If I was one of those kids, I’d be way more interested in trying the purple stuff. Fuck Sunny D, it’s okay but it’s boring. But what is that purple stuff? Is it just grape juice? Some crazy beverage you can only get at the local corner store? Something healthy the dude’s parents drink? I’m the kind of person who wants to know. If I was hanging out at that kid’s house I’d sneak back in later and try the purple stuff while those other idiots were outside drinking Sunny Delight and enjoying their mountain back riding 90s existence.

That’s how I am with pop-culture, anyway. Sure, I enjoy some sugary mainstream stuff and slightly healthier citrus alternatives (which are like high profile faux-indie films in this metaphor, I think), but I’m really drawn to the offbeat, the obscure, the downright bad. I’m talking about everything from cult horror to Hong Kong action to spaghetti westerns and gialli to cheesy Star Wars rip offs, obscure arthouse flicks, kaiju eiga, and the latest DTV garbage. If it’s left of center, I can’t resist. That’s one of the reasons CHUD is my favorite movie website – from the summer blockbusters to foreign films to shit like The Manitou, the whole spectrum is part of this site’s identity.

So that’s why I’m starting this blog called THE PURPLE STUFF*; first, so I have somewhere to share my thoughts about all the movies I watch, most of which aren’t so mainstream, and second because I know that a lot of other CHUD readers have the same sensibilities and I want to contribute more to the discussion and love of, for lack of a better umbrella term, cult movies. I’m inspired by such great CHUD columns of the past and present as Dave’s Underground, Sewer Subterranea, and CHUDsploitation

Also I hope to be at least mildly entertaining from time to time, but I invite you to be the judge of that.

First entry: bizarre Shaw Brothers supernatural extravaganza Black Magic 2

*Look, I’m bad with titles. I’m a decent writer and you’d think coming
up with titles is no different but for some reason the skill doesn’t
carry over. I don’t care that Dave Chappelle, Family Guy, and probably
every hack comedian has already referenced Sunny D commercials, because
this is the best I can do. Calling my blog Dan’s Blog is boring, and the
previous frontrunner was, I kid you not, “The Cult of Cult.” So I think
we can all be grateful I arrived at The Purple Stuff… unless you have
a suggestion for something better. Seriously.

DISCUSS MY AWFUL NAMING SKILLS ON THE MESSAGE BOARDS