All the news that wasn't fit to print

How do you review a festival? That's always been a challenge, given how much space miserly editors are willing to give out. There are so many shows, so many comics, and I can only get to a handful of them in the paper. So let's see what else I can remember about the week. I'll walk you through my itinerary:

Wednesday, Yuk Yuk's: An evening of sketch comics doing stand-up. Andy Dick was scheduled to appear, but we all know now he couldn't get across the border. Or out of the airport, actually. Just as well, the night was long enough. The San Francisco sketch troupe Comedy Noir did the first portion, while Halifax's Picnicface did the second.

Howard Stone emceed the American half. According to his bio, I see he played a junkie on an episode of Cagney & Lacey. Nuff said. Only two of the nine performers were any good: Kevin Avery and Drennon Davis. Some of the others were okay; some were amateur hour.

Hey, look at that. A search of Drennon Davis shows he was on Last Comic Standing, making it through a round. No embedding permitted on the video, but here's the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xGsQ7ypQ0ms

Here's a clip of Avery:


Next up was Picnicface's turn, who fared much better overall. My two favourites were Evany Rosen, who had a naturally funny charm, and Cheryl Hann, who, with her tattoos and Casio 100 Sound Tone Bank, had the most star power of the whole night.

Here's a sketch clip featuring Rosen:


Friday, The Cultch: I wrote about the Hitler roast in the Straight. I loved it. It was sick and dark without being offensive (although I'm sure it is to some po-faced stick-in-the-muds). So many good lines. Here's a clip of Caitlin Gill as Anne Frank:


The late show on Friday at Yuks was a typical late Friday show. At least the crowd was. Loud oblivious idiots and rude jerks almost ruined the night. Hosts BJ Porter and Scott Aukerman were greeted with a kindly, "You suck!" But when you could hear the show, it was pretty damn good. I liked Ben Kronberg, who I hadn't seen before. Really low-key, which seems to be in vogue these days. He read from his notebook and had some great stupid jokes, like "Knock-knock... (Who's there?)... Chain letter... (Chain letter who?)... Tell this joke to 10 people or your mom will die." Here's a clip of Ben on Jimmy Kimmel:


Maria Bamford did the same-old same-old. Rory Scovel got big laughs from the comics at the back of the room, while the drunken dolts didn't get his effeminate southern character. With the crowd getting louder, I thought there's no way the soft-spoken Todd Barry set would go well, but it did. The guy knows how to handle a crowd. I know it happens with every set, but why must the wait staff be so loud when handing out the bills? Couldn't they wait until the show was over?

Paul F. Tompkins closed the set and was his usual hilarious self, only this time he did twelve minutes of off-the-cuff material. He wasn't going to waste his gold on this crowd. But the thing with Tompkins, anything he touches (verbally) is gold. He seemed to be enjoying himself, if perversely given that he hated the crowd: "I can't wait to see what I'm going to say next." One loud group was thrown out during his set. Unfortunately for them, they happened to be huge fans of Tompkins. When they informed Paul F. they were in the process of getting turfed, Tompkins said, "What for? Is it for never stopping talking ever?"

Porter closed the evening with, "You are exactly the kind of audience I expect from a basement club in a place called Yuk Yuk's."

I loved the conference room shows at the Westin Grand, even though the venue wasn't ideal. I had a look at the smaller new room attached to the Cultch, and they would have been perfect there. What a great space. I didn't catch any shows there, but I can tell.

Andy Kindler's Talk Show was hilarious. Even more so because he tries so hard for the 14 people in attendance (or whatever the number was). Guests on Friday included Tom Arnold, Todd Barry and a bitter character most likely modelled on Andrew Dice Clay played by James Adomian. Andy's sidekick, Josh Fadem, was mostly annoying but occasionally funny.

On Saturday, Kindler welcomed Tig Notaro, Brent Weinbach and Garfunkel & Oates. Weinbach, whose standup I'm not a fan of, was himself and not bad. I'd love to see that guy (i.e. himself) on stage rather than the stiff, ultra-serious persona. Loved Garfunkel & Oates every time I saw them, by the way. Here's an irresistable clip:


I don't listen to Jimmy Pardo's podcast because, well, who wants to pay for such things? But he's a favourite of mine and when I found out he was recording an episode in the conference room, I was stoked even if he wasn't. He was as great as ever, and made great hay at the fact he flew all this way to perform in front of 48 people in a conference room. His good friend Pat Francis was the "third chair" and I loved their antagonistic relationship. Francis was annoying in a good way (Fadem being annoying in a bad way). Here's a short clip of him being the guest on a previous episode:


Janet Varney came on as the second guest – or fourth chair, I guess – and was whip smart funny. She could definitely keep up with those guys.

Francis was back for the Pardo game show, You Fascinate Me, and the two of them were great again. The show is a variation on the old Groucho Marx game show, You Bet Your Life. Sure, there's a game element, but the real fun is Pardo's interaction with the guests.

The Jesus roast was nowhere near as good as the Hitler one, although there were some funny lines. The roasters were the Virgin Mary, Bachus, Mary Magdalene, O.J. Simpson, Mother Theresa, L. Ron Hubbard, Tom Cruise, Stephon the Choirboy, Sgt. Bilko, Pontius Pilate, and Satan. Hosted by the worst Jackie Mason impression I've ever heard. He's got to be the easiest guy in the world to do, and Howard Stone (who played Hitler the night before) couldn't sustain it beyond a sentence. L. Ron Hubbard was probably the best. He opposes gay marriage: "I believe a marriage should be a union between a woman and a closeted gay movie star." Then this: "Your disciples got book deals. Who reads? Mine are box office gold! In your face, faggot!" And: "You wrote only one book. I wrote 3000 and they were all best sellers. I didn't have to leave mine lying aronud a fucking Motel 6."

I particularly didn't like the recontextualizations. The Virgin Mary was an modern-day old Jewish lady, Bachus, the god of wine, was a recovering alcoholic, and Pilate was a modern-day Hollywood a-hole. Although, again, some funny lines. Near the end of her segment, the Virgin Mary looked up and said, "I just saw a light. That either means I should get off the stage or you're gonna get that sister you always wanted."

When Jesus finally got to speak, he said, "I came back for this?" My thoughts exactly.

I booted it over to Yuk Yuk's for the late show and it was the most packed I'd ever seen it. Standing room only. Garfunkel and Oates were on stage with Reggie Watts beating (if that's what it's called) behind them on their rap, This Party Took a Turn for the Douche, and they were bringing the house down. Here's the song, sans Watts:


(As an aside, I took a look at Regina Spektor's song, Dance Anthem of the 80s, because Watts told me he was on it. I watched the video and couldn't see or hear him. So I checked another video, from a performance of them together in Cologne, doing the same song. It sounded exactly the same. All the music I heard that I thought was, you know, instruments, was actually Watts. Impressive.)

Oh, what the hell, since I'm adding so many clips, I may as well as include the Spektor video. What you hear that isn't her or a piano is Reggie Watts:


Todd Barry then came out and fake-trashed Watts for not being able to do a cymbal crash. He's such a confident comedian I never get tired of seeing him. Plus even if he's doing the same material, he riffs so much it's different every time, as opposed to a Weinbach or Bamford, for example, who are exactly the same night-in and night-out.

James Adomian was next. Never seen him do stand-up before. He's a sketch guy, most famous for his Bush impression, which he did everywhere. His stand-up set wasn't so great, but he does good, and rare, voices: Gary Busey, Paul Giamatti and Lewis Black.

Tig Notaro is the female Todd Barry. Same energy. Same false bravado. And lots of winging it in between prepared bits, which stands up to repeat viewings.

Then Reggie Watts closed the evening, blowing everyone away, even the established old-timers in the back of the room, Glen Foster, Derek Edwards and Barry Kennedy.

And that's about it. I wrote about the David Cross and Steve Martin Q&As in the Straight, so I won't rehash.

Sometime soon, I'll write about my late-night exchange with Cross.

Five new podcasts

Have you run out of podcasts to listen to? I know there aren't many out there to choose from. If so, we've got five new ones you may want to take an aural gander at. There are posted here in all their glory, but you may prefer to download them at iTunes. You know what? I'll leave that up to you. Here's what we've got for you:

Chris Molineux, from October 12, 2008:


Cameron MacLeod, from August 2, 2009:


Devon Lougheed & Devin MacKenzie, from August 9, 2009:


Gerald Varga & Bill MacDonald, from September 6, 2009:


Will Davis & Tim Rykert, from September 13, 2009:

Sept. 27: Scott Aukerman

Tonight, live in studio, our guest will be one half of the Fun Bunch, the creator of Comedy Death-Ray, Emmy-award winning nominated writer for Mr. Show, host of the hugely popular (I'm guessing) CDR Podcast, and moderator extraordinaire Scott Aukerman. This will be a good one. I know I say that a lot, but this time I really mean it.

Other than those credits I just threw at you, I don't know a lot about Aukerman's history in show business. I'm sure he's got some great stories to tell. I saw him this afternoon moderating the David Cross Q&A and he was unobtrusively hilarious. And we'll find out what, exactly, he thinks of Vancouver audiences. I'm looking forward to it.

If you've got a question or comment for Scott, give us a call. Make him believe people actually listen to the show. I told him it was the highest-rated radio show/podcast in Canadian history, so don't let me down, people. Tune in to What's So Funny? here in Vancouver from 11 pm to midnight at 102.7 FM. Listen on-line from any part of the planet by following this link (internet connection not included). The phone number to the studio is 604-684-7561. And if you're getting to this posting late, you can always listen via podcast at iTunes. We'll post it here, too, to remind you.

Comedy Death-Ray at the Vogue

The L.A.-based Comedy Death-Ray show has been a staple of the Vancouver festival, making the trek north four years in a row. Scott Aukerman and BJ Porter bring together the best of the indie crowd for a marathon comedy showcase. Last night was no exception as they entertained most of the audience for a full three hours. I say "most" because some people are just jerks, yelling out, interrupting, yawning audibly at the first sign of something they don't like. Attention future comedy audience members: You're never going to like everything at a comedy show. Just sit tight and something or somebody you do like will be on soon. Don't spoil it for everyone else. Porter said at the end of the show that this would be their last trip to Vancouver. I'm hoping he's kidding, but Donny Osmond was right when he said one bad apple can spoil the whole lot, girl.

Apart from that, the show was almost perfect. I'm a sucker for the comedy team and have been asking for more for years. Aukerman & Porter, aka The Fun Bunch, really are fun guys and good hosts. They're loose, not as scripted as traditional comedy teams and that's to be expected for such an event. One of their skits saw Aukerman as a magician and Porter as his helper. Porter grabbed an unsuspecting guy from the second row (Rory Scovel, who played his part with understated perfection to the point where everyone around me figured he really was a guy named Scott who worked in a bookstore). The bit went on and on and I loved it. I think most of the crowd did, too, but some got impatient as the magician and his helper got fed up with each other.

I think such a bit helps weed out those who don't get it. The performer should relish the fact that not everyone gets it, so long as most of us do. But I can also see how the few impatient jerks might act like a gut-punch to your ego. So here's what you do, impatient jerks: If you don't like something, quickly and quietly get up and leave. Get a drink. Go to the bathroom. Just leave. Come back when whatever you don't like is over. You're not speaking for the rest of us.

That's exactly what I did when Brent Weinbach came on in the second half. I saw Brent a few years ago and liked him. Then when he came back last year, I couldn't stand his act. You've always got to give someone a fair chance, so I sat and watched his comedic performance art this time. I didn't like his almost verbatum recitation of a YouTube clip of a hispanic guy telling women to shave their hoo-haws, but at least it was new. Then he started in with some of the same bits he did last year. Unlike some comics who, when doing old bits, always tell it in a refreshing manner, Weinbach has got his act down pat. Nothing changes. So when he got into his excruciating Russian alphabet bit, I got up and left. I knew it was a long bit, so I went and got a slice of pizza... Okay, two slices. By the time I got back, Todd Barry – one of my all-time favourites – was on stage. Damn you Weinbach for making miss the first four minutes of Todd Barry! The point is, I didn't shout out or heckle or yawn. I didn't like the act, so I removed myself.

I was thinking about my harsh thoughts about Weinbach and felt bad should he ever come across them. Maybe they'd sting, like a heckler's taunts. I hope not. I have nothing against Weinbach at all and would love to talk to him. Nobody's act is for everybody. As long as some people like you, that's all that matters. I'm just one guy with an opinion, like anyone else. Yeah, occasionally I write about them in the paper, but I try to be fair and try to convey that it's just my opinion.

Not to harp on the negative, but Maria Bamford, as much as I like her personally, is kind of hit and miss with me, too. For me, she's the kind of act that if you've seen her once, you've seen her enough. Because once is fantastic. She does great voices, great characterizations, is naturally funny and weird in a wonderful way. But for me it doesn't translate to repeated viewings. For others, they think she's the best thing since... something else that's really great.

Okay, enough with the digs. Everyone else was great. Phil Hanley represented the 604 (and 778, I guess) well... Andy Kindler was on fire with his unique brand of meta-comedy ("Is there a chance I won't comment on what I just said?" The answer, of course, is no). Loved his chops on Jay Leno, too, a favourite target of his: "I was worried. Would he be as edgy at 10 o'clock? Would they let Jay be Jay?"... Reggie Watts closed the first half with flair, as usual. The guy really is amazing. (See my profile on him here.)... Todd Barry was killing when one yahoo gave him a big yawn. Todd asked, "Are you bored?" Maybe he shouldn't have asked because the boor replied in the affirmative and things went south in a hurry... And another all-time favourite Paul F. Tompkins closed out the evening with two stories both about being fired from video stores. That guy could, as they say, read the phone book and it would be funny. There's not a funnier comic working today.

All in all a great show. I headed down to the Media Club and caught the quirky and cute Garfunkel & Oates sing some really funny original songs accompanying themselves on ukulele, guitar and kazoos. They even did a rap. Then Reggie Watts brought the house down with some explosive and explosively funny... uh, whatever it is he does. I mentioned to someone on my way down that I envy those that will see him for the first time without knowing anything about him, because he will blow their minds. Sure enough, after the show I overheard many who were simply in awe. If you haven't seen him yet, there are still a few more chances.

Tonight I don't know what I'll see. I hate the schedule. Shows are layered over one another so you have to pick and choose. It gets really crazy tomorrow with two galas (Edge of the Fest at the Vogue and Best of the Fest at the Centre) both at 8 pm.

Sept. 20: Jon Reep & Tom Segura

We've got a star-studded line-up on tonight's What's So Funny? Last night I recorded a 25-minute chat with Jon Reep between sets at Laffline's. Reep won NBC's Last Comic Standing a few years ago. We talked about that, he told a funny story about meeting Ron White, and lots more.

Tom Segura is not as well known, but he headlines all over the U.S. We spoke for 35 minutes sitting outside Yuk Yuk's on Friday night between shows. Besides buses and sirens and traffic, you'll hear us talking about his start in comedy, living in downtown Los Angeles, tattoos, hats, and cyclists, among other things.

Which one should I play first? I haven't decided yet. If you have a preference, leave it in the comments section and majority rules.

That's a pretty good hour, right? Come on, admit it. With the festival continuing next week, I hope to have more such interviews on next week's show.

Even though all the info is elsewhere on the blog, I'll remind you that the show goes from 11 to midnight on co-op radio, 102.7 FM. You can listen on-line here.

Jon Reep at Lafflines

I took the Canada Line and then the SkyTrain all the way out to New West tonight to see Last Comic Standing winner Jon Reep. An hour and five minutes later, I was there. So I missed Kevin Foxx's set, unfortunately. Foxx is one of my favourite Vancouver comics of all time and I haven't seen him in a while. When I walked in, Toby Hargrave was on stage, killing before a large and appreciative crowd. I've figured out one positive to not seeing as much local comedy as I used to, and it's this: Now when I see a local, I don't know their routines by heart and I wasn't there when they were working out new material so I get to see new stuff that's got a bit of polish to it.

Hargrave was doing some relatively edgy race material that walked the line but definitely was on the progressive side of said line. One joke that jumped out was when he was describing that white people have lots to be proud about: "We freed the slaves." That's a smart bit and would be potentially troublesome in a lesser comic's hands.

After Toby came the headliner, Jon Reep, best known for winning the penultimate season of NBC's Last Comic Standing, for which he took home 250 grand. Reep is a good ol' boy from North Carolina and lets us know it at every opportunity. Fair enough. But I had the same feeling I had when watching Trevor Boris talk about nothing but being gay. They say write what you know. I guess I just can't believe that they're both so inward looking that they don't know anything else.

But that's not fair. Neither of these acts is for me. They play to certain demographics. And they both do well. They're entertainers giving their fans what they want to hear rather than artists exploring subjects. And they both can be appreciated for what they are. Certainly there are lines in their acts that are clever and funny, even if the subject matter is uninteresting. In one chunk, Reep dissected down-home sayings like 'there's more than one way to skin a cat' ("How do you know? And stop it!") and 'shit-eating grin' ("I don't ever want to be that happy").

Between shows, I sat down with Jon for a 25-minute interview and we'll air that one tomorrow night, too (technically tonight but I haven't gone to bed yet). Sunday in either case. So that's a helluva show: Jon Reep and Tom Segura. More on that sometime tomorrow (Sunday).

I stuck around a bit for the second show. As hot as the first crowd was, the late show audience was dead. I noticed it when some great Foxx jokes got mild laughs, but it really hit home when Colleen Brow hit the stage. It was as if she was giving a speech. Rapt attention but silence. And it wasn't golden. I actually kind of enjoyed it in the way that seasoned comics love it when someone tanks. But only because I've seen Colleen get great responses with essentially the same material. And God bless her for plowing through her set without commenting on the crowd. More comics should do that.

All these years of watching comedy and I still can't figure out crowd dynamics, and why the same material that kills one night dies a miserable death the next. But it's fun to watch either way.

Tom Segura at Yuk Yuk's and a bit of Trevor Boris

Day two of the comedy fest. I caught the early show at Yuk Yuk's and it was a good one. The crowd was hot, as it usually is at Yuks, and Tim Rykert did a great job of hosting, coming out with energy, doing some solid material (even if I'd heard most of it for years) and keeping the show moving. The first guest was a newbie, who must be extremely thankful she got into the festival when others more experienced can't. Theresa Travatto was her name (at least phonetically). She did fine. Maybe even great if you factor in she's only been at it for three months.

Next up was Dave Shumka, who I featured in the Straight this week. Funny as always, but it's time to move on to some new jokes, methinks. He's perfected his 15 minutes, or however long he did tonight. I was talking to Rykert after the show, who admits he, himself, needs to write more. He quoted a Toronto comic (whose name escapes me) who said that if comics wrote one new minute per week, they'd have a new 60 minutes per year. When you put it like that, it doesn't seem so hard. Surely they all have fleeting funny thoughts in a given day, so the idea of shaping that into a funny minute in a week seems doable.

Kelly Dixon followed. He's one of my favourites. He's a real pro who appeals to all crowds, I'm guessing. Why I haven't seen him opening for big names at the River Rock or taking apart a topic on The Debaters, like virtually every other comic in the country, is beyond me. The guy is good.

Then it was time for the headliner, Tom Segura. I last saw Segura opening for Jay Mohr at the River Rock earlier this year so it was nice to see him in an expanded set. I'm not one who believes you have to agree with a comedian to find them funny, but it so happens I agreed with lots Tom said. His takes on judging people, tattoos, headware and cyclists were dead-on. I won't go so far as to agree with him on owning midgets, but that's just me.

After the show, he and I sat out on Burrard St. and recorded a 35-minute interview, which I'll air on Sunday's show. More on that on Sunday.

I booted it over to the Cultch to catch the last 15 minutes of Trevor Boris's set. Boris somehow scored his own show, a filming for a DVD. How long has he been at it? A couple years? And he already has his own show and DVD? I haven't been a fan of the gay farmer from what I saw on TV, but felt I owed him a fair chance because live is so often way better. Okay, sneaking in for the last 15 minutes of a show isn't exactly a fair chance. I can't say I came away a fan, but he was better than on TV, I'll give him that. Still, his act centres around one theme: he's gay. Got it.

I mentioned yesterday that Arj Barker said in an interview in the Province that he started out doing stereotypical material on his ancestry, but quickly changed. I hope Boris moves beyond the gay theme. It's not original or all that interesting. At least to me. But hey, it's working for him, so what do I know? He's got his own show at a semi-major comedy festival and a three-camera shoot for a DVD.

One of my pet peeves is comics who laugh at their own jokes, and he does it incessantly. Kelly Dixon laughs on stage, too, but he's not laughing at his own material so much as laughing at the absurd situation he's describing. At least, that's the way it comes across. With Boris, it's a kind of aren't-I-an-incorrigible-rapscallion? kind of thing, which is just off-putting. But the guy was better than I expected. And I could see liking him down the road once he settles into his craft and doesn't find everything he says so damned amusing.

Arj Barker at the Vogue Theatre, September 17

Man, it's the first day of the comedy festival and I'm already exhausted. But I'm here for you.

I went to the Arj Barker show at the Vogue tonight. Last time I saw Arj was back when the comedy fest was just a little teensy festival on Granville Island and he was the only big name. And he wasn't even a big name then. But he was American so what did we know?

I don't remember specifics of that show, but I recall loving it. The guy was flat-out funny and just oozed charm. Not much has changed in that respect. He's just better known now, thanks to his work on Flight of the Conchords.

As much as I love Flight of the Conchords (the duo, as opposed to the TV series), I kind of resent that established acts who have been around a lot longer than a few years, like Barker and Todd Barry, are their sidekicks. Barker and Barry should have their own respective shows.

Tonight, Barker took a while to really click. He kept second-guessing himself on whether we, as Canadians, would understand his set-ups. In a way, it's kind of refreshing that so many American comics assume the rest of the world doesn't pay attention to them, but even if it were true, we can follow along without knowing specifics. Just do the joke and move on. As a preamble to a bit about Obama and the congressman yelling out "You lie!", Barker said, "I don't know how prevalent the news is up here." Then later interrupted himself with, "Do you guys know about this?" Later, he asked, "Is gas expensive up here?"

But once he realized that we got all his references, it was smooth sailing. He practiced some bits for his upcoming Australian tour, talking about his fear of snakes and being told that snakes are just afraid of us as we are of them. "Really? Are snakes up all night Googling Arj Barker?... 'How can I tell the good Arj Barker from the bad Arj Barker?'... 'Will his ankles hurt my fangs?'"

His humour is decidedly silly. He loves to play the over-confidant pseudo-intellectual by constantly mispronouncing words, like putting the hard 'g' in 'paradigm'. I appreciate his backward approach in making a point, too. In portraying someone who sees conspiracies around every corner, he shows how ridiculous they are. Or maybe he's not making any point at all. That's probably more like it. He just likes being absurdly goofy. And it works.

Too bad Barker won't be around for more nights. One of the treats of the festival is seeing comics playing all the venues, big and small. And it's too bad I won't get a chance to interview him. I read in the Province today where he said when he was starting out, he relied more on jokes about his Indian heritage. He does none of that now. Not even a passing reference to his race. These days, it seems that's all anyone talks about so it's refreshing he just gets up there and talks about whatever. It would be great to get his take on that. Maybe one day.

I wish I could say something about Graham Clark and Alicia Tobin, who went on before Barker, but I was distracted by a late-arriving friend and was jumping in and out looking for him. But the crowd was into both of them. That much I could tell, even if the specifics escaped me.

Sept. 13: Will Davis & Tim Rykert

As we embark on our fifth season, we welcome back regular guest Will Davis, the something-or-other of the Global (or whatever it's called) Comedy Fest. He's the guy that puts it all together. In case you didn't realize, the fest(ival) is just around the corner, running from Sept. 17 - 27. There are some great (and not so great) names coming this year and Will will be telling us all about them. He's bringing along semi-regular guest Tim Rykert who not only helps out at fest HQ, but will be performing at said fest. Should be a fun night, made all the more newsworthy because we're debuting a new theme song. Our first two theme songs were rather lazy, and I loved them. This one, though, is way more peppy and way more show-bizzy. We'll see how it goes.

Sept. 6: Gerald Varga & Bill MacDonald

This is it, isn't it? I mean, technically there are a couple more weeks of summer, but we all know it's over as of tomorrow. No more whites for me (except for when I go lawn bowling, of course).

To celebrate the end of summer, what better way than to bring in the prince of darkness? We've got Gerald Varga with us tonight, the Dr. Jekyll to Gerald Gerald Geraldson's Mr. Hyde. The Geralds have a new one-man show that'll be playing the big comedy festival. The Horror Spectacular will play the Cultch on Sept. 24, while Gerald(son) will also share the big stage on the 26th for the Best of the Fest gala hosted by Red Green, the Mr. Hyde to Steve Smith's Dr. Jekyll. See how it all comes around?

Joining Varga tonight will be the director of the Horror Spectacular, Mr. William "Bill" MacDonald, who knows a few things about horror, as you can see by his imdb page.