DIY Monster Makers: 'My Little Zombie' Ponies Are Gruesomely Adorable

August 20, 2013, 3:30 pm

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Pony Mania is still galloping across the globe, and it was only a matter of time before horror-themed custom variants on the My Little Pony franchise began to surface.

 

 

One of the more creative horror spins on pony culture comes from artist Dianita Ceron, who strips down the Hasbro originals to the basics (“blank canvases”), then re-mods them with gruesome zombie features, as well as tattoos, piercings and assorted bling, to create “cute gore for the creepy collector.”

 

 

Ceron points out that she is an animal lover (much of her non-horror artwork reflects a love of horses) and that these grotesque creations are definitely portraying the ponies as zombies, “the result of an imaginary plague on an imaginary place.”

 

 

There are many examples on display at Dianita's Facebook page, and you can see what's currently in stock at her Etsy shop.

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Steve Niles' New Cal McDonald e-Book 'Savage Membrane' Out Now

August 20, 2013, 4:00 pm

≫ Next: TV Recap: 'Under the Dome' Episode 109 - 'The Fourth Hand'

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Steve Niles, acclaimed writer of 30 Days of Night, has released Savage Membrane– his first novel to feature Cal McDonald, the hard-boiled paranormal private eye from his comic series Criminal Macabre.

 

 

Originally published by Dark Horse Comics, Criminal Macabre spun off a lengthy series of short stories about the tough monster-battling antihero (most recently compiled in Criminal Macabre: The Complete Cal McDonald Stories), but this 143-page novella is the lengthiest Cal McDonald non-comic work published to date.

 

 

Savage Membrane is available as a pdf download from Bloody Pulp Books, and you can choose how much you'd like to pay for it via PayPal. “Pay a buck, pay 10, take it for free,” Niles says on his blog, where you can purchase the book directly. “As long as it gets read, I am happy.”

TV Recap: 'Under the Dome' Episode 109 - 'The Fourth Hand'

August 20, 2013, 4:30 pm

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Under The Dome Episode 109
“The Fourth Hand”
Written By: Daniel Truly
Directed By: Roxann Dawson
Original Airdate: 19 August 2013

In This Episode...

Shots have been fired in town. Ted Huntley was trying to shoot an insane intruder, and got his neighbor - just a flesh wound. Linda and Barbie find the intruder spazzing about how the dome was talking to him. He is high on a drug that he bought from the reverend called Rapture. This inspires Jim to institute a voluntary gun turn-in program. Those who give over their guns get extra supplies. It is a surprising success. But Ted, who is still mourning the loss of his wife and child, doesn’t want to give up his considerable arsenal. Jim goes to talk to him, with Barbie as backup outside. Barbie aims a sniper rifle at Jim’s head - a fact which is not lost on Jim. Regardless, he manages to take Ted into custody without incident.

An old friend of Jim’s, Max, has returned to town. She showed up on the day the dome came down, but has spent the last eight days holed up in an empty house. She is extremely shady and has been involved with Jim’s mysterious “arrangements” for the town. She also has something to do with the Rapture supply - I am guessing she helped create the concoction, whose secret ingredient is liquid propane. The gun recall program was Max’s idea. She is proud to see it work so well, and shocks Jim when she goes straight up to Barbie and gives him a big kiss. She knows Barbie, and both men are involved in different aspects of her various criminal activities. Max wants to start a black market in Chester’s Mill. She warns the men that she will reveal their deepest, darkest secrets. Oh, and she has an insurance policy: if anything happens to her, their secrets will be revealed anyway. She knows that Barbie killed Julia’s husband. She has Jim load up the guns onto trucks destined for the cement factory. Jim does keep a stockpile for himself: Ted’s.

Angie decides she wants the deed to the diner. Jim promises he will think about it. Junior comes in, and Angie goes into seizures, repeating the phrase “The pink stars are falling.” Junior takes Angie back to his home, but not to the bomb shelter - to his mom’s art studio, a shed in their yard. Clearly, no one had entered the studio in the nine years since she died. A few months before  her death, she painted a dream she had, of Junior standing on a hill, staring up at the sky. Pink stars are falling on him. 

Julia wants to show Barbie the mini-dome, but it is gone. She alerts the kids, who use Truman to try to sniff out the mini-dome. After a full day, they have had no luck and return home. At home, Truman rushes to the barn and barks wildly. Inside is the mini-dome, with the egg still inside. Angie pops in and mentions that the night before she saw Joe sleepwalking around three AM - it must have been to bring the mini-dome home. Angie touches the mini-dome, then Joe, then Norrie. The mini-dome emits a bright blue light, while the egg glows pink. Angie thinks this is something only for them and should not tell Julia they found it. a fourth blue handprint glows against the mini-dome, and they realize that they are the key to unlock it - they just need a fourth.

Dig It or Bury It?

I literally have no opinion one way or the other about this episode. It wasn’t particularly great or engrossing, but it certainly wasn’t terrible. I’m getting a little impatient though. Give us some answers - just a few!

Prophecies?

Max brings fight club to Chester's Mill.

‘Minecraft’ Creator Dabbles in the Dead with ‘Shambles’

August 20, 2013, 5:00 pm

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Marcus “Notch” Persson has left his indelible mark on gaming with Minecraft, a cubic creative sandbox that has been worshipped by every corner of the internet since its release on PC, then on other platforms like the Xbox 360 and even mobile devices.  However, that hasn’t stopped him from taking part in strange “code jams” like 7DFPS, a grueling programming marathon that tasked its developers to create a working, fun FPS within a week.  His unambitious, but still oddly enjoyable effort?  Shambles.

It’s exactly what you think we’d be covering here at FEARnet: a simple FPS set in the middle of the zombie apocalypse, with simple graphics and gameplay that hearken back to the era of DOS gaming, but without tweaking config.sys or autoexec.bat (thank God).  However, Notch does set his sprite-based sights a little off-center, injecting the mobs with both zombies and human characters, and forces you to balance killing both, as humans will drop precious health that the zombies deplete.

It’s not exactly high-end gaming, but it’s completely free and playable within your web browser, so feel free to give it a ghoulish go right here.  There are several other bite-sized horror nuggets to be nibbled on if you sift through the list of games on the 7DFPS site.

'Evil Dead' Goes Hardcore With Horror Porn Parody 'Evil Head' [SFW]

August 21, 2013, 9:00 am

≫ Next: 'The Nearly Deads Survival Guide'– EP Review

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It was only time. After porno versions of classic horror properties like The Walking Dead and Nightmare on Elm Street, we now give you the Evil Dead porn parody.

Called Evil Head, this Burning Angel production sends four friends into a cabin in the woods where they discover a magic book called the Necronomicum. If you thought Evil Dead's tree rape scene was bad, wait until you see it with full penetration. The movie promises "talking taxidermy, chainsaws, demons and a gangbang with possessed trees." What more could you want?

Evil Head (Evil Dead Parody) Teaser Trailer

For a very, very NSFW trailer, head over to Burning Angel

'The Nearly Deads Survival Guide'– EP Review

August 21, 2013, 10:00 am

≫ Next: Exclusive: Joseph Morgan and the Cast of 'The Vampire Diaries' Spinoff 'The Originals' Spill Their Secrets

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For their new EP, Nashville-based pop rock quintet The Nearly Deads drew inspiration from Max Brooks' (World War Z) original bestseller The Zombie Survival Guide, in both their promotional art and the music video for “Never Look Back,” which became a runaway YouTube hit a couple of Halloweens ago (watch it below and look for a quick appearance of the book). The clip gave a massive boost to the band, who would eventually pick up many more fans while touring (including a memorable performance on last year's Vans Warped Tour) and land a spot on Billboard's “Next Big Sound” chart. They recently cut a deal with Standby Records, and their debut full-length album – which follows their self-titled, self-released 2011 EP – is currently in the works. In the meantime, The Nearly Deads Survival Guide offers another sweet sampling from a unique and energetic combo.

 

 

The band members cite '90s-era indie rock among their major musical influences, and there's definitely an early Foo Fighters vibe at work here, updated with a slightly darker spin (they label it “Polished Grunge,” which is a fairly fitting handle) and topped with a distinctive pop vocal by frontwoman Theresa Jeane (TJ). I've recently seen them compared with acts like Paramore, but that's kind of a lazy association; their sound is often more aggressive and less overtly gothy, with a grittier edge. Released for Halloween 2011, “Never Look Back” was my first encounter with the band, spotlighting their surprisingly beefy sound and TJ's bright, energized vocals, which can turn surprisingly soulful. The track grabbed my attention even before I knew the accompanying music video was chock full o' zombies...

 

The Nearly Deads - Never Look Back (ZOMBIE MUSIC VIDEO)

 

This tune appears twice on the EP, in the single version (which debuted on their original EP) and in a new “Reanimated” version, which strips it down to bare vocals with piano & string accompaniment playing up the song's melancholy undercurrent and demonstrating TJ's range of skills (that's her on the piano). Also returning from the first EP are “Fact and Friction,” with its walking beat of interlocked guitar & piano and sweet vocal harmonies, and “Reasons,” which sports a punchy, chugging riff in the verses and a soaring chorus featuring multi-tracked vocals that demonstrates just how big and bold this band can sound. Survival Guide also features their latest single “Brave” (hear it via the lyric video below), which packs a really catchy low riff that creates a perfect dark counterpoint to TJ's uplifting vocal anthem, though I was hoping they'd flesh out the moody breakdown a bit more. “Changeover” adopts a more standard pop structure, but with a chunky main riff and a mischievous bouncing rhythm.

 

 

It's rare to hear darker, edgier variations on current pop music, and I haven't heard many new bands successfully adopt the alt-rock style that once dominated '90s radio – at least not in a pop context, complete with heartfelt ballads and uplifting anthems. After all, many of the grunge bands who inspired The Nearly Deads rose up as a response to generic radio pop (until they became mainstream stars themselves). But this group hit on a method of bringing the two seemingly opposed styles together, which works in ways that I haven't really heard since the peak of No Doubt and Smashing Pumpkins. While this EP repurposes some earlier material (if you were already onboard, just buy the three new tracks and you're solid), it's got me eager for the arrival of their full-length debut.

 

For a more recent sample, take a listen to the new single “Brave” below:

 

The Nearly Deads - Brave (Lyric)

Exclusive: Joseph Morgan and the Cast of 'The Vampire Diaries' Spinoff 'The Originals' Spill Their Secrets

August 21, 2013, 11:00 am

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You guys all know that I am obsessed with The Vampire Diaries, so I am eagerly awaiting TVD 2.0, The Originals. With a focus on Klaus, Rebekah, and Elijah, The Originals is set in New Orleans and promises to be a darker, edgier show than its predecessor.

At Comic Con this year, we spoke to The Originals stars Joseph Morgan, Phoebe Tonkin, and Claire Holt, and series creator Julie Plec who told us what we can expect in New Orleans, how the Klaus / Hayley pregnancy will play out, and what kind of trouble Marcel is going to cause for our anti-heroes.

The Originals premieres on the CW on October 3rd before moving to its regular Tuesday timeslot on October 8th.

SDCC 2013 - The Originals

Shark Eats Shark in Bizarre Cannibal Attack

August 21, 2013, 12:00 pm

≫ Next: Book Review: 'The Bell Witch' by John F.D. Taff

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It's a dog-eat-dog world down there in the deep blue sea – or more accurately, dog-eat-dogfish... and the bigger dog in this shocking scenario is a ravenous and aggressive tiger shark, who bit off more than she could chew this time.

 

 

NBC News shared a photo taken recently in Delaware Bay by a research team from the University of Delaware. They were rounding up tiger sharks, which they had previously tagged with remote trackers, when a small three-foot shark called a smooth dogfish snapped up their bait... and suddenly the circle of life spun a whole lot faster, as a female tiger shark – over three times the little guy's size, as you can see above – jumped up and swallowed the first shark. The tiger was released after her tags were checked, but the little guy wasn't so lucky.

 

If you were planning an end-of-summer dip in Delaware Bay, don't cancel just yet – the scientists pointed out that sharks in the area don't attack humans. But then again, they don't typically eat other sharks either. Enjoy your swim!

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Book Review: 'The Bell Witch' by John F.D. Taff

August 21, 2013, 1:00 pm

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Bad reviews are easy to write. Good reviews, even easier. Middle-of-the-road reviews, on the other hand, are tough to crack. But that’s where I find myself today as I’m putting my thoughts together on John F.D. Taff’s new bookThe Bell Witch.

 

 

The book is based on a well-known haunting that took place in Tennessee in the early 1800s. Numerous books have been written on the subject, and films ranging from The Blair Witch Project to An American Haunting have been based at least in part on the legend. Taff’s version is a fictionalized account of what may or may not have actually happened, but a little research shows that he’s sticking quite close to what’s accepted as fact in the case.

 

In Taff’s book, the Bell family begins experiencing strange events that seem to be centered around their daughter, Betsy. When the girl falls into an unexplained coma, the manifestations begin. These early events are classic poltergeist activity – objects moving on their own, bedsheets being torn off by invisible hands, harsh slaps that seem to come out of thin air. These initial actions are spelled out by Taff in prose that makes them feel exceptionally creepy. 

 

The Witch, as the entity is referred to throughout the book, also speaks to the family, and this is where I began to lose my enthusiasm. At first it’s just whispered taunts in the ears of her victims, which I was fine with. I mean, what’s more frightening than an unexpected voice in a darkened room? 

 

But before long, the Witch becomes downright chatty. Her words go from taunting, creepy and confrontational to cozy and conversational, and it derailed any menace I felt from her. As she moves into this phase of her relationship with the Bell family, she seems almost hurt that they try and avoid her, her previous actions notwithstanding. She tells them that she really only has “business” with a couple of them, and seems to want to get friendly with the rest. And it’s not just the Bells she talks to, either; at one point she “shows up” at the opening of a new church. Now, you’d think a disembodied and vaguely threatening spirit voice would be cause for pandemonium in a church congregation, but before long the Witch is the life of the party, sharing gossip (and fruit) from far-off places with the parishioners. 

 

At this point in the book I really couldn’t understand the choices Taff was making. He’d gotten off to a truly creepy start and seemed to be constructing a classic, frightening ghost story, then took a left turn into “Casper the Friendly Ghost” territory. But I decided to look a little into the “real” Bell Witch legend, and I saw that many of the accounts describe incidents of the spirit carrying on full conversations with the Bells and with others in the community. In trying to create a fictionalized account of something that many believe really happened, Taff is just incorporating events as they have been described.

 

That being said, I find it hard to criticize Taff for taking this route. It may not have been the story I wanted, but it was the one he felt compelled to tell. An author’s one and only job is, I believe, to stick to his vision of the story he’s putting on paper, and it seems to me that’s exactly what Taff has done.

 

Ultimately, The Bell Witch fell a little short for me, but for reasons that have nothing to do with Taff’s ability as a writer. It’s a book I’m still comfortable recommending to others, because what works or doesn’t work for me is all about personal preference. I think others may find a lot to like in the book. Taff is a good writer with a smooth, engaging style, and based on what I’ve seen in The Bell Witch, I look forward to reading more of his work in the future.

 

 

Blu Gilliand is a freelance writer of fiction and nonfiction. He covers horror fiction at his blog, October Country, and contributes interviews to the Horror World website. Follow him on Twitter at @BluGilliand. 

Gamescom 2013: ‘Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture’ on PS4

August 21, 2013, 1:30 pm

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Indie developer The Chinese Room has been a busy bunch, first making me weep with Dear Esther, then probably making me wet myself with Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs.  At Sony’s Gamescom event, they announced that the next game up their sleeve is the mysterious Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture.

It looks like The Chinese Room is going back to the Dear Esther vibe, with the game world filled with equal parts beauty and desolation.  There’s a definite whiff of the apocalypse, with the ground littered with dead birds and ominous warnings being broadcast over the radio.  Color me intrigued!

Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture will be exclusively released on the Playstation 4.  Check out the trailer below, courtesy of Joystiq.

 

 

Halloween Horror Nights 'Walking Dead' Experience Expands to Include Universal Studios Backlot

August 21, 2013, 2:00 pm

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The walkers will be invading Universal's Halloween Horror Nights this year for the new haunted attraction The Walking Dead: No Safe Haven, based directly on Season 3 of the AMC series... and the studio has added a new feature to the event that should make any horror buff scream with delight: patrons will be given a tour of the Universal backlot where some of the studio's classic monsters were born, visiting isolated movie and TV sets... and all the while, they'll be pursued by hordes of ravenous zombies in the “Apocalypse Scare Zone.”

 

 

No less than Steven Spielberg, whose own Universal monster projects include Jaws and Jurassic Park, praised the studio's decision to include legendary horror movie locations in this event. “As filmmakers, we strive to find the ideal, most authentic filming locations to legitimize our productions and make every scene as realistic as possible,” he explained, “which is why Universal Studios Hollywood continues to take creative risks by extending Halloween Horror Nights to include the studios’ backlot. Theme park guests will be in awe when they have this rare opportunity to walk through the backlot's definitive Hollywood movie-making sets.”

 

Halloween Horror Nights creative director John Murdy and makeup effects guru & Walking Dead Executive Producer Greg Nicotero offer a sneak preview of the backlot tour in this clip:

 

AMC's The Walking Dead infests the Universal Studios Backlot

 

The historic interactive experience will then lead into the new Walking Dead and Black Sabbath 13 3D attractions (we revealed more details on the Sabbath maze here, and it looks pretty damn awesome). Halloween Horror Nights kicks off at Universal Studios Hollywood on Friday, September 20th. Drop by their website for the complete schedule and ticket info.

Gamescom 2013: Go Back to the Basement in ‘The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth’

August 21, 2013, 2:30 pm

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Edmund McMillen’s The Binding of Isaac was an addicting, arresting adventure when it was initially released on Steam, a beautiful bite-sized bout of button-bashing blasphemy.  There have been plenty of rumors and promises of bringing the game to other consoles, including a failed attempt to bring the game to the Nintendo 3DS (I guess Nintendo wasn’t down with sacrilege and mutant-child murder).  Now, Sony has stepped up to the plate, promising that The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth will be released on the PS4 and the PS Vita.

This is more than a simple rerelease or add-on pack.  According to Joystiq, McMillen has completely rebuilt the game in a custom engine (no more Flash!) with local multiplayer, competitive loadouts, extra playable characters, more than 110 new items (raising the item count to roughly eleventy gabillion), new enemies and bosses, and SNES-style 16-bit graphics.  The reworked game will also be coming to Steam, with owners of the original title being promised a “loyalty discount.”

The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth will be released in 2014 for Playstation 4, Playstation Vita, and PC.

 

 

Listen in on Eight of Horror Cinema's Most Terrifying Phone Calls

August 21, 2013, 4:00 pm

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The telephone has a sordid history in cinema, dating back to Dial M for Murder and even earlier, and creepy callers were the subject of a previous FEARnet feature (if you missed it, be sure to check it out here). As we all know, any time the phone rings in a horror film, you can be sure that it’s Satan on the line.

 

Part of what makes telephone calls in horror films so frightening is that the viewer typically cannot see who's tormenting the film’s protagonist. It’s the same basic idea as the unseen perpetrator; we fear that which we cannot see. Therefore, the telephone has been used for many a game of cat and mouse... and to terrify countless babysitters. In honor of one of the most nefarious tools of terror horror cinema has to offer, we count down eight of the most terrifying phone calls in horror... and for your auditory pleasure, you can listen below. [Warning: some spoilers ahead]

 

Ghostface Calls Casey in Scream

 

Scream (1996) - First 5 Minutes (Opening scene)

 

It may be tame by today’s standards, but when audiences saw the opening scene in Scream, where Casey (Drew Barrymore) receives threatening phone calls and is forced to play a deadly game of movie trivia, we were naturally frightened. Ghostface is not only threatening her, but also making threats against her boyfriend, who is tied up in the backyard. Since Barrymore received top billing for the film, we expected her to be the requisite final girl, so killing her off in the first fifteen minutes was a bold move. That unexpected decision, as well as an ingenious script and Wes Craven's keen direction, made Scream one of the most intelligent horror films in years, and made audiences afraid to answer the phone in the same way that Jaws had audiences afraid to hit the beach! 

 

The "Billy" Phone Calls in Black Christmas (1974)

 

Best Horror Scenes: Black Christmas (1974) Creepy Caller

 

Billy was and probably still is a major creep and a huge pervert; he utters sexually explicit remarks that would make even the most sexually experienced individual blush. Not only that, he's half-murmuring and half-screaming about the murderous proclivities that are afoot, terrifying the poor girls in that sorority house as well as the film’s audience. Keeping Billy’s identity a mystery makes the film much scarier than if director Bob Clark had shown us everything and taken the suspense out of the mayhem.

 

"The Stranger" Calling in When a Stranger Calls

 

When a Stranger Calls - Opening

 

When a Stranger Calls is the holy grail of the telephone terror film, as babysitter Jill (Carol Kane) learns firsthand just how scary five simple words could be. “Have you checked the children?” The stranger is ominous, perverse, and relentless; his performance is so chilling that it feels as if we were on the other end of the line. Kane is the perfect blend of vulnerable and tough: we feel for her, but we also want to see her start some shit. When a Stranger Calls went on to inspire countless slasher and suspense films in the years since its release. 

 

All of the Calls in Ringu and The Ring

 

Phone Call

 

The phone calls in Hideo Nakata's Ringu and Gore Verbinski's US remake The Ring aren’t terrifying because of what's being said – or what isn’t being said – on the other end on the line; it has everything to do with the realization that the recipient of the call is about to die. It’s part of human nature (for most people at least) to prefer not to know when they're going to die, and to receive that information is more than most people can bear. To get a call letting you know you're about to kick the bucket is an unimaginably terrifying fate, and these films had timid viewers hesitant to pick up the phone after watching for the first time.   

 

Freddy Krueger Telephones Nancy in A Nightmare on Elm Street

 

Tongue Phone - Nightmare On Elm Street & New Nightmare #1

 

It was scary enough that the phone is ringing when it isn’t even plugged in to the wall... but the proverbial cake is taken when Freddy tries to give Nancy a little smooch through the receiver. Though it's slightly comical to watch after having seen it a hundred times, the first time viewers saw Freddy trying to give Nancy a French kiss by way of her telephone, it was equal parts disgusting and terrifying. Poor Nancy has already been through hell and back, and the last thing she needs is for Freddy to try and mouth-rape her through the phone.

 

All of the Phone Calls from "Rose" in The Caller

 

The Caller (2011) Buried Clip

 

This low budget 2011 horror flick from Puerto Rico packs a lot of punch. Though it doesn’t utilize any mind-blowing special effects or a lot of locations, it succeeds at what it set out to do: terrify its audience. The calls that poor Mary (Rachelle Lefevre) continues to receive from Rose (Lorna Raver), who claims to be calling from the past, were chilling, traumatic, and mean spirited. As Rose goes more and more insane, her calls become more and more terrifying. When Mary tries to cut contact, Rose retaliates by brutalizing Mary as a child. Making things even worse, Rose phones after the fact to coyly gloat about her nefarious handiwork. Way to go, Rose. 

 

The Calls from Hell in 976-Evil 

 

Sticks Downey - "976-EVIL"

 

Poor Hoax (Stephen Geoffreys) just wants to fit in. Unfortunately, he wears sweater vests, lets his eccentric mother run his life, and has a really creepy obsession with spiders. So when Hoax begins calling a "Horror-Scope" line, he finally experiences a taste of being slightly less of a creep. Unfortunately for young Hoax, his newfound popularity is short-lived; he begins receiving phone calls from Satan – or one of Satan’s minions – telling him to do all sorts of terrible things. But, it’s not just Hoax being tormented by the ‘Horror-Scope’ line, one unlucky caller becomes the victim of an exploding phone booth. How’s that for a terrifying phone call? 

 

The "Indrid Cold" Call in The Mothman Prophecies 

 

Conversation with Indrid Cold

 

When John (Richard Gere) receives a call from a friend who has the evasive Indrid Cold on the line, it starts out fairly uneventful... but within seconds, Cold is telling John where he grew up, details about his parents, and even what John is doing as the two of them converse. Moreover, Indrid Cold has a fantastically creepy voice, which amps up the tension by about one thousand percent. Seeing that scene for the first time in a dark theater scared the tar out of me.

 

A very honorable mention to Takashi Miike’s One Missed Call, which would have made the list but we were unable to unearth corresponding video/audio footage to support its inclusion.

Check Out These Amazing Horror Movie Themed Guitars

August 21, 2013, 5:00 pm

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Schecter Guitar Research is well-known among musicians for introducing some sweet horror-themed and gothic-style instruments; they've released guitar models shaped like coffins, and sporting names like “Damien” (which features inlaid flying bats on the neck) and “Hellraiser” (which isn't tied to the movie of the same name, but it's a pretty fine machine). I'll admit I'm rather biased, as I've owned a couple of their axes myself, but they might make a believer out of you too when you lay eyes on these horror movie editions to their Custom Shop Masterworks line.

 

 

The very limited collection (just so you know, several of these have already sold out as of this writing) features licensed artwork depicting several classic Universal Monsters, including Frankenstein's Monster (dig the stitching on the guitar neck... just like the big guy himself) and his Bride, The Mummy (featuring a very 21st-century naked lady) and a beautiful rendering of The Wolf Man.

 

 

Other models include official artwork from Dawn of the Dead (shown at top) and House of 1000 Corpses, with Sid Haig's Captain Spaulding.

 

 

Right now these beauties are only being sold by Drum City Guitarland in Colorado, mostly in the four-figure range (the Universal Monsters guitars had price tags between $4000-5000), so they're targeted at serious collectors with deep wallets... and they're disappearing fast, so be sure to check out their site pronto!

 

'All the Boys Love Mandy Lane' is Finally Getting Released - Was it Worth the Wait?

August 22, 2013, 9:00 am

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All the Boys Love Mandy Lane was bordering on horror movie legend. The indie slasher flick started making the festival rounds in late 2006 and was well received, but it is only now, seven years later, getting an official Stateside release.

The film stars Amber Heard as Mandy Lane, a pretty, virginal high school student who falls in with the fast crowd. She accompanies a quintet of friends out to a ranch in the middle of nowhere for an end-of-the-school-year weekend away. While the specter of date rape hangs over the proceedings, it never comes to fruition because the kids are murdered one by one. It’s a pretty straight-forward plot with a predictable twist ending, but what makes it stand out is beautiful cinematography and a strong cast.

So what happened with Mandy Lane? The Weinstein Company picked up the film for distribution in 2007. The general consensus is that Weinstein shelved it after their Quentin Tarantino / Robert Rodriguez double-feature Grindhouse bombed at the box office and they became a little gun-shy of genre properties. They sold the film to a company called Senator Entertainment US. From what I can tell, Senator opened up an American arm of their German distribution company. They folded quickly and Mandy Lane was lost in limbo for many years (not unlike the delays behind Cabin in the Woods). The film ended up back at The Weinstein Company, and is getting a VOD and limited theatrical release this fall.

I first read about Mandy Lane in 2007, in the British magazine Bizarre. It sounded interesting; I put it on my Netflix list, where it floundered in the “unavailable” column. Eventually, I ditched the DVD portion of Netflix and with it, my list of films that I wanted to watch one day. I was very excited when I was invited to a press screening, and RSVP’d immediately.

So does Mandy Lane live up to the hype? Well... I don’t know how much hype is left. I stopped hoping for Mandy Lane’s release years ago, so this was just a nice surprise. Did I like it? Yes. Did I love it? No. I think that, in this case, the longer wait may have helped it. If Mandy Lane came out, say, two or three years ago, I probably would have still been in that super-excited state, and would have been let down by a good but generic flick. With seven years in between, the hype has died down. Before I got the press release about the movie finally getting a release, I hadn’t thought about Mandy Lane in years. It was like the clock reset.

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FEARnet Movie Review: 'No One Lives'

August 22, 2013, 10:00 am

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It's safe to say we've seen the "home invasion" thriller thrown at us from every conceivable angle by this point. The premise is nothing new, of course, as those who remember the original Straw Dogs (1971) can remind you, but over the last several years we've seen a whole lot of foreign and/or independent films that involve A) a house, B) some killers, and C) a siege of some unpleasant variety.

Take your pick: Funny Games (either version), Them (aka Ils) and High Tension (aka Switchblade Romance) and Inside, The Purge and The Strangers, The Aggression Scale, the remake of Mother's Day, the long-awaited You're Next, and probably a dozen other movies we've both seen. So right off the bat it should be clear that the film we're here to discuss -- No One Lives -- is nothing close to fresh, original, or particularly novel. But the ravenous horror fans know that originality is sometimes overrated, and that sometimes there's simply a good time to be found in the presentation.

 

The simple story of a raving psychopath who terrorizes a cabin full of hateful criminals, No One Lives is completely predictable and obvious if you're focusing solely on the plot -- but if you're fine with a new coat of paint being splashed all over a concept you know by heart, then it's safe to say you'll have some fun with this unpredictably nihilistic little slasher movie. For every stupid line of dialogue or obvious moment, there's something shocking or nasty offered down the line.

 

Directed by Ryuhei Kitamura (best known for the rather solid 2008 rendition of Clive Barker's The Midnight Meat Train), No One Lives stars a more-than-suitably bad-ass Luke Evans (The Raven) as a calm but ridiculously prolific murderer who decides to pick on a bunch of rotten crooks who are hiding from the law. Tucked deep within the frequent unpleasantness of the premise and the characters is one sympathetic character: a young woman called "Emma" who has somehow managed to avoid being one of the killer's victims. And she's not exactly thrilled to be surrounded by nasty thugs.

 

For all its frequent familiarity and its occasional "clunkers" in the dialogue department, No One Lives does display a bit of color and energy once most of the players have been dispatched and we jump into full-bore cat & mouse mode. The director's affection for unexpected kills and copious amounts of graphic gore should keep the horror fans happy, even if Mr. Kitamura still seems to like CGI blood splatters more than he probably should. The practical gore effects, on the other hand, are quite excellent, and the film actually comes up with a few odd and interesting ways to dole out the carnage.

 

Some of the supporting cast is, well, less than exemplary, but in addition to Luke Evans as the supremely no-nonsense maniac, we also get the always interesting Lee Tergesen as a tough-talking crime boss, a cool loose-cannon performance from Derek Magyar, and some fine work from ladies like Laura Ramsey, America Olivo, and Lindsey Shaw. None of the material is brilliant, but these actors know their roles in a siege horror flick like this, and they make the most of it.

 

A perfectly serviceable slasher flick for horror fans who want something simple but still satisfying, No One Lives comes from WWE Studios, and they seem to be branching out beyond making just "vehicles for wrestlers." Their last attempt at hardcore horror was the rather woeful See No Evil (2006), and there's simply no denying that a flick like No One Lives is a solid step in the right direction. For all its obvious stuff and familiar moments, this is sort of a "throwback" slasher/siege movie that takes the sub-genre seriously. That alone makes it a little bit interesting.

 

Gallery 1988's Edgar Wright Art Exhibit Is Open For Business

August 22, 2013, 10:30 am

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With The World's End headed to theaters this weekend, the final film in the "Blood and Ice Cream Trilogy" that began with Shaun of the Dead and was followed up by Hot Fuzz, the internet is whipped into a total Edgar Wright frenzy at the moment, with a whole lot of love being hurled around for the man and his always entertaining work.  When I say it's a beautiful thing, I trust that you'll completely agree with me.

In celebration of the end of the trilogy, and of the entire world for that matter, California based Gallery 1988 just kicked off 'The Official Edgar Wright Art Show,' an artistic tribute to Wright's career featuring nearly 200 incredible pieces from some of the top artists in the game.  Covering everything from Shaun of the Dead to Hot Fuzz, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World to the hilarious faux Grindhouse trailer Don't, the exhibit is a stunning depiction of Wright's diverse body of work, every bit as impressive and delightful as the films he's bestowed upon us.

This past Tuesday night marked the opening reception of the exhibit at the pop-culture themed gallery, located on Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles.  All of the art will be up for viewing at the gallery through September 7th, but Gallery 1988 understands that not everyone lives in close enough proximity to attend.  Which is why the entire gallery is now up for virtual viewing over on their website, so nobody is left out in the cold!

Check out some of my personal favorite pieces from the show, which includes both hand drawn art as well as toys, sculptures and pretty much anything else you can imagine!

Gallery 1988's Edgar Wright Art Exhibit

You can purchase prints and original art, and see every piece from the exhibit, over on Gallery 1988's website; your one stop shop for the coolest pop-culture art the world has ever known!

Now if you'll excuse me, I've gotta go prepare for the end of that aforementioned world by hanging out with some old friends, friends I'd never have met if it weren't for Edgar Wright bringing them into my life.  We salute you, Mr. Wright, this week and forever more!

Facebreaker: 'Dedicated to the Flesh'– CD Review

August 22, 2013, 11:00 am

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While they've been around since 1999, Swedish extreme horror metal combo Facebreaker (not to be confused with the video game of the same name) tend to channel an even earlier era of death metal – the kind pioneered in their native land in the late '80s and early '90s by bands like Entombed – but with the stronger accent on horror themes characteristic of their US counterparts, and zombie themes in particular, often earning them the subgenre handle of "zombie metal." Their 2004 debut album Bloodred Hell was released on now-defunct UK label Rage of Achilles, but didn't quite rise above the underground until it was picked up by Cyclone Empire five years later. A slate of successful European shows followed, and the band returned to the studio for the 2010 follow-up Infected, which also picked up a fair share of critical praise among fans of the "Stockholm sound." Their third full-length, Dedicated to the Flesh, dropped this week in the US via Metal Blade Records, and picks up almost exactly where Infected left off – riffing on the original concept of a zombie outbreak and expanding it to global proportions, to the point where the only solution is atomic annihilation.

 

 

Facebreaker's handle is well-earned, as their musical style is simple, relentless and harsh, staying for the most part within the boundaries laid down over two decades ago, with less emphasis on technicality and more on thunderous, caustic riffs and raging ogre-style vocals. The pace is deliberate, without many rhythmic change-ups (even in the breakdowns) that you might expect from more thrash-inspired bands, though there is the occasional no-nonsense solo from lead guitarist Mika Lagreen. That's not to say the band hasn't cross-pollinated with other subgenres this time around; several tracks incorporate elements of the groove-based “death 'n' roll” rhythm common to bands like Six Feet Under. But in its pitch-black heart, Dedicated to the Flesh is still a Stockholm-style death metal album, driven to destruction with that distinctive, tortured guitar tone, even while digging through the graphic horror movie themes favored by their US counterparts like Obituary and Necrophagia.

 

The lyrics, written mainly by guitarist Janne Ivarsson, again focus almost exclusively on flesh-eating zombies and their doomed human prey (which is totally cool by me), delivered in the standard guttural roar by frontman Roberth Karlsson. Old-school fans know the sound, and admittedly it's an acquired taste, but certainly drives home the extreme horror elements. The infusion of down-tempo groove metal comes through strongest in the opening cut "Meat Freak," while the vintage dynamic drives the crushing title track and picks up momentum with cuts like "Catacomb." There are further variations in tempo this time out, from more deliberate floor-hugging chuggers like “Zombie Flesh Cult” to the speedier thrash of "Mutilator," peaking with the ultra-violent assault of “World Cremation,” which along with “Catacomb”  ranks among the band's most intense head-banging offerings, and the closing cut "Tomb of the Hungry Dead" is suitably apocalyptic.

 

 

If you have a taste for early-era European death metal and the merciless buzzsaw tone of the genre's pioneers, Facebreaker is just the feast of entrails you've been craving. Even if you only dabble in old-school mode, Dedicated to the Flesh is still a must-have for fans of splattery horror metal in general, and zombie-themed music in particular.

 

Still need convincing? Go no further than “Carving for Brains," which was the first of the album's tracks to premiere in the US, and a solid representation of the album's extreme themes.

 

 

 

 

Gamescom 2013: ‘Diablo 3: Reaper of Souls’ Opening Cinematic Revealed

August 22, 2013, 12:00 pm

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Blizzard has finally announced an expansion pack for last year’s Diablo 3, subtitled Reaper of Souls.  Of course, being a Blizzard title, there is the usual high-polished cinematic on display to lay out the story.

The expansion centers on Malthael, the Angel of Death, as he captures the Black Soulstone that houses the essence of Diablo, which will naturally lead to more supernatural shenanigans.

No release date has been set for the expansion pack, or whether it will be made available for the upcoming console releases.

 

 

Ten of the Coolest Horror Movie Toys That Were Never Released

August 22, 2013, 1:00 pm

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Much like the movie business, the toy business is a fickle one, and things don't always go as planned. Over the years, many different toys have been shown off on the internet and at conventions like Toy Fair, never making it past that prototype stage and never finding their way onto our shelves. There's truly nothing more depressing than an awesome toy that was supposed to enter our lives but for whatever reason did not, and today I invite you to get depressed with me.

 

Today we present ten of the coolest toys that we can look at, but may never actually be able to touch and hold. If the pictures below ruin your day and leave your toy collection feeling sad and incomplete, don't say I didn't warn you!

 

Leatherface from Texas Chainsaw Massacre 3 (Mezco)

 

 

Many companies over the years have put out various different Leatherface action figures, depicting him as he was seen in most of the films in both the original and reboot franchises. And yet, we've never gotten a Leatherface toy based on one of my personal favorite installments: the highly underrated and underappreciated Leatherface: Texas Chainsaw Massacre 3. Not only do I love the movie, but I also really dig the look of Leatherface in the film, and that badass rockstar chainsaw he wields. Even sadder than the fact that we've never gotten a Chainsaw 3 Leatherface toy is the fact that we came so close to getting our hands on one, with Mezco showing off this awesome figure at the 2010 Toy Fair. Unfortunately, he found himself stuck in the dreaded Toy Fair Hell.

 

Herbert West from Re-Animator (Amok Time)

 

 

Can you believe that we've never gotten a single Herbert West toy after all these years? Considering West is such an iconic character, it's actually quite shocking. Back in 2009, Executive Replicas whipped up this 12" version of West which was to be sold exclusively by distributor Amok Time, and released that same year. It was set to be a limited edition piece, with only 1,000 made, and a price tag of around $80. First the figure was pushed back to early 2010, and then it fell off the toy radar completely, reportedly due to a lack of interest in the prototype images. I've heard that Amok Time may eventually inject the toy with that vibrant green serum and bring it back to life sometime down the road, but for now the good doctor remains off of our shelves.

 

Samara from The Ring (NECA)

 

 

Way back in 2005, news broke that NECA was planning on releasing an action figure based on the US remake of The Ring, with concept art showing off an incredible box set that left all fans of the movie salivating. The set was to feature a figure of Samara along with two different display bases: a TV set and a well, the two things that Samara can most often be found emerging from.

 

 

Coolest of all, the figure was going to come apart at the waist, allowing us to either display her in front of the well or split her in half, and have her coming out of the TV. The hair was even going to be flexible, allowing those two different poses to really come to life. From what I've heard, NECA was unable to acquire the proper licensing to actually release the set, and that spelled the end of this awesome toy of everyone's favorite well-dweller. (On a related note, a Ringu vinyl figure was recently released in Japan, though the price tag of nearly $100 is enough to ward most collectors off.

 

SOTA Toys "Now Playing" Series 4

 

 

When we're talking about unreleased horror toys, it's impossible not to mention Series 4 of SOTA Toys' Now Playing line, the most infamous of all the horror toys that were never made. Founded by FX artist Jerry Macaluso, SOTA turned their attention to horror and cult movie toys with the Now Playing line, which was comprised of three series and featured all sorts of unique toys, including a Nazi demon from American Werewolf In London and Citizen Toxie himself, The Toxic Avenger. It was at the 2006 San Diego Comic Con that the fourth series of the line was debuted, an entire series that died along with the death of the line.

 

Why is this so depressing?  Because Now Playing Series 4 was comprised of some of the coolest horror toys of all time. First up we've got that loveable little Leprechaun, which would've been his first and only toy to date. In addition to the base seen in the picture above, this Leprechaun figure was also going to come with an alternate head, with half of ole Lep's face melted off into a green goo. SOTA also showed off a Leprechaun bust at the '06 Comic Con, another awesome item that never saw release.

 

 

Series 3 of the Now Playing line included an incredible The Thing box set, which saw MacReady poised with a gun and ready to blow away that demon dog creature. Series 4 was going to include this very similar box set, only based on Tremors, and with Burt Gummer poised and ready to take out a giant Graboid. This set was also shown off at the 2006 Comic Con, but interestingly enough was gone from the line at the following year's event, replaced with a totally different but equally awesome box set...

 

 

Yep, we were this close to actually having toys of both David, in werewolf form, and a dead and torn-up Jack, from American Werewolf In London. Though SOTA toys did previously release the aforementioned Nazi demon and also a bust of the titular werewolf, these two toys didn't make it out of the Now Playing Series 4 implosion alive, and were never again seen after this picture was taken.

 

 

We round out the Now Playing Series 4 travesty with Herbert West's second appearance on this list. Another toy that was included in the line when it was shown off at the 2006 Comic Con, this one had also disappeared when the line was again shown the following year. This smaller scale version of West than the one mentioned above was going to include Dr. Hill's head in a tray, and even the infamous zombie cat, a real treat for Re-Animator fans that will forever taunt us with its beauty. 0-2 on the toy front, Dr. West!

 

SOTA Toys is still around today, but there are sadly no plans to ever resurrect the Now Playing line, which was also set to include a different Killer Klown than the ones they had previously released. Thankfully for us, Amok Time has recently been producing their own Killer Klowns from Outer Space toys, taking over where SOTA left off.

 

The Engineer from Hellraiser (NECA)

 

 

Though NECA's line of toys based on Hellraiser only lasted for three series, the original plan was to have it continue long beyond that, and include figures of pretty much every Cenobite and creature seen in each of the movies in the franchise. This prototype sculpt of The Engineer from the first film is all that remains of a planned box set that was to also include Kirsty Cotton, a character that ended up never getting released in any form by NECA (or any other company, for that matter). Just as planned future series of the Hellraiser line never came to fruition, neither did the Engineer/Kirsty box set, which would've likely been the coolest Hellraiser figures that NECA ever released. Sigh.

 

Zombie Ed from Shaun of the Dead (NECA)

 

 

Speaking of NECA: they made a couple different Shaun of the Dead toys around the time of the film's release, giving both Shaun and his best friend Ed the plastic treatment. Ed was packaged in a two-pack with Shaun, and the plan was to subsequently release Ed on his own, and in his zombie form, as part of Series 2 of their Cult Classics Hall of Fame line. The series ended up coming out, but Zombie Ed was not included. Oddly enough, a quick search on eBay turns up a bunch of these unproduced toys, Chinese knockoffs that look pretty damn close to the prototype above. Not sure what the story is with that, but they're there if ya want them!

 

Freddy Krueger "Monster Squirt" Water Gun (LJN)

 

 

We finish things off by going old school, all the way back to the glorious '80s. LJN made all sorts of fun horror toys in that decade, including a Freddy Krueger "squirt head" and Freddy and Jason "squirt balls," the latter of which also included squirt balls of two of their victims. In 1987 they planned on continuing the theme of turning vicious killers into kid-friendly squirt toys with these Freddy and Jason water guns. Dubbed the "Monster Squirt" assortment, Freddy made it to the prototype stage, while only concept art for the Jason gun was produced. From the looks of the vendor catalog image above, it appears as if Freddy's gun was supposed to shoot water from his mouth, while pushing down on Jason's arms would unleash a torrent of water from the head of his trusty axe. You've just gotta love the '80s!

 

Which of these toys would you most like to own? Do you know of any other awesome toys that were never produced? Drop a comment below and let us know!