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MAY 10 |
Boris Karloff's BEDLAM Turns 78
Is a picture really worth a thousand words?
Artist William Hogarth's painting of Bedlam, Plate 8: "A Rake's Progress" was the inspiration used by screenwriters Carlos Keith and Mark Robson. Robson was Producer Val Lewton's goto guy for directing as well as writing.
In 1946, while Bela Lugosi's career was sliding, Boris Karloff, thanks in part to his association with the wildly popular Val Lewton, was rising.
With Lewton, Boris made respectable Horror for discerning adults. But how many people do you know who have ever heard of Val Lewton today? And how many do you know who have ever heard of what is considered one of Val Lewton and Boris Karloff's best, BEDLAM?
And -
Neil Marshall's DOG SOLDIERS is 22
If you don't know, this movie is either a Werewolf story involving soldiers, or a Soldier story involving werewolves.
One of the best things (among many) about it, is its economy of story that lends itself to the audience's suspension of disbelief. Like the moment where the soldiers are confronted with the impossible idea of being surrounded by werewolves. They may have the guns and ammunition to fight their way out and live another day, but then Megan says,
"If this is true then what else is true? You'll never have another good night's sleep as long as you live."
This is the brutal beauty of DOG SOLDIERS.
Plus -
HAPPY HORROR THRILLER BIRTHDAYS TO -
By E.C. McMullen Jr.
Editor, DP, Actor, Director, and pretty much everything else
in film, Danny Draven (HORRORVISION, THE FRIGHTENING, CRYPTZ,
HELL ASYLUM, DEATHBED, DARK WALKER, WITCHES OF THE CARIBBEAN, DARK WALKER, GHOST MONTH, SKULL HEADS, THE EVIL BONG 3D, ZOMBIES VS STRIPPERS, DANNY DRAVEN'S MATERS OF TERROR [TV], and a lot more) is 47.
Actor Meg Foster (WELCOME TO ARROW BEACH, THE LEGEND OF SLEEPY HOLLOW, THE OSTERMAN WEEKEND, THEY LIVE, LEVIATHAN, STEPFATHER II, SHRUNKEN HEADS, OBLIVION, THE KILLERS WITHIN, THE MINUS MAN, SEBASTIAN, THE LORDS OF SALEM, RAVENSWOOD [TV], THE ORIGINALS [TV], 31, PRETTY LITTLE LIARS [TV], JEEPERS CREEPERS 3, OVERLORD, INVESTIGATION 13, THERE'S NO SUCH THING AS VAMPIRES, HELLBLAZERS, HAUNTED 333, THE ACCURSED)
is 76.
Look for Meg in the upcoming 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, Horror Thriller, S2K.
Composer Jay Ferguson (THE TERMINATOR, PULSE [1988], BAD DREAMS, TALES FROM THE CRYPT [TV], A
NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET 5, TREMORS 2, TREMORS 4, WOMEN'S MURDER CLUB [TV]) is 77.
Artist Eric J (REX MUNDI, THE PHANTOM) is 49. Visit him at EricJ-Art.
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MAY 9 |
SOYLENT GREEN Turns 51 in the U.S.A.
The fact that political dystopian science fiction books and movies miss their date of expiration never means that their warning is obsolete. George Orwell's 1984 forever hangs over our heads and the very people who espouse a Big Brother government are often the same ones irritably telling us to ignore that "Orwell stuff".
This movie's due date was 2022. Are the lessons of SOYLENT GREEN also outdated?
And -
FRIDAY THE 13th Is 43
Sean S. Cunningham saw John Carpenter's success with HALLOWEEN and he really wanted a piece of that! God, how he wanted to copy John Carpenter! Sean's movie would also have teens having sex and being stalked and butchered by a knife wielding killer. He didn't have a mask idea in mind so, you'd only see the killer's big hairy hands, see? Now he just needed a holiday.
No good Holidays worth his time (Arbor Day Massacre? Surely you jest!) but lots of people are superstitious about the number 13 and ... and ... Friday the 13th! Well there you go! With this in mind he commissioned a movie poster, then put that sucker in a newspaper ad. Paramount Pictures took the bait.
Now all Sean needed was a script!
A FRIDAY THE 13th script that would haunt Sean for ... A Very Long Time...
43 years to be exact.
Plus -
THE FIFTH ELEMENT Turns 27
27 Years! Can you believe I saw this movie in the same year I launched this website?
...Yes, I'm that old. Shut yer f*ckin' piehole!
Anyway, it's a SciFi Action Thriller, not Science Fiction and by that I mean FLASH GORDON comic book-style Space Opera over hardcore Science Fiction like FORBIDDEN PLANET, 2001, ALIEN, or John Carpenter's THE THING. This is why THE FIFTH ELEMENT is such fun!
Finale -
HAPPY HORROR THRILLER BIRTHDAYS TO -
By E.C. McMullen Jr.
Actor Rosario Dawson (MEN IN BLACK II, SIN CITY, GRINDHOUSE, DEATH PROOF, DESCENT, EAGLE EYE, GEMINI DIVISION [TV], KILLSHOT, THE HAUNTED WORLD OF EL SUPERBEASTO, PERCY JACKSON AND THE LIGHTNING THIEF, UNSTOPPABLE, TRANCE, RAZE, PARTS PER BILLION, SIN CITY 2: A DAME TO KILL FOR, THE CAPTIVE, LUKE CAGE [TV], DAREDEVIL [TV], IRON FIST [TV], THE DEFENDERS [TV], ZOMBIELAND: DOUBLE TAP, BRIARPATCH [TV], DMZ, HAUNTED MANSION) is 45.
Look for Rosario in the upcoming 2023, 2024 Horror Thriller TV show, GHOSTS OF RUIN.
Actor Anthony "Corlan" Higgins (TASTE THE BLOOD OF DRACULA, VAMPIRE CIRCUS, FLAVIA THE HERETIC, RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK, THE DRAUGHTMAN'S CONTRACT, THE BRIDE, THE COLD ROOM, YOUNG SHERLOCK HOLMES, SHERLOCK HOLMES RETURNS, DEEPLY, MALICE IN WONDERLAND, and more) who is 77 today.
SFX Artist Kevin Pike (JAWS, THE CAR, JAWS 2, STAR TREK II: THE WRATH OF KHAN, INDIANA JONES AND THE TEMPLE OF DOOM, WARNING SIGN, JURASSIC PARK, ED WOOD, THE PUPPET MASTERS, SCREAM 3, BLACK SCORPION, JURASSIC PARK III, FEAST, TERMINATOR: THE SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES [TV]) is 73.
Director, Producer Chuck Russell (HELL NIGHT, THE SEDUCTION, DREAMSCAPE, A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET 3: DREAM WARRIORS, THE BLOB [1988], THE MASK, BLESS THE CHILD, THE SCORPION KING, COLLATERAL) is 66.
Actor and Producer Chris Staviski (CARNIES, THE SUMMER OF MASSACRE, BLOODY BLOODY BIBLE CAMP, CHILLERAMA, PAIN IS BEAUTIFUL, WEREWOLVES IN HEAT, ANOTHER PLAN FROM OUTER SPACE, DEATH BY MIDNIGHT) is 55.
Actor Chris Zylka (KA-BOOM, MY SUPER PSYCHO SWEET 16: PART 2, SHARK NIGHT 3D, THE SECRET CIRCLE [TV], PIRANHA 3DD, THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN, TWISTED [TV], FREAKS OF NATURE, WELCOME TO WILLITS, THE LEFTOVERS [TV], DARE ME [TV], MODEL HOUSE) is 39.
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MAY 8 |
THE CORPSE VANISHES Turns 82
Look, let's not quibble, shall we? I don't like quibbling and I like quarreling and arguing even less.
The fact is you could remake this movie with a bigger budget and better script but since it won't have Bela Lugosi to carry the weight, you'll be spinning your wheels and losing money by the minute. On the other hand, if you've never seen it and you love old Bela, you're going to be entertained when THE CORPSE VANISHES.
And -
J.J. Abrams "Kelvin Timeline" STAR TREK Turns 15
The stewards of Star Trek TNG the TV show were poor stewards of the Star Trek TNG movie franchise and it slowly slid into ignominy as the actors went onto better careers or fan conventions.
No, Paramount felt what the movie really needed was a guy who successfully made his mark in television shows that started hot and prematurely fizzled out. Paramount needed someone like J.J.Abrams who openly didn't like Star Trek because he couldn't understand it: it was over his head. And because he couldn't understand it, what was the point of making a movie that a massive world-wide fanbase could understand?
So, Abrams wanted to play to the lowest common denominator: A small slice of movie audience who didn't like Star Trek but might like the franchise he was selling because he dumbed it down. and wouldn't see it. The desperate Star Trek fans were a bunch of rubes who only understood lame-brain science stuff, so they'd turn out en mass and maybe even convince themselves they enjoyed it (like I did. Mea culpa)!
At first.
Which meant they could get two, maybe three movies out of the way before audiences turned their backs on it. That's why the studio bean counters gave their cynical greenlight to J.J. Abrams STAR TREK. Yet Star Trek fans were happy with his first one and it made the most money. So naturally Abrams didn't like it. If he made Trekkies happy, he did something wrong. Abrams would go on to fall in love with the idminishing box office returns of his Star Trek sequels.
Plus -
HAPPY HORROR THRILLER BIRTHDAYS TO -
By E.C. McMullen Jr.
Actor Nora Arnezeder (LES DUEX MONDES, MANIAC [2012], ZOO [TV], IN THE CLOUD, ORIGIN [TV], BERSERK, FARAWAY EYES, RIVIERA [TV], THE COLONY, ARMY OF THE DEAD, THAT COLD DEAD LOOK IN YOUR EYES) is 35.
Look for Nora in the upcoming 2023 Horror Thriller,
AMERICAN STAR.
Actor David Keith (FIRESTARTER, TEMPTATION, DEADLY SINS, EPOCH, ANTHRAX, CARRIE [TV], SABRETOOTH, WATERVILLE, DAREDEVIL, HANGMAN'S CURSE, DEEP SHOCK, EPOCH: EVOLUTION [TV], ALL SOULS DAY, LOCUSTS: THE 8th DAY, SUCCUBUS: HELLBENT, UNREQUITED, AWAKEN [2015]) is 69.
Look for David in the upcoming 2022 Horror Thriller, I'LL BE WATCHING.
Writer/Director David Winning (FRIDAY THE 13th [TV], KILLER IMAGE, ARE YOU AFRAID OF THE DARK? [TV], GOOSEBUMPS [TV], PROFILE FOR MURDER, EXCEPTION TO THE RULE, DEAD MAN'S GUN [TV], NIGHT MAN [TV], DON'T LOOK BEHIND YOU, PAST SINS [TV], PAST SINS, SOMETHING BENEATH, BLACK SWARM, SWAMP DEVIL, TODD AND THE BOOK OF PURE EVIL [TV], MUTANT WORLD, UNDER FIRE, CRADLE OF LIES, INFIDELITY IN SURBURBIA, VAN HELSING [TV]) who is 63.
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