Okay, I'm not going to apologize for watching AMERICAN IDOL--it's a family show and my daughter likes it, dammit! So does my wife. And so... do... I. There, I said it. Bad music will always have a place in my heart.

But this season there is a contestant I can really get behind, and he's been dubbed "Horror Film Boy." He's a young high school student with long dark hair (and a goth entourage) and he loves horror films--specifically, slasher films. And he makes amateur short films. They showed some of his shaky-cam work on the season premiere, and damn me if it didn't look good! He also had a pleasant, soulful voice, which seemed to surprise the judges--because, you know, HORROR FANS ARE FREAKS to their milk toast eyes and pablum filled ears.

So I look forward to following Horror Film Boy's progress on AI for as long as he survives (he noted that he's usually the last person to die in his films). I don't know this kid's name, and I don't have a photo of him; I'd appreciate stats and j.peg images, because Fear Zone is gonna support this kid for representin' horror without shame! I'm even giving him his own section. E-mail info to me at: greg@slimeguy.com so I can ditch the pic of Paula (although she's a horror show in her own right).

Cody Sheldon of Detroit impressed judges Tuesday night with his rendition of James Morrison's "Wonderful World"