The 10 Greatest Good Doggies in Horror Movies

 

WARNING: Possible spoilers throughout article!

Horror movies and doggies are two of my favorite things in the entire world. Unfortunately, I get severe anxiety every time a dog dies in a movie, this coming from someone who doesn't bat an eye when say, John Morghen (nee Giovanni Radice) gets his dick chopped off and then munched on in Umberto Lenzi's Cannibal Ferox (AKA Make Them Die Slowly) or other forms of extreme splatter committed on humans. But, make it an animal (don't even get me started on real violence against animals...), especially a dog, and I look away. Which is why I always visit Does the Dog Die whenever I see a pupper in a horror flick. It's the kind of spoiler yours truly doesn't mind seeing.

I recently did just that while watching the awesome Predator prequel Prey (the best entry in the franchise, outside of the first two), after seeing the adorable Sarii. This got me to thinking: who are horror's best good doggies? An, this list idea was thus born.

I put certain requirements for the doggy to be able to make it on this list: 

1. The dog must belong to the protagonist or a good character.
2. He or she must be good, obviously.
3. And, the doggy must survive the movie, so as to not bum out viewers.

Anywho, let's get this furry and fun list started!

10. Barney from Gremlins- Let's kick off the list with a doggy cute enough to hold his own against freaking Gizmo, himself, Barney! Originally, he was suppose to die in the movie, thank God they opted out of that decision with the worst thing happening to him, being tangled up with Christmas lights.

9. E. Buzz from Poltergeist- Like the Joe Dante directed movie above, this Tobe Hooper classic is also produced by Steven Spielberg. Cute doggies who survive horror movies is the kind of Spielberg touch, I honestly appreciate (and, I don't always appreciate a lot of his touch...)

8. Pippin from The Meg- The Meg isn't a good movie, in fact, it is, by far, the worst fucking movie here. A huge and wimpy disappointment, it is actually worse the more you think about it. However, one of the few good things in it, is the adorable and tiny Pippin. This super cute Yorkie ends up falling in the water and swimming back to its owners escaping the hungry, giant shark of the title.

7. Sugar from Crawl- This cutie also survives big killer animals, in this case gators. Crawl from Alexandre (High Tension, Piranha 3D) Aja is intense and kick ass and made even more enjoyable by the fact that this little furball makes all the way to the end. 

6. Pete from The Monster Squad- Pete isn't just adorable. He hangs out with the Monster Squad in their horror fandom treehouse. And, most importantly, he actually helps out in taking out the Mummy! 

5. Harry from The Amityville Horror-  Harry is very obviously aware before the rest of the Lutz family, that weird and bad shit is going on in their new house. In the end, George comes back to the house to save the doggy. Though, it actually ends up being Harry who pulls George out of the black slime-pit. Minus, points for the remake which actually has the doggy die bloodily. Who the fuck thought that was a good plot choice?!

4. Nanook from The Lost Boys- Aside from being a beautiful boy, he's also a legit hero that helps in taking down one of the pretty boy vampires in this fan favorite flick. 

3. Sarii from Prey- The most modern addition on this list is one of the best doggies in a horror movies in years. There is a bit of a rough scene where he gets caught in a trap, but he's OK after his mommy and badass final girl Naru (Amber Midhunter) frees and helps him. He's a good and brave boy who has no fear in helping her battle the Predator, in the movie's killer climax.

2. Beast from The Hills Have Eyes- Honestly, the top two were a hard choice, and I kept going back and forth. But, ultimately the German Shepard from Wes Craven's masterful and brutal classic (and, by extension it's entertaining but inferior remake from Alexander Aja) gets the runner up. He gets revenge for his doggy companion Beauty getting killed, in an admit ably uncomfortable scene and aftermath, and for his family. His battle with Pluto (Michael Berryman) is one of the movie's true highlights, which is saying a lot considering how great this movie is. 

1. Thor from Bad Moon- Thor is a beautiful German Shepard, who is loyal to his family and brave. He also knows what's up from the get-go and battles the movie's evil werewolf. For all intents and purposes he is the movie's final dog. It's one of the endearing aspects of Bad Moon that has made it one of my persona favorite movies. He is the flick's true hero and the definitive greatest good doggy in a horror movie!

This article is dedicated to my two furbabies, Topacio (or Topi for short) and Zoey, who crossed the rainbow bridge in 2016 and 2021, respectively. They were amazing little girls, my everything, and both saved me in ways they will never know. I miss them and love them so much. They are always in my heart and thoughts. 

Topacio (Topi)

Zoey 

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New Jersey Horror Con April 2022

I had not been back to New Jersey Horror Con, since my first time there, back in 2019, so I was super pumped to make my return on the weekend of April 9th, 2022. I went there with my friend, and Master's Minion, Freddie, but we were only there on that Saturday. Which was more than enough time to meet all the awesome celebs we wanted to. And, holy shit was the guest list ever stacked and fucking awesome!!

The first person I met is the still beautiful Lynn Lowry. Being a huge fan of her and many of the films she starred in, particularly I Drink Your Blood, Cat People, Debbie Rochon's Model Hunger, and David Cronenberg's Shivers, made her one of the people I was most pumped to meet. In person, she is incredibly sweet and friendly and has such a truly warm and kind demeanor to her.

Next up, for me was the gorgeous Catherine Mary Stewart, of Night of the Comet, Nighthawks, The Last Starfighter, and more. She is friends with a friend of mine, Bobby, who was sitting with her at the con. Now, I hadn't seen him in I don't remember how long. So, he asked how me how I was doing, being he'd seen my posts on Facebook, in regards to all the pain I felt at the passing of my doggy, Zoey.

This, then, led to me explaining to Stewart, what had happened to my dearest Zoey, but try as I may I couldn't hold back the tears. Honestly speaking, even simply writing this part makes me tear up. Well, she got up and gave me a big, warm hug and was legitimately sweet to me. I don't think my words could do justice to how kind she was. She's amazing and if you ever have the chance to meet her, you need to do just that. As, she is truly beautiful inside and out.

Being a huge fan of Chopping Mall, Kelli Maroney, who also starred alongside of Stewart in Night of the Comet, was the person I was most excited to meet. Having followed and interacted with her on social media and seen her on recent appearance on The Last Drive-In, only made me wanna meet her more. Much as she comes off on those, she is incredibly sweet and bubbly in person. She is also still a total hottie!

Speaking of The Last Drive-In, I once again met Joe Bob Briggs and the beautiful Darcy the Mail Girl. Both of them are always so fucking awesome to their fans! We talked AEW wrestling this time around, and it was especially cool when Darcy threw some shade at WWE! That kinda made my day.

The last person that I met on my own, was the lovely Jennifer Banko. Banko played both of the little girls in Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood and Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III and the teen punk girl in Barb Wire, among other projects. Let me tell you, she is one of the coolest, most fun, and lively guests, I have ever met a con! It was a blast to talk to her. She even took a pic of her and me for her Instagram (the two below)! She rules! 

The next celebs, are the ones that I met with my friend Freddie. They are:

Actor and signer Corey Glover of hard rock/ metal band Living Colour. He was so friendly and down to earth in person! We talked mostly about touring and CM Punk. 

Up next was the absolutely gorgeous Patty (Frankenhooker) Mullen, who fucking rocks in person! She talked to us for a good bit, about the Misfits and more. She is so lively and fun to be around. This is actually my second time meeting her, and she's always awesome as fuck!

We also went up to Cathy Moriarty, who has starred in a ton of great flicks like Raging Bull, Matinee. Soap Dish, and more. Talking with someone who has worked with such legends as Stallone, De Niro, Schwarzenegger, and more was fucking awesome! She was really cool and friendly to converse with.

Last but not least there was Barry (The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Slay Belles) Bostwick. I know I sound like a broken record, but he, like everyone else at this con that I met, was so nice, talkative, and friendly.

Also, there was a lot of cool cosplay on that day, and here are some of my favorites that I saw:

Here is a pic of that doggy above meeting another one.

These are the autographs that I got on this day, all are movies from my collection. The autographs are (left to right):
Catherine Mary Stewart: Nighthawks
Lynn Lowry: Cat People (on the slipcover)
Kelli Maroney: Chopping Mall

Jennifer Banko: Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III

Finally, these are the only things, that I actually bought at the con, Tromeo & Juliet on Blu-ray from the Troma booth and a Super7 Beavis and Butthead the Great Cornholio ReAction figure:

In all this con was a blast, especially when it came to the celebs. Were any of you guys there? If so who did you meet? Any other highlights for you? Let me know in the comments section below.

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Big Apple Con 2022

The weekend of March 26 & 27, 2022 marked the latest edition of the Big Apple Con. I hadn't attended one of their shows since October 2010. But, with the awesome guest list that they had booked, I simply had to go!

The person I was most looking forward to meeting was the beautiful Shantel VanSanten. She starred in The Final Destination, The Flash, and more. On The Flash, she played Detective Patty Spivot, my favorite of all of the Flash's love interests on that show. She was a great character, as well as looking stunning and playing her role excellently. Anyway, she looks absolutely amazing in person!

Next up was Katie Barberi, another star that I was pumped up to meet. She's starred in many projects, but I know her best from playing Tangerine in the infamous cult favorite The Garbage Pail Kids Movie. I loved that movie, as a kid. I haven't watched since, though, and have no clue what I would think about it today. Anyway, I had a big childhood crush on her, and, as such, I was stocked to meet her! She still looks drop-dead gorgeous and was very sweet in person. Barberi was all smiles and had her adorable and sweet little doggy with her. I'm glad that she also was in the pic with us! 

Last, but most certainly. not least was the beautiful Michelle Harrison, who among her many roles, played Nora Allen/ the Speed Force on The Flash. She was so sweet and down to earth in person, that it was a complete pleasure to meet her. That and I absolutely love the way this pic came out. The lighting the photographer used was so good!

There was also a ton of cosplay on this day. I am sure that this is, at least in part, due to the fact that that they were having a cosplay contest later that day. I didn't cosplay, this time around cause I knew I was leaving early. Anyway, here are some of my favorite cosplays that I saw:

Finally, I didn't really get a lot of swag this time around, but I did, at least , pick up the new Punisher #1 (Alex Ross variant cover) and a Blu-ray of Ozzfest, which I scored for $10!

I had a good time, even if I did end up leaving by the afternoon. I plan on returning to this con and next time, hopefully, in cosplay. Did any of you guys go? If so what did you like the most? Did you meet any celebs? Let me know in the comments section below. 

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