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| FEO NEWS FOR WINTER 2025: - FEBRUARY - The detritus of old Horror/Thriller history can be found here. These are archived news items, many of them linked outside of this website. |
BODY SNATCHERS is 31 Today
So you're watching a movie. It has okay to good to great acting, depending on the actor and the scene. As someone who loves to watch movies you realize the problem is with the Director. The storyteller of the flick can't keep everyone on the same page. The Cinematographer is doing all they can - great job there. The script from Raymond Cistheri and Larry Cohen (IT'S ALIVE) is, by turns, groan and cringe worthy, but occasionally a great moment happens and you wish the whole movie was this good, instead of having to sit through the occasional diamond in a landfill. Anyway, Abel Ferrara's BODY SNATCHERS was released in the U.S. on this day in 1994. And - AMITYVILLE: DOLLHOUSE is 28
The original 1977 book, THE AMITYVILLE HORROR, by Jay Anson, was a hit because it was sold as a True Story. 1979's THE AMITYVILLE HORROR movie was a hit for the same reason. Except while the movie was winning weekends at the theaters enough time had passed for the family living in the house At That Time to debunk and blow the lid off of it all. No Haunts in the House. Not so much as a Poltergiest on the Property. The guy who murdered his family there, Ronald "Butch" DeFeo Jr. (no relation) who was in prison and very much alive throughout the book and movie (and the many sequels), often said as much. However, Ronald's attorney, William Weber, was a scam creative. Together with the dimwitted former owners, George and Kathy Lutz, they created the whole Spooky house nonsense that was so numbskull in its execution even Mystery Incorporated and their dog Scooby-Doo could have solved it in 30 minutes or less. However, fools love to believe foolish things and devotion to the Amityville hauntings was still in high spirits and being fomented by renown crackpots such as "Demonologist" Ed Warren and his "Clairvoyant" wife, Lorraine, for over 30 years. So the myth was still alive and kicking among the faithful in 1997 when AMITYVILLE: Plus - PITCH BLACK Turns 24
Borrowing extensively from Isaac Asimov's NIGHTFALL (the movie was originally called "Nightfall"), and Dan O'Bannon and Ron Shusett's ALIEN, a David Twohy (CRITTERS 2, WARLOCK, THE ARRIVAL, IMPOSTOR, BELOW, A PERFECT GETAWAY) screenplay, adapted from a pitch by the Wheat Brothers (Ewoks: The Battle for Endor, A NIGHTMARE ON ELMSTREET IV: THE DREAM MASTER, THE FLY II, THE BIRDS II, IT CAME FROM OUTER SPACE II, THE STEPFORD HUSBANDS), was also repurposed from Twohy's unused script for ALIEN3. This amalgam didn't result in a movie that was anywhere close to the equal of Asimov's tale or ALIEN. In fact, the popularity of the movie as we see it is a direct result of actor Vin Diesel's performance that so surprised the Director (also Twohy) and the film crew that it was decided to change the movie so that Diesel's character, Riddick (who was a member of the body count), could be explored in future, hoped for, sequels. This is how the RIDDICK franchise was born, how the Fast and Furious franchise was born, and why PITCH BLACK remains on the map for Horror fans. Finale - HAPPY HORROR THRILLER BIRTHDAYS TO -
Writer Denise Dumars (LOVECRAFT SLEPT HERE, LETTING IN THE DARK) is 59.
YOU DUG IT 1. CAPTAIN AMERICA: BRAVE NEW WORLD opened at #1 with $87,800,000 on 4,105 screens. Worldwide it nearly made its budget. 3. HEART EYES, in its second week and facing down two major studio releases (Sony Studios released this and the #2 opener), steps down to #3. That said, it earned 19% more at the box office in its 2nd weekend with no change in its 3,102 screens. It also eclipsed its budget. 6. LOVE HURTS dropped three places from last week's 3rd place, but only dealt with a 27% dip in box office, while suffering no loss in its 3,055 screens. 9. COMPANION dropped from last week's 5th place, with 38% loss in ticket sales against a 2,228 screen cut. That's actually pretty good as it made more per screen than LOVE HURTS. COMPANION has made three times its budget. You Buried Nothing This Week 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. And - HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL Turns 67
I know people who swear by director William Castle and his original HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL, starring Vincent Price. However, Bram Stoker Award winning Horror writer, Mike Oliveri (DEADLIEST OF THE SPECIES) is not one of them. He explains why in his take on the 1958 chiller, HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL. Plus - ALIEN RAIDERS Turns 19
Though intended for Home Video Rental distribution by Warner Bros. this took the film festival circuit tour anyway, ostensibly to drum up support for Warner's new Direct to Video arm, Raw Feed and their 2006 line of Video Rental collections for Brick & Mortar Video Rental shops. It was on that film festival tour that this movie Wowed and Won, leaving many to wonder if, like Universal's 2004 remake of DAWN OF THE DEAD, by the then unknowns, Zack Snyder and James Gunn, Ben Rock's ALIEN RAIDERS would get the push to go theatrical. Continued at ALIEN RAIDERS. Finale - HAPPY HORROR THRILLER BIRTHDAYS TO -
Director / Producer Michael Bay (THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE [2004], THE AMITYVILLE HORROR [2005], THE ISLAND, THE HITCHER [2007], THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE: THE BEGINNING, TRANSFORMERS [all], THE UNBORN, FRIDAY THE 13TH [2009], A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET [2010], I AM NUMBER FOUR, THE PURGE [all], OUIJA [all], HORROR AT THE CECIL HOTEL [TV], A QUIET PLACE, THE PURGE [TV], 6 UNDERGROUND, SONGBIRD, A QUIET PLACE II, THE FOREVER PURGE, TRANSFORMERS: RISE OF THE BEASTS, A QUIET PLACE: DAY ONE, APARTMENT 7A) is 60. On IMDb ROBOPOCALYPSE is listed as being in "Production", but like the false starts before, no one is listed as being attached other than Michael, Drew, and of course, poor Daniel who wrote the bestselling novel in the first place. ROBOPOCALYPSE: 14 years of Development Hell
Not the first time for Spielberg. After 13 years of pre-Production, Steven released the remake of WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE in 2020 - not to theaters - but to signed Producer and director, Stephen Sommers (DEEP RISING, THE MUMMY) who took the Producer's chair and where the movie remains in its own Development Hell. Writer, Director, Producer Don Coscarelli (PHANTASM [all], SURVIVAL QUEST, BUBBA HO-TEP, Masters of Horror INCIDENT ON AND OFF A MOUNTAIN ROAD, JOHN DIES AT THE END, DEAD NIGHT) is 69. SUNDAY -
Writer Allyson Bird (BULL RUNNING FOR GIRLS, WINE AND RANK POISON, ISIS UNBOUND, Editor: NEVER AGAIN) is 64 or something. FIVE MILLION YEARS TO EARTH aka QUATERMASS AND THE PIT, is 56
I first saw this on TV way back when I was but a pup. The movie captivated my Pop and when that end came he was thoroughly wigged out. Many months later he drove me to an Art house theater in Orlando where the movie was playing. In the dark, as the movie barreled toward its conclusion, I could sense him tensing up. He was squirming in his seat next to me and the end, without the movie being chopped up by commercials every five minutes, hit him theater screen-style with its full impact. Years later, I was an adult and watching it on DVD before I understood the full force of the Horror that my Pop must have felt. This has adult scares, it seems. What's more, being the third movie in the trilogy, the second sequel, it's considered the best of the three QUATERMASS movies (Like James Bond, they increased the budget with every sequel, imagine that!). In England it was originally released in 1968 as FIVE MILLION YEARS TO EARTH, but in the U.S. that sounded more like a sequel title to the then still popular 1957 SciFi movie, 20 MILLION MILES TO EARTH, so now we call it, QUATERMASS AND THE PIT. THE NIGHTBREED Turns 35
NIGHTBREED is 34 and is old enough to be your GrandMonster! If you haven't seen the 2014, NIGHTBREED Director's Cut, it's available now at SHUDDER. Read why you should move it to the top of your watch list! SATURDAY -
Actor Jessica De Gouw (UNDERBELLY [TV], THE MYSTERY OF A HANSOM CAB, ARROW [TV], THESE FINAL HOURS, DRACULA [TV], CUT SNAKE, THE REZORT, OTHERLIFE, GRETEL AND HANSEL, THE SECRETS SHE KEEPS [TV], PENNYWORTH [TV]) is 37.
It's Valentine's Day Horror!
And - DRACULA Turns 93
F.W. Murnau's 1922 silent picture, NOSFERATU came before Tod Browning's picture, but life isn't always a race over who got there first, but who did it better. The bland styling of a Tesla car might win the race, but you come cruising up to 2nd place in your George Barris Batmobile? Baby, you've won! After nearly a century, it's clear that Bela Lugosi's Count made a slam dunk not only in Western culture, but world-wide. Wherever you go in the world, and however stylized and cartoonish the Vampire, the Draculas, with their vague Eastern European accent, will be a pale but sharp dressed blood-sucker with high collar black cape and a sharp widow's peak (an affectation which Bela sported in nearly every movie but DRACULA). It's actually that pronounced widow's peak style, that Bela's Dracula doesn't have, that cinches Lugosi as the actor over character that we earthlings think of when we think of Dracula. That was his style in many movies like WHITE ZOMBIE and Tod Browning's MARK OF THE VAMPIRE (Bela played the vampire, Count Mora, for Warner Bros.) that came after, not before Dracula. In movie after movie, particularly with Universal, he was billed as Bela "Dracula" Lugosi even when he wasn't playing the role, and he only played the role one time. Many actors have lived by their one favorite role (Yul Brynner preferred his King of Siam over his Cowboy), but no one captured the world's imagination as well and so long as Bela Lugosi. And with only one movie? How did it do it? Find out in my review of DRACULA. Plus - THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS Turns 34
Some movies are so entrenched in Western culture that it couldn't matter what a reviewer or worse, a critic, thinks of it ten or more years down the road. You hate Anthony Hopkins' performance of Hannibal Lector? Tough! The man owns it and nothing you can ever say will change that. Oh wait. You haven't actually seen it yet and you wonder what all the memes are about? Well, when it comes to super twisted love, or at least something that could pass for love to a twisted mind, this is why THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS should be our Valentine's Day viewing! Finale - HAPPY HORROR THRILLER BIRTHDAYS TO -
By E.C. McMullen Jr.
SPHERE Turns 26
This movie had everything going for it. It was based on a best selling Michael Crichton novel and he was gold. It was adapted by Kurt Wimmmer (EQUILIBRIUM) and he was an Up and Comer. It was produced and directed by the legendary Barry Levinson (THE BAY) with a cast of three A-Listers and three more strong character actors. It had everything it needed to be a hit. Except James Cameron's Titanic came out just the year before, dominated everyone, and Warner Bros., hoping to ride the audience appeal wave James created, rushed both the production and post-production into an early grave. A hard lesson for all filmmakers who choose to deal with a major studio. This is why SPHERE sank at the theaters and never surfaced again. And - The Last FRIDAY THE 13th movie turns 15
While ownership rights are fought in court, current franchise steward, Sean S. Cunningham, let Jason sleep. Ken King "The Fan Behind the Mask", gives you a F13 fan perspective of Producer Michael Bay (THE AMITYVILLE HORROR [2005], THE HITCHER [2007], A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET [2010], THE PURGE) and Director Marcus Nispel (THE TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE [2003])'s FRIDAY THE 13th. Plus - HAPPY HORROR THRILLER BIRTHDAYS TO -
By E.C. McMullen Jr.
THE STEPFORD WIVES Turn 50
The late Ira Levin had the most curious knack for choosing a title that resonated across the widest spectrum of Western Society. People who have never read his books understand when, at the end of a lover's breakup, one will softly say, "A Kiss Before Dying?". In conversation, everyone gathered knows what someone means when they refer to someone else's child as a Rosemary's Baby, a Boy From Brazil, or a woman as a Stepford Wife. His novels are usually slim, just squeeking out the word count to avoid being a novella. So few pages in fact, that in a moment of self-mockery he chose the title, Sliver, and then wrote a thin book about it. Overwhelmingly, however, forays into his work enmesh the reader into unknown, unconsidered Horrors. They begin and beguile as if they were only character dramas of every day life. However each one is a deathtrap maze, leading the reader toward a Horror that you never considered, and so have no idea how it could end. The trap is that you want to put it down but the story is too compelling. If you put it down you'll never know what happens. The end is the only release and, because they're such slim, small novels, there isn't that much left to read. The end will be quick. Then Hollywood goes and makes their "better" version of it by hiring directors who don't like those kind of books and are blind to how personally close they are to the fictional source material. Like what happened with 1975's THE STEPFORD WIVES. Also - BRAIN DEAD is 33
Zombies! Romance! Comedy! It's a Zom Rom Com and probably the first! Gory as hell, lots of fun, and an unbelievable amount of heart! If you've never seen it, this is why you'll love Peter Jackson's BRAINDEAD aka DEAD ALIVE. Wassmor - THE WOLFMAN Turns 15
No matter how many years pass, this abortion of a Universal Pictures reboot will never achieve "classic" status. By the time it reaches its Silver 25th Anniversary, any 100 independent Horror movies with the combined budget of this one, and created by non-expert newbies, will have flown past it. Nearly half that number already have. This is the unbelievable tale of Big budget studio experts having no clue about their company's legacy or their current audience: THE WOLFMAN (2010). Finale - HAPPY HORROR THRILLER BIRTHDAYS TO -
Writer, Director, Producer, Darren Aronofsky (Pi, REQUIEM FOR A DREAM, THE FOUNTAIN, BELOW, BLACK SWAN, NOAH, MOTHER!, AFTERMATH, SPHERES, POSTCARD FROM EARTH) is 54.
HAPPY HORROR THRILLER BIRTHDAYS TO -
Actor Sarah Butler (FLU BIRD HORROR, LUKE 11:17 [TV], I <3 VAMPIRES [TV], I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE [2010], NUCLEAR FAMILY, TREACHERY, THE DEMENTED, THE STRANGER WITHIN, STUCK [2014], I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE: VENGEANCE IS MINE, MOONTRAP: TARGET EARTHWOMAN ON THE RUNALL LIGHT WILL END, POINT DEFIANCE, REVENGE FOR DADDY, MY HUSBAND'S DEADLY PAST) is 39.
YOU DUG IT
2. HEART EYES the #1 box office winner, a family movie, made over 6.5 times as much as HEART EYES, which opened at #2 with $8.3 million on 3,102 screens. A confident wide release move on the part of Sony Pictures. 3. LOVE HURTS opens with a $5.8 million box office. Out of the gate on 3,005 screens, Universal is also confident in this one. 5. COMPANION fell a staggering 67.7% from last weekend's #2 bringing in $3 million on 3,285 screens. In only its second weekend, you might be about to bury this Warner Bros. release. You Buried Nothing This Week 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. And - ATTACK OF THE CRAB MONSTERS is 68
Roger Corman was trying his damndest to be original. What the hell could he do with a monster that no one else was doing? He came up with this. A super creepy take on John W. W. Campbell's Who Goes There (THE THING From Another World), Robert A. Heinlein's THE PUPPET MASTERS, and Jack Finney's THE BODY SNATCHERS, only instead of aliens, it's a bizarre species of Crab. The budget was too low to realize its concept, which is why the concept is ripe for remaking ATTACK OF THE CRAB MONSTERS. Plus - THE NIGHT VISITOR is 54
Imagine a homicidal maniac so fiendishly clever that no detective can figure who is committing the crimes, because no one can imagine the insane risks and reasons behind so may unrelated killings, each with their own method of murder, and none of them having any connection other than taking place in the same area. This is Max von Sydow at his most villainous: THE NIGHT VISITOR. Also - THE FLY II is 33
Yay. THE FLY II. Anyway... Wassmor - THE RELIC is 27
One of the funniest insults Guillermo del Toro ever experienced as a young filmmaker was when he read an The Onion article headline that stated, "Man Watches THE RELIC and MIMIC - Cannot Tell Them Apart". Though MIMIC went on to have two more Direct to Video sequels (it was just someting the Weinstein brothers did), that joke probably remains the best thing we can say about MIMIC, or THE RELIC for that matter. InFact - FINAL DESTINATION 3 is 22
FINAL DESTINATION movies have reached that rarified air that even most franchises do not: It's both Classic and Iconic. Classic in that everyone has heard of it and it keeps attracting new audiences. Iconic in that its part of our culture: At some point, everyone experiences their "Final Destination" moment that made them think of a scene in one of the movies. I saw it in the theater and FINAL DESTINATION 3 didn't let me down. Furthrmor - RED MIST Turns 16
A movie going Direct to Video is not enough to prove its value. Even major studios have lost a fortune by underestimating the value of a movie (and lost at least as much by over-estimating the value of a movie. This is a tough biz!). Taste is subjective and, while some folks liked this movie, its 15 years of history shows they were in the minority. That said, my reasons for not liking something may not be the same as your reasons for disliking something. This is the where and why I found RED MIST falling short. Finale - HAPPY HORROR THRILLER BIRTHDAYS TO -
Writer James Cheetham (FADE TO PALE, THE BEEKEEPER, SEASONS OF THE BRITTLE HARVEST) is 54. SUNDAY -
By E.C. McMullen Jr. HANNIBAL is 24
It took a decade to make this sequel. The original studio, Orion Pictures, was defunct. Ownership of the rights was prickly and contested. Everyone wanted the sequel, no one wanted to get screwed out of the royalties. And Anthony Hopkins? He was 53 when he acted in THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS. When the cameras finally got to rolling he looked every bit of the 10 years that had passed. And this movie was supposed to come after the Thomas Harris novel that began the series, RED DRAGON. But that movie already existed as Michael Mann's MANHUNTER and it didn't have Anthony Hopkins. So what did the experts do to get an Anthony Hopkins trilogy under their ownership? They threw as much money at it as possible: Far more than the story could possibly need. Okay, but did that work for HANNIBAL? SATURDAY -
Actor Brooke Adams (WHO IS THE BLACK DAHLIA?, SONG OF THE SUCCUBUS, SHOCK WAVES, INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS [1978], THE DEAD ZONE, THE STUFF, MAN ON FIRE [1987], THE UNBORN [1991], SOMETIMES THEY COME BACK, THE LAST HIT, PROBABLE CAUSE, THE LEGEND OF LUCY KEYES, BRAIN DEAD [TV]) is 76. John Carpenter's THE FOG is 45
If John had his way, this might have been the last movie he ever made. But his producer partner, the late Debra Hill, called him back to California. They had to fix what they messed up and John couldn't give up, because it was Debra's reputation too. To fix it with virtually no budget meant low-key negotiation and that brought the then unknown Rob Bottin into the picture. Using their own money, they didn't have enough budget to make it great, but at least they could make THE FOG seaworthy. This is how it all shook out.
THE WEEDHACKER MASSACRE
Irony, Snark, or Sarcasm in a Slasher Horror movie? THE WEEDHACKER MASSACRE has its World Premiere at the Golden State Film Festival, February 20, 2025 – 6:00 PM at TCL Chinese Theatre. And - Black Mandala Films Trailer Drop
The latest from Avanti Pictures is currently doing the Film Festival circuit and has announced no fixed release date for the U.S. Plus - HAPPY HORROR THRILLER BIRTHDAYS TO -
By E.C. McMullen Jr.
DRACULA HAS RISEN FROM THE GRAVE is 56
You may have been born in the new millennium, but it doesn't matter. As a Horror fan you are aware of England's old Hammer Studios and their Horror movies: Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, and large heaving breasts. This was Hammer's formula for success throughout the 1960s and it never worked better than when Christopher Lee was the centerpiece as in DRACULA HAS RISEN FROM THE GRAVE. Plus - NETHERWORLD Turns 33
Well, anyway, this is what I think of NETHERWORLD. Also - THE NIGHT FLIER Turns 28
I remain amazed at how many Stephen King fans and vampire fans are either unaware of this, or have heard about it yet still haven't seen it. In the category of good and bad Stephen King movies, this sits in the top 10 of the best, and this is why I feel this way about THE NIGHT FLIER. Wassmor - CORALINE Turns 16
Another fantasy about another child in another house who finds yet another mysterious portal in it or on the property. But Neil Gaiman is familiar with such stories, knows his way around them, and through his writing and Director Henry Selick's wonderful adaptation and storytelling, CORALINE became a frighteningly fun tale all its own. Finale - HAPPY HORROR THRILLER BIRTHDAYS TO -
Actor Dane DeHaan (THE FRONT, TRUE BLOOD [TV], CHRONICLE, JACK AND DIANE, THE PLACE BEYOND THE PINES, LIFE AFTER BETH, THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2, A CURE FOR WELLNESS, VALERIAN AND THE CITY OF A THOUSAND PLANETS, LISEY'S STORY [TV], THE STAIRCASE [TV]) is 39.
INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS is 69
When Jack Finney's novel, THE BODY SNATCHERS, was released in 1955, following a successful run as a magazine serial in 1954, several prominent Science Fiction writers dismissed it. After all, Robert Heinlein's THE PUPPET MASTERS was practically the same thing, other science fiction writers were filling pages with identity stealing aliens, and the top science fiction publisher and editor, seemingly began this new craze with his short story, Who Goes There? (made repeatedly over the years as THE THING). Yet the readers had the final say, were voracious in their appreciation, and when the story was released as a novel in 1955, fans turned it into a best seller. So of course, the rush was on to make it a movie and low rent Allied Artists pulled the trigger first to win the rights, rushing into production, and releasing it the following year. It was not in the Top Ten biggest grossing movies of 1956, or the top grossing movie released that month. Nor did it have a single top star for its time, but after 69 freaking years, INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS is arguably the best remembered. This is why. And - FROZEN is 15 Today
When Director Adam Green made HATCHET, he did what Elvis did, what the Beatles did, what Led Zepplin did: He imitated the old masters. In his case, "Old School American Horror". Everyone could see he had Tobe Hooper and Wes Craven in mind. So when it came time to pursue his own identity, he wowed us all in 2010 with FROZEN. That was 15 years ago today. Plus - HAPPY HORROR THRILLER BIRTHDAYS TO -
Actor Charlotte Rampling (TARGET: HARRY, ASYLUM, ZARDOZ, THE NIGHT PORTER, THE FLESH OF THE ORCHID, FAREWELL MY LOVELY, SHERLOCK HOLMES IN NEW YORK, ORCA, ANGEL HEART, HE DIED WITH HIS EYES OPEN, MASCARA, D.O.A., PARIS BY NIGHT, INVASION OF PRIVACY, UNDER THE SAND, SUPERSTITION, I'LL SLEEP WHEN I'M DEAD, SWIMMING POOL, THE STATEMENT, IMMORTAL, LEMMING, DECEPTION, BABYLON A.D., MELANCHOLIA, NIGHT TRAIN TO LISBON, THE FORBIDDEN ROOM, SCULPT, ASSASSIN'S CREED, THE SENSE OF ENDING, EUPHORIA, RED SPARROW, THE LITTLE STRANGER, LAST WORDS, DUNE (1 & 2) is 79.
VIDEODROME Is Old Enough To Be Your 42 Year Old Dad!
But how can it be that a 42 year old movie still foretells a possible future? With boxy old TV sets, old cars, and a city that resembles a crumbling Soviet-era bloc, how can such a movie possibly compete in the computerized television age? Because back in 1983, David Cronenberg made his future look outdated even for its time. We weren't looking at a faltering utopia, we were gazing into a garbage dump dystopia. Like Ridley Scott's 1982 BLADE RUNNER and Terry Gilliam's 1985 BRAZIL, David didn't depict a throw-away society, but a thrown-away society, past tense. The heroes that could have saved us, failed us, and this is how humanity stumbled toward the grave as they sputtered on the fumes of a stolen future that could have been. This is how Cronenberg's predators came out of hiding from behind bureacracy. Macabre, Horrific, and brutal, my review of David Cronenberg's unflinching prediction, VIDEODROME. And - SCREAM 3 is 24
It could have stopped here. It should have stopped here. They had their trilogy. Instead, the Horror skyscraper of cool that Craven built cracker crumbled in on itself under its own weight. The demolition team? Its own distributor. It's as if, like HALLOWEEN, FRIDAY THE 13th, A NIGHTMARE ON ELMSTREET, HELLRAISER, TREMORS, SAW, and PARANORMAL ACTIVITY, it was despised by the very studio it enriched. According to writer Mike Oliveri, SCREAM 3 was good, but the writing was on the wall. Plus - HAPPY HORROR THRILLER BIRTHDAYS TO -
Musician / Actor Alice Cooper (Music: KILLER, BILLION DOLLAR BABIES, SCHOOL'S OUT, WELCOME TO MY NIGHTMARE, POISON, DRAGONTOWN, WELCOME 2 MY NIGHTMARE, TRASH, PARANORMAL, A PARANORMAL EVENING AT THE OLYMPIA PARIS, DETROIT STORIES
YOU DUG IT
2. COMPANION took the number 2 this week, bringing in over $9 million on a $10 million budget which is pretty good for any movie and especially one with a January dump month release. YOU BURIED IT 11. PRESENCE Neon distributor's new movie, dropped from its opening at #6, right off the Top Ten in its second weekend with a 61% drop in ticket sales against a mere 11 screen cut. With a tiny budget of $2 million it might still break even at the theaters. 14. WOLF MAN This Universal movie fell off the Top Ten from last week's #7 with a 65% loss in ticket sales against a 2,041 screen cut. With a predicted $25 million budget, this will need a substantial surge in home video to be profitable. 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. And - New Line Drops FINAL DESTINATION 6 Trailer
Plus - MEGAN 2.0 (It was Inevitable)
I enjoyed MEGAN. I liked the Science Fiction spin on a female Chucky. It felt like Producer James Wan was returning to his roots (SAW) after spending over a decade of swimming in the Supernatural (INSIDEOUS). After all, since SAW, James struggled for decades (DEAD SILENCE, ANNABELLE) to find the perfect representative for the Scary Doll story. I also saw the box office returns and knew that MEGAN would not be the last. The next comes this June. Also - IN THE MOUTH OF MADNESS Is 30
Some John Carpenter fans are bored by this movie, others are bananas for it. Welcome to the polarizing world of John Carpenter, where practically every movie he makes doesn't quite satisfy his old fans, yet almost always brings him new ones. John Carpenter's HALLOWEEN fans aren't his strongest THE THING fans and they aren't quite the BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA fans, and so on. So if you've yet to see this movie, this is why you might become a IN THE MOUTH OF MADNESS fan. Wassmor - THE INNKEEPERS Turns 14
Slow, but not as sloth as most Ti West movies, if you're looking for the perfect lonely (or even a date) movie on a dark winter night, you might like THE INNKEEPERS. Finale - HAPPY HORROR THRILLER BIRTHDAYS TO -
Actor Terry Chen (AFTERSHOCK: EARTHQUAKE IN NEW YORK, ROMEO MUST DIE, TRIXIE, SOLE SURVIVOR [2000], PARANORMAL GIRL, BALLISTIC: ECKS VS. SEVER, THE CHRONICLES OF RIDDICK, I, ROBOT, DA VINCI'S INQUEST, SNAKES ON A PLANE, MEMORY, THEY WAIT [2007], HARDWIRED, STORM SEEKERS, THE CABIN IN THE WOODS, BOREALIS, CONTINUUM [TV], BATES MOTEL [TV], TIME OF DEATH, ELYSIUM, EVIL FEED, VAN HELSING [TV], JESSICA JONES [TV], THE EXPANSE [TV], THE UNRESTRICTED WAR) is 50. SUNDAY -
Actor, Writer, Director Oz Perkins (PSYCHO II, SIX DEGREES OF SEPARATION, WOLF, SECRETARY, DEAD & BREAKFAST, EROSION, THE UTAH MURDER PROJECT, STAR TREK [2009], REMOVAL, COLD COMES THE NIGHT, THE BLACKCOAT'S DAUGHTER, THE GIRL IN THE PHOTOGRAPHS, I AM THE PRETTY THING THAT LIVES IN THE HOUSE, GRETEL AND HANSEL, NOPE, LONG LEGS) is 50. SATURDAY -
Actor / Producer Michael C. Hall (PAYCHECK, 6 FEET UNDER [TV], DEXTER [TV], GAMER, COLD IN JULY, IN THE SHADOW OF THE MOON, SHADOWPLAY [TV], DEXTER: NEW BLOOD, JOHN AND THE HOLE, DEXTER: NEW BLOOD) is 53. SCARED TO DEATH Turns 79
It's the only full color motion picture Bela Lugosi ever made and its a Horror Comedy. Well, it was supposed to be Horror and it was supposed to be a comedy. What then famed and prolific comedy director Christy Cabanne got out of a first timer's low budget script is what became of SCARED TO DEATH.
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![INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS [1978]](/Movies/I/IotBS/1978/IotBS78_BrookeAdams_740x400.jpg)
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INTERVIEWS Matt Jarbo's interview with Feo Amante at The Zurvivalist. James Cheetham's Q&A with Feo Amante at Unconventional Interviews *. Megan Scudellari interviews Feo Amante and Kelly Parks (of THE SCIENCE MOMENT) in The Scientist Magazine. Check out our interview at The-Scientist.com. REFERENCES Researcher David Waldron, references my review of UNDERWORLD in the Spring 2005, Journal of Religion and Popular Culture entry, Role-Playing Games and the Christian Right: Community Formation in Response to a Moral Panic (downloadable pdf). E.C. McMullen Jr.
*Linked to archive.org |
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