Hello readers! It is I, William Lowery, here to provide an annual update on the state of GamerGuy's Reviews post-Drive-In of Terror, and let me just say, what a month October was!
Previous Drive-In of Terrors were hit and miss experiences. They are planned as ambitious events, ones which allow me to go all out and review a bunch of movies and games within the span of a month. You could say it's a test of my writing. However, every attempt has fallen short of the expectations I set for it. This year was a difference.
Five reviews were published over the month. The plan was for eight, but three of them fell through, which is a shame, because one of them was on Tales from the Crypt: Demon Knight, and when I saw everyone else talking about this movie, it kind of left me disappointed. Regardless, I pushed through and got everything else planned out, including the commentaries.
The biggest surprise for me and for everyone else was the Thom Mathews interview. As I explained in the interview, I had wanted to shake up this year's festivities by doing something different, something people would least expect. I decided upon an interview and brainstormed all the possible people I could speak with, and at the top of the list was Thom Mathews.
I reached out to him in August but didn't hear back, so I moved on. In the first week of October, I checked my phone to notice I had received a message from Thom, asking if the interview opportunity was still available. I said yes, we arranged a date to speak, and took it from there.
I never thought in the four years writing I would get to interview an actor, let alone someone who starred in one of my favorite films. Interviews are something I want to become a recurring part of the website moving forward, so we'll see what happens.
On the podcasting side of things, I've renamed the channel to "Will and Matt's Excellent Podcast." This will be my way of differentiating what I do with my writing versus what I do with my recording. Having my best friend on as a co-host since The Evil Dead commentary makes the act of talking about the movie much easier to do, since I have someone to relay information off. Plus, podcasting is an easy way of collaborating with other individuals, like Richard Jackson!
Having Richard on to do the Return of the Living Dead Part II commentary was awesome. He's as big a fan of the films as I am, and it was cool to work with someone who's work I've followed for quite a few years now. Hopefully we'll able to collaborate again the future.
What's in store for the rest of the year? Well, more reviews and commentaries! Later in the month you can expect a review of No More Heroes, plus reviews of the Onechanbara games for the Xbox 360 and Wii. There will be no reviews in December, but plenty of commentaries. This will give me time to prep for next year's batch of reviews and other content.
Not to give away too much, but next year, you can expect different types of content on "Will and Matt's Excellent Podcast" besides commentaries.
2019 has been a crazy year. The first half was a bit of a personal struggle, but I've turned things around considerably in this second half of the year. Recently, this site surpassed 8,000 views, and to say I'm happy is an understatement. It may not seem like much when compared to what some YouTube videos receive, but it tells me that people are checking out what I write and record, and that if I keep at it, it'll pay off in the long run.
If you haven't already, subscribe to "Will and Matt's Excellent Podcast" here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC74J0bUTeoWAxchafxqxVHQ
EDITOR'S NOTE: TO GET READY FOR NEXT YEAR'S REVIEWS, I'VE DECIDED TO SCRAP ALL PLANNED REVIEWS FOR THE REST OF THE YEAR. HOWEVER, I WILL STILL UPLOAD NEW COMMENTARIES AND PUBLISH MY END-OF-THE-YEAR RETROSPECTIVE NEXT MONTH.
HEY, I'M NOT GOING TO LEAVE Y'ALL HANGING.