheesy, black-and-white monster movies, love, friendship, and much success!  

The latest episode of the Mihmiverse Monthly Audiocast has arrived!

This month, host writer/director Christopher R. Mihm talks about how his holidays didn't go the way he'd planned, discusses the next Mihmiverse movie, "The Wad," and reveals his New Year's resolutions for 2024!

Also included: The latest installment of "An Oral History of the Mihmiverse" and another 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!

And I Quote...

The history of horror/monster films is filled with famous quotes, and this month, we're testing that premise by testing your QQ (Quotes Quotient).

List #1: The Films. List #2: The Quotes. Match them up correctly and you'll be considered an expert...but don't quote me on that.

6. "Psycho" (1960)

F. "It's alive! It's alive!"

Directed by Ray Kellogg
Starring James Best and Ingrid Goude

A "hunky" boat captain (played by a young James Best who is best known as Sheriff Roscoe P. Coltrane from "The Dukes of Hazzard!") and his loyal sidekick hunker down on a mysterious island to escape an approaching hurricane. There they find a group of scientists engrossed in some rather questionable research. Naturally, the scientists' well-intended "science" involves atomic radiation that inadvertently creates voracious shrews the size of large dogs—which is exactly what the film uses to portray the mutated creatures: dogs wearing bad doggie-monster mutant shrew costumes! With the giant storm bearing down, the small group is stuck in the scientists' cabin/compound while the extremely hungry nocturnal beasties try to fight their way in! The rest of the plot is pieced together using nearly every cliché of the 1950s B-movie genre—including a beautiful blonde female scientist, her weaselly, jealous ex-boyfriend who isn't very happy when she takes a liking to the new guy, science run amok, out-of-control mutated creatures, running, screaming, questionable acting, so-bad-it's-good writing, and a ridiculous resolution. All things considered, a movie this bad should not be this dang entertaining. At a forgiving 69 minutes, "The Killer Shrews" is a fun ride filled with all the things that make classic B-movies so enjoyable. It's one of my favorites, and I highly recommend this film for all connoisseurs of retro drive-in cinema!

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 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 "Annihilate All Humans!," 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 "Annihilate All Humans!") 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!