Must See: Popcornhorror.com’s Voting Deadline For Your Favorite “Blood Games” Horror Short is April 30th!

29 April 2013

We discovered this site today (of course, at the last minute, but it’s still not too late).

We’ll try to (for now) give you the Cliff Notes version, with more to come. You can also just read the “About Us” section on PopcornHorror.com, but if you’re in a hurry:

Most of the staff either grew up in the 80s like us, or are younger but very well-informed and huge 80s horror fans. You just need to look at their’ favorites’ list under bios.

Popcornhorror.com is based out of Scotland, started in 2011, and is a website and an app (we do still recommend, when you’re watching the short films, that you watch them on a laptop rather than a tiny screen the size of an index card, though).
Popcornhorror was made –does this sound familiar?– BY horror fans, FOR horror fans. And we know us horror fans always have the coolest shit, right?
They want to help out and encourage all short horror filmmakers, or aspiring ones, to send in their work and get it out there (but they don’t own the rights if they decide to post your submitted film). There’s more of that on the FAQ Page.
What’s not to love about all the above?

Anyway, since the clock is ticking, we highly encourage you to click here ASAP to check out six quality horror shorts that are the finalists for a contest they ran called “Blood Games.” The theme was basically, well, like it sounds. For the six finalists the tagline could either be It Started Off As A Game… or It Was Just Supposed To Be a Fun Game… or Some Games Should Never Be Played. I believe the longest was ten minutes, another was a little over four, another two minutes.

From the nail-biting horror short finalist “Click”

We didn’t feel at all like we were wasting out time after watching any of them. One of the finalists is well-made but didn’t stand out, another contender reminded me of a different, better short I saw on BloodyCuts.uk last year that blew me out of the water, another only has one word of dialogue yet definitely gets the message across, but all six of the finalists are better than most horror shorts you’ll watch. One has a twist ending that I’ll bet… hell, I’ll bet our Park Chan-Wook Vengeance Trilogy Boxed Set on that you will NEVER see coming. I pride myself (and get on my own nerves) by almost never being surprised by a twist, it’s pretty rare when I see something I absolutely couldn’t even begin to second-guess. No, I’m not going to tell you which ones are which, go in clean–and not trying to figure out the twist–and find out yourself. It’s much more fun that way!

If you’re short on time and can watch only two, I’d recommend “Click” (for successfully using a simple, very chilling element to scare the hell out of you, while staying understated; I don’t think there’s one drop of blood spilled) and the recently released “Don’t Move” from our horror pals across the pond at Bloody Cuts. Now THAT one is full of gore and sleep-with-the-lights-on scary. Though the budget was very low, you would never, ever guess it from watching. Crank the sound– not so much for the jumps but the amazing stunning, crisp, and terrifying audio. You won’t see (nor have you seen) anything like it. “Don’t Move” is also currently the top vote-getter.

From the show-stopping NSFW horror short “Don’t Move” (Bloodycuts.uk)

Those are the two that stick in my mind–the chills and suspense in the simple (but very clever) terror of “Click” (that title is in no way internet-related), and the in-your-face horror show that is “Don’t Move,” with the kind of quality you’d expect from Bloody Cuts at the top of their game. Voting closes April 30th (I assume at midnight) so get in those votes for your favorite and most deserving of the prize package now!

Do You Have a Killer Horror Script? Enter it in the 2013 Scream Craft Horror Script Contest (dreadcentral.com)
For Love of Horror (whicheverway.wordpress.com)
Shorts and Short Script Contest (horrorhorde.com)
Enter To Win An Image Horror DVD Prize Pack From ShockYa! (shockya.com)

Name That (Horror) Frame – Week of 9/23/12 – Masters of Horror Edition!

24 September 2012

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The Masters of Horror series doesn’t get near the amount of recognition it deserves. And yes, the best episodes truly are the stuff of nightmares.

Now would be an appropriate time for me to repeat I do NOT own the copyrights for any of the images here, nor own them in any way–I put them here for entertainment purposes only!

Well, if you’re anywhere near as big a fan of the Mick Garris-produced Showtime series Masters of Horror, you’ll be in luck this week. Those shows (OK, most of them, they got pretty hit-or-miss in the final season) were very, very memorable. Just the opening credits (the frames above, and directly below) were a disturbing work of art. Actually, I’m not sure why I’m using the past tense …they still creep me out.

Yep, that’s someone burying an axe is someone else’s head.

So, if you can name these episodes, there’s a pretty good chance you’ll win a DVD. I’m working on a list of the top ten episodes of Masters of Horror, but I’m having serious trouble narrowing it down. Hell, I own more than ten of them. I might just have to spotlight the best ones and forget lists. By the way, I definitely count the unaired Takashi Miike-directed “Imprint” as an official episode. So much sick shit went down on the series that I still wonder if it was a publicity stunt Showtime pulled, or something.. I’ll have to look into that. There’s a torture scene in that episode that makes the notorious one towards the end of Miike’s Audition look tame. I still have to cover my eyes with my fingers for most of the “Imprint” scene, it’s that hard to watch.

But I digress. The photos below are all from different episodes… feel free to comment if you just want to know which episodes they are! The Masters of Horror series doesn’t get near the amount of recognition it deserves. And yes, the best episodes truly are the stuff of nightmares.

I believe the above frame took place during the opening credits of the episode…

And below, what the last thing you’d want to see written on a wall when you woke up at the bottom of a pit?

and finally, thanks to the genius of Greg Nicotero’s make-up and FX work… what a shot.

That’s it (for this game) until next week. Don’t forget, American Horror Story Season One comes out on DVD and Blu- ray Tuesday. Expect at least one piece on it this week!

Imprint (Masters of Horror) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Name that (Horror) Frame-week of 9/16/12 – Special Jaw-Ripping Edition! (horrorboom.com)
Name That (Horror) Frame Contest – Week of 9/9/12 – Special Face-Melting Edition! (horrorboom.com)
FEAR & LOATHING: H.P Lovecraft’s Dreams in the Witch House (Masters of Horror S01E02) (oldgamereviewer.com)
Flashback Weekend 2012: John Carpenter Panel Highlights Part One (dreadcentral.com)

Name That (Horror) Frame Contest – Week of 9/9/12 – Special Face-Melting Edition!

12 September 2012

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OK, who’s ready for some free DVDs… or just to see some great face-melting stills?

First up: if you don’t know this one, this is the one time I will say you’re definitely on the wrong blog! I don’t judge people who aren’t into horror movies, to each their own, but if you haven’t seen this movie, you’re not into movies, period.

This next one might be a little harder:

Yes, that was actually a human being to start out with. A few minutes ago, in fact.

I should point out, to be fair, that the above face-melt image was not in a theatrical release movie, it was a premium cable series. One I really miss! Also, really, the only decent scene in the episode. Next up:

By now you know the drill… put your guesses in the comments section to win. Also, that first face-melt was such a memorable moment that I forgot all about the other one in the same scene (see below). When they open that ark up, KEEP YOUR EYES CLOSED, NO MATTER WHAT!