Category: Horror

Salem’s Lot: The Ultimate In Terror

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When I saw this poster for Salem’s Lot  it brought back a lot of memories.  Released as a 3 hour television mini-series in 1979, Salem’s Lot  was one of the last tv events that you had to be in front of the set when it aired if you wanted to see it.  Remember, this was in the pre-VCR (anyone remember those) days.

I was excited about the mini-series since I’d read and enjoyed Stephen King’s novel Salem’s Lot.  The mini-series was well done and lived up to expectations.  I still can see that kid vampire floating outside a second story window asking to be let in… CREEPY!

Source: Dr. Horror Geek.

 

Every Stephen King Movie & TV Show in Development

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Stephen King.

King is one of the world’s most successful writers… not only at getting his books published and into the hands of his millions of fans, but also at getting his novels adapted into movies and television events.

Den of Geek recently posted a list of Every Stephen King Movie and TV Show in Development.

There’s a lot of potentially fun/good stuff on the list.  Here are my top five (in no particular order:

11/22/63

The premise of this show is as Stephen King as it gets: a guy must go back in time and stop the Kennedy assassination. Anyone who’s familiar with The Dark Tower series andThe Dead Zone will recognize a recurring theme: altering the past before it affects the future.

In 11/22/63, a guy named Jake steps through a pantry that magically transports him back to 1958 — plenty of time to stop Lee Harvey Oswald from killing the President. As expected, Jake discovers on his journey that some things are better left in the past.

J.J. Abram’s Bad Robot production company has acquired the rights to adapt this novel into a TV show. Jonathan Demme (The Silence of the Lambs) was working on the script, but he dropped out over disagreements on the direction the show should take. Bummer.

Cell

This is King’s big zombie story. He’s written a couple of other short stories, including the great “Home Delivery” from Nightmares & Dreamscapes, but this is the one he will be remembered for. The zombies in Cell aren’t your typical brain-eating monsters. Instead, it’s a strange cell phone signal from an unknown source that turns most of humanity into a zombie hive mind, whose goal is to turn the remaining humans into zombies. Sure, it’s all chaos at first, but the monsters begin to organize in a weird way, kind of like in George A. Romero’s Land of the Dead.

Eli Roth (Hostel) talked about adapting this novel into a feature film a few years back, but that didn’t happen. Instead, it’s currently in production eyeing a 2015 release. It stars John Cusack, Samuel L. Jackson, Isabelle Fuhrman, and Owen Teague. The film will be directed by Todd “Kip” Williams (Paranormal Activity 2), with King and Adam Alleca (Last House on the Left remake) writing the screenplay.

The Dark Tower

If there was a Stephen King cinematic universe, The Dark Tower would undoubtedly be its Avengers. The series of books ties most of King’s book together in a very large web of monsters, magic, and alternate timelines. Inspired by The Lord of the Rings trilogy and spaghetti westerns, King created the anthem of all geekdom. The books are full of magic, gunslingers, sorcerors, battles on horseback, time-travel portals, evil A.I., vampires, demons, werewolves, and giant parasite-infested robotic bears. Why haven’t they made a movie already?

Ron Howard (A Beautiful Mind) has been trying to make this movie for years. At one point, he even tapped Javier Bardem for the lead role of Roland Deschain, the last gunslinger, who must travel to the eponymous Dark Tower in order to stop the Crimson King from tearing fabric of reality apart.

Now it looks like Russell Crowe (A Beautiful Mind) might play the role of Roland along with Idris Elba (Pacific Rim) in an unspecified role. Aaron Paul (Breaking Bad) has also met with Howard about a part. Writer Akiva Goldsman and producer Brian Grazen, both ofA Beautiful Mind fame, are also attached to move this adaptation along.

The big problem is getting a studio to finance such an ambitious project. The idea includes film and TV series that would tell the entire story in the most faithful way possible. Universal almost bought into it at one point and HBO had the television rights. Now it’s rumored that Media Rights Capital will produce the film. Who knows anymore.

The Shop

Remember when I mentioned that whole business about how cool it would be to start movie franchise revolving around The Shop? Well, they’re getting their own TV series thanks to TNT. What is in it’s most basic form a sequel to Firestarter, will undoubtedly branch out to tell other Shop stories involving new characters with supernatural powers.

Charlie McGee will be back, once again running from an even more powerful Shop. Luckily, she’ll have a guy named Henry Talbot, a former Shop employee, to guide her through her life as a fugitive.

The project is written by Robbie Thompson (Supernatural) and produced by James Middleton (Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles), Jaime Paglia (Eureka) and Thompson.

The Stand

A superflu called “Captain Trips” wipes out most of the world’s population in King’s mangum opus. It’s all about surviving the apocalypse for the main characters in this monstrous novel. But it’s not just a pandemic the survivors have to worry about. There’s real evil out there. Enter Randall Flagg, the most notorious villain in the King universe. The evil wizard hippie dude has shown up in many of King’s books and stories to f*** things up for the main characters. But The Stand is the best of those books, a true examination of good and evil.

Josh Boone is directing and writing this one, too. Nat Wolff (The Fault in Our Stars), who has already worked with Boone, is rumored to be in the cast. The film would be a 3-hour movie adaptation — plenty of room, but it probably won’t be as expansive as the 1994 TV series.

Z-View: The Crow Pestilence #3

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The Crow: Pestilence #3 is published by IDW.

Writer: Frank Bill

Artist: Drew Moss

Colorist: Oliver Lee Arce

Cover Shown: James O’Barr

Salvador heads to the Midwest to search for the men who murdered his family, only to find them involved in trafficking drugs…and humans. As The Crow watches, guiding him, he begins to exact his revenge. But why is one of the gang members speaking with the police?

 

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The Good

  • J. O’Barr‘s cover.
  • Frank Bill throws in a surprise on the last page that really sets up the next issue.
  • Drew Moss’ art.

The Bad:

  • Some people will be put off by the violence and profanity.
  • Bill fleshes out the supporting cast but I want to see more of Salvador [The Crow].

The Ugly:

  • The Crow is a violent comic but this issue is especially rough.

The Crow: Pestilence #3  is a comic for mature audiences due to violence and language.  

Rating: 3 out of 5

 

Top 26 Horror Films of All Time

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Recently Hollywood.com posted their choices for the Top 26 Horror Films of All Time.

Their list isn’t a bad one.  I’ve seen 22 of the 26 films.  Of the four I’ve not yet seen yet [Let the Right One In / Eyes without a Face / Rec / and The Blair Witch Project ], the one I want to see most is Let the Right One In. [I have it cued on Netflix!]

I’ve posted images of my five favorites of the 22 that I have seen.  Can you name the five? [Answers below]

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Night of the Living Dead, 28 days later, The Exorcist, Carrie and The Birds.

Stephen King: “Best Horror Series Ever”

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Quick – What’s the best horror series ever put on television?

My guess is that many of you immediately thought of The Twilight Zone [not only horror, but did have some scary episodes], The Outer Limits [Twilight Zoneish], The Invaders, The Night Gallery… and so on.

But… how many of you immediately thought of Thriller?

Stephen King did.  In fact King described Thriller  as…

“…probably the best horror series ever put on TV.”

Classic Film and TV provides a nice overview of Thriller with links to additional information.  If you’ve read this far, you’d probably enjoy clicking over.

 

10 Best Monster Movies of All Time

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Recently Variety posted a piece by Maane Khatchatourian titled 10 Best Monster Movies of All Time.

So, let’s take a look at her list…

  • Alien: is an excellent horror movie which basically takes the haunted house concept and moves it to outer space.  While Alien  would make many folks’ top ten, I prefer Aliens.
  • Jurassic Park: was a lot of fun.  It doesn’t quickly spring to mind when I think of monster movies, but okay, let’s include it… probably not in the top ten though.
  • Godzilla: Although I’ve seen most of the Godzilla  movies [including the most recent version], none would make my 10 Best Monster Movies of All Time list.
  • Jaws: is a great movie, but it is also one that doesn’t spring to mind when I think of Monster Movies.  If we agree Jaws is a monster movie it would be easy to argue it deserves a spot in the top ten.
  • Bride of Frankenstein and Frankenstein: are two that we cannot deny entry into the top 10 [especially since we’re allowed to pair them!].
  • Creature from the Black Lagoon: not only makes the top ten, we could argue over whether it deserves the number one spot [and I wouldn’t argue too hard against that].
  • Gremlins: probably wouldn’t crack my top 50.
  • King Kong: has to be on anyone’s list of best monster movies!
  • The Thing: of course has to make the list.  I suggest we pair it with the original Thing from Another World [which also needs to make the list].
  • The Fly: is one that I enjoy, but even pairing it with the remake probably wouldn’t get them into 10 Best Monster Movies of All Time list.

How could these monster movies be left off:

  • Them!
  • Dracula
  • Invasion of the Body Snatchers
  • War of the Worlds
  • The Blob
  • Night of the Living Dead
  • and so many others?

 

Z-View: The Saviors #4

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The Saviors is an on-going series created by James Robinson & J. Bone published by Image.

Writer: James Robinson

Artist: J. Bone

Cover: J. Bone

 

After last issue’s mayhem and slaughter, Tomas is alone, hunted by alien invaders in a strange town where the Day of the Dead celebration does little to help things.  And when Tomas manages to trap an alien to learn its secrets, is he unwittingly setting up his own death too?

 

 

The Good

  • The conversation between Tomas and a trapped [but slowly freeing itself] alien.
  • J. Bone’s art continues to be a joy.
  • Showing how Tomas survived the blast last issue.
  • Alien: “If I were you I’d stop being curious, and I’d stop being calm… and I’d run.”
       Tomas: “Why are you telling me that? That’s almost like you’re helping me.”
       Alien: “Not at all, I simply love the hunt.”
  • The last page sets up the next issue and makes me want it now!

The Bad:

  • Tomas alone in a foreign country with an alien hunting him.

The Ugly:

  • Nothing about the story or art.  That is for sure.

Saviors #4  is a comic for mature audiences due to violence.  If you’re a fan of 1950’s movies like “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” and the 1960’s tv series “The Invaders”  then Saviors #3 is for you.  

Rating: 4 out of 5

 

Laurent Durieux: 1 of the World’s 200 Best Artists

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Laurent Durieux is a...

…Brussels illustrator and graphic artist was only recently discovered in the United States, thanks to a number of high-profile awards and marquee commissions, including a 2013 screenprint of “Jaws”, which caught the eye of the film’s director, Steven Spielberg. The climb from relative obscurity began, though, in 2011, when Durieux  was named one of the world’s 200 Best Illustrators by the influential international advertising magazine Lürzer’s Archive.

Durieux is truly an amazing artist.  I had a really hard time trying to decide which of his pieces to use with this post.

Z-View: The Crow – Pestilence #2

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The Crow: Pestilence #2 is published by IDW.

Writer: Frank Bill

Artist: Drew Moss

Colorist: Oliver Lee Arce

Cover Shown: James O’Barr

Salvador heads to the Midwest to search for the men who murdered his family, only to find them involved in trafficking drugs…and humans. As The Crow watches, guiding him, he begins to exact his revenge. But why is one of the gang members speaking with the police?

 

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The Good

  • J. O’Barr‘s cover.
  • Frank Bill throws in a surprise that I didn’t see coming, although the preview quote above strongly foreshadows it.
  • Salvador blames himself for the death of his wife and child.  This story is shaping up to more than a simple tale of revenge.

The Bad:

  • Some people will be put off by the violence and profanity.
  • The way Salvador, his wife and child were killed and the vow that Salvador’s revenge would be 100 times worse — that’s bad for the killers.
  • What happens if you’re scared and you go to the boss’ house for protection.  Note to self: “Don’t lead a returned-from-the-dead-supernatural-avenger to the boss’ home.”

The Ugly:

  • Pouring a boiling vat of soup on Salvador.
  • When the chainsaws come out.

The Crow: Pestilence #2  is a comic for mature audiences due to violence and language.  

Rating: 3 out of 5