Saturday, January 31, 2009

Super Bowl Commercials in 3D


During the Super Bowl tomorrow you'll be able to see two 3D commercials. DreamWorks' Monsters vs. Aliens and PepsiCo's SoBe Lifewater will be featured in 3D on Super Bowl Sunday.

Traditional red-blue 3D glasses will not work with these clips. The commercials are being broadcast using ColorCode 3-D's amber-violet encoding system. That means you'll have to go out to a retail outlet near you and look for the bin of free ColorCode 3-D glasses, probably stuck somewhere near the Pepsi/SoBe display.

The list of shops where you will be able to find the Super Bowl 3D glasses include: Safeway/Vons, K-Mart, Ralphs, Kroger, A&P, Frys, Supervalu, Food Lion, Pathmark, Coburn, Fairway, Fresh Brands, Hy Vee, Nash Finch, Dollar General and Winnie Dixie.

Target and Meijers will have the 3D glasses only on January 31st.

The 3D Monsters vs. Aliens ad will be broadcasted along with the SoBe 3D spot at the end of the second quarter of the Super Bowl.

You will also have the opportunity to re-use your 3D glasses for a special 3D episode of NBC's hit comedy "Chuck," airing Monday, February 2, 2009 (8-9pm ET.)

DreamWorks' Monsters vs. Aliens, the Company's first InTru 3D release, opens nationwide March 27, 2009. InTru 3D is Intel's new system to create 3D footage for 3D Movie Theaters.

For more information, see this article from Time.

Enjoy the game - and the commercials!

Danger on the Stairs


Danger on the Stairs
Artist: Pierre Roy
French
1927 - 1928
oil paint on canvas
Museum of Modern Art, NY
Gift of Abby Aldrich Rockefeller

Friday, January 30, 2009

Friday Night Frights: Night of the Comet (1984)

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Welcome to tonight's episode of Friday Night Frights.

Tonight's feature is Night of the Comet, directed by Thom Eberhardt starring Robert Beltran, Catherine Mary Stewart, Kelli Maroney, and Mary Woronov.

A comet wipes out most of life on Earth, leaving two Valley Girls to fight the evil types who survive.

Here's the full movie, in a playlist:

Thursday, January 29, 2009

The Raven

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On this day in 1845, "The Raven" by Edgar Allan Poe was published in the New York Evening Mirror.

You can read it online at The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Raven, with illustrations by Gustave Doré.




You can hear Garrison Keillor's (A Prairie Home Companion) rendition by clicking here (RealAudio).


Here's a reading by Vincent Price:



And one by Christopher Walkin:



This video showcases "The Raven", a tune from Tales of Mystery and Imagination, The Alan Parsons Project CD that covers the works of Edgar Allan Poe.



The Simpson's even paid tribute (audio clip):

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

The Faculty

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Happy Birthday to American actor Elijah Wood, who was born this day in 1981.

Known worldwide as the character Frodo Baggins in Peter Jackson's three Lord of the Rings movies, Wood also played the part of Casey Conner in the earlier horror film The Faculty (1998).






Here's the theatrical trailer:

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

The Day After

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On this day in 1951 nuclear testing at the Nevada Test Site began with a one-kiloton bomb dropped on the Frenchman Flats.

In 1983 the Cold War was still going on. On November 20 of that year ABC televised this frightening story of the weeks leading up to and following a nuclear strike on the United States. The bulk of the activity centers around the town of Lawrence, Kansas.

The Day After was directed by Nicholas Meyer. The cast included Jason Robards, JoBeth Williams, Steve Guttenberg, John Cullum, John Lithgow, and Amy Madigan.

It scared the hell out of television viewers nationwide.

Here's a clip of the attack:

Monday, January 26, 2009

Kolchak: The Night Stalker

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"Kolchak: The Night Stalker" is an American television series that aired on ABC in 1974. It featured a newspaper reporter — Carl Kolchak, played by Darren McGavin — who investigates crimes with mysterious and unlikely causes that the proper authorities won't accept or pursue. Crimes which seem to point to a Jack the Ripper copycat, voodoo priestesses and the walking dead ("Zombies"), a coven of warlocks ("Vampire"), and an extra-hairy luxury liner passenger with a taste for his shipmates ("Werewolf").

Though the show only lasted 20 episodes, it is often credited as the inspiration for "The X Files" and was succeeded by a second television series with a new cast and characters in 2005, as well as several novels and comic books.


The Kolchak character originated in an unpublished novel, The Kolchak Papers, written by Jeffrey Grant Rice. In the novel, Las Vegas newspaper reporter Carl Kolchak tracks down and defeats a serial killer who is really a vampire named Janos Skorzeny.

The novel was finally published by Pocket Books as a mass-market paperback original under the title The Night Stalker with a Darren McGavin photo cover to tie in with the movie. The novelizations of the first two movies were republished by Moonstone in 2007 as an omnibus edition called The Kolchak Papers.

The series was preceded by two television movies:

The Night Stalker (1972)
Rice was approached by ABC who optioned the property, which was then adapted by Richard Matheson into a TV movie produced by Dan Curtis and directed by John Llewellyn Moxey. Darren McGavin played the role of Carl .

The Night Stalker aired on the ABC network on January 11, 1972 and garnered the highest ratings of any TV movie at that time (33.2 rating - 54 share). Matheson received a 1973 Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America for Best TV Feature or Miniseries Teleplay.

The Night Strangler (1973)
Impressed by its success, ABC commissioned Richard Matheson to write a second movie, The Night Strangler, which featured another serial killer in Seattle who strangled his victims and used their blood to keep himself alive for over a century through the use of alchemy. The Seattle Underground City was used as a setting for much of the action, and provided the killer with his hiding place. Dan Curtis both produced and directed the second movie, which also did well in the ratings. Rice then wrote a novelization based on Matheson's screenplay, a reverse of the situation for the first movie. The novel was published by Pocket Books as a mass-market paperback original under the title The Night Strangler with a close-up of the monster's eye to tie in with the movie.


Here's episode 9: "The Spanish Moss Murders", from a playlist:






Sources include this Wikipedia article.

Sunday, January 25, 2009

Happy Birthday Tobe Hooper!

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Director Tobe Hooper was born on this day in 1943.

This Master of Horror has written and directed movies in the horror genre for over three decades, and has enthralled audiences with such offerings as The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Salem's Lot (posted here on Friday Night Frights), and Poltergeist, to name just a few.

He has contibuted to several horror anthology series as well.

Here's one of the all-time greatest trailers, for his original 1974 The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

This Week in Horror: January 25 - 31


January 25
1943 – Tobe Hooper (director of numerous horror films) born
2000 – The Dead Hate the Living! released on DVD
2005 – All Souls Day released on DVD

January 26
1999 – Castlevania 64 released on the Nintendo 64 in the United States

January 27
2005 – Resident Evil 4 released for the Nintendo GameCube in Japan

January 28
2005 – Creep released theatrically
2005 – Hide and Seek released theatrically

January 29
1998 – Resident Evil 2 released on the PlayStation in Japan

January 30
1976 – Salò o le 120 giornate di Sodoma released theatrically

January 31
1998 – Ringu released theatrically in Japan
1999 – Silent Hill released on the PlayStation in North America
2003 – Final Destination released theatrically



Source: wikipedia Portal:Horror/This day in horror archive

Please leave a comment with any additions/corrections. Thanks.

Saturday, January 24, 2009

The Devil's Rain (1975)

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Happy Birthday Ernest Borgine, born on this day (January 24) in 1917!

Here's one of his movies, The Devil's Rain, directed by Robert Feust. The cast includes Ernest Borgnine, Tom Skerritt, Joan Prather, Eddie Albert, Ida Lupino, William Shatner, Keenan Wynn, and John Travolta.

SPOILER ALERT
This horror oddity tells the story of a well-networked throng of devil-worshipers populating a small Arizona town who possess a strange crystal icon which houses the captive souls of their sacrificial victims. The coven, led by the thick-browed Jonathan Corbis (Ernest Borgnine), are also determined to get their hands on a diabolical "Book of Names" which contains the identities of those victims. After the family of Tom Preston (Tom Skeritt) are murdered by the coven for concealing the book, Tom sets out to avenge them. During an outrageous climax — in which none other than William Shatner is offered up in sacrifice and Borgnine is transformed by a lightning bolt into a chunky horned demon — the receptacle of souls is shattered, releasing the title storm and causing the congregation to melt into puddles of multicolored goo (a scene which seems to last forever). Produced in 1975 but released two years later, this film touted John Travolta's name at the height of his popularity, though his role is remarkably small (he does melt nicely at the end, however).

Here's the full movie, from a playlist:

Friday, January 23, 2009

Friday Night Frights: Salem's Lot (1979)

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Welcome to tonight's episode of Friday Night Frights.

Tonight's feature is the television miniseries Salem's Lot, directed by Tobe Hooper and based on the novel by Stephen King. It stars David Soul, James Mason, and Lance Kerwin.

Sinister events bring together a writer returning home to Salem's Lot after many years, a suave antiques dealer whose expertise goes beyond bric-a-brac and the dealer's partner - a vampire bent on draining the local bloodlines.

Here's the full movie, from a playlist:


Thursday, January 22, 2009

Happy Birthday Linda Blair!


American actress Linda Blair was born on this date in 1959. She is most famous for her role as the possessed child, Regan, in the 1973 film The Exorcist.

Here's the famous spiderwalk scene that was cut from the theatrical release. It's available on The Exorcist: The Version You've Never Seen.



She was a real head-turner:

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

HWA's Horror Reading List

Go to the Horror Writers Association
The Horror Writers Association was formed, in part, to foster a greater appreciation of dark fiction among members of the general public.

In 1996 they compiled a recommended reading list. Bear in mind that since the books that appear here were picked using a survey of HWA's general membership in 1996, many excellent books published more recently do not appear here, and some of those that do are now out of print.

Note: This list is arranged alphabetically by author's last name. No ranking is implied.


Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Happy Inauguration Day!

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"I want the people to know that they still have 2 out of 3 branches of the government working for them, and that ain't bad."

It's Inauguration Day 2009!

There will be a lot on President Obama's plate when he takes office. Another President with a plate full of problems was Jack Nicholson's character, President James Dale, in the 1996 movie Mars Attacks!

Directed by Tim Burton, this movie features sooo many familiar actors, including Jack Nicholson, Glenn Close, Annette Benning, Pierce Brosnan, Danny DeVito, Martin Short, Sarah Jessica Parker, Michael J. Fox, Rod Steiger, Tom Jones, Jim Brown, Lukas Haas, Natalie Portman, Pam Grier, Jack Black, Christina Applegate, Joe Don Baker, etc. and so on. A bunch!

In this movie the Earth is invaded by Martians with irresistible weapons and a cruel sense of humor.

Here's the trailer:

Monday, January 19, 2009

Studio 407's Netherworld

Preview Netherworld
Chris Jones, the writer on this book, was kind enough to send me the press release below for a new release from Studio 407. He describes it as follows:

"It's a science-fiction/horror book about a research scientist abducted by the military for a covert mission on a hostile planet under alien control where all of the inhabitants have suddenly fallen dead. Now, I could go on about how its cold-war-political undertones are an homage to the classic sci-fi movies from the fifties, or about the emotional struggle the main character, Emily, has as a pacifist forced on a mission with a military objective, but I can really sum the book up in two words:

Alien Zombies."

Sounds great to me! Check out their site for other comics, as well.

PRESS RELEASE, for immediate distribution

Studio 407's Unleashes Sci-fi/Horror Mini-Series Netherworld on March 25th

January 12, 2009 - Studio 407 is excited to launch the first issue of "Netherworld" on March 25th. Studio 407 recently announced that their vampire series The Night Projectionist was picked up by Myriad Pictures along with the much anticipated Hybrid which starts filming later this year, directed by Ernie Barbarash (Cube Zero, American Psycho 2). Now comes an original new series Netherworld, which takes the zombie/undead genre to a terrifying new level. Adding to Studio 407’s growing stable of horror titles, Netherworld is penned by emerging writing talent Chad Jones and penciled by Brazilian artist RB Silva.

Jones says "I've been writing genre for as long as I can remember. So, I was kicking around a novel idea and was trying to describe the creature concept in the story to a friend and made the off-hand comment, "well it's not like they're alien zombies or anything..." Jones continues "And I stopped. And I thought, hmm.... that would be kind of awesome. Alien zombies. Hell, I gotta write that! And suddenly, Netherworld became my obsession. Everything else that I had been writing, planning to write or thinking about writing, got put to the side and I started hammering the keyboard like a mad person. And Netherworld came out in a flourish of alien body parts, political intrigue, humans running for their lives and lots and lots of blood."

Preview "Netherworld" at: http://studio-407.com/microsite_nw/index.html

Netherworld is described as: On a distant planet, a team of specialists investigate the mysterious remains of an alien civilization brought to the brink of extinction. Dead alien bodies litter the streets of a massive city of an once majestic, extraterrestrial culture still strange and foreign to them. As the team unravels the enigma surrounding this cataclysmic event, they discover the planet’s horrible secret, and soon find themselves surrounded by a legion of undead aliens. The comic series is written by Chad Jones and artist RB Silva.

Jazma calls "Netherworld": "Intense!"
Broken Frontier says "It may be the best small press sci-fi book going."

Bringing out of this world action with full on terror, Netherworld blends Aliens with Dawn of the Dead, and will be sure to satisfy both horror and science fiction fans alike.
You can pre-order "Netherworld" now by using the Diamond order code: DCD item # JAN094420

For more information on Studio 407, visit them online at (http://www.Studio-407.com), or check them out in your local comic book shop!

About Studio 407

Studio 407 brings together the imagination and creative talents of writers and artists from North America and Asia to generate a flow of distinct and kinetic East-meets-West entertainment. A writer driven studio that blends innovation with tradition, Studio 407 is dedicated to publishing the highest quality in comics and manga, across a wide variety of genres. From capes to kung fu, giant robots to vampires, and secret agents to mad scientists; at Studio 407, we sweat the details. http://www.Studio-407.com.

Once Upon a Time Snow in Miami

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Happy Martin Luther King, Jr. day!

Also on this date: in 1977 snow fell in Miami, Florida. This is the only time in the history of the city that snowfall has occurred.

The year 2004 brought us some more unusual weather in the movie The Day After Tomorrow.

Written and directed by Roland Emmerich and starring Dennis Quaid, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Emmy Rossum, the movie is about a climatologist (Quaid) who tries to figure out a way to save the world from abrupt global warming. He must get to his young son in New York, which is being taken over by a new ice age.

Special effects include tornados in Los Angeles, tidal waves, and a very quick freeze.

Here's the trailer:

Sunday, January 18, 2009

This Week in Horror: January 18 - 24


January 18
2002 – Long Time Dead released theatrically in the United Kingdom

January 19
1809 – Edgar Allan Poe born (d. 1849)
1990 – Tremors released theatrically
1996 – From Dusk Till Dawn released theatrically
2002 – Dark Water (2002) released theatrically in Japan

January 20
2006 – Underworld: Evolution released theatrically

January 21
1998 – Resident Evil 2 released on the PlayStation in the United States

January 22
2000 – Ring 0: Birthday released theatrically in Japan

January 23
1981 – Burial Ground: The Nights of Terror released theatrically
2004 – The Butterfly Effect released theatrically

January 24




Source: wikipedia Portal:Horror/This day in horror archive

Please leave a comment with any additions/corrections. Thanks.

Saturday, January 17, 2009

Looking for something to read these cold winter nights?

Go to Monster Librarian Or just need some suggestions to add to your Horror Library?

MonsterLibrarian.com is a site dedicated to helping librarians with horror genre collection development and readers advisory as well as helping readers of horror find another good book.

Friday, January 16, 2009

Friday Night Frights: Night of the Creeps (1986)


Welcome to tonight's episode of Friday Night Frights.

Tonight's feature, Night of the Creeps, was written and directed by Fred Dekker. It stars Tom Atkins, Jason Lively, and Jill Whitlow.

In 1959, an alien experiment crashes to earth and infects a fraternity member. They freeze the body, but in the modern day, two geeks pledging a fraternity accidentally thaw the corpse, which proceeds to infect the campus with parasites that transform their hosts into killer zombies.

This film has yet to be officially released onto DVD.

Here's the trailer (keep scrolling down for the movie):




Here's the full movie, from a playlist:

Thursday, January 15, 2009

The Stuff

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On this date (January 15) in 1889 the Coca-Cola Company, then known as the Pemberton Medicine Company, originally incorporated in Atlanta, Georgia.

The Coca-Cola formula is the Coca-Cola Company's secret recipe for Coca-Cola.

In 1985 Larry Cohen directed The Stuff, a movie about another consumable loved and ingested by millions. But what exactly is in The Stuff? Are you eating it ...or is it eating you?

Here's the trailer:

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

The Hockey News Top 10 Scary Goalie Masks

Jacques Plante’s original mask, first worn in a game Nov. 1, 1959
Here in Minnesota, winter has us in it's icy grip. The temps are below 0, the snow is accumulating, and the lakes are frozen over.

I went to the game last night. The Minnesota Wild beat the Phoenix Coyotes 6 to 3.

Here's a list from The Hockey News of their Top 10 Scary Goalie Masks.

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War

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This is hands down the BEST zombie book I have EVER read (and that includes Zombie Haiku).

World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War, by Max Brooks, is a follow-up to his previous book, The Zombie Survival Guide, but is more serious in tone, and strives to be both factually and psychologically convincing.

Rather than a grand overview or a single perspective, World War Z is instead a collection of individual accounts in the form of interviews between the author and the characters. Taking place in the 2010s, the book charts a war against zombies from remote oddities, to a global pandemic to mass panic, and then to an armed struggle to reclaim the planet from the undead. In addition, the personal accounts describe the changing religious, geo-political, and environmental aftermath of the Zombie war.

Inspired by the The Good War and George Romero, Brooks uses World War Z to provide commentary on a wide range of topics including government ineptitude, survivalism, and uncertainty in our times. It has been praised by critics and the audiobook version, complete with an all-star cast, won the 2007 Audie Award. A film based upon the book is currently in development, and is expected to be released in 2010.

From the Publisher
“The end was near.” —Voices from the Zombie War

The Zombie War came unthinkably close to eradicating humanity. Max Brooks, driven by the urgency of preserving the acid-etched first-hand experiences of the survivors from those apocalyptic years, traveled across the United States of America and throughout the world, from decimated cities that once teemed with upwards of thirty million souls to the most remote and inhospitable areas of the planet. He recorded the testimony of men, women, and sometimes children who came face-to-face with the living, or at least the undead, hell of that dreadful time. World War Z is the result. Never before have we had access to a document that so powerfully conveys the depth of fear and horror, and also the ineradicable spirit of resistance, that gripped human society through the plague years.

Ranging from the now infamous village of New Dachang in the United Federation of China, where the epidemiological trail began with the twelve-year-old Patient Zero, to the unnamed northern forests where untold numbers sought a terrible and temporary refuge in the cold, to the United States of Southern Africa, where the Redeker Plan provided hope for humanity at an unspeakable price, to the west-of-the-Rockies redoubt where the North American tide finally started to turn, this invaluable chronicle reflects the full scope and duration of the Zombie War.

Most of all, the book captures with haunting immediacy the human dimension of this epochal event. Facing the often raw and vivid nature of these personal accounts requires a degree of courage on the part of the reader, but the effort is invaluable because, as Mr. Brookssays in his introduction, “By excluding the human factor, aren’t we risking the kind of personal detachment from history that may, heaven forbid, lead us one day to repeat it? And in the end, isn’t the human factor the only true difference between us and the enemy we now refer to as ‘the living dead’?”

Note: Some of the numerical and factual material contained in this edition was previously published under the auspices of the United Nations Postwar Commission.


Eyewitness reports from the first truly global war

“I found ‘Patient Zero’ behind the locked door of an abandoned apartment across town. . . . His wrists and feet were bound with plastic packing twine. Although he’d rubbed off the skin around his bonds, there was no blood. There was also no blood on his other wounds. . . . He was writhing like an animal; a gag muffled his growls. At first the villagers tried to hold me back. They warned me not to touch him, that he was ‘cursed.’ I shrugged them off and reached for my mask and gloves. The boy’s skin was . . . cold and gray . . . I could find neither his heartbeat nor his pulse.” —Dr. Kwang Jingshu, Greater Chongqing, United Federation of China

“‘Shock and Awe’? Perfect name. . . . But what if the enemy can’t be shocked and awed? Not just won’t, but biologically can’t! That’s what happened that day outside New York City, that’s the failure that almost lost us the whole damn war. The fact that we couldn’t shock and awe Zack boomeranged right back in our faces and actually allowed Zack to shock and awe us! They’re not afraid! No matter what we do, no matter how many we kill, they will never, ever be afraid!” —Todd Wainio, former U.S. Army infantryman and veteran of the Battle of Yonkers

“Two hundred million zombies. Who can even visualize that type of number, let alone combat it? . . . For the first time in history, we faced an enemy that was actively waging total war. They had no limits of endurance. They would never negotiate, never surrender. They would fight until the very end because, unlike us, every single one of them, every second of every day, was devoted to consuming all life on Earth.” —General Travis D’Ambrosia, Supreme Allied Commander, Europe



Sources include this Wikipedia article

Clark Ashton Smith

Go to The Eldritchdark - The Inner Sanctum of Clark Ashton Smith

Today is the 116th year anniversary of the birth of Clark Ashton Smith.

Clark Ashton Smith (January 13, 1893-August 14, 1961) was a poet, sculptor, painter and author of fantasy, horror and science fiction short stories. It is for these stories, and his literary friendship with H.P. Lovecraft from 1922 until Lovecraft's death in 1937, that he is mainly remembered today. With Lovecraft and Robert E. Howard, also a friend and correspondent, Smith remains one of the most famous contributors to the pulp magazine Weird Tales.

Smith wrote most of his weird fiction and Cthulhu Mythos stories, possibly inspired by Lovecraft. Creatures of his invention include Aforgomon, Rlim-Shaikorth, Mordiggian, Tsathoggua, the wizard Eibon, and various others. In an homage to his friend, Lovecraft referred in some of his stories to a great dark wizard, "Klarkash-Ton."

Monday, January 12, 2009

The Stepford Wives


On this date (January 12) in 1915 the United States House of Representatives rejected a proposal to give women the right to vote.

The Stepford Wives (1975) was directed by Bryon Forbes and based on the novel by Ira Levin (whose other novels made into movies include Rosemary's Baby and The Boys from Brazil).

Joanna Eberhart has come to the quaint little town of Stepford, Connecticut with her family, but soon discovers there lies a sinister truth in the all too perfect behavior of the female residents.

Here's the trailer:

Sunday, January 11, 2009

This Week in Horror: January 11 - 17


January 11
2005 – Resident Evil 4 released for the Nintendo GameCube in North America

January 12
1940 – The Invisible Man Returns released theatrically
1965 – Rob Zombie (musician, singer, artist, director of House of 1000 Corpses, The Devil's Rejects, and Halloween (2007)) born
1990 – Leatherface: Texas Chainsaw Massacre III released theatrically

January 13
1939 – Son of Frankenstein released theatrically
1974 – The Satanic Rites of Dracula released theatrically
1995 – Demon Knight released theatrically

January 14
1981 – Scanners released theatrically

January 15
1915 – Der Golem released theatrically

January 16
1948 – John Carpenter (director, screenwriter, producer, and composer of scores for many horror films) born
1965 – The Outer Limits ends its run on television

January 17




Source: wikipedia Portal:Horror/This day in horror archive

Please leave a comment with any additions/corrections. Thanks.

Saturday, January 10, 2009

The Joe Pitt Casebooks

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I've been reading this series since I discovered author Charlie Huston from his books in the Hank Thompson trilogy (more on that trilogy at the end of this post).

You can learn more about Charlie Huston, whom Stephen King calls "one of the most remarkable prose stylists to emerge from the noir tradition in this century", at the author's website - Pulpnoir.com.

The Joe Pitt Casebooks are an ongoing series of supernatural noir thrillers. Each casebook chronicles Joe Pitt's life as well as his struggles in the underground of vampire clans of New York. At first Pitt is an unaffiliated vampire, living in between the cracks by doing jobs for various clans in exchange for blood and freedom. However, as the series progresses, this shifts and Pitt's life evolves with each book.

As of this posting, there are four books already published in this series:

  1. ALREADY DEAD
  2. NO DOMINION
  3. HALF THE BLOOD OF BROOKLYN
  4. EVERY LAST DROP

Here's the synopsis of the first book, Already Dead:

"Those stories you hear? The ones about things that only come out at night? Things that feed on blood, feed on us? Got news for you: they’re true. Only it’s not like the movies or old man Stoker’s storybook. It’s worse. Especially if you happen to be one of them. Just ask Joe Pitt.

There’s a shambler on the loose. Some fool who got himself infected with a flesh-eating bacteria is lurching around, trying to munch on folks’ brains. Joe hates shamblers, but he’s still the one who has to deal with them. That’s just the kind of life he has. Except afterlife might be better word.

From the Battery to the Bronx, and from river to river, Manhattan is crawling with Vampyres. Joe is one of them, and he’s not happy about it. Yeah, he gets to be stronger and faster than you, and he’s tough as nails and hard to kill. But spending his nights trying to score a pint of blood to feed the Vyrus that’s eating at him isn’t his idea of a good time. And Joe doesn’t make it any easier on himself. Going his own way, refusing to ally with the Clans that run the undead underside of Manhattan–it ain’t easy. It’s worse once he gets mixed up with the Coalition–the city’s most powerful Clan–and finds himself searching for a poor little rich girl who’s gone missing in Alphabet City.

Now the Coalition and the girl’s high-society parents are breathing down his neck, anarchist Vampyres are pushing him around, and a crazy Vampyre cult is stalking him. No time to complain, though. Got to find that girl and kill that shambler before the whip comes down . . .and before the sun comes up."



THE HANK THOMPSON TRILOGY

This was my introduction to the author. Not horror, they are an engrossing example of pulp noir. Great reads, each one!

You can learn more, and even read each of the books in the trilogy online, by clicking here.

Friday, January 9, 2009

Friday Night Frights: Race With the Devil (1975)

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Welcome to tonight's episode of Friday Night Frights.

Tonight's feature is Race With the Devil, directed by Jack Starrett and starring a stellar cast from the 70's which includes Peter Fonda, Warren Oates, Loretta Swit, and Lara Parker.

Two couples vacationing together in an R.V. from Texas to Colorado are terrorized after they witness a murder during a Satanic ritual.

Here's the full movie, from a playlist:


Thursday, January 8, 2009

Bubba Ho-tep (2002)

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HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE KING!

Today is the 74th birthday of Elvis Presley. To mark the ocasion, here's Bubba Ho-tep, directed by Don Coscarelli and starring Bruce Campbell and Ossie Davis.

Based on the Bram Stoker Award nominee short story by cult author Joe R. Lansdale, Bubba Ho-tep tells the "true" story of what really did become of Elvis Presley. We find Elvis (Bruce Campbell) as an elderly resident in an East Texas rest home, who switched identities with an Elvis impersonator years before his "death", then missed his chance to switch back. Elvis teams up with Jack (Ossie Davis), a fellow nursing home resident who thinks that he is actually President John F. Kennedy, and the two valiant old codgers sally forth to battle an evil Egyptian entity who has chosen their long-term care facility as his happy hunting grounds.

I strongly recommend watching the DVD with the commentary by Bruce Campbell in character as Elvis.

Here's the full movie, from a playlist:

The Bad Seed (1956)

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On this day (January 8) in 2002, President George W. Bush signed into law the No Child Left Behind Act.

To commemorate this event, here's the movie The Bad Seed, directed by Mervyn LeRoy and starring Nancy Kelly and Patty McCormack.

An ideal housewife begins to suspect her loving adolescent daughter may be a heartless killer.

The full movie, from a playlist:


Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Bad Ronald (1974)


I published a previous post about this movie, with a trailer, back in September. Here's the full length television movie Bad Ronald, directed by Buzz Kulik.

Ronald (Scott Jacoby), a nerdy high school youth, accidently kills a neighbor's young daughter. Panicking mother (Kim Hunter) fears the police will not believe that it was an accident. She moves her son into a bathroom that she turned into a secret hiding place. After her death, a new family moves in. In the mean time, Ronald has gotten lost in a fantasy world created in his own head from being hidden away for so long.

Here's the full movie, from a playlist:
(note: video begins at around the 20 second mark)

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

MST3K - Hobgoblins (1988)


Here's the MST3K presentation of Hobgoblins. The original movie was written and directed by Rick Sloane.

A group of hobgoblins, who allow you to live out your fantasies but kill you in the process, escape from a studio vault, and a security guard and his friends must stop them before dawn.

Here's the full movie, from a playlist:


Monday, January 5, 2009

Scream Greats, Vol. 1: Tom Savini, Master of Horror Effects (1986)



A documentary from Fangoria detailing the career of makeup artist Tom Savini, including clips from the various movies he's worked on.

Full documentary, from a playlist:

Killer Klowns from Outer Space (1988) - Trailer


On this date (January 5) in 1959, "Bozo the Clown", a live children's show, premiered on TV. In honor of this occassion, here's the trailer for Killer Klowns from Outer Space.




Sunday, January 4, 2009

This Week in Horror: January 4 - 10


January 4


January 5


January 6
2006 – Hostel released theatrically
2006 – BloodRayne released theatrically

January 7
2005 – White Noise released theatrically

January 8
1988 – Return of the Living Dead Part II released on VHS

January 9


January 10




Source: wikipedia Portal:Horror/This day in horror archive

Please leave a comment with any additions/corrections. Thanks.

Saturday, January 3, 2009

I Was a Teenage Werewolf (1957)


I Was a Teenage Werewolf was Michael Landon's first full length movie.

A troubled teenager seeks help through hypnotherapy, but his evil doctor uses him for regression experiments that transform him into a rampaging werewolf.

Full movie, from a playlist:





MST3K presented this as well.

Full MST3K version, from a playlist:


Friday, January 2, 2009

Friday Night Frights: Kaidan (1964)

Purchase from Barnes & Noble
Welcome to tonight's episode of Friday Night Frights.

Tonight's feature is the Japanese horror classic Kaidan (aka Kwaidan), directed by Masaki Kobayashi.

This horror anthology contains four separate stories.

"Black Hair": A poor samurai who divorces his true love to marry for money, but finds the marriage disastrous and returns to his old wife, only to discover something eerie about her.

"The Woman in the Snow": Stranded in a snowstorm, a woodcutter meets an icy spirit in the form of a woman spares his life on the condition that he never tell anyone about her. A decade later he forgets his promise.

"Hoichi the Earless": Hoichi is a blind musician, living in a monastery who sings so well that a ghostly imperial court commands him to perform the epic ballad of their death battle for them. But the ghosts are draining away his life, and the monks set out to protect him by writing a holy mantra over his body to make him invisible to the ghosts. But they've forgotten something.

"In a Cup of Tea": A writer tells the story of a man who keep seeing a mysterious face reflected in his cup of tea.

Part of what makes this film so special is the combination of wonderful cinematography - and a remarkable set design schema. The colors in this film are incredibly hot and emphatic.

Cannes Film Fesival winner in 1965 -Jury Special Prize.

Nominated for an Oscar in 1966 for Best Foreign Language Film -Japan.

Watch Kaidan

Thursday, January 1, 2009

Fear Itself: New Year's Day (2008)



HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Here's an episode of the NBC show "Fear Itself".

New Year's Day was written by Steve Niles (30 Days of Night) and directed by Darren Lynn Bousman (Saw II).

A woman wakes up on New Year's morning to discover that the city is in an uproar. She vaguely remembers a party and it is assumed she passed out. She then attempts to get to her friend's apartment while continuing to remember parts of the party and all the while avoiding zombies.

Watch the show