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This Just In! American Horror Story Coven Cast: Angela Bassett and Patti LuPone Join Season 3 – TVLine

Well, I guess that’s the major news, but if you want more, click on the big red link below and get the whole story from Michael Ausellio at TVLine:

American Horror Story: Coven Cast: Angela Bassett and Patti LuPone Join Season 3 – TVLine

 

 

 

AAAARGH, just did the math and realized they’re only in pre-production! How are we supposed to wait until October, dammit?

 

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Ten F*cked-Up Things That Happen On Hemlock Grove (Semi-Spoiler-y)

So, we’ve watched all the Hemlock Groves episodes; in fact we were done by Saturday.*  It wasn’t memorable enough to want to write about immediately, so we’ve been making a list of ten “pros and cons” about the Netflix series (and it’ll show up) to help you decide if it’s worth watching if you’re on the fence.

These aren’t necessarily dirty due to sexual content (like the  10F-UTTH on Spartacus or the Sons of Anarchy list), but it is sort of… well… fucked-up. I left a few very nasty things out for spoiler-ish reasons and hey, if you do decide to watch it, you’ve got some twists and shockers to look forward to.

So here they are in no particular order and remember: hey, don’t look at us, we’re just documenting this!

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1. A character has their neck broken, and most of the upper body, including their entire chest area is skinless (we don’t see any farther down than that). They were flayed alive. We’re not sure if the neck-breaking (indicating they can’t feel anything from the neck down, meaning feeling no pain) happened before, after, or during the flaying. We do hear some SERIOUS agonized screaming coming from off camera when the attack starts, however.

2. Someone is buried alive (accidentally… at least that’s how it’s presented in the reveal).**

(Note: The following combo is in the transformation clip a ton of viewers have watched, and was shown at WonderCon, AND used heavily for PR by the show, so I’m not considering it a huge spoiler).

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How the hell does he transform back afterwards?

Two parter here: 3. During a grisly, painful-looking transformation into a wolf, a young man’s human eyes are pushed out from inside his skull and land on the (dirty) ground; his human teeth soon join the eyeballs.

4.-after the transformation is complete, the rags and scraps of discarded flesh left over of the young man (since he was torn apart from the inside out by the wolf literally tearing/pushing out of various areas of the body) lay steaming on the ground; the wolf  happily eats them up.

5. Early on in the series, a teenage girl (named “Brooke Bluebell”) who was viciously attacked by a wolf is discovered ripped in half. Only her nude top half is found, and she’s a shredded-up mess from midpoint-down, then everything else is missing.

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6. The girl who finds her body kisses her corpse on the mouth (she says she figured the whole thing was a prank and the bullies who are trying to scare her were hiding and watching. You’ll have to watch to find out more on that).

7. A body (just the upper half) is exhumed to further investigate cause of death (other than being separated from the lower half). This gets really really, ugly and messy –trust me, at least one person ends up vomiting all over.  KNB EFX is involved (doing the gore, not in the actual scene).

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Oh sure, it starts OUT innocently enough…

8. A gypsy girl (during a ritual) eats a rotting piece of flesh, then minutes later pukes her guts out (the flesh she ate, not her own actual guts, though that wouldn’t have surprised me by then). The camera shows that the vomit on the floor contains a live maggot.

9. During another tasteful gypsy ritual scene, a dead body is hung upside down from a tree by one leg, then decapitated (I’d have to watch the episode a second time to ascertain what exactly motivated this ritual, and if it actually achieved its purpose).

10. A young girl is revealed to have a sort of thick vestigial tail. Things get nasty when she decides on impulse to do some self-surgery to remove it.

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*Partially binge-watch, partially ‘try to get my mind off the fact that Spartacus had its series finale and there’s no new episode this Friday, and there won’t be any again’

**if you have watched Hemlock Grove (the entire series) and missed this moment, go to the Horror Boom Spoiler-A-Rama page and I’ll point out A. when it is and B. who–it’s not in-your-face ASAP or anything, almost missed it myself.

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Don’t miss the KICK-ASS Hemlock Grove Featurette: Dissecting the Werewolf Transformation (Shock Till You Drop Exclusive)

Apologies; this was supposed to up on Saturday and we’re still trying to figure out why it didn’t publish, but hey! It’s here now! Click on the big red link below to see just how they did some of the awesome effects. It includes interviews with Eli Roth, Lily Taylor, and the werewolf himself, the easy-on-the-eyes (when he’s not transforming):

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Landon Liboiron as Peter Rumancek …plus lots more. Click on the big red link below to take a gander…

Exclusive Hemlock Grove Featurette: Dissecting the Werewolf Transformation | Shock Till You Drop.

 

Not sure this is the best werewolf transformation in horror as they claim that they aimed for, we’re still partial to The Howling. Guess you never do forget your first (especially if you saw it in a theater when you were probably, in retrospect, too young).  The Hemlock Grove transformation isn’t too shabby, however –especially if you’re sick of seeing the 2-second long (tops) morphs on True Blood.

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Guillermo del Toro brings 'Monster' to HBO

Reblogged from Inside TV:

Click to visit the original post

Guillermo del Toro has closed a deal to adapt the Manga series titled "Monster" for HBO.

Written and illustrated by Naoki Urasawa for Shogakukan Inc., the award-winning "Monster" series begins with a brilliant young doctor whose choice to save a dying 12-year-old boy unwittingly unleashes a pandora's box that leaves him battling to stop a plot of mass genocide.

The young adult series first began in 1995 in Japan but it took another decade or so before it was translated for distribution in the U.S.

Read more… 37 more words

Well well well!  This should be an interesting mix. Looks like HBO is probably getting something in line in case True Blood ends up not being renewed for a 2014 season (shudder). Hopefully not; and we're excited to see what del Toro's vision will bring. Let's just hope he doesn't hold back! If you'd like more info, the Deadline.com piece that broke the story can be found by clicking here. Enjoy! Guillermo del Toro
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Peep This Review Of Hemlock Grove, Now Available From Netflix – NYTimes.com

So, until we get our review together, check out this review–from the NY Times, no less– of the first three episodes of the series (which incidentally ends with the “You got to be fucking kidding me” line after the first big werewolf transformation, which you can peep here on Horror Boom). Click on the big red link below to check it out–more to come!

‘Hemlock Grove,’ Online From Netflix – NYTimes.com.

 

Nicotero/Berger and KNB - still the best practical effects in horror flicks.

Nicotero/Berger and KNB – still the best practical effects in horror flicks.

We’ve seen all the episodes. Is it worth your time? We have an article coming up with pros and cons. Until then, though there’s this: we found out (only through the end credits of Hemlock Grove, not the IMDB) that KNB/Nicotero-Berger FX did the prosthetics and practical make-up effects for the transformations, and we DEFINITELY spotted their work throughout several other key episodes. Big, big selling point!

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'Dexter' scoop: Showtime officially confirms final season

Reblogged from Inside TV:

It's finally officially official: Dexter season 8 will be the serial killer thriller's last season. For real. For sure. For certain 100 percent.

Showtime has confirmed the leakiest secret in the TV industry Thursday by announcing this summer's outing will be Dexter Morgan's final trip to his kill table. The decision was widely speculated and hinted for months. Even Showtime's parent company CEO Les Moonves…

Read more… 257 more words

  Good clip -  be sure to check it out. Sigh. This is what you did to your beautiful, strong, smart, and loyal sister, Dex. Nice going. Could Deb be developing a drug problem? Not talking about her Xanax prescription, either; with Xanax and a beer, she'd be much less nervous and pissed off at Dexter. She's twitchy, scratching and mumbling... at this point we hope she ends up killing the shit out of him. But that's just us. Dexter (TV series)  
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Read Entire Graphic Novel Prequel to Horror Series Hemlock Grove by Brian McGreevy Online For Free! (Tor.com)

That’s right–it’s 37 pages, black and white, NSFW, titled as in the image above …and is another reason to get interested in the TV series. Click on the big red link below to read the entire prequel online – well worth your time! Can’t beat the price, either.

 

Read Exclusive Graphic Novel Prequel to New Horror Series Hemlock Grove by Brian McGreevy / Tor.com

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The entire 13-episode series will show up all at once on Netflix Friday, April 19th!

 

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Eli Roth On Hemlock Grove’s Werewolf Transformation, Italian Horror Connection, and Mainstream Gore (Shock Till You Drop)

 I thought about the average viewers that have watched Twilight and seen the transformation of a shirtless guy walking by a tree and transforms.  Our idea of a transformation is Rick Baker and Rob Bottin.  So, we’ve got to do something modern that’s in the classic tradition.  It has to be a violent birth, I want it to eat its placenta after and Deran was into it.  It should shake off all of the blood and goo.  And that’s how we approached all of the kill scenes.

-Eli Roth, on his vision for Hemlock Grove‘s werewolf transformations

Ryan Turek does a great interview (as usual) here with Eli Roth, as quoted above. We fucking agree!*   Yeah, that’s exactly what werewolf transformation scenes should look like. Click on the big red link below to read the Shock Till You Drop WonderCon interview with Roth, and get a little info on the Green Inferno cannibal flick!

WonderCon Interview: Eli Roth On Hemlock Grove’s Werewolf Transformation, Italian Horror Connection & Mainstream Gore / Shock Till You Drop.

Make up artist Rick Baker (middle) at the 2011...

Make up artist Rick Baker (middle) at the 2011 Saturn Awards (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

*OK, so personally, Mrs. HB isn’t going to complain about Joe Manganiello on “True Blood stripping off his clothing until he’s just wearing a ‘modesty sock’, then quickly morphing into an actual wolf, but that’s because GOOD LORD what a fine, fine hunk of a man. OK, uh, anyway, that’s an exception for personal reasons…

 

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‘Spartacus’ star Liam McIntyre talks about the tragic series finale (Inside TV – EW.com)

DEFINITELY recommended if you’re still getting over that finale (and it contained horror, that’s for sure). SPOILER ALERT (obviously), if you click the big red link below:

‘Spartacus’ star Liam McIntyre talks about the tragic series finale /Inside TV – EW.com.

 

Spartacus

Spartacus (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

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Showrunner Steven S. DeKnight breaks down who survived and who died in the 'Spartacus' series finale and why

Reblogged from Inside TV:

[SPOILER ALERT: Read on only if you have already watched Friday’s series finale of Spartacus: War of the Damned.]

Would he live or die? That was the question heading into the series finale of Spartacus tonight. While history tells us the titular hero and his rebel forces were defeated by the might of Rome, some historians have claimed Spartacus’ body was never actually found, lending a glimmer of hope that the gladiator slave turned rebellion leader (originally played by the late Andy Whitfield and then by Liam McIntyre) might actually make it out of the series alive.

Read more… 1,701 more words

We're just now picking our jaws up off the floor...  Gratitude, Steven DeKnight and Rob Tapert, for a series I'll never forget.*     Just another day at the office for the House of Batiatus... *even if I'm still SUPER-pissed at DeKnight for teasing a Gannicus/Caesar spinoff. Grrrrr.