“Predator kills the Marvel Universe” by Gabriele Dell’Otto!
The “Predator kills the Marvel Universe” by Gabriele Dell’Otto. ‘Nuff said, indeed.
Category: Horror
“Troll 2” – The Poster and Trailer are Here!
Troll 2 – The Poster and Trailer are Here! I found the original to be surprisingly fun. I’m looking forward to another round.
Deal me in.
When a dangerous new troll is awakened, unleashing devastation across Norway, beloved adventurers Nora, Andreas and Captain Kris are thrust into their most perilous mission yet.
Troll 2 is coming to Netflix December 1, 2025. For more on Troll 2, visit https://www.netflix.com/troll2
“Monster Island” – The Poster and Trailer are Here!
I like the looks of the poster and trailer for Orang Ikan aka Monster Island.
Deal me in!
After being torpedoed by allied submarines, a Japanese soldier and a British POW are stranded on a deserted island and soon discover that they’re being hunted by a ferocious mythological creature, the Orang Ikan.
MONSTER ISLAND drops July 25 on Shudder.
Director: Mike Wiluan
Starring: Dean Fujioka, Callum Woodhouse, Alexandra Gottardo
“Predator” (1987) directed by John McTiernan; starring Arnold Schwarzenegger / Z-View
Predator (1987)
Director: John McTiernan
Screenplay: Jim Thomas, John Thomas
Stars: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Carl Weathers, Kevin Peter Hall, Elpidia Carrillo, Jesse Ventura, Sonny Landham, Richard Chaves, R.G. Armstrong, Shane Black,
Franco Columbu and Sven-Ole Thorsen.
Tagline: If it bleeds, we can kill it…
The Plot…
A helicopter carrying a diplomat is shot down in a Central American jungle. The CIA sends in Agent Al Dillon to oversee the rescue mission led by Major “Dutch” Schaefer and his team of mercenaries.
Shortly after their drop-off in the jungle, the team finds three skinned corpses strung upside down from a tree. Dutch learns that his team was sent in under false pretenses. Even worse, as the team will soon discover, an alien predator with advanced technology is stalking them.
It wants warrior trophies.
Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…
Jean-Claude Van Damme (5’9″) was originally cast as the Predator. It was soon decided that JCVD’s Predator (much shorter than Schwarzenegger and the rest of his squad) was not imposing enough. Kevin Peter Hall (7’2″) ended up playing the Predator.
John McTiernan was chosen to helm Predator after Ridley Scott, James Cameron, John Milius, John Carpenter, Renny Harlin and others turned it down. McTiernan proved to be the right choice.
Kevin Peter Hall can be seen as one of the helicopter pilots at the end of the film. John McTiernan gave him the role as a reward for his performance in the Predator suit.
Shane Black, the actor who plays one of the rescue squad soldiers is better known as the screenwriter for Lethal Weapon and other films.
Both Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jesse Ventura would go on to become state governors in real life.
Predator is a classic.
Predator (1987) rates 5 of 5 stars
Frankenstein and the Wolfman by Tony Moore!
Tony Moore has an interesting take on Frankenstein and the Wolfman… and I like it!
Source: Longbox of Darkness.
BITTER ROOT: THE NEXT MOVEMENT #1 created by David F. Walker, Chuck Brown, Sanford Greene / Z-View
BITTER ROOT: THE NEXT MOVEMENT #1 created by David F. Walker, Chuck Brown, Sanford Greene
Coloring: Matt Herms
Lettering: Hasson Otsmane-Elhaou
Publisher: Image Comics
Going back as far as can be told the Sangeryes have been Jinoo hunters. Jinoo were once human. They became so poisoned by greed, hate, racism and other evils that the Jinoo became monsters. Some could be cured. Others had to be killed. But the cost to the Sangerye family was heavy.
Now, in the year 1964, the United States government say the Jinoo have been eliminated. The Sangerye family knows differently.
When a bus load of young civil rights activists are brutally murdered in Mississippi, government agents are sent down. The agents discover the destroyed bus. The corpses, at least those that they can find, were butchered. Recent attacks in Tennessee, Alabama and Louisiana were increasingly brutal. This is even worse.
The lead agent is unwilling to say Jinoo have returned. Meriah Manigo, a member of the Sangerye family knows differently. And she’s now on site.
The original BITTER ROOT series received my highest recommendation. I love that the original creative team of writers David F. Walker and Chuck Brown along with artist Sanford Greene have returned. They haven’t missed a beat as they continue the BITTER ROOT story. Kudos also to colorist Matt Herms and letterer Hasson Otsmane-Elhaou.
Don’t be discouraged if you haven’t read the original series. You don’t need it to enjoy BITTER ROOT: THE NEXT MOVEMENT. (But I do encourage you to seek out the original series as well!)
BITTER ROOT: THE NEXT MOVEMENT #1 gets my highest recommendation.
Rating:
“The Vanishing” (1988) directed by George Sluizer, starring Bernard-Pierre Donnadieu, Gene Bervoets and Johanna ter Steege / Z-View
The Vanishing (1988)
Director: George Sluizer
Screenplay: George Sluizer, Tim Krabbé, based on The Golden Egg by Tim Krabbé
Stars: Bernard-Pierre Donnadieu, Gene Bervoets and Johanna ter Steege.
Tagline: None.
The Plot…
Rex and Saskia are young and in love. While on vacation in France, they stop at a busy gas station. They stretch their legs and take a break in a nearby grassy area. As Rex waits at the car, Saskia heads in to get drinks for the road.
She never returns.
When Rex realizes Saskia should have been back, he searches the gas station and surrounding area. Nobody saw anything. Rex goes to the police. Searches and appeals to the public turn up no clues.
Rex is obsessed with finding Saskia. He makes sure posters with Saiska’s picture and information about her disappearance are always up. He follows up on even the smallest possibility. Rex realizes Saskia is probably not alive. Still, it torments Rex to not know what happened to her.
Three years after her disappearance, Rex is contacted by Saiska’s kidnapper. He wants to meet.
Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…
Stanley Kubrick reportedly considered The Vanishing the most terrifying film he’d ever seen. Entertainment Weekly listed The Vanishing as one of the all-time scariest films ever made. The Vanishing is a movie that doesn’t have jump scares. There is no unstoppable killer or traditional monsters. And that makes it even more frightening.
The Vanishing will stay with you. You’ll think about the movie long after you finish watching it. THAT ending. The killer alone practicing his moves. The fact that Rex gets his wish.
The success of The Vanishing, the Dutch film was optioned to be remade in the United States. George Sluizer, who co-wrote and directed the original, was brought on to direct the American remake. Jeff Bridges, Kiefer Sutherland, Nancy Travis and Sandra Bullock were brought on to star. The budget was set at $20 million dollars (over ten times the budget of the original). The ending was changed because “American audiences don’t like sad endings.” Change the ending and you’re making a totally different film. Why bother? Audiences and critics overwhelmingly prefer the original.
The Vanishing (1988) rates 4 of 5 stars
“Psycho II” (1983) starring Anthony Perkins and Meg Tilly / Z-View
Psycho II (1983)
Director: Richard Franklin
Screenplay: Tom Holland, based on characters created by Robert Bloch
Stars: Anthony Perkins, Vera Miles, Meg Tilly, Robert Loggia, Hugh Gillin, Claudia Bryar, Robert Alan Browne, Lee Garlington, Jill Carroll, Chris Hendrie, Tom Holland, Osgood Perkins and Dennis Franz.
Tagline: It’s 22 years later, and Norman Bates is coming home.
The Plot…
Twenty-two years have passed since the murders that made Norman Bates infamous have passed. Norman has spent that time in a mental institution. His therapist believes that Norman is now sane. Therefore a judge rules that Norman be set free.
Norman returns home with plans to re-open the Bates Motel. In the meantime, he takes a job at a local diner. When Mary, a waitress at the diner, suddenly becomes homeless, Norman offers her a place to stay. She reluctantly accepts. Not long after, Norman begins to get messages from his dead mother.
Norman begins to fear for his sanity and Mary’s safety.
Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…
Making a sequel to an Alfred Hitchcock classic is a tale, dangerous order. Psycho II fills the bill better than you might expect.
The actor playing a young Norman Bates is Anthony Perkins’ son Osgood.
The original Bates house was able to be used for this sequel, but the hotel had to be rebuilt.
The scene where Norman plays the piano is actually Anthony Perkins playing. He was an accomplished pianist.
Robert Bloch’s novel PSYCHO II and the movie sequel tell different stories.
Critics praised Anthony Perkins and Meg Tilly’s on-screen chemistry. In reality, they didn’t get along. Perkins actually wanted her fired after filming was underway. Tilly called making the film the worst experience of her career. She didn’t attend the movie’s premiere.
Dennis Franz steals every scene he’s in. Franz could play a sleazy character with the best of them.
Psycho II (1983) rates 4 of 5 stars
Luc Besson’s “Dracula: A Love Tale” – The Poster and Trailer are Here!
Luc Besson’s Dracula: A Love Tale – The trailer is here.
Although the poster and trailer leave out “A Love Tale” that is reportedly the official title of the film. Besson wrote the screenplay which he adapted from Bram Stoker’s novel. Dracula: A Love Tale stars Caleb Landry Jones, Christoph Waltz and Zoë Bleu.
DRACULA Trailer International (2025) Caleb Landry Jones, Christoph Waltz, Matilda De Angelis, Luc Besson
“Alien: Earth” – The Trailer is Here!
The Alien: Earth trailer is here.
And I like it! Deal me in.
We were safer in space.
Alien: Earth. OFFICIAL TRAILER. #AlienEarthFX premieres August 12 on @FXNetworks | @hulu and with #HuluOnDisneyPlus.
When the mysterious deep space research vessel USCSS Maginot crash-lands on Earth, “Wendy” (Sydney Chandler) and a ragtag group of tactical soldiers make a fateful discovery that puts them face-to-face with the planet’s greatest threat.
FX’s Alien: Earth is created for television and executive produced by Noah Hawley.
Guillermo del Toro’s “FRANKENSTEIN” – The Trailer is Here!
The trailer for Guillermo del Toro’s FRANKENSTEIN is here. I’m going to check it out. My worry is that too many viewers will expect the Universal movie Frankenstein and not Mary Shelley’s novel.
Written and directed by Guillermo del Toro, FRANKENSTEIN is on Netflix this November.
Starring Oscar Isaac, Jacob Elordi, Mia Goth, Felix Kammerer, with Charles Dance, and Christoph Waltz.
Oscar-winning director Guillermo del Toro adapts Mary Shelley’s classic tale of Victor Frankenstein, a brilliant but egotistical scientist who brings a creature to life in a monstrous experiment that ultimately leads to the undoing of both the creator and his tragic creation. #TUDUM
Howard Chaykin’s Tomb of Dracula #5 Cover Art!
Howard Chaykin‘s Tomb of Dracula #5 cover art. Love this piece. The Prince of Darkness with his two Brides. He sits on a throne that features his crest as he drinks a goblet of blood. And the wolf at his feet is looking straight at us.
Chaykin rules.
“Predator: Killer of Killers” from director Dan “Prey” Trachtenberg – The Poster and Trailer are Here!
The poster and trailer for Predator: Killer of Killers from Prey director Dan Trachtenberg is here.
Watch the new trailer for Predator: Killer of Killers.
An all-new movie from the director of Prey, Dan Trachtenberg.
Streaming June 6 on Hulu and with #HuluOnDisneyPlus.
Dracula by Joseba Alexander!
I love Joseba Alexander‘s Dracula drawing. I wouldn’t mind a full-length story by Alexander featuring his take on the King of the Vampires.
