Archive for March, 2008
Posted by Horror Grinder on
March 31, 2008
Cemetery Dance Publications has announced the soon-to-be-released anthology, British Invasion, edited by Christopher Golden, Tim Lebbon, and James A. Moore. From the birthplace of horror fiction, the land where writers first dreamed up the icons that shaped the field we know today - Frankenstein’s monster, Count Dracula, the vile Mr. Hyde and more. Discover a literary tradition born from centuries of violence, pain, and suffering, distilled through the veneer of civility, and twisted by the reign of tyrants and kings.
All new dark fiction by Allen Ashley, Kealan Patrick Burke, Ramsey Campbell, Mark Chadbourn, Peter Crowther, Paul Finch, Gary Fry, Joel Lane, Steve Lockley & Paul Lewis, James Lovegrove, Paul Meloy, Mark Morris, Adam Nevill, Philip Nutman, Sarah Pinborough, Tony Richards, Gord Rollo, Nicholas Royle, John Travis, Conrad Williams, and “Anonymous.”
To learn more or to order: British Invasion
Tags: British Invasion, Christopher Golden, James A. Moore, Publisher News, Tim Lebbon
British Invasion, Christopher Golden, James A. Moore, Publisher News, Tim Lebbon
Stabbed first by HELLNOTES
Posted by Horror Grinder on
March 31, 2008
April brings the arrival of two special Dean Koontz editions - the first trade edition of The Book Of Counted Sorrows (following the limited, signed, and numbered edition)and Charnel House’s limited edition of The Darkest Evening Of The Year. On April 29, look for The Good Guy which will be out in paperback. And on May 20, the fourth Odd Thomas novel - Odd Hours - will be in stores.
Tags: Dean Koontz, Horror Author News, The Book of Counted Sorrows
Dean Koontz, Horror Author News, The Book of Counted Sorrows
Stabbed first by HELLNOTES
Posted by Horror Grinder on
March 31, 2008
Jeremy Shipp is running a contest to promote his novel, Vacation. The winner will receive a yard gnome, as well as his or her choice between Vacation, his new novella “Flapjack,” or his new short story collection. What do you have to do to win? Spread the word about Vacation.
“You can write a bulletin, a blog entry, a TV jingle, a song, a review,” says Shipp. “You can interview me. You can create a statue of the novel and donate it to your local nunnery. You can mention the book to a creepy-looking guy in a trench coat while you’re standing in an elevator. You can even tell some mongoose spirits about the novel during astral projection.”
To find out more: Shipp Contest
Tags: Contests, Jeremy Shipp, Vacation
Contests, Jeremy Shipp, Vacation
Stabbed first by HELLNOTES
Posted by Horror Grinder on
March 31, 2008
Bloody-Disgusting has learned that Derek Mears from The Hills Have Eyes 2, is about to finalize the deal to make him the NEW Jason Voorhees in Platinum Rip-Offs remake of the classic slasher film Friday the 13th. I repeat Bloody-Disgusting broke the story, I just want to make that clear because if I don’t they will whine worst than my bitchy ex-girlfriend.
The remake is set for February 13, 2009, directed by Marcus Nispel, and written by Damian Shannon and Mark Swift.
Stabbed first by horroryearbook.com
Posted by Horror Grinder on
March 31, 2008
Horror-Movies.ca got their hands on the NEW X-Files 2 poster, even though there is no official name or synopsis yet, the website learned a little about the story:
“It is a stand-alone story in the tradition of some of the show’s most acclaimed and beloved episodes, and takes the complicated relationship between Fox Mulder (Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Anderson) in unexpected directions. Mulder continues his unshakable quest for the truth, and Scully, the passionate, ferociously intelligent physician, remains inextricably tied to Mulder’s pursuits.”
Cool X-Files 2 Wallpaper
Stabbed first by horroryearbook.com
Posted by Horror Grinder on
March 31, 2008
NEW YORK (Hollywood Reporter) - Henry Lee Hopper, the 17-year-old son of Dennis Hopper, will play the lead role in a new teen horror from Wes Craven.
The Rogue Pictures project, tentatively titled "25/8," also stars Denzel Whitaker ("The Great Debaters") and Shareeka Epps ("Half Nelson").
Hopper will play Bug, one of seven teens haunted by a serial killer who supposedly died when they were born 15 years earlier. The…
Stabbed first by Horror Society
Posted by Horror Grinder on
March 31, 2008
Stuart Gordon likes to get a rise out of people.
And if it involves blood and guts, so much the better.
"Shocking people, I think, is something that I enjoy, " says Gordon, 60, director of the horror thriller "Stuck " being screened Saturday night at the 10th annual Wisconsin Film Festival. "I like to do things that get people ’s blood running and their hearts beating. "
Links
Because,…
Stabbed first by Horror Society
Posted by Horror Grinder on
March 31, 2008
Here is Universal’s summer horror movie line-up, dates and plot summaries. Universal’s Summer Movie Preview: The Incredible Hulk - Mamma Mia! - Wild Child
Hellboy 2: The Golden Army - July 11th 2008
Cast: Ron Perlman, Selma Blair, Doug Jones, Luke Goss
Directed by: Guillermo del Toro
With a signature blend of action, humor and character-based spectacle, the saga of the world’s toughest, kitten-loving hero from Hell continues to unfold in Hellboy 2: The Golden Army. Bigger muscle, badder weapons and more ungodly villains arrive in an epic vision of imagination from Oscar®-nominated director Guillermo del Toro (>Pan’s Labyrinth, Hellboy).
After an ancient truce existing between humankind and the invisible realm of the fantastic is broken, hell on Earth is ready to erupt. A ruthless leader who treads the world above and the one below defies his bloodline and awakens an unstoppable army of creatures. Now, it’s up to the planet’s toughest, roughest superhero to battle the merciless dictator and his marauders. He may be red. He may be horned. He may be misunderstood. But when you need the job done right, it’s time to call in Hellboy (Ron Perlman).
Along with his expanding team in the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense—pyrokinetic girlfriend Liz (Selma Blair), aquatic empath Abe (Doug Jones) and protoplasmic mystic Johann—the BPRD will travel between the surface strata and the unseen magical one, where creatures of fantasy become corporeal. And Hellboy, a creature of two worlds who’s accepted by neither, must choose between the life he knows and an unknown destiny that beckons him.
Watch Teaser Trailer Here
The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor - August 1, 2008
Cast: Brendan Fraser, Jet Li, Maria Bello, John Hannah, Michelle Yeoh, Russell Wong, Liam Cunningham, Luke Ford, Isabella Leong
Directed by: Rob Cohen
The blockbuster global Mummy franchise takes a spellbinding turn as the action shifts to Asia for the next chapter in the adventure series, The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor. Brendan Fraser returns as explorer Rick O’Connell to combat the resurrected Han Emperor (Jet Li) in an epic that races from the catacombs of ancient China high into the frigid Himalayas. Rick is joined in this all-new adventure by son Alex (newcomer Luke Ford), wife Evelyn (Maria Bello) and her brother, Jonathan (John Hannah). And this time, the O’Connells must stop a mummy awoken from a 2,000-year-old curse who threatens to plunge the world into his merciless, unending service.
Doomed by a double-crossing sorceress (Michelle Yeoh) to spend eternity in suspended animation, China’s ruthless Dragon Emperor and his 10,000 warriors have laid forgotten for eons, entombed in clay as a vast, silent terra cotta army. But when dashing adventurer Alex O’Connell is tricked into awakening the ruler from eternal slumber, the reckless young archaeologist must seek the help of the only people who know more than he does about taking down the undead: his parents.
As the monarch roars back to life, our heroes find his quest for world domination has only intensified over the millennia. Striding the Far East with unimaginable supernatural powers, the Emperor Mummy will rouse his legion as an unstoppable, otherworldly force…unless the O’Connells can stop him first. Now, in The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, the trademark thrills and visually spectacular action of the Mummy series will be redefined for a new generation.
The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor is helmed by director Rob Cohen (The Fast and the Furious, xXx) and written by Alfred Gough & Miles Millar (Spider-Man 2, television’s Smallville). Reprising their roles as producers in the series are Bob Ducsay, Sean Daniel, Stephen Sommers and James Jacks.
The Strangers - May 30, 2008
Cast: Liv Tyler, Scott Speedman, Gemma Ward, Kip Weeks, Laura Margolis, Glenn Howerton
Written and Directed by: Bryan Bertino
Lock the doors. Assume you’re safe.
The horrifying events that took place in the Hoyt family’s vacation home at 1801 Clark Road on February 11, 2005, are still not entirely known.
Champagne. Rose petals. Candlelight. It was supposed to be a night of celebration for Kristen McKay (Liv Tyler) and James Hoyt (Scott Speedman). But after leaving a friend’s wedding reception and returning to the house, everything had collapsed for the happy couple.
Then came a 4 a.m. knock on the door and a haunting voice.
Is Tamara here?
Writer/director Bryan Bertino explores our most universal fears in The Strangers, a terrifying suspense thriller about a couple whose remote getaway becomes a place of terror when masked strangers invade. The confrontation forces Kristen and James to go far beyond what they thought themselves capable of if they hope to survive.
Stabbed first by horroryearbook.com
Posted by Horror Grinder on
March 31, 2008
Review by Fatally Yours
Shrooms, a gem from the Emerald Isle, proves that Ireland can create a creepy horror film. Director Paddy Breathnach knows how to build an imposing atmosphere with misty moors, murky marshes, wispy woods and a haunted house. The film’s only fault may be the script (written by Pearse Elliott), which feels a little derivative of other horror films at times. Still, the stylish direction and spooky scenes more than make up for the lack of originality in the story.
Five American friends travel together to Ireland, where they meet their friend Jake (Jack Huston), who promises them a “trip” of a lifetime. You see, they’ve come to Ireland not only to see Jake, but to camp out in the Celtic countryside and try some magic mushrooms. They drive to an isolated location in the misty woods, where the only other people around are a pair of slobbery backwoods hillbillies (guess they have ‘em in Ireland too!). They set up camp on a beautifully green meadow next to a marsh and go mushroom hunting. Jake warns them about a potentially lethal species of ‘shroom, one that is crowned with a black top (that looks oddly like a nipple). It is said that anyone who survives eating the deadly mushroom suffers strange side effects. These include being able to commune with the dead, see the future, shape-shift or turn into a sadistic, bloodthirsty killer.
Unfortunately, goodie-goodie Tara (Lindsey Haun) didn’t receive the memo and, eager to prove that she can let loose, gobbles up the first mushroom she sees, which just happens to be one of the deadly poisonous ones. After overdosing, she comes to in Jake’s arms (swoon) and he takes her back to camp so she can sleep it off, only she begins having strange, nightmarish dreams.
Meanwhile, everyone else huddles around the campfire, listening to Jake tell the story of the mad monk and his victims who supposedly haunt the woods and the nearby abandoned boarding house. This sadistic monk used to mercilessly beat and kill the children under his care, until one of them decided to take revenge and poisoned the monk’s soup with the black-cap mushrooms. Well, instead of killing him the mushrooms made the monk go absolutely mad and he ended up killing everyone in the boarding house. The house now sits abandoned, but every year missing and even mutilated bodies are reported in the woods.
The next day, Tara swears she keeps seeing shadowy figures and premonitions of her friends’ deaths. When people start to go missing and turn up dead, no one is quite sure if what they are seeing is real or just a really bad trip. Tara tries to convince them that it is all real and that the mad monk is killing them off one by one.
In regards to the story, it isn’t all THAT derivative of other films. Despite the well-trodden premise of a group of young adults stuck in the woods being stalked by an unimaginable evil (sound familiar?) there are quite a few moments of originality throughout the film. I thoroughly enjoyed the “magic mushroom” idea and how I (along with the characters) wasn’t exactly sure what was real and what wasn’t. There was also a touch of black humor in the film…just wait for the hilarious talking cow!! I also enjoyed how writer Pearse Elliott incorporated several different subgenres (the backwoods hillbillies, the ghost story, the psychic/supernatural elements, etc.) while still maintaining a fluid, cohesive story that never felt bogged down or awkward. The pacing was also excellent and kept me glued to my seat until the shocking ending (yes, I really was surprised!).
The characterizations were a little shaky, but the film established who was who (though I still had trouble telling the two brunettes apart) rather quickly and soon after that people began getting butchered so it really didn’t matter too much! The acting also was so-so, but it worked for the film. The real standout was Kristen Bell look-alike Lindsey Haun as Tara. The other actors didn’t stand out (except for hunky Jack Huston, who played Jake) as much, but they all did a competent job overall.
The most striking things about the film, though, were the visuals. Without the spectacularly creepy direction and cinematography, this would not have been the same film. From the herky-jerky movements of the mad monk (much like Samara’s movements in Ringu) moving through the foggy forest to what was hiding in the shadowy depths of the marshes, the film is beautifully unsettling. The blue, green and gray colors used really invoke a sense of isolation, abandonment and coldness.
There isn’t much gore to speak of, but in this film it wasn’t really necessary and I didn’t miss its absence. There is, however, a choice scene that will resonate with male viewers involving an oral amputation. Many of the other gory bits happen off-screen, but it’s a whole lot scarier when left to your own imagination.
Some people will call this film just another run-of-the-mill horror flick, but I thoroughly enjoyed myself watching it and believe that the future will only bring good things from director Breathnach, who is currently working on the interesting sounding Red Mist, about a psychotic coma patient that goes on an out-of-body killing spree.
I highly recommend giving Shrooms a shot…it’s a real trip!
Stabbed first by Fatally Yours
Posted by Horror Grinder on
March 31, 2008
Review by Fatally Yours
Have you ever become so wrapped up in a book that it consumes you, it won’t let you put it down? Upon the conclusion you’re left slack-jawed and worn out. A few days later, you still can’t shake the feeling and the story continues to eat away at you from the inside out?
Well, having finished Scott Smith’s horror novel The Ruins (in preparation for the upcoming film adaptation), I can attest to those very emotions. Like a vine, The Ruins wraps itself around you, slowly at first, then tightening and tightening its hold so that it is near impossible to put down until the very last page.
Things start lazily enough in the book. Couples Jeff and Amy, Eric and Stacy are having one last fling together before they each head off to college. They are enjoying three weeks in Cancun, relaxing on the beach and drinking their cares away. They become friends with a German named Mathias as well as a group of Greeks, who don’t speak any English but go by Spanish names. One day, Mathias tells them about his kid brother, who set off into the jungle to follow a girl he had met to an archeological dig. The two couples, along with “Pablo” from the Greeks, decide to accompany Mathias into the jungle to try and find his brother.
After a long bus and taxi ride, they come to the jungle path they must take. They encounter some indifferent Mayans before eventually finding the ruins. There is no sign of Mathias’ brother or an archeological dig, but the group soon discovers the horrifying truth about the ruins when they remain trapped there.
I haven’t been so taken and enthralled with a book in quite some time, but The Ruins blew me away. Smith writes simply at first, but keeps buffeting the reader with an ominous feeling, one where you know something very bad is coming very soon. When trouble finally arrives, it’s far worse than you ever could have comprehended and it just keeps getting worse!
The characters are likable and relatable; I found a piece of myself reflected in each of their personalities and moods. The way Smith is able to capture both the good, the bad and the ugly in his characters makes them that much more real and “alive.” They each have their faults and make mistakes, but this is what makes them so relatable and their fates all the more horrifying.
The story itself and how it unravels is terrifying and even believable. Who hasn’t had the fear of being lost and trapped in some faraway place with no contact to the outside world and little hope of rescue? Who hasn’t been afraid of strange sounds or things in the dark? Of creepy crawlies? Of not being able to communicate when it means life or death? The characters’ realistic reactions to all these fears are very believable, their choices make sense and you can easily imagine yourself caught in the same situation making the same dreadful decisions.
As for the gore, there is plenty of it! Things get (literally!) under the characters’ skins and there are broken bones, bodies skinned to the bone, self-mutilation, strangulation, regurgitation and a fair amount of blood flow. Certain descriptions in the book had me covering my mouth in disbelief and disgust (in a good way, you know!) all the while feeling as helpless as the victims. I am definitely holding back because I don’t want to give anything away, but horror fiends will not be disappointed!
The Ruins is an emotionally intense experience, a book that manages to coil itself around you and draw you in. If you decide to read it before going to see the upcoming film that releases April 4th you had better set aside a few days, because once you pick it up you’ll find it extremely hard to put down!
Stabbed first by Fatally Yours
