Scary vs. Gorey

I love scary movies and I love blood and guts and severed heads and tangled up intestines everywhere. I guess tangled-up intestines are kind of the same thing as guts, but, wow, do I love grisly gore. It seems like older horror movies often focused more on the psychology of how horrifying a situation or act was and newer horror movies put more attention into convincingly showing every stab and every spurting artery on camera. For example, especially when you factor in what audiences of the time were used to, Last House on the Left was really shocking in 1972. It’s slogan was “To avoid fainting, keep repeating it’s only a movie, only a movie, only a movie.” Most of the most horrible events in the movie, you hear the suffering, but you can’t really see what is going on. By contrast, the 2009 version seems to be shot somehow higher quality, partly just due to the technology of modern cinematography. To my modern eyes, the color palette is more pleasing in the 2009 Last House on the Left. More of the gruesome parts are visible, although they could still go more extreme with that, for my taste. But the new one somehow loses some of the aura of menace, while at the same time vastly improving special effects and general overall look. Partly I suppose Aaron Paul just didn’t seem very scary to begin with and he already seemed like a tragic hero to anyone who had seen him play Jesse in Breaking Bad. You can research more about both the 1972 film version and the more recent 2009 remake at Wikipedia and you can read a bit about Last House on the Left distribution channels for horror at Blue Blood.

Horror special effects definitely have come a long way since the seventies. Now though, the special effects are, not to sound ironic, to die for. Trust me, if the quality of movies were still the same as they were a few decades ago, you can bet that I wouldn’t drop what I was doing over at http://www.partybingo.com just to watch some crappy special effects, and acting that we will just label as sub-par. Thank god though, that isn’t the case! To prove my point, just go watch one of the many (I think there are eight) movies in the Saw series, or if you are really up for some cringing, then watch Hostel.

So, in conclusion, I’ll watch the seventies movies for the acting and the newer ones for the special effects, but the special effects really have to be pretty impressive. I’m thinking about going to see Texas Chainsaw Massacre 3D. I figure, even if the acting is all Disney Channel, the special effects on that have to be worth a theater ticket.

The ABCs of Death 2 Recited in October

The ABCs of Death 2 will be making its VOD premiere via Magnet Releasing on October 2 with a theatrical run set for October 31st. I mean what better day could there be to go see a horror movie in a theatre?!?

THE ABCs OF DEATH 2 is produced by Ant Timpson and Tim League, in conjunction with associate producers Todd Brown, Marc Walkow, Mitch Davis, and Ted Geoghegan.

THE ABCs OF DEATH 2’s directors are an eclectic, acclaimed group, consisting of Julian Barratt of The Mighty Boosh; Israel’s Aharon Keshales and Navot Papushado (BIG BAD WOLVES, RABIES); Japan’s arthouse provocateur Sion Sono (COLD FISH, SUICIDE CLUB); Academy Award-nominated animator Bill Plympton; ROOM 237 mastermind Rodney Ascher; Filipino icon – and Director’s Fortnight inductee – Erik Matti (ON THE JOB, MAGIC TEMPLE); Lithuania’s Kristina Buozyte and Bruno Samper (VANISHING WAVES); SPLICE and CUBE's Vincenzo Natali; indie horror icon Larry Fessenden (THE LAST WINTER, HABIT); THE STATION’s Marvin Kren; Todd Rohal (THE CATECHISM CATACLYSM); Canada’s king of lo-fi, Steven Kostanski (MANBORG); Cuba’s Alejandro Brugués (JUAN OF THE DEAD); indie director Robert Boocheck; acclaimed UK commercial director Jim Hosking; Japanese monster-maker Hajime Ohata (HENGE); Canadian short film wizard Chris Nash (SKINFECTIONS); France’s Julien Maury and Alexandre Bustillo (INSIDE, LIVID); E.L. Katz (director of the SXSW breakout hit CHEAP THRILLS); twin auteurs Jen and Sylvia Soska (AMERICAN MARY, DEAD HOOKER IN A TRUNK); A LONELY PLACE TO DIE’s Julian Gilbey; Brazil’s most controversial filmmaker Dennison Ramalho (NINJAS, LOVE FOR MOTHER ONLY); the founder of Nigerian “Nollywood” cinema Lancelot Imasuen; THE LEGEND OF BEAVER DAM and STAGE FRIGHT’s Jerome Sable; and animator Robert Morgan – creator of the BAFTA Award nominated short BOBBY YEAH.

The Walking Dead Season 4 – Complete List of Home Video Features

AMC's "The Walking Dead" Season 4 is coming home, as always, in three different editions: DVD, Blu-ray, and Collector's Edition Blu-ray featuring another round of packaging to die for. Today the COMPLETE set of features for the set has been announced.

From the Press Release
August. Baseball season is in full swing. Barbecues have been blazing since Memorial Day. And fans can count another August tradition when Anchor Bay Entertainment releases THE WALKING DEAD: THE COMPLETE FOURTH SEASON Blu-ray™ + Digital HD with Ultraviolet™ and DVD on August 26th.

Each format contains five loaded discs, presenting each episode exactly as it was originally broadcast. The Blu-ray™ + Digital HD with Ultraviolet™ presents the episodes in pristine 1080p high-definition and lossless Dolby TrueHD 7.1 audio. As with previous season releases, THE WALKING DEAD: THE COMPLETE FOURTH SEASON rewards fans with hours of bonus features, including never-before-seen production footage, deleted scenes and audio commentaries, with ultra-exclusive content only available on the Blu-ray™ release, including additional audio commentaries and several “extended” episodes seen for the first time!

Another “Walking Dead” home entertainment release tradition, started with the Season 2 Blu-ray™ set, is the unique concept packaging by renowned collectibles creator McFarlane Toys. Following in the “shuffling” footsteps of Season 2’s “Walker Head” and Season 3’s “Walker Aquarium,” THE WALKING DEAD: THE COMPLETE FOURTH SEASON will be available in a Blu-ray™ limited edition “Tree Walker” package. SRP is $79.99 for the Blu-ray™ + Digital HD with Ultraviolet™, $69.98 for the DVD and $129.99 for the Blu-ray™ limited edition.

Based on the comic book series written by Robert Kirkman and published by Image Comics, AMC’s “The Walking Dead” enjoyed its most popular season to date, averaging 13.3 million live/same day viewers per episode and 8.6 million adults 18-49. Whether evading walkers, resisting a super flu outbreak, escaping the fall of their temporary prison haven and desperately searching for a sanctuary called Terminus, the on-going story of a group of survivors under the protective watch and leadership of Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) and Dr. Herschel Greene (Scott Wilson) continues to capture viewers’ imaginations on a global scale.

THE WALKING DEAD: THE COMPLETE FOURTH SEASON cast also includes Norman Reedus, Steven Yeun, Lauren Cohan, Danai Gurira, Chandler Riggs, David Morrissey, Melissa McBride, Chad L. Coleman, Sonequa Martin-Green and Emily Kinney. New characters introduced this season include Sgt. Abraham Ford (Michael Cudlitz), Bob Stookey (Lawrence Gillard, Jr.), Rosita Espinoza (Christian Serratos) and Dr. Eugene Porter (Josh McDermott).

Technical Specs
Blu-ray™:

Commentaries:
- Episode 1 (“30 Days Without An Accident”): Audio Commentary with Executive Producer and Showrunner Scott M. Gimple, Executive Producer/Unit Production Manager Tom Luse and Executive Producer/Special Effects Make-Up Supervisor /Director Greg Nicotero
- Episode 5 (“Internment”): Audio Commentary with Executive Producer and Showrunner Scott M. Gimple and Actor Scott Wilson (Hershel)
- Episode 12 (“Still”): Audio Commentary with Director Julius Ramsay and Actor Emily Kinney (Beth); Audio Commentary with Writer/Producer Angela Kang and Actor Norman Reedus (Daryl)
- Episode 14(“The Grove”): Audio Commentary with Director Michael E. Satrazemis and Actors Chad L. Coleman (Tyreese) and Melissa McBride (Carol)

Season 5 of “The Walking Dead” premieres on AMC this October.

To stay up-to-the-minute on all things walker related, follow @WalkingDead_AMC on Twitter and visit "The Walking Dead" on Facebook. For more be sure to hit up the official "The Walking Dead" page on AMC.com.

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Bask in the Glory of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre 40th Anniversary Blu-ray Artwork

I think we just peed a little. Yes. Yes, we did. On September 16th The Texas Chain Saw Massacre 40th Anniversary Collector's Edition will be hitting stores, both online and beyond, and we have a look at the stellar artwork for you cats. We saw. We peed. We liked.

We don't know much about the release other than that there will be a four-disc Blu-ray package (that's right! four discs!) as well as a standard Blu-ray and DVD edition.

Could the four-disc version be the mysterious "Black Maria" (the name of the truck that saved Sally Hardesty from the Sawyer clan) edition everyone's wondering about? We think so, but just in case we have feelers out to Dark Sky/MPI to get you the skinny on that. Given Amazon's pricing (see links below), color us confused.

Expect official details soon. In the interim drool over both the Blu-ray and the DVD art.

In 1973, Tobe Hooper, a cast of unknown actors, and a crew of Austin film students and recent graduates headed to Round Rock, Texas, in the middle of July. For the next 32 days they worked around the clock in 100-degree weather to make The Texas Chain Saw Massacre.

The movie became a huge hit on the drive-in circuit and eventually grossed $30 million. It was invited to the 1975 Cannes Film Festival Director’s Fortnight and was acquired as part of the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art. Since then, it has become the eighth highest-grossing horror franchise of all time. In 2012 Sight & Sound magazine named it one of the 250 most important movies ever made.

Get By With a Little Help From Your Wraith in New Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor Trailer

Talion, the lead character in Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor, is a bad dude, perhaps even badder than those found in the video game Bad Dudes. But to take on Sauron, he needs some help from his wraith companion, Celebrimbor, the great elven smith.

The gameplay trailer released today gives fans a closer a look at the powers that will be imbued into Talion's ghostly companion in Shadow of Mordor.

The heavy focus of the trailer is the wraith’s power to dominate its foes. Using this, Talion can bend the will of his enemies and gain useful information on their allies’ strengths, weaknesses, and, most importantly, what they fear.

Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor takes place on the night Sauron returns to Mordor. Players will take control of Talion, a Ranger of the Black Gate who has returned from death with the aid of a mysterious spirit of vengeance.

The boasting point of Shadow of Mordor is its nemesis system, which ensures that every encounter is “distinct and can evolve to become a personal archenemy through the course of the game.”

Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor will be released on September 30th for PS4, Xbox One, PS3, and Xbox 360. It will be available for PC and on Steam October 2nd.

We’re Going to Eat You in The Green Inferno: Survival

I shudder at the thought of being a victim. This very feeling has built the mega industry of horror. But to be food? That’s fear and helplessness on a whole new level. Nanai Games has tapped into the fear of being lower on the food chain by bring us The Green Inferno: Survival, a mobile game based on the Eli Roth film.

The game, much like the film, takes place after a plane crash in the Peruvian forest. You are tasked with protecting the eight survivors from wave after wave of flesh-ripping, intestine-chewing, genital-gorging cannibals.

Play will include various traps and weapons so you will need to develop a strategy if you don’t want to end up impaled on a roasting spit.

Nanai Games was founded by a group of Chilean enthusiasts and programmers, which include Nicolas Lopez, a collaborator of Roth’s. Nanai has also warned the public to expect more games based off Roth’s work in the future.

The Green Inferno: Survival is available right now on iTunes and Google Play for free. Can you handle life at the bottom of the food chain?

Someone’s Watching You in BioWare’s New Trailer

If you think that you’re alone, think again. BioWare has released another trailer for its upcoming horror game, which is tentatively titled Shadow Realms. Not even eating Chinese food is safe in this new video as a man is attacked by strange lightning and explosions after having a bowl of rice.

He is doodling a circle, which, we learn through some art-house style editing, represents a ring of fire. The very same ring of hellfire was found in the game’s first teaser. This could possibly hint that the game has a hellacious undertone or could be completely overrun with the stuff of nightmarish legend.

The other-worldliness of the trailer seems to build on the previous teaser's theme of taking place during a nightmare, as it has a mystical feel. Nothing in it seems quite real. It very much feels like watching a Nightmare on Elm Street sequel.

The continued release of teaser trailers by BioWare is no doubt meant to pique interest ahead of this month’s Gamescom.

Last week a mysterious new website, You’ve Been Chosen, appeared with the game’s first teaser trailer. Have you check it out yet?

Sci-Fi Conspiracy Leaves Gabriele Muccino Near Death

After helming the feel-inducing Will Smith flicks The Pursuit of Happyness and Seven Pounds, director Gabriele Muccino next heads into science fiction territory with Near Death, and on tap for you today are all the pertinent details!

Per Variety, Voltage Films has brought Muccino (pictured) aboard the sci-fi thriller, which centers on a near-death survivor who starts predicting future events and acting in bizarre ways while his wife notices the world itself changing all around her in impossible ways.

Fearing for her sanity, she investigates and uncovers a massive conspiracy that bridges space and time.

Muccino will direct from a script by Carter Blanchard, who recently signed on to write a new draft of Fox’s Independence Day sequel.

Voltage plans to begin casting in October.

Sherryl Clark and Joe Riley will produce alongside Voltage’s Craig J. Flores and Chartier.

Hannah New Heads Under the Bed with Blair Witch Project Co-Director

It was 15 years ago that Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sanchez co-wrote and co-directed The Blair Witch Project, which needless to say changed the horror game in a big way. Myrick soon returns with Under the Bed, and today the first casting announcement was made. Read on!

THR reports that "Black Sails" and Maleficent star Hannah New (pictured) has joined the cast of the thriller, which was written and directed by Myrick.

Based on true events, Under the Bed centers on a young woman (New) trying to get over a recent romantic breakup, while unbeknownst to her, an obsessed stalker befriends her on social media while taking up residence in her home.

Principal photography is set to begin sometime early this month.

Shawn Papazian is producing along with Radar Pictures' Ted Field and Mike Weber, who developed the project, which started as a story by Myrick and producer Richard Halpern. Sobe Brook Entertainment's Justin Shaner will executive produce with Tom Van Dell, Aldo LaPietra, and Eustace Montgomery Hicks.

Schizo Pictures and Appian Way, the production banner run by Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Davisson Killoran, are also coming on board to produce the film.

Make a Date With Mine Games

A DVD release date of September 16th has been set for director Richard Gray's Mine Games, which was originally titled Mine Games before it was retitled The Evil Within, via Phase 4 Films. Confusing enough?

Mine Games stars Briana Evigan (Sorority Row), Julianna Guill (Friday the 13th), Alex Meraz, Joseph Cross, and Rafi Gavron.

Synopsis
A group of friends travel to a cabin located deep within the forest. Shortly after arriving, they stumble across an abandoned mine and decide to explore the dark and mysterious tunnels. As the group hikes deeper within the mine, they make a shocking discovery that quickly turns their excitement into fear. Hunted by a mysterious force, the group must work together to escape the mine alive.

Guardians of the Galaxy Star Chris Pratt Front and Center in New Jurassic World Image

Guardians of the Galaxy is poised to make a killing at the box office this weekend, and just in case you forgot, star Chris Pratt is in Jurassic World too! Check out this new image.

Vincent D'Onofrio, Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Ty Simpkins, BD Wong, Andy Buckley, Idris Elba, Jake Johnson, Omar Sy, and Nick Robinson star.

Colin Trevorrow (Safety Not Guaranteed) penned the script with Derek Connolly and directs. Steven Spielberg, Frank Marshall, and Pat Crowley produce Jurassic World.

In theaters June 12, 2015, this is a new sci-fi terror adventure set 22 years after the horrific events of the original Jurassic Park.

More as it comes.