The creators of the cult stage hit Evil Dead: The Musical have a new live show in the works... and this time, they've set their sights on the granddaddy of modern zombie cinema: George Romero's original Night of the Living Dead.

Companion books are interesting creatures.  Part reference book, part resource guide, part overview of an important work or corpus of works, a companion book has to function as both an incisive look at the work in question and be accessible enough for new readers and the merely curious.  Happily, Bev Vincent’s The Dark Tower Companion succeeds on all levels.
 
This is Vincent’s second book on the subject, following 2004’s The Road to the Dark Tower.  A somewhat academic work intended for those well-versed in the series, Road cemented Vincent’s reputation as one of the world’s leading experts in Stephen King’s Dark Tower milieu.  The Dark Tower Companion is the guide for the rest of the world, especially those Stephen King readers who have been touched in some way by King’s magnum opus through the references in his other work, but who have yet to fully commit to the series proper.  

With a deft hand, Vincent draws readers in with his chatty introduction, then launches into lengthy synopses of the eight main books in the series (plus the prequel, The Little Sisters of Eluria).  Readers familiar with the novels may be tempted to skip or skim this section, but that would be a mistake.  Rarely before in his nonfiction has Vincent been so compulsively readable than in these rundowns of the Dark Tower stories.  He offers just enough information to whet new readers’ interest in the books (and helpfully reserves spoilers and foreshadowing for a section at the end of each chapter), but the sweep and excitement with which he recounts the novels is enough to re-absorb those who have already read them.  One starts to pick up on connections between the books he or she might never have noticed before, especially in the “Crossovers to Other Works” section at the end of each chapter.  For alert readers who have noticed some issues with the books not solved by the shifting geography of Mid-World or the “other worlds than these” universe melding, there’s a “Continuity Errors and Mistakes” portion, too.  

From here, Vincent looks at every aspect of The Dark Tower possible, from the online game Discordia to the artwork of the books to the Marvel comic book series plotted by Tower expert Robin Furth.  He provides snapshots of other Stephen King works that connect to the main story, even the tangential ones (though there are longer segments devoted to books that are essentially Dark Tower novels under separate cover: Insomnia, Hearts In Atlantis, and Black House).  Interviews abound, including ones with Ron Howard and Akiva Goldsmith, one-time director and producer of a proposed Dark Tower film, as well as a very illuminating talk with King himself.  Were you aware that Roland Deschain has a sister?  Find out her name here.
 
The book ingeniously progresses with readers’ knowledge of the Dark Tower, narrowing its focus and growing more specific as the pages turn.  Thus, while the beginning provides overviews and general knowledge, as we dig deeper into the Companion, we get sections dedicated to the geography, history, and philosophy of the worlds of the Dark Tower.  We get comprehensive guides detailing both Our World and Mid-World people, places, and things, reading like Stephen Spignesi’s exhaustive Stephen King Encyclopedia in miniature.  Structuring his Companion this way, Vincent makes the book an interactive, growing experience: as with the Dark Tower books themselves, one starts out here a novice and becomes an expert, being thoroughly entertained the whole way through.
 
For readers who have never set a foot in Mid-World, The Dark Tower Companion is the perfect introduction.  For those who have trod every step of Roland’s journey over and over again, this serves as both a refresher course and a fascinating, deeper look at one of the most inventive worlds of Stephen King’s creation.   

Bev Vincent’s The Dark Tower Companion will be published April 2, 2013.  Two limited edition states by publisher Cemetery Dance – a 52-copy signed & lettered edition, and a 1,000-copy signed & numbered edition – are forthcoming.

Kevin Quigley is an author whose website, CharnelHouseSK.com, is one of the leading online sources for Stephen King news, reviews, and information.  He has written several books on Stephen King for Cemetery Dance Publications, including Chart of Darkness, Blood In Your Ears, and Stephen King Limited, and co-wrote the upcoming Stephen King Illustrated Movie Trivia Book. His first novel, I’m On Fire, is forthcoming.
 

Face Off Episode 410
“Alien Apocalypse”
Original Airdate: 19 March 2013

In This Episode...

This week’s challenge ties in with Syfy Channel’s upcoming series and video game, Defiance. The show is set in the near future, when humans and seven different races of aliens are forced to learn to live together on Earth. The contestants must choose two of the alien races on the show, then create an offspring if the two races were to mate. Show creator Kevin Murphy introduces the challenge, and director Michael Nankin is the guest judge. The contestants take a trip up to Toronto to visit the set of Defiance - all except for Eric F., who couldn’t go because of “family obligations.” I have to assume that he either doesn’t have a passport or is on a no-fly list.

The Creations

Anthony chooses to crossbreed a mutant and a liberata. Ve felt it was the best morphing of two species, she liked the tufts of fur, and felt that he had the best paint job this week. Glenn was impressed with the face sculpt, and Michael felt the two races blended in a “believable” way.

Kris mated bioman and mutant and came up with a huge monster that had ripply/melty muscles. Neville thought the character had a cool vibe; it was scary and off-putting. Michael agreed that it was scary. Glenn, always eager to be a contrarian, thought it was anatomically atrocious - but he liked the idea. Ve defended Kris, saying that this was a mutant - it didn’t need to be anatomically correct.

Wayne mated liberata and bioman. Like most of the other contestants, he ran short on time, so his paint job was a little slap-dash. Glenn picked up on this immediately, but overall, the judges had positive things to say: Neville liked the up close detail; Michael liked the proportions; and Ve thought it was cohesive with a nice back design.

Eric F. chose his aliens last and as a result got stuck with the ones he didn’t want: 99er and sensoth. He spent the first day whining about it but by day two, he had accepted it and started to like his creation - even if it does look like Harry from Harry and the Hendersons. Michael thought it looked less like a hybrid and more like a patchwork. Glenn liked it, saying it was the nicest makeup Eric had done this season. Neville thought this one showed sophistication that his other creations hadn’t.

The Verdict?

Anthony won. He got a prize this week: he gets to shadow the FX team on Defiance. Eric F. goes home. This is the last episode before the season finale, so that means Anthony, Kris, and Wayne are going to the finale.

Prophecies?

Season finale next week - in Vegas.

Has eating raw fish become too mundane for you? Sure, everyone eats sushi now, but 20 years ago, it was well outside the mainstream mindset and made a lot of people nervous. Recapture that anxiety with this shark attack sushi plate. Wasabi takes on an extra bite when you have to wrestle it from the jaws of a great white.

$70 at Deviant Art

They’re only on day one, and just finished the first shot, but Gareth Edwards is already looking a little tired as he says hello to fans in this video from the Godzilla set.

Edwards and cast – including Bryan Cranston, Elizabeth Olsen, and Ken Watanabe – are shooting on location in Vancouver. The movie is scheduled to be out May 2014. A few images from the shoot have been leaked, and from the smashed up helicopter below, it looks like the monster is going to make short work of the military.

FEARnet’s been following all the Godzilla news as it comes in, get updated here and get a first look at what the director of Monsters has come up with for his reboot of the 1954 classic.
 

via Godzilla-Movies

For a lot of horror fans, watching a film based on a true story makes their viewing experience all the more jarring. And really, we can’t argue with that. Taking in a reimagining of something that actually transpired is inherently more frightening than a film that isn’t grounded in reality. With that said, we’ve put together a guide to what we hold to be the ten most shocking films based on or inspired by actual events. We’ve ranked the films according to how shocking the movie is, how shocking the actual events are, and how closely the film follows the events it was based upon or inspired by.  

#10 The Strangers
This film really struck a nerve with me the first time I saw it. Seeing The Strangers in a dark theatre, late at night really spooked me. Since the film relies heavily on jump scares and the viewers’ fear of the unknown, it’s not had the same effect in subsequent viewings. But, it certainly left an impression on me.

Writer/director Bryan Bertino loosely based The Strangers on details of the Manson murders that he picked up on while reading Helter Skelter. Bertino also drew influence from a series of break-ins that occurred in his neighborhood when he was a child. The burglars in the Bertino’s neighborhood would knock on doors and ask to speak to a person they knew did not live there. If no one answered the door, the group of hooligans would then burgler the home.  Though, The Strangers is really based on a conglomerate of unrelated events, it still packs enough impact to earn the number 10 spot on our list.

#9 Wolf Creek
Wolf Creek is a terrifying film. When I first watched the film, not knowing just how closely the storyline followed the events that the film is based on, I was sufficiently terrified. The idea of a real life Mick Taylor still at large would be enough to keep me out of the Australian Outback indefinitely. However, it turns out that writer/director Greg Mclean relied pretty heavily on his imagination when penning the script for Wolf Creek.

It seems Wolf Creek is based on a couple of unrelated events, much in the way that The Strangers was. Wolf Creek is reportedly based on the abduction of a British tourist and his girlfriend. The tourist’s girlfriend was subsequently assaulted and the case later went to trial. The film also drew inspiration from the Australian Backpacker Murders. So, we have another case of a film that took multiple true-life events and merged them together. But ultimately, Wolf Creek is not based on any one person or event. The Mick Taylor character is a combination of different people with a bit of fiction thrown in the mix.

#8 The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre shocked impressionable audiences in 1974. And, causing viewers even greater discomfort was the fact that the film was marketed as being based on a true story. Even by today’s more permissive standards, a man murdering people with a chainsaw, while wearing a mask made of human skin is pretty shocking. I suspect that Gunnar Hansen’s iconic turn as Leatherface haunted more than a few audience members’ dreams back then.

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre took inspiration for the skin mask came from Ed Gein, as he was known to use human skin to upholster furniture and make clothing. But the chainsaw style murders and the backwoods inbred family element were not based on Gein’s life. Though, the film really only pulls a miniscule amount of inspiration from actual events, TCM is arguably the best grindhouse film of all time and is more than deserving of its spot at number 8 on our countdown.

#7 Psycho
Psycho was shocking not just for its violent content, but also because the story revolved around a man who would dress up in his deceased mother’s clothes. That was the type of thing most people would avoid talking about in 1960. But Alfred Hitchcock, being the filmmaking pioneer that he was made his movie, on his terms. Horror fans owe much gratitude to Hitchcock, as nearly every horror filmmaker to come after him lists Hitchcock as a major inspiration.

Psycho, which was adapted from the novel of the same name, is also loosely inspired by the life of Ed Gein. Gein was influential in the sculpting of the Norman Bates character. Gein was known to cross dress, which is referenced in Norman’s desire to dress as his dead mother. Though, very little of Psycho is actually based on true events, it earns its spot at number 7 on our list for being a pioneer in genre filmmaking and a shocking film for the time of its release.

#6 The Exorcism of Emily Rose
The Exorcism of Emily Rose is shocking for several reasons. Perhaps the most startling thing about the story is that Emily’s death may have been preventable. It is largely speculated that she was in fact suffering from several different medical conditions and not demonic possession.

Other than the changing of names and some editorializing, we see a pretty clear picture of what happened with Emily Rose (real name Anneliese Michel). Though, Emily Rose’s surviving family members were offended by the film and wanted nothing to do with it, the picture was true to the skeletal outline of Emily Rose’s story. A court ruled that Rose was not possessed, and believed that she was suffering from a series of medical conditions. But many people still maintain that Emily Rose was possessed and died a martyr. Emily Rose’s gravesite is now a place of pilgrimage for prayer.

#5 Open Water
One of a handful of contemporary films that actually scared me; Open Water plays so much on our fear of isolation and of losing control. In Open Water, we find a couple stranded in the middle of the ocean, taunted by the predatory animals of the sea. This film is not only shockingly effective it is terrifying. As a viewer, I constantly found myself thinking what it would be like to be stranded at sea with no hope of being discovered.

Open Water is based on the story of a couple that was separated from their party in a boating mishap. When the couple’s remains were found, there was no actual evidence of a shark attack. Though, the film takes some creative liberties with the content, what you see is a fictionalized account of actual events. The majority of the film is founded in reality, thus making watching it that much more intense.  

#4 The Amityville Horror
The story of the Lutz family is a positively frightening account of a family’s battle with malevolent spirits. Released in 1979, the film shocked audiences both for being based on a true story and for being relatively violent for the era in which it was released.

The Amityville Horror is still the source of much controversy. The film recounts experiences that the Lutz family claims to have had during the short time that they lived in the Amityville house. The film is based on a book detailing what happened to the Lutz family, while they occupied the home. Since there is very little hard evidence as to what actually happened, we can say that the film is a fairly accurate retelling of what the Lutz family says went on. However, Kathy Lutz came out, late in life, with a statement saying that the entire story behind her family’s stay in the home was fabricated for publicity. There are surviving members of the family who do not corroborate her claims. One key detractor is Daniel Lutz. His recollections of what happened in that house are detailed in the documentary My Amityville Horror. In the film, Daniel sticks to his guns, but does refuse to take a lie detector test.

#3 Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer
Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer is brutal, violent, and shocking all on its own, but knowing that the film is based primarily on actual events, and depicts real life serial killer Henry Lee Lucas makes it all the more chilling. Henry is a shocking film, in deed.

The film is a fictional dramatization of a period of time in Henry Lee Lucas’ life. So, while some of the details are changed, the core of the story is founded in truth. What makes Henry stand out is that where films like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre or Psycho have taken minor details about a real life killer and weaved them in to their story, the filmmakers responsible for Henry actually built an entire movie around Lucas’ life. Though some creative liberties were taken, the film sticks fairly close to the truth. Henry shocks the hell out of me every time I watch it and it rightfully earns the number 3 spot on our list.

#2 Compliance
Even if it weren’t based on actual events, we would hold Compliance as one of the most shocking films of the past five years. It’s the type of film that leaves the viewer feeling unclean and like an unwilling participant in the events he or she has just watched unfold. The fact that the film is based on actual events makes the viewing experience even more intense.

The truth behind the story is that between 1995 and 2004, a series of prank calls were placed to a variety of fast food restaurants. The calls were placed to restaurants in at least 30 U.S. States. The person behind the calls would pose as a police officer and asked for a restaurant employee to participate in various demeaning acts. Compliance focuses mainly on one such incident that took place in Mount Washington, KY. During the Mount Washington incident, the person claiming to be a police officer instructed the restaurant’s assistant store manager to perform a strip search on a young woman being accused of stealing a customer’s purse. The assistant manager’s fiancé was brought in for reinforcement and reportedly wound up sexually assaulting the young girl. Compliance appears to stick pretty close to the court records, though the film does take a couple of creative liberties.  
 

#1 The Girl Next Door
The Girl Next Door is a highly intense film. I couldn’t shake it for days after I watched it. To think that people are inherently capable of the type of evil that plays out in The Girl Next Door shook me. I don’t foresee the desire to revisit The Girl Next Door again. It’s the kind of movie that watching it once is plenty.  

In terms of staying true to the events the film was based on, there are very few discrepancies. The actual events took place in the 1960s, whereas the film version has the story unfolding in the 1950s. Also, the violence endured by the victims is not reported to be of a sexual nature, but was portrayed as such in the film. Beyond that, the film stays very close to the events on which it is based. For its unflinching approach to storytelling and faithfulness to the source material, The Girl Next Door lands the number 1 spot on our list.

Honorable mention to Silence of the Lambs, The Stepfather, and The Town That Dreaded Sundown

Coffins are usually reserved for the dead. So is it redundant to create a coffin in the shape of a stereotypical crime scene outline? And even if it is redundant, do you really care? Of course you don't. I've never been one for funerals and burials; I just want to be cremated, leave the real estate for the living. But this could change my mind. It is just sick enough to leave half the mourners offended, and the other half smiling at my sick sense of humor.

Source: Behance

Sam Raimi, the man behind some of the greatest titles in horror, is directing a new TV pilot.

Knowing his filmography, it just follows this must be a new genre show at Fox. Maybe something sci-fi or fantasy related, right? Nope. Raimi will be directing the pilot for the American TV adaptation of the Australian comedy Rake. The show stars Greg Kinnear.

“Based on the Australian comedic drama, Rake follows the chaotic and comedic life of criminal defense lawyer Keegan Joye (Kinnear), brilliant, frustratingly charming, and with zero filter,” Deadline reports.

This isn’t the first time Raimi and Kinnear have worked together, Kinnear co-starred in Raimi’s film The Gift. Watch a NSFW clip from the Australian version of Rake, starring Richard Roxburgh.
 

via Deadline

Yesterday, not only did we get the first teaser trailer for the eagerly anticipated 'Hatchet III,' but we also posted an exclusive video interview with director BJ McDonnell. Well, how 'bout one more exclusive tease for all you devoted FEARnet followers? Derek Mears dropped by the FEARnet offices and gave us the scoop on his character Hawes who along with a group of SWAT team members make way for the swamps of Louisiana to take down Victor Crowley once and for all. Genre fans have clamored for a Jason (Kane Hodder) Vs Jason (Derek Mears) showdown for a while and now it looks like we're finally going to get it in 'Hatchet III.' As announced yesterday, the sequel will play in select theaters on June 14th and stars Danielle Harris, Kane Hodder, Zach Galligan, Derek Mears & Caroline Williams. Check out our chat with Derek Mears below!

Director David Guy Levy and Writer Steffen Schlachtenhaufen have recorded an audio commentary to accompany their grisly thriller Would You Rather? The track, which you can download via Soundcloud below, is synced to the film, which stars  Brittany Snow and Sasha Grey as two financially desperate women who, along with others in similar situations, are offered a way out of their troubles by a mysterious aristocrat (Re-Animator's Jeffrey Combs), whose “solution” involves the title game, a horrific series of one-ups with grisly consequences. John Heard, Lawrence Gilliard Jr., Eddie Steeples and Charlie Hofheimer also star.

Supernatural Episode 817
“Goodbye Stranger”
Written By: Robbie Thompson
Directed By: Thomas J. Wright
Original Airdate: 20 March 2013

In This Episode...

The Winchesters find a rash of killings across the midwest. All the victims had burns at the eyes, nose, hands and feet, and had their organs liquified. Their investigation shows that all the victims were acting weird just before their deaths. One woman, Ann, stopped eating and sleeping, and would sneak out at night, muttering about an orchard. Her husband followed her one night and saw she was digging dozens of narrow, deep holes in a playground. When Ann saw him, her eyes turned black.

Sam is interested to know who is killing demons; Dean is just glad to hear someone is killing demons. The last person to speak to Ann was a PhD candidate who was working on an original map of the town 100 years ago. The town - and all its records - were washed out in a flood. Ann’s assistant is on his way to pick up the maps. On cue, there is a knock at the door, but it is no “assistant;” it is a trio of demon thugs. The fighting breaks out immediately. One of the demons grabs the map and runs. The demon fighting Dean gives up, vacates its body, and takes residence in the PhD candidate. The demon fighting Sam is killed - by Castiel.

Castiel puts the PhD demon in a demon cell for interrogation. He says that he is here because he answered Dean’s prayer. Naomi is controlling/conversing with Cas at this time; she tells him to tell them the truth. But only some of the truth. Cas tells the boys that he is here looking for the other half of the demon tablet. Crowley’s men are here looking for the same tablet, plus a parchment that would decode the tablet. Crowley found out that Lucifer once had crypts on earth, and he assumes it is buried in one of these crypts. The PhD demon is interrogated and reveals that they have a hostage who has been feeding the demons information. Castiel, at Naomi’s urging, kills the demon before she can reveal what they are really looking for.

Castiel disappears and the boys race to meet him at the hotel where the hostage is being kept. They are worried because Cas is acting weird. They arrive and Cas has already dispatched the guard demons. They find the hostage: Meg. She knows where Lucifer’s crypt is; she has been leading the demons around to buy herself some time. At this point, Meg is going to spill what everyone is looking for, and Naomi needs Meg to lead them to it, so Cas can’t kill her. They are looking for an angel tablet.

Meg leads them to the site of the crypt. She and Sam stay outside, drawing protective symbols, while Dean and Castiel go inside for the tablet. They find it, but Cas can’t touch it because it is in an anti-angel case. Dean pulls it out, and this is where Naomi starts coaching Castiel to kill Dean. He doesn’t want to, he fights against it, but it is difficult. He beats the snot out of Dean, who drops the tablet (which breaks out of its protective shell) and dares Cas to kill him. Naomi tells Cas to choose between heaven or the Winchesters. Castiel’s head looks like it might explode. He pulls out his dagger... and drops it. He picks up the tablet, which releases a blinding light and zaps Cas out of heaven’s waiting room. He heals Dean, apologizes, and admits that Naomi has been controlling him since she yanked him out of purgatory. He doesn’t know what broke the connection, but he knows he has to protect the tablet from Naomi and Dean. With that, he is gone.

Outside, Crowley has shown up. He fights with Meg a bit, and Meg insists that Sam go get Dean and get out of there. He does, and they watch from the car as Meg and Crowley do battle. Crowley kills Meg and the Winchesters drive away. Naomi appears, still uncertain of what the hell went on. Crowley wants to make a deal with Naomi, but she wants nothing to do with it. One of her other lackeys must have gone looking for Cas, but she can’t find him. Cas is traveling by bus to places unknown.

Dig It or Bury It?

This was an unremarkable episode. It was good, but nothing special.  

Sibling Rivalry

Dean knows that Sam has been coughing up blood, and Castiel mentioned that Sam is broken in a way that he cannot fix. Dean is upset that Sam lied to him, and Sam vows never to lie again. He just didn’t want to admit there was something wrong. Which led to....

Spooky Humor

Dean: “I can’t carry the burden of the trials, but I can carry you.” Sam: “Do you realize you just quoted Lord of the Rings?” Dean: “Yeah, but it was Rudy-hobbit. I get a pass on Rudy-hobbit!”

Prophecies?

A school for young hunters turns next week’s episode into a cross between X-Men and Battle Royale.

Anyone who is at all familiar with genre writing knows the works of James Herbert. The British author who wrote 23 novels including The Rats, Haunted, and The Fog, died yesterday at 69 years of age.

Four of his works were made into films -- most notably his book The Rats that depicts London infested with flesh-eating, mutant rodents. The novel sold out its first 1974 printing in three weeks and was loosely adapted into the movie Deadly Eyes directed by Robert Clouse.

Herbert inspired countless horror writers, including Neil Gaiman, who remembers the author:

“Jim’s [sales] numbers were extraordinary and he was very grumpy that nobody noticed. He’d point out that he had outsold Stephen King in the UK. He was a bestselling author which I think also meant that he felt he wasn’t getting the attention that he deserved. He wanted the things he wasn’t getting. He wanted critical acclaim and I don’t think he felt he ever got it even when some of his novels did get serious critical attention.

He was always incredibly encouraging. When Terry Pratchett and I wrote our first novel together, Good Omens, my first novel, he gave me a blurb for it, said something about how incredibly funny and wonderful it was. A few years later, on a panel, he was recorded as saying that, long after he had given the blurb, he picked up the book and read it, and was delighted to find out that it was actually as good as the blurb he had given it, which I think shows something rather sweet about Jim. That he would have had the confidence in me, and assumed that the book would be funny and later discovered that it was. And he had the humility to tell the world.”

Watch a clip from Deadly Eyes, where rats attack a movie theater. It includes some seriously awesome rat puppetry.
 

via The Telegraph and Reuters

The international Star Trek into Darkness trailer features quite a bit of new footage and some explanation of the sequel’s rather vague storyline.

Most importantly, there is a ton of Cumberbatch. And Cumberbatch makes a good villain.

The film will be released in the U.K. May 9 and in theaters in the U.S.
 

This bracelet will get a hold on you. Modeled straight out of the old testament, with a bit more style, after the Prophet Ezekiel who foretold the destruction of Jerusalem and rising of dead bones.

Made of pewter, the unique design makes it appear as if skeleton bones are lying perfectly placed on top of your own arms.
 

$82.00 at Gorey Details

This new Hannibal poster shows Mads Mikkelsen, Hugh Dancy, and Laurence Fishburne surrounding a table laden with edible and floral delights. Dead edible and floral delights. Reminiscent of a Flemish still life, Mikkelsen looks every bit the gentleman as he sits in front of an abundance of dead things. It’s a cheeky look into the true nature of the brilliant psychologist Lecter.

NBC’s Hannibal debuts April 4. Watch the trailer here.
 

via Bloody Disgusting

Much like Dexter, these fried eggs are a little sweet a little bloody. Created by Kimberly on the Instructables site, the eggs are actually sugar cookies leading a secret life in an egg-y disguise – a delicious treat for evildoers and their unsuspecting victims alike.

The recipe is a bit involved, requiring a steady hand and a Dexter-like eye for details, but worth the mess and clean up involved.

“Inspired by my malevolent and morbid sense of humor, infused with all the gore I could visually muster, "instruct-iblized" for die-hard Dexter fans world wide,” the cookie’s creator wrote. “If Miami Metro's blood spatter expert (with a penchant for administering uber justice to evil-doers) deserves a sweet treat, then so do you!.”

Get the full recipe below:

Step 1: Ingredients and tools

Ingredients:
•    Your favorite sugar cookie recipe
•    Royal Icing
•    Gel food colorings-red, yellow, brown
•    Vodka

Tools:
•    Paint brush-small
•    Toothpick
•    Cookie cutters
•    Knife
•    Parchment paper
•    Cookie sheet
•    Spatula
•    Cooling rack
•    Measuring spoons
•    Frosting bag with tip or plastic baggie
•    Silicone pastry brush


Step 2: Prepare cookie dough, cut out shapes, bake

You can use your favorite sugar cookie dough recipe for this instructable or try Perfect Sugar Cookies. 

I have found the cookies spread less when baking if you use cold dough.
•    Roll out the cookie dough to approximately 1/4".
•    Use a knife to cut out the cookie "egg whites".  Optionally, you can use a 2 1/2" round cookie cutter and press in the sides to look kidney shaped. This will keep the cookies more uniform in size, if that matters to you.
•    Use a very small round cookie cutter about the size of an egg yolk (or in my case, I used the top of a shot glass) to cut out the cookie "egg yolks".
•    Place cut-outs on a parchment-lined cookie sheet and place in the fridge while preheating your oven.
•    Preheat oven and bake cookies according to the recipe specifications.
•    Once baked, remove cookies and place on cooling rack while you make the Royal Icing.
It is okay if your cookies are on the crisper side. They will soften a bit from the Royal Icing.

Step 3: Use Royal Icing to create the "yolk"

Make a batch of Royal Icing

Be sure to use just a bit of vanilla in your Royal Icing so the egg whites will look more realistic. 

Decorate the "YOLKS":
•    Take approximately one cup of Royal Icing and color it egg yolk yellow.
•    Wilton's gel coloring works great. Mix it thoroughly.
•    Take a spoonful of yellow icing and place it directly on top of the cookie. Work it around so the entire cookie is covered and the excess drips off the rack.
•    Let the "yolks" dry overnight.

Step 4: "Glue" yolks to plain cookies

Put about 1/2 teaspoon of the white Royal Icing on the backside of the "egg yolk" and place it "glue" side down on the plain cookie "egg white".  Most real fried eggs are not perfectly centered. Remember that when placing your "yolk".

Step 5: Pipe around the "yolk" with white Royal Icing

Use a frosting bag with a larger sized tip and pipe around the "egg yolk" with the plain white Royal Icing.

This helps seal the yolk onto the cookie. It also looks more realistic than a yellow disk plopped onto a white cookie. 

Let it drip off the sides and be sure all the cookie is covered. It helps to let the cookies sit for a few minutes and then move them carefully so they don't "glue" themselves onto the cooling rack. 

Royal Icing can sometimes bubble a bit. This actually gives the "eggs" a  sizzling fried look!

Aren't these looking eggsactly like breakfast? :)

Be sure to let them dry completely before applying the blood spatter.

Step 6: Blood spatter 101

This is the one part of the instructable for which I'm not able to give exact amounts.

Take a small bowl, add red gel food coloring and mix it with a tiny bit of brown gel food coloring. I used Wilton's because that's what I had on hand.

Add a few teaspoons of vodka and mix like crazy. The vodka will help the viscosity and then dissipate, leaving the drippy, bloody look! 

You will need to play around with this until the "blood" is dark red, not bright red. Blood colored!

Step 7: Spatter the eggs!

Unless you have a kill room, I highly recommend this step to be performed outside.  

Don a pair of surgical gloves and scrubs.... okay...or just a grubby tee shirt will do fine. 

Place the cookie tray on the ground. You will get a better angle for the spatter. Take the silicone pastry brush and dip it in the "blood" mixture. Stand away from the tray of "eggs" and flick the blood! It will dry pretty quickly.

Be mindful of the fact that the food coloring may stain anything else it touches. Wanna borrow my kill room now? :)

Sure, making a movie monster is tough, but it’s not like anyone can say you were inaccurate if the beast has too many teeth or its nose is too big. Not so when you are trying to turn a renown actor like Anthony Hopkins into renown director Alfred Hitchcock. That was the task set before FX makeup artists Howard Berger and Peter Montagna, and hair artist Martin Samuel when they signed on for Hitchcock, which tells the tale of the famed director and his most infamous film, Psycho. We spoke with the trio about what it takes to work so closely in the realm of reality.

How do you go about creating the makeups to turn Anthony Hopkins into Alfred Hitchcock?

Howard: We started by getting a lot of photos. We also managed to get a life mask of Hitchcock. There was one made in the 1960s, so we could get a three-dimensional idea of what his face looked like. Based on that, we started doing some design work. Production was very generous in allowing us to do a lot of tests. I think we did six total. The first tests we did were rather extensive. we did a rather extensive makeup on Tony and realized we lost what Tony looked like - he didn’t look like Tony anymore! We decided the best course of action was not to hide Tony, so we scaled back on the makeup. We got it down to four appliances. It was more of a portrait makeup than trying to make him look exactly like Hitchcock.

How long did it take to create the prosthetics that you decided on?

Howard: We had a six week pre-production period and we did a multitude of different sculptures. We knocked out as many [looks] as we could to find the right look. Was this nose right, was this throat right... a lot of different things. Same with the hair. It is really a process of trial and error. Our director, Sacha Gervasi, wanted to get everything on film, which was amazingly helpful. We tried to do a new makeup every week and a half on Tony Hopkins. Sometimes you don’t get a chance to test your makeups on your main actor. You have to do it on doubles and it doesn’t tell you what you need to know.

How did Anthony Hopkins deal with the makeups? How long did it take to apply?

Peter: He was totally on board with it. He was very available and very respectful of the process. We got the process down to about an hour and a half. He really wanted to do the part. He was very gracious, very engaging, and great to work with.

Did making a very well-known actor into an equally well-known director add any extra pressure on you?

Howard: Yeah, I think it did. Ultimately, I think the success of [the film] working really hinged on the success of hair and makeup. Anthony can pull it off without it, but the audience needed to see a convincing portrait of Alfred Hitchcock on Anthony Hopkins. We labored quite a bit over it. There are a lot of levels. The studio wants it to work within a time frame and a budget, and you have to do your best to accommodate that. For me, what was really nerve-wracking was that first photo of what we were working on getting out, and hearing what our peers had to say. Ultimately, I think a large amount of our peers really liked the makeup - so much so that they voted for us to get an Oscar nomination this past year. That says quite a bit, I think.

Peter: The reality of it was that if the makeup and hair didn’t work, the movie wasn’t going to work. so yes, it was quite a bit of pressure.

Will there be a lot of blu-ray behind-the-scenes, showing how you came up with the makeup?

Peter: I think so. We did some time-lapse stuff of us applying the makeup and the hair and I have a feeling it will be on the special features. I hope so!

You are dealing with a cast of well-known actors who are playing other well-known actors. Did any of the other actors require any makeup to make them look a little more like who they were supposed to be?

Peter: No, but Martin and his team did a fantastic job with the wigs and the hair.

Martin: Julie Hewett was the makeup department head, and I was the hair department head, as well as doing Anthony Hopkins’s hair. So we dealt with styling everyone else in the cast with the team of artists we brought on to the production. For me it was a double-whammy: looking after Tony everyday, as well as running the show with Julie. As Howard and Peter said, the makeup and hair was a tremendous part of the movie - and a tremendous part in the success of the movie. That’s what it was about: the people looking like the people in the period.