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2002
12-22-02
HAPPY
HOLIDAYS!
I'm sure you've noticed the lack of updates lately.
Of course, some of this has been caused by the holiday season creeping up on us
again. So we've been pretty busy buying all those little movies on DVD for
our friends and family. I mean, what would make someone more happier than
opening up a DVD of MAD DOCTOR OF BLOOD ISLAND on Christmas?
The other main reason is that it seems that once again, I
have contracted some sort of sinus infection. Nothing major, but just
enough to make me feel miserable, and not feeling like doing anything like
watching movies or working on this site. Sorry about that folks.
Hopefully in a week or so, we'll be back to our normal wonderful self. No
promises though.
So before we get onto the little bit of news that we have, I
just wanted to wish everybody a very Happy Holiday from us at Kitley's Krypt to
you and your family. Hopefully Santa will be nice to you and deliver some
great DVD titles as well.
MARIO BAVA FILM FESTIVAL UPDATE
The Gene Siskel Film Center has posted the films and times
for the first part of their festival featuring the works of the great Mario Bava.
Below are the dates and times for the first five films to be shown, starting in
the first weekend in January. For more information, visit their site
here.
BLACK SABBATH - Saturday, Jan. 4th at 8:00pm and Monday, Jan. 6th at
8:00pm
BLACK SUNDAY - Friday, Jan. 3rd at 8:00pm and Jan. 6 at 6:15pm
THE GIRL WHO KNEW TOO MUCH - Saturday, Jan. 11th at 6:15pm and Wednesday, Jan.
15th at 8:00pm
KILL BABY KILL - Saturday, Jan. 18th at 6:00pm and Monday, Jan. 20th at 8:00pm
KNIVES OF THE AVENGER - Sunday, Jan. 12 at 4:00pm and Wednesday, Jan. 15th at
6:15pm
Then also at the Gene Siskel Film Center, they will be
have another series of lecture / screenings called THE CINEMA OF HORROR, from
January 24 to May 6. These screenings will take place on Tuesdays and
Fridays, but the lecture part will only be on the Tuesday screenings. The
lectures are by Tom Gunning, Professor of Cinema & Media Studies at the
University of Chicago and author of The Films of Fritz Lang.
According to the site, "Prof. Gunning will investigate the ways in which the
combination of horror and cinema brings us to the extremes of experience, as
illustrated by such chillers as NOSFERATU, BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN, CAT PEOPLE,
INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS, PSYCHO, and THE TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE."
I don't know about you people, but that sounds pretty damn
interesting. First of all, getting to see these films, such as TEXAS
CHAINSAW MASSACRE on the big screen is cool in itself. Then second of all,
to be able to hear one of these film professors give a lecture about it makes it
even better. Who knows, maybe I'll get a lot of more quotes for my
Psycho-Babble section.
The first film is going to be the 1922 film NOSFERATU, with
live piano accompaniment by David Drazin. It will be shown at 6:30pm on
Friday, January 24th, and at 6:00pm on Tuesday, January 28.
I strongly recommend going to these screenings if at all
possible. What this does is show the institute just how many serious fans
of these movies are out there. Plus, if you attend the lecture, who knows,
you just might learn something that you didn't know before.
When we get more info on the other films and showtimes, we
will post them here. For more info about this series, click
here.
12-14-02 FLASHBACK WEEKEND 2: LET'S DO
IT AGAIN
Mike and company are once again working on bringing
another great show next year to the Chicagoland area next spring.
Actually, they will be putting on two different shows.
First, on May 9-11, there is the BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER FAN
EVENT. So far they only have James (Spike) Marsters, but will have more Buffy
guest to be announced. Marsters' band Ghost of the Robot will also be there
as well as performing.
Then on June 13-15, Flashback Weekend 2 takes place.
The guest lineup so far consists of: P.J. Soles, Kevin McCarthy, Judith O'Dea,
Linda Harrison, Michael Berryman, J.R. Bookwalter, Ken Foree, and Tom Sullivan.
More guests to be announced.
Once again, there will also be movies being played at the
Picwick Theater. Last year, not only did they show classics like EVIL
DEAD, TWO THOUSAND MANIACS, but also sneak peaks of BLOOD FEAST 2 and BUBBA HO-TEP.
For more information about the show, click here:
FLASHBACK WEEKEND.
To read about their first show, check out our
Convention Photos section.
HORROR SOUNDTRACKS ANYONE?
For fans of horror soundtracks, this is some great news.
In January, Numenorean Music will be releasing the complete scores to both
RE-ANIMATOR and FROM BEYOND on CD. This is the same company that had
previously released the soundtracks for DAY OF THE DEAD and the 1990 remake of
NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD. This bit of news comes from the Gorezone
website. We've emailed Numenorean Music for more info, but haven't heard
back from them yet. FROM BEYOND has always been one of my favorite scores.
I used to have the LP many years ago, so am looking forward for this release.
And while on the subjects of soundtracks, Perseverance
Records will be releasing a couple of titles that may interests horror fans.
The first one is DR. PHIBES RISES AGAIN, by John Gale. The second one is
Denny Zeitlin score for the 1978 remake of INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS.
Each disc will have an 8-page booklet that will contain stills and artwork, as
well as comments from the producers, directors, and composers, and liner notes
by film music critic Paul Tonks. You can check out their site for updates
by clicking here:
Perseverance Records.
DAY OF THE DEAD RISES AGAIN TO DVD
At the end of next April, Anchor Bay will be releasing their
second release of George Romero's DAY OF THE DEAD. This time out, it will
be a 2-disc set that will feature a brand new THX certified 1.85:1 anamorphic
widescreen transfer, remixed Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround EX and DTS 6.1 ES
surround tracks. It will also feature an audio commentary with Romero, 2
featurettes, still galleries, the complete screenplay, trailers, and a
collectible booklet.
And Anchor Bay is also releasing yet another version of ARMY
OF DARKNESS. This will be another 2-disc set, called the "Boomstick
Edition". No real details have been announced yet, other than it will
contain both cuts of the movie (theatrical and the extended version). It
will be out next March.
ELITE ENTERTAINMENT TO RELEASE DANTE'S HORROR!
The second feature from the very promising Dante Tomaselli,
simply called HORROR!, will be coming out on DVD from Elite during the first
part of next year. Tomaselli showed some great style and imagery in his
film film DESECRATION, and we are looking forward to see what he has come up
with for his second feature, which by the way stars Felissa Rose (from SLEEPAWAY
CAMP).
The disc will feature a bunch of extras like audio commentary
by the director, behind-the-scenes footage, still gallery, and an anamorphic
widescreen transfer.
12-8-02 MARIO BAVA COMES TO CHICAGO!
Okay people, listen up. For fans of Mario Bava, this
will be a mute point, since you already know. But for you out there who
aren't that familiar with Bava's work, and live in the Chicagoland area, here is
your chance to check out some of this best work in the place where it was meant
to be seen...in a theater.
Starting next month, the Gene Siskel Film Center will be
having a retrospect of Mario Bava featuring 12 of his films. Some of the
titles include BLACK SUNDAY, BLACK SABBATH, TWITCH OF THE DEATH NERVE, KILL BABY
KILL, LISA AND THE DEVIL, THE GIRL WHO KNEW TOO MUCH, and KIDNAPPED (aka RABID
DOGS), a recently rediscovered "lost film".
I know we will be trying to make as many of the films as
possible, so hopefully we'll see some of you out there. This is an
opportunity that you won't want to miss. For more information, check out
the site for the
Gene
Siskel Film Center. There are no dates yet, but should be up pretty
soon.
MESSAGE BOARD - GOING ONCE....
We hate to keep bringing this up, so this will be the last
mention. It seems that not to many people want to use our little message
board to speak their thoughts and opinions. And that's fine. No big
deal. When the next renewal of the board, we will not be continuing it.
For it to cost us money for something that no one is using, it's just not worth
it. And we don't want to get like these other sites and ask for money to
help pay for the site. We will never do that. We do this for the fun
of it. And when it stops being enjoyable, then we will shut it down.
But until then, if you do want to see the Message Board continue, we need to
hear from you people.
HELLRAISER CENOBITES FIGURES UPDATE
According to Figures.com, the new series of 7" collectables
from the HELLRAISER movies by NECA will not be issued in order by movie, but by
a particular look. Series 1 figures will include Chatter from the first
and second film, CD-Head from part 3, and Pinhead, as well as a non-Cenobite
creature will be in the group.
In other collectable news, McFarland have announced the next
lineup in their Movie Maniacs series. This time out, they will all be
characters from the ALIEN and PREDATOR films. The lineup consists of the
Dog Alien from ALIEN 3, the Warrior Alien from ALIEN RESURRECTION, Predator the
Hunter from PREDATOR 2, and also a regular Predator, also from PREDATOR 2.
There will be a box set that will consist of the Alien Queen from ALIENS, which
will have a full custom base and other extras.
ARGENTO'S NEXT FILM
According to Dark Dreams website, the title of Argento's next
film will be THE CARD DEALER and should start filming in March. Stefania
Rocca is set to star.
GUILLERMO TO GO TO THE BLACK LAGOON???
Among the other half a dozen projects that Guillermo del Toro
is working on is a remake of Universal's 1954 classic CREATURE FROM THE BLACK
LAGOON. He talked to Fangoria at the recent 2002 Sitges Festival about
this project. ""I'd rather direct CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON than
watch someone else screw it up. That was my thought when Universal called me in
for talks. I'll be given carte blanche to develop the story, although I will
bring in another writer. I want to set the story in Victorian times during the
exploration of the Amazon. The original Creature was essentially King Kong, but
I want to make it more a 'beauty and the beast' fable. I want the look and feel
to be akin to Jules Verne's tales like 20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA. I want to
increase the horror edge and make it really scary, because my archaeological
explorers will discover an area of the Amazon that has been kept on a tangential
track of evolution alongside mankind. So there will be giant carnivorous squid,
prehistoric sharks and weird alternate lifeforms that shouldn't really exist in
such a fresh-water environment. The Creature will be the Man of this exotic
world. He will be very smart and able to turn the tables on his human hunters. I
have a scene where the hunters find fossil remains and realize that the
Creature's brain cavity is larger than a human one. He's not the lumbering,
roaring monster of Ricou Browning's day, but a sophisticated Gill Man that will
come to life through a mix of CGI and a man in a suit. In the original film, the
Creature falls in love with the Julie Adams character. The twist in my version
is that the girl will also fall in love with him. I want her to almost get it on
with the Creature!".
There was also talk about it possibly being in 3-D, like the
original. But according to del Toro, "but the problem is that such as
process would severely limit the number of venues in which it could be released.
And you cannot use 3-D as an afterthought, because it's quite a cumbersome and
complex technique."
del Toro also sees Benicio Del Toro in a major role in the
film, but nothing has been discussed as of yet.
Thanks to Fangoria.com for the news.
12-2-02 NEW REVIEWS AND SOME RANTING
Greetings folks, and sorry for the delay in updates. I
celebrated Turkey like any horror movie fan did and spent the weekend watching
movies. Some good, some bad, and all entertaining. I was even able
to crank out some reviews over the last few days as well. Recently added
to our Review section is
our findings on the Blood Island trilogy from Eddie Romero and John Ashley.
These discs by Image are a must for any serious horror fan. We also have a
review up for DOG SOLDIERS and DEATHMASTER (another must!).
LET THE
RANTING BEGIN...
Now, I know that I don’t make it out to the theaters as much
as I’d like to. There are films out there that I’d like to see, but just never
seemed to get around it. But over the weekend, I tried to go see the new
version of THE RING, and couldn’t believe my eyes. At some point in time, the
ticket prices here in Chicagoland have hit $9.00. To be honest, I think I
remember them breaking $8, but even that is a little blurry. But lucky for me
the showing of THE RING was sold out, so I was able to get a refund.
Don’t
get me wrong, I knew that the tickets were getting expensive, but for some
reason, it’s the first time that I noticed that it was at $9.00. Well, I figure
why pay that much to see it in the theater once, when I can wait a few months
and pick up the DVD for usually less than the cost of two tickets, and watch it
as many times as I want, not to mention all the extras the DVD might have!
$9.00 for a ticket! That is just plain ridiculous. No wonder why these movies
are grossing more money than ever. I guess that just made my future movie
going options a lot easier to decide.
THE OMEN - "BLOATED, BOMBASTIC AND OVERSERIOUS"
In the last issue of Rue Morgue magazine (#30), I
came across an article that I disagreed with quite a bit, and wanted to know if
I was the only one with this opinion. On page 34, there is a 2-page article
about the music from THE OMEN series, and it’s composer, Jerry Goldsmith, by
John W. Bowen. In the article, he states that, "...THE OMEN remains a breed
apart: a film that probably owes the bulk of its success to its music score
alone." But that's not all, he also goes on to say, "Bloated, bombastic
and overserious, THE OMEN comes dangerously close to caving in under its own
pomposity, its complete lack of humor often resulting in some unintentionally
hilarious moments."
Sorry, while I do agree that Goldsmith’s music for THE OMEN is incredible and
does add greatly to the film, I completely disagree that without it, the movie
wouldn’t have been any good.
Once again, I completely disagree. I have watched THE OMEN
at least 3 times in the last two years, and still find it as effective as when I
first seen it, over 20 years ago. To say that just because there’s no humor in
it would hurt the film is completely bogus. Does that mean we have to interject
some stupid humor in all horror movies to “break the seriousness” of it?
I've posted my remarks on our
Message
Board and invited anybody and everybody to add in their thoughts on this.
AND FROM THE "IT'S ABOUT DAMN TIME" FILE...
Jack Pierce...the name that any serious horror fan would
know. Probably as much as the actors, this man was a huge part in the
creation of Universal's Monsters. Pierce created the makeup for
Frankenstein's Monster, the Mummy, the Wolfman, and tons of others.
Well, this February, he will recieve an Honorary Makeup
Academy Award at a Beverly Hills ceremony. The plan is for Sara Karloff,
Bela Lugosi Jr., and Ron Chaney to accept the award for Pierce, who passed away
in 1968. This is something that should have happened years ago.
Plus, also next February, the U.S. Postal Service will be
issuing a series of commemorative stamps to honor cinematic artistry.
Pierce applying the makeup on Karloff for FRANKENSTEIN will represent the
"Makeup" stamp.
11-21-02 JUST A COUPLE OF UPDATES
Well, after frustrating hours, we have finally gotten our
Poster Gallery revamped, making it a lot easier and sharper looking (at least we
think so). We have also added a few new posters in there, including some
more donations. Thanks again, Brett. Keep them coming! Click
here to check out the
Gallery.
DEMON LADY INTERVIEWED!
We have also finished out much delayed interview with the
Demon Lady herself, Coralina Cataldi-Tassoni. She talks about her roles in
Italian horror, as well as working with the likes of Argento and Bava.
Click here for our
Interview section.
NEW REVIEW!
Yea, it has been a while since we've gotten some new reviews
up. While we're still working on quite a few, including the Blood Island
Trilogy, we do have one new one to check out. It's for All Day
Entertainment's ALL MONSTERS ATTACK!, which is a great collection of monster
trailers. Check out our Reviews
here.
BLUE UNDERGROUND ANNOUNCEMENTS
They have recently announced some more interesting titles
that they will be releasing in the future. One title that we are looking
forward to is Gary Sherman's DEAD AND BURIED. This was released in the
U.K., but not here. They also announced FIGHT FOR YOUR LIFE (aka I HATE
YOUR GUTS), BLOODRAGE, and VENOM, which stars both Klaus Kinski and Oliver Reed!
How could you go wrong with the two of them in one film!
Also, Lynn Lowry has been interviewed for a featurette about her career that is
going to be on DVD for George Romero's THE CRAZIES which will also be coming
from Blue Underground. If you don't know the name, you'd know the face.
Lowry was in a few cult films of the 70's. Besides THE CRAZIES, she was in
I DRINK YOUR BLOOD and SHIVERS. She even had a bit part in Paul Schrader's
remake of CAT PEOPLE as the hooker who finds a cat under her bed.
POSTER BANNED BY THE MPAA???
I'm still confused by this one. According to Fangoria's
website, the poster for the new movie MAY, which was going to have a limited
theatrical release from Lion's Gate in January before going to video, was banned
by the MPAA. Is this a first time for that, or has this happened before?
I wonder what they would think about some of the poster art that was used years
ago? Plus the fact, from this artwork, I don't understand what was so
objectionable? No gore or nudity? What's their problem?
11-16-02 FANGORIA - OKAY...ONE LAST
BITCH....
Yea, I know I said I'd stop bitching, but that was
before I received this last email. I had emailed the Official Jeffrey
Combs website on a whim, just to see if they knew about his scheduled appearance
at the NY Fango show. For what it's worth, this was their response:
Thanks for your question and it is a very good one. Right now, Jeff is undergoing negotiations with Fangoria and a final contract
has not been signed. He is aware that he is listed which is a common practice
amongst the convention organizers, but is a practice Jeff does not appreciate.
All I can tell you is to stay tuned to the website and or the message board for
updates.
Wish I could be more help, sorry,
Cynthia
So once again, guests are advertised without being
confirmed. This has been my point all along. I could really care who
is to blame, be it Creation or Fangoria, the facts still remain of what they are
doing. They want to get fans and dealers to come out to the show with the
hopes of all these guests will actually be there. Okay, that's it....I
promise.
DEMON LADY INTERVIEW COMING...
We are finishing up the last touches of our latest interview.
This time out, we have talked to the wonderfully demonic actress / musician
Coralina Cataldi-Tassoni, who starred in such classic films as Dario Argento's
OPERA and PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, and Lamberto Bava's DEMONS 2, among others.
We're hoping to have it up in the next couple of days.
TOM SULLIVAN TEAMS UP WITH DEL TORO
According to Tom Sullivan's
website, Tom and
Patrick Reese will be working on HELLBOY, the next movie from Guillermo del
Toro. They are not really allowed to give any details of what exactly they are
working on, but are very happy and excited about the new project.
I know we are looking forward to what Sullivan can contribute
to this new project.
LEMORA TO HIT DVD
As reported on the Fangoria website, Synapse Films will be
releasing the cult film LEMORA: A CHILD'S TALE OF THE SUPERNATURAL on DVD
sometime next year. According to Don May Jr., “We’re doing a
high-definition, 16x9-enhanced anamorphic transfer from the original negative,
supervised by Richard, who of course is also doing an audio commentary. We
are treating it with the utmost care; believe me, no one has ever seen the film
look like this.” May also says that there will be a dedication or tribute
to Cheryl (Rainbeaux) Smith, who recently passed away.
BAD MOON RISING AGAIN FOR BAKER
According to Entertainment Weekly, Rick Baker will be doing
the makeup effects for CURSED. This is the new werewolf movie from Wes
Craven and Kevin Williamson. I'm sure this will also re-invent the whole
werewolf genre too. Craven will still be doing the American remake of
PULSE after this film.
11-11-02 FANGORIA CON-VENTION - THE SAGA
CONTINUES
Well, we finally did get a response from Fango editor Tony
Timpone, and here's what he had to say:
You are
right: FANGORIA and Creation would never list any guests without confirming them
first. It's the talent that cancels. We always have plenty of guests so I don't
have to list bogus ones.
Regarding HG Lewis, both the producer and director of his new
film told me that they had contacted him and that he agreed to come. I didn't
contact HG myself, as THEY were planning on flying HG in for the event, not us.
Though we are of course excited to have him. I'll clear it up with HG
personally.
The best place to check for convention updates is
www.creationent.com. It is updated all the time so fans can check before
purchasing tickets.
Thanks for your concern.
Best,
Tony
So, in the first paragraph, he says that they would never
list any guests without confirmation. Then he states in his next paragraph
that they never spoke to Lewis personally, but the director and producer of his
new film said he agreed to come. Okay, but then why aren't they
advertising the director and producer at the show along with Lewis? Once
again, they are going by what somebody is telling them with no real
confirmation. So does that mean that someone else has told them that
Cronenberg will be there?
Plus, as for the little comment about checking Creation's
website for updates, a couple of years back, they didn't post that Rob Zombie
wasn't going to make it until exactly a week before the show .
I guess Fango should join company with John Russo as far as
my bitching about them. They are not going to change, and I think I'm
getting tired of complaining about them both to no avail.
11-10-02 ANOTHER RUSSO RANT???
I had planned on adding another entry in my Kryptic Ramblings
about my buddy John Russo and his latest venture. Then I realized that me
ranting on about Russo is about as repetitive as Anchor Bay's EVIL DEAD
releases. So instead, I'll just sum up a few thoughts on his latest scam.
In the last issue of Fangoria magazine (#218), I came across
the scariest thing that I have seen in that magazine in many years. On
page 37, there is an advertisement for the JOHN RUSSO MOVIE MAKING WORKSHOPS.
The ad reads “Learn it all, writing, directing, shooting, distribution and
profit sharing from the master of low budget Film making.”
In all honesty, I do have to give Russo credit for this
scheme. Let’s think about this for a minute. If he gets 20 people to join this
seminar, paying (I’m assuming) $1000-$2000 each, that’s $20,000-$40,000 to
finance his new movie. Then he’ll have the “students” do all the work, that way
he doesn't have to pay for a crew.
Then, he is also having a Screen Writing Workshop, that the best screenwriter
will get to co-produce their film the at the following year’s Movie Making
Workshop. In other words, you write a great screenplay, and he’ll make the
movie next year, using the student’s money, your screenplay that you paid him
for you to write.
I just don't get it.
MORE BOOKS!
We have also added some more titles to your ever increasing
selection of titles for sale in our
Books section. Check
them out.
11-8-02 FANGORIA CON-VENTIONS?
- "You
know the drill: An announced "guest" doesn't appear ... and visitors blame the
missing guest, not the show." - H.G. Lewis
I've been going to Fangoria's Weekend of Horrors shows for
almost 15 years, with the last 5 of those as a dealer. As of late, they've
seemed to have started getting a reputation again of having celebrities that are
scheduled to be at their shows not showing up, due to whatever reasons.
Now I've heard rumors that some of these guest were never even contacted about
doing the shows, such as Rob Zombie at the last Manhattan show. But that
was always second hand news, or basically hearsay, so we were never really sure
that was really happening. Until now.
The last two shows I've been to (Flashback Weekend & Cinema
Wasteland) had H.G. Lewis there, who is one of the nicest guys you could ever
meet. Well, as you can tell by Fango's website, they also have him
on the guest list for their Brooklyn show in January. So I asked Lewis
about doing the upcoming show. He knew nothing about it, and said that
nobody from Fangoria has contacted him about doing the show. He was even
more surprised when I emailed him the full page ad in the latest issue of Fango,
showing his name and face as one of the headliners.
In his reply, he said the
above quote, and couldn't be more right. Now doesn't this make you wonder?
Is Lewis the only one that doesn't know about the show? Is it worth
spending the money on hotel and travel to go to the show, hoping that they
actually talked to the guests before hand? This year they are billing
David Cronenberg and Luigi Cozzi, both making their first convention appearance
at Fango. But it's not worth it for me to take that chance that they
actually going to be there? Not for me, not anymore.
Now I did give Fango a chance to answer in on this. I
sent both Tony Timpone and Michael Gingold and email, asking them about this
situation. That was about 3 days ago, and I still haven't gotten a reply.
I would have thought that they would have wanted to say something in their
defense. But apparently not yet at least.
 11-5-02 ANOTHER
GREAT LOSS...
We have lost another great director, Antonio Margheriti.
Sometimes known as Anthony Dawson, Margheriti is responsible for some classic
films, working in many different genres.
Some of our favorites are CANNIBAL APOCALYPSE, KILLER FISH,
CASTLE OF BLOOD, and an incredible film called THE VIRGIN OF NUREMBERG.
Margherit passed away on Monday of a heart attack in
Monterosi, near Rome. He was 72 years old.
11-4-02 MORE GREAT HAMMER NEWS!
Once again,
DVD Drive-In comes
through with some great news for us Hammer fans. We all knew that MGM was
going to be releasing VAMPIRE LOVERS in the future, with extras such as
commentary. But now, it looks like they will be releasing it as a double
feature DVD with COUNTESS DRACULA! This title will also have audio
commentary by it's star Ingrid Pitt, as well as the director Peter Sasdy and
screenwriter Jeremy Paul. The release date will be some time next August.
I guess we can wait. It's not like I don't have enough other titles that I
need to watch after these last couple of months.
EVIL DEAD 4? - ENOUGH ALREADY!
Dark
Horizon is posting a little news bite about the Ladies of EVIL DEAD were
mentioning at the Chiller Show last week that they are in talks with Raimi and
Campbell about a possible new EVIL DEAD film.
Strange how Campbell has been saying at the last few shows
that there's no way in hell that Raimi is going to do another one. He's
too busy working on the next SPIDERMAN movie. And with SPIDERMAN making a
shitload of money (almost $200 million on DVD / VHS sales just for this last
weekend), I just don't see Raimi going back to the trenches to make a low budget
film like that. And I really believe that he doesn't really want to be
remembered for making those movies. Besides, if he did go back, it would
be an all out Stooges-like comedy, not even resembling a horror film.
Of course, that's just my feelings.
 11-3-02
WE WANT YOUR OPINIONS!
Okay folks, we've posted a question over at our Message
Board, and would really like some feedback. It's about
McFarland Books,
their cost and their worth. We've recently purchased their book HORROR
FILMS OF THE 1970s and are looking for opinions on other McFarland books.
Head on over there and let us know what you think.
10-29-02 BLOWING THE SHIT OUT OF HIGH
PRICES!
For the last week or so, we've been going through our video
titles, slashing the prices to an all time low. We're looking to move
these folks, so if you are interested, pick them up now while you can.
There are a huge number of titles for only $3.00 each. At these prices,
they shouldn't last long.
Our next project is inventorying the rest of merchandise,
like posters, pressbooks, and other misc. items that will be up on the site
soon. Stay tuned.
NEW KRYPTIC POLL - FAVORITE REFERENCE BOOK
We've added a new topic for our poll. This one should
get a few more people involved. It will also be interesting to see what
people are using the most. Please take a second and post your thought.
As for our last poll, there doesn't seemed to be the huge Don
Dohler fan base out there, which is a real shame. If you get the
opportunity, you should check out some of his work. It is worth the time,
and hell, you might even be entertained.
But for this poll, Dohler's first film, ALIEN FACTOR took
home the prize, with 44% of the votes, which I think was a total of 8 out of 12
votes. Come on people, I know you're reading those. Take a few
seconds and give your opinion.
MESSAGE BOARD - A DYING BREATH...?
Our membership fee is coming up for our Message Board.
No, unlike other sites, we don't ask for money to help run the site. But
we don't want to spend the extra money if nobody is going to use it. Let
us know (or not). We'd love to hear your opinions on what's going on out
there, what you've seen, and whatever you would like to ramble about. But
if we don't get any use out of it, we'll close it down. Just remember,
you're opinion (while may be heavily criticized...just kidding...kind of) it
won't be censored or deleted...unless you're a really bad speller...
HORROR DIRECTORS ON MYSTERY CHANNEL
Tomorrow night, the Mystery Channel is having a documentary
on George Romero, and then on Thursday, one on Wes Craven.
STEPFORD WIVES - NEW VOWS
In the latest attempt at forgetting how to create something
original, Paramount is going to be doing a remake of the 1975 film THE STEPFORD
WIVES, with Nicole Kidman in the lead role, originally played by Katharine Ross.
Except, to make matters more confusing, this version is suppose to be a
"sophisticated black comedy". Frank Oz is directing. Can't say I'll
be looking forward to this one.
OTHER CASTING NEWS
Shiri Appleby and Winona Ryder (unless she's doing time) are
in talks about joining the cast of Stephen Sommer's VAN HELSING, along with cult
favorite Udo Kier.
BEYOND RE-ANIMATOR - A NEW LIFE...OR DEATH
The character of Herbert West, wonderfully protrayed by
Jeffrey Combs, is one of my favorite horror characters to come out of the 80's.
At one point, I wouldn't of cared how many RE-ANIMATOR sequels they made, as
long as it had Combs in his bloody white jacket, I'd have no problems with it.
But after reading some of the latest news about the film, and
that Brian Yuzna is directing, I'm having second thoughts about it. First
of all, I did enjoy Yuzna's BRIDE OF RE-ANIMATOR. But after seeing some of
his last projects, especially FAUST, I'm not too thrilled as of late. Then
in the article from Fangoria's website, "Yuzna adds that as so much time has
passed since the last film, the first part of the new movie has been shot to
have more in common with recent genre hits like SCREAM (girls in panties menaced
by anonymous phone calls, teens being slaughtered by an unseen killer) than with
the first two installments. The story then kicks into prison-movie mode and ends
up with West back to his old tricks."
One can only hope. But on a good note, the film will
also co-star (hopefully in a bigger role than in BLADE 2) will be Santiago
Segura.
Screaming Mad George is doing the effects. Once again,
SMG has done some great things, and is one twisted artist. But then look
at some of the stuff from FAUST...
Lions Gate will be distributing the film in the States.
HOUSE OF WAX DIRECTOR DIES
Andre De Toth, who is best know to us horror fans as
directing Vincent Price in the 3-D classic film that started Price's career
rolling, passed away according to Variety. He was 89 or 90, depending on
which report you read.
10-19-02 BOOK SECTION
UPDATED....FINALLY!!!
First of all, not only have we finally gotten around to
updating our Books For Sale section, but we've also reformatted it, to hopefully
make it a little easier on the eyes. We are constantly getting new titles
in and hope to updated that page, as well as the other Merchandise ones as well
on a more regular basis. Promise! Anyway, check it out in our
Merchandise section
and let us know if there's any questions.
MUST BE A LOT OF FULL MOONS LATELY...
It seems that werewolf movies are the new rage. First
up, it's Angelina Jolie who might be growing a little more hair soon.
She is suppose to star in a new werewolf film based on the novel BITTEN by Kelly
Armstrong. It's about a woman who has learned to control her lycanthrope
tendencies to live among humans. But she has to return to her Canadian
pack when they start bringing in criminals in. But this may be a while
before we see it, since Jolie still has a few pics on her plate, including TOMB
RAIDER 2.
And then who else to plagiarize any genre than Kevin
Williamson. After Wes Craven's remake of the Asian film PULSE got put on
hold, he and Williamson will join forces together to "re-invent" the werewolf
genre with CURSED. Set in Los Angeles, production will be starting there
right away, for a release next August.
Thanks to Fangoria.com
LAST REMAKE ON THE LEFT
Okay, so let's say your going to make a movie about two girls
that are kidnapped and murdered by a gang of escaped criminals. So why not
get David Hess and Marc Sheffler, stars of LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT, which seems
to have a very similar plot, and call it THE HOUSE IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE.
The film will also co-star Sage Stallone, Deborah Lacy and Chantal Berry.
Thanks to Dark Horizon.
TEXAS CHAINSAW CASTING NEWS
Shock Rocker Marilyn Mason will be doing the score and
background music for the new remake. Andrew Bryniarski will be playing
Leatherface. Thanks to Fangoria.
And according to Internet Movie Database, Andrew Prine will
be playing "The Old Man". Whether or not this is Grandpa or not, we're not
sure, or even if that's accurate.
WALLACE AND GROMIT TURN TO HORROR!
Fans of these awesome British animated characters will love
the news of there next project. Creator Nick Park says that the first
feature film featuring his most famous characters will be called WALLACE AND
GROMIT: THE GREAT VEGETABLE POT, which are looking for a 2005 release.
Park says ""I can tell you that in the way we often borrow movie references (Ealing
comedies, Hitchcock, etc.), this one borrows most from B-movie horror and
British horror. But it's also about vegetables, so we often describe it as a
vegetarian horror movie. The rest you'll have to imagine" It's just too
bad that we have to wait until three years for this!
Thanks to Dark Horizons.
MEDIA BLASTERS - UPDATING DVD RELEASES
Apparently Media Blasters is updated a couple of their recent
releases, adding more stuff to them. ZOMBI 3 will have an additional audio
commentary track with star Beatrice Ring and Deran Sarafian. It will also
contain a new interview with makeup FX artist Franco Di Girolamo.
The other title is TWO VAMPIRE ORPHANS. They will
re-issuing this with a new PAL conversion that will take care of the "ghosting"
that the first release had problems. No extras to be added on this one.
In both cases, you be able to exchange the previously
purchased editions of the disc for the new ones. The upgrades should be
out by the end of the year.
Thanks to Fangoria.
10-14-02 CINEMA WASTELAND REPORT AND PICS!
Yes, we finally got the photos up along with our show report.
Check them out by either clicking
here, or in the Convention
Photos section. Enjoy!
10-13-02 GUILLERMO DEL TORO IN CHICAGO!
For Chicago area fans, director Guillermo del Toro will be
at the Gene Siskel Film Center on Friday, October 18th, at 8:45pm. There
will be a screening of his film THE DEVIL'S BACKBONE with a Q&A with the
director. We are going to try and be there, but being on a Friday night,
it's going to be tough. In any case, if you haven't seen this film, I
would highly recommend going to see it on the big screen, since I found it very
entertaining.
For more info, click
here.
NEW BLACK CHRISTMAS DVD - SPECIAL EDITION
Now that most of us had already purchased the first release
of BLACK CHRISTMAS, it seems that this December a new special edition will be
coming out with a few interesting extras (Those bastards!).
The new release will have digitally mastered audio and video,
along with an all new documentary that will feature new interviews, called BLACK
CHRISTMAS REVISITED. It will also have two different audio commentary
tracks. The first one will be with director Bob Clark, while the second is
with John Saxon and Keir Dullea. Also included will be original English
and French trailers, original TV and radio spots, alternative title sequence,
interview with John Saxon, and reversible cover sleeve, including the original
1974 artwork.
Like I don't have enough DVDs to buy, I have to start buying
the same title again. Who's putting this out anyway, Anchor Bay?
10-11-02 MORE GREAT HAMMER NEWS!
DVD
Drive-In have reported some more awesome news for us fans of Hammer Studios.
Paramount Home Video will be releasing the last Hammer / Frankenstein movie
that started Peter Cushing, FRANKENSTEIN AND THE MONSTER FROM HELL. Blue
Underground has produced the audio commentary with stars David Prowse and
Madeline Smith this last September, which will released next year.
No word yet on if it will be the uncut version or not.
One can only hope.
NEW REVIEWS UP
We've gotten a couple more reviews up from VCI Entertainment,
DON'T OPEN THE DOOR and CROCODILE. Check them out.
 H.G. LEWIS FANS?
For fans of Lewis and his movies, and might not have been
able to make it to the Cinema Wasteland show last weekend, now is your chance to
pick up a nice addition to anybody's collection. We have a few copies of
the excellent book by Randy Palmer called HERSCHELL GORDON LEWIS: THE GODFATHER
OF GORE for sale. This book retails at about $32.00. Just check on
Amazon. But our copies have been signed by both Lewis and star of BLOOD
FEAST and TWO THOUSAND MANIACS Connie Mason! The price for this rare
collectable is $50.00. Drop us a line if you're interested. Don't
wait, limited quantities available.
10-7-02 TWO THOUSAND MANIACS INVADE
OHIO!
Well, I'm sure there were more than that at the Cinema Wasteland convention
this past weekend. We are still recuperating from show, but are hoping to
have our report and photos up in the next few days. In the meantime, we
have some news bites, and some other items to hold you over. Once again,
it was nice to see some of you at the show, stopping by the table to say hello.
It's always nice to see the faces on the other side of the monitor.
DON'T OPEN THAT REVIEW!
We have finished our review for S.F. Brownrigg's DON'T OPEN
THE DOOR. You can find it in the
REVIEW Section. We
should have our review for CROCODILE up as well in the next couple of days.
AND SPEAKING OF REVIEWS...
We also hope to add another section on our Review page,
covering Movie Soundtracks. I have always been a fan and collector of
soundtracks, enjoying the feelings and memories of the movies that the music
brings back. It's still under construction, but hopefully won't be too
much longer.
MERCHANDISE PAGE - UPDATE COMING SOON....WE
MEAN IT, KEVIN! REALLY!
Yea, I know our Merchandise page hasn't been updated in quite
some time. Our excuse is that every time we would get around to getting it
almost updated, we'd have another convention to do, and then would have to start
over again. Lame excuse, I know. But we are going to make a
conscious effort to not only get it updated. But also revamp the look of
it, and keep it updated with new stuff when it becomes available, as well as
taking off the stuff that has already been sold.
THE DARK AGE HAS OPENED!
For those few of you out there that are fans of some little
movie called EVIL DEAD, you may want to check out the newly opened website of
Tom Sullivan, creator of the makeup effects and more for that film. Click
here to be
taken there.
AND NOW FOR THE NEWS...
RING AROUND THE REMAKES
Well, the American remake of Hideo Nakata's RING hasn't even
hit the theaters yet and already deals are being make for a remake of Nakata's
first film DON'T LOOK UP (aka GHOST ACTRESS). Made back in 1996, the film
deals with some filmmakers being bothered by a ghost of a murdered actress.
Distant Horizons have picked up the rights and are looking for a screenwriter.
There are also questions being asked about a sequel to the
American version THE RING. It sounds like the producers are holding off
until they see how the first one does, and if a sequel could be
worth doing.
Thanks to Fangoria.com and Dark Horizons.
TOY COLLECTORS CAN GO TO HELL
According to Figures.com, NECA have the license to produce
collectables based on all six of the HELLRAISER films, which include the new
film that hasn't been released yet. The figures will be in 7" scale and
could feature Cenobites from any of the six movies. I would think that the
original four will be the first ones to come out, but we'll have to wait and
see. Hopefully the details of these will be as nice as the Tortured Souls
figures, or the original McFarland figures.
They are also working on a "high end" Lament Configuration
prop replica as well.
THE DVD THAT DRIPPED BLOOD
Lion's Gate Entertainment (why do we keep hearing that name?)
will be releasing the 1970 horror anthology film THE HOUSE THAT DRIPPED BLOOD
next August. This was one of the many awesome anthology films produced by
Amicus in the 70's, always with a great all star cast. This was is no
different with Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, Ingrid Pitt, Denholm Elliot and
many more. This was also another film that was written by American horror
writer Robert Bloch.
Thanks to
DVD Drive-In for the
info.
9-27-02 HAMMER FANS REJOICE - KRONOS IS
COMING!
Probably one of the most sought after Hammer films, next to
TWINS OF EVIL, has to be CAPTAIN KRONOS: VAMPIRE HUNTER. Which is pretty
strange when you think about it. The film didn't really do well when if
first came out. But over the years, the fans of the film seemed to grow
steadily in numbers.
Not really sure who will be putting the disc out, but Blue
Underground recently recorded an audio commentary for the disc, which includes
writer/producer/director Brian Clemens and actress Caroline Munro. Fans of
Hammer should be thanking George Reis of
DVD Drive-In for his
undying determination to get these Hammer classics released. Also,
according to George's site, they will be announcing another Hammer title to hit
DVD very soon.
Keep up the great work, George!
CORMAN COMES TO TV?
It seems that Roger Corman is developing a TV series to be
simply called ROGER CORMAN PRESENTS. According to the New York Post, it
will be an anthology series where Corman will act as the onscreen host.
Sounds a lot like Hitchcock's old show. Not really sure what type of genre
the series will deal with, but with Corman at the helm, I'm sure it'll be
entertaining. Although, these last remakes that he's been involved
with.....
9-25-02 BETTER LATE NEWS THEN NEVER...
Yea, we're a little late on these little news bites, but
figured might as well. Once again, we're blaming it on all the damn DVDs
coming out as of late. Add that with us trying to get ready for the
convention of the year (that would be
Cinema Wasteland)
next weekend. Once again, we can't praise this show enough. Okay, so
Ken makes sure we have a nice table with all this praise, but that's besides the
point.
DAY OF THE DEAD RISES AGAIN ON DVD
Well, you can stop paying those high prices on eBay for that
out-of-print DVD from Anchor Bay. It looks like they will be releasing
another version, this time a 3-disc set?!?! Apparently they have found the
once thought lost original negative and will be releasing it the first half of
next year. Not really sure of the extras, but with 3 discs, one would
think it would be quite a bit. Thanks to DVDManiacs for the news.
VAN HELSING - MAN OF ACTION
Hugh Jackman has signed on for Stephen Sommer's latest
project. I'm wondering if he's going to make this the same type of film
that his MUMMY movies have been?
Thanks to Dark Horizons.
TONY'S ODE TO HODDER
In the latest issue of Fangoria (#217), editor Tony Timpone
starts off his editorial by stating his sadness for Hodder for not being able to
be involved in his "dream project" FREDDY VS. JASON. It seems to me that
Tony was jumping back and forth over the fence, first crying foul, then
defending the studio's reasons for the change, then back again, praising Hodder.
Sorry guys, but nothing against Hodder and his performances
as Jason, but come on. Like Tony said himself, "we're not talking Hamlet
here!" To think that he is the only guy that is able to give a good
performance of Jason is just plain stupid. Maybe next time
Hodder won't tell the director just what Jason will or will not do. I'm
sure that had nothing to do with the studios dropping him.
9-18-02 NEWS, REVIEWS, AND A NEW POLL
We've updated our Mini-Poll to question your favorite of
another great low budget filmmaker, Don Dohler. Cast your vote!
As for the H.G. Lewis poll, the winner was of course BLOOD
FEAST with 43%. But I would like to know why no one bothered to ask me why
TWO THOUSAND MANIACS wasn't included in the poll! I just noticed it myself
when I was changing it over. I'm sure that would of given BLOOD FEAST a
run for it's money. Second place went to GORE GORE GIRLS with 25%.
BLADE 2 REVIEW UP
We've finished our review up this disc that shows you just
what a special edition DVD is.
CRONENBERG'S SPIDER WINS BEST PICTURE!
At the Toronto International Film Festival, David
Cronenberg's newest film, SPIDER, took home the award for Best Canadian Feature.
The film stars Ralph Fiennes as a mentally ill person who has been
institutionalized for over 20 years having schizophrenia.
I'm sure with Cronenberg behind the camera, we are once again
going to be in for a hell of a treat.
IT'S ALIVE...AGAIN?
Larry Cohen, director of the original 70's film about a
killer mutant baby, is going to be meeting with Warner Bros. about a possible
updated remake. As reported to Fangoria, Cohen states, "I think it would
translate very well today, what with all the stuff about cloning, and the
predetermination of one’s traits and the hunting down of those creatures that
are abnormal. Many of my films, especially IT'S ALIVE, have been very prophetic
that way."
COFFIN JOE DVD COVERS
Here is the box cover art for the upcoming Coffin Joe DVD box
set. For more details, click
here.
9-15-02 CHICAGOLAND MUSIC BOX THEATRE -
HORROR RISES
For those in the Chicago area, the
Music Box Theatre
has announced it's fall season, and it's packed full of classic films for it's
matinee and midnight showings. Below is a listing of what is playing and
when. If you can, go out and support one of the best Art House theaters in
Chicago!
MATINEE SHOWS - all shows at 11:30am
PSYCHO - Sept. 21, 22
THE HAUNTING - Sept. 28, 29
JAWS - Oct. 19, 20
THE EXORCIST - Oct. 26, 27
NOSFERATU (1922) - Nov. 2, 3
THE BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN - Nov. 9, 10
NIGHT OF THE DEMON - Nov. 16, 17
FREAKS - Nov. 23, 24
VILLAGE OF THE DAMNED (1960) - Nov. 30, 31
THE NIGHT OF THE HUNTER - Dec. 7, 8
MIDNIGHT SHOWS
PSYCHO - Sept. 27, 28
HALLOWEEN - Sept. 27, 28
JAWS - Oct. 18, 19
THE EXORCIST - Oct. 25, 26
EVIL DEAD - Nov. 1, 2, 8, 9
EVIL DEAD 2 - Nov. 15, 16, 22, 23
ARMY OF DARKNESS - Nov. 29, 30
THE END OF AN ERA - THE DEMISE OF THE
ACKER-MANSION
It seems that due to the expensive legal fees that Forrest
Ackerman has accumulated during a lawsuit against a former partner, he is
selling his house, and his extensive collection is going up for auction.
Now, while I'm not the biggest fan of Ackerman, I do appreciate what he's done.
And his collection has to be one of, if not the largest in the world of movie
memorabilia. The fact that this is going to be auctioned off, or may even
end up in the trash is just pathetic.
What's even worse is that all of these people that Ackerman
has inspired or helped in the industry, people like John Landis, Frank Darabont,
and even some guy named Steven Speilberg, you'd think that maybe they could
pitch in some cash and have this stuff made into the museum that it ought to be.
Come on, they couldn't afford a few $$$ and have an official Ackermansion Museum
opened up? Shit, you know if they did it right, and charged a nominal
entrance fee, you know people would go there by the droves.
Coming from being an avid collector myself, news like this
just depresses the hell out of me. The stuff in his collection is a part
of movie history that should be recovered, restored, and saved, just as much as
an old movie.
For more details, check out
here
for the complete article from the LA Times.
LINKS PAGE UPDATED!
We have also gone through our Links page and changed a few
things. Added a few, got rid of quite a few cob-websites, and also
categorized them as well. Hopefully it will be a little easier on the
eyes.
9-10-02 H.G.
LEWIS TRIVIA CONTEST WINNER!
We are happy to announce that Hoby Abernathy has won our
little trivia contest. He will be receiving his copy of Randy Palmer's
excellent book HERSCHELL GORDON LEWIS: THE GODFATHER OF GORE, signed by both
Lewis and David Friedman. Congratulations Hoby, you earned it.
CARPENTER'S NEXT MOVIE???
Well, we've all read the announcements / rumors of what John
Carpenter's next project is going to be. From doing a sequel to THE THING
to a remake of CURSE OF THE DEMON. Well, here's my two cents worth.
As much as I'd love to see a sequel to THE THING, especially
with Carpenter behind the camera, it would really have to have a huge budget.
If they were going to go with the style of effects as in the first one, you know
they would be going with a lot of CGI. And for that to look good, we need
money...JURASSIC PARK kind of money. What could be worse than seeing a
THING-creature looking something like from AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN PARIS.
Now, maybe there wouldn't be a lot of the gore effects, and he'd go with more
atmosphere. Then I think he'd disappoint a lot of fans looking for just
that.
Personally, I'd love to see him tackle the DEMON remake.
I think he could take that great film and put a nice newer version together.
But in either case, until I really hear that the camera have started rolling,
it's hard for me to get excited about it.
BEYOND RE-ANIMATOR
According to Fangoria, Spanish superstar Santiago Segura has
joined the cast of the newest entry in the RE-ANIMATOR series, which has already
begun filming in Spain. For those of you who are not familiar with
Segura's work, he was in Alex de la Inglesa's ACCION MUTANTE & DAY OF THE BEAST
(and many others) as well in BLADE 2.
This is another movie that I would really be happy
about...but...I still have lingering memories of Brian Yuzna's FAUST. Even
with Combs in there, and SCREAMING MAD GEORGE doing the effects, it still didn't
help that piece of crap.
And as much as I love the character of Herbert West, I have
some really bad feelings about this. I hope to hell that I'm wrong.
But it just seems like they might be writing West out of the series and starting
with a new and younger doctor. Like Carpenter's next movie, we'll just have
to wait and see.
BLADE 3 - REAPERS RETURNS
Speaking of BLADE 2, Dark Horizon reports that Luke Goss
might be reprising his role of the mutant vampire Jared Nomak in the third BLADE
film. "I don't know how I reappear in the movie - it's possible I emerge
from the embryos that you see at the end of Blade II. I'd like to appear in less
make-up. Writer David Goyer is thinking about a Planet Of The Apes type of twist
- it's very, very interesting," Goss says.
For you fans out there of BLADE 2, I highly recommend highly
going out and picking that DVD release up. It's got a second disc just
filled with extras. We're hoping to have a review up in the next few days,
but don't wait for that. Go buy it.
9-5-02 NEWS, REVIEWS, AND A FEW
REMINDERS...
Before we get to the News and Reviews, just a couple of
reminders.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY PAUL NASCHY!
Tomorrow is the birthday of the man responsible for tons
of awesome movies such as HORROR RISES FROM THE TOMB, HUNCHBACK OF THE MORGUE,
NIGHT OF THE HOWLING BEASTS, and also CURSE OF THE DEVIL (See our Reviews
Section). So this would be a great time to see back and put in your
favorite Naschy Werewolf movie while wishing him well.
CINEMA WASTELAND IS COMING!!!!
There is only one more month left before the
Cinema Wasteland
show in Ohio, during the first weekend of October. This is the show that
you don't want to miss! Just check out their site for all the details.
And as always, if you are going, stop by and say hello.
H.G. LEWIS TRIVIA GIVEAWAY???
It seems that maybe our three little questions were
too hard for you out there? Well, sorry about that people, but with a
prize that's probably worth over $75 on ebay, those questions are going to stay
there until someone gets them. We got that book to give away on our site,
and by God were going to do that....It just may take some time. If you
haven't check out the questions, just click
here.
MESSAGE BOARD - ALIVE AND....STILL
BREATHING....
Come on people. I know there are those out there just
wanting to open their mouths and tell the world what they thing about the new
RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD DVD or something around those lines! Give our
Message Board a try.
We won't bite...promise.
NEW REVIEWS
We have added five new reviews up. They're are in the
usual place, or by clicking
here.
NEW IMAGE TITLES ANNOUNCED!
Here are three awesome titles that Image has announced to be
released in November.
BEAST OF BLOOD
Audio Commentary by Independent International's Sam Sherman; Lost Scenes;
Theatrical Trailers for "Beast of Blood," "Mad Doctor of Blood Island," "Brides
of Blood," "Brain of Blood," "Blood of the Vampires," "The Blood Drinkers,"
"Horror of the Blood Monsters," "Raiders of the Living Dead" and "Curse of the
Vampires"; Illustrated Liner Notes by Jim Arena; "Blood Island" Image Gallery;
Interview Documentary with Director Eddie Romero; Celeste Yarnall Interview with
Sam Sherman
BLOOD OF THE VAMPIRES (aka Curse of the Vampires)
Audio Commentary by Independent International's Sam Sherman; Theatrical Trailers
for "Beast of Blood," "Mad Doctor of Blood Island," "Brides of Blood," "Brain of
Blood," "Blood of the Vampires," "The Blood Drinkers," "Horror of the Blood
Monsters," "Raiders of the Living Dead" and "Curse of the Vampires"; Illustrated
Liner Notes by Jim Arena; "Blood Island" Image Gallery; Interview Documentary
with Director Eddie Romero
BRAIN OF BLOOD
Audio Commentary by Independent International's Sam Sherman; Interview
Documentary with Director Eddie Romero; Theatrical Trailers for "Beast of
Blood," "Mad Doctor of Blood Island," "Brides of Blood," "Brain of Blood,"
"Blood of the Vampires," "The Blood Drinkers," "Horror of the Blood Monsters,"
"Raiders of the Living Dead" and "Curse of the Vampires"; "Blood Island" Image
Gallery; Illustrated Liner Notes by Jim Arena; Rarely-Seen "House of Terror"
Live Horror Show Promo
8-28-02 TOO MANY DAMN DVDS!!!!
We're blaming the lack of updates due to all the awesome
titles that have been coming out these last few weeks. We are anticipating
having quite a few new reviews up in the next few days. In the meantime,
we've added our review of John McCarty's SPLATTER MOVIES book in our
Library section.
Plus here are a few news bits.
 DIRECTOR JOSEPH ZITO
PROWLING AROUND CHICAGO
Last weekend, director Joseph Zito made an in-store
appearance at the Virgin Megastore in Chicago. He was there to promote the
upcoming release of his film THE PROWLER. Unfortunately, it didn't seem
that too many people knew about it. And that was a real shame, since Zito
was a hell of a nice guy, and was very friendly and very eager to answer any
questions we had about THE PROWLER, or even FRIDAY THE 13th 4: THE FINAL
CHAPTER. THE PROWLER will be released next Tuesday. It is another
title to add to the "Must Have" list.
KINO VIDEO UNLEASES THE GERMAN HORROR CLASSICS
Fans of the early German silent films will be very excited to
hear this news. On September 24th, they will be releasing a 4-disc box set
that will contain restored and re-mastered editions of THE CABINET OF DR.
CALIGARI, NOSFERATU: A SYMPHONY OF HORROR, THE GOLEM, and WAXWORKS. All
titles also feature new and improved English subtitle translations and will be
available separately at @24.95 each. The box set retails $89.95. Although
if you go to Kino's
website, you can get them at a discounted price. Here's the details:
THE CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI
Transfered and restored from a 35mm print, featuring the
original color tinting and toning. The disc also includes a 43-minute
condensation of Robert Wiene's GENUINE: THE TALE OF A VAMPIRE (1920),
behind-the-scene footage of Wiene on the set of I.N.R.I., two different musical
scores to choose from, still gallery featuring photos, posters, and production
sketches.
NOSFERATU: A SYMPHONY OF HORROR
This print is mastered from a color-tinted 35mm negative.
The disc also contains large excerpts from other films by F.W. Murnau, such as
JOURNEY INTO THE NIGHT (1920), THE HAUNTED CASTLE (1921), THE LAST LAUGH (1924),
FAUST (1926), and TABU (1931). This also has two different musical scores
to choose from, still gallery, scene comparison: novel, screenplay and film.
THE GOLEM
His disc features an excerpt of Julien Duvivier's 1936 film,
LE GOLEM. Scene comparison, featuring excerpts of Murnau's FAUST (1926)
and Chayim Block's book THE GOLEM (1925), still gallery of photographs and
artwork.
WAXWORKS
The disc includes Paul Leni's 1926 short, REBUS FILM I, and
exerpts from Douglas Fairbank's THE THIEF OF BAGDAD.
MGM MIDNIGHT MOVIE SITE
In case you haven't noticed all the titles that came out this
week from MGM on their Midnight Movies label, you can check them out now on
MGM's own little website offshoot, about these little gems.
SOMETHING HIDING IN THE FOG
If you have picked up the recently released THE FOG by MGM
Home Entertainment (and if you haven't, you should do it right away), there is
some additional footage hidden on the disc. Here is how to find it.
From the disc’s Main Menu go to the 'Special Features'
section. Once you get there, press the 'Right' arrow key on your remote control
twice and you will highlight a pair of eyes. Now, press the 'Enter' button on
your remote control and you will see some behind-the-scenes footage about the
creation of the special effects, complete with music from the film’s score.
Thanks to DVD REVIEW for
the info.
AND SPEAKING OF SOMETHING HIDDEN IN THE FOG...
This news comes from Don May and his Synapse website,
about their future releases of the famous Japanese films ENTRAILS OF THE VIRGIN
and ENTRAILS OF THE BEAUTY on DVD. Apparently he has gotten quite a few
emails asking if the films were going to be uncut and also un-fogged.
Here's what he had to say:
"I figured I should take a moment to explain something. The
two ENTRAILS movies have never and will never be presented without the digital
"fogging". During the making of the films, the actors wore small patches over
their genitals to cover up their public hair. So, even if the films weren't
"fogged", you'd see the actors on screen with white tape over their private
parts. There was never any version of either of these films with full nudity
that wasn't obscured."
He then also adds that both films will be uncut.
COFFIN JOE DVD BOX SET
DETAILS
For fans of this strange and bizarre man known as Coffin Joe
and his films, this is going to be an incredible release. The films to be
in the box set are AT MIDNIGHT I'LL TAKE YOUR SOUL, THIS NIGHT I WILL POSSESS
YOUR CORPSE, THE STRANGE WORLD OF COFFIN JOE, AWAKENING OF THE BEAST, THE
END OF MAN, and HALLUCINATIONS OF A DERANGED MIND. Each disc is filled
with tons of extras from documentaries, brand new interviews, scream tests, and
much, much more. For a complete breakdown of what's on them, check it out
at the
Monsters At Play website.
8-17-02 NEWS, REVIEWS, AND MORE
First off, we've changed the text colors here, to
hopefully make it a little easier to read. Second of all, we've added a
couple more entries in our ever popular
Psycho-Babble
section. This time out, it's referring to Dracula, both in the movies and
in Stoker's novel. Pretty funny stuff.
We have also added reviews for VCI Entertainment's KISS OF
THE TARANTULA and Shriek Show's BEYOND THE DARKNESS. Check them out at our
Review section.
And also, please check out our
Message
Board and join in the conversations. We want to hear your opinions and
your own ramblings!
NEW TITLES FROM SHRIEK SHOW
SHRIEK SHOW have recently announced some more titles that
they have acquired the DVD right to. Look for EMANUELLE AND THE LAST
CANNIBALS (aka TRAP THEM AND KILL THEM), KILLING BIRDS, PATRICK STILL LIVES, and
VIRGIN OF NUREMBERG (great news, since is a personal favorite). But to
hold us over, next month they will be releasing ZOMBI 3, and at the end of
October ZOMBI 4: AFTER DEATH will be coming out. Here's the cover art for
ZOMBI 4 and EATEN ALIVE.
FREDDY VS. JASON - GOODBYE HODDER
While this long awaited film starts going before the
camera next month in Vancouver, it doesn't look like Kane Hodder will be donning
the ol' hockey mask this time out. Even though Hodder has played the
character in the last four movies, New Line is apparently is rethinking the
character. They want to make Jason more sympathetic and more equal to
Freddy in a physical standpoint. According to New Line, they are looking
for someone "who can emote pain and anguish over the loss of a loved
one...someone with poetic eyes." They are looking to change him into a
"sad, pathetic, PHANTOM OF THE OPERA type character."
Excuse me, but just what the hell are they talking about?
Why don't they just create a whole new character to battle Freddy? They
want to take a character that is so well established in the horror genre, but
then they want to make him into something completely different? Fine.
Then don't use Jason and create something else. Jason...sad and
pathetic...who can emote pain and anguish? Give me a break.
The only good part out this whole thing is that it seems that
they will be going back to the days of rubber makeup applications as oppose to
CGI effects.
NIGHT GALLERY LIVES ON!
For fans of this awesome series from the early 70's, in case
you didn't already know, Starz Encore's Mystery channel has been playing the
original series every weekday at 6pm EST, and then replaying them in the middle
of the night, in case you happened to miss it.
But this labor day, the Mystery channel will be having a
24-hour marathon of NIGHT GALLERY episodes. Part of this marathon
celebration, will be an original documentary called ART OF DARKNESS: A NIGHT
GALLERY RETROSPECTIVE. This will be shown on September 2nd, at 8pm EST,
and will be hosted by Leonard Nimoy.
If you want to read more about Night Gallery, check out this amazing and
fact-filled website,
simply called
ROD SERLING'S NIGHT GALLERY. It has tons of information about the
show, with episodes guides, the paintings, and much more.
CASTING NEWS
It seems that everybody's favorite drill sargent, R. Lee
Ermey will be joining the cast of the new remake of TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE.
He will be playing Sheriff Hoyt. Funny, don't remember any sheriffs in the
movie...
8-9-02 MESSAGE BOARD UP AND RUNNING!
Well, after months and months of hard work, the new board is up. Not only does
it look a hell of a lot cooler, it has some great features, like being able to
start your own little poll. Check it out and give us your input on what you
think. You can either access by clicking here, or the link on the side.
ATTENTION SOUNDTRACK COLLECTORS!
 If you are like me
and are a fan of movie soundtracks, you definitely want to check out Screen
Archives. This places has tons of cool soundtracks, some of them pretty damn
rare. And most of them are at great prices! For those fans of Hammer films,
instead of paying $25 to $30 for those new soundtracks put out by GDI Records,
you can get them from Screen Archives for only $15!
I've just received my first order from them and am very happy
with what I got. Titles like THE CHANGELING, Q-THE WINGED SERPENT, SCARS OF
DRACULA, THE RESURRECTED, and more. I even just placed another order with them
for this newly released special 2-CD set of the original THE FLY movies.
8-8-02 MASSIVE UPDATE!!!!
As promised, we have one hell of an update this time out. Read below
for details about the Flashback Weekend, new reviews, some misc. news, and also
our Trivia Giveaway Prize. Read on.
FLASHBACK WEEKEND
As mentioned before, we were at this great
convention last weekend and had a hell of a time. You can check out our report
by either going to our Celebrity Photo section.
SNEAK PREVIEWS
At this convention, we got to see BLOOD FEAST 2 and BUBBA HO-TEP.
To read our review, check out our Review section.
NEW MESSAGE BOARD COMING!
In conjunction with Video Junkie, we will be rolling out our
new Message Board, hopefully tomorrow. This one will blow away our previous one
as far as the look to it. Plus it has a lot of cool features. Stay tuned for
more on that.
H.G. LEWIS TRIVIA CONTEST GIVEAWAY!
Are you a fan of H.G. Lewis? Think you know a lot about him
and his movies? Want a free copy of the McFarland book HERSCHELL GORDON LEWIS:
THE GODFATHER OF GORE signed by Lewis and David Friedman? Click here to be taken
to the contest rules and questions!
GUILLERMO DEL TORO NEWS
Apparently he's in line to direct the latest remake from
Universal. This time it's a newer version of THE CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON.
I'd like to believe this would happen, but I've heard del Toro's name attached
to so many projects that never seemed to take off. So I'll just wait and see on
this one.
But some definite good news for fans of del Toro's work, Lions Gate Home
Entertainment will be releasing a deluxe DVD edition of his first film, CRONOS.
It will feature a new video transfer, a commentary track, "huge excerpts" from
his short films, interviews, and much more. There will be a regular edition,
along with a limited collector's edition box which will come with a replica of
the Cronos device from the film, along with the CD soundtrack. Mark me down for
one of those.
Thanks to Dark Horizon and DavisDVD.
TARGETS COMES TO DVD
Peter Bogdanovich's first film TARGETS, starring Boris
Karloff as an aging horror film star comes to DVD next year. This is a
great little film, and is pretty disturbing, even by today's standards.
Plus Karloff is excellent. The disc will probably contain extras, such as
commentaries and others.
8-4-02 FLASHBACK WEEKEND CONVENTION!
Sorry for the lack of updates as of late, but we were trying
to get ready for the Flashback Weekend Convention this weekend. Well, it's
over now and had to be one of the best shows that I've been to in almost a year.
Not since the Cinema Wasteland shows have I had this much fun. Within the
next few days, expect a major update, with tons of photos from the show, with a
report on just why this was a great show.
7-30-01 HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARIO BAVA
Tomorrow, the Italian Master would of been 88 years old.
In honor of this, break out one of his many classics, such as BLACK SUNDAY,
BLACK SABBATH, BARON BLOOD, LISA AND THE DEVIL, or even BLOOD AND BLACK LACE.
A talent like him is sorely missed...more today than ever.
H.G. LEWIS ADDED TO OUR HALL OF FAME
We've have finished out newest entry page to our
Hall of Fame section.
We gladly welcome the Godfather of Gore, Herschell Gordon Lewis. For those
in the Chicagoland area, this weekend, Lewis will be appearing at the
Flashback Weekend
convention.
Speaking of Lewis, we have also recently added a review of a
great book about him, called HERSCHELL GORDON LEWIS: THE GODFATHER OF GORE - THE
FILMS. We have also added a review of the book B-MOVIE HORRORS, which
covers the works of Don Dohler. Both are great reads, and very
informative. Check them out in our
Library Section.
We will also have reviews for two new releases from VCI
Entertainment, the Italian thriller WATCH ME WHEN I KILL, and those who have a
fondness for spiders, KISS OF THE TARANTULA. Stay tuned!
7-26-02 MGM DROPS 1000 CORPSES
According to Rob Zombie, a comment he made during an
interview on MTV's Movie House, made MGM decide to drop the movie. When he
was talking to Ben Affleck about Universal dropping his movie, he said that
Universal said the content was morally objectionable. Then about MGM
picking it up, Zombie joked, "Apparently they have no morals over there. They're
happy for some blood."
But then..."MGM got wind of it and got so pissed off they
shut us down the next day," Zombie said. "We went into editing, and they were
like, 'Get out.' ... They went berserk. And literally, they never called me or
any of the producers. They had assistants call the editing room and they were
like, 'Get out.' It was over in a second, we couldn't get any resolve on it. It
was very strange."
The following Monday, MGM said that they had never planned to
distribute his movie. An spokesperson from MGM said ""It was falsely
announced in Variety that we had the project. We never had a deal with Rob
Zombie. We were in negotiations, let's put it that way, or we were thinking
about it."
But according to Zombie, "MGM came on board. It kind of
never really got out, but they were paying all of the bills, they were editing,
it was all on their dime, they were investing. So once the studio's paying their
money, you know they're into it."
So now Zombie is back to the beginning, except now he owns
the film. He stated that he has hired a company to do the prints and the
advertising, and he is going to release it himself.
Does this mean that it'll go back to the original unrated
version? I guess we'll have to wait and see.
RING NOVEL TO HIT US BOOKSTORES
The original Japanese novel by Koji Suzuki that started the
newest Japanese horror craze will be coming out in an English translation in
September. I'm sure they won't released the original movie to theater or
DVD until well after the American release is out. Don't want the general
public to have anything to compare it to. Well, those of you out there
that have seen it, know that they are going to have one hell of a movie to live
up to.
DVD NEWS
COFFIN JOE SPECIAL EDITION BOX SET
CINEMAGIA/WTF, a Brazilian company, will be releasing a box
set that will contain six Coffin Joe DVDs, all in full-fledge special editions.
The titles are:
AT MIDNIGHT I'LL TAKE YOUR SOUL
THIS NIGHT I WILL POSSESS YOUR CORPSE
AWAKENING OF THE BEAST
THE STRANGE WORLD OF COFFIN JOE
THE END OF MAN
HALLUCINATIONS OF A DERANGED MIND
All the DVDs will be All-Region NTSC, with English subtitles,
as well as Spanish and French. The DVDs will also feature tons of extras,
such as interviews with screenwriter R.F. Luchetti, other artists, musicians,
and actors involved with the films. Also expect commentary tracks by
Coffin Joe himself, along with documentaries, trailers, rare photos, comic
books, and more.
Stay tuned for more details.
THE COMPANY OF WOLVES
An independent distributor, Hen's Tooth has announced a
widescreen release of Neil Jordan's cult classic twist of Little Red Riding
Hood, THE COMPANY OF WOLVES. It will feature a newly re-mastered
anamorphic widescreen transfer (1.78:1). The only extras are still gallery
and trailer. It's due out in the middle of October, with a SRP of $24.95.
STEPHEN KING'S IT
Warner Home Video has announced that come October 1st,
Pennywise the demented clown monster will be hitting DVD, with full-length
commentary by director Tommy Lee Wallace and several of the cast members.
ELITE ENTERTAINMENT AWAKENS PATRICK ON DVD
Elite Entertainment (are they still around?) will be
releasing an uncut European version of this rare film. It will feature
audio commentary by director Richard Franklin, still gallery, filmographies, and
trailer. The SRP will be $24.95, and will be coming out on October 22nd.
7-17-02 NEWS, REVIEWS, PSYCHO-BABBLE, AND CONVENTION INFO!
First up, we have added our review of the
excellent British film FRIGHT up in our
Reviews section. We
also have added a couple more interesting tidbits in our
Psycho-Babble section
that is sure to get a smile from you. And now for some News...
RAIMI TO DIRECT ALASKAN VAMPIRE MOVIE
After he does the sequel to SPIDERMAN, it looks
like Raimi will tackle the movie adaptation of the comic book, 30 DAYS OF NIGHT,
by Steve Niles, which is about a town in Alaska that each year goes a month with
no sun. Which makes it a target for a vampire invasion. At first
Raimi was just to produce the film, but now, according to Cinescape, he will in
fact be directing the movie. It probably will be some time before we see
this film, since the SPIDERMAN sequel starts rolling next January.
ALIEN VS. PREDATOR
In other directing news, Paul Anderson will write and direct
the ALIEN VS. PREDATOR movie for 20th Century Fox. The story is about a
scientist who is hatching Alien eggs to drawn the attention of Predators for
study. As many times as we've heard about this one being made, I wouldn't
be counting on it just yet.
REMAKE NEWS...AGAIN
And of course, what's another week without news about a
remake. This time it's David Cronenberg's SCANNERS that is getting the
treatment from Artisan, who apparently still have some money left over after the
BLAIR WITCH sequel mess. No director has been announced yet.
FLASHBACK WEEKEND - A MUST SEE!
For those in the Chicago-land area, in the Midwest, or hell
in the US, you may want to head to the Windy City the first weekend of August
for the Flashback
Weekend Convention. They have one the best guest lineups for any show
that has been in Chicago in quite a long time.
Headlining the show, in the Godfather of Gore himself, H.G.
Lewis! Then, if you're fans of some cult film called EVIL DEAD, damn near
the all the major cast will be there as well. Here's the complete list of
who is scheduled to be there:
H.G. Lewis, Bruce Campbell, Betsy Baker, Ellen
Sandweiss, Sarah York, Tom Sullivan, J.R. Bookwalter, Robert Z'Dar, Ben Chapman,
Richard Kiel, and Felissa Rose
Then, in case that wasn't enough, they will also be showing
movies as well. How about seeing TWO THOUSAND MANIACS, being introduced by
the director? How about seeing EVIL DEAD and having a Q&A with the stars?
And of course, my personal favorite, seeing the Rankin/Bass classic MAD MONSTER
PARTY on the big screen! They will also be screenings of EVIL DEAD 2,
MOONRAKER, SLEEPAWAY CAMP, CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST, and a special 3-D version of THE
CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON.
Yes, we will be there, enjoying the sites and sounds of the
show as well. If you are planning to go, which you shouldn't been putting
any thought to, stop by our tables and say hello!
7-09-02 ROD STEIGER DIES AT AGE 77
Here's another one passing that does bum me out.
Steiger was not only a great actor, but never afraid to go over the top in some
pretty low budget films. No matter what the type of film, he always gave
it his all. Some of my favorites of his work is THE AMITYVILLE HORROR and
THE KINDRED.
Steiger passed away today from pneumonia and kidney failure.
TREMORS BREAK NEW GROUND ONCE AGAIN...ON SCI
FI CHANNEL
Get ready for TREMORS to hit the Sci Fi Channel in a one-hour
show next January. Set in the famous town from the first and third movies,
the show has the residents battling the underground monsters and other strange
creatures, as well as the U.S. Government sticking their noses in. The
series will be 'guided' by the movie series Brent Maddock & S.S. Wilson
(writer/directors) and Nancy Roberts, (executive producer).
EVIL DEAD STAR TO PLAY IN SATAN'S PLAYGROUND
Boy, is that a lame lead in, or what?
Anyway, director Dante Tomaselli's (DESECRATION, HORROR) next film project will
be SATAN'S PLAYGROUND, which is described as a "all-out scarefest with a
vacationing family lost in the woods with the Jersey Devil lurking around.
Ellen Sandweiss, from the original EVIL DEAD, is set to star, along with
SLEEPAWAY CAMP star Felissa Rose.
7-06-02 DIRECTOR JOHN FRANKENHEIMER DIES
AT 72
Director of such classics as THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE (and
the abortion remake of ISLAND OF DR. MOREAU) passed away today at Cedars-Sinai
Medical Center of a stroke due to complications following spinal surgery, said
his business manager, Patti Person.
Early last month, he had dropped out of the directing chair
of the EXORCIST prequel due to having back surgery. I can just hear the
rumors and stories about his death being caused with his connection to the film.
GEORGE ROMERO DOCUMENTARY ON ENCORE
The Encore Channel will add George Romero's name to the list
of their documentary series THE DIRECTORS. His show will include film
clips and interviews with actors such as Ed Harris, Adrienne Barbeau, Hal
Holbrook, Amy Madigan, and Stanley Tucci. It premieres August 1st.
The series will also cover the careers of Tim Burton, Ridley Scott, Roger
Corman, and Peter Jackson in the future months.
FREDDY VS JASON GETS NEW DIRECTOR...AGAIN
It looks like Ronny Yu did such as great job with his Chucky
sequel, that he is the newest name to be attached to long-awaited project.
Hopefully Yu will bring the style that he use to have in HK, and was able to
show a little of it in BRIDE OF CHUCKY.
NEW PRINT OF ROTLD ON THE MOVIE CHANNEL
This report was sent to us from our local RETURN OF THE
LIVING DEAD expert Will Wilson. Will tells us that the print that was used
apparently was the new transfer, since it not only sporting the MGM logo, but
that it was the best looking print that he has seen. And knowing Will,
that's saying a lot.
But one little problem. Just as the scene cuts to the
intro to the punks, a different song is used. The song "Dead Beat Dance"
by The Damned is gone and replaced with another punk song. We're guessing
this is the same print that is to be used for the upcoming DVD.
NEW REVIEWS
Check out our
Reviews section for our
take on incredible SESSION 9 and H.G. Lewis' WIZARD OF GORE. We have also
added our review of TEN YEARS OF TERROR by FAB Press to our
Reference Library section.
7-4-02
HAPPY
4TH!
In the meantime, here's a bunch of covers that will be coming
out this fall from Image Entertainment. It looks like this Halloween
season is going to be a costly one for us horror fans. There is some
incredible stuff coming out.
  
BLOOD DRINKERS
This disc will feature audio commentary by the producer Sam
Sherman; trailers for THE BLOOD DRINKERS, the alternate title THE VAMPIRE
PEOPLE, the Blood Trilogy BRIDES OF BLOOD, MAD DOCTOR OF BLOOD ISLAND, and BEAST
OF BLOOD, along with BRAIN OF BLOOD, BLOOD OF THE VAMPIRES. It will also
have BLOOD ISLAND stills and artwork gallery.
BLOOD FREAK
"The world's only turkey-monster/anti-drug/pro-Jesus/gore film!"
This is one of the strangest flicks I've ever seen. It
has to be seen to believed. The extras along on this disc is worth the
price. It has a 28-minute skin-noir featurette from 1969 called "The Walls
Have Eyes", featuring Steve Hawkes, one of the stars of BLOOD FREAK. It
then has a short film called "Brad Grinter, Nudist", who talks about the virtues
of being a nudist. Grinter is the co-director of BLOOD FREAK. And
even more, it also has a short films about narcotics, religion, and everything
you wanted to know about turkeys!
But wait there's much more. It also has trailers for
BLOOD FEAST, THE BLOOD SPATTERED BRIDE, BLOODY PIT OF HORROR, COLOR ME BLOOD
RED, THE DORM THAT DRIPPED BLOOD, I DRINK YOUR BLOOD, NIGHT OF THE BLOODY APES,
and FLESH FEAST.
NIGHT OF THE BLOODY APES / FLESH FEAST
Like all releases from Something Weird, this disc will have
tons of extras. It will contain 3 minutes of gory outtakes from NIGHT OF
THE BLOODY APES, along with theatrical trailers and TV spots for both NIGHT and
FLESH FEAST.
It will also have trailers for FACE OF THE SCREAMING
WEREWOLF, THE FLESH EATERS, FLESH FEAST, INVASION OF THE FLESH HUNTERS, BLOOD
SPATTERED BRIDE / I DISMEMBER MAMA, SHIVER SUDDER SHOW, TENDER FLESH, WEREWOLF
IN A GIRL'S DORMITORY / CORRIDORS OF BLOOD, plus more.
It also contains some strange and bizarre short films like
"Gorilla and the Maiden" where a gorilla goes for a stripper in this Burlesque
novelty short film. Rita Martinez takes on Clara Mortensen in "The World's
Championship Women's Wrestling Contest". Plus many more ape related
shorts.
All three of these have a release date of 9/24/02.
  
ASYLUM OF SATAN / SATAN'S CHILDREN
This double feature disc will have audio commentary by
Majestic International FIlms' Jeffrey C. Hogue and William Girdler biographer
Patty Breen. It will also contain 7 minutes of rare "Asylum of Satan"
behind-the-scene footage. Trailers for ASYLUM OF SATAN, DON'T LOOK IN THE
BASEMENT, DR. TARR'S TORTURE DUNGEON, HORROR HIGH, HOUSE OF MISSING GIRLS, HOUSE
OF THE DAMNED, THE HOUSE THAT VANISHED, MANSION OF THE DOOMED, and MURDER
CLINIC.
There is also some interesting short features. Such as
"Satan's Dance", starring Burlesque Queen Lorraine Lane. In the 30-minute
featurette "The Soul Snatcher", Satan offers a woman everything in life is she
promises to wear a pair of Satanic Shoes!
And lastly, there's a ghastly gallery of Ghoulish Comic Cover
Art with horror audio rarities, a collectible booklet: "Girdler, the Devil, and
Asylum of Satan" by Patty Breen.
This has a release date of 9-3-02
DRACULA, THE DIRTY OLD MAN / GUESS WHAT
HAPPENED TO DRACULA
Something Weird has dug up these two rare films for one great
double feature DVD. The best of the bad.
The disc will feature trailers for BLOODSUCKERS, THE BODY
BENEATH, CAGED VIRGINS, DAUGHTERS OF DARKNESS, THE LEGEND OF BLOOD CASTLE, A
TASTE OF BLOOD, THE VAMPIRE AND THE BALLERINA, VAMPIRE'S COFFIN / THE ROBOT VS
THE AZTEC MUMMY.
It will also have "Two Adult Fanged Featurettes. The
first one is called "Dracula and the Dirty Old Witch", where gets a pre-Viagra
love potion. The second one, called "Sex and the Single Vampire", stars
John Holmes as Count Spatula, who learns about lovemaking.
This has a release date of 9-10-02
NAKED EVIL / EXORCISM AT MIDNIGHT
This strange British film was originally released in 1966
under the title NAKED EVIL, and is about a two gangs battling it out. When
one gang turns to Jamaican Black Magic, a demon is released, and the real
trouble stars.
Then in 1973, shortly after the release of THE EXORCIST, this
film was released with new footage added to it, calling it EXORCISM AT MIDNIGHT.
Lawrence Tierney stars in the new footage. This version of the film also
features surreal "Multi-Color" visual effects.
The disc will have extensive promotional and production photo
gallery, and "Midnight Marquee" article by Bryan Senn.
This has a release date of 9-10-02
  
BRIDES OF BLOOD
Eddie Romero and John Ashley's first entry in the Blood
Island Trilogy. This disc features a newly re-mastered print with its
original tinted footage presented correct and intact for the first time..
The disc will also feature audio commentary by producer Sam
Sherman, a Special BRIDES OF BLOOD Ring promotional trailer. As well as
theatrical trailers for BRIDES OF BLOOD, MAD DOCTOR OF BLOOD ISLAND, THE BLOOD
DRINKERS, BEAST OF BLOOD, BRAIN OF BLOOD, and BLOOD OF THE VAMPIRES. Along
with Blood Island stills and artwork gallery, Beverly Hills pin-up Gallery, and
"House of Terror" live horror show promo.
MAD DOCTOR OF BLOOD ISLAND
This is the second feature in the Blood Island Trilogy.
This film is also presented newly re-mastered from the original film elements.
It also contains the classic prologue where the audience is instructed to drink
a magical green potion as they recite the Blood Oath.
It will also contain audio commentary by producer Sam
Sherman, as well as the trailers as on BRIDES OF BLOOD.
CRIMSON
This Paul Naschy film has been newly re-mastered from the
original negative, and will feature16 minutes of "rarely-seen, ultra hot erotic
footage, as well as an alternate main title, and trailer.
All of these three titles have a release date of 9-24-02
  
THE PROWLER
This rare slasher film from the 80's, featuring Tom Savini's
trademark splatter effects. This disc will feature the film completely
uncut and uncensored.
It will also feature audio commentary by Producer / Director
Joseph Zito and Tom Savini, along with behind-the-scene gore footage from Savini.
It will also have the trailer, and poster and still gallery.
SHOCK WAVES
This classic film featuring Peter Cushing, John Carradine,
and Nazi Zombies, has been transferred from the director's own vault print and
digitally restored for this release.
The features will consist of audio commentary by Director /
Co-Writer Ken Wiederhorn, Makeup designer Alan Ormsby, and filmmaker Fred Olen
Ray. "From Flipper to SHOCK WAVES: An Interview with Luke Halpin".
Trailer, TV and Radio spots, Poster, Still and production art gallery.
TOOLBOX MURDERS
This great Cameron Mitchell film is presented uncut,
and fully restored from its original negative.
It will feature audio wit Producer Tony DiDio, Director of
Photography Gary Graver, and stary Pamelyn Ferdin. An interview with star
Marianne Walter called "I Got Nailed in The Toolbox Murders". As well as
trailer, TV and Radio spots, poster and still gallery, and Cameron Mitchell bio.
7-1-02 BACK ON SCHEDULE...FOR NOW
This time out, we have a couple more updates. We have
FINALLY added Paul Naschy to our
Tombs of Fame.
Were hoping to have someone else joining him in there very shortly.
We've also added another great entry to our
Psycho Babble
section. This item is about the hidden meanings about Romero's NIGHT OF
THE LIVING DEAD, and was sent in by our good friend Will.
VAMPIRES 2?
It looks like there trying to sneak this one out of DVD /
VHS. On September 24th, VAMPIRES: LOS MUERTOS will be released. This
is the sequel to JOHN CARPENTER'S VAMPIRES, with Jon Bon Jovi in the lead role.
No real word or news about this film, shortly after it started production.
That's not a good sign folks.
HOUSE OF 1000 CORPSES = TEXAS CHAINSAW
MASSACRE 5 ???
We've recently read the screenplay of Rob Zombie's
directorial debut. As much as I'd like to give him the benefit of the
doubt, he really should of just called this one Part 5 in the TCM series and
left it at that. Hopefully he fills the movie with enough style to really
set it apart. We'll have to wait and see.
And while on the subject of Zombie and his movie, after he
had cut down his movie to an R rating, which is what he was contracted to do, he
went and re-shot a couple of new scenes, which he says, "probably pushed it back
up to an NC-17. It's a constant battle. I just can't let go of the
NC-17. It's a tough one for me."
6-29-02 BACK ONCE AGAIN...
Sorry for the lack of updates as of late. From battling
the stress of the day job, and having little bouts of vertigo (not the movie),
it's been pretty tough to get some updates here. But hopefully we will
have some more cool things to add in the very near future.
We are currently working on several new projects. We
are putting the finishing touches up on two new entries into our Hall of Fame
section. Also, in conjunction with Video Junkie, we are also working on a
new Message Board, which should be pretty interesting. But for now, here's
some great DVD news to hold you over.
DVD NEWS
 Anchor
Bay has announced some great titles that they will be releasing this fall.
One of the best titles announced is Kathryn Bigelow's NEAR DARK. It will
be a THX-Approved 2 disc set, which will feature a 16x9 widescreen, DTS & Dolby
Digital 5.1 Surround sound. But it will also have an audio commentary by
the director. It will also have a new 47-minute documentary, which will
contain interviews with the cast and crew, including Bill Paxton, Lance
Henriksen, Adrian Pasdar, and more. Other features include a deleted scene
with commentary by Bigelow, storyboards, poster and still gallery, a behind the
scenes still gallery, trailers and more to come. If you have a DVD-ROM,
you'll be able to view the screenplay as well.
Anchor Bay also comes through with another entry in their
Hammer films series. This latest is TO THE DEVIL A DAUGHTER. Besides
a trailer, it will feature interviews with actors Christopher Lee, Honor
Blackman, Anthony Valentine, the director Peter Sykes, writer Christopher
Wicking, producer Roy Skeggs, and others.
Brian Yuzna's very bizarre SOCIETY will also becoming out
with in a completely uncut print with a 16x9 transfer, Dolby Digital audio, with
audio commentary by Yuzna.
These titles are scheduled to be released at the end of
September.
Anchor Bay is also working on THE INITIATION, NEON MANIACS,
and TWO EVIL EYES, the latter featuring an uncut print and interviews.
And following up on their EVIL DEAD series of releases, they
will also be re-issuing another version of George Romero's DAWN OF THE DEAD.
This time out it features a newly (of course) remastered 16x9 widescreen
transfer, with new DTS and DD surround sound, all new cast and crew interviews,
all new audio commentary tracks, trailers, posters, and more. There is
also a box set coming out with the different cuts of the film.
Romero's DAY OF THE DEAD will also be re-issued in a deluxe
version with audio commentary, interviews, and behind-the-scene footage.
In other DVD news, Shriek Show has announced the details on a
couple of their upcoming titles.
ZOMBIE 3
Features interviews with Bruno Mattei (co-director, depending on who
you ask), and writer Claudio Fragasso, as well as Ottaviano Dell'Acquq and
Massimo Vanni (stars and stunt co-ordinator), and Marina Lori.
This was the film that Fulci started then walked off the set after a couple of
days, and Mattei stepped in to finish.
SWEET HOUSE OF HORROR
Features interviews with Robert Valdi, Lino Salemme, and an
introduction by Cinzia Monreale.
TOOLBOX MURDERS REMAKE
According to Fangoria's website, the original
producer of 1978 film, Tony Didio has decided to update this cult classic.
“The original TOOLBOX MURDERS came out around the same time as TEXAS CHAINSAW
MASSACRE, and when I saw that being remade, I figured it was time to do TOOLBOX
over again too,” Didio says. “We’re just putting it together now and expect to
begin shooting in Canada this fall, most likely Vancouver. We plan on hiring
mostly Canadian talent.”
The original version is set to be released on DVD later this
year.
6-17-02 ANOTHER BIRTHDAY...LUCIO FULCI
June must of been the birthday for directors known for their
gory films. So break out HOUSE BY THE CEMETERY, THE BEYOND, or maybe even
ZOMBIE!
HUGE POSTER GALLERY UPDATE - PAUL NASCHY
EXHIBIT!
We'd like to thank Mirek and the
MARK OF NASCHY website for
their donation of a lot of cool posters for our Paul Naschy Exhibit. If
you're a fan of Naschy, check out the best and most informative site on the one
and only Hombre Lobo.
6-15-02 HAPPY BIRTHDAY - H.G. LEWIS
In honor of the Godfather of Gore, we have updated our little
poll. Please cast your opinion on your favorite bloody film by Lewis.
MONSTERS AMONG US SHOW REPORT
 Sorry for the delay in
the report. Also, didn't have a chance to take too many photos this time,
other than this quick shot of everyone's favorite beast from AMERICAN WEREWOLF,
David Naughton. But after doing three shows in three weeks, I must say I
was glad when |
