“The cast largely acquit themselves well, even when deprived of much opportunity to really develop their characters… Rockwell plays the slightly boozy, goofy father figure with great charm and likability, and Catlett makes for a believably wise, harried tyke of the Haley Joel Osment mold. DeWitt is unfortunately rather ill served by the film’s most significant divergence from the original, which robs the character of her great moment of maternal heroism. Harris, taking over for Zelda Rubinstein, has fun channeling another vintage Spielberg production, “Jaws,” as a rough, scarred, Quint-essential spook-hunter. Visually speaking, Javier Aguirresarobe’s photography is solid — and while generally unnecessary, the 3D work sometimes adds an extra layer of claustrophobia to the creeping interior shots — yet the film’s attempts to illustrate the spirit world bring to mind Nine Inch Nails videos more readily than any otherworldly chthonian purgatory. Composer Marc Streitenfeld turns in a largely effective score, though it can’t help but pale in comparison to Jerry Goldsmith’s Oscar-nominated original. ..Even when one is inclined to admire the cleverness with which the remake revisits and reincorporates “Poltergeist’s” themes, it’s hard to pinpoint a single moment where it improves on them, and the aura of inessentiality hangs thick over the proceedings. Some franchises die, but they don’t know they’re gone. And then some franchises just get lost on their way to the reboot.”
-From the Variety review by Andrew Barker
This isn’t a huge shock, but we are kind of disappointed… we really needed a good scream or two in the movie theater (It Follows literally only played here in town one weekend, at a venue that is now a huge pain in the ass to get anywhere near thanks to traffic revisions), but this doesn’t look like it will fit the bill. Despite the fact this review compares the movie to a guided tour through a county-fair-style haunted house and states it has some quality jump scares, nothing in this review–and the others we’ve read–makes us feel like seeing it in the theater rather than waiting for VOD/Blu-ray. OK, if someone sent a car and driver to pick us up, and the movie was free, we’d go. However, reviews for Poltergeist 2015 tend to start waxing sentimental about the original, and saying though the movie tries to recapture the magic and mood Tobe Hooper was able to craft perfectly in 1982, the bottom line is that this reboot was unnecessary horror remake for a beloved, fan-favorite movie that did just fine (well, much better than fine) the first time around.
This is what happens when you move the headstones but you don’t move the bodies!
Oh, and from what I’ve heard, there isn’t even really a tip of the hat to the scene in the original where a member of the first group of paranormalists studying the ghostly activity hallucinated clawing his own face off (which they could never, ever get away with putting in a PG-rated movie these days; in fact, it was borderline R-rated). I am not saying they had to duplicate it, but give us something other than the clown doll, the tree, and “They’re here/This house is clean,” for Chrissake! Check out this piece we wrote when the first trailers of the movie went online for more, including the actual gory scene (we recalled adults in the audience yelling “HOAH!” in horrified surprise even louder than the kids our age).
If you’ve seen the original and the remake, and you feel like this review was too hard on the movie, please tell us about it. We would love to be proved wrong about the face-ripping scene, too!
Read on by clicking “View original” in the lower left…
We didn’t watch this trailer when it first was released several days ago– that’s how bad the backlash we read about it was. The people who saw it were angry in general, but they also agreed it was just, well, a shitty trailer that didn’t bode well for the quality of the upcoming movie. We finally broke down to see just how bad it was, and now wonder if they saw a different version of the trailer. While we’re not jumping up and down the way we were with, say, the red band trailer of the Evil Dead 2013 reboot, it could be worse. Take a look at the first full trailer below in HD.
Let’s see. On the one hand, all the cool stuff could be in the trailer, including the jump scares. We see several iconic moments and elements from the original 1982 movie from Tobe Hooper (more on that in a second), but some that we REALLY want to see are left out, such as the guy who starts seeing things and ends up having a really bad experience in the bathroom mirror (see below) . They’d better not leave this out if they know what’s good for the remake.
We also rolled our eyes at the iPhone getting static on it. One of the good things about the Evil Dead reboot was they kept the time period kind of vague; no-one fiddled with their iPhone, no-one Googled anything, and the clothes were kind of bland. We would hope they don’t try too hard to “update” the remake for “the new generation” of “millennials”, especially since they have a reputation of being lazy, self-entitled “assholes”* and we don’t care to see things dumbed down. There’s a couple of classic lines that would have been cool to hear (‘they’re here’ not being one of them) but our personal favorites are also kind of spoilers.
Another familiar moment…
Positives: The clown doll that scared the shit out of us and all the other kids (we were both maybe 11 or 12 years old when we saw it in the theater) the first time is back.** Lots of other elements from the original are tossed out for us kids of the 80s; we probably don’t have to point them out. The cast is solid. There are a couple of scares in the trailer that are new, and creeped us out (what would YOU do if you casually opened your closet door and saw about 15 pairs of ghostly, demonic eyes staring at you from the pitch dark?). They seem to be keeping the origin story–which was a pretty great one–and going with the basic plotline. The cast is solid (Sam Rockwell, Jared Harris) and the kid actors seem okay so far. The idea that you need to clear your mind because some evil entity that could easily kill you and/or a family member already knows what scares you and doesn’t need any more ammo is some serious nightmare material.
At this point we’re not getting out hopes up, but there is a possibility that this remake could be a fun ride. We know nothing they create will give us the haunted house roller coaster thrill-ride that we had seeing it in the theater for the first (and second) time as kids. However, it still could be fun, and the first movie proved a movie doesn’t need to be rated R to make you scream like a little girl, keep you firmly on the edge of your seat, and love it deep down.
Poltergeist is set for release on July 24th, 2015. Expect to read much more about it here before then!
*By the way, if you’re in that generation, we don’t hate all millennials and know some that are really cool. We just can’t stand the ones that give the entire generation a bad name.
**I doubt the ‘other half’ of Horror Boom will admit to actually being so scared that he scooted down in his seat in fear and covered his eyes in several parts (maybe he didn’t, I didn’t know him then), but I will. Knowing when several big jumps were coming–and sensing some others–seemed to actually make it more terrifying, for some reason.
One our favorite photographers (and possibly out favorite horror photographer) Josh Hoffine worked on a really fun new project last month — and the results are, as always, amazing. Check out all the photos, including behind-the-scenes work and “prom photos”; in some of the latter you have to look a little harder than others to look for the tip-off as to what makes the prom-goer not quite human (hint: hands and feet). Now we’re off to look into his first short film, “Black Lullaby” …or maybe we’ll wait till it’s light out.
This project was a commission from Sony UK utilizing their new full-frame Sony A7 camera. I re-imagined iconic monsters Dracula, Frankenstein, and Wolfman as teenagers posing for their Prom photos.
Virtually all Americans are familiar with the classic Prom photo. We’ve all seen them, and most of us have even posed for them. I love Prom photos. Nothing captures the quintessential awkwardness of adolescence like the Prom photo. It is the final game of dress-up before entering the adult world.
Monsters are the perennial outsider. Did any of us ever feel more like monsters than we did as teenagers? Bodies changing beyond our control, sprouting hair, developing acne, braces, bad haircuts. The self-consciousness of adolescence comes with the realization that the villagers could turn on you at any moment.
There is a long-standing tradition of teenage monsters in the Horror genre…
Well, we went to the official site for Bloody Cuts and got a sinking feeling when THIS was the first video that greeted us:
So we looked and found the Bloody Cuts creators had posted this official announcement on their blog on Wednesday the 11th. We cut and pasted it; if anyone involved with Bloody Cuts isn’t comfortable with this, please drop Horror Boom a line (or even a comment; you were incredibly polite and thanked us when we did a piece on the brilliant short “Dead Man’s Lake”) and we’ll take it down and either post something else you prepared or simply a link to the blog. Anyway, here’s the announcement that gave us the blues:
Dear fans of Bloody Cuts,
Anthony, Jonny and Ben unfortunately have to announce with very heavy hearts that we will no longer be making Bloody Cuts episodes.
It’s been a tough decision, but for numerous reasons we felt that it was right for the series to end in its current format. Since the release of our eighth film “Don’t Move”, we’ve been working on other exciting projects that for one reason or another has taken us away from the Bloody Cuts series, and rather than see it die a slow death, we felt it better to end the series.
A lot of hard work has gone into getting the series it is today, but it’s the support of our viewers that has really kept it going, so we want to thank you all for following, watching, sharing and enjoying our films.
But as our YouTube channel is about to break the 1 million mark, we just wanted to remind you of some of the things Bloody Cuts has achieved:
We created one of the biggest short filmmaking competitions of its type with BCHorrorChallenge.com
We entered over 30 festivals worldwide
Well over 1.5 million views online
Released and sold out an entire order of limited edition Blu-rays
We won awards at Texas Frightmare, Bootleg and FilmSkillet film festivals
And much, much more…
Making Bloody Cuts has literally changed our lives. It’s been (and we don’t use this word lightly) AMAZING.
However this isn’t the last project we’ll work on, or indeed the last thing much of the team will work on together. So as new projects and films develop, we’ll still be using this website, our Facebook Page, Twitter account and YouTube channel to let you all know what’s going on. Many of the Bloody Cuts team members are also working on projects of their own, which we’ll want to share with you.
For the next few weeks bloodycuts.co.uk will remain live in its current state hosting all of our legacy content, although there will be a slight reshuffle in the not too distant future so do expect the site to take on a new spectral form.
So THANK YOU, to each and every person that has ever given their time to support Bloody Cuts. It is, and always has been, something born of collaboration and great talent.
Not many filmmakers could’ve achieved what our team has with such limited budgets and in such a short amount of time; this is nothing but a true testament to the hard work and generosity of all involved.
So we hope that you’ll all join us in raising a glass to Bloody Cuts, and to the future too.
As that era ends, another one begins – we look forward to our next filmmaking adventure and hope you’ll be able to join that with us too.
Kindest regards,
Ben, Anthony and Jonny (and the rest of the Bloody Cuts team)
Anthony, Jonny and Ben unfortunately have to announce with very heavy hearts that we will no longer be making Bloody Cuts episodes.
It’s been a tough decision, but for numerous reasons we felt that it was right for the series to end in its current format. Since the release of our eighth film “Don’t Move”, we’ve been working on other exciting projects that for one reason or another has taken us away from the Bloody Cuts series, and rather than see it die a slow death, we felt it better to end the series.
A lot of hard work has gone into getting the series it is today, but it’s the support of our viewers that has really kept it going, so we want to thank you all for following, watching, sharing and enjoying our films.
But as our YouTube channel is about to break the 1 million mark, we just wanted to remind you of some of the things Bloody Cuts has achieved:
We created one of the biggest short filmmaking competitions of its type with BCHorrorChallenge.com
We entered over 30 festivals worldwide
Well over 1.5 million views online
Released and sold out an entire order of limited edition Blu-rays
We won awards at Texas Frightmare, Bootleg and FilmSkillet film festivals
And much, much more…
Making Bloody Cuts has literally changed our lives. It’s been (and we don’t use this word lightly) AMAZING.
However this isn’t the last project we’ll work on, or indeed the last thing much of the team will work on together. So as new projects and films develop, we’ll still be using this website, our Facebook Page, Twitter account and YouTube channel to let you all know what’s going on. Many of the Bloody Cuts team members are also working on projects of their own, which we’ll want to share with you.
For the next few weeks bloodycuts.co.uk will remain live in its current state hosting all of our legacy content, although there will be a slight reshuffle in the not too distant future so do expect the site to take on a new spectral form.
So THANK YOU, to each and every person that has ever given their time to support Bloody Cuts. It is, and always has been, something born of collaboration and great talent.
Not many filmmakers could’ve achieved what our team has with such limited budgets and in such a short amount of time; this is nothing but a true testament to the hard work and generosity of all involved.
So we hope that you’ll all join us in raising a glass to Bloody Cuts, and to the future too.
As that era ends, another one begins – we look forward to our next filmmaking adventure and hope you’ll be able to join that with us too.
Kindest regards,
Ben, Anthony and Jonny (and the rest of the Bloody Cuts team)
Anthony, Jonny and Ben unfortunately have to announce with very heavy hearts that we will no longer be making Bloody Cuts episodes.
It’s been a tough decision, but for numerous reasons we felt that it was right for the series to end in its current format. Since the release of our eighth film “Don’t Move”, we’ve been working on other exciting projects that for one reason or another has taken us away from the Bloody Cuts series, and rather than see it die a slow death, we felt it better to end the series.
A lot of hard work has gone into getting the series it is today, but it’s the support of our viewers that has really kept it going, so we want to thank you all for following, watching, sharing and enjoying our films.
But as our YouTube channel is about to break the 1 million mark, we just wanted to remind you of some of the things Bloody Cuts has achieved:
We created one of the biggest short filmmaking competitions of its type with BCHorrorChallenge.com
We entered over 30 festivals worldwide
Well over 1.5 million views online
Released and sold out an entire order of limited edition Blu-rays
We won awards at Texas Frightmare, Bootleg and FilmSkillet film festivals
And much, much more…
Making Bloody Cuts has literally changed our lives. It’s been (and we don’t use this word lightly) AMAZING.
However this isn’t the last project we’ll work on, or indeed the last thing much of the team will work on together. So as new projects and films develop, we’ll still be using this website, our Facebook Page, Twitter account and YouTube channel to let you all know what’s going on. Many of the Bloody Cuts team members are also working on projects of their own, which we’ll want to share with you.
For the next few weeks bloodycuts.co.uk will remain live in its current state hosting all of our legacy content, although there will be a slight reshuffle in the not too distant future so do expect the site to take on a new spectral form.
So THANK YOU, to each and every person that has ever given their time to support Bloody Cuts. It is, and always has been, something born of collaboration and great talent.
Not many filmmakers could’ve achieved what our team has with such limited budgets and in such a short amount of time; this is nothing but a true testament to the hard work and generosity of all involved.
So we hope that you’ll all join us in raising a glass to Bloody Cuts, and to the future too.
As that era ends, another one begins – we look forward to our next filmmaking adventure and hope you’ll be able to join that with us too.
Kindest regards,
Ben, Anthony and Jonny (and the rest of the Bloody Cuts team)
Anthony, Jonny and Ben unfortunately have to announce with very heavy hearts that we will no longer be making Bloody Cuts episodes.
It’s been a tough decision, but for numerous reasons we felt that it was right for the series to end in its current format. Since the release of our eighth film “Don’t Move”, we’ve been working on other exciting projects that for one reason or another has taken us away from the Bloody Cuts series, and rather than see it die a slow death, we felt it better to end the series.
A lot of hard work has gone into getting the series it is today, but it’s the support of our viewers that has really kept it going, so we want to thank you all for following, watching, sharing and enjoying our films.
But as our YouTube channel is about to break the 1 million mark, we just wanted to remind you of some of the things Bloody Cuts has achieved:
We created one of the biggest short filmmaking competitions of its type with BCHorrorChallenge.com
We entered over 30 festivals worldwide
Well over 1.5 million views online
Released and sold out an entire order of limited edition Blu-rays
We won awards at Texas Frightmare, Bootleg and FilmSkillet film festivals
And much, much more…
Making Bloody Cuts has literally changed our lives. It’s been (and we don’t use this word lightly) AMAZING.
However this isn’t the last project we’ll work on, or indeed the last thing much of the team will work on together. So as new projects and films develop, we’ll still be using this website, our Facebook Page, Twitter account and YouTube channel to let you all know what’s going on. Many of the Bloody Cuts team members are also working on projects of their own, which we’ll want to share with you.
For the next few weeks bloodycuts.co.uk will remain live in its current state hosting all of our legacy content, although there will be a slight reshuffle in the not too distant future so do expect the site to take on a new spectral form.
So THANK YOU, to each and every person that has ever given their time to support Bloody Cuts. It is, and always has been, something born of collaboration and great talent.
Not many filmmakers could’ve achieved what our team has with such limited budgets and in such a short amount of time; this is nothing but a true testament to the hard work and generosity of all involved.
So we hope that you’ll all join us in raising a glass to Bloody Cuts, and to the future too.
As that era ends, another one begins – we look forward to our next filmmaking adventure and hope you’ll be able to join that with us too.
Kindest regards,
Ben, Anthony and Jonny (and the rest of the Bloody Cuts team)
The reason we were over on that page on the first place was to put the breathtaking short “Don’t Move” up as the Scariest Short Horror Film of the Week (actually, maybe the month), which we’ll still be doing. If you’re wondering what else Bloody Cuts UK-related we’ve posted since we began…
More news as it comes in, since the creators of Bloody Cuts are assuring everyone they have some amazing things in the works (and we believe them). Keep your eyeballs peeled here as we’ll be posting several more of their shorts (including ones related to the contest).
We’re especially going to miss the elaborately-crafted posters for each of their horror shorts, including this one for “Don’t Move”.
*Please note that our week was already ruined when we rolled out of bed Monday to be greeted first thing with the tragic news that Rik Mayall had suddenly passed, lest it sound like we’re trying to make anyone involved feel guilty; we were in a shitty mood before we read about Bloody Cuts ending. Plus, the DVD/Blu-ray of all the films did come out.
Apart from a few exceptions (which are vivid enough memories and such unique experiences they deserve their own post) the last I remember of going to local haunted houses, usually sponsored by a local rock radio station, you would get shuffled through a maze and some people with creepy make-up/costumes would come springing around a corner, go RAAAAWWR! or scream at you and sometimes grab you. This is actually scary if they put some care and showmanship into it, which they did much of the time.
But this, this horrifying shit, takes it to a whole new level. I realize that this is Universal Studios Hollywood Halloween Horror Nights (this was taped in 2012, if they still have the attraction when we can afford an actual vacation in a couple of years, we are going, paying extra for some VIP pass if we can) and they have unlimited money and talent. Well okay, not unlimited, but the budget allows for a lot more. Not just actors, but animatronics. BIG ones.
But let’s get to the back-story of La Llorona (which translates as ‘The Weeping Woman’). I love that they based it on not just a folktale/legend, but a Latino one, and a simple one at that. No elaborate, intricate back-story, just the right amount of the basics to let your imaginations fill in the blanks. This attraction would be scary as hell without the legend, now that I think of it, but they fill you in on the basic version while you’re waiting in line or entering the maze.
Oh yeah, THAT should be a safe area of the attraction to mosey on through.
Here’s their version, and here’s a link to the Wikipedia page to read more. I am sincerely glad I did not hear the legend of La Llarona when I was a little girl, and already had my nightmares full of stories about licked hands, dead boyfriends with signs around their necks saying YOU SHOULD HAVE OPENED THE DOOR, and hooks dangling from car doors, among many others. I didn’t need this on top of the huge terrifying library of urban legends (mostly told to me by friends at slumber parties) that were stored neatly away in my head, where they stay to this day
“Immerse yourself in the horrific tale that has tainted the dreams of children for centuries, with new twists and turns, spawning countless excruciating nightmares.
Succumb to the bloodcurdling screams of Maria, a mother tortured by the guilt of drowning her children, forced to suffer for an eternity as she wanders the Earth hunting for the souls of her children. Beware, for those who hear her weeping are marked for death!
If you think you know how it ends, you’re dead wrong!”
Well, they got THAT shit right.
I watched several taped versions and this one was the best quality (for night vision). I hope to GOD there’s an age restriction on this. Fortunately I didn’t see anyone that looked under 18 going through the ‘maze’. Universal Studios calls it a maze –I know they have to classify all the attractions– but it looks more like a very frightening walk-through of a series of increasingly disturbing locations, including a fly blown butcher’s shop and a bridge over a body of water with the drowned corpses of children floating in it face down, and that blood-curdling bedroom with the first giant La Llorona creature – look at how long those horrible spindly arms and fingers/claws are, almost big enough to pick up the bed.
Check out the detail in the set dressing, like the very small children’s dresses hung on the wall.
If you’re curious, there’s a version in Universal Studios Florida where they took a different approach and used only (I think) live talent. You can see it below (it’s also terrifying), and there are some pretty frightening images, especially when they use the strobe light effect. The sound effects are especially haunting.
However, sorry, those giant animatronic creatures (bigger than you are, in some cases), are just complete show-stoppers for me… not that it’s a contest, they’re both effective.
There’s also behind the scenes daylight walk-throughs with the head of the production team for this attraction on You tube (Sharp Productions has a really great YT channel), and those things STILL look scary as hell. I didn’t watch more than a couple of minutes because I didn’t want to spoil the illusion. The sun is currently up, though; after it gets dark tonight, I may change my mind.
Here’s the short version of the Wikipedia entry of the legend. The page linked to also mentions that “Parents often use this story to prevent their children from wandering out at night.” Hell, they probably don’t want to wander out from under the bedcovers after their parents tell them this is a true story:
Although several variations exist, the basic story tells of a beautiful woman by the name of Maria who drowns her children in order to be with the man that she loved. The man would not have her, which devastated her. She would not take no for an answer, so she drowned herself in a river in Mexico City. Challenged at the gates of Heaven as to the whereabouts of her children, she is not permitted to enter the afterlife until she has found them. Maria is forced to wander the Earth for all eternity, searching in vain for her drowned offspring, with her constant weeping giving her the name “La Llorona.” She is trapped in between the living world and the spirit world. Often it is said that if you lock the doors to a room with a mirror, light red candles and say her name a couple of times in front of the mirror, you may see her. [Ed: that’s okay, we’ll take your word for it]
In some versions of this tale and legend, La Llorona will kidnap wandering children who resemble her missing children, or children who disobey their parents. People who claim to have seen her say she appears at night or in the late evenings from rivers or lakes in Mexico. Some believe that those who hear the wails of La Llorona are marked for death… She is said to cry, “ay mis hijos!” “oh my children!”
Note: I’m not getting any free copies, perks, nor am I selling copies of this incredibly cool item. At times this piece might sound like I’m getting a cut of every sale, but that’s not the case. I’m just REALLY REALLY enthusiastic about it and I know horror fans in my age demographic (and up) will want to know about it.
Well, hell, even if you were born after the 80s, and just love all things horror, I’m pretty sure you’ll want to know about it. I’ve found plenty of “millennial” age horror fans who I figured had no interest in anything before the Scream trilogy (and only saw the remakes of horror classics), but who turned about to be just as devoted, knowledgable (for example, knowing who Lucio Fulci was), and (almost) as rabid as I am (“THEY’D BETTER NOT FUCKING EVEN THINK OF DOING A REMAKE OF RE-ANIMATOR!” another horror geek –probably technically young enough to be my kid– who I ran into at a horror convention said loudly and simultaneously with me within five minutes of starting up a conversation)* Real horror fans of any age, and you know who you are (especially if you’re reading this) and proud of it, will probably look into this.
Here’s the official description that Tales From Beyond the Pale gives to promote themselves, their work, and this product, and it’s fairly comprehensive:
Conceived during a fog-drenched car ride with nothing beyond the windshield but a horizon-less void, Larry Fessenden and Glenn McQuaid created the acclaimed Tales from Beyond the Pale, audio theater inspired by the vintage radio shows of Alfred Hitchcock and Orson Welles. Having previously released 10 studio-recorded Tales for Season One, Fessenden and McQuaid decided to up the ante and stage a second season of Tales before a live audience at the performance venue Dixon Place in downtown New York City. Tales Season Two delves even further beyond the pale with eight explosive tales to tickle your fancy and curdle your blood.
The fierce independent production house GLASS EYE PIX is pleased to present this box set of 4 CDs, a DVD and twelve-page booklet. Tales Season Two offers 8 new spooky audio dramas recorded LIVE before an audience: “Ram King” by Joe Maggio, “Like Father, Like Son” by Clay McLeod Chapman, “Stranger” by Jeff Buhler, “Dead Man’s Shoes” by Ashley Thorpe, “Sarah Minds the Dog” by Kim Newman, “The Crush” by Glenn McQuaid, “Dead Air” by Simon Barrett, and “Caper” by Larry Fessenden. The Tales are chillingly brought to life by the regular stable of performers and special guests Sean Young, Vincent D’Onofrio, Mark Margolis, [ed. note: AKA Hector “Uncle Ring-a-ding” from Breaking Bad] James Le Gros, Michael Cerveris, Kate Lyn Sheil, Jonny Orsini and others, and narrated by your host, horror maverick Larry Fessenden.
The box set includes a very special bonus DVD with a half-hour documentary film entitled Behind The Curtain, which chronicles the history of the project and the staging of the live shows. Also included on the DVD are various video clips generated for the series, collected for the first time in Dispatches From Season 1. The beautiful box set is designed by celebrated graphic artist Gary Pullin.
The series is produced by filmmakers Larry Fessenden & Glenn McQuaid; Associate producers Lisa Wisely, Jenn Wexler.
Plot (from the official website): “A struggling novelist with writer’s block takes on some translation work for a housebound elderly aristocrat who wants ‘to put his affairs in order’ before his death. The events that unfold will require every ounce of the novelist’s creativity he’s got to keep them both alive!”
Normally at this point, we would embed the trailer, but it’s an EW.com exclusive. They did let us post it in separately, though, so take a look at the post below for it (or click here).
The TFBTP S2 boxed set is only on Amazon via third-party sellers, and the least expensive copy is marked up to $30.00. If you want it right from the source, you can buy it on the TFBTP site’s official store for $25.00, which you can find right here. Oh, and the tales themselves are R-rated, another big plus. These are definitely not safe for work (unless you’re wearing ear buds, I guess) or for children!
Speaking of the official website, it’s just packed with goodies. Each “tale” not only has a description of the episode (just enough to rev you up, but not enough to spoil anything), there are Director-Writer notes for each episode. On some of then, they reveal that the story, even though there wasn’t a visual, was storyboarded (I didn’t see the actual storyboards on the site, but they could be there somewhere or included as extras for when you purchase the physical sets). That’s pretty painstaking, but it gives you an idea of just how much of a labor of love the episodes are. They also have really cool art for each tale; see the cool examples below to whet your appetite (note: I do not own these, the copyright does NOT belong to me, and I’m posting them for entertainment. If anyone at TFBTP has a problem with me using them, fine, just contact me and I’ll take them down).
I also added the story description for each one. When my review goes up, I’ll be sure to point out a few good ones to start with (especially if you can only afford to download a couple of them before committing to buying the set).
Well-mannered, well-brought-up young “Englishwoman, Sarah gets herself into a bit of a pickle when left in charge of the much-loved Rottweiler of a Russian mob boss.”
“Loretta (Sean Young) will stop at nothing to own her very own vineyard, but when the wine finally flows, it comes at a price.”
“A scientist loses his five-year old son in a car accident after losing control of the wheel. Wracked with grief, he refuses to let his boy go-choosing to bury himself in his work instead: Reanimating human tissue. On the brink of a major breakthrough, he’s determined to have a family reunion, no matter how many body parts it takes.”
“Four burglars are trapped in a phantasmagoric nightmare when they discover the abandoned mansion they break into is shapeshifting.” (Looks like Mark Margolis pops up in this one)
Season One doesn’t look too shabby either, and I’ve got some serious catching-up to do. For instance, an episode titled, “The Grandfather,” features Angus Scrimm in the title role.
If you go to the official website referenced above (hell, I’ll just give you the link again) you can hear excerpts from some of the stories. Co-creator and producer Fessenden also introduces/hosts the tales, and not only does the book-ends but steps in during a break mid-story (each of the Tales run approximately 30 minutes) with a E.C. horror-esque comment along the lines of “Well! [character name] seems to be in way over his head! But things certainly couldn’t get any worse, could they?” The breaks add to the ambiance instead of taking you out of the story.
If you don’t want to commit to the full boxed set without a taste, you can buy episodes on the iTunes store for $2.95 a pair (Season One) and individually (Season Two) for $1.95. Here’s a few more reviews to check out:
We have no idea how we missed this, but here it is now. The earliest thing I remember seeing Dick Miller in –in the movie theater, that is– is The Howling in 1981 as the occult book store owner (hence the featured photo above). EW.com has the trailer for the movie …and an exclusive clip! Click ‘View Original’ to check it out on EW.com. The trailer for “That Guy Dick Miller” is here too, plus the poster. We’re so glad he’s still around… and that this documentary is here, too!
OK, I’m not saying this doesn’t look ridiculous, but it also doesn’t look half-bad. I’d rather watch prosthetic creature effects over half-ass CGI anyway. Plus, Bill Burr is in it, and he usually doesn’t sign on to act in shitty movies (or TV series – case in point, Breaking Bad) and he’s also funny as hell. Check out the photos (at least one is really gory; I almost used it as the ‘featured image’ but chickened out at the last second) and the trailer. Director Jordan Rubin also digs 80s horror and says in the EW.com article that “I would say it’s a horror movie in the traditional, ‘80s-sense… it’s played completely straight in the face of the ludicrous conceit, which is obviously complete insanity.” So far, so good. (Click on “View Original” to check out all the gory pics and the fun trailer)
In a departure from the usual wargaming stuff, we go to the realms of movieland and the undead, Ladies and Gentlemen, prepare for Tom Savini‘s Death Island!!
Ok, so if you don’t know who Tom Savini is, you might as well be a zombie! Serious fans of the horror genre will instantly recognise the legendary man behind this brilliant new Indiegogo campaign to raise $1 million to fund a new zombie film, Death Island.
Tom is a SFX pioneer, accomplished actor (Knightriders, Dawn of the dead (original & remake), From Dusk till Dawn) , director and producer, and this new movie will mark his return as director since he did the remake of Romero’s original Night of the Living dead. With the help of us lot, we could make this a reality and even get a speaking role in the upcoming film (Yeah, I…
We’re huge fans of Bride of Chucky, in fact, we liked the movie in the series so much we ended up buying it. Seed of Chucky, not so much; it got way, way too meta (much as we love Jennifer Tilly) and the only reason to sit though it is to see one of our biggest heroes, John Waters, clearly having a blast playing a sleazy paparazzi and then getting a really gruesome, horrible death – that and to see the Britney Spears-look-alike die in a flaming car crash. The franchise also appeared to have been driven over the cliff and blown up.
But in the brand-new trailer for Curse of Chucky, it looks they’re going to go back to the early Chucky movies. Catch the 80s vibe in the below trailer for Curse of Chucky – because it’s sure as hell there!
Official synopsis: He’s back! From the filmmakers that brought you Chucky comes the terrifying return of the pint-sized doll possessed by the spirit of a notorious serial killer. When a mysterious package arrives at the house of Nica (Fiona Dourif, True Blood), she doesn’t give it much thought. However, after her mother’s mysterious death, Nica begins to suspect that the talking, red-haired doll her visiting niece has been playing with may be the key to the ensuing bloodshed and chaos. The return of America’s favorite toy, voiced again by Brad Dourif, is unrated and full of more blood-splattered thrills and chills.
Unrated, ay? Unless it somehow manages to be as bad as Seed of Chucky, we’ll be watching it the day it comes out. Too bad we have to wait four months!
The newest installment of the chilling Child’s Play franchise, comes exclusively to Blu-Ray™ and DVD on October 8, 2013, from Universal 1440 Entertainment, a production entity of Universal Studios Home Entertainment.
Take a wild guess as to what happens next.
If you want to see Chucky kill Britney that look-alike, here the scene. When they showed the trailer in the theater, I was the only one who cheered for John Waters (saying, “Oh, God Bless the little people!”) However, nearly everyone in the theater roared laughter –and there was even some applause– when her car got run off the road and blown up.
HORROR BOOM 