In the Netflix original series 'Hemlock Grove,' a teenage girl is brutally murdered sparking a hunt for her killer, but in a town where everyone hides a secret, will they find the monster among them? And speaking of monsters, this behind the scenes clip shows interviews with the cast discussing the various extent of their monster counterparts. 'Hemlock Grove' stars Famke Janssen, Penelope Mitchell & Freya Tingley, the first episode was directed by Eli Roth and you can now stream all 13 episodes on Netflix!
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Behind-The-Scenes 'Hemlock Grove' Clip Explores The Monster Within
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'True Blood' Teaser: Waiting Sucks - Jason Edition
True Blood is back with its tantalizing series of "Waiting Sucks" clips. This season we are starting out with a meatier-than-usual clip of a stand-off between Jason and Nora - with a little Sookie in the middle.
True Blood season six begins June 16th on HBO.
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Scream Factory Unveils 'The Fog' Blu-ray Details
Scream Factory has added another horror classic to their growing list of new Blu-ray & DVD releases this summer: John Carpenter's beloved 1980 classic The Fog will make its Blu-ray debut in a cool Collector's Edition, with a new HD transfer supervised by the film's Oscar®-nominated cinematographer Dean Cundey, and a ton of bonus features.
Extras exclusive to the Scream Factory release include:
- Exclusive interview with Actress Jamie Lee Curtis discussing The Fog and covering her legendary early 80s “Scream Queen” career
- Audio commentary featuring Actress Adrienne Barbeau, Actor Tom Atkins and Production Designer Tommy Lee Wallace
- Retrospective interview with Director of Photography Dean Cundey about his many legendary collaborations with John Carpenter
- Horror’s Hallowed Grounds – A Look At The Film’s Locations with host Sean Clark
- New cover art and a reversible wrap with original theatrical key art
Extras ported over from the MGM DVD release include:
- Tales From The Mist: Inside The Fog Featurette
- Fear On Film: Inside The Fog Featurette
- The Fog: Storyboard To Film Featurette
- Outtakes
- Theatrical Trailers & TV Spots
- Photo Gallery and Storyboards
- Audio Commentary With Writer/Director John Carpenter And Writer/Producer Debra Hill
Both the Blu-ray and DVD versions of The Fog are slated for release on July 30th, and the first 500 copies ordered directly from Scream Factory's website will include an exclusive 18”x24” poster featuring the newly commissioned artwork. Visit the site for ordering info (Blu-ray edition at this link; DVD edition here).
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Take a Video Tour of the New Toe Tag Store
If you're a fan of extreme horror, you're probably familiar with Toe Tag Pictures – the independent studio behind the controversial August Underground film series, which continues to shock even the most jaded horror fans a dozen years after the first film's debut. Fred Vogel, the brains behind the Toe Tag team, is not only an award-winning filmmaker, but also a strong advocate for other independent and underground artists, and his latest enterprise is another cool venue for their films and other works to find new audiences: the official Toe Tag Store, which just held its grand opening in Millvale, PA.
In addition to a full stock of videos, artwork, clothing and other collectibles, the store also exhibits original works from featured artists, with new pieces being displayed on a revolving basis, and will also host events. Vogel guides fans on a video walk-through of the shop which you can watch right here:
Be sure to drop by Toe Tag's Facebook page for more info and event updates!
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Before They Were Horror Icons: Robert Englund and Jamie Lee Curtis
Robert Englund
Best Known As: Freddy Krueger, A Nightmare on Elm Street
Jamie Lee Curtis
Best Known As: Laurie Strode, Halloween
Once Appeared In: The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries, “The Mystery of the Fallen Angels”
These iconic horror stars - one a villain, the other a heroine - appeared together early in their careers. In fact, this 1977 episode of The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries was one of the first acting gigs for each of them. Englund plays Gar, and Curtis plays Mary, a couple of no-good motorcycle carnies. They first appear at around the five-minute mark in this episode.
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Wumpscut: 'Madman Szpital'– CD Review
Almost one year ago to the day, when we last checked in on the evil dance grooves of German hellektro artist Wumpscut, aka Rudy Ratzinger, he was courting controversy with the insane promotional art for his album Women & Satan First, which also marked a strong return to the gothic horror beats and dark cinematic soundscapes that won him a worldwide following (and which made a die-hard fan out of this writer). With this year's ten-track release Madman Szpital, Rudy has found a fairly stable balance between those ominous musical themes and his decades of DJ experience twisting up beats – and he's invited other artists into his devil's playground to take part in the full-length remix album DJ Dwarf 13, continuing a tradition that began in 1997 with his hit album Embryodead and its companion remix disc.
The record is definitely front-loaded with its strongest tracks – including the eerie, jazz-sampling title track that shuffles to a down-tempo waltz beat; the glassy but punchy synth pattern of “Der Liebe Gott Sieht Alles” and the organ-driven “Tod Essen Leben Auf,” which calls to mind Goblin's score for Dario Argento's Tenebrae. Cuts like “The Duke of Death,” while suitably dark and atmospheric, feels a bit methodical compared to the first three songs, and “We Are Immortal” feels too light and airy for Ratzinger's overdriven vocal, but the synth colors of “Ich Bin Der Tod” are ideally bright and cinematic.
“Gabi Grausam” takes a mellower tone, with plinking metallic percussion loops beneath a softer synth line and moodier, more melodic vocals, but that mood is blasted out of the water with the industrial noise thuds of “Moshe Tokoloshe,” featuring guest vocals by Aleta Welling. I'm sure the racist title and samples of “Du Neger” are meant to be provocative, but the song itself doesn't make enough of a statement to make it worth a listen. The album ends on a light but moody tone with the breezy “Vegan Witch,” carried along by synths that recall John Carpenter's later-period film scores.
While there are some very strong entries here, Madman Szpital doesn't quite pack the horrific punch of Women & Satan First– which I'll admit is a tough act to follow – but there's enough good material to provide grist for the remix mill, in the form of DJ Dwarf XIII. It's a solid and entertaining installment in the ongoing series, weighing in at sixteen tracks in all. The guest remixers span multiple genres including hard EDM, dark ambient, dub and industrial noise, with Dutch ambient/electro duo Advent Resilience among the major contributors, their best entry being a wicked noise-heavy spin on “Ich Bin Der Tod." The list of worthy repeaters also includes a seriously dark, brain-hammering rendition of “Tod Essen Leben Auf” by terror EBM unit Reactor7x, a cosmic expansion of “Grobian” by Sinthetik Messiah, and a club-mad version of “Gabi Grausam” by Ustkraltor.
As a side note to collectors, Wumpscut has always been prolific when it comes to special editions, box sets and collectible bundles, and Madman Szpital is no exception: the limited edition is bundled with the remix album along with tons of Wumpscut swag, and the new artwork by renowned illustrator Daniele Serra (selected as 2012 Artist of the Year by UK site This Is Horror) is both cute and creepy, reminiscent of the “Baby Cthulhu” mascot that adorned the 2000 double-album Bloodchild.
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Gift Guide: Latex Scream Queen Dress
Just because you are running from a psychopath with a machete doesn't mean you can't look hot. And just because you want to look like a Scream Queen doesn't mean you have to put yourself into mortal danger. Accomplish your Scream Queen dreams safely with this slashed latex minidress. Complete with a slashed midsection, tattered hem, and "broken" shoulder strap and accented with fake blood, this dress is perfect for Halloween or prom.
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Exclusive! 'The Vampire Diaries' Producer Gives Us a Sneak Peek at Season Five
We only have four episodes left in the fourth season of The Vampire Diaries but there are still an awful lot of questions to be answered. Will Elena get her humanity back? Will Silas unleash an eternity of supernaturals onto the world? And what of the Originals if their show goes? We went straight to the source for answers: writer and producer Caroline Dries, who filled us in on what to expect for the rest of this season, and gives us a preview of season five.
What can we expect for the rest of the season?
They are filming the finale right now, that Julie [Plec] and I wrote. We are proud of the fact that... the first few episodes of the season - 401, 402 - all the mythology we started the show with, the massacres and the hunters - the chickens come home to roost in the finale. Everything we’ve been building towards happens as the students are graduating high school. It feels like a huge payoff. So things should feel surprising, but at the same time, we have really set them up.
We get to look forward to our gang graduating high school. We get to unfold the different layers of Silas as we get to know him better as the villain. There are some huge surprises with Bonnie and her magic that will shake us to our core, I think. We saw how Katherine and Elijah’s relationship kind of came out of left field, and yet made perfect sense - at least to me. We get to see that [relationship] evolve a little more and learn more of Katherine’s story. Then there is Elena, who we saw at prom as this heartless bitch who tried to kill her best friend. The boys need to put a stop to it because Elena is becoming her own worst nightmare. Elena has become the villain of the season at this point. So the Salvatores have to test their own limits with Elena, and do everything in their power to make her turn her emotions back on. It puts a huge strain on them because this is the woman they both love. How do you make her turn her emotions back on?
One of the things that was hinted at in the prom episode was that the only emotions Elena seems to respond to are fear and pain. Can we expect to see the boys just torturing the shit out of her?
Yes. In the least pretty fashion. This is where they realize - and the audience sees - how strong Elena is as a character - and as a villain, because she is able to withstand so much of their torture. [Damon and Stefan] torturing her is actually torture for them because they love her so much. So she is able to play with that dynamic. If you think Elena is a villain now, she manages to become an even greater villain. By the end of the season, we will find a way for her to become the Elena we know. Ultimately, we need to answer the question of the cure - the cure is still out there. And once Elena is back to being regular Elena Gilbert, with her emotions and her humanity, the question is hanging over our heads: were her feelings for Damon due to the sire bond? Were they real? Does she still love Stefan? So she has to answer that question, which is the big emotional journey for her this season.
The Vampire Diaries has never been afraid to kill off main characters, as we have seen time and again. Will everyone who was alive as of the prom episode survive the end of the season?
Um..... no. You know everything can’t go that well! There is always a body count.
That is one of the things I love about Vampire Diaries. It is “realistic” in the sense that, unlike in other TV shows, not everyone makes it to the end; they don’t all get out of their sticky situations. I think that is what keeps the show exciting and keeps viewers on their toes.
Yeah, it totally does. What I realized when I first started working on this show is that what really makes this show pop is that it lives in the truth. The truth is an ugly, uncomfortable place. Rather than running from it, you just charge into it, and that is where the best stories come from. That’s why I think Damon pops off the page so much, because he just says truthful things. They are hurtful, but that is what makes it shocking.
What can you tell us about The Originals pilot that airs this week?
It feels like [Vampire Diaries] but it has a new layer to it because it is set in New Orleans. It has a different vibe to it and it’s own set of characters. It’s a very compelling show. I feel like it was well done and a very interesting story.
If The Originals goes to series, will there be crossover episodes?
Yes. The plan is to do some crossover episodes. We don’t have any specifics yet.
The Vampire Diaries has already been picked up for a fifth season. Have you guys started breaking scripts yet? Do you know what will happen after the kids graduate?
Yeah. Even though we are done with season four story-wise, we do this thing called “Vampire Diaries Boot Camp.” We gather in the writer’s room, and now that we don’t have to deal with production phone calls and writing scripts, we just have full days of brainstorming the big ideas of the next season. That is what we are in the process of doing right now. We are thinking of the big stuff: Elena is going to go to college, which will be huge, but we want to keep it grounded in Mystic Falls as well. Obviously Damon isn’t going to go to college; but Caroline and Bonnie and Elena are roommates.... We want to keep the stories intertwined, and not just have separate college storylines.
A lot of shows set in high school seem to have a difficult time making that transition to college. Are you at all worried about that? I mean, truly, Vampire Diaries stopped being about high school long ago.
I think we will handle college the way we handle high school. They’re not going to be sitting in class every five minutes, but we are hyper-aware of it. We want to make sure the season feels fresh and new, like we are starting at a new place in Elena’s life. That’s what we like about college. What we don’t like about it is having these isolated college people in one place, then these other people in another place. So the challenge for us is to make sure all the storylines are intertwining and keeping the ensemble alive.
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'Warhouse' Headed for U.S. Release
US rights to the psychological horror film Warhouse have just been picked up by XLRator Media, and the film is now on track for release in the States later this year. The film stars Joseph Morgan, best known as Klaus in The Vampire Diaries, as well as its upcoming spin-off pilot The Originals.
Written and directed by Luke Massey, Warhouse is the story of Royal Marine A.J. Budd (Morgan) who awakens alone and imprisoned in a mysterious house, where he must do battle with monstrous enemies in order to survive. His only hope lies in the writings of Lieutenant Sterling (Matt Ryan), an officer in World War I who faced the same predicament ages ago. The two men's tales intertwine as the bloody secret of the Warhouse unfolds.
You can see Morgan in the New Orleans-based pilot episode of The Originals when it premieres on the CW tomorrow night.
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The 'Hatchet III' Red-Band Trailer Has Arrived!
Man, oh man. A few weeks back we got to see the teaser trailer for 'Hatchet III' which did just that, tease us of the sequel to come, but now a brand-new red-band trailer has been unleashed and it delivers the gory goods! Check out what is now our best look at the epic 3rd chapter in the 'Hatchet' series, this time helmed by director BJ McDonell. Danielle Harris and Kane Hodder return along with new cast members Zach Galligan ('Gremlins'), Derek Mears ('Friday The 13th'), Caroline Williams ('Texas Chainsaw Massacre II') & Sean Whale ('The People Under The Stairs'). Series creator Adam Green returns as writer/producer on this installment which opens in select theaters on June 14th. While you're at it, be sure to check out the below FEARnet exclusive interview with BJ McDonnell and Derek Mears all on 'Hatchet III'!
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FEARnet Movie Review: 'Bad Kids Go to Hell'
It's hard to know what to make of the indie horror satire Bad Kids Go to Hell simply because the flick has no freaking idea what it is. That's not to say that a low-budget genre film has to fit into any specific category, but here's an example of a potentially novel idea and some solid production value being used in service of... what? At first Bad Kids Go to Hell seems (a lot) like a late-arriving horror version of The Breakfast Club, but early in the film one of the characters dismisses the widely-adored '80s dramedy as little more than empty-headed teen angst nonsense.
So is Bad Kids Go to Hell some sort of chaotic piece of pop culture weirdness like the recent (and somewhat similar) Detention? Not really because it's slavishly beholden to a ton of backstory and chit-chat that accomplishes little besides slow the movie down to a crawl -- and while I did not care for Detention, that movie has a sense of energy, at the very least.
So that means that Bad Kids Go to Hell is (by default) little more than a "six kids in detention" horror story that spends may too much time on things that simply aren't scary, creepy, novel or new. It certainly doesn't help that all of the characters are insufferable teenaged assholes. That might be one of the points that co-writers Matt Spradlin and Barry Wernick are trying to deliver in a rather over-the-top and convoluted fashion, but that doesn't make these spoiled brats any less annoying to spend time with.
From a horror fan's angle, we're expecting that one of the detainees is a psycho of some sort, but then the movie goes up and throws an :"ancient Indian burial ground" subplot into the mix. It's clearly meant to be a goof on one of the most overused haunted house concepts under the sun, but it's hard to call something satire when it's never funny, and it's hard to take "scares" seriously when none of the characters in the film can manage to.
A lot of the film's irritatingly schizophrenic nature could be overlooked if the intentionally broad and one-note "stereotype" characters brought anything besides snark, sarcasm, and derision -- but Bad Kids Go to Hell is content to settle for shock value and venom over wit, thrills or insight. Frankly it seems like one of those movies made "for teenagers" by people who know little about teenagers aside from what they see on sitcoms and daytime talk shows.
READ FEARnet's PARTNER REVIEWS OF BAD KIDS GO TO HELL
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'True Blood' Waiting Sucks - Alcide Edition
In the latest True Blood micro-mini web series "Waiting Sucks," Alcide enforces his pack master status when it comes to the protection of Luna's daughter (played here by an adorable puppy).
True Blood begins its sixth season on June 16th on HBO.
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Batman & Fiends Enshrined in 'Haunted Arkham Asylum' Portraits
If you've been to Disneyland's Haunted Mansion, you've probably seen the famous “stretching portraits,” a series of paintings which expand to reveal hidden images. That display inspired artist Abraham Lopez to create similar portraits of iconic Batman characters – including The Joker, Harley Quinn, Poison Ivy, and of course Batman's own team – for his work “Haunted Arkham Asylum.”
Recently Laughing Squid showcased Lopez's four panels alongside the Disney Originals (shown above, designed by Marc Davis and painted by Clem Hill) for comparison, and the scenarios are a dead-on homage: Harley balanced over Killer Croc, The Joker holding Scarface, Ivy perched on Ra’s Al Ghul's tombstone, and the Batman family sinking into a pool of Clayface.
More of Lopez's excellent work can be found at his DeviantArt and Tumblr pages.
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Jason Bognacki's 'The Red Door' Now Available Online
A year ago we had a chat with photographer, musician and filmmaker Jason Bognacki about his stylish, sensual and chilling film projects, including 2008's award-winning mini feature The Red Door– an intense thriller inspired by the works of Dario Argento, David Lynch and Stanley Kubrick. Jason has launched his own VOD site Full Frame Features, where The Red Door is now available for streaming in an exclusive Director's Cut.
Also available on the site is the five-minute short The White Face, and the long-awaited horror film Another will be premiering there soon. The sequel Beyond the Red Door is in the works as well – slated for release this summer – and it looks just as amazing as its predecessor.
Here's a haunting preview montage of the Full Frame Features catalog:
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Horror Music Video of the Week: Antropomorphia - 'Debauchery In Putrefaction'
Last fall we took a listen to Evangelium Nekromantia, an album of “murder, necromancy, and necrolesbian lust” from Holland's death metal unit Antropomorphia, along with the band's first-ever music video “Psuchagogia.” Be sure to check out that review here (be warned, NSFW album art inside).
This week the band has returned with a follow-up clip for the track “Debauchery In Putrefaction,” which plays out as the second chapter in an ongoing necromantic saga, depicting a cryptic countess lovingly washing a fresh corpse in preparation for... well, you get the idea.
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Snow White's Poison Bite: 'Featuring Dr. Gruesome'– CD Review
When I first came across this Finnish quartet via the music video “The End of Prom Night,” they were still experimenting with adding touches of horror imagery to a more mainstream brand of poppy post-hardcore – much in the mode of Black Veil Brides, but with a more playful dynamic. This year, I found the band stirring shock rock, horror punk, alt-metal and dark carnival ingredients into the stew for their new album, which goes by the whopper of a title Featuring Dr. Gruesome and the Gruesome Gory Horror Show, and for a split second I wasn't sure I was listening to the same guys... but I did like what I was hearing so far, so I dug deeper. When I caught the single “Will You Meet Me in the Graveyard?” with its accompanying lyric video packed with sick scenes from dozens of horror movies, the band finally landed my undivided attention.
On a foundation of no-nonsense hardcore with hooks aplenty, Snow White built a more flamboyant sound for Dr. Gruesome (their first release on the Victory Records label), served up with a macabre playfulness reminiscent of my long-time faves Creature Feature or Mike Patton's infamous Mr Bungle, although a bit less focused and rougher around the edges. That doesn't detract from the album's hysterical energy, however, and I found myself swept up in their enthusiasm. While the name of the intro & title track combo "Gruesomely Introducing: Dr. Gruesome and the Gruesome Gory Horror Show" had me cringing a bit, the first two cuts actually combine as a fun spookhouse mood-setter with a “thrills and chills of the haunted house” vibe, blackened vocal treatments, surf-rock guitars and a rousing chorus. The latter put me in the mind of a latter-day Misfits presentation, so it was welcome news to discover the Misfits' own Michale Graves also contributes to the album on the track "Zombie Romance," which whiplashes from doo-wop hellbilly croon to Cradle of Filth-style gothic metal and back to horror punk. It's insane, but it works.
The band goes extra heavy for "There's a New Creep On the Block," which benefits from the album's beefiest riffs and a muscular breakdown; the guitars are even hookier in "Halloween Means Death," coursing from clean picking to a wailing, overdriven lead line, with the old reliable theremin providing the right touch of lo-fi spookiness, and a vocal that calls to mind Alice Cooper at his most mischievous. "Count Dracula Kid!" is a more straightforward horror punk number, but it's got a seriously fun chorus, and "Dr. Gruesome" (yeah, that's like the eleventh “Gruesome” so far... just go with it) sports speedy, mega-heavy riffage, lightning percussion and demonic screamed vocals layered with leering, mean-spirited cleans, making it one of the album's strongest repeaters. A reedy organ line colors the power ballad "Lurking Inside of You," which has a certain Marilyn Manson feel to the verses, but without all that macabre irony weighing it down. "The Show Must Gruesomely End," says the closing track (managing to fit in one more “Gruesome” title in there), bookending the record on a “to be continued...” vibe, with the spirit of Alice Cooper once again smiling malevolently over the proceedings.
Snow White's sound may incorporate elements from many well-worn horror rock genres, but thankfully Dr. Gruesome doesn't come off as a pastiche of their influences; instead, I'm hearing the stirrings of something unique, a vast step forward from their pop-punk origins and into a crazed shock-rock carnival that is all the more memorable for flying its horror flag extra-high. Just about any artist with a Halloween-year-round attitude is welcome on my playlist, and thanks to their unfiltered energy and musicianship, many of this band's tracks will find a happy home there.
Now it's your turn to play horror trivia with this lyric video for "Will You Meet Me In The Graveyard?"
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Ventriloquist Dummies Part 2: The Revengening
A few months back, we terrified you with some images from a photo book by Matthew Rolson that focused on the ventriloquist dummies of the Vent Haven Museum in Kentucky.
They are back - with video.
Take a tour through the Vent Haven Museum, the only museum in the world dedicated to ventriloquism. They have about 800 terrifying little dolls, many of which museum curator Jennifer Dawson promises can walk, sweat, spit, or pee. So not only do they have soulless eyes that chill you to your core, they are also unsanitary. Great.
For more info on the Vent Haven Museum, or to schedule your vist, check out VentHavenMuseum.com
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Review of Justin Brooks’ Stephen King: A Primary Bibliography of the World’s Most Popular Author, 2013 Revised Edition
Some books are held for pleasure, to paraphrase AC/DC, meant to be picked up, carried, engaged in. Novels are like that. Biographies, trivia books, collections of Chuck Klosterman essays, even historical exposés, provided that they’re written by accessible geniuses like Doris Kearns Goodwin or Sarah Vowell. Bibliographies are the other kind of book. You use them for research, or to corroborate dates and times if you’re writing a report or an essay or a thesis. They huddle like stuffy owls until they’re needed, and then they’re forgotten about again. They’re shelf books.
Usually.
The subject of Stephen King tends to bring out the playfulness in books you’d least expect. Justin Brooks’ new Stephen King: A Primary Bibliography of the World’s Most Popular Author, 2013 Revised Edition falls squarely into this category. Certainly its primary goal is as a reference book, and it’s a damn fine one at that. Poring through the pages (do we still call them pages if it’s an eBook? Let’s say sure.), one cannot help but be astonished by the sheer amount of work put in. Brooks’ bibliography aims to provide a complete publication history for every English-language work Stephen King has written. Think about that. Considering a comprehensive list of just King’s novels would be staggering: the first printing, the large-print edition, the paperback printing, the movie tie-in edition, the UK printing, and what if the book’s ever been excerpted anywhere, ever? That’s all in there, and not just for the novels. It’s everything King ever published: books, short fiction, short non-fiction, poetry, plays, screenplays, and weird stuff like puzzles and recipes.
And everything? Means everything. Brooks’ Primary Bibliography has a very forgiving interpretation of the term “published,” including stuff King self-published when he was young. There are listings for the semi-famous “hidden” work like People, Places, & Things, and the adaptation of “The Pit and the Pendulum” King referenced in On Writing. But here’s where things get mind-boggling: just as King expert Rocky Wood (who writes a fun foreword here) recently revealed a trove of uncovered King stories in his Uncollected, Unpublished: Revised & Expanded, Brooks dredges up even deeper stores of King work. Have you ever heard of “The Undead”? Or “Trigger-Finger”? How about “Code Name: Moustrap” (yes, spelled that way)? Brooks has, and there are listings – and background information – for all of them, and more. So much more.
No one would begrudge Brooks if he contained his exhaustive research to published output, but no: the entire second half (the dark half?) of the book is dedicated to King’s unpublished work. There are twenty listings for unpublished (often unfinished) novels. There’s mention of a heretofore unknown story called “The Points Dig Deep” that won King a National Scholastic contest in the early 1960s. And there’s more than just juvenilia revealed here: stories King wrote around the time Carrie was written get their unveiling here, thrilling, unheard-of titles such as “The Insanity Game,” “The Null Set,” and “Mobius.” Along the way, Brooks cleans up titles, dates, and rumors that have long been accepted as fact; one of the book’s main strengths is transforming speculation into information.
These listings, and the in-depth research behind them, help Brooks’ Primary Bibliography transcend the designation of shelf book and become something both fascinating and compulsively readable. It’s a reference book, but it’s also fun; not many bibliographies achieve that status, but Brooks manages the feat with aplomb.
Stephen King: A Primary Bibliography of the World’s Most Popular Author is now available as an eBook, readable on most platforms.
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.
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Goblin Playing First-Ever US Show!
Fans of European horror movies – especially from the '70s and '80s – are probably on an intimate basis with the Italian rock band Goblin. Their most famous and memorable works include the scores for George Romero's epic Dawn of the Dead and Dario Argento's 1977 classic Suspiria– one of the loudest, weirdest and most terrifying film soundtracks ever created.
While Goblin has been active in various incarnations since their foundation in the mid-'70s, and core member Claudio Simonetti has played their music at US shows with his side project Daemonia, Goblin's original co-founders – Simonetti and Maurizio Guarini – have never performed together in North America. But that's all changing this October, when they bring the full Goblin lineup to perform the entire Suspiria score live at the first Housecore Horror Film Festival in Austin, Texas.
The brainchild of metal icon Phil Anselmo (Pantera) and bestselling true-crime author Corey Mitchell (Pure Murder), the Housecore Horror Film Festival is a three-day (October 25-27) underground fan event “celebrating the twisted line where horror films and heavy metal meet.” Anselmo declared his love for the band in a statement to the press: “Goblin is, in my view, one of the ultimate horror bands in the history of the genre,” he said. “I still listen to them often, especially on tour. To have Goblin play the Housecore Horror Film Festival is like I'm living in a strange, dark dream, where nothing is quite geometrically correct, but I want to keep delving further while Goblin dirges onward underneath the bleak imagery... All hail the mighty Masters of The Macabre timbres!”
Maurizio Guarini added that the band is “beyond excited to bring the sounds of Goblin and Suspiria to the United States for the very first time... and to be able to perform the score before a live audience while they watch Dario Argento's masterpiece on the big screen is incredible.”
This history-making appearance is part of a growing list of acts slated for the fest, including Down, Crowbar, Philip H. Anselmo & The Illegals, EyeHateGod, and Warbeast. Famed horror filmmakers will also make special guest appearances, including José Mojica Marins (aka “Coffin Joe”), Jörg Buttgereit, and Jim VanBebber. Attila Csihar (Mayhem) is also staging a special one-time show, creating “sonic manipulations” to accompany a screening of the silent film classic The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari.
Additional guests, performances and screenings will be announced soon at the fest's official site and Facebook page. Stay tuned for more news!
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'Little Mermaid' Horror Short Expanding to Feature Length
The Little Mermaid, a dark fantasy/horror short that landed the top prize at LA's Screamfest in 2011, and which currently ranks 4th among the most popular shorts in our Screening Room, is now on track to become a feature film, going before the cameras in Vancouver, BC this September. The feature version involves visitors to an Oklahoma 1930s sideshow of “Living Aquatic Oddities” who become trapped underground with the creatures after a freak sandstorm.
The short's creators, including director Nicholas Humphries, producer Lindsey Mann and makeup FX supervisor Sarah Elizabeth, are all onboard for the feature version, joined by writer Bob Woolsey. The new film will expand its assortment of creatures, all of which will be created via practical effects.
"Dark fantasy is a great genre,” says Little Mermaid executive producer and production designer Jessica Leigh Clark-Bojin. “We all love these classic worlds and characters, but as we've aged our tastes have morphed away from the 'Disneys' and towards the '[Guillermo] del Toros.' Based on the reception of the short, we think there is definitely an appetite for a different type of mermaid tale – one with a more relatable human component and bittersweet tinge in keeping with the spirit of the original story.”
You can track the production's progress at the film's Facebook page... and here's the original short to get you started!
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