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| FEO NEWS FOR AUTUMN 2025: - SEPTEMBER - The detritus of old Horror/Thriller history can be found here. These are archived news items, many of them linked outside of this website. |
DONOVAN'S BRAIN is 72
The prolific Mathematician, Science Fiction Writer, and Hugo Award winning screenwriter, Curt Siodmak, practically created the modern Werewolf or Wolf man mythos out of whole cloth with his screenplay for Universal Pictures, THE WOLF MAN. From full moons to silver bullets, it was Curt who laid down the strengths and weaknesses of lycanthropy that nearly all have followed and modified ever since. However, Curt was an admirer of Harry Houdini and, like him, scoffed at the idea of the supernatural. Like Universal's WEREWOLF OF LONDON from 6 years earlier, he made it clear that while the irrational people around Lawrence Talbot thought of magic and spells, his affliction was infection, not hokum. In his wildly successful 1942 novel, DONOVAN'S BRAIN, researchers of the era thought Telepathy was still a more likely candidate for science than superstition, and in 1944's tepid THE LADY AND THE MONSTER, Siodmak had people believing: Except Curt didn't like the movie. After a successful radio show re-enactment by Orson Wells a few years later, Curt was given more creative control over his story, the remake titled after the novel, DONOVAN'S BRAIN, and nearly directed! Well, Curt would have directed, except for the fact that first time Producer, Tom Gries, despised the fact that Siodmak, a mere writer, was more experienced, famoose, and successful than him, and so torpedoed Curt. Also - SERENITY is 23
Remember when you were 20 and the beloved TV show of your childhood, FIREFLY, found its end and wrap up in a feature film and on theater screens? Well now you're 43, you freaking Browncoat! What have you done with your life, huh? You do anything that measures up to a Browncoat? Huh? Anywho, let's recapture the romanticized magic of the Thrilling, Suspenseful Mystery that is SERENITY. Finale - HAPPY HORROR THRILLER BIRTHDAYS TO -
YOU DUG IT A second slow weekend in a row. Audience response to the opening of two new movies at #1 and #2 was tepid. Early earners from last week are falling rapidly. Even with that taken into account -
3. DEMON SLAYER - KIMETSU NO YAIBA - THE MOVIE: INFINITY CASTLE steps down from #1 with two new openers taking 1st and 2nd place respectively. DEMON SLAYER's drop this week isn't as massive as last week's 75% drop in ticket sales. This week it suffered a 59%% drop in box office against a 358 screen cut. Despite performing below expectations (?!?), in its third weekend its earned well over $600 billion. Expect more sequels. 4. THE CONJURING: LAST RITES slips to #4 in its 4th weekend with a 45% drop in ticket sales against a 330 screen cut. Despite performing below expectations, its still made more than 8 times its production budget, and may still have a long way to go before leaving the Top 10. 6. HIM suffers a staggering drop in its 2nd weekend, free falling from last weekend's #2 spot. The movie's seemingly template movie trailer isn't helping. This tale was already an old urban legend. Current top athelete / lawyer / artist / mah-jong player is summoned to a secret place where a retired former best player challenges him/her to a death match or sell his / her soul. It's already figured in any number of comic books, a feature film (THE DEVIL'S ADVOCATE), and a few made for TV movies and episodes. Of course you can make a hit from any old tale, but only with a fresh approach. For someone like Producer Jordan Peele (biggest credit name on the poster), who made his name in feature films with his fresh approaches to old tales (GET OUT, US, NOPE), this looked stale. Personally, the trailer made me think it was just going to go by the numbers, though of course, I can't speak for everyone. Still, here we are. In only its 2nd weekend, Director and co-writer, Justin Tipping's movie suffered a deathly 73% loss in ticket sales despite no cut to its screen count. From what critics and audiences alike are saying, you may be about to Bury it. 7. THE LONG WALK dropped from #5 to here in its 3rd weekend with a 47% dip in ticket sales against a 548 screen cut. Still below its break even point, I see the SK faithful rallying the congregation online, but its not working. Since both critics and audiences alike give it high ratings, I don't know what the problem is. 10. SPIDER-MAN 2 (2004) re-debuted this weekend along with SPIDER-MAN (2002) and SPIDER-MAN 3 (2007), but nobody cared as it brought in a dismal $750 per screen average across three days, and this was the highest earner of the three. 16. WEAPONS drops off the Top Ten from last week's #10 with a 63% drop in ticket sales against a 674 screen cut. That said, it had an awesome ride in its 8 weeks on the Top Ten, pulling in well over a quarter billion in box office against a $38 million dollar Production budget. I don't know how this could be the start of a new franchise, but I wouldn't rule it out. Dig It Up I never count the Top 25, but I think its worth noting that the biggest per screen average money maker this week was the 50th anniversary of - 23. THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW. Though this re-release is on only 15 screens nationwide, it brought in an average of $9,000 per screen. That's nearly $3,000 more Per Screen than this week's #1.
You Buried Nothing This Week Figures calibrated from reporting by Box Office Mojo and The Numbers. Should there be differences between the two, I err on the side of caution and post the most positive numbers. And - HAPPY HORROR THRILLER BIRTHDAYS TO -
Actor Mackenzie Crook (THE GATHERING [2002], PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: THE CURSE OF THE BLACK PEARL, THE BROTHERS GRIMM, LAND OF THE BLIND, PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN'S CHEST, PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: AT WORLD'S END, CITY OF EMBER, ABRAHAM'S POINT, SOLOMON KANE, IRONCLAD, GAME OF THRONES [TV], IN SECRET, ALMOST HUMAN [TV], BRITANNIA [TV], TALES FROM THE LODGE) is 55. SUNDAY -
Actor Naomi Watts (THE WYVERN MYSTERY, DOWN, MULHOLLAND DR., THE RING, 21 GRAMS, THE RING TWO, STAY, KING KONG, INLAND EMPIRE, EASTERN PROMISES, FUNNY GAMES [U.S.], THE INTERNATIONAL, DREAM HOUSE, THE IMPOSSIBLE, INSURGENT, ALLEGIANT, SHUT IN, TWIN PEAKS [TV - 2017], THE WOLF HOUR, BOSS LEVEL, THE DESPERATE HOUR, GOODNIGHT MOMMY, INFINITE STORM, THE WATCHER [TV]) who is 52. SATURDAY -
Actor Daeg Faerch (DARK MIRROR, Rob Zombie's HALLOWEEN, DITCH PARTY, RUN! BITCH RUN!, SEBASTIAN, JOSIE, KILLER THERAPY) is 29.
THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW is 50
A long, long time ago in this galaxy when it was far, far away (from where we are at this moment)... SAUL WARS or Saul Warred against early Christians. Well maybe war is too harsh. Let's just say he persecuted them. Anyway, years after the alleged day of death of Jesus Christ as a human being ( By taking this upon himself Saul/Paul became the 13th Apostle (or the replacement for Judas if you prefer - this is not the time to re-open this hoary old debate) and decided what would be the definitive scripture of Jesus (and if it wasn't definitive enough to suit Saul/Paul's tastes, it's out!). This radical turnabout in Nu-Paul's life happened, so the story he created goes, as he traveled on the Road to Damascus. In short, it was largely on the Road to Damascus that he had the epiphany that led to his conversion. So mere words, whether spoken or on paper, can change the course of lives and nations. Well that's no surprise. That is, in fact, what makes Free Speech so damn dangerous: Because it's liberating. And all of these words spoken or otherwise come from our fellow humans. I've had several such roads in my life, realizations if you will, and one of my earliest - one that set me on This Road instead of That Road - was my watching and audience participation in, THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW. Plus - HAPPY HORROR THRILLER BIRTHDAYS TO -
By E.C. McMullen Jr.
INNOCENT BLOOD is 33
Struggling to regain his career, Director John Landis tried to do with Vampires what he successfully did with Werewolves (AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON), as well as Zombies and Werecats (Michael Jackson's THRILLER). INNOCENT BLOOD was the result. And - PARANORMAL ACTIVITY is Old Enough to Vote
Oh, go on! Dare! This low budget Independent Horror movie got its Limited release in the U.S.A. on this day. By October it blew up to wide release on thousands of screens and enjoyed its brief moment as a "Phenomenon". This is how I felt coming out of the theaters after the first time I saw PARANORMAL ACTIVITY. Plus - SURROGATES is 16
From the Director who brought you TERMINATOR 3: DIMINISHING RETURNS comes a movie that should not be confused with Alex Proyas I, ROBOT or Steven Spielberg's MINORITY REPORT, but often is. This is the difference in Jonathan Mostow's SURROGATES. Finale - HAPPY HORROR THRILLER BIRTHDAYS TO -
Actor Clea Duvall (LITTLE WITCHES, THE FACULTY, THE ASTRONAUT'S WIFE, GHOSTS OF MARS, HOW TO MAKE A MONSTER, IDENTITY, THE GRUDGE, CARNIVÀLE [TV], HEROES [TV], THE KILLING ROOM, VIRTUALITY, AMERICAN HORROR STORY [TV], THE LIZZIE BORDEN CHRONICLES [TV], THE HANDMAID'S TALE) is 47.
AMITYVILLE II: THE POSSESSION is 43
1982 was both a great year and bad year for writer, Tommy Lee Wallace. The good part was two of his scripts were sold, made into movies, and were both released in this year, back to back! The bad part was both were sequels and they both flopped, back to back. The first to sink was AMITYVILLE II: THE POSSESSION. And - SHAUN OF THE DEAD is 21 Today!
That's right! You're Old! Ahh... remember back when you were 21 and saw SHAUN OF THE DEAD in the theaters when it first came out? Well now you're 42 and you're fucking OLD! What have you done with your life? Still working as a miserable "Associate" at Foree Electric, you fucking old Geezer? And - HAPPY HORROR THRILLER BIRTHDAYS TO -
Writer Deborah Turrell Atkinson (PRIMITIVE SECRETS, THE GREEN ROOM, FIRE PRAYER, PLEASING THE DEAD) is, I suspect, older than me.
Tim Burton's CORPSE BRIDE is 22
Leading up to its theatrical release, fans thought Tim was going to reveal a Victorian Gothic version of the undead world, an older view of what we saw in BEETLEJUICE. But Producer Tim, sharing the helm as co-writer and co-director, had something else in mind. Shirley Muramoto reviews CORPSE BRIDE. Also - HAPPY HORROR THRILLER BIRTHDAYS TO -
Writer and Feo Amante alumni, Brian Keene (Books: NO REST FOR THE WICKED, THE RISING [series], GHOUL, DARK HOLLOW [Levi Stoltzfus series including GHOST WALK], EARTHWORM GODS [Earthworm Gods series], THE LOST LEVEL [The Lost Level series], KING OF THE BASTARDS [Bastards series], THE SEVEN [Labrinth series], ALONE, and way more.
YOU DUG IT This was a slow weekend with some movies in the Top 10 making less than $1,000 per screen average over three days. Even with that taken into account -
1. DEMON SLAYER - KIMETSU NO YAIBA - THE MOVIE: INFINITY CASTLE wins its 2nd weekend in a row at #1! Despite a massive box office drop of 75% in ticket sales against a +25 additional screens, this weekend's #1 is still doing better than everyone else and has passed the half billion sales mark in only its 2nd weekend. 2. HIM opens at a surprising #2 and a low $13 million weekend on 3,168 screens. 3. THE CONJURING: LAST RITES slips to #3 in its third weekend with a 52% drop in ticket sales against a 389 screen cut. That said, its made over 7 times its production budget and appears to have a long way to go before leaving the Top 10. 5. THE LONG WALK steps down from last weekend's #4 to 5 with a mild 47% drop in ticket sales with no change to its screen count. 10. WEAPONS takes a surprisingly big drop from #6 to #10 this weekend with a 54% drop in box office against a 1,124 screen cut in its 7th week. However, its also made nearly 7 times its budget, so a sequel cannot be ruled out. You Buried Nothing This Week Figures calibrated from reporting by Box Office Mojo and The Numbers. Should there be differences between the two, I err on the side of caution and post the most positive numbers. And - 29 Years of SE7EN
I was there to see SEVEN in the theater! What's so great about watching it in the theater? You don't have a spouse, significant other, or family member telling you to "Pause It" while they go to the bathroom, make popcorn, answer this call, or all the other BULLSHIT that interrupts a movie night! That's what so great about theaters! Plus - KISS: PSYCHO CIRCUS Turns 27
And I was on top of it! My KISS: PSYCHO CIRCUS review from 1998! Also - FEAST is 19
I saw the trailers and I was ready for it, but the theatrical release was exceedingly limited. That said, the day it hit the shelves I was There for the Scare! Our review of FEAST. Finale - HAPPY HORROR THRILLER BIRTHDAYS TO -
Actor Daniella Alonso (HOOD OF HORROR, THE HILLS HAVE EYES II, WRONG TURN 2, THE COLLECTOR, RE-KILL, REVOLUTION [TV], RE-KILL, DARKNESS FALLS) is 45. SUNDAY -
Actor Christian Serratos (TWILIGHT [all], 96 MINUTES, FLIGHT 7500, THE WALKING DEAD [TV]) is 34. Eli Roth's THE HOUSE WITH A CLOCK IN ITS WALLS turns an adorable 7
But can you enjoy it with your kids? Well, can you enjoy Jack Black? My review of THE HOUSE WITH A CLOCK IN ITS WALLS. SATURDAY -
Actor Asia Argento (DEMONI 2, LA
CHIESA, TRAUMA, LA
SINDROME DI STENDHAL, IL
FANTASMA DELL'OPERA, LES MORSURES DE L'AUBE, RED SIREN, THE KEEPER, LAND
OF THE DEAD, LIVE FREAKY DIE FREAKY, TRANSYLVANIA, MOTHER OF TEARS, DRACULA 3D, ALIEN CRYSTAL PALACE, AGONY, OCCHIALI NERI, LET HER KILL YOU, SCHIRKOA: IN LIES WE TRUST, INTERSTATE) who is 49. It's Been 74 Years Since ...
As you'd expect of a Hollywood film, 20th Century Fox's movie was a 90° left turn from author Harry Bates' short story, Farewell To The Master. Through the script by Edmund H. North (METEOR) and the direction of Robert Wise (THE HAUNTING [1963], THE ANDROMEDA STRAIN), the human appearing alien, Klaatu and the robot, Gort, were benevolent fascists, "Join us and live in a peaceful police state, or pursue your present course and we'll destroy your planet." For this the police state fascists (and the movie repeatedly underlines this point) were supposed to be the "good guys", because they were more technologically advanced. It grew worse and more ridiculous with the 2008 reboot ("We know little about your planet but we're going to destroy it anyway. You have no say in the matter, because we're superior to you."). This is how reviewer Kelly Parks saw 1951's, THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL.
R! UNDERWORLD B 22 sez I!
There are at least two Danny McBrides writing in Hollywood today. One Danny McBride writes comedies but he also wrote the HALLOWEEN 2018 trilogy and as a Producer is leading the EXORCIST trilogy addendums as well as developing the HELLRAISER TV series. The other Danny McBride co-adapted into a screenplay, the Kevin Grevioux story, UNDERWORLD and kept at it for five movies and now an upcoming TeeVee series! So! Howz the original holding up after 22 years? About the same as when it was released in 2003. Read my review of UNDERWORLD. Also - R! Sure n' this B HAPPY HORROR THRILLER BIRTHDAYS TO -
By E.C. McMullen Jr.
39 Years Ago Today Clive Barker Brought Us Hell On Earth: HELLRAISER
39 years later and the story isn't over. The new HELLRAISER Hulu TV movie may usher in a series on the horizon, ready to be shown on a Disney streamer no less (probably not, but maybe...)! Go to a time of humble yet blood-soaked beginnings. E.C. McMullen Jr. saw it on the big theater screen when he first watched HELLRAISER. And - JENNIFER'S BODY is 16
Oscar winning writer, Diablo Cody has her fans, but they don't all follow her to Horror. Nobody in the pipeline saw that coming when they made this movie and as it approached release, the star, Megan Fox, began to fall out of audience favor. Okay, but we're over a decade past all that drama now. How does the actual movie hold up? JENNIFER'S BODY holds up surprisingly well! In fact, probably better now than it did on its release. Plus - WILLOW BLUE Turns 13
Through the years I've had various short stories published in magazines both print and online, as well as anthologies. As the First North American Serial Rights returned to me and began to pile up, and professional, paying, literary book publishers began disappearing or merging into a handful of major publishers, I explored self-publishing. After all, my short stories were already published once. They had gone through the editing, vetting process and won their place in print. All I had to do was arrange them in an order that would smoothly move from tale to tale. So I divided them into Supernatural Horror and non-supernatural Thrillers, and the other into Science Fiction. The original WILLOW BLUE and Other Stories came out as an eBook (Smashwords) on this day in 2012. It's a Collection of Seven critically acclaimed Horror Thriller tales of Weird Sex, True Love, Monsters, and Mayhem. Finale - HAPPY HORROR THRILLER BIRTHDAYS TO -
By E.C. McMullen Jr.
MOTHRA VS. GODZILLA Turns 60
The politically sordid story of Cool Japanese Kaiju movies re-edited for American audiences in order to minimize or outright even remove any mention of Atomic Bombs, continued well into the 1960s with MOSULA TAI GOJIRA aka MOTHRA VS. GODZILLA aka GODZILLA VS THE THING! And - SKY CAPTAIN AND THE WORLD OF TOMORROW is 21
Critics loved it, the trailers looked awesome, what a perfect way to end the summer! One more etravagant big budget movie as we headed into fall. I was there to see it, embrace it, and love it, and boy did I ever want to. There was just this problem, looping, repeating, with SKY CAPTAIN AND THE WORLD OF TOMORROW. Plus - HAPPY HORROR THRILLER BIRTHDAYS TO - Writer, Director Neill BlomKamp (DISTRICT 9, ELYSIUM, RAKKA, DEMONIC) is 43.
HAPPY HORROR THRILLER BIRTHDAYS TO - There are those actors who have a long and eclectic catalog of roles they've played and yet, thankfully for us, it's their Horror, Thriller, Mystery, and Suspense roles over everything else, that is most remembered.
Actor Jennifer Tilly (REMOTE CONTROL, HIGH SPIRITS, FAR FROM HOME, EMBRACE OF THE VAMPIRE, BOUND, THE WRONG GUY, BRIDE OF CHUCKY, DO NOT DISTURB, DANCING AT THE BLUE IGUANA, RELATIVE EVIL, MONSTERS, INC., JERICHO MANSIONS, THE HAUNTED MANSION [2003], SEED OF CHUCKY, TIDELAND, THE INITIATION OF SARAH, THE CARETAKER, CURSE OF CHUCKY, CULT OF CHUCKY, MONSTERS AT WORK [TV], CHUCKY [TV]) is 66.
YOU DUG IT
1. DEMON SLAYER - KIMETSU NO YAIBA - THE MOVIE: INFINITY CASTLE is a mouthful to remember but obviously a lot of Horror fans did. In its opening weekend, it made $70 million in the U.S. and nearly $400 million world-wide! Audiences around the world wanted to see demons slain this weekend. 2. THE CONJURING: LAST RITES fell a whopping 69% in its 2nd weekend (the 2nd biggest B.O. drop of the weekend), severely underperforming against expectations set high by last weekend's major box office that brought in 6 times its production budget. 3. THE LONG WALK opened on far fewer screens than expected this weekend, after Stephen King said some things online that he admits were offensive and horrible. He's apologizing and begging people to pay to see his movie, but it opened on 2,845 screens, bringing in $11 million. That's a medium wide release for a major studio budget of this size, Lionsgate in particular, and Stephen King in general (every Horror movie on this weekend's Top 10 opened far wider). Even SK movies that flopped in theatrical release overall in the last 10 years, usually had a great opening weekend. 6. WEAPONS, in the face of six wide-release movies opening this weekend (including two mega-popular Anniversary wide-releases), stepped down from last weekend's #3 with only a 48% box office loss against a 974 screen cut. It pulled in over $2.7 million in its 6th weekend and might still have another weekend or two left in it before it leaves. 11. FANTASTIC FOUR: FIRST STEPS free falls out of the Top 10 in its 8th weekend, down from last weekend's #6. With a 51% drop in ticket sales against a 735 screen cut, this "underperformer" still brought in over half a billion dollars or 2.6 times its budget, which probably isn't enough to cover the cost of its marketing. As a matter of perspective on Hollywood "Expectations", Superman fell off the Top 10 this weekend (-8 places!) with a worse box office (-70%) against about the same screen cut (-789) and a much bigger budget (+$27 million). Yet WB declares it to be bringing in sales within expectations. Two Superhero movies, doing about the same in sales, and only the one that cost less - from a franchise that's been box office poison forever - is performing below expectations. I dunno: Go figure. You Buried Nothing This Week Figures calibrated from reporting by Box Office Mojo and The Numbers. Should there be differences between the two, I err on the side of caution and post the most positive numbers. And - HAPPY HORROR THRILLER BIRTHDAYS TO -
By E.C. McMullen Jr. SUNDAY -
Writer, Producer, Director Bong Joon ho (PHANTOM: THE SUBMARINE, ANTARCTIC JOURNAL, THE HOST, SNOWPIERCER, SEA FOG, PARASITE, SNOWPIERCER [TV]) is 56. THE PREDATOR Turns 7
"Officially" released on this day in 2018, I took the kids to the Sep. 13 midnight IMAX show of THE PREDATOR.
SATURDAY - Actor Robbie Kay (HANNIBAL RISING, PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: ON STRANGER TIDES, HEROES: REBORN [TV], COLD MOON, BLOOD FEST, ONCE UPON A TIME [TV]) is 30. KING GHIDORAH: THE 3-HEADED MONSTER is 60
By 1961, toy sales of GOJIRA, which were expected to be moderate and for a limited time, y'know, just long enough to promote the movie, went through the roof! So they made more! Then in the world-wide market toy sales went into orbit! Toho Pictures reaction to all of this was to turn GODZILLA from a villain into a hero. Otherwise kids are admiring evil, right? Which meant GODZILLA needed a villain to battle. So GODZILLA battled MOTHRA, but then they wound up as friends. GODZILLA battled RODAN but then they kinda wound up as friends (those damn lucrative toy sales are kiling our franchise!). Then GODZILLA Director Honda hit upon a great idea! What if we stopped turning all of our monsters into Good Guys? How about we have a Kaiju that will ALWAYS be a bad guy? By golly, that's just crazy enough to work! And boy did it ever with KING GHIDORAH: THE 3-HEADED MONSTER. FREDDY'S DEAD: THE FINAL NIGHTMARE is 34
The tagline for this anticlimatic end to the franchise, "They Saved the Best... for Last" remains up for debate with every newly minted fan who chooses to binge the series. The debate centers on just what degree of how awful it is and I've yet to read or hear of any fans of FREDDY'S DEAD: THE FINAL NIGHTMARE. ONE HOUR PHOTO Turns 23
For the most part, every Robin Williams comedy was the same movie and taken as a whole they got so tedious that he wore his audience down to dwindling. But not all Robin Williams movies were comedies and it was here that, for me, he excelled. He could play characters of depth and layers that weren't endlessly "On". What's more, he could play villains like nobody else ever has. Whenever Robin was called upon to go into the depths of humanity, he could plumb so many levels past the comfort zone I wasn't sure if he would ever come up. For example, his chilling turn in ONE HOUR PHOTO.
HORROR HOTEL is 63 in the U.S.
Right off the bat, I gotta tell you; if you be into that there Wiccan stuff, you sure as hell ain't gonna like this Christopher Lee movie. For one thing, it paints all witches as them whats in league with the DEVIL! The Devil! For Another Thing . . . well, no... there is no other thing, that's pretty much it in this heavily influential Horror movie, CITY OF THE DEAD (US) aka HORROR HOTEL (UK). And - CABIN FEVER is 22
Yes it was released before this date at film festivals, but today it hit wide release and Kelly Parks was there to see it in the theater! What did he think? Read his review of Eli Roth's box office hit, CABIN FEVER. Also - HAPPY HORROR THRILLER BIRTHDAY TO -
KISS OF THE VAMPIRE Turns 62
It's weird to think that Hammer Studios has enough value to make a comeback and has a movie in preproduction already. Hammer made a lot of vampire movies. You had the Christopher Lee as Dracula and all the other vampires were largely played by someone else. Hammer's non-Dracula Vampire movies were the most experimental, always inventing new types of Vampires as well as their individual ways of getting what they wanted. KISS OF THE VAMPIRE is one of their inventions that worked. Also - CUBE is 27
I didn't get to see this in theaters when I first reviewed it. It was made in Canada so the distribution in the U.S.A. was negligible beyond the odd art house theater and was set to circle the drain as a Direct to Video title. Even now this movie is without a USA Bluray release, let alone a 4K one. What DVDs you can find of it are nearly 20 years old. It's sad. It's bad. That's why so many talented Canadians come to the U.S.A. to make their mark in movies. This is why CUBE deserved a wide release. Finale - HAPPY HORROR THRILLER BIRTHDAYS TO -
By E.C. McMullen Jr.
These Two Movies Turn 26 Today STIGMATA
Sometimes you reach for the heights. You may fall, but no one can accuse you of not trying. On that note, back in 1999 I saw two Horror movies, released on the same day, and back to back. I reviewed STIGMATA. Also - STIR OF ECHOES
This Kevin Bacon starrer made some bold moves on the SFX front by incorporating cgi in a significant way. In the 1990s, cgi was hit or miss even in the biggest budget movies, but this movie pulled it off so believably, on the Big Theater Screen, that audiences could only marvel at the result. This is what reviewer Michael Oliveri thought of STIR OF ECHOES. Wassmor - RESIDENT EVIL: APOCALYPSE
If there was ever a movie franchise that struggled, picture after picture, to make the thinnest of profit, it had to be the RESIDENT EVIL ip. Madly popular game, lukewarm box office reception resulting in a die-hard cult-ish audience that slowly dissapated over the years. And yet, it valiantly held onto theatrical releases instead of going the embarassing Direct to Video way. Understand, it's one thing to start in television and stay there, periodically getting your favorite time slot and being eagerly anticipated by your loyal TV fans. It's quite another to make each sequel cheaper and cheaper until even SyFy Channel won't show it until after 1 in the morning on a Tuesday, and a YouTube premier will only pay royalties. So was RESIDENT EVIL: APOCALYPSE at least As good as the first movie? This2 - MALIGNANT is 4
Have you ever watched a theater trailer that was compelling, maybe even exciting, from Writers, Producers, and a Director whose works you enjoy? And the added frosting of starring actors whose past performances you like? Wait! This ain't over! Hang on! So you patiently wait for the movie to come out, you go to the theater to see it, so full of anticipation that you sprung for overpriced drinks and popcorn just to perfectly set the mood of this wonderful theater experience? And then you see the movie? On this day in 2021 I saw MALIGNANT. Finale - HAPPY HORROR THRILLER BIRTHDAYS TO -
By E.C. McMullen Jr.
Two Decades of THE EXORCISM OF EMILY ROSE
Stop me if you've read this before - Have you ever watched a movie trailer that was compelling, exciting, and looked like it had everything going for it? Hang! On! You patiently waited for the movie to come out, made time on your Friday night because you wanted that theater experience? So much so that you paid for overpriced drinks and popcorn in order to Perfectly Set the Moo-ood? And then you saw the movie? All of the above remains my most memorable experience of watching THE EXORCISM OF EMILY ROSE. Also - CONTAGION Turns 14
Any movie about a global pandemic is going to draw comparisons to any eventual global pandemic that comes along. How close did this one come to the mark? I was in the theater to see 2011's CONTAGION. Finale - HAPPY HORROR THRILLER BIRTHDAYS TO -
Actor Jeffrey Combs (FRIGHTMARE, THE MAN WITH TWO BRAINS, RE-ANIMATOR [all], FROM BEYOND, CELLAR DWELLER, DOCTOR MORDRID, NECRONOMICON, CASTLE FREAK, THE FRIGHTENERS, HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL, THE ATTIC EXPEDITIONS, FEAR DOT COM, VOODOO MOON, ABOMINABLE, RETURN TO THE HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL, PARASOMNIA, DARK HOUSE, THE WITCHES OF OZ [TV], NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD 3D: RE-ANIMATION, EDMOND, WOULD YOU RATHER, MOTIVATIONAL GROWTH, FAVOR, THE PENNY DREADFUL PICTURE SHOW, HOLIDAY HELL, AGE OF STONE AND SKY, STREAM, and way more!) is 71.
YOU DUG IT
1. THE CONJURING: LAST RITES opened in first place this weekend with an $84 million box office domestic and a world-wide total of over $188 million, launching it into profit in only three days. 3. WEAPONS After 5 weeks steps down to third place with a 50% drop in ticket sales against a 132 screen cut. In its 5th weekend, it continues to perform above expectations, bringing in 6 times its Production budget. 7. FANTASTIC FOUR: FIRST STEPS continues to hang on in its 7th weekend, having found its audience despite performing below expectations its entire run. F4 has now surpassed the half billion mark in ticket sales. 11. JAWS, in its 50th Anniversary run, did far better than expected, opening at #2 last week. In its second week it experienced a 90% drop, but considering it originally opened in 1975 and has been on cable, streaming, and home video for over 40 years, its all frosting on the cake. Adjusting for inflation, this summer, puts JAWS within kissing distance of the $3 billion mark in theatrical box office alone. You Buried Nothing This Week Figures calibrated from reporting by Box Office Mojo and The Numbers. Should there be differences between the two, I err on the side of caution and post the most positive numbers. And - Alfred Hitchcock's PSYCHO is 65 Today
Read E.C. McMullen Jr.'s PSYCHO In CINEMA. Then read contributor James Futch's review of the first DVD disc release of Alfred Hitchcock's PSYCHO. Plus - IT is Older Than Georgie will ever be
There are moments in the novel IT where King leads you to the point where you fill in the empty spaces with your suddenly remembered, personal horrors. In that second, often with a mere sentence, King's empty space is where your monster lives. Now let me tell you about the 2017 movie, IT. Finale - HAPPY HORROR THRILLER BIRTHDAYS TO - Actor Travis Nelson (TUCKER AND DALE VS EVIL, EMBRACE OF THE VAMPIRE, DARK HEARTS, OBSESSION [all], CLARICE [TV], VINDICTA, DROP) is 33. SUNDAY -
Writer, Producer, Director Dario Argento (L' UCCELLO DALLE PIUME DI CRISTALLO, IL GATTO A NOVE CODE, DEEP RED, SUSPIRIA, INFERNO, TENEBRE, PHENOMENA, TERROR AT THE OPERA, TWO EVIL EYES, THE STENDHAL SYNDROME, THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA [1998], TRAUMA, DO YOU LIKE HITCHCOCK?, MOTHER OF TEARS, GIALLO, DRACULA [2012], OCCHIALI NERI aka BLACK GLASSES aka DARK GLASSES) is 84. CAST A DEADLY SPELL Turns 34
Long before 2017 and Noomi Rapace, Will Smith, and Joel Edgerton starred in David Ayers' BRIGHT, there was a movie you likely never saw. It had Fred Ward (TREMORS)! David Warner (THE OMEN, TRON), Clancy Brown (JOHN DIES AT THE END)! It was produced by Gale Anne Hurd (THE TERMINATOR, ALIENS, TREMORS, THE WALKING DEAD)! Read why you really want to see CAST A DEADLY SPELL! HATCHET is 22
Through the years, I've seen a lot of people in Social Media post stills and gifs from this movie. Lots of Horror fans know of it, talk about it, yet few have seen it. So let's give you a much needed kick in the ass to Actually Watch it. Because I was there! At the October 2006 Screamfest film festival when I saw HATCHET! John Findley's TEX ARCANA Is 19
Once there was an extraordinary American Comic magazine called HEAVY METAL. It was born from the original French Comic magazine METAL HURLANT (SCREAMING METAL). As METAL HURLANT began throwing away everything that made it popular, in a poorly considered attempt to stay au courant, it sank while its American child soared. And understand, that through magazines, graphic novels (the first NYT bestselling graphic novel came from HEAVY METAL - ALIEN), and a box office hit movie, HEAVY METAL, they were doing it with the same European artists that graced the pages of METAL HURLANT. You see, it wasn't the artists and writers who fell out of favor with the fans, it was the management changing its winning format to a losing one. Then HEAVY METAL chose to hire new creative directors who followed the bankrupt course of METAL HURLANT and immediately got the same results. Since then HEAVY METAL magazine has gone moribund often, changed ownership hands often, but never rose to its former glory: all because the owners won't return to the winning format that made them. At its height, HEAVY METAL magazine also published American artists and writers: Underground and or unknown, and at the top of that list was John Findley with his Weird Western tale, TEX ARCANA. SATURDAY -
Actor Jovan Adepo (THE LEFTOVERS [TV], MOTHER!, OVERLORD, Tom Clancy's JACK RYAN [TV], WATCHMEN [TV], THE VIOLENT HEART, THE STAND [TV], THE THREE BODY PROBLEM
[TV]) is 38. IT Was Only Six Years Ago When...
... some Losers killed a clown. I was there in the theater to see it happen! IT: Chapter 2
In 2 weeks Jordan Peele's HIM
And - This October From Netflix: A HOUSE OF DYNAMITE
From Director Katheryn Bigelow (NEAR DARK, THE HURT LOCKER), in USA theaters October 20. Plus - THE BRIDES OF DRACULA is 64
Let's pause to consider that the long deceased corpse of Hammer Films has risen again! "Where's the value in that?" you might ask. Back in 1960, Hammer wanted to make more vampire movies than actor Christopher Lee could star in. Plus, you didn't want to go to the well too many times with Chris in the role of Dracula. Especially since Hammer had him doing triple-time as the Frankenstein Creature and Mummy to boot! So they made their vampire movie and David Peel played the young Baron in THE BRIDES OF DRACULA. Finale - HAPPY HORROR THRILLER BIRTHDAYS TO -
Actor Paddy Considine (CLOSE YOUR EYES, DEAD MAN'S SHOES, BOSQUE DE SOMBRAS, HOT FUZZ, THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM, RED RIDING: IN THE YEAR OF OUR LORD 1980, BLITZ, THE WORLD'S END, HONOUR, CHILD 44, THE GIRL WITH ALL THE GIFTS, THE OUTSIDER [TV], THE THIRD DAY [TV], WOLF, HOUSE OF THE DRAGON [TV]) is 51.
HAPPY HORROR THRILLER BIRTHDAYS TO -
Actor Wes Bentley (BELOVED, SOUL SURVIVORS, GHOST RIDER, THE UNGODLY, P2, DOLAN'S CADILLAC, THE TOMB [2009], JONAH HEX, RITES OF PASSAGE, THE HUNGER GAMES, THE TIME BEING, PIONEER, INTERSTELLAR, AMNESIAC, FINAL GIRL, BROKEN VOWS, AMERICAN HORROR STORY [TV], BROKEN VOWS, MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE FALL OUT, BLADE RUNNER: BLACK LOTUS [TV]) is 46.
HAPPY HORROR THRILLER BIRTHDAYS TO - Actor / Producer Clare Kramer (BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER [TV], THE SKULLS III, MUMMY AN' THE ARMADILLO, THE GRAVEDANCERS, THE THIRST, ROAD TO HELL, ENDURE, BIG ASS SPIDER, THE GRIM SLEEPER, MONSTER HIGH, TALES OF HALLOWEEN, THE LOST TREE, THE WRONG HOUSE, ZER0 TOLERANCE, DATING TO KILL, STRANGE ONES [TV], THE DEAD ONES, CHAOS ON THE FARM) is 51.
APOLLO 18 Is 14
"I don't know why this movie gets so much hate. I didn't think it was that bad." Of course you don't. You saw it when you were bored, flipping through channels one night, and found it on Tubi or something. The people who hate it are the ones who scheduled their time to go out and see it at the theaters. The people who hate it are the ones who paid money for it and maybe blew their special date night. What I'm saying could cover a lot of awful movies that somehow crawled into theaters instead of slipping Direct to Video (conversely, I've seen a lot of Direct to Video movies that I WISH I'd first seen in a theater!), but in this case I'm talking about APOLLO 18. And - HAPPY HORROR THRILLER BIRTHDAYS TO -
By E.C. McMullen Jr.
YOU DUG IT
1. WEAPONS, in its 4th weekend, and despite a 34% drop in ticket sales from last weekend, against a 215 screen cut, still reclaims the #1 spot, jumping back up from last week's #2! Its made more than 6 times its production budget as it returns to #1. Pretty damn good achievement. 2. JAWS, the 50th Anniversary release of the original summer movie, chewed its way up the Top Ten to the #2 spot. This is so rare it might be unique. In theatrical release alone, and as of this weekend, it brought in over 40 times its Production budget. Hell yes the Shark Is Still Working! 6. FANTASTIC FOUR: FIRST STEPS with a small 20% drop in box office from last weekend, steps down from last week's #4. Not bad considering its up against 2 new movies opening above it in its 6th weekend. While underperforming against expectations this entire time, its still made 2.5 times its Production budget and may accrue 3 times its PB before dropping off the Top 10. 12. JURASSIC WORLD REBIRTH leaves the Top Ten in its 9th weekend with a mere 30% drop in BO against a 748 screen cut. At over $855 million in box office total, it came within kissing distance of the $1 billion mark, performing at the top of expectations the whole way. You Buried Nothing This Week Figures calibrated from reporting by Box Office Mojo and The Numbers. Should there be differences between the two, I err on the side of caution and post the most positive numbers. And - ISLE OF THE DEAD is 80
For a guy who worked almost exclusively in Horror movies, Boris Karloff handled the dismissive 20th Century attitudes toward his genre so well, and was so acute at choosing the right scripts, that he lived as an A-List actor alongside the likes of his fellow A-List contemporaries like Humphrey Bogart (who refused to work in Horror despite often being the scariest guy in his movies), Ingrid Bergman, and Bette Davis. Karloff's willingness to go low budget without ever going schlock paved the way for those who took their craft seriously, like Vincent Price and, to some extent, Alfred Hitchcock. Boris was fine working for small studios like RKO, as long as the scripts had, what he referred to as, "Substance". Substance is what indie Producers like Val Lewton thrived upon and this is why movies like ISLE OF THE DEAD still reign after nearly a century. Plus - THE PROPHECY is 30
We've been here before. A movie so good as to be nearly great in some respects, while completely dropping the ball in others. This movie has great dialogue, memorably delivered by some of the best actors alive today, but the story itself is Just. So. Weak. Their motivations are puerile considering that they come from immortal creatures who should have wisdom far beyond any age we could possibly live. The only thing that keeps me watching through repeated viewings is that the director and actors fully embraced their characters. This is my Love/Hate relationship with THE PROPHECY. Also - THE BEAST OF BRAY ROAD is 20
There was a time, long ago, when Joel Hodgson's Mystery Science Theater 3000 was so hilarious that a large core audience tuned in to it every week. And why? Because SciFi fans and Horror fans love mocking shlocky movies nearly as much as they adore great ones. By this time in the 21st Century, the last few Regenerations of MST3K have melted into a bland puddle that may have been too dull for even early MST3K to mock: And they even mocked THE HANDS OF MANOS! Former fans and their children have turned to Joe Bob Briggs to find their fun, of a different sort, in So Bad They're Good movies. If MST3K ever finds its comedic footing again, and Joe Bob doesn't beat them to it, this is why THE BEAST OF BRAY ROAD, would be on the menu. Finale - HAPPY HORROR THRILLER BIRTHDAYS TO -
Actor Boyd Holbrook (THE HOST [2013], GONE GIRL, RUN ALL NIGHT, MORGAN, LOGAN, THE PREDATOR, IN THE SHADOW OF THE MOON, THE CURSED, VENGEANCE, THE SANDMAN: IMPERFECT HOSTS [TV], INDIANA JONES AND THE MILK OF MAGNESIA) is 44. SUNDAY - C.H.U.D. is 41
On the poster it says C.H.U.D. stands for Cannabalistic Humanoid Underground Dweller. Those who have watched the movie know what those letters really stand for and that misdirection is just one of the many clever ways this movie surprises you, knows your expectations, and goes against them in a manner most Chuddly. It's only part of the fun of C.H.U.D. JEEPERS CREEPERS is 24
As retro as it wants to be. In the same vein of 1960s monster movie mayhem as classics like CRITTERS and TREMORS, this is why JEEPERS CREEPERS remains a must see! SATURDAY -
Actor Eldon Henson (JAWS: THE REVENGE, IDLE HANDS, EVIL ALIEN CONQUERORS, THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT, DEJA VU, RISE: BLOOD HUNTER, THE HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY Part 1 & 2, THE DEFENDERS [TV], DAREDEVIL [TV], DAREDEVIL: BORN AGAIN [TV]) is 49. FRANKENSTEIN DAY!
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INTERVIEWS Matt Jarbo's interview with Feo Amante at The Zurvivalist. James Cheetham's Q&A with Feo Amante at Unconventional Interviews *. Megan Scudellari interviews Feo Amante and Kelly Parks (of THE SCIENCE MOMENT) in The Scientist Magazine. Check out our interview at The-Scientist.com. REFERENCES Researcher David Waldron, references my review of UNDERWORLD in the Spring 2005, Journal of Religion and Popular Culture entry, Role-Playing Games and the Christian Right: Community Formation in Response to a Moral Panic (downloadable pdf). E.C. McMullen Jr.
*Linked to archive.org |
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