hile Ghostbusters 3 may be deader than the ghosts that the boys in gray usually chase, loyal fans will find that the franchise lives on at Ghostbusters.net.
The fan site opens with a news page carrying all of the latest rumors about the Ghostbusters, many of which originate on its own discussion boards. Recent speculation revolves around a new cartoon or comic book that promises to return the focus back to the original four Ghostbusters. The news is backed up with prototype art, so folks can check it out and decide for themselves whether it's really going to happen. The news page also includes announcements about rare memorabilia that's up for bid on eBay and announcements of new GB-inspired software.
Separate sections represent all of Ghostbusters' incarnations, from the original movie to its sequel, the "real" Ghostbusters cartoon and its own "extreme" Ghostbusters follow-up. Each section includes links to related news items, fan fiction and props, and the two cartoons' home pages even include links that let fans watch episodes online via RealVideo. The quality isn't spectacular, but for those who missed out on a particular episode of one of the series, it's a godsend.
The site offers interviews with writers, actors, artists and others associated with the Ghostbusters legacy, links to all manner of movie and TV merchandise, numerous links to other GB Web sites and even a Doom II conversion that lets players recreate the original movie. The props section is worthy of special note—it includes not only photos of props created by fans, but also plans and tips so that visitors can build their own reproductions.
— Kenneth Newquist
Site of the Week—March 3, 2003
bsolutely one of the best webzines for devotees of monster movies, Horror-Wood offers extensive and serious coverage of everything and anything related to horror films. With news, a "digital dungeon" containing information on DVD releases, an extensive series of minireviews, convention listings and an archive of great horror links, this site is packed with everything fans need to know about horror films new and old.
The site's look is as retro as its content is cutting-edge, finding an appealing middle ground between the sterility of many HTML 'zines and the cheese of a horror print magazine like Fangoria. Large photos and screen captures from classic scare flicks abound, illustrating the first-rate text content, such as the current issue's feature article on filmmaker Coleman Francis, its review of Italian vintage horror flick Atom Age Vampire and a behind-the-scenes expose on the making of a lurid 1974 cannibal movie called Welcome to Arrow Beach.
Horror-Wood also offers a section for those seeking collectors' items and horror-themed toys, no matter how obscure. It lists the best places to find and order horror videos, and its links are well indexed and intriguing. The magazine's archived articles go back to 1997, offering hours of absorbing reading. The letters section—called Gore-respondence—answers reader questions thoughtfully and in detail.
With first-rate writing and a dedication to thorough coverage of the horror field, Horror-Wood reveals itself to be a cut above most movie-related Web sites, a genuine gem of the Internet that will draw readers back with every new issue.
— A.M. Dellamonica
Site of the Week—February 24, 2003
people's choice listing that polled about 3,000 movie fans to build its listing of dubious winners, this tribute to The Golden Turkey is yet another Web site dedicated to cataloging just how bad things can get in the world of film. Want to know who was chosen as worst actress over the course of her
career? The poll results on which movie features the worst romantic dialogue ever? All these facts—and many more—are showcased on this devoted and well-organized fan site.
The Golden Turkey Awards doesn't offer just one or two standard categories of awfulness, though it does cover obligatory subjects like Worst Film Ever (Plan Nine from Outer Space) and Worst Title (Rat Fink a Go Go). No, these prizes have been selected in many an esoteric category: Most Ridiculous Monster, Most Obnoxious Child Performer, Worst Vegetable Movie and Worst Performance by a Popular Singer. Though the site is not devoted exclusively to SF films, the nature of many of these award classes make genre pictures the obvious selections.
As a Web tribute to The Golden Turkey—which existed, originally, in the form of a 1978 book—the site lists not only the winners of each award but all of the major nominees, with each section offering photos, dates of production and further opinions by webmaster Andre Vandal on whether the award was deserved or other possibilities were overlooked.
The Web page also offers a challenge to students of film history: One of the movies mentioned on the site never existed. The original creators of the award invented a lone false film to see if visitors could spot their fake among the various howlers their readers had suggested as Turkey candidates. The ringer is buried in the Golden Turkey Awards site somewhere, just waiting for dedicated film buffs to discover it.
— A.M. Dellamonica
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