One thing that we can all agree upon, is that social media has transformed our modern world. Now whether that is for better or for worse… remains up for debate. Because it really has brought forth quite the mixed bag for humanity. After all, on the one hand, we are more connected than ever because of it, and that’s allowed for us to rediscover old friends and brought forth friendships and relationships with people we never would have known without it. Not to mention, it has given people new paths from a career standpoint to pursue. Since now influencers and bloggers can be heard and seen and do what they love without giving it a second thought. But on the other hand, well… social media has brought forth a lot of strife.
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Because it means that everyone can be heard, so dark voices join the good ones and spew their hate. Not to mention, it has helped to give rise to ugly aspects of our world we thought were long gone, such as racism, and of course… there are marginalized individuals that have become influencers that abuse their new status in the limelight. Plus, this has also given rise to something new and vicious, specifically people that want to go viral and taste that fame and they’ll do horrible things to get it. Such as stage certain scenarios to gain that clout and hurt others to grab hold of it, and that does leave us to wonder… just how far people with that mindset are going to take their quest for fame, and it just so happens that a brand-new horror film on Shudder, answers that question in a harrowing manner in Influencer.

A feat that this story accomplishes by transporting us to Thailand where an influencer named Madison is struggling with her life away from her social media feeds. For this was supposed to be a romantic getaway with her boyfriend, Ryan, and he didn’t show. Leaving her to just putter about and ponder upon the nature of her career and her life. But thankfully, she doesn’t have to spend all of her time on vacation with her thoughts. For she manages to befriend a woman named CW, that helps Madison to just clear her head and worry less about the troubles that life sends her way, and truly CW offers Madison the comfort and direction she needs in this moment, but at quite the price. For CW has no noble intentions in her heart regarding Madison, in fact… their friendship is nothing more than a ruse to get CW what she wants from the influencer she’s been watching from afar for some time now. 

Which at first glance, appears to be a plot that is focused more so on the current climate regarding social media. Since so many people are now turning their back on the influencer concept and what it stands for. Something that is reinforced here by some choice and snarky comments from CW regarding Madison’s career choice and life choices. But soon, it becomes clear that this is indeed a worst-case scenario story. One that informs us that if given the right resources and the right opportunity, someone would gladly cross every line imaginable to get their hands on what an influencer has and enjoy those spoils and the anonymity that could accompany entering this world, as CW does here. Which brings forth a very dark story, one that explores our sometimes-unhealthy obsession with fame and how some crave it but will do minimal work to get it. 
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But while this story presents us with a horrifying vision of how far one might go, it has a lot more to offer from a commentary perspective. Such as our sometimes-unhealthy relationship with social media. Since we treat each post as gospel and as though those on the screen are truly happy and living their best life. When in fact, it is a curated post to garner engagement and likes, and what is behind the image is what matters more. Because that’s what that person really is all about, which brings forth some fascinating duality in this motion picture. The kind that showcases how people use social media to hide their darkness and somehow think being famous on the web will heal them or make them better people, when it simply will not.

Which are elements that bring forth a non-traditional horror film and that’s quite welcome here. Since it instead explores the horrors of man and of our technology, since there are some unsettling scenes about what technology can accomplish right now to fool us and guide us to engagement goals and well… that all makes for one compelling watch. Simply because we do see quite the underbelly of the social media world here, and it is sold by some phenomenal performance from the cast, and it leaves us with plenty to ponder upon when it comes to our relationship with social media, and how perhaps… we are more in control than we know of preventing the obsessive nature it creates. For if we did the opposite of what we see here and used social media in an honest and sharing manner, and learned to ignore the noise from the unsavory, perhaps those eager to use it to their unwholesome advantage, would stay in the shadows where they belong.

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode 803 of ‘Fear the Walking Dead’. To revisit the previous episode, click here.
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One particular aspect of the The Walking Dead Universe that fans deeply enjoy, is coming to learn the origins of the many villains present within this universe. In large part, because it is fascinating to know what makes a villain tick and what drove them from being a decent, everyday person into the monsters that our heroes encounter, and over the past decade we’ve come to learn that sometimes… dark times embolden dark people to take advantage of the situation. Which is what Philip ‘The Governor’ Blake did back in the day, since this was his chance to be the top dog and do things his way. And Alpha saw a similar path forward as leader of the Whisperers. Not to mention, the Civic Republic Military was founded on the principle of bringing order to chaos in the most brutal manner possible. The kind that the traditional world was unwilling to commit to.
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But that’s not the case for every villain in this universe. Because sometimes, bad people are born out of the horrible trauma and nightmares that are presented to them and we’ve seen a lot of that in this universe as well. For instance, the monsters that were the cannibals at Terminus were good people that were broken by the bad ones that survived. And Negan and the Saviors were born out of the hard trauma that Negan experienced in losing his beloved wife, Lucille, so long ago. Plus, Victor Strand enjoyed his own villain origin story based upon the horrors of the world in season seven of Fear the Walking Dead. If anything, the more tragic route that villains take is top of mind today, simply because the next episode of Fear offered up just that.

For ‘Odessa’ is a story that explored precisely how P.A.D.R.E. came to be the dystopia that it is today, and well… its origins were indeed mired in tragedy. For a series of flashbacks helped us to understand that back in the day, shortly after Operation: Cobalt brought an end to much of what remained of the United States of America, there was an attempt to restore it. One led by a proud soldier named General Krennick, who was in essence, the head man in charge regarding P.A.D.R.E. and with active communications at his fingertips and his son and daughter at his side, named Ben and Sam respectively, he believed he could use the supplies in this initiative to help fledging communities and survivors. And perhaps begin to restore civilization and give humanity its long awaited second chance to rebuild and get things right this time around. 

But alas, that plan obviously never came to fruition. For a trip to the supply yard of this initiative led to all kinds of horrible disasters. First and foremost, because somehow the dead were able to make their way into the supply yard of P.A.D.R.E. and be the nuisance and horror they always are, and since Sam and Ben came along to watch over their father, because of the worry that would rightfully accompany a pair of teens that were frightened and scared by watching the end of the world play out… they were witness to the worst disaster of all. One where their father quite literally sacrificed his own life to keep his children safe, and in the process turned and became that which everyone feared and that particular moment scarred Sam and Ben to no end and prompted them to perhaps try something different to save others and spare them this kind of trauma. 

In that, if they were to build a place that was truly secure and responded to the brutality of the world in kind, then perhaps there could be real safety and a real chance at a better tomorrow. Especially if children were taught how to defend themselves and how to properly handle the horror of this world. Which led to what we know today, with some caveats of course, since these children were so badly damaged by the loss of their father, they believed that children should never have to suffer through that loss ever again and would be tougher if their parents just weren’t in the picture. Which led to the ugly decision to separate families and of course, without the guiding wisdom of adults, the brutality that we come to understand in our teenage years took deep hold in this duo, bringing forth the ugly we see in this place now. 
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Plus, this sequence also helped us to learn, that the voice behind the glass, that driving force that puts fear into the hearts of anyone in that room, was nothing more than Ben. Hammering home, the sobering reminder that our heroes have been taking instructions from a young man filled with the pain of unresolved trauma and grief and he has clearly… used that to bring out the worst in everyone. But perhaps… that won’t be the case for much longer. After all, how that discovery came to light is of note. Because in this episode, there was in essence, a rebellion brewing. One that saw Madison and others turn on Shrike for her continued push to harm them and scare them and use those tactics to control every facet of their lives, and that eventually brought Madison to that room, wherein she shattered the glass and saw the little man behind it.

But what’s equally as important about that moment, is that it was merely the opening salvo of the fight to come. For Madison, we learned, was not the only person in this broken part of the world that was eager to settle the score with P.A.D.R.E. and its horrendous actions. For in the swamps surrounding the island, were parents. Parents that had their children ripped away from their arms, and they were done waiting to see them again, they were ready for action, ready to reunite with their kids, and they had a leader that could help them do that, by way of one Daniel Salazar. Who figured out some treatments for his affliction and was nursing more trauma of his own, being separated from Luciana and losing Charlie and all, and he was ready to help them achieve that goal. And now that he is reunited with Madison (which was an EPIC moment) and has helped her inspire Mo to do the right thing… they may win the day after all.

If anything, this was just… a quality episode through and through. Because it really did offer up something that the fans love by way of that grand exploration of what creates villains in this world, with that unique twist of course. Since Sam and Ben’s intentions are noble in nature, they were just executed poorly by a lack of maturity and knowledge, giving rise to a different kind of fight for our heroes really. Because… in many ways, they’re not fighting pure evil, but misunderstanding and trauma and bringing Sam and Ben down can’t happen in the same bloody manner as other fights. It will have to be done humanely and through understanding, which should bring this story back toward its more hopeful roots, and truly, it will be interesting to see how our heroes, fight their own pain and the pain of their foes, to bring better days to this shattered corner of the world. Until next time.

I would like to think that when it comes to zombie movies, I have seen it all. I don't know if I have achieved this epic goal as of yet, but I can tell you this, I've watched a ton of movies about reanimated corpses and there have been amazing ones and there have been terrible ones. It's the yin and the yang of every genre. But there is one particular zombie movie that came up in a discussion the other day that I wish I had managed to forget about; Burial Ground.

This one is a foreign living dead film, which left me curious the first time I saw the VHS cassette hanging out in the video store. After all, The Blind Dead were an excellent addition to the zombieverse and Lucio Fulci's Zombie was impressive on so many levels, so naturally I thought it would be worth my time, and holy crap, I regret being this wrong. The plot, if you can call it that, revolves around a bunch of friends meeting in a lovely home out in the boonies, as many a group in horror films are wont to do and somewhere along the way they discover zombies and well, it's a mess past that point.  

Because, the main characters are vapid beings, devoid of personality. So, when the dead begin to attack, and pick them off one by one, you could care less. Yeah, there is splatter, yeah, it's cool but, I never thought I would say this about guts and gore in a zombie flick, but all of it is boring and repetitive. Those two words really summarize the film nicely, as since the characters basically run around to avoid the living dead, only to find them in another location.  

But what truly makes this film terrible, and no I'm not making this up and please be sitting down as you read this; is the subplot involving incest. Yeah, this movie goes there. Long story short, one of the characters is a single mother and her ‘teenage’ son has an Oedipus complex, and we are even treated to a scene where he spies on his mom undressing, complete with his creepy delight. To make matters worse, the filmmakers clearly cast a little person well into his forties to play the ‘kid.’ To I guess…. make this really gross and inappropriate sub plot work? Well either way, it doesn’t and it’s creepy and uncomfortable to watch.
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​If anything, this is a weird little movie without any solid identity, and it really is just plain awful. My advice is to steer clear of this one, but if by chance you are curious about how bad this is and decide you want to see it, I beg of you, don't. Go take a walk outside, put together a puzzle, or simply stare at the wall. All of those things would be more worth your while than watching what I have to consider to be the worst zombie movie that I have ever seen.  

We are taught from a very early age, to cherish religion and cherish faith, and it makes sense as to why. After all, Sundays at church are indeed something of an American tradition and gathering with other like-minded individuals to worship and give thanks to a Deity that has bestowed upon us so many gifts, by virtue is a positive concept. Not to mention, it allows for us to interact with people and get to know new friends and ultimately, faith and our belief in something more should help guide us to new heights. Where we never feel alone and are always filled with love and a strength, that makes us bold and brave and ready to take on any problem that life sends our way. 
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But while those are good reasons to hold to the church and the power of faith, faith wanes for so many as they grow older and they abandon the church, and there are plenty of reasons as to why. Such as the fact that there is a real hypocrisy in the church, since its congregations have been known to hate in the name of a book that teaches love, or they use the forgiveness that Christ the Redeemer offers to be an utter asshat to people because they’ll be absolved via ten Hail Mary’s. Not to mention, the understanding that the church can be as corrupt and ugly a place as any other institution in America, as evidenced by what the Boston Globe uncovered some twenty years ago… only helps people to recognize that this is not for them, and that is further reinforced by the other horror stories we hear about the church as well.

Tales that come from people who spent years within its walls and its ‘love’, only to leave it decades later with disdain and pain in their hearts from the systemic abuse it provides in the name of order and faith, and those are the true horrors of the church. The kind that should give everyone pause and should prompt change. But alas those stories don’t come forth often enough to do so, but that is starting to change via popular culture, as evidenced by a brand-new horror film on Shudder entitled, Consecration. Which is a story that introduces us to a woman named Grace who is forced to spend time at her brother’s convent when he supposedly ends his own life, which plunges her into a world of mysteries and horrors that outright take the time to explore… the dark side of the church. 

Courtesy of a grand examination of the toxic things that the church does to ensure that faith is maintained by both those chosen by God to serve and the flock, they preach the gospel to. Such as the gaslighting that takes place in the church, and the guilt tripping that constantly happens to keep people close to their faith. Which leads to some powerful moments. The kind that truly make the viewer uncomfortable as they watch this convent lean hard into fear tactics and guilt and outright verbal abuse to hammer home beliefs that feel outdated and that leads to the next important aspect of this film’s exploration of the dark side of faith. Since it explores the why behind such behaviors and it what speaks to in that regard is both fascinating and downright horrifying.

Simply because this story does a wonderful job of pointing out that a great deal of the church is filled to the brim with flawed and broken individuals that need actual help and guidance to heal their own wounds. But instead, use faith as their healing/saving grace, and as an excuse to push their pain and their own agenda upon others. Which adds a real horror to our understanding of the church and faith in general, since it speaks to a system created out of good intentions, that has transformed into a place of cyclical abuse that seemingly cannot be broken. All of which brings forth a fascinating horror feature, one that leaves us with plenty to think about… since it presents the church in such a different light than we are normally used to.

Which will undoubtedly make this a controversial film since the church does still have power and still is beloved by many. Which is why perhaps there are some classic horror elements to be found here… to soften the blow of the commentary and soften the shocking look we receive regarding the church, and those elements work here as well in smoothing that over to a casual viewer. But make no mistake about it, scares aside, this is a film that looks at the real problems the church harbors and why it needs reform and why we all need to approach it with an objective light. So, that the problems it now suffers from and the pain it has imparted upon others can be recognized and eventually removed, so it can become what it was always meant to be… a place for hope and a place to start healing.

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode 802 of ‘Fear the Walking Dead’. To revisit the Season Eight Premiere, click here.
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When we last settled in to discuss the iconic AMC series, Fear the Walking Dead, we talked at length about how the show put something on display that rarely is shown in the TWD Universe. Specifically, the breaking point of the heroes that populate this harrowing world. Because they are as tough as they come and bow to no evil nor do they let the odds dictate their course. But the horrors of P.A.D.R.E., the continued horrors of this world, and the possibility of seeing their child die, was enough to at least break Morgan and Grace and well… since there is a large group of people we know and love in this show, the series seized upon a golden opportunity to further explore what could break these heroes, in a supremely unique manner. 
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For ‘Blue Jay’ took the time to catch up with June Dorie, and when we reunited with her in the swamps of the south… she was clearly in a broken state. For she was living off the land, far away from the security of P.A.D.R.E., in isolation and doing her best to warn people away from that godforsaken place. Because something (that would be revealed later), happened during her time at P.A.D.R.E. and that prompted her to leave it behind and act instead of stew over that incident. In fact, she believed that she could do more than just raise some red flags about a place that claimed that salvation awaited families, she could instead… cause great harm to the many soldiers that passed through the swamp and slowly bring this organization down in doing so. 

A feat that she worked to accomplish, by having a special kit handy with her during the day. One that included some high-grade tranquilizers and a surgical kit, and it also included patience and guile. For June made a point to hide far enough away from the marsh, to spot the boats that sailed about without anyone spotting her and when the moment was right, she would fire a dart or two at the drivers/enemy. Which would stop the boat in its tracks, and she would bring it ashore. Wherein she would remove a single finger, often a trigger finger, and nothing more, before sending them back onto the boat to head back to HQ where they would have to re-learn how to fire and function. Slowing down the army bit by bit and that was a life she was content with, until a bevy of unexpected visitors/surprises caused great harm to her routine and forced her to reflect upon what it was that broke her and brought her to this point. 

One of which, was a father that was certain that June could help him find his little one and give him the wholeness of a family once again and the other… was a blast from the past. Dwight and Sherry to be specific, and their son. Whom they were transporting to a medical facility for appendicitis before June dropped them with darts that is… and that… brought forth a sorrowful reunion. One that informed us that Dwight and Sherry fell into the similar mindset/breaking point of Morgan and Grace, since they hated the idea of young Finch being harmed by the awful world that surrounded the island, and of course… they were so worried about their baby boy in this moment, that they asked June for quite the bit of help. In that, they lost a lot of time regarding Finch and that meant June had to operate before the situation became critical and that… led to our examination of what made June snap and become this vengeful and angry warrior. 
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Because it just so happened that nearby, was a full-on medical facility. One that had all the trimmings of a modern hospital and could easily fix Finch up in a hurry. But June was nervous about showing this place to anyone and those nerves only grew in intensity when that dad arrived and when the power in the train went out. Since she needed that light to properly work on Finch, and didn’t want dad to find out a truth, and well, as everyone worked to get the power back on, horrors untold were discovered in the other cars. Gross and deformed legions of the dead really, the kind that were clearly some kind of experiment gone wrong, and one of those experiments was that gentle girl that dear old dad was looking for and that’s when that horrible truth came to light about June and her own transgressions with this ugly and twisted place. 

In that, she was so broken by what happened to John Senior and John Junior, and all the horrors that the group endured last year, that she thought that maybe Alicia’s strange ability to fend off a bite, could provide her with the key to saving the world and preventing the abomination that was living death, and that pushed her to look at the science of the matter and use P.A.D.R.E. resources to potentially create a cure for the bites and the zombification of mankind. All through the use of radiation. By bombing people that had been bitten with it, in a controlled manner, to figure out what does of radiation could be the right one to prevent death and resurrection. Which was an experiment that went south from the get-go, since so many died of radiation poisoning and so many returned from what lies beyond with a craving for human flesh and wanton chaos. 

Which in turn, sunk June deeper into the darkness. Because she came to realize, she was doing horrible experiments on innocent people and following the edict of an organization that claimed to care about the future of humanity but had no qualms sacrificing lives as needed to make its agenda or this experiment work. Since some people, didn’t come to this laboratory of horrors with a bite, they were given one instead, and upon her escape… clearly June vowed to do whatever needed to be done to stop Shrike and her soldiers from harming more people in this manner and pay the piper for crossing the line and ignoring her oath. But what mattered more here, is that June’s story informed us that severe grief and trauma can not only bring a person to their breaking point but inspire them to do awful things to try and heal. 

But alas, redemption for June may not be in the cards for some time. Simply because… Shrike and Wren and others found the train and June and her friends, and well, with their favorite doctor in hand with leverage in front of them, since Shrike put two and two together about her relationship to Sherry and Dwight… she of course… used that to her advantage. All by having an appendix free Finch (since June did make the operation happen in between that backstory and her admissions of guilt), endure the indignity of a bite. One that will now force June to return to her darkest hour and work twice as hard to save the life of someone that absolutely matters to her and well, that was a hell of a way to end this supremely bleak and powerful tale, one that was sold by some magnificent performances from the cast. Since Austin Amelio and Christine Evangelista expressed their conflict within beautifully and of course, Jenna Elfman just put on an acting clinic here.

But what also made this ending so impactful, is that we simply didn’t see that kind of cruelty and darkness coming. Not from June, not from Shrike and her organization and once again it reminded us… that all bets are off this season and there’s a real risk that everyone any anyone could potentially die in this story. But above all, this really is the darkest hour for our heroes, and they are truly facing one of the worst villains/communities that we’ve ever seen in the TWD Universe. Because say what you want about Woodbury, or The Saviors, children were always off-limits. In fact, the only other organization that will mess with children’s lives is the CRM, making this group as twisted and as cruel as they and that definitely leaves us eager for more. To see if by chance our heroes can rise above their pain and their breaking points to bring an end to this organization and the madness they outright stand for. Until next time.

It's a growing and almost welcome trend in film to essentially hit the ‘Reset’ button. Studios and filmmakers alike are at last recognizing their mistakes and rather than let a good franchise disappear, they simply start from scratch, or find a way to forget the mistake, by way of releasing a sequel that in essence, wipes away the goof and continues the story shortly after the last entry in the franchise.

A fine example of this has been in comic book movies, since we’ve seen follows ups in this genre that straight up ignore anything that came before it and while this approach has sometimes resulted in a mixed bag when all is said and done, it’s a legitimate attempt to right and a wrong and it is an approach we can also find in horror since the Sleepaway Camp franchise attempted it as well with 2008’s Return to Sleepaway Camp.

It has been years since Camp Arawak fell under the murderous spell of Angela Baker, but her awful crimes did not go unpunished and Baker was locked away forever and one of the counselors there that fateful night, Ronnie, has decided to return to the summer camp business after all this time and with a little financial help he opens Camp Manabe. It's business as usual at camp, until Alan, the resident outcast, begins to break down in anger from all the bullying he endures. Now once more kids are dying at camp, and while the prime suspect seems to be Alan, Ronnie begins to wonder if Angela is somehow lurking in the shadows.  ​

​It was a long and difficult road to bring the fourth Sleepaway Camp film to life. Prior to this picture there was a sequel entitled The Survivor, but it ran out cash mid filming and originally saw the light of day as a bonus disc in the rare Sleepaway Camp Survival Kit DVD set. Recently though, super fan John Klyza stepped in and made sure The Survivor was completed as since you can now find it available on DVD as well. But this film however, has the honor of being an official sequel, since the original film's writer and director; Robert Hiltzik returns to the franchise he made famous in this tale and he did exactly what Bryan Singer did with Superman Returns, and simply forgot about the sequels that weren't worth a damn and continued the story as a direct follow up to the film that actually mattered.
 
However, if you are expecting something as groundbreaking as Sleepaway Camp prepare for a mixed bag. On the plus side, the kills are once more spectacular. Creativity, and plenty of blood, flow as these poor teenagers fall at the hands of the killer and keeping the killer's true identity a secret is also handled well in this film. I won't ruin that twist here, but it was a pleasant surprise to see exactly who is responsible for all this bloodshed right before the credits roll. The film also gets credit for bringing back Paul DeAngelo to play Ronnie after all these years, and even Jonathan Tiersten, who played Ricky in the first film manages to make an appearance.  

However, the biggest problem with the story, is the main character, Alan, who is essentially Angela's replacement here. While we are supposed to sympathize with this character, one simply cannot. While Angela’s innocence and silence helped elicit a level of empathy from the audience when the kids started picking on her in the original film, Alan is portrayed on screen as an absolute jackass. And at times he warrants the punishment he receives, since he is as big of a bully as the kids that come after him. All in all, however, Return to Sleepaway Camp is a fun little ride, with kills that leave you cheering. But it won’t impress you the same way the original did. Because this movie is nothing more than a good attempt to re-capture the magic of the first, but nothing can ever top that. Thankfully though, I can safely say this time around that out of all the sequels in this franchise, this is the best follow up by far.

It is definitely safe to say that fans of The Walking Dead Universe, pour over every word spoken by the casts of these dynamic shows. Simply because they want to know everything there is to know about these shows and learn every facet of the production and the thoughts of the cast and crew and well, there’s more to pour over right now when it comes to the final season of Fear the Walking Dead. For yesterday, she dropped by Daily Blast Live to discuss this year’s farewell tour… and more and well, here is that clip for all of you TWD fans to enjoy, courtesy of Daily Blast Live.  
 
Plus, if you’re interested in enjoying more quality interviews from the DBL team, here’s their schedule for next week for you to peruse.
 
“DAILY BLAST LIVE” LISTINGS FOR THE WEEK OF MAY 22, 2023 
 
“Daily Blast Live” is a nationally syndicated daytime talk show. Through multi-platform programming DBL brings immersive and interactive connection to its audience allowing them to join the conversation daily on YouTube, Twitter, Twitch, our homepage, the DBL app and TEGNA's OTT station apps on Roku.
 
Hosts include former CNN "Dr. Drew" co-host, Sam Schacher, former "Big Brother" and "The Amazing Race" contestant Jeff Schroeder, stand-up comic Al Jackson, radio personality Erica Cobb and Washington insider Tory Shulman.
 
Air Date: 05/22/23
GUEST LINE-UP & SPECIAL CONTENT 
An emotional story about a woman who survived a deadly 2012
Amtrak crash that killed 8 and injured hundreds in Philadelphia.
Geralyn Ritter joins us LIVE to share how she recovered from the
traumatic event and her mission to provide hope for other
survivors navigating uncertainty, pain and loss.

Air Date: 05/23/23
GUEST LINE-UP & SPECIAL CONTENT
Professor and author Ashley Perez joins us LIVE to discuss the
latest wave of book banning and how her award-winning book
Out of Darkness became a target for politically motivated book
bans across the country.

Air Date: 05/24/23
GUEST LINE-UP & SPECIAL CONTENT
Holistic plastic surgeon Dr. Youn is back joining us LIVE to give
his take on the latest trend of people tattooing freckles on their
faces and the best way to protect your skin from the sun this
summer.

Air Date: 05/25/23
GUEST LINE-UP & SPECIAL CONTENT
This Is Us star Chrissy Metz joins us LIVE to give us the inside
scoop on her latest film Stay Awake, playing a mother battling
a drug addiction and launching her wine company Joyful Heart.
 
Finance and budgeting expert Sarah Schweisthal joins us LIVE
to give us money saving tips, how to cut down on grocery
spending and eliminating food waste.

Air Date: 05/26/23
GUEST LINE-UP & SPECIAL CONTENT
Jurassic Park star B.D. Wong joins us LIVE to talk about his
portrayal of Dr. Henry Wu in the Jurassic Park movie franchise,
his beloved role in Father of the Bride and his new movie New
Gremlins: Secrets of Mogwai.
 
Known for their authentic, unfiltered and live take on whatever viewers are talking about, “Daily Blast Live” (www.dailyblastlive.com) isn’t just another nationally-syndicated talk show. With a truly diverse team of hosts from all walks of life, the show is relatable, entertaining and is all about starting conversations that matter -- fearless, fierce dialogue on the air and in social media about what’s happening in the world and what’s on the minds of their community of passionate and vocal fans. Taped in Denver’s KUSA studio, there’s no such thing as off limits on “Daily Blast Live.”

​At some point or another in our cinematic adventures, we’ve all heard the phrase ‘franchise fatigue’ get thrown around when a particular series of films or concept at the box office begins to falter both financially and in popularity and that phrase exists for one particular reason, there’s some serious merit behind it. Eventually, the ideas that once captivated audiences simply no longer resonate with them for various reasons and people simply stop going to see them. 
 
But I’ve come to learn that sometimes, there’s another important element that comes into play when it comes to franchise fatigue in that, the quality of the films helps to determine the fate of a franchise as well. After all, when a particular saga churns one great movie after another, people will gladly hand over their money to see what new adventures await them and when they don’t… well we know how that story ends, and sadly all of these negative elements came into play in 1989, when the Sleepaway Camp saga reached its lowest point with the release of the supremely rough, Sleepaway Camp III: Teenage Wasteland.
 
Now in this particular tale, set roughly a year after Angela ‘The Angel of Death’ Baker violently murdered everyone at Camp Rolling Hills, we find ourselves returning to Angela’s former hunting grounds for all the right reasons. Because a kind and caring couple have decided to re-open the place under the name Camp New Horizons, wherein teens from all walks of life can come together and see that people are all the same. But there’s just one problem, Angela has killed one of the campers and taken their place at camp, and it won’t be long before she turns this social experiment into a waking nightmare as she works to satisfy her endless bloodlust. 

​Filmed back to back with Sleepaway Camp II: Unhappy Campers, this movie does deserve some serious credit for getting right down to the gore since we get our first kill just a few minutes in and it is a creative one since I’ve never seen a garbage truck be used as a weapon before and honestly, that opening splatter is promising to say the least, but alas, it’s all downhill from there and that’s quite frankly a crying shame because this particular entry in the Baker saga had some serious potential to be something special.
 
Take the interesting premise of the camp’s purpose for instance, since the notion of brotherhood and unity is something you don’t often see in horror films and had the film explored this and used it to perhaps surprise Angela and give her a better outlook on humanity, who knows what kind of story we would have ended up with. Instead, we are treated to ugly and foul human beings (outside of the protagonist), that you simply don’t care about when they die and honestly, their reviling nature helps you to lose interest in the story and in the end they’re really nothing more than fodder for Angela.
 
Yet even then the kills are pretty pedestrian to the say the least, and if anything, this film just feels tired. It offers nothing new, just the same old stuff we’ve seen before, complete with the racial stereotypes that were prevalent in horror during the 1980s and this motion picture shut down the franchise for many, many years, and the poor reception it received is well deserved since the same team that brought us the plucky part II, simply phoned this one in. So, see this one simply out of respect for the saga, just don’t expect anything special once you hit play.  

​While sequels are often lamented and debated over in other genres in film, I’ve come to notice over the years that they seem to be embraced and encouraged by horror fans. Because in this particular genre, there is a genuine opportunity to continue the storyline, and learn more about the antagonist that was introduced in the first film and really, it’s the sheer potential storytelling wise that allows for sequel after sequel to come forth.
 
Yet, while it’s awesome to see this genre produce a bevy of sequels that give us more of what we crave, there is a slight catch when it comes to this, in that, often times the sequels that come our way, aren’t that good to begin with. Budget constraints, new writers and massive casting changes can change everything we loved about the original story and sadly, those kinds of sweeping alterations befell the Sleepaway Camp franchise, since the second entry in this series, Sleepaway Camp II: Unhappy Campers, turned out to be quite the mixed bag storytelling wise.
 
Which is shame because the story to this film had some serious potential since it picks up several years after the incident at Camp Arawak, where we learn that Angela Baker, who is now known as ‘The Angel of Death’, served a sentence for her crimes and underwent counseling before being released and moving on with her life, but her story lives on at every summer camp out there, including Camp Rolling Hills, where suddenly, campers are starting to go missing while camp is in session and there’s good reason for that. Because no one has a clue that Angela Baker is a counselor at this camp, and she is most certainly not ‘reformed’, and she is instead relishing in resuming her killing spree, and punishing every wicked camper that she comes across.

​So, while that plot sounds juicy and deep in its nature, it’s sadly…handled with some serious fluff. In fact, the big problem that surrounds the second entry in this storied franchise, is that it purposefully ventures into campy territory without a second thought. Gone are the thoughtful plot threads we found in the first film, instead all of that is replaced with hammy one-liners and horror film homage after horror film homage and while some of those wisecracks do elicit a chuckle, the tributes to Freddy Krueger and Jason Voorhees definitely pull you out of the story.
 
However, so that this review doesn’t become an outright rant, we do need to take a moment and discuss the film’s more redeeming qualities. After all, some of the kills are actually fairly solid and gross in their own right, and that does give the splatter factor some merit in this film, and in all honesty, the finale, wherein Molly gets a good, up close look at Angela’s handiwork is pretty disturbing in its own right and the actor who takes over for Felissa Rose as Angela Baker, Pamela Springsteen, brings a special kind of honesty to the role and the zest and zeal that she plays the character with actually works within the framework of the film.
 
But, make no mistake about it, this movie doesn’t hold a flame to the original and it’s clear that the people behind the scenes simply wanted to cash-in on the summer camp slasher film trend that dominated the 1980’s and their creative choices clearly reflect that. But that doesn’t make the film outright awful, just campy and by and the numbers, which means that it’s supremely watchable and a fun way to kill an hour and half and really, you can’t go wrong with the fact that this slasher flick does deliver when it comes to the blood and guts. 

​If there’s one thing that the horror industry enjoys more than any other genre out there, it’s trends. Because these films love to ride whatever popular wave is resonating with audiences and that’s why we see movie after movie featuring the same concept or monster in theaters and back in the 1980’s, the particular trend that filmmakers tended to grab on to as often as possible, were summer camp themed slasher stories, where poor, unfortunate teenagers met their demise in horrifying fashion in the woods while they were far away from home.
 
Which should come as no surprise since the slasher flick was king in the 1980s and the Voorhees family and their respective shenanigans at Camp Crystal Lake made summer camp a terrifying place, and filmmaker after filmmaker tried to replicate the wonder of those films, and well, the end result of these particular motion pictures, was surprising to say the least. Because many of them were actually top notch in both quality and story, a rarity for films that follow the popular kid, and of the many movies that followed in Jason’s big footsteps, there’s one that I revisit often because of its uniqueness and overall quality, Sleepaway Camp.
 
Now this particular film, released in 1983, is perhaps the most unique summer camp themed slasher flick out there thanks to its surprise ending. In fact, in just about every single conversation I’ve ever had about this film starts and ends with ‘that moment’ because it is so iconic and stunning and powerful. But while that all-important ending is shocking in its own right and quite the twist to say the least, there’s surprisingly a lot to like when it comes to this motion picture, and that’s thanks in large part to a script that explores plenty of things that other horror films rarely go near. 

Case in point, the fact that this particular tale actually bothers to look at the awkwardness that comes with being a teenager, something that is explored by way of just about every single camper since well, Camp Arawak truly does feel like high school all over again and all the cliques and machismo and attitude that we all experienced in high school is on display here and well, it sucks you in to the story. You feel for Angela as the kids pick on her and really, it’s just amazing to sit through a horror film that is flat out relatable in this fashion, but the wonder of this movie doesn’t end there.
 
Because this motion picture also touches upon sexuality and gender, something that was quite frankly taboo in just about any genre for the time and honestly, considering how much time the movie spends on its characters and character development, it’s a shame the story didn’t take the time to dig into these topics a little more. But all surprises and fresh ideas aside, make no mistake about it, this is still a slasher flick and it delivers on that front as well with some surprisingly creative and twisted kills and while the gore alone makes the movie worthwhile, it’s everything else that makes this one an instant classic in its own right.
 
But truly, the centerpiece of this film is it's ending. Because quite frankly, you never see it coming and kudos to Writer/Director Robert Hiltzik for doing such a fine job at keeping this twist well-hidden and for putting together a quality horror flick, one that has withstood the test of time, and one that people still visit as often as possible and if by chance, you haven’t seen this absolute classic yet, seek it out as soon as possible because it really is something special, and it really does stay with you long after the story has come to an end.