Continue the tradition by adding some retro-monster-cheer to your decorations with the eighth annual Mihmverse holiday ornament!
This year's exclusive ornament is based on the aliens seen in the newest Mihimverse film, "
This limited-edition collectible is lovingly hand-crafted by members of the Mihm family, individually numbered, includes the year, and joins the ever-growing set which includes last year's Beast (from
Because stock is limited to no more than 25 ornaments, we highly recommend ordering
The latest episode of the
Mihmiverse Monthly Audiocast has arrived!
This month, host writer/director Christopher R. Mihm talks about his next film and the unique challenge presented by making a faux-documentary, and muses on the "generational divide" in regards to how people watch filmed entertainment!
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!
A Haunting We Will Go—The Sequel
Last month, we tested your knowledge of ghostly films from the 1940s. This month, we're opening the coffin on "spirited" films from the years between 1953 and 1963.
List #1: Titles and Years. List #2: Plots and other info. Match them up correctly and congratulate yourself on a frighteningly good job!
1. "Scared Stiff" (1953)
2. "The Screaming Skull" (1958)
3. "The House on Haunted Hill" (1959)
4. "Tormented" (1960)
5. "13 Ghosts" (1960)
6. "The Terror" (1963)
7. "
The Haunting" (1963)
A. A pair of newlyweds move into the desolate mansion where the husband's first wife died in a freak accident. Soon, his new wife experiences some strange and eerie events. Is the mentally challenged gardener involved?
B. A man lets his former girlfriend fall to her death so she won't interfere with his new relationship and upcoming wedding. Bad idea. Richard Carlson starred; Bert I. Gordon directed.
C. A French Army officer is separated from his unit, and receives
help from a mysterious woman who turns out to be the long-dead wife of a local Baron. The all-star team behind this film included Boris Karloff and Jack Nicholson, as well as co-directors Roger Corman and Francis Ford Coppola.
D. A nightclub singer and a busboy are on the run, fleeing a crime they didn't commit. They end up on a creepy Caribbean island recently inherited by a young woman. Comedic spookiness ensues, as Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis lead the cast.
E. This William Castle-directed classic features Vincent Price as a millionaire who offers $10,000 to 5 people who agree to spend the night in a spooky old house with him and his wife.
F. Another William Castle classic: A family moves into a haunted house, and finds a special pair of goggles that allows them to see who's doing the haunting. The stars of this film include Margaret Hamilton.
G. Is Hill House Haunted? For 90 years, the people who have lived there died tragically. Now a team of investigators is out to discover the scary truth. Robert Wise directed and Julie Christie starred.
In this new column, we'll be digging through old issues of the
Mihmiverse Monthly and
Phantom Lake Almanac (which was the original name of this newsletter!) and presenting interesting bits and pieces from the past! After all, this newsletter has been around since the release of "
The Monster of Phantom Lake" back in 2006, so there's a
LOT to choose from!
This month, we flashback to April 2017 for a column called
Meet the New Faces of the Mihmiverse! At the time, the production crew was hard at work filming "
Demon with the Atomic Brain," and given that the film's major cast members were all new to the 'verse, it seemed fitting to introduce each of them to the fans.
The subject of that month's interview was Tyler Haines, one of the few new actors to appear in more films afterwards. The character he played in "
Demon with the Atomic Brain" even returned in the most recently-released film, "
Annihilate All Humans!"
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.
Tell us about your experience auditioning for "Demon with the Atomic Brain." In your opinion, how has the film shoot gone so far?
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!
CLASSIC MOVIE OF THE MONTH
The Astounding She-Monster (1957)
Directed by
Ronald V. AshcroftStarring
Robert Clarke and
Kenne Duncan
"
The Astounding She-Monster" is the kind of classic B-movie that has to be seen to be believed. Not because it's particularly ground-breaking or even good. Instead, this film should be experienced simply for its over-the-top awfulness! The story concerns a trio of crooks who kidnap a rich socialite and squirrel her away into the mountains. On their trek up, a meteor-like object crashes into the woods and a beautiful (and highly deadly) alien woman emerges to... well, we're not really sure what. Mostly she just aimlessly roams the woods in a very tight-fitting silver cat suit. The criminal driving the getaway car catches one glimpse of her and proceeds to crash and incapacitate the car. Luckily, they find themselves very near the cabin of a lonely geologist—who, coincidentally, just happens to be studying the remains of the fallen meteorite-ish object. The kidnappers break in and hold the scientist and socialite at gunpoint until they can figure on a plan of escape. However, the menacingly silent space chick has her own plans—which mostly involve just walking around and killing whatever she touches by sickening it with a massive dose of "radium poisoning." As was previously mentioned, this movie is truly terrible. From every angle, "
The Astounding She-Monster" not only scratches the bottom of the barrel, it
IS the bottom of the barrel! However, at only 62 minutes, it is absolutely worth seeing. From the strange, "overlong voiceover" beginning to the mind-numbingly preposterous climax and pathetic attempt at a "
Twilight Zone"-esque denouement, the so-bad-it's-good dialogue, painfully obvious day-for-night exterior scenes, and cheeseball camera effect used every time the alien "she-monster" is on-screen make this movie everything a classic-bad-movie fan could ever ask for! I highly recommend it—if you can handle it!
— Christopher R. Mihm
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!
The Trivia Corner answers: 1-D, 2-A, 3-E, 4-B, 5-F, 6-C, 7-G
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