Mini Movie Review: Apollo 18: ★★½

I liked the originality of this "found footage" movie, set in space. We follow two NASA astronauts as they make an eerie discovery on the Moon. Keeps you on the edge of your seat, and the ending is not what you expect. This one is definitely worth renting.

Mini Movie Review: The Thing : ★★★½

'The Thing' (2011) is not as unforgettable as the 1982 John Carpenter classic, but this sci-fi horror does compliment its predecessor very well. Its obvious first time director Matthijs van Heijningen Jr. took notes as this ultra-violent prequel does well in setting up all the pieces for the 1982 hit. Its full of easter eggs and nods to Carpenter's 'The Thing' which makes this a lot of fun for fans. Heijningen deserves credit for his great attention to detail. Don't take your kids, but don't waste any time getting to a theater to see this instant classic. I already can't wait to see it again! "Den er ikkje en bikkje!"

3.5 out of 5

A holiday short that gets us all warm and bloody!

I love Christmas, it is the most special time of year, and apparently the sacred holiday has come early in 2009. Only seven months after I witnessed this miracle at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival, horror short Treevenge is FINALLY available for the general public to enjoy. This 15 minute blood bath is sure to please horror fans everywhere. So grab your scarf, your mittens and freshly sharpened chainsaw and spread some holiday smear!

Hollywood might as well spit in the face of Horror...

Now this just angers me. Early this week word came from the blogsphere and other entertainment news outlets that Hollywood is going to remake (or blasphemize) two of my very favorite horror flicks.
First to be pantsed in front of its entire genre is the hugely popular cult classic An American Werewolf in London. The rights of this horror have been sold to Dimension Films and it will be remade. With VERY few exceptions (Dawn of the Dead (2004)) Hollywood hasn't shown that the horror remake fairs well among true fans of the genre. John Landis wrote and directed this 1981 film, which was also the inspiration behind Michael Jackson's Thriller music video. Probably the ONLY ray of light in this abyss of disgust, the fact that Landis is attached to executive produce the refake, and will likely act as a consultant. Trailer

On deck to be "done over" is the 2008 Swedish horror Let the Right One In (Låt den rätte komma in). That's right, that's no typo, and you didn't misread anything, some genius has decided to remake a movie that wasn't even released (in the US) a full calendar year ago. Talk about slapping director Tomas Alfredson in the face and proclaiming:

"Sorry buddy, you're breakthrough, beautifully shot and directed film happens to be in Swedish and clearly isn't good enough for American audiences. We'll have to redo the whole thing in English this time."

For any of you who happened to see L.T.R.O.I, you know just as well as I do that remaking this film is indeed an insult of gigantic proportions. This movie is easily one of the best, if not THE BEST, vampire movie I have seen. Its simplicity is what gives the film its charm. Hollywood wants to beef it up with visual effects and CGI, it will surley lose that magical element. When asked about his film being remade, Alfredson expressed unhappiness, saying that "Remakes should be made of movies that aren't very good, that gives you the chance to fix whatever has gone wrong" and expressing concern that the end result would be too mainstream.



Cloverfield director Matt Reeves had signed to write and direct the English language refake. Hammer Films acquired the remake rights at the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival and Overture films plans to release the film in 2010. BOO! boycott this poop!

I find it quite disturbing that Hollywood is willing to rape and desecrate the films that have built the very foundation to the pedestal that the entertainment industry is on today. If this pattern continues, that foundation will erode and all will come tumbling down.

Tis' the season for New BLOOD...

This quickly became one of my new favorite TV shows last year, thanks to being caught at home with an illness and HBO on Demand. Now, its returning for a second season this June. Here is a promo for the highly anticipated season 2 of HBO's True Blood.

Lesbian Vampire Killers aren't that bad...

I mean seriously, what guy wouldn't be interested in a movie that is titled Lesbian Vampire Killers? This UK Horror/Comedy appears to be in the same vein as Shaun of the Dead.



Oh those silly Britts....I'll be seeing this, so should you too!

Like Horror Movies? Mark your calendars...

In a similar fashion of "Masters of Horror", NBC brings us a series of 1-hour Horror movies for network television, Fear Itself.

The 13-episode suspense and horror anthology is supposed to push the boundaries of the horror genre. Each episode is directed by award-winning, sought-after directors John Landis ("An American Werewolf in London"), Darren Bousman ("Saw II, III and IV") and Ronny Yu ("Freddy vs. Jason").

The series was created by Mick Garris, who also executive produced the highly popular horror series Masters of Horror.

Be warned, I fear this series may not live up to the genre's violent expectations, no thanks to network television censor guidelines. I mean when was the last time you saw a horror film (or series, for that matter) that was rated suitable for all ages? NBC is making an interesting attempt to draw horror fans, lets hope they don't fail, the series could have potential.

Series premieres Thursday, June 5 (that's tomorrow!).

PLEASE DON'T DISGRACE THE CREATURE!

There has been some recent online banter that Director, Breck Eisner(Sahara), will be behind a remake of the Universal classic Creature From The Black Lagoon. I have some serious reservations about this. It's one thing to remake crappy 1980's movies, but to take something as "holy" as one of the original horror movies, is nearly sacrilege.

Eisner recently spoke to horror site ShockTilYouDrop about his remake -- specifically about how much CGI will be involved. "The Creature has been designed; we've spent six months designing him," explained Eisner, who also revealed that the beasty is based on a maquette designed by Mark McCreery (Jurassic Park, Pirates of the Caribbean). "We went top shelf on it. It's very faithful to the original, but updated." Eisner was also asked about the tone of the film and how sympathetic the creature would be. "We debated tone a thousand times. For me tone is the most interesting thing a filmmaker has and so the creature is a creature, it's not a monster. That's my number one thing about the movie. We're not going to turn him into a monster. He's still going to be empathetic, he's still going to be deadly, he's still going to have a misguided means of expressing his interests in a woman, but it's uniquely the creature. It's empathy for a deadly creature and tone plays a big part of that."

Overall, I must admit that Eisner's words are encouraging, but I still object to the idea of bringing back, or reinventing, if you will, the great Creature from the Black Lagoon. I will be surprised if this new incarnation of the creature will even come close to being as monumental as the original. PLEASE DON'T DISGRACE THE CREATURE!

George A. Romero not done yet...

The master of horror, George A. Romero is making a mighty return to a theater near you. George, who is widely known for pioneering the zombie genre, has another film coming to theaters in February. Romero's original classic, Night of the Living Dead (1968), raised the bar for horror film to a level that it had yet to see. Multiple films followed including, Dawn of the Dead(1978), Day of the Dead and the more recent, Land of the Dead. Clearly Mr. Romero knows zombie films and that isn't stopping him from trying something new. Check out the trailer below, you'll see what I'm talking about.

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I was able to screen this movie back on October 12th 2007 as part of the The Screamfest Horror Festival. I really enjoyed it, and it seemed like many of the festival goers felt the same way. It is a bit of a departure from his other films, but still very entertaining. If you are a fan of horror as I am, then Diary of the Dead is for you. It arrives in theaters February 15, 2008. Go check it out....