‘An ancient tomb unearthed… An underworld army unleashed!’

Legion of the Dead is a 2005 American supernatural horror film written and directed by Paul Bales (co-producer of Sharknado franchise; Isle of the Dead; 8213: Gacy House; et al). Courtney Clonch, Claudia Lynx, Bruce Boxleitner and Zach Galligan star.

When an ancient Egyptian tomb is found in a North American park, a group of scientists and students of Egyptology arrive to the site to study the inscriptions.

Meanwhile, the four thousand year-old evil high-priestess Aneh-Tet awakes and seeks six offerings to revive her legion of mummies. Then she needs the blood of a virgin to bring her father back to life, become immortal and rule the world…

Reviews:

” …it’s not that good and the acting is pretty so-so (Asylum regular Rhett Giles is completely over-the-top even getting to shave his head bald in the final third which only makes him resemble Arnold Vosloo from the recent Mummy series), but at least Lynx strolls around most of the movie in the nude…” Chris Hartley, The Video Graveyard

“There’s the “would-be lovers trying to work out differences” subplot that came across much more convincingly in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 3. There’s the “professor using his students to bring about evil” subplot as well. Oh, and let’s not forget the “stupid people create this mess” scenario that opens the movie. Every aspect of this mummy-goes-wild cheesefest is taken directly from another movie…” B-Independent

“Oh, let’s face it, this isn’t a classic movie, but I enjoyed the naked mummy, I laughed at the silliness of it all, and I liked some of the minor characters, like the two stoners who discovered the tomb, so you might get some entertainment out of this flick. The film doesn’t take itself seriously…” Greg Wroblewski, Scoopy.com

Main cast and characters:

• Courtney Clonch as Molly
• Claudia Lynx as Aneh-Tet (Succubus: Hell-Bent)
• Bruce Boxleitner as Sheriff Jones (Bone Eater; Snakehead Terror; From the Dead of Night)
• Zach Galligan as Dr. Swatek (The Chair; Waxwork and sequel; Gremlins and sequel)
• Chad Collins as Carter
• Andrew Lauer as Sam Weave
• Chase Hoyt as Justin
• Rhett Giles as Dr. Ari Ben-David
• Emily Falkenstein as Kevyn
• Amanda Ward as Kara
• Aaron David Thompson as Axel
• Amy Clover as Linda
• Patrick Thomassie as Santos
• Jared Cohn as Petrie [as Jared Michaels] (director of The Domicile; Devil’s Domain; 12/12/12)
• Terry Shusta as Security Guard
• Heather Ashley Chase as Hotel Manager

Choice dialogue:

Dr. Ari Ben-David [Rhett Giles]: “Where’s my mummy?”

Filming locations:

Agua Dulce, Lancaster, Los Angeles and Santa Clarita, California, USA

Trivia:

The film’s working title was Unravelled

Wikipedia | IMDb | Plot synopsis by Claudio Carvalho

John Heard in Locusts (2005)

John Heard (March 7, 1945 – July 21, 2017) was an American film and television actor. He was best known for his roles in films such as Cutter’s Way, After Hours, Big, Beaches, Awakenings, Rambling Rose, The Pelican Brief, My Fellow Americans, Snake Eyes, and Animal Factory. He also famously played the weary father in Home Alone and Home Alone 2: Lost in New York.

On television, John Heard’s many appearances included particularly notable roles on The Sopranos (for which he received an Emmy nomination) and later on Battlestar Galactica as Commander Barry Garner.

John Heard’s horror roles began in 1982 with Paul Schrader’s erotically-charged remake of Cat People – in which he is drawn to Nastassja Kinski’s character Irena. He played a lab technician in indie psycho thriller Too Scared to Scream (apparently made in 1982 but unreleased until 1985). Heard then co-starred in cult sci-fi monster movie C.H.U.D. (1984). In 1985 he was a death row inmate who apparently found a portal to another dimension in Tales from the Darkside episode ‘Ring Around the Redhead’.

In 1995, Heard played Montresor in a re-enactment of ‘The Cask of Amontillado for the ‘Edgar Allan Poe: Terror of the Soul’ episode of American Masters. Also in 1995, he took a trip into terrifying space for The Outer Limits episode ‘Dark Matters’.

Ten years later, Heard’s next genre-related appearance was when he faced a deadly swarm of bioengineered insects in TV movie Locusts: Day of Destruction.

He made a cameo appearance as a former alcoholic in the tense, nasty and recommended morality movie Would You Rather (2012), soon followed by a playful role as another man battling a drink problem in the first Sharknado outing – in which he fights off a shark with a bar stool!

He was in The Lizzie Borden Chronicles mini-series (2015) and made one of his final movie appearances in the soon-to-be-released modern vampire tale Living Among Us (2017).

Wikipedia | IMDb

Giuseppe “Pino” Donaggio (born 24 November 1941) is an Italian musician and film composer. A classically-trained violinist, Donaggio is best known for his collaborations with American director Brian De Palma, scoring films such as Carrie, Dressed to Kill, Body Double, and Raising Cain.

Born in Burano, Venice, Donaggio began studying violin at the age of ten. At the age of fourteen, he made his solo debut in a Vivaldi concert for radio. The discovery of rock and roll during the summer of 1959 diverted Donaggio’s classical career when he made his singing debut with Paul Anka. He then began to write his own songs and had a string of successes including ‘Una casa in cima al mondo’.

His greatest hit was the 1965 song ‘Io che non vivo’, which sold 80 million records worldwide and was performed in English as “You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me” by the likes of Dusty Springfield and Elvis Presley.

His first film soundtrack composition was for Nicolas Roeg’s British/Italian horror film Don’t Look Now (1973). Since then he has composed music for several Italian genre films, including Dario Argento’s Two Evil Eyes, Trauma and Do You Like Hitchcock?. He also composed the scores for a host of notable horror movies including Piranha, Tourist Trap,The Howling and Seed of Chucky.

Selected filmography:

• Don’t Look Now (1973)
• Carrie (1976)
• A Whisper in the Dark (1976)
• Haunts (1977)
• Damned in Venice (1978)
• Piranha (1978)
• Tourist Trap (1979)
• Dressed to Kill (1980)
• Beyond Evil (1980)
• The Fan (1981)
• The Howling (1981)
• The Black Cat (1981)
• Body Double (1984)
• Nothing Underneath (1985)
• Crawlspace (1986)
• Phantom of Death (1988)
• Catacombs (1988)
• Meridian (1990)
• Two Evil Eyes (1990)
• The Sect aka The Devil’s Daughter (1991)
• Raising Cain (1992)
• Trauma (1993)
• Arcane Sorcerer (1996)
• Seed of Chucky (2004)
• Do You Like Hitchcock? (2005)
• Patrick: Evil Awakens (2013)

Wikipedia | IMDb

‘Terror has new teeth’

Malibu Shark Attack – aka Mega Shark of Malibu – is a 2009 Canadian/Australian action horror film directed by David Lister from a screenplay by Keith Shaw. It stars Warren Christie, Peta Wilson and Chelan Simmons.

Heather (Peta Wilson) is the head-lifeguard on a Malibu beach, alongside her ex-boyfriend Chavez (Warren Christie), Doug (Remi Broadway) and Barb (Sonya Salomaa).

Also on the beach are Jenny (Chelan Simmons), a teenage girl who is reluctantly cleaning the beach for community service after she got caught shoplifting, and Bryan (Nicholas G. Cooper), Barb’s boyfriend.

Chavez travels to a nearby house that is undergoing construction and meets with the workers Colin (Jeffery Gannon), George (Mungo McKay), Yancey (Renee Bowen) and Karl (Evert McQueen). Meanwhile, a tremor unleashes a group of living fossil goblin sharks who begin to devour swimmers along the beach…

Buy DVD: Amazon.com

Review:

We’ve become used to all manner of silly shark movies in recent times. Film producers seem determined to come up with more and more absurd situations and sharksploitation variations, with Sand Sharks and Snow Sharks being particularly daft examples of this trend. But, hey, at least these movies are tongue-in-cheek.

On the other hand, the serious Malibu Shark Attack simply presents us with a bunch of unlikable characters besieged by the some bizarre-looking CGI sharks from prehistory and repeats itself ad nauseum. Shot-after-shot is used again and again, as if the film’s makers hoped we wouldn’t notice. Things improve slightly with some power tools vs. sharks action in a semi-flooded house, however it’s too little too late to save yet another inferior Maneater entry from mere mediocrity.

Adrian J Smith, Horrorpedia

Other reviews:

” …there are dangerous dives, twee news reports, gratuitous amounts of not-quite-nudity and some splashing round the corridors à la Deep Blue Sea. The sharks are fierce enough but either die instantly or survive ridiculous amounts of damage, according to the demands of the plot. Too much time is wasted just watching them swim about or ogling bronzed bodies on the beach…” Jennie Kermode, Eye for Film

” …it has all the expected marks from women in bikinis, heroic young men and being a TV movie characters which end up pretty anonymous as there is no room for character depth […] just another modern shark movie and whilst below average is not as terrible as many would have you believe. In fact it is one of those movies which works in an enjoyable bad movie way.” Andy Webb, The Movie Scene

” …David Lister generates fair and reasonable tension. The steps to get everybody there seem contrived, nevertheless the scenes with the cast trapped inside the lifeguard station on stilts in the midst of the flood water and surrounded by sharks that are trying to batter their way in maintains a reasonable pressure cooker situation.” Richard Scheib, Moria

Buy DVD: Amazon.co.uk

“The main problem is that Malibu Shark Attack is just mighty dull. We spend too much time locked in enclosed rooms with imaginary bumping against these rooms listening to Chelan Simmons howling, watching Warren Christie be a jerk and observing Peta Wilson wishing she’d stayed in college. That’s doesn’t make for inspired movie watching, and uninspired is what we got with Malibu Shark Attack.” Christopher Armstead, Film Critics United

” …on the plus side, it’s a fantastic comedy if viewed in the right frame of mind and this is why I give it such a boost in my personal rating. Movies like this one (and Mega Piranha and Mega Shark Vs. Giant Octopus) are often slated by every sane person in the entry world but to me they simply represent a CGI-equivalent of the old Bert I Gordon (Mr BIG) movies of yesteryear.” Kevin Matthews, Flickfeast

“Almost every shark attack suffers from a sense that it is completely random, without any suspenseful build-up, and the depictions of which quickly become visually repetitive. There appeared to be a finite number of goblin shark CGI visuals that kept getting looped over and over in accordance to the action of the scene. By the time the tsunami hit about a quarter of the way in, I was already bored…” Dread Central

“A badly executed idea. Wrong shark type, bad CGI, inexcusable shot non-continuity, and using way too many cliched horror tropes just buried this film.” Horror-Movies.ca

Goblin Sharks are:

• Prehistoric,
• Once thought to be extinct,
• Unseen for millions of years,
• “probably blind”, but have “electrosensory organs”,
• Not bothered by nail guns or rotary saws,
  
  Goblin Sharks can:

• Eat anyone just by swimming towards them, no need to actually bite,
• Phase shift themselves through wood floors when convenient,
• Swim faster than a jet ski,
• Be blown up by bottles of Windex and a flare gun,
• Jump out of the water and grab people, despite being, ya’ know, blind,

Peter Hall, Horror’s Not Dead

Main cast and characters:

• Remi Broadway as Doug (Scooby-Doo)
• Warren Christie as Chavez (Rise of the Damned; Beneath [2007]; The Thing Below)
• Nicolas G. Cooper as Bryan (short: The Masque of the Red Death)
• Jeffery Gannon as Colin Smith
• Mungo McKay as George
• Evert McQueen as Karl
• Sonya Salomaa as Barb (The Tooth Fairy; House of the Dead)
• Chelan Simmons as Jenny (See No Evil 2; Hannibal; Tucker and Dale vs Evil; Final Destination 3; Chupacabra Terror; Snakehead Terror; Monster Island; Carrie [2002]; It)
• Peta Wilson as Heather
• Renee Bowen as Yancey

Filming locations:

Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

Wikipedia | IMDb

‘Fear the Second Coming.’

Seed of Chucky is a 2004 American supernatural comedy slasher horror film written and directed by Don Mancini (making his directorial debut), who created the series and has written all of the films. It is the fifth installment of the Child’s Play series, and sequel to 1998’s Bride of Chucky.

The film, shot in Romania, continues the series’ evolution from the pure horror genre of the first movie to a hybrid horror-comedy. It was the last Child’s Play film to be released in theaters and stars Jennifer Tilly, Redman and Hannah Spearritt. Italian composer Pino Donaggio provided the score.

Glen, the kind and benevolent son of Chucky and Tiffany, has a nightmare in which he murders a little girl’s parents. In reality, he is living a life of embarrassment and abuse as a ventriloquist’s dummy. After being forced to perform and locked inside a cage, Glen sees Chucky and Tiffany on TV and realizes that he is their son.

Desperate to know his parents, Glen tracks Chucky and Tiffany down to Hollywood, where they are first shown killing a man who is dressed as Santa Claus for a movie.

Jason Flemyng as Santa is killed off

Glen manages to escape his abusive owner, hitch a ride on a truck, and mail himself in a box to California. He wakes up in the prop room of Jennifer Tilly’s horror film, which includes the Chucky and Tiffany dolls. Glen uses the same voodoo amulet seen in previous films to bring them back to life…

Buy Blu-ray collection: Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk

Reviews:

“With its wealth of sly digs at Hollywood (Jennifer Tilly gives a hilarious, self-mocking performance and deserves kudos for it), its display of the most fun dysfunctional family to consist of animated child’s dolls and it’s liberal sprinkling of gore, Seed of Chucky takes the ideas alluded to in Bride… and simply follows them to their natural end.” Kevin Matthews, Flickfeast

“If you’re thinking of Seed of Chucky as a horror movie, you can forget about it. It’s not scary. If you do not by now find Chucky and the other killer dolls tiresome, I do (this is their fifth movie). If you like the way Jennifer Tilly has fun with her image (and, in what can only be called selfless generosity, with Gina Gershon’s image), Seed of Chucky is a movie to be seen on television.” Roger Ebert

“The horror is bland, the characterization is lame, the performances are phoned in especially by Jennifer Tilly who spoofs herself… oddly, and the film’s idea of comedy is having two dolls karate fight, which I’m still uncertain if it was played for comedy or not. Safely speaking, it’s a very bad film that won’t save a franchise that’s already DOA.” Felix Vasquez, Cinema Crazed

“Don Mancini pumps Seed of Chucky up into an outrageous work that quite takes one aback. He plays up the black comedy angle from Bride of Chucky by a factor of ten and delves into an arena that frequently verges on outrageously bad taste. Moreover, his one other ingenious idea is to set Seed of Chucky during the making of a Child’s Play sequel, casting Jennifer Tilly as herself and allowing some rather funny gags at both the meta-film and Tilly’s career.” Richard Scheib, Moria

Cast and characters:

• Brad Dourif as the voice of Chucky (Chucky series; Malignant; Spontaneous Combustion)
• Jennifer Tilly as herself / voice of Tiffany (Bride of Chucky)
• Billy Boyd as the voice of Glen/Glenda
• Redman as Himself
• Hannah Spearritt as Joan
• John Waters as Pete Peters (Suburban Gothic)
• Jason Flemyng as himself / Santa (Eat Local; Forbidden Empire; The Bunker; From Hell)
• Steve Lawton as Stan
• Tony Gardner as himself
• Martha Stewart (uncredited, archive footage) as herself
• Rebecca Santos as Fulvia
• Keith-Lee Castle as Bill “Psychs” Sykes
• Paul Grossman as Little Boy
• Simon James Morgan as Richard
• Stephanie Chambers as Claudia’s mom
• Betty Simons-Denville as Claudia
• Debbie Lee Carrington as herself (DVD deleted scenes, uncredited)

Filming locations:

Almost entirely on the Castel soundstages in Romania

Wikipedia | IMDb

Daniel James Licht (March 13, 1957 – August 2, 2017) was an American soundtrack composer and musician, best known for writing the score of Showtime TV series Dexter.

Daniel Licht grew up in Detroit and started playing music at the age of eight with his first instrument being the clarinet. He began his musical career while still in high school playing guitar with a small jazz ensemble.

He attended Hampshire College in Massachusetts then moved to New York City and established himself as a musical artist. He would often travel to Germany, the Netherlands and Northern Europe to perform and compose music for theatre and dance companies.

Licht then moved to Los Angeles and pursued a career in film scoring. His first major project was the 1991 feature film Children of the Night. He was spotted by macabre director Clive Barker, and would compose for many more horror films, such as: Amityville: It’s About Time (1992); Children of the Corn II: The Final Sacrifice (1992); Ticks (1993); Amityville: A New Generation (1993); Children of the Corn III: Urban Harvest (1995); Thinner (1996); Hellraiser: Bloodline (1996); Bad Moon (1996); Legion of Fire: Killer Ants! (1998); Disney’s Halloween movie Don’t Look Under The Bed (1999); Cabin by the Lake (2000); Soul Survivors (2001); and Ghostmates (2016).

Licht scored all seasons of Dexter, which he considered to be one of his “more visible projects”, but was reluctant to refer to it as his best work. From 2012 to 2015 he was the main composer of the Silent Hill: Downpour and Silent Hill: Book of Memories video games.

Wikipedia | IMDb

‘If you raise the dead prepare to join them’

The Unliving is a 2004 American erotic horror film written and directed by Fred Olen Ray (Scalps; Evil Toons; Super Shark). It was originally released in a ‘softer’ version as Tomb of the Werewolf. It stars Paul Naschy, Jay Richardson and Michelle Bauer.

A TV crew makes its way to Castle Daninsky in search of a story. The castle is rumoured to possess a secret treasure hidden within its walls, but ultimately death is all they find as the eternal Countess Elizabeth Bathory (Michelle Bauer) seeks to sacrifice them in order to please the Lord of Darkness, bathe in their blood, and revive Daninsky (Paul Naschy) from his tomb…

Buy uncut DVD: Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk

Commentary by Fred Olen Ray and David DeCoteau | ‘A Werewolf in Hollywood” Behind the Scenes documentary | original trailers | stills gallery | Presented in 1.66 anamorphic widescreen

Reviews:

“That Naschy appears in The Unliving at all is reason enough for his fans to watch, although they should temper their expectations that this Daninsky outing feels like it tonally belongs with the others; it does not. As anyone familiar with the Olen Ray oeuvre knows, pure horror is not his thing; intentionally campy homages to pure horror are.” Rod Lott, Flick Attack

“I’m not saying it’s a bad movie, it delivers what it’s set out to deliver: boobs. But for us who really doesn’t care about boobs it’s Naschy that leads the dance. He’s old and somewhat frail, but makes the best of it even if the wigs are shoddy and the dialogue stiff. Too much sex, not enough gore, too little Naschy is my judgement.” Fred Anderson, Schmollywood Babylon

“Naschy himself does a commendable job and his audio, for once, isn’t dubbed over. He doesn’t say much and it’s in a thick Spanish accent, but they chose to keep his original voice.While it may be among the worst Naschy werewolf movies it’s an obligatory view for anyone who is a fan of the series.” The Gravedigger, Buried.com

“Tomb of the Werewolf is about breasts. Naked female breasts. It is not about a Tomb or a Werewolf. There is a wolf man running around but he’s just filler until the next breast scene.” Dr. Gore’s Movie Reviews

Main cast:

Paul Naschy, Jay Richardson, Michelle Bauer, Stephanie Bentley, Danielle Petty, Jacy Andrews, Beverly Lynne, Leland Jay, Frankie Cullen, Don Scribner, Brian Carrillo, Evan Stone, Monique Alexander, Randy Carter, Katy Adams.

IMDb

‘Fear is rising.’

The Thing Below – aka Sea Ghost – is a 2004 science fiction horror film directed by Jim Wynorski [as Jay Andrews] (Sharkansas Women’s Prison Massacre; CobraGator; Chopping Mall; et al) from a screenplay by Raul Inglis (Goblin; Ghoul; Sand Serpents; Cerberus) and Keith Shaw [as Lindsay James] (Avalanche Sharks; Ice Road Terror; Deep Evil). It stars Billy Warlock, Kurt Max Runte and Catherine Lough Haggquist.

The film is also known as Ghost Rig 2: The Legend of the Sea Ghost in the UK.

Buy DVD: Amazon.co.uk

A top secret drilling platform in the Gulf of Mexico raises a dormant alien creature from the depths. Once loose, the creature goes on a murderous rampage by telepathically exploiting the fears and desires of anyone to cross its path…

Reviews:

” …most of The Thing Below isn’t that bad. It’s just that damn CGI creature that ruins it all. If they’d of taken the monster out completely and played the movie out as a supernatural being causing all the havoc then this could’ve actually been better. Scripters Raul Sanchez Inglis and Lindsay James make the creature able to play with the crews’ minds, which leads to a whole slew of okay hallucinations…” Chris Hartley, The Video Graveyard

Warren Christie’s Cassidy character in the Old West

“Of course, this kind of film can only be so good to begin with, but given the inherent natural ceiling above low budget alien creature films in general, Sea Ghost really could have been OK – except for one thing: Worst … CGI … ever. The creature looks about as real as Pete’s Dragon, but not as scary.” Johnny Web, Scoopy.com

“I’m sure once the filmmakers saw the quality of their monster special effects, (terrible, awful, etc), they decided to take the telepathic creature route. It didn’t really matter which monster they chose because there’s no suspense, no thrills and pretty much nothing below. Well, nothing worth getting excited about that’s for sure.” Dr. Gore’s Movie Reviews

“The Case For: I guess if you wanted to watch a movie about mind-controlling aliens and isolation you could rent this if The Thing was out. The Case Against: Somewhere, someone’s going to make money off that rental, and that just encourages them to make more movies like this.” Evan Wade, Something Awful

Choice dialogue:

“Shit’s going to blow like fireworks on the 4th of July!”

“Dammit, Colonel, listen. We’ve got five good troops on that boat and they have a snowball’s chance of finding a needle in a haystack. I know a stitch in time saves nine, but the buns are burning and the oven’s getting cold. We need an answer, and we need it now!”

“Looks like a set from a Peckinpah movie.”

Cast and characters:

• Billy Warlock as Captain Jack Griffin (Society; Halloween II)
• Kurt Max Runte as Crank Wowchowski (The Unseen; Godzilla; The Tortured)
• Catherine Lough Haggquist as Anna Davis (Puppet Killer; Godzilla)
• Peter Graham-Gaudreau as Dean Rieser
• Warren Christie as Cassidy
• Kiara Hunter as Mel Rodgers
• David Richmond-Peck as Bobby Gibbons
• Colin Lawrence as Dixon
• Jim Thorburn as Cole Griffin
• Craig Bruhnanski as Captain Mark Stewart
• John Reardon as Lance Taylor
• Ari Solomon as Prouty
• Julie Hill as Professor Glenda Marshall
• Ken Kramer as Dr. Edgar Pretorious
• Darryl Scheelar as Peters
• Jano Frandsen as Commander Korda
• Michael Rogers as Mr. Paul
• Eric Breker as Bob Davis
• Glori-Anne Gilbert as Cindy Mayberry

Filming locations:

Vancouver and British Columbia, Canada

Wikipedia | IMDb

William Tobe Hooper (January 25, 1943 – August 26, 2017) was an American film director, screenwriter, and producer best known for his landmark horror feature film, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1973) which he co-wrote with Kim Henkel, for the mini-series adaptation of Stephen King’s Salem’s Lot (1979) and for his collaboration with Steven Spielberg on Poltergeist (1982).

Tobe Hooper was born in Austin, Texas, the son of Lois Belle (née Crosby) and Norman William Ray Hooper, who owned a theater in San Angelo. He first became interested in filmmaking when he used his father’s 8mm camera at age 9. Hooper took Radio-Television-Film classes at the University of Texas at Austin and studied drama in Dallas under Baruch Lumet.

Having initially made Eggshells in 1969, which he referred to as a “hippie movie”, by the early 1970s Hooper was working as an assistant film director at the University of Texas at Austin and as a documentary cameraman. He began to develop ideas for a horror film. He credited the graphic coverage of violence by San Antonio news outlets as one inspiration for what became The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (filmed in 1973, released 1974).

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1973) with Tobe Hooper directing

Although it was marketed as a true story to attract a wider audience and as a subtle commentary on the era’s political climate, its plot is entirely fictional; however the character of Leatherface and minor plot details were inspired by the crimes of real-life murderer Ed Gein, who was also the inspiration for Psycho (1960) and Deranged (1974). Hooper also collaborated with Wayne Bell on the experimental soundtrack for The Texas Chain Saw Massacre.

Hooper’s 1976 film Eaten Alive was filmed entirely on the sound-stages of Raleigh Studios in Hollywood, California, which had a large-scale pool that could double as a swamp. Shooting on a soundstage contributed to the atmosphere of the film, which director Tobe Hooper described as a “surrealistic, twilight world.”

However, Eaten Alive eventually proved to be problematic for the director, who left before production ended, due to a dispute with the producers, an experience repeated on the Film Ventures International movie The Dark (1979). Instead, Hooper had a career boost with his work on the 1979 mini series version of Stephen King’s Salem’s Lot (1979) which has become a landmark horror TV adaptation and it often cited as one of their scariest childhood memories by many fans.

In 1981, Hooper directed The Funhouse (1981) for Universal Pictures but despite some notable imagery and great production values, it received mixed reviews. In 1982, Hooper found greater success when Steven Spielberg hired him to direct his production of  Poltergeist (1982) for MGM. It was a major motion picture event, although some creative differences led to Spielberg himself taking over Hooper’s directing duties.

It was three years until Hooper found work again. He signed a contract with Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus’ Cannon Group, and directed London-based sci-fi epic Lifeforce (1985), the tongue-in-cheek remake of Invaders from Mars (1986), and his black comedy-filled over-the-top sequel The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (1986). The latter was poorly received at the time but has found considerable favour since, critics and fans having had time to re-evaluate Hooper’s intentions.

Tobe Hooper with one of the Invaders from Mars (1986)

Robert Englund had a minor role in Eaten Alive, and Hooper would go on to direct the horror icon again in Night Terrors (1993) and The Mangler (1995). Throughout the 1990s, the director continued working mainly in television, as detailed below, often in horror or sci-fi series.

Tom Arnold and Tobe Hooper in Body Bags (1993)

In 2003, Hooper helped co-produce the reboot of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre for New Line. The movie took over $107 million at the box office and led to a 2006 prequel, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning, on which Hooper also served as a co-producer. Clearly, the influence of his seminal 1973 horror movie lived on via a younger generation of filmgoers and still does now with the release in 2017 of Julien Maury and Alexandre Bustillo’s Leatherface.

Unfortunately, the director’s own Toolbox Murders (2004) and Mortuary (2005) were poorly received by critics and fans alike. Hooper’s final movie assignment was to be Djinn, a 2011 United Arab Emirates-financed production that struggled for a wider release.

Among his works outside of the movie world was the MTV hit mutant-filled music video for Billy Idol’s “Dancing With Myself.” In 2011 he co-authored a post-modern horror novel titled Midnight Movie in which he himself appeared as the main character.

Selected filmography:

• The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)
• Eaten Alive aka Death Trap (1976)
• The Funhouse (1981)
• Poltergeist (1982)
• Lifeforce (1985)
• Invaders from Mars (1986)
• The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (1986)
• Spontaneous Combustion (1990)
• Night Terrors (1993)
• Body Bags (1993)
• The Mangler (1995)
• Crocodile (2000)
• Toolbox Murders (2004)
• Mortuary (2006)
• Djinn (2011)

Television:

• Salem’s Lot (1979)
• Amazing Stories (1987) – Episode: “Miss Stardust”
• The Equalizer (1987) – Episode: “No Place Like Home”
• Freddy’s Nightmares (1988) – Episode: “No More Mr. Nice Guy”
• I’m Dangerous Tonight (1990)
• Haunted Lives: True Ghost Stories (1991)
• Tales from the Crypt (1991) – Episode: “Dead Wait”
• Nowhere Man (1995) – Episode: “Turnabout” / “Absolute Zero”
• Dark Skies (1997) – Episode: “The Awakening”
• Perversions of Science (1997) – Episode: “Panic”
• The Others (2000) – Episode: “Souls on Board”
• Night Visions (2002) – Episode: “Cargo” / “The Maze”
• Taken (2002) – Episode: “Beyond the Sky”
• Masters of Horror (2005–2006) – Episode: “Dance of the Dead” / “The Damned Thing”

Wikipedia | IMDb

Toolbox Murders is a 2004 American supernatural horror film directed by Tobe Hooper from a screenplay by Jace Anderson and Adam Gierasch. It is a very loose remake of the 1978 film of the same name and was co-produced by Tony DiDio.

Daisy Rain goes to her apartment in the Lusman Arms, a former luxury hotel undergoing renovations, and is beaten to death with a hammer by a man wearing a balaclava. In another room, new tenants Nell and Steven Barrows, a teacher and a medical intern, are introduced to the amenities and a few of the residents by Byron, the building manager.

As Steven works long hours, Nell is left alone most of the time, and befriends Julia Cunningham, a neighbor down the hall, and Chas Rooker, an elderly man who reveals some of the history of the structure, mentioning it was made by Jack Lusman, who disappeared mysteriously, and that builders died while working on it.

Days pass, but the Lusman Arms are plagued by mysterious circumstance; strange noises are heard throughout it and coming from the intercoms, Nell finds a trinket containing human teeth in a wall, and Julia and another tenant vanish, having been killed (with a drill and a nail gun, respectively) by the ski masked murderer, who hides their bodies…

Reviews:

“Toolbox Murders is not so much a remake of its 1978 ancestor as it is a complete re-imaging. Yes there’s a nail gun murder and a similar masked killer theme; but this time around we have an intriguing supernatural sheen, which makes the movie a tad more interesting. The rubbish mystery has been replaced with a good old school horror plot that works wonderfully, making this one of the best remakes of the noughties.” Luisito Joaquín González, A Slash Above…

On the plus side, there’s the competent acting by the cast, moody murder scenes, some jump-scares and the building itself, which seems to have a life of it’s own. […] This is better than all of Tobe Hooper’s recent films, including Crocodile (2000), The Mangler (1995) and Night Terrors (1993), but nowhere near as good as his 70’s classics.” Fred Adelman, Critical Condition

“Jace Anderson and Gierasch’s notion of an apartment building that’s one vast spell owes a debt of inspiration to Fritz Leiber’s 1977 novel Our Lady of Darkness (itself an homage to the spooky tales of H.P. Lovecraft, Arthur Machen, M.R. James et al.), but their script is mostly an excuse for a series of stalk-and-slash scenes that Hooper executes efficiently but with no particular originality.” Maitland McDonagh, TV Guide

“The movie is just so utterly derivative, and takes too much elements of its atmosphere from Dario Argento, and caused me to roll my eyes as it mercilessly ripped off Argento. The movie just doesn’t work as a tongue-in-cheek slasher film. It seems the first half of the film strives to be a really serious slasher film with a tense story, and then by the second half just throws it all away becoming very campy and often times really stupid.” Felix Vasquez, Cinema Crazed

“Pic gleefully quotes from Psycho, The Perils of Pauline and even references Texas Chain Saw, underlining the idea that the movie is a love/hate letter to Hollywood. Toolbox may not renew the splatter genre in any significant way, but the chills and kills prove Hooper, when armed with the right script, can still tighten the fright screws.” Russell Edwards, Variety

“Only about half of Toolbox Murders’ weaknesses stem from it being exactly the movie that an attentive student of the slasher subgenre would expect in a well-funded direct-to-video production from 2003. The other half are the result of Toolbox Murders being not quite well-funded enough. Apparently a significant portion of the financing fell through when the movie was already well underway…” Scott Ashlin, 1000 Misspent Hours and Counting

Cast and  characters:

• Angela Bettis as Nell Barrows
• Brent Roam as Steven Barrows
• Marco Rodríguez as Luis Saucedo
• Rance Howard as Charles “Chas” Rooker (Ticks)
• Juliet Landau as Julia Cunningham
• Adam Gierasch as Ned Lundy (The Hollow; Crocodile)
• Greg Travis as Byron McLieb
• Christopher Doyle as Coffin Baby
• Adam Weisman as Austin Sterling
• Christina Venuti as Jennifer
• Sara Downing as Saffron Kirby (The Forsaken; Rats)
• Jamison Reeves as Hudson
• Stephanie Silverman as Dora Sterling
• Alan Polonsky as Philip Sterling
• Charlie Paulson as Hans
• Eric Ladin as Johnny Turnbull
• Sheri Moon Zombie as Daisy Rain (House of 1000 Corpses; The Devil’s Rejects)
• Price Carson as Officer Daniel Stone
• Carlease Burke as Officer Melody Jacobs
• Bob McMinn as Shadow Man
• Ralph Morris as Nell’s Father

Wikipedia | IMDb

‘When the dead break free, all hell breaks loose.’

Mortuary is a 2005 supernatural American horror film directed by Tobe Hooper (Poltergeist; Salem’s Lot; The Texas Chain Saw Massacre) from a screenplay by husband and wife Jace Anderson and Adam Gierasch (Mother of Tears; Toolbox Murders; Crocodile; et al). It stars Dan Byrd, Alexandra Adi and Denise Crosby.

After the loss of their father, the Doyle family – Leslie, Jonathan, and Jamie – move to an old mortuary in hope of starting a new life but find it in poor condition.

Jonathan goes to the local diner where he meets Cal and his two girlfriends, Tina and Sara. Cal tells Jonathan about the legend of Bobby Fowler, an abused and deformed boy who lived in the mortuary.

That night, Cal, Sara and Tina go to the graveyard outside the mortuary and vandalise it; they then go into one of the crypts, where they are attacked by Bobby Fowler…

Buy Blu-ray: Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk

Reviews:

“In the end, Mortuary is one part Night of the Living Dead, and one part Cabin Fever. It accomplishes what few productions do by capturing nearly all of the key elements to a great horror movie. They made something worth watching again and again. It isn’t the scariest movie you’ll ever see, but it is extremely entertaining and a lot of fun.” Scared Stiff Reviews

” …Mortuary seems to be unsure of what it wants to be. We’ve got black humor, zombies, killer CGI fungus, and a deformed killer all thrown into the mix at once, and this results in an ambitious yet muddled experience. On the positive side, Mortuary is filled with quite a few moments of gross out gags, cool looking zombies, disturbing imagery, and the acting is way above par.” Steve Barton, Dread Central

“Mortuary is not a good film. When it comes down to it, it is a bad DTV horror movie with a horrendous screenplay. But I do love it, meaning I thoroughly enjoy it, of course mainly due to Hooper’s idiosyncratic visual eye, resonant acquisitions of cinematography (by DP Jaron Presant; the film really is a good-looking picture, even a step up from the crude gothic of Toolbox Murders with its Halloween party colors), and directorial delicacy, which lends the film its amiable energy and gentle textures.” Tobe Hooper Appreciation Society

“Mortuary slips into an unmitigated mess from the outset […] This might have been okay if the film had held up in the shocks department. However, Tobe Hooper gives all indication that he has lost the ability to create worthwhile or even credible shocks. Everything that happens has an eminent predictability, while the red herrings make you groan at their lameness.” Richard Scheib, Moria

“But the CGI… oh the horror! The black gunky mold which grows (unconvincingly) everywhere is a colossal annoyance. But when it is spewed from the mouths of person-to-person it borders on comical. It’s kind of like a really bad version of the black oil from the X-Files. The make-up effects are equally unconvincing, and even the zombies, which I am usually sympathetic towards, are sub-par.” Bloody Disgusting

” …a welfare friendly, bland and un-scary location, tinker-toy CGI, a misfired attempt at humor that wouldn’t giggle up a sedated chimp (the weed/cop at the door bit was astoundingly idiotic), bad editing cuts galore and beyond flaccid directing by Mr. Hooper…” The Arrow, JoBlo.com

“The effects on the zombies are pretty decent, but the CGI is weak as all get out. Not only does the pipe cleaner look like a coked out Etch-A-Sketch, but there’s one hand through the heart effect that looks incredibly fake. The movie runs a little slow, but things pick up at about the three quarter mark when the kids get chased by not only the zombies, but also Bobby the psycho AND their schizoid mom as well.” Mitch Lovell, The Video Vacuum

“Mortuary isn’t the worst thing I’ve ever seen and Hooper’s directing probably elevates the film, but it’s still not great. Fortunately, this movie is just so absurd that it’s fun to watch. The characters are so bizarre and the plot just jumps all over the place. It starts and ends like a slasher film, but with a zombie movie jammed right into the middle.” Zak Greene, Wicked Horror

Choice dialogue:

Sheriff Howell: “This town takes violence seriously!’

Cast and characters:

• Denise Crosby as Leslie (Relative Fear; Dolly Dearest; Pet Sematary)
• Dan Byrd as Jonathan (Ghost Whisperer; The Hills Have Eyes; Salem’s Lot [2004])
• Stephanie Patton as Jamie
• Alexandra Adi as Liz
• Bug Hall as Cal
• Courtney Peldon as Tina
• Tarah Paige as Sara
• Rocky Marquette as Grady
• Michael Shamus Wiles as Sheriff Howell (The Lords of Salem; Hellraiser: Inferno; Puppet Master 4; Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III; Terror at Tenkiller)

Filming locations:

Pomona, California, USA

Wikipedia | IMDb

‘Ever feel like something is watching you…’

Crocodile is a 2000 American horror film, directed by Tobe Hooper from a screenplay by Jace Anderson, Adam Gierasch (Mother of Tears; Mortuary; Toolbox Murders; et al) and Michael D. Weiss, based on a story by Boaz Davidson (X-Ray).

The film was released direct-to-video on 26 December 2000. A sequel, Crocodile 2: Death Swamp, was released in 2002.

Buy DVD: Amazon.co.uk

Eight teenagers are going on a weekend boat trip on a remote lake in Southern California for spring break.

After a day of partying, Kit tells them a local story about how in the early 1900s, 96 years ago, a hotel owner named Harlan featured a crocodile named Flat Dog. Harlan eventually sets up a shrine to Flat Dog, believing her to be an avatar to the ancient Egyptian crocodile god (Sobek), creating a cult that worshiped the crocodile.

Meanwhile, close by, having destroyed a crocodile nest, two local fishermen are attacked by Flat Dog and devoured…

Buy DVD: Amazon.co.uk

Reviews:

” …Crocodile kicks temporary-escapist ass for one simple reason: It does not skimp on the bloody croc attacks. So many animal-attack films seem to miss this point entirely, resulting in utter disappointment, but Hooper gives nearly 10 violent on-screen deaths! Yes!” Rod Lott, Flick Attack

“The croc looks pretty good in some scenes when the real-life animatronic model is used. You get a nice estimate of its actual size as it eerily drifts along the lake just under the surface. It’s when the croc is required to do sudden movements and turn from side-to-side quickly where the CGI takes over and the effects lose their way. Its size is constantly fluctuating depending on whatever the story requires it to do next which, for the most, is for it to eat the cast one-by-one.” Andrew Smith, Popcorn Pictures

“What we wind up getting, then, is lots of scenes of 90210-esque squabbling and fights between couples. Who cares? And by the time the croc does decide to get down to business, I’d lost all interest (but even then, they still didn’t show anything – it was mostly someone screaming in the distance and a loud chomping noise).” David Nusair, Reel Film

“It is as though Hooper no longer cared what he was making and is only going through the motions. He has simply gone with the standard formula plot of teens in peril that countless horror films have done before. The teens here are much more unlikeable than most…” Richard Scheib, Moria

“Aside from the unpleasant characters, the screenplay seems to have its share of suspense and some good shocks, but is compromised by some absolutely terrible special effects by the normally reliable KNB Group. Both the prosthetic effects and the creature are so shoddy as to remove any elements of believability and horror… Robert Firsching, All Movie

“The CG effects are really bad, the script is dull and like in slasher films the croc fodder are completely unsympathetic. Hooper was off form for this one and the poor writing, acting and effects combine to produce a really forgettable movie.” Eat Horror

” …it’s a shame that there aren’t any stars in the movie because the amateur cast just can’t cut the mustard. I mean you know you’re in trouble when a dog trainer gets prominent billing in the opening credits. The real stars are KNB Effects who created some pretty good crocodile effects.” Mitch Lovell, The Video Vacuum

Cast and characters:

• Mark McLachlan as Brady Turner
• Caitlin Martin as Claire
• Chris Solari as Duncan McKay
• Doug Reiser as Kit
• Julie Mintz as Annabelle
• Sommer Knight as Sunny
• Rhett Jordan as Foster
• Greg Wayne as Hubs
• Harrison Young as Sheriff Bowman
• Terrence Evans as Shurkin
• Adam Gierasch as Lester

Wikipedia | IMDb

‘Hungry for a killer meal?’

Drive-Thru – aka Drive Thru – is a 2007 American dark comedy horror film written and directed by Brendan Cowles and Shane Kuhn. It stars Leighton Meester and Nicholas D’Agosto.

Brandon Meeks (Edward DeRuiter), Tony (Haven Lamoureux) and their girlfriends, Brittany (Jessica Landon) and Tiffany (Nicole Cavazos) arrive at the fast food restaurant “Hella Burger”.

Upon placing an order at the drive-thru, the group are introduced to the restaurant’s mascot, Horny the Clown via intercom. The group is continuously insulted after Brandon mouths off to him, causing a furious Tony to enter. He searches the restaurant and hears a commotion coming from the kitchen.

After looking around in the walk-in cooler, Horny suddenly jumps out and attacks him across the room before dunking him face first in the deep fryer. Brandon soon enters, only to find Tony dead in the deep fryer much to his horror before he is attacked and murdered by Horny with a meat cleaver. Horny proceeds outside and brutally murders Brittany and Tiffany when they discover the bodies of their boyfriends in the backseat…

Reviews:

” …the slice and dice schlock that drives timeless terror treasures like Halloween, Friday the 13th and A Nightmare on Elm Street is all but missing here. In its place is pointless post-millennial irony, that worthless wit that screenwriters consider comedy nowadays, along with a huge helping of callous characterization. Sure, the filmmakers have to give the villain something vile to vivisect, but in the case of this caustic cast, no one is worth supporting – or saving.” Bill Gibron, DVD Talk

“The killer is kinda weak too and he makes lame wisecracks like, “Fries are up!” and “Say cheese!” He sticks a dude’s face into the deep fryer, decapitates another guy, and sticks an axe in one guy’s head. Too bad a lot of the gore scenes are ruined by a lot of fake looking effects. In particular, the potentially cool head-in-the-microwave scene is ruined by some truly shoddy CGI.” Mitch Lowell, The Video Vacuum

“There’s absolutely no denying that the film looks great. We’re talking theatrical quality production values here. Kind of hard for me to rectify in my mind that the same guys who co-directed this movie with such professionalism from a technical standpoint also manufactured a screenplay that’s every bit as bad as any you’d find in so many of the amateurish slasher flicks that litter DVD shelves these days.” Jon Condit, Dread Central

“The killings are rather random and there’s not much gore here. My biggest problem with the movie was… well… the entire story. Was the killer a ghost? This was never rectified. Given the supernatural messages which were sent to Mackenzie, he would have to be, but we never know for sure. Given the amount of detail which went into linking the victims, the vague ending is a let-down.” DVD Crypt 

“…a standard paint-by-numbers horror flick that falls short on being even the least bit frightening, falls short on humor but is high on head splitting, virginal final girls, and red tinted Karyo syrup. At least you know what you’re getting before you go in.” Christopher Armstead, Film Critics United

Cast and characters:

• Leighton Meester as Mackenzie Carpenter
• Nicholas D’Agosto as Fisher Kent
• Melora Hardin as Marcia Carpenter
• Lola Glaudini as Detective Brenda Chase
• Larry Joe Campbell as Detective Dwayne Crockers
• Penn Badgley as Van
• Rachael Bella as Starfire
• Shedrack Anderson as Chuck Taylor
• Sean Whalen as Eddie
• Robert Curtis Brown as Bert McCandless
• John Gilbert as Jack Benjamin
• Maliabeth Johnson as Tina McCandless
• Clyde Kusatsu as Fred Kukizaki
• Edward DeRuiter as Brandon Meeks
• Van De La Plante as Horny the Clown / Archie Benjamin
• Sita Young as Val Espinoza
• Haven Lamoureux as Tony
• Paul Ganus as Bill Carpenter
• Morgan Spurlock as Robbie
• Gordon Clapp as Voice of the Horny The Clown

Wikipedia | IMDb

‘The most feared monsters in cinematic history have met their match’

Stan Helsing is a 2009 Canadian-American comedy horror parody film written and directed by Bo Zenga (executive producer of Scary Movie and Turistas). It stars Steve Howey, Kenan Thompson, Diora Baird and Desi Lydic.

Stan Helsing (Steve Howey) is an underachieving employee at a video rental store named Schlockbuster. His teen-aged boss Sully orders him to drop off a bag of movies to the mother of the store’s owner or risk not having a job Monday morning.

Despite his arguments, he agrees to the request and manages to get his friend Teddy (Kenan Thompson), his ex-girlfriend Nadine (Diora Baird) and blonde massage therapist Mia (Desi Lydic) to take him there before they attend a Halloween party, even though it’s on the other side of town.

En route, to Stan’s surprise, he spots Lucky, the living doll (Jeff Gulka), who makes obscene gestures in the van next to them. Because of this disturbance, they miss their exit and decide to take a shortcut.

They come across a gas station where the perverted owners tell Stan that he may be related to the legendary Abraham Van Helsing, the monster hunter. They depart and after finding Stormy Night Estates, they discover the attendants never put gas into the car.

After they leave, they discover that all the citizens, including their waitress, Kay (Leslie Nielsen), were actually dead due to a massive fire that consumed the town ten years earlier. They encounter several monsters including lookalikes of Pinhead, the hockey-masked killer Jason Voorhees, Chucky, Freddy Krueger, Leatherface, and a Jewish Michael Meyers…

The film apparently cost $14 million but only took $11,014,125 at the box office.

Reviews:

“Stan Helsing is sloppily made, committed to the lowest form of comedy to see itself to the end. Why play so aggressively crude? Zenga displays only a tenuous grasp on timing and delivery, throwing out whatever taboo, sexualized, or gross-out idea he can to keep the viewer interested. It’s a shame nothing in the film generates laughs, as the picture has energy to spare.” Brian Orndorf, Blu-ray.com

“The jokes came fast and the jokes came furiously but very few of the jokes were funny […] The only thing that saved this parody is that it was STILL better than those Seltzer / Friedberg ‘parodies’ Date Movie and their brethren.” Film Critics United

“A detention hall filled with 14-year-old boys would probably demand greater sophistication […] By the time we reach the climactic karaoke smackdown, we have learned more about Freddy Krueger’s personal hygiene challenges — and how to make a shockingly bad movie — than we ever wanted to know.” Jeanette Catsoulis, The New York Times

“It’s not a great movie by any means, but compared to the Friedberg/Seltzer output, it looks like a masterpiece, and it’s got a handful of funny ad-libs and at least a couple of gorgeous women […] As for Stan Helsing, some of you would hate watching a bunch of faux horror icons performing a parody version of “YMCA”, and others might find it mildly amusing.” Tyler Foster, DVD Talk

“OK, questions: why is Michael Jewish? Why is Fweddy done up like some late-80s rapper? Why is there but one murder of a non-important extra? Who green-lit this movie? It really is a train wreck of a film, made only worse when I learned that ‘Mason’ (Jesus wept…) was played by Ken Kirzinger, who played Jason – yes, Jason – in Freddy vs. Jason. Nothing in this film even flirts with being funny.” Hudson Lee, Vegan Voorhees

“It may not be as crude and offensive as the earlier Scary Movie films but it’s got its fair share of smut. There are a handful of decent scenes, probably the pick of which involves the characters stumbling onto the set of a hardcore gay porno featuring Frankenstein’s monster. But it’s slim pickings and they are too few and far between.”Andrew Smith, Popcorn Pictures

Cast and characters:

• Steve Howey as Stan Helsing
• Diora Baird as Nadine (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning)
• Kenan Thompson as Teddy
• Desi Lydic as Mia
• Leslie Nielsen as Kay (Scary Movie 3; Repossessed; Dracula: Dead and Loving It; Day of the Animals)
• Travis MacDonald as Hitcher
• Chad Krowchuk as Sully
• Darren Moore as Crazy
• Jeremy Crittenden as Altar Boy
• Jeff Gulka as Lucky (spoof of Chucky from Child’s Play)
• Ken Kirzinger as Mason (spoof of Jason Voorhees from Friday the 13th)
• Ben Cotton as Fweddy (spoof of Freddy Krueger from A Nightmare on Elm Street) (Scar 3D)
• Lee Tichon as Michael Cryers (spoof of Michael Myers from Halloween)
• Twan Holliday as Pleatherface (spoof of Leatherface from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre)
• Charles Zuckermann as Needlehead (spoof of Pinhead from Hellraiser)
• Hilary Strang as Hippie Lady
• Ray G. Thunderchild as Husband
• John DeSantis as Frankenstein’s Monster
• Ryan Steele as the Wolfman
• Jeremiah Sird as Idiot Indian

Buy on DVD with I Sell the Dead and My Name is Bruce: Amazon.co.uk

Filming locations:

Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA
Cloverdale and Pitt Meadows, British Columbia, Canada
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Trivia:

The film is known in some parts of Asia as Scary Movie 5, in Italy as Horror Movie and in Germany as Mega Monster Movie.

Wikipedia | IMDb

‘Cannibal cat-people from outer space!’

Corpse Grinders II – aka The Corpse Grinders II – is a 2000 American science fiction horror film written, produced, photographed, edited and directed by Ted V. Mikels (Blood Orgy of the She-Devils; The Astro-Zombies). The TVM Global Entertainment production stars Sean Morelli, Andy Freeman and Chuck Alford.

The film is obviously a belated sequel to Mikels’ The Corpse Grinders (1971)

Landau and Maltby, the nephews of the original owners of Lotus Cat Food “For cats who love people” start up the family business again. Duplicated from the original are the nurse and doctor characters as well as the greedy grave digger and his wacky wife. What’s added to the mix in this sequel are cat-like aliens!

Reviews:

In The Corpse-Grinders 2, Ted V. Mikels takes the plot of the first movie – and I mean the exact plot of the first movie – and makes one crucial change. Instead of all of the cats in town going berserk, they don’t! Get it? It’s genius! Also, Mikels adds a new element to this already incredibly plausible and realistic story – cat people from space.” Ben Platt, Something Awful

“Overall, the picture’s a big mess, with a huge, largely sub-amateur cast of characters in a very loose collection of subplots. Many of the major roles are quite well-acted, with Morelli and Freeman, appropriately, the stand-outs – but the lower tiers are filled with the sort of performances that would not be tolerated in a community theater.” The Bad Movie Report

“Where the hell do I begin? The Acting is terrible. The Special Effects are terrible. The Production Design is terrible. There’s no incredibly-fake Presidential seal this time, but there’s plenty else to make fun of. The whole thing is not scary, funny or the least bit entertaining.” Alec Pridgen, Mondo Bizarro

“You just stare at the screen for 100 minutes trying to make sense of the assault upon your eyes that is hitting you. This movie goes nowhere, is random as hell, throws everything in that makes no sense, and it is very much the original movie’s script reused – especially names! – and then with an added side movie with aliens on the side.” Jason Grey, Triskaidekafiles

“If you’re not astounded by the camcorder level production values, the godawful special effects […] and the fact Mikels has managed to get almost everyone he knows to play a role in the film (including himself); then you’ll probably be too busy wondering how the movie looks even cheaper than the films Mikels made three decades prior.” Chris Hartley, The Video Graveyard

Main cast:

• Sean Morelli as Landau – The Curse of All Hallows’ Eve | Paranormal Extremes: Text Messages from the Dead | Astro Zombies: M4 | Astro Zombies: M3 | Mark of the Astro-Zombies | Cauldron: Baptism of Blood
• Andy Freeman as Maltby
• Chuck Alford as Caleb – The Hollywood Strangler Meets the Skid Row Slasher
• Liz Renay as Cleo – Mark of the Astro-Zombies; Blackenstein; Day of the Nightmare
• Myron Natwick – Sickhouse | iZombie | Shallow Ground | Project Vampire
• Shanti as Felina – Astro Zombies: M4 | Astro Zombies: M3 | Demon Haunt | Mark of the Astro-Zombies | Cauldron: Baptism of Blood
• Paul MacDonald as Dr. Howard Glass
• Cara Jo Basso as Angie
• Ted V. Mikels as Professor Mikoff
• Gene Paul Jones as Borath
• Spike Measer as Ubock
• Dolores Fuller as Patricia Grant – The Ironbound Vampire | Bride of the Monster | Mesa of Lost Women
• Philip Chamberlin as Mr. Yonkers
• Volmar Franz as Mr. Burnam
• William G. Stone as Dean Russo

IMDb

‘A lost treasure. An epic adventure. Unspeakable terror.’

Army of the Dead is a 2008 American supernatural horror film directed by Joseph Conti (Bugs) from a screenplay co-written with Michael Ciccolini and Tom Woosley (Attack of the Sabretooth). It stars Ross Kelly, Stefani Marchesi and Miguel Martinez. Director Conti also provided the special visual effects.

In 1590, Coronado dispatched a division of one thousand men to find El Dorado, the legendary city of gold. Those men were never seen again.

While searching some Baja peninsula caves as part of an archeological expedition, a university professor and his students unwittingly unleash a long dormant curse. They soon find themselves in a life or death battle with an army of skeletal warriors, the undead remnants of Coronado’s conquistadors…

Reviews:

“Okay, so the acting isn’t great and the script isn’t going to win any awards here. Some moments are so cheesy and/or predictable that they raise laughs rather than tension but that’s not the central focus of Army of the Dead. It’s a film about an army of skeletons so all that matters, at the very least, is how those skeletons look and I’m happy to say that they’re pretty good.” Kevin Matthews, Flick Feast

“The acting is serviceable for this type of fare as well as the directing. The effects are good for the budget and the skeletons are really well done. Definitely a Jason and the Argonauts feel which is not a bad thing. The score is not bad and in the opening sequence it even takes on a Raiders of the Lost Ark tone.” Angel Van Croft, HorrorNews.net

“Army of the Dead is dull. It merely happens, and poorly. The acting is especially terrible, the script utterly bland and the visual effects are an embarrassment to everyone. There are reasonable moments throughout, but nothing excels. The UK tagline reads “Never trust a skeleton with a machine gun”, but that’s as funny as it gets. Humourless and boring… unless you’re incredibly drunk.” Boston Haverhill, Gorepress

“Apart from Army of Darkness and Jason and the Argonauts there are really not enough killer skeletons out there. It’s too bad that Army of the Dead isn’t likely to change that. I have to admit that, as CG created baddies go, the skeletons actually aren’t that bad – they look a little cheap, and there’s a pretty lame throat slitting with CG blood, but when compared to other modern flicks of this budget range they could’ve been much, much worse.” Chris Hartley, The Video Graveyard

Main cast:

• Ross Kelly – Klown Kamp Massacre; Romeo & Juliet vs. The Living Dead; Wedding Slashers; The Stink of Flesh
• Stefani Marchesi
• Miguel Martinez – Piranha-Man vs. Werewolf Man: Howl of the Piranha; Klown Kamp Massacre
• Mike Hatfield
• Malcolm Madera
• Audrey Anderson
• Vic Browder
• Jocelyn Tucker
• Jeff Mocho
• Casey Messer
• Matt Comacho
• Jason E. Hill
• Brian Neal Lucero

Filming locations:

Albuquerque and Rio Rancho, New Mexico, USA

Trivia:

The film’s working title was Curse of the Anasazi

IMDb

New trailer for ‘My Friend Dahmer’ online

My Friend Dahmer is a 2017 American film written and directed by Marc Meyers and based on the graphic novel of the same name by artist John “Derf” Backderf who wrote about his true-life experience growing up with future serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer.

Before Jeffrey Dahmer became one of the most notorious serial killers of all time, he was a teenage loner. Conducting grisly experiments in a makeshift backyard lab, Jeff was invisible to most, until his increasingly bizarre behaviour unexpectedly attracted friends…

Read reviews of the controversial movie here

Virtual reality advert for ‘Jigsaw’ launched

Variety reports that Unity Technologies has launched what it claims is a first-of-its-kind virtual reality advert for the upcoming release of Lionsgate’s Jigsaw.

“The Jigsaw Virtual Room” features props from the movie rendered in VR, custom voice-over from actor Tobin Bell and includes shrines to each of the eight films in the Saw franchise. The ad will appear in VR apps made with Unity.

Jigsaw opens on October 27, four days prior to Halloween.

First trailer for ‘X-Files’ season 11 arrives online

The X-Files returns to FOX for its eleventh season in early 2018.

David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson reprise their roles as Mulder and Scully, alongside Mitch Pileggi, William B. Davis, Annabeth Gish, Veronica Cartwright, Lauren Ambrose, Robbie Amell, plus Barbara Hershey.

‘Ash vs Evil Dead’ Panel at the New York Comic Con 2017

Bruce Campbell, Ray Santiago, Dana DeLorenzo, Arielle Carver-O’Neill, and Lindsay Farris take the stage to discuss the Starz series Ash vs Evil Dead Season 3 at New York Comic Con.

At one point Dana DeLorenzo comments: “The writers keep outdoing themselves every season, and speaking of colons, there’s something even more disgusting – gag-worthy/hilarious at the same time than there was (last season) – I did not think you could top a fight with a colon, but we do…”

The third season finds Ash’s status in Elk Grove, Michigan has changed from murderous urban legend to humanity-saving hometown hero. When Kelly witnesses a televised massacre with Ruby’s fingerprints all over it, she returns with a new friend to warn Ash and Pablo that evil isn’t done with them yet. Blood is thicker than water in the battle of good vs Evil Dead!

New trailer for Netflix series ‘Mindhunter’

“How do we get ahead of crazy if we don’t know how crazy thinks?”

Two FBI agents (played by Jonathan Groff and Holt McCallany) set out on a sinister investigative odyssey to discover the brutal answers in the TV series Mindhunter.

Coming to Netflix on October 13, 2017. Read more

Fund ‘Zombie Doctor’ card game via Kickstarter

Press release: ‘Colin Hutton, the sole creator of Zombie Doctor, is proud to announce his new card game launched on Kickstarter on 2nd October and will run until 31st October 2017. The campaign gained 25% of its funding in just under two days.

Zombie Doctor is a fun and frantic card-turning game. Amputate, reattach and even swap limbs to stall the zombie infection. Each player chooses to be one of four medical professionals and has several cards laid out to represent their body parts. The game’s unique mechanic is that one side of a card has your healthy limb and if you turn it over, the zombie equivalent is shown.

Players take it in turn to use one of their Pain or Gain cards. The Pain or Gain Cards have the power to help you or hurt others. You can heal limbs with medicine, amputate infected limbs and even use a defibrillator. Do whatever it takes to stay alive!

The winner is the last player to have the infection reach their head! There are many reward tiers available on the Kickstarter campaign, all of which includes a copy of the game and some are Kickstarter exclusives.

Zombie Doctor is being manufactured by Ad Magic, a well- established company who have printed excellent card games such as Cards Against Humanity and Exploding Kittens.

Zombie Doctor‘s creator Colin Hutton said ‘I’ve always loved the variety of games available on Kickstarter and amazed by the quality of work coming from independent developers. It made sense to seek funding for my game in this very creative and supportive environment. I’m confident Zombie Doctor offers something exciting and easy to play.’

You can view the Zombie Doctor Kickstarter campaign here

‘Castle Rock’ first look teaser online

Castle Rock is a forthcoming American anthology television series being developed by J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot, Warner Bros TV and Hulu.

The series will weave together characters and themes from Stephen King’s novels – such as The Dead Zone, Cujo, The Dark Half, and Needful Things – set in the fictional Maine town of Castle Rock. The series will star Melanie Lynskey, Jane Levy, Bill Skarsgård, Terry O’Quinn, Scott Glenn, André Holland, and Sissy Spacek, plus many others to be announced.

Bloody Disgusting has posted the first look teaser for the series on YouTube

First images from ‘Ash vs. Evil Dead’ Season Three

Beginning on 25 February 2018, Season Three of Ash vs. Evil Dead will feature Arielle Carver-O’Neill as Brandy Barr, aka Ash’s long-lost daughter. In anticipation, four images have been released by Starz.

Via Press Release: Bruce Campbell leads the cast, reprising the role of Ash Williams; Lucy Lawless as Ruby, devises her most diabolical plan to defeat Ash and raise hell on earth; Ray Santiago as Pablo Simon Bolivar, forever loyal to Jefe (Ash) will realize his true destiny in the battle against evil; and Dana DeLorenzo as Kelly Maxwell, whose single goal is to kill Ruby and end the Evil Dead torment once and for all.

New to the cast for Season 3 are Arielle Carver-O’Neill as Brandy Barr, Ash’s long-lost daughter left in his care when her mother meets an untimely demise, and Lindsay Farris as Dalton, leader of an ancient order called the Knights of Sumeria, who seek Ash to lead their fight against The Dark Ones. Lee Majors (Strait-Jacket) returns as Brock Williams to warn Ash from beyond the grave.

Source: Dread Central

Nottingham-based ‘Mayhem’ festival line-up includes an unmade Hammer film!

Mayhem screens some of the best in contemporary horror, science-fiction and cult cinema and television from around the world. Featuring premieres, previews, masterclasses, international special guest filmmakers, and unique live cinema events, the festival has developed a reputation as one of the strongest and most innovative genre festivals in the country. The festival is based at Broadway in Nottingham, one of the UK’s leading independent cinemas and creative hubs. Visit Mayhem’s website here

THURSDAY 12 OCTOBER

7.30PM DOUBLE DATE (15) + Special Guests

Dir. Benjamin Barfoot, 2017 (UK) with Danny Morgan & Michael Socha

10PM M.F.A.

Dir. Natalia Leite, 2017 (US) with Francesca Eastwood & Clifton Collins Jr.

FRIDAY 13 OCTOBER

3PM BITCH

Dir. Marianna Palka, 2017 (US) with Jaime King & Jason Ritter

5.30PM 68 KILL

Dir. Trent Haaga, 2017 (US) with Matthew Gray Gubler & AnnaLynne McCord

7.30PM HABIT + Special Guests Simeon Halligan, Rachel Richardson-Jones & Elliot Langridge

Dir. Simeon Halligan, 2017 (UK) with Elliot Langridge & Jessica Barden

10PM FRIDAY THE 13^TH PART III: 3D (15)

Dir. Steve Miner, 1982 (US) with Dana Kimmell & Tracie Savage

SATURDAY 14 OCTOBER

12PM TAG

Dir. Sion Sono, 2015 (JAP) with Reina Triendl & Mariko Shinoda

1.45PM A DAY – UK PREMIERE

Dir. Sun-ho Cho, 2017 (ROK) with Myung-min Kim & Eun-hyung Jo

3.30PM MOST BEAUTIFUL ISLAND

Dir. Ana Asensio, 2017 (US) with Ana Asensio & Natasha Romanova

6PM MAYHEM SHORT FILM SHOWCASE

Dir. Various, 2017 (International)

8.30PM PREY + Special Guest Dick Maas

Dir. Dick Maas, 2016 (NL) with Mark Frost & Sophie Van Winden

11PM SUSPIRIA (18) – The CultFilms Tour of SUSPIRIA-4k (shown in 2k)

Dir. Dario Argento, 1977 (ITA) with Jessica Harper & Stefania Casini

SUNDAY 15 OCTOBER

12PM TOP KNOT DETECTIVE

Dirs. Aaron McCann & Dominic Pearce, 2017 (AUS/JAP) with Toshi Okuzaki & Mayu Iwasaki

1.45PM RIFT

Dir. Erlingur Thoroddsen, 2017 (ICE) with Björn Stefánsson & Sigurður Þór Óskarsson

4PM The Flinterrogation – Hosted by author David Flint

5PM ZEPPELIN V PTERODACTYLS – A live stage reading of a legendary lost Hammer production

7.45PM MAYHEM

Dir. Joe Lynch, 2017 (US) with Steven Yeun & Samara Weaving

9.30PM DEAD SHACK

Dir. Peter Ricq, 2017 (CAN) with Lizzie Boys & Cameron Andres

‘The Walking Dead’ will crossover with ‘Fear the Walking Dead’

Robert Kirkman, creator of ‘The Walking Dead’ has confirmed the news to TV Guide: “We want these shows to have their own legs, tell their own stories and be their own thing, and I think we’ve finally gotten to a place with ‘Fear the Walking Dead’ where it has its own identity where, you know, we can play with some things.”

Kirkman explained further: “There is one character that is going to go from one show, that I will not name, to another show, that I will not name. Now, what does that mean? Because these timelines, like… how does that work? Are we going to see an interesting backstory of a ‘Walking Dead’ character in ‘Fear the Walking Dead?’ Or are we going to see a ‘Fear the Walking Dead’ character show up in ‘The Walking Dead’ and show a future version of the character?”

Meanwhile, here is a sneak peak of ‘The Walking Dead’ Season 8, Episode 1:

Second teaser for ‘Wolf Creek’ mini-series arrives

Stan Originals has posted another teaser for part two of mini-series of Wolf Creek, due to be shown in early 2018.

John Jarratt is once again serial killer Mick Taylor. The cast also includes Tess Haubrich, Matt Day, Ben Oxenbould, Laura Wheelwright, Stephen Hunter, and Chris Haywood.

Psycho Mick Taylor sees an opportunity of a lifetime after a chance encounter with a coach full of tourists from around the globe. The unwitting travelers begin an outback adventure none of them could have imagined…

First clip from TV series ‘Lore’

Lore is a 2017 American horror anthology online and television series developed by Lore creator Aaron Mahnke with Valhalla Entertainment and Propagate Content.

Based on the popular podcast of the same name, which has an average of five million monthly listens, the anthology series presents the frightening and often disturbing tales based on real people and events that have led to our modern-day myths and legends.

Lore combines documentary footage, narration, historical mixed media and cinematic scenes to bring to life terrifying, but true stories. Celebrating the origins of the horror genre, Lore explores the real-life tales behind pop culture’s most legendary horror myths, such as vampires, changelings, werewolves, séances and possessed dolls.

The series will premiere on Amazon Prime on October 13, 2017. In the meantime, here’s a clip featuring Robert the Doll and the trailer.

Theatrical showings for ‘Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon’

To celebrate the 10th anniversary of Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon, the film is being shown in movie theaters in the United States via Theatrical on Demand. To see it locally, enough viewers have to vote for it online

The film is a mockumentary black comedy horror movie directed by Scott Glosserman and stars Nathan Baesel, Angela Goethals and Robert Englund. It follows a journalist and her film crew that is documenting an aspiring serial killer who models himself according to slasher film conventions. The film features cameos from Zelda Rubinstein (Poltergeist franchise) and Kane Hodder (Friday the 13th).

Read more about the film and reviews here

Vincent Price’s ‘Cooking Price-Wise’ reissued as a Special Edition

We covered the 1970s book Cooking Price-Wise with Vincent Price back on 6 January 2013 and since then the post has had over 5,200 hits!

The cookery book which includes recipes for dishes such as Nasi Goreng, American ice box cake, and fish fillets Noord Zee, was a tie-in with the horror icon’s British six week Thames Television TV series of the same name and cost a mere 30p. It has become a sought-after collector’s item, going for high prices on the internet (one is currently going for £98.70 on Amazon.co.uk).

We were therefore delighted when Broke Horror Fan recently posted that Vincent Price’s book is being reissued as a Special Edition by Calla Editions on 18 October 2017.

Buy: Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.ca

The expanded hardcover edition features a preface by Victoria Price, the late actor’s daughter; a foreword by his son, V.B. Price; a bonus section with baking recipes from Vincent’s grandfather, the inventor of baking powder; journal entries from Price’s trip to Europe as a 17-year-old; and a selection of family favorites from Victoria Price’s childhood.

Read our coverage of the 1970s book here

New poster for the 4K restoration of ‘The Old Dark House’

The Cohen Film Collection has released a new poster for its 4K restoration of 1932 horror comedy classic The Old Dark House. The film will be shown in select theaters from October 6. It will also be released on Blu-ray and DVD on October 24.

Buy Blu-ray: Amazon.com

The Old Dark House was directed by James Whale (Frankenstein; Bride of Frankenstein) from a screenplay by Benn W. Levy, based on J. B. Priestley’s novel Benighted.

The film stars Boris Karloff, Melvyn Douglas, (Ghost Story; The Changeling; The Vampire Bat), Charles Laughton (The Hunchback of Notre Dame; Island of Lost Souls) and Gloria Stuart (The Invisible Man).

Sequel ‘Unfriended: Game Night’ filmed secretly

As part of a growing trend (Victor Crowley, Blair Witch), it has been reported that a sequel to Unfriended (2014) has been filmed secretly and is now the subject of audience test screenings. If these prove favourable, a release date in 2018 should be announced soon.

Updated: The title for the sequel has now been confirmed as Unfriended: Game Night and here’s the synopsis:

Using the same computer-screen format, Unfriended: Game Night tells the story about a teen who comes into possession of the new laptop and finds that it may have been stolen. He discovers the previous owner may be watching every move he makes and will do anything to get it back…

‘It Came from the Video Aisle!’ – new book about Full Moon Entertainment

A new 480 page book by David Jay, William Wilson and Dewi Torsten charts the rise and fall of Charles Band’s Full Moon Entertainment production company. Schiffer Publishing’s It Came from the Video Aisle! will be available from October 28, 2017.

Buy Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk

“Charles Band’s Full Moon Entertainment was the most remarkable B-movie studio of the 1990s, responsible for a barrage of sci-fi, fantasy, and horror classics during the last true “golden age” of the home video era.

From Puppetmaster to Trancers and beyond, Full Moon transformed the VHS experience for fans worldwide, bringing the inner workings of the movie-making process into the living room, and in turn creating a ravenous fanbase that remains to this day.

This book tracks the history of the company, from its late ’80s birth among the ruins of the American drive-in through to its bid to survive in the modern digital world.

Featuring rare artwork, behind-the-scenes photos, and over 60 exclusive interviews with the cast and crew who helped to create the legendary B-movie studio, this is an essential read for any cult film fan still lamenting the death of the “mom ‘n’ pop” video store.”

‘Bride of Frankenstein’ put on hold

Deadline has reported that Universal’s Bride of Frankenstein is now officially on hold. The original release date for the Bill Condon-directed Monsters Universe movie was Valentine’s Day, February 14, 2019.

The movie was in pre-production in London for a February 1 kick-off, but the crew have been laid off so that the script can be revised. Javier Bardem was in talks to play Frankestein’s monster with (apparently) Angelina Jolie as his bride.

Michael Myers makes an appearance in ‘Stranger Things 2’

It’s 1984 and the citizens of Hawkins, Indiana are still reeling from the horrors of the Demogorgon and the secrets of Hawkins Lab. Will Byers has been rescued from the Upside Down but a bigger, sinister entity still threatens those who survived…

The series stars Winona Ryder, David Harbour, Finn Wolfhard, Noah Schnapp, Millie Bobby Brown, Caleb McLaughlin, Gaten Matarazzo, Cara Buono, Natalia Dyer, Charlie Heaton, Joe Keery, Dacre Montgomery, Sadie Sink, Sean Astin, and Paul Reiser.

Stranger Things 2 premieres on Netflix October 27th.

 ‘The Thing’ 1000-piece jigsaw

A 1000-piece jigsaw puzzle celebrating John Carpenter’s The Thing (1982) will be available soon from USAopolgy. The 19×27 piece puzzle features new artwork by Justin Erickson of Phantom City Creative.

New TV series ‘Dark’ debuts soon

“Dark, a family saga with a supernatural twist, is set in a German town in present day where the disappearance of two young children exposes the double lives and fractured relationships among four families. In ten, hour-long episodes, the story takes on a supernatural twist that ties back to the same town in 1986.”

New German supernatural series Dark  premieres on December 1st on Netflix.

IFC Midnight snaps up North American rights to ‘Ghost Stories’

Variety reports that IFC Midnight has signed up the North American rights to Ghost Stories, the British supernatural thriller based on the stage production of the same name. It stars Martin Freeman (Cargo; The World’s End; Shaun of the Dead).

Ghost Stories will have its world premiere on Thursday at the BFI London Film Festival. The film was co-written and directed by Jeremy Dyson (“The League of Gentleman”) and Andy Nyman. Lionsgate own the UK rights.

In the film, Nyman plays Professor Goodman, a psychologist and skeptic, who has his rationality tested when he stumbles across a long-lost file containing details of three terrifying hauntings. He then embarks on a mission to find rational explanations for the ghostly happenings… [read more]

Nightmares Film Festival line-up

The Nightmares Film Festival 2017 in Ohio aims to present “a world-class assembly of the scariest, tensest, and most bizarre films from across the globe.” The festival, which runs from October 19th to 22nd, will showcase such features as:

• Victor Crowley w/Adam Green
• Leatherface
• Capture, Kill, Release
• Bong of the Living Dead
• 3 Dead Trick or Treaters
• Ruin Me
• Unnuyayuk
• Found Footage 3D
• 2 Pigeons
• Midnighters
• She Was So Pretty 2: Be Good for Goodness Sake
• Scars of Xavier
• Rock, Paper, Dead
• Hostile
• Romeo’s Distress
• I’m Dreaming of a White Doomsday
• Flesh of the Void
• Torment
• Le Accelerator
• Samurai Rauni

Plus masses of shorts over the four day festival. The full schedule is on their website

“Dream girls can be a nightmare” in ‘The Babysitter’

Young Cole is madly in love with his babysitter Bee. She’s seemingly cool and awesome in all the ways Cole thinks he isn’t. One evening while Bee is babysitting, Cole witnesses the unthinkable. Now he must survive a night full of first kisses, first broken hearts, and first encounters with homicidal maniacs…

McG (Terminator: Salvation) directed The Babysitter from a script by Brian Duffield (Insurgent). Samara Weaving, Judah Lewis, Hana Mae Lee, Robbie Amell, and Bella Thorne star.

The Babysitter comes to Netflix on October, Friday the 13th

Attack of the Bat Monsters is a 2002 American comedy film written, edited, co-produced and directed by Graham Kelly Greene. It stars Michael Dalmon, Maurice Ripke and Fred Ballard.

In the 1959, a group of filmmakers are trying to complete a low budget creature feature in just three days before a bullying crew from a major studio comes along and take over their movie location…

Reviews:

“Comedy’s hard, but it’s even harder to be this funny while maintaining a fundamental respect for the film’s characters, and it is that humanity that turns out to be Greene’s greatest trump card.” Scott Foundas, Variety

“It has been compared to movies like Larry Blamire’s The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra (2001), but Greene’s film […] has more in common with Wim Wenders’s The State of Things (1982) and especially Joe Dante and Allan Arkush’s Hollywood Boulevard (1976). It’s a cult movie in the best sense: it’s well made with strong acting and a witty script full of references and in jokes to films past.” Daniel Stillings, UK Horror Scene

“The films’ characters and Greene’s writing brilliantly portrayed the frenzied writer, director and actors of those films and the quick turnaround time and measly budgets allotted to them. The dialogue between characters is witty and has a rhythm to the patter that is edgy.” Lisa Franklin

Filming locations:

Austin, Texas, USA

IMDb

George ‘Buck’ Flower – October 28, 1937 – June 18, 2004 – was an American actor, writer, producer, assistant director, production manager, and casting director.

Born in the Blue Mountains of Eastern Oregon, Flower enlisted in the army as a teenager and enrolled at Eastern Oregon College following his military service. He then moved to California and attended Pasadena City College, becoming a member of the repertory theatre group. From here, his career took in over a hundred appearances in film, both in front and behind the camera – these included a great number of horror and genre films, in which, most regularly, he appeared as a bum-type character.

Flower was never afraid of using his physical appearance – he was always somewhat overweight and had the facial features which, politely, lent themselves to someone who was happy to play the drunk; tramp; hobo; crazy old guy in the background.

His wide variety of roles in sometimes jarringly different genres, led to him acting under a number of different names: Ernest Wall, Buck Flower, George “Buck” Flower, George Flower, Buck Flowers, Igor, Sherman Backus, Mick Courter, C. D. LaFleur, C.D. LaFleure, C.D. Lafleuer, and C.D. Lafleur!

Flower’s early film career saw him appearing, often un-credited, in adult comedies (often with the emphasis on the sexual rather than the chortlesome). Beginning with 1970’s Country Cuzzins, through gems such as Satan’s Lust (1971), The Sex Prophet (1973, as Igor) and Suckula (1973), he found himself much favoured by notorious producer, Harry H. Novak, the first of many producers and directors who would latch onto the actor and feature him numerous times.

Suckula (1973)

By 1975, Flower was beginning to get “named” roles in films: the likes of Candy Tangerine Man (1975); Criminally Insane (1975) and Johnny Firecloud have seen reissues and minor cult followings in the years since, though it was as Binz in the same year’s Ilsa: She-Wolf of the S.S. that he achieved his first named role in a film that has attained a level of meaningful standing (of sorts).

Flower also appeared in Ilsa, Harem Keeper of the Oil Sheiks in 1976 and a film which achieved a level of infamy which even outranked these, The Witch Who Came in From the Sea, banned by the BBFC in the UK and one of the 72 titles on the infamous ‘video nasties’ list. His daughter, Verkina Flower, also appeared in the film as a youthful flashback of Molly – one of a handful of onscreen and off-screen roles she had in horror and genre films. Buck also acted as casting director on the film.

Flower was seemingly always working – tiny, often uncredited, roles in forgettable fare – Devil’s Ecstasy (1976); Drive In Massacre (1976 – he was a suspect with a machete, but also co-writer of the screenplay); Killer’s Delight (1978) had the actor in blink and you miss it parts, though 1980’s role as a drunk (of course) fisherman in The Fog (1980), saw the first of no fewer than six John Carpenter films appearing on his CV.  His breakout role was typically under-key yet in keeping with his stock trade – that of “bum” in 1985’s Back to the Future (as well as its sequel).

Back to the Future (1985)

Flower fit a huge amount of TV work (the usual opportunities for bit-part actors – The Dukes of Hazzard; NYPD Blue; L.A. Law) around further horror film roles – notably, Maniac Cop (1988); Pumpkinhead (1988); Sorority Babes in the Slimeball Bowl-o-Rama (1988), though even these gave way to sequels which were best left forgotten – 976-EVIL II and Waxwork II: Lost in Time being typical. One of his last horror genre roles was in Wishmaster – inevitably as “homeless man”. Flower died from cancer, aged sixty-six, in 2004.

They Live (1988)

Selected filmography:

Satan’s Lust (1971)

The Daring Dobermans (1973)

The Devil and Leroy Bassett (1973)

Sucklula (1973)

Criminally Insane (1975)

The Candy Tangerine Man (1975)

Johnny Firecloud (1975)

Ilsa: She-Wolf of the S.S. (1975)

Invisible Man (TV series, 1975)

The Witch Who Came in From the Sea (1976)

Ilsa, Harem of the Oil Sheiks (1976)

Deep Jaws (1976)

Devil’s Ecstasy (1976 , voice only)

Drive-In Massacre (1976)

Killer’s Delight (1978)

The Capture of Bigfoot (1979)

The Fog (1980)

Escape from New York (1981)

Starman (1984)

Back to the Future (1985)

The Night Stalker (1986)

Berserker (1987)

Bates Motel (TV movie, 1987)

Sorority Babes in the Slimeball Bowl-o-Rama (1987)

Maniac Cop (1988)

Pumpkinhead (1988)

Cheerleader Camp (1988)

They Live (1988)

The American Scream (1988)

Death Nurse 2 (1988)

Speak of the Devil (1989)

Sundown: The Vampire in Retreat (1989)

Back to the Future Part II (1989)

Relentless (1989)

Spontaneous Combustion (1989)

Dead Men Don’t Die (1990)

Puppet Master II (1990)

Blood Games (1990)

Camp Fear (1991)

976-EVIL II (1991)

Waxwork II: Lost in Time (1992)

Mirror Images (1992)

Munchie (1992)

Warlock: The Armageddon (1993)

Body Bags (The Gas Station segment,1993)

Ripper Man (1995)

Village of the Damned (1995)

Dark Breed (1996)

Bloodsuckers (1997)

Skeletons (TV movie, 1997)

Wishmaster (1997)

The Curse of the Komodo (2004)

They Are Among Us (2004)

Mom’s Got a Date with a Vampire is a 2000 made-for-television Disney comedy horror film directed by Steve Boyum from a screenplay by Robert Keats, based on a story by Lindsay Naythons. It stars Matt O’Leary, Caroline Rhea, Charles Shaughnessy, Laura Vandervoort, and Robert Carradine.

Lynette Hansen (Caroline Rhea) is a single mother who has grounded her teenage kids Adam (Matt O’Leary) and Chelsea (Laura Vandervoort) for misbehaving. But Adam’s best friend has scored tickets for a rock concert, while Chelsea is trying to find a way to keep a date with her boyfriend.

Chelsea thinks she may have the solution when she arranges for Lynette to go on a blind date with a mysterious but good-looking stranger, Dimitri Dentatois (Charles Shaughnessy); with Mom out of the house, slipping out for some fun will be a breeze.

However, the youngest member of the Hansen family, Taylor (Myles Jeffrey), is a big horror movie buff, and when he meets Dimitri, he’s convinced that his mom is going out on the town with a creature of the night…

Reviews:

” …Mom’s Got a Date with a Vampire fully embodies the “anything can happen” vibe of All Hallows’ Eve. Kids ride their bikes through sleepy suburban streets at nighttime, the supermarket is decked out with festive cardboard décor, the fall carnival is in full swing, and the excitement surrounding a Headless Horseman rock concert is electrifying the town.” Derek Anderson, Daily Dead

“All of the cast give likeable performances. There are some very cheap morphing effects. The result is amiable and bubbly enough not to wear out the silliness of a mildly amusing premise. This is a film that manages to straddle being a vampire film, children’s film and plant its tongue-in-cheek, all with an appealing balance.” Richard Scheib, Moria

“There are a lot of hidden jokes for fans of the genre and a great implementation of archetypes commonly found in horror films. The discovery of the threat and the willingness to believe it’s true is very tied in to character arcs in the film. Those arcs are accentuated by how good the performances are…” Bernardo Villela, The Movie Rat

Cast and characters:

• Caroline Rhea as Lynette Hansen – Sabrina the Teenage Witch
• Matthew [aka Matt] O’Leary as Adam Hansen – Santa Clarita Diet; Stung; Sorority Row; Frailty
• Robert Carradine as Malachi Van Helsing – Sharktopus vs. Pteracuda; Slumber Party Slaughter; The Terror Experiment; The 13th Alley; Tooth and Nail; Monster Night; Attack of the Sabertooth; Ghosts of Mars; Lycanthrope; Humanoids from the Deep (1996); Body Bags; et al
• Laura Vandervoort as Chelsea Hansen – Jigsaw; Bitten; V; Goosebumps
• Myles Jeffrey as Taylor Hansen
• Charles Shaughnessy as Dimitri Denatos – Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated; Gargoyles TV series; Aaahh!!! Real Monsters
• Jake Epstein as Duffy
• J. Adam Brown as Boomer

Wikipedia | IMDb