According to The Tracking Board, the long gestating US adaptation of the popular Japanese manga Death Note may be getting new director.   Shane Black (Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang, Iron Man 3) had been attached to direct for the last couple years, but now that he is working on the Predator reboot sequel it appears he has had to drop out. They report that Gus Van Sant (Psycho, Good Will Hunting) has been tapped to take over.

For those unfamiliar, Death Note “follows the story of a high school student who finds a mysterious notebook that lets him instantly kill any person by writing their name in the book. As the student’s body count piles up, a nameless FBI agent begins tracking him.”

The Death Note series has spawned 3 live action movies in Japan; Death Note, Death Note: The Last Name, L: Change The World.

(H/T Shock Till You Drop)

A bit of Intriguing news regarding HBO’s True Detective coming out of the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. During an interview with Legendary director William Friedkin (The Exorcist, French Connection) The Playlist asked him if he would consider directing any episodes of the upcoming season.  Check out his response:

“I am considering it. I like this writer [Nic Pizzolatto] very much. I’ve met him, and he’s the real deal as far as I’m concerned. Now, all the new seasons are different so I’m not committed—this new season has nothing to do with the last one. Except for him and his sensibility, which I think is extraordinary.”

"I'm… I can't say much more at this time. But I'm a fan of his writing, even though this will not be a continuation of what was done before with McConaughey  and Woody Harrelson. So what you can say is I'm a huge fan of his writing, I've met with him, I like him, I like the direction he's taking with this."

While this by no means guarantees that he will ultimately be involved, just knowing that it is a legitimate possibility is exciting. 

The next season of True Detective' will be about “hard women, bad men and the secret occult history of the United States transportation system,

A few weeks back we told you about Sony's intention to give a fully restored version of Ghostbusters a limited theatrical run to celebrate its 30th anniversary.  Now they have released a trailer for this upcoming event, and while there is nothing "new" in the trailer it looks fantastic (unlike the first Ghostbusters Blu-ray release a few years ago).

Following the one week run, on September 16^th, a new collector’s edition Blu-ray set of the 1^st and 2^nd movie will go sale.  Both films are new 4k transfers, so they will look better than you have likely ever seen them.  And of course there will be special features:

GHOSTBUSTERS Blu-ray Special Features:

- NEW! Who You Gonna Call: A Ghostbusters Retrospective - Roundtable Discussion with Director Ivan Reitman and Dan Aykroyd (Part 1)
- NEW! Poster Art Gallery – Gallery 1988 artwork
- NEW! “Ghostbusters” Music Video – Ray Parker, Jr.
- Legacy Content:​
-- ​​Slimer Mode – Picture in Picture and Trivia Track
-- Commentary w/ Ivan Reitman, Harold Ramis & Joe Medjuck
-- 10 Deleted Scenes
-- 1984 Featurette
-- Cast and Crew Featurette
-- SFX Team Featurette
-- Multi-Angles​
-- Ecto-1: Resurrecting the Classic Car
-- Ghostbusters Garage: Ecto-1 Gallery Storyboard Comparisons

 GHOSTBUSTERS II Blu-ray Special Features:

- NEW! Time Is But A Window: Ghostbusters II and Beyond - Roundtable Discussion with Director Ivan Reitman and Dan Aykroyd (Part 2)
- NEW! Deleted Scenes
- NEW! “On Our Own” Music Video – Bobby Brown
 

For more 30^th anniversary information or to pre-order the Blu-ray set head over to Ghostbusters.com

True Blood Season 7 Recaps Will Be Found At Shock TIll You Drop.

When I break this episode down into individual scenes and storylines, I find that I actually liked a lot of this episode of True Blood. But the stuff that I had to wade through to get to the good stuff was just terrible.

Read Alyse's Full Recap on Shock Till You Drop.

Production wrapped on Alex Aja's (High Tension, Piranha 3D) adaptation of Joe Hill's (Heart Shaped Box, Locke & Key) best selling novel Horns way back in December of 2012.  The story follows Ig Perrish (Daniel Radcliffe),  Accused of the rape and murder of his girlfriend Merrin (Juno Temple), he uses newly discovered paranormal abilities in his pursuit to uncover the real killer.  

Very little seen of the film since then; it has a spot in the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival, few stills, some behind the scenes footage and that is about it. But that is all starting to change. 

It has been announced that Horns will be opening in the UK on October 31, 2014.  To go along with this news, the first poster along with a teaser trailer have made their way online.  

As for the US release date, that has yet to be announced but it is quite likely that it will be part of the Horns panel at SDCC next week.  An assumption backed up a bit by Joe Hill himself on twitter.

HORNS has a forthcoming US release from @RadiusTWC. Daniel Radcliffe, @AlexandreAja& myself (gulp) will be at #SDCC with much more info.

— Joe Hill (@joe_hill) July 14, 2014

The Hacktivision guys (Doc Terror, artist Frank Browning, and musician Sean O'Connor) are at it again.  The team that brought you Friday the 13^th Lives,  Zombie, and Demons is back, this time with trio of faux 8 bit games you are going to wish were real.

The 3 games come from the Italian Godfather of Gore, Luci Fulci;  CITY OF THE LIVING DEAD, THE BEYOND, and HOUSE BY THE CEMETERY.  Here is the trailer:

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The idea for this trilogy (if it were real) would be you could purchase each game individual and enjoy it as such, but if you wanted the full experience, all three would be available in a limited edition package.  Why would you want all three?  Because the games are stackable, allowing for variations on game play that incorporate all three games.  

Also, there would be a slew of cameos

Head on over to Doc Terror's blog for more on these games, including their individual synopsis and game play rules.

We have been a fan of Frank's work for a long time here at FEARNET so be sure to check out some of his other past projects:

Horror Ice Cream Pops - Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4
Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream Flavors - Part 1, Part 2
'80s VHS Covers For Recent FIlms
Vintage Costumes for Modern Horror

Tempting fate? Playing with fire?  This next story certainly qualifies.  
Chimps Vali and Sugriva were taken to the opening night of the new Planet of the Apes movie where they sat in attendance with the 1000 other movie goers at the BigD Auditorium in Myrtle Beach.

Bhagavan Antle, director of the Myrtle Beach Safari where the chimps reside, had the following to say about the simian cinephiles:

"The older one, Vali, is a very bright guy, he's watched the Lord Of The Rings many times, and he could follow the whole plot of the movie. He loves to clap - when he likes something he claps, so he clapped for the good guys, and when chimps don't like what's happening they hoot or bark, so when the bad guy came on he was barking.".

I am lucky enough to have fairly decent eyesight, only really needing glasses for nighttime driving.  However, if I did need to wear corrective lenses full time, I believe that I would stick to good old fashion glasses.  I don’t like the idea of sticking things in my eyeballs let alone the hassles of trying to find them if they pop out and keeping them clean.  That last one seems like a no-brainer, if something is going inside your eye, you want it to be hygienic.  A Taiwanese student is learning a hard lesson about the dangers of neglecting your lenses.

Lian Kao, a 23 year old student, failed to replace her 30 day contacts for over 6 months.  She says that the pressures of her studies lead her to simply forget to change her monthly lenses.  When she finally went to the hospital, the doctors removed the half a year old contacts to discover that the surface of her eye had been literally eaten by an amoeba, acanthamoeba.  Kao's failure to remove her contacts created a shortage of oxygen to the eye, damaging the tissue and allowed the bacteria to infect the eyeball.  She has now permanently damaged her corneas, leaving her blind.

Wu Jian-liang, director of ophthalmology at Taipei's Wan Fang Hospital, hopes that getting Lian Kao's story out there will help prevent something like this from happening to someone else.

If you want the full run down of symptoms and risks of Acanthamoeba keratitis, head over to the cdc page. 

Hidden in the Woods gained a bit of noteriaty upon its release a couple years back. It was described as "The bastard child of a Ruggero Deodato/Sam Peckinpah/Gaspar Noé pile-up gestated in the loins of Roberta Findlay" and "a deranged frenzy,". An English language remake was actually announced a few weeks prior to the original’s North American premiere at Fantasia Fest 2012.  The film was produced by Michael Biehn and Jennifer Blanc, with Biehn also taking a lead role.  Following in the footsteps of such directors as Michael Haneke and Takashi Shimizu, Patricio Valladares once again took the director’s chair.

The plot has remained unchanged.  Hidden in the Woods tells the story of Two sisters, who have been raised in isolation, subjected to the torment of their abusive, drug dealing father. When they finally decide to report him to the police, he kills the two officers and is put in jail. But things go from bad to worse when the girls must answer to their Uncle Costello, a psychotic drug kingpin, who shows up looking for his missing merchandise which is hidden in the woods.

No release date has been announced, but perhaps one is on the horizon as we have just received a new trailer.

The trailer for Blumhouse Productions' (Insidious, Oculus, The Purge) Ouija has just hit the internet via the Pretty Little Liars Facebook page(?). Check it out below.

Synopsis:

A girl discovers her dead friend had been messing around with a Ouija board and brings the game home. She discovers the dead girl's boyfriend may know more about her death than he lets on.

Ouija stars Olivia Cooke, Douglas Smith, Shelley Hennig, Bianca Santos and Daren Kagasoff.
In Theaters October 24, 2014

(H/T Shock Till You Drop)

Syfy has just released the first trailer for their upcoming adaptation of Terry Gilliam’s 12 Monkeys.  The new series appears to be following the same story that film did rather than some sort of spin-off or continuation of the film. However, this is the first trailer that may only represent the pilot for the series. The show’s executive producer Richard Suckle has stated that they aren’t bringing the show to SDCC this year as it “coincides with when we start shooting.  We wanted to put the show first as we’re set to premiere in January.”  So if they are just about to start shooting for a January premiere, they probably don’t have much footage to work with.

Have a look.  What do you think? 

Based on the 1995 film directed by Terry Gilliam, "12 Monkeys" follows the journey of a time traveler from the post-apocalyptic future who is on a mission to eradicate the source of a deadly plague.

Earlier this year we told you that Anabelle, the creepy doll from The Conjuring, would be getting its own spin off movie. Today we are getting a good look at what that movie will be with the release of this first trailer.

Annabelle will be getting a full theatrical release this October 3, 2014.  The film stars Annabelle Wallis (The Tudors) and Ward Horton (Days of Our Lives, The Wolf of Wall Street). John Leonetti, who was the cinematographer on The Conjuring will direct Annabelle based off a script from Gary Dauberman (Bloodmonkey, Swamp Devil). There is no official synopsis yet.

Want to see what the real Annabelle doll that inspired the movie looks like? We've got that for you here.

The Haunted Mansion is celebrating its 45^th anniversary and Disney Television is giving it a present.  The studio has announced they are developing an animated special based on the popular ride. 

Making it even more exiting is who they have tapped for the project.  Gris Grimly has been named executive producer and art director. 

Gris Grimly is an acclaimed horror genre artist and children’s book illustrator.  He had spent the last several years attached to Guillermo del Toro’s* dark fantasy Pinocchio project but that was shelved in 2013 (supposedly do to Frankenweenie’s failure to perform).

Check out some of his concept art for that aborted film along with some illustrations from his Frankenstein book to get a feel for what the Haunted Mansion special may look like.

Gris Grimly

True Blood Season 7 Recaps Can Now Be Found At Shock TIll You Drop.

Was this episode written by Shonda Rhimes? Because this week’s episode felt like a lot of emotional realizations without much actually happening. It wasn’t overly sappy, but this episode felt so long. It was a true “middle episode:” we wrapped up the plotline from the first half of the season, and set up the plots for the second half. Unfortunately, the plot setups were a little weak. We have a whole bunch of scorned lovers, and we discover Bill is infected. No surprise there. I am eager to see what kind of torture Eric will rain down on Sarah.

Read Alyse's Full Recap at Shock Till You Drop

Next Games and AMC Debut Trailer for The Walking Dead Mobile Game.  The game, titled The Walking Dead: No Man’s Land, will allow players to experience the world of the iconic show through gameplay exclusively developed for smartphones and tablet devices. Developed by Next Games in close collaboration with AMC, the game will feature themes familiar to the TV series, where characters fight for survival in a post-apocalyptic, walker-infested world. A recurring theme of choosing the right survival strategy and making the most human choices possible is at the heart of the first-of-its-kind game.
Check out the Teaser Trailer:

The game launch will coincide with the mid-season premiere of The Walking Dead Season 5 early next year.

In the movies, The Purge is a 1 night only, annual event, but Universal Studios doesn't think that is nearly enough.  Halloween Horror Nights has just announced that this year, in both their Orlando and Hollywood parks, The Purge: Anarchy will have its own scarezone. Patrons will be able to experience Purge Night on select dates between September 19th and November 1st.

The Purge: Anarchy scarezone will greet guests with pure unadulterated fear, bringing to life the turmoil and pandemonium that awaits those vulnerable to masked vigilantes in search of new victims. Reimagining the movie’s premise that on one night every year, any and all crime is made legal, the scarezone will be inhabited by average citizens transformed into sadistic felons during this period of government-sanctioned lawlessness. Like civilians in the movie fighting to survive, guests will be at the mercy of cunning wit, luck and speed as they attempt to outsmart and outlive the anarchy brought about by those who believe in an “eye for an eye.”

The Purge: Anarchy, the sequel to last summer’s surprise hit, moves from the confines of a suburban neighborhood to the streets as the government begins its annual 12-hour Purge to ensure that the crime rate stays below one percent for the rest of the year. With all emergency services suspended, it’s the one night when society regulates itself without thought of punishment or fear of retribution. For average people who do not have the means to barricade themselves indoors with a state-of-the-art security system, anarchy rules and no one is safe. In this new story, an unlikely group of five citizens discover how far they will go to protect themselves and, ultimately, each other, as they fight to survive a dangerous night fraught with impossible decisions.

“'Halloween Horror Nights' is about taking guests out of their comfort zones and placing them at the core of unimaginable horror,” said John Murdy, Universal Studios Hollywood’s Creative Director for and Executive Producer of “Halloween Horror Nights.”  “Because the premise of ‘The Purge’ could theoretically happen, our scare-zone elevates that sense of fear and forces you to really watch your back.  Imagining how your neighbor, friend or enemy could take revenge on you without retribution because you wronged them takes horror to a whole new level, and we wanted to bring that gut-wrenching terror to every one of our guests.”

“‘The Purge’” scarezone will invade the streets of ‘Halloween Horror Nights’, taking up most of our New York back lot. The chaos that reigns in the film will be replicated nightly, but now our guests can actually attempt to survive the night themselves,” said Michael Aiello, Director of Entertainment – Creative Development, Universal Orlando Resort. “The familiar emergency broadcast will be heard announcing the commencement of the annual Purge, and all hell will literally break loose.”

Leigh Janiak's Honeymoon made the festival rounds earlier this year collecting numerous positive reviews.  Magnet Releasing has picked up the indie thriller and has just dropped a trailer for you to enjoy.

Newlyweds Paul (Harry Treadaway) and Bea (Rose Leslie) want to spend their honeymoon at a cabin in the woods. But the lovely romantic moment quickly disappears when odd events, such as the appearance of a mysterious light, the unexpected disappearance of Bea, and her strange return, completely hurt and acting differently, are destined to tear them apart.

Honeymoon will make its way to Select Theaters and VOD on September 12, 2014

Production is underway on the 3rd film in the Insidious franchise and with it comes our first look from the set, a contest announcement, and the plot synopsis.

To commemorate the start of production of the series’ newest chapter, Focus is launching a sweepstakes on the official Insidious Facebook  and Twitter  pages. Insidious buffs and fans will have the chance to win a trip for two to Los Angeles to visit the set of Insidious: Chapter 3. The contest begins on Tuesday, July 22nd, and ends on Friday, July 25th. The contest’s complete official rules can be accessed at www.focusfeatures.com/article/insidious_set_visit.

Insidious: Chapter 3 stars Dermot Mulroney (of August: Osage County) and Stefanie Scott (of Blumhouse’s upcoming Jem and the Holograms) alongside Lin Shaye, Angus Sampson, and Leigh Whannell, with the latter trio reprising their roles from the first two movies in the franchise.

In Insidious: Chapter 3, a twisted new tale of terror begins for a teenage girl and her family, predating the haunting of the Lambert family in the earlier movies and revealing more mysteries of the otherworldly realm The Further.

In Theaters  May 29th 2015

Sharknado 2 seems to be getting all the attention these days when it comes to campy Syfy originals, but it isn't the only shclock on the block.  Premiering just a few days after Sharknado we will be treated to another Roger Corman mashup movie.  
Shartopus vs. Pteracuda (inspired by true events according to the poster) tells the story of a captive Sharktopus which must be unleashed to fight yet another science experiment gone wrong: the half-Pterodactyl, half-Barracuda. 

The movie also boasts a comeo by Conan O'Brien and he has just made a clip from his performance available.

Fair warning, this is what one would call a HUGE SPOILER. if that concerns you, you may want to skip the clip.

Jen and Sylvia Soska (American Mary) have been busy of late.  They have See No Evil 2 coming out later this year, they have wrapped shooting on another film, Vendetta, and now comes word that they have just signed on for their next project.

The twins will be taking on Painkiller Jane, a comic book character created by Jimmy Palmiotti and Joe Quesada in the 1990s.

In the comics, Jane Vasko, is a cop who, along with with her best friend and partner, goes undercover into an interconnected drug ring. When her identity is exposed, Jane is tortured, which leaves her with preternatural regenerating abilities and a high tolerance for pain.

If the name sounds familiar it may be because Jane has been adapted twice before for television.  The SyFy channel aired a made-for-TV movie in 2005 with Emmanuelle Vaugier as the heroine. That was followed in 2007 with a series starring Kristanna Loken in the title role.

(Source: THR)