Recently a bunch of incredibly rare movie posters from the early 1930′s were discovered in Pennsylvania that brought in a ton of dough at an auction. The most sought after poster however, was this Dracula one-sheet from 1931. This is only one of four that are known to be in existence and sold for $143,400! This wonderful painted piece has the one and only Bela Lugosi as Dracula with the unforgettable tag line: Continue Reading…
Archives For Horror News
Jason Edmiston is an amazing Illustrator who does a lot of traditional art like painting in acrylic on watercolor paper or wood panel. His style ranges from realism to exaggeration and there is a certain degree of humor or caricature in a lot of his paintings. His work is really unique and very colorful which is what drew me towards his work in the first place. You will probably recognize the first photo because it’s my profile header and I absolutely love it. All of the great Hollywood Monsters in one picture mashed up like that is brilliant. The rest of his work is equally unique and very interesting. Alright, less talk, more pictures. Here we are going to take a look at some of my favorite pieces of Edmiston’s work. Hope you enjoy. Continue Reading…
Horror comedy is a fantastic genre that is often overlooked because many of the great horror comedies that have released in the last few years go straight to DVD and do not typically get a decent theater run. The reason we all love horror comedies is because it blends two great genres together into one film. They usually cross over into the black comedy genre where you get some very dark and humorous moments that you wouldn’t otherwise see in many other genres. Continue Reading…
Who Will Revive Carrie?
In a cinematic world filled with remakes and sequels we have yet another one heading our way through Sony/MGM. Stephen King’s Carrie is one of the rare King film adaptations that Stephen King himself finds to be much better than his novel. And by complete coincidence I happen to be reading Stephen King’s novel Carrie at the moment. Isn’t it weird how things like that happen?
Anyway, the reason you are all here is to find out who will be playing the tortured soul of Carrie. The iconic character has come down to two completely different actresses. First is the rising star Chloe Moretz who in my opinion is one of the better young actresses working today with her recent success in films like Kick-Ass, Let Me In, and Hugo. The little known Haley Bennett (The Haunting of Molly Hartley and Marley & Me) is also up for the role and while both young actresses have starred in horror films, I believe Moretz is the easy choice here. She has proven that she can lead a film and has the acting chops to back it up. Also, the age difference between the two actresses is almost 10 years and Carrie is supposed to be a young girl in High School, so again, Moretz is the obvious choice for me.
I know you want to ask yourself, “Why?” when it comes to this remake but the sooner we stop asking ourselves that, the better. Remakes and sequels are prevalent in Hollywood right now, so the best we can do at this point is just hope for a great finished product. And in the end, isn’t that all that matters? While I’d much rather see an original horror film being made, a great remake is the perfect love letter to the original films that we all fell in love with.
As always, thanks for reading.
Update:
It looks like Chloe Moretz has been offered the role by MGM so if all works out, Moretz has landed the part if she accepts.
Here is a compilation of some of the stuff that mattered to me this week whether it be good or bad that I didn’t feel was necessarily interesting enough to dedicate an entire post to. This week was a pretty slow one as far as interesting movie news is concerned. I did, however, find a few things that I thought was worthy enough to put into the second edition of “The Missing Reel”.
In this edition we will be taking a look at everything from getting attack by Zombies in an abandoned mall to the return of Victor Crowley. Enjoy!
Zombie Shopping Mall
Every once in a while you will hear about something so ridiculously badass that it’s hard to believe. That was the case when I heard about The Zombie Shopping Mall Experience Day. This event takes place in the UK, where people will get movie-quality gore effects and have a full on immersive experience of being in a zombie invasion. This is the real deal, they even go as far as getting you briefed and armed by the Police Special Zombie Bashing Unit. Once you are filled in on the ensuing undead apocalypse you will be thrown into the creepy, deserted shopping mall where your only goal is to wipe out as many of the living dead as possible. How amazing is that? I want to go… right…now.
First look at Lucifer in The Devils Carnival
This is the very first still of Terrance Zdunich who will be playing Lucifer in The Devils Carnival. I really like what they did with the make-up for the character, it’s pretty traditional but it fits perfectly with the entire carnival theme of the film. As many of you know, I’m a huge fan of using practical effects so it’s nice to see a film that is utilizing that technique to their benefit. In a day where many films take the easy way out using a lot of cgi it’s refreshing to see an image like this. It is something we need more of, especially in the horror genre. The film will be hitting the road starting April, 5th where it will be toured all across the country.
If you missed the trailer for the film you can check it out here: Today in Trailers
Halloween Producer Memorialized
Moustapha Akkad, the late Godfather of the Halloween series has recently been memorialized with a bench on the street where the original Halloween was filmed. Halloweenmovies.com stated in their article:
“On Monday, February 27, the city of South Pasadena, California installed a rare permanent tribute to HALLOWEEN producer Moustapha Akkad on a city street where the iconic film was shot in 1978. Sitting at the corner of Oxley and Fairview (across from the “Strode house”) is a bench, under which a plaque says the following:
“In Loving Memory of Moustapha Akkad
Known to the world as the Godfather of the HALLOWEEN film series.
Your Legacy lives on…
Filmed in So. Pasadena 1978″
This is such a cool tribute and I’m sure this would have made him proud. Check out the photos.
One-Sheet for Yam Laranas’ The Road
I usually give a lot of crap to the people who make posters these days because other than Mondo, they just about all blow. This one-sheet for the foreign film The Road looks pretty ridiculous though. I really like the poster because whatever the hell that dead looking human thing is, it certainly exudes creepiness. I like how they simply used a single image and that is all it took in order to grab your attention. Sometimes going the simple route is the much easier one and in The Road’s case, it certainly works. The film is about a cold case that get reopened when three teens go missing on an abandoned road. During the investigation a deeper and gruesome story of abduction and murder are discovered. Finally, more than two decades later the secrets of the haunted road may finally be revealed. I really love the idea of this film. Surrounding the entire movie around an abandoned road is something new and is down right scary because we have all been down a dark and mysterious road before and who knows what could have been laying alongside it without any of us ever knowing it.
First look at House at the End of the Street
Recently the creators of House at the End of the Street have released the very first image of the film starring Jennifer Lawrence. It makes sense to release their image now simply because their star happens to be in a movie releasing this weekend that you might have heard of, The Hunger Games. Since Lawrence’s amazing performance in Winter’s Bone she has been growing more and more popular and recently her fame has gone through the roof with all of the growing hype surrounding her latest film, The Hunger Games. This will no doubt help sell tickets to her upcoming film House at the End of the Street, so this is great marketing by the creators of the film. I really dig the title, it has an old-school tone to it. The film is about a mother and daughter, Elissa, who just recently moved to a new town find themselves living next to a house where a young girl murdered her parents. When Elissa becomes friends with the surviving son, she learns the story is far from being over. This one sounds very interesting and I’m really excited to see where this film goes. I’m a fan of Lawrence, she’s a phenomenal young actress who isn’t afraid to tackle interesting roles such as this.
Adam Green Talks Hatchet III
This is pretty exciting news, Adam Green, the creator of Hatchet and Hatchet II says they will be revisiting Victor Crowley in April. Green directed the first two films but for the third one he will just be producing and let BJ McDonnell helm the project. For those of you who are huge fans of the first two films don’t be worried that Green won’t be directing the film because he has every intention on helping the third installment go in the right direction. Green recently said:
“It’s important that I’m there for this, I don’t want to just be a producer giving them notes. I’m going to be with them helping make this movie and making sure it stays on track in the way I want it to be and the way BJ wants it to be. I think it’s just what the doctor ordered, getting some new blood in the director’s chair.”
It sounds like he’s taking his job as producer very seriously and I have no doubt we will be getting the same product that made Hatchet such a successful indie horror film. If you are unfamiliar with Victor Crowley and Hatchet, you should really check out the first film, it’s the perfect love letter to the 80′s slasher films that draws it’s inspiration from Friday the 13th.
That will do it for this week. Just some of the stuff that mattered to me whether it be good or bad. Hope you guys enjoyed.
As always, thanks for reading.
In a never ending sea of crappy horror films it’s really hard to find a good one anymore. At this point, the the horror films being made today are so bad that I’ll even simply take one that is just decent. They may be few and far between but there are horror films being made today that are better than decent, they are great. Because the industry is littered with remakes and sequels many people overlook the horror gems that are out there. Here is a short list of some movies that have restored my faith in the modern horror genre. Continue Reading…
Mondo Gallery: Part 2
The posters being made today are so bad that I seriously wonder if they get their inspiration from bird shit splattered on the hood of a car. Every once in a while I like to take a look at posters that actually require talent to create. That’s right, I’m talking about Mondo. Here is another gallery of some of my favorites that they have done over the years and I really think you guys will like them too. What I love about their posters is that somehow the artists always find a way to make them totally unique and display the film onto a canvas perfectly. They always choose the perfect images that bring the posters to life. Other than sexual favors, I’d do just about anything to get my hands on one of these beautiful pieces of art. Ok, enough words; take a look at some great posters from Mondo.
A Nightmare on Elm Street
by James Rheem Davis
Evil Dead II
by Todd Slater
The Shining
by Billy Perkins
Alien
by Ken Taylor
Suspiria
by Alan Forbes
Re-Animator
by Alex Pardee
Carrie
by Methane Studios
Dead Alive
by Adam Haynes
Night of the Living Dead
by Florian Bertmer
Sleepaway Camp
by Phantom City Creative
The House of the Devil
by The Silent Giants
Poltergeist
by Ken Taylor
The Mist
by Daniel Danger
Is that the Sound of Jim Henson Rolling in His Grave?
Take everything you ever knew about The Muppets and toss it out the window because this film aims to shine a new light on the muppet genre. Written by Todd Berger, The Happytime Murders is a refreshing concept that takes place in a world where puppets co-exist with humans as second rate citizens. Ex-cop and private eye, Phil Phillips, is a puppet who is hot on the heels of a serial killer who murdered his brother and is now after the cast of the famous 80′s television show, “The Happytime Gang.”
The early concept art of this project and plot suggests that this film is going for a classic noir vibe. That right there is enough to sell this project to me. I’m a huge fan of the old 1950′s noir films like The Maltese Falcon, but instead of Humphrey Bogart in a fedora, The Happytime Murders gives us puppet who smokes like a chimney. I’m in.
The crime scene photo is pretty awesome and I really like how they used stuffing from the puppet to represent blood, very cool. And remember, this is only concept art which explains why the puppets don’t look like puppets. I’m going to go ahead and just bust out some detective skills of my own and take a deeper look into this photo. This is definitely a porn shop. The sign on wall explains it all, “Vinny’s Puppet Pleasureland.” We got two dead puppets, one at the center of the picture and another behind the register.
I’m assuming the cause of death isn’t because they got into a deadly fight over the latest issue of, “Furry Fists.”
No sir. This has to be the work a serial killer. Who else would be twisted enough to throw the victims entrails around the room in a raging fit of joy? Clearly, this killer has issues.
I never got into shows like The Muppets when I was a kid, they just didn’t tickle my fancy. This, however, is totally different. I really like what they have shown so far and the story sounds hilariously promising. I’m a huge fan of taking a concept that has been around for ages and turning it upside down for a new look. Rarely does an original idea with a wacky premise like this get made, and for that, I can say that I am definitely looking forward to this one. And to top it all off, Jim Henson’s son, Brian Henson, is helming the project. It doesn’t get much better than that.
As always, thanks for reading.
Who Will Climb The Dark Tower
Stephen King’s Dark Tower series has been trying to make its way onto the silver screen for quite some time but unfortunately it keeps ending up in the trash. Part of the reason a film like this keeps getting dumped is because it is just too damn big. The series spans across many different worlds and would require a massive budget to bring to life so studios are very reluctant to put up that kind of cash on a gamble this big. It’s pretty simple, a movie as ambitious as this doesn’t get made without a lot of dough. If you don’t put enough cash into these films you will end up getting something that looks like The Langoliers. I’m a huge King fan, especially of The Dark Tower series so I’m trying to hold back my excitement for this project because every time it seems to be going in the right direction it ends up getting canned. It’s phenomenal story telling and vast world filled with unforgettable characters is something that fans have been dreaming of to be translated into a film.
Universal recently passed on the planned trilogy of films and a two-tv miniseries that would tie them together, but it looks like Warner Bros. might be The Dark Tower’s new home and I honestly couldn’t be happier. The studio is already planning a multi-film adaptation of one of King’s best novels, The Stand, so this seems like the perfect fit. Warner Bros. is no stranger to a massive movie series with just wrapping up with the Harry Potter films, but will they really take a chance on a series that is much different from the general audiences of Harry Potter? Only time will tell.
“First comes smiles, then lies. Last is gunfire.”
Ron Howard has been attached to direct this film from the get go and it looks like he is most definitely still on board. Many people are unsure whether or not Howard can bring this world to life, but honestly, I don’t really care who sits behind the camera, as long as this movie gets made I’ll be satisfied. If you haven’t followed this story in the past then you might not know that Javier Bardem has been tied to playing the gunslinger, Roland Deschain. Much like Howard, this is an odd choice that many fans don’t agree with. Bardem doesn’t fit the look of the character in the books because Roland has always been described to look like Clint Eastwood since he was the main inspiration for the books. Honestly, unless you could get Eastwood from The Man with No Name trilogy than you are going to have one hell of a time finding someone to match that description. Bardem is a brilliant actor and if this all pans out I’m sure he will surprise a lot of people.
Bardem is the only one cast at the moment and even he is a big question mark. The rest of the characters in the book are extremely important to the series and whoever is chosen to play their roles have some massive shoes to fill. Right now this entire project is up in the air. It has been shut down many times before but you never know, this could be the one. The script is finished; all The Dark Tower needs now is a green light and when that happens, everyone is in for one hell of a treat.
Who would you like to see play Roland?
Personally, I’d pick Viggo Mortensen but that is just wishful thinking.
As always, thanks for reading.
