SEPTic 9 |
My Latest Book, GRIM GRINS & MORBID MIRTH is Released
Today in kindle on Amazon, soon in print and audio book everywhere.
And -
21 Years of THE EXORCISM OF EMILY ROSE
Stop me if you've read this before -
Have you ever watched a movie trailer that was compelling, exciting, and looked like it had everything going for it?
Hang! On!
You patiently waited for the movie to come out, made time on your Friday night because you wanted that theater experience? So much so that you paid for overpriced drinks and popcorn in order to Perfectly Set the Moo-ood?
And then you saw the movie?
All of the above remains my most memorable experience of watching THE EXORCISM OF EMILY ROSE.
Also -
CONTAGION Turns 15
Any movie about a global pandemic is going to draw comparisons to any eventual global pandemic that comes along. How close did this one come to the mark?
I was in the theater to see 2011's CONTAGION.
Finale -
HAPPY HORROR THRILLER BIRTHDAYS TO -
By E.C. McMullen Jr.
Actor Jeffrey Combs (FRIGHTMARE, THE MAN WITH TWO BRAINS, RE-ANIMATOR [all], FROM BEYOND, CELLAR DWELLER, DOCTOR MORDRID, NECRONOMICON, CASTLE FREAK, THE FRIGHTENERS, HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL, THE ATTIC EXPEDITIONS, FEAR DOT COM, VOODOO MOON, ABOMINABLE, RETURN TO THE HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL, PARASOMNIA, DARK HOUSE, THE WITCHES OF OZ [TV], NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD 3D: RE-ANIMATION, EDMOND, WOULD YOU RATHER, MOTIVATIONAL GROWTH, FAVOR, THE PENNY DREADFUL PICTURE SHOW, HOLIDAY HELL, AGE OF STONE AND SKY, STREAM, and way more!) is 72.
Look for Jeffrey in the 2024 Horror movie, LILLY LIVES ALONE. And in 2025, WATERWICK.
Actor Josh Herdman (HARRY POTTER [all], PIGGY, MARCELLA [TV], TWO GRAVES) is 40.
Actor Michelle Johnson (BEAKS: THE MOVIE, WAXWORK, SLIPPING INTO DARKNESS, THE JIGSAW MURDERS, GENUINE RISK, BLOOD TIES, DEATH BECOMES HER, DR. GIGGLES, BODY SHOT, INCIDENT AT DECEPTION RIDGE, ILLICIT DREAMS, THE DONOR, SPECIMEN, REVENGE) is 61.
Actor Goran Visnjic (NIGHT WATCH, PUSKA ZA USPAVLJIVANJE, THE PEACEMAKER, THE DEEP END, DOCTOR SLEEP, ELEKTRA, THE DEEP [TV], THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO, DARK HEARTS, THE SANTA CLARITA DIET [TV], THE BOYS [TV], THE ACCURSED, HELLRAISER Hulu) is 54.
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SEPTic 8 |
Alfred Hitchcock's PSYCHO is 66 Today
Read E.C. McMullen Jr.'s PSYCHO In CINEMA.
Then read contributor James Futch's review of the first DVD disc release of Alfred Hitchcock's PSYCHO.
And -
IT is Older Than Georgie will ever be
There are moments in the novel IT where King leads you to the point where you fill in the empty spaces with your suddenly remembered, personal horrors. In that second, often with a mere sentence, King's empty space is where your monster lives.
You see where I'm going, right?
Now follow me into the 2017 movie, IT.
Finale -
HAPPY HORROR THRILLER BIRTHDAYS TO -
By E.C. McMullen Jr.
Actor Travis Nelson (TUCKER AND DALE VS EVIL, EMBRACE OF THE VAMPIRE, DARK HEARTS, OBSESSION [all], CLARICE [TV], VINDICTA, DROP) is 34.
Look for Travis in the October 9, 2026 Horror, OTHER MOMMY.
Actor Park So-dam (BLADE OF THE PHANTOM MASTER, SONYEO aka STEEL COLD WINTER,
SCARLET INNOCENCE, THE SILENCED, THE PRIESTS, PARASITE [2019], DEATH'S GAME [TV]) is 33.
Look for So-dam in the upcoming Horror movie, DARK NUNS.
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SEPTic 7 |
My Latest Book, GRIM GRINS & MORBID MIRTH is Released
Today in kindle on Amazon, soon in print and audio book everywhere.
And -
YOU DUG IT
Good 2 Know: Any weekend box office drop of less than 50% is good. Any weekend B.O. drop smaller than 30% of the previous is excellent.
General Rules:
A. Theaters get approximately 50% of the gross in North American B.O. (negotiable).
B. Distributors omitting Production budget figures believe the movie will under perform.
C. Total gross by the 3rd weekend accounts for at least half of movie's total theater ticket sales regardless of length of stay.
D. After the 3rd weekend, as screens drop, theater 50/50 B.O. split rises about 10% each weekend, favoring the theater, until it stops at 80/20 (negotiable).
1. SPIDER-MAN: BRAND NEW DAY holds onto #1 for 6 weeks in a row! In! A! Row!
5. INSIDIOUS: OUT OF THE FURTHER steps down from last weekend's 4th place with a mild 36% drop in ticket sales against a 406 screen cut.
7. BUDDY saw an uptick of 6% in box office this week with an addition of 494 screens, despite stepping down one place last weekend's #6 spot.
9. THE END OF OAK STREET steps down from last weekend's #8 with a 36% drop in ticket sales against a 721 screen cut. Its highly unlikely that this movie will be prifitable in theaters, but at least its fall isn't as considerable as -
10. THE DOG STARS dropped a staggering 5 places from last weeken'd debut with a 64% dop in ticket sales despite no cut to its 3,330 screen count. You may be ready to bury this one.
Figures calibrated from reporting by Box Office Mojo and The Numbers. Should there be differences between the two, I err on the side of caution and post the most positive numbers.
Plus -
CAST A DEADLY SPELL Turns 35
Long before 2017 and Noomi Rapace, Will Smith, and Joel Edgerton starred in David Ayers' BRIGHT, there was a movie you likely never saw. It had Fred Ward (TREMORS)! David Warner (THE OMEN, TRON), Clancy Brown (JOHN DIES AT THE END)! It was produced by Gale Anne Hurd (THE TERMINATOR, ALIENS, TREMORS, THE WALKING DEAD)! Read why you really want to see CAST A DEADLY SPELL!
Also -
HATCHET is 23
Through the years, I've seen a lot of people in Social Media post stills and gifs from this movie. Lots of Horror fans know of it, talk about it, yet few have seen it. So let's give you a much needed kick in the ass to Actually Watch it.
Because I was there! At the October 2006 Screamfest film festival when I saw HATCHET!
Wassmor -
John Findley's TEX ARCANA Is 20
Once there was an extraordinary American Comic magazine called HEAVY METAL. It was born from the original French Comic magazine METAL HURLANT (SCREAMING METAL).
As METAL HURLANT began throwing away everything that made it popular, in a poorly considered attempt to stay au courant, it sank while its American child soared. And understand, that through magazines, graphic novels (the first NYT bestselling graphic novel came from HEAVY METAL - ALIEN), and a box office hit movie, HEAVY METAL, they were doing it with the same European artists that graced the pages of METAL HURLANT. You see, it wasn't the artists and writers who fell out of favor with the fans, it was the management changing its winning format to a losing one.
Then HEAVY METAL chose to hire new creative directors who followed the bankrupt course of METAL HURLANT and immediately got the same results. Since then HEAVY METAL magazine has gone moribund often, changed ownership hands often, but never rose to its former glory: all because the owners won't return to the winning format that made them.
At its height, HEAVY METAL magazine also published American artists and writers: Underground and or unknown, and at the top of that list was John Findley with his Weird Western tale, TEX ARCANA.
Finale -
HAPPY HORROR THRILLER BIRTHDAYS TO -
By E.C. McMullen Jr.
Writer, Producer, Director Dario Argento (L' UCCELLO DALLE PIUME DI CRISTALLO, IL GATTO A NOVE CODE, DEEP RED, SUSPIRIA, INFERNO, TENEBRE, PHENOMENA, TERROR AT THE OPERA, TWO EVIL EYES, THE STENDHAL SYNDROME, THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA [1998], TRAUMA, DO YOU LIKE HITCHCOCK?, MOTHER OF TEARS, GIALLO, DRACULA [2012], OCCHIALI NERI aka BLACK GLASSES aka DARK GLASSES) is 84.
Actor Corbin Bernsen (KING KONG [1976], DEAD AIM, THE KILLING BOX, SHATTERED, TALES FROM THE HOOD, INHUMANOID, THE DENTIST, MENNO'S MIND, THE DENTIST II, RAPTOR, FANGS, Masters of Horror RIGHT TO DIE, DEAD AIR, CLOSETS, CALENDAR GIRL, SUING THE DEVIL, LIZZIE, SENSORY PERCEPTION, DISTORTION, HAP AND LEONARD [TV], THE PUNISHER [TV], SENSORY PERCEPTION, THE BELDHAM, MARSHMALLOW, and way more) is 70.
Look for Corbin in the upcoming 2026 Thriller, THE WEIGHT OF DARKNESS. Also expected in 2026, YETI.
Actor Doug Bradley (HELLRAISER [all through 8], NIGHTBREED,
PROTEUS, LA LENGUA ASESINA, ARCHANGEL THUNDERBIRD, DOMINATOR, THE PROPHECY: UPRISING, PUMPKINHEAD: ASHES TO ASHES, THE COTTAGE, 10 DEAD MEN, BOOK OF BLOOD, UMBRAGE, EXORCISMUS, THE REVEREND, THE INFLICTED, DEER CROSSING, WRONG TURN 5, SCREAM PARK, SHAME THE DEVIL, HOWARD LOVECRAFT [all], ALIEN DANGER, UNITED STATES OF HORROR: CHAPTER 2, CORRECTIVE MEASURES, THE BARN PART 2, and many more) is 70.
Look for Doug in the 2026 Horror, THY WILL BE DONE. Also in 2026, THE DEMONATRIX
Actor Devon Sawa (SHERLOCK HOLMES RETURNS, CASPER, NIGHT OF THE TWISTERS, THE BOYS CLUB, IDLE HANDS, FINAL DESTINATION, THE GUILTY, EXTREME OPS, SHOOTING GALLERY, DEVIL'S DEN, CREATURE OF DARKNESS, ENDURE, 388 ARLETTA AVENUE, A RESURRECTION, NIKITA [TV], THE FANATIC, HUNTER HUNTER, DEATH RIDER, CHILD'S PLAY [TV], BLACK FRIDAY, CHUCKY [TV], HEART EYES) is 45.
Look for Devon in the 2026 Thriller, THE GIRL IN THE RIVER.
SUNDAY -
![ULTRAVIOLET [TV]](/Movies/TV/Ultra_Violet/images/UV_IdrisElba_400x720.jpg)
Actor Jovan Adepo (THE LEFTOVERS [TV], MOTHER!, OVERLORD, Tom Clancy's JACK RYAN [TV], WATCHMEN [TV], THE VIOLENT HEART, THE STAND [TV], THE THREE BODY PROBLEM
[TV], IT: WELCOME TO DERRY [TV]) is 38.
Actor Idris Elba (RUTH RENDELL MYSTERIES [TV], ULTRAVIOLET [TV], SORTED, THE WIRE [TV], THE REAPING, 28 WEEKS LATER, PROM NIGHT [2008], ROCKnROLLA, THE UNBORN, OBSESSED, LEGACY, THOR, LUTHER [TV], GHOST RIDER: SPIRIT OF VENGEANCE, PROMETHEUS, PACIFIC RIM, NO GOOD DEED, THOR: THE DARK WORLD, THE AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON, STAR TREK BEYOND, THE DARK TOWER, THOR: RAGNAROK, AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR, THE SUICIDE SQUAD, BEAST, CYBERPUNK 2077-, A HOUSE OF DYNAMITE, MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE [2026]) is 54.
Look for Edris in the 2025, December 3, 2026, release of the Horror Thriller, ABOVE THE BELOW.
Actor Naomie Harris (28 DAYS LATER,
TRAUMA, AFTER THE SUNSET, PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN'S CHEST, PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: AT WORLD'S END, NINJA ASSASSIN, SKYFALL, SPECTRE, RAMPAGE, THE THIRD DAY, VENOM: LET THERE BE CARNAGE, SWAN SONG, THE MAN WHO FELL TO EARTH [TV], THE WASP, BLACK BAG) who is 49.
Writer Elizabeth Massie (WELCOME TO THE NIGHT, SHADOW DREAMS, SINEATER) who is considerably older than me. COnsiderably! ... I think.
Actor Betsy Russell (AVENGING ANGEL, BLOODY POM POMS, CAMP FEAR, SAW III, SAW IV, SAW V, SAW VI, MANDRAKE, CHAIN LETTER, SAW 3D: THE FINAL CHAPTER, KNOCK 'EM DEAD, MY TRIP BACK TO THE DARK SIDE, NON-STOP) is 62.
Writer, Director Tommy Lee Wallace (HALLOWEEN III: SEASON OF THE WITCH, THE TWILIGHT ZONE [TV 1985-1986], MAX HEADROOM [TV], FRIGHT NIGHT 2, IT [TV], DANGER ISLAND, ONCE YOU MEET A STRANGER, THE SPREE, VAMPIRES: LOS MUERTOS, THE 3RD CHANNEL) is 76.
IT Was Only 7 Years Ago When...
... some Losers killed a clown.
I was there in the theater to see it happen! IT: Chapter 2
SATURDAY -
Actor Paddy Considine (CLOSE YOUR EYES, DEAD MAN'S SHOES, BOSQUE DE SOMBRAS, HOT FUZZ, THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM, RED RIDING: IN THE YEAR OF OUR LORD 1980, BLITZ, THE WORLD'S END, HONOUR, CHILD 44, THE GIRL WITH ALL THE GIFTS, THE OUTSIDER [TV], THE THIRD DAY [TV], WOLF, HOUSE OF THE DRAGON [TV]) is 52.
Look for Paddy in the 2026, February 19, 2027 release of the Thriller, WIFE AND DOG.
Actor Rose McGowan (SCREAM, PHANTOMS, DEVIL IN THE FLESH, THE LAST STOP, GRINDHOUSE: PLANET TERROR, DEATH PROOF, FIFTY DEAD MEN WALKING, DEAD AWAKE, CONAN THE BARBARIAN, ROSEWOOD LANE, CHOSEN [TV], THE TELL-TALE HEART, THE SOUND) is 53.
Actor Annabelle Wallis (TRUE TRUE LIE, STEEL TRAP, THE LOST FUTURE, X-MEN: FIRST CLASS, ANNABELLE, SWORD OF VENGEANCE, MINE, COME AND FIND ME, THE MUMMY [2017], ANNABELLE: CREATION, BOSS LEVE, MALIGNANT, WARNING, VANISHED INTO THE NIGHT, MERCY) is 42.
THE BRIDES OF DRACULA is 66
Let's pause to consider that the long deceased corpse of Hammer Films has risen again!
"Where's the value in that?" you might ask. Back in 1960, Hammer wanted to make more vampire movies than actor Christopher Lee could star in. Plus, you didn't want to go to the well too many times with Chris in the role of Dracula. Especially since Hammer had him doing triple-time as the Frankenstein Creature and Mummy to boot! So they made their vampire movie and David Peel played the young Baron in THE BRIDES OF DRACULA.
Coronavirus Mortality Updates: 2020 - 2023 CDC ARCHIVE |
