Blood Of The Vines - More Monsters

Pairing‌‌‌ ‌‌‌wine‌‌‌ ‌‌‌with‌‌‌ ‌‌‌movies!‌‌‌  ‌‌‌See‌‌‌ ‌‌‌the‌‌‌ ‌‌‌trailers‌‌‌ ‌‌‌and‌‌‌ ‌‌‌hear‌‌‌ ‌‌‌the‌‌‌ ‌‌‌fascinating‌‌‌ ‌‌‌commentary‌‌‌ ‌‌‌for‌‌‌ ‌‌‌these‌‌‌ ‌‌‌‌‌movies‌,‌‌ ‌‌‌and‌‌‌ ‌‌‌many‌‌‌ ‌‌‌more‌,‌‌ ‌‌‌at‌‌‌ ‌‌‌Trailers‌‌‌ ‌‌‌From‌‌‌ ‌‌‌Hell.‌‌‌  Remnants of Halloween candy wrappers still litter the floor and the jack-o-lantern on the porch has not yet been completely consumed by the squirrels, so we’re still in the mood for a few more monster movies.  There will be pairing opportunities, of course.

Frankenstein Conquers the World is a 1965 kaiju film, the Japanese genre of films featuring giant monsters.  The genre has given us wonders like Godzilla and Mothra, but this one gets a little weird.

So the story goes, the heart of Dr. Frankenstein’s monster was taken to Hiroshima in WWII by the Nazis, see, right about the time the atomic bombs fell.  The heart was blasted by radiation, see, and a new version of The Monster was created.  He is now called Frankenstein.  He acts as a traveling wrecking crew, but he’s really just out looking for something to eat.  Hangry, I guess.

Meanwhile, back at the earthquake, another monster is spotted emerging from a split in the ground.  He is called Baragon.  As if you couldn’t see it coming, the two monsters square off in a climactic battle royale to end the picture.  Fade to black, roll credits.  Some Japanese pop culture just seems weird to me - Hello Kitty, I’m looking at you - but kaiju movies have never failed to entertain.

There is a Kaiju! Beer, from Australia, which represents their monsters more along the lines of psychedelic eyeball Minions than Godzillas.  Their creations don’t rise from nuclear waste, but they have been known to take the use of hops to the extreme.  My kind of giant monster.  If you are really taken with the eyeball theme, try Eyeball Monster Sake, if the shirimes haven’t bought out the store.

In 1981, The Evil Dead took the old cabin-in-the-woods routine and made it the setting for one of the most prolific horror franchises ever.  Creator Sam Raimi no doubt believed in this movie, but he could not have imagined just how successful it would be.  The Evil Dead spawned several sequels, a television series, a video game and an off-Broadway musical.  Gore was the central theme in all its various permutations.  

Another beer?  Have an Evil Dead Red from San Diego’s Alesmith Brewing Company.  They promise the amber beer will make you scream - with delight.

One of those sequels we mentioned was cleverly titled Evil Dead 2.  It came out in 1987, but we have to wonder why it took six years to hit that cash register button.  The gore is still there, but a bit of comic relief was mixed in and it stayed in the recipe.  Who doesn’t love their blood-soaked horror served up with some laughs?

You’ll want this wine for Evil Dead 2 - or any of the original film’s offspring.  Hob Nob Wicked Red has a wonderful skull on the label.  The French Pays d’Oc wine may not be a 100-pointer, and it may not be truly evil, but at least it’s cheap.

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