Category: Horror

Mike Flannigan’s “The Midnight Club” Teaser is Here!

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Normally, The Midnight Club wouldn’t be high on my list, but Mike “Midnight Mass” Flannigan is behind this!

To those after.
To us now.
And to those beyond.
Seen or unseen.
Here but not here.

At a manor with a mysterious history, the 8 members of the Midnight Club meet each night at midnight to tell sinister stories – and to look for signs of the supernatural from the beyond. Based on the beloved Christopher Pike book series, and brought to life by the creators of The Haunting of Hill House.

“The Predator” (2018) / Z-View

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The Predator (2018)

Director:  Shane Black

Screenplay:  Fred Dekker, Shane Black based on characters created by Jim Thomas, John Thomas

Starring: Boyd Holbrook, Trevante Rhodes, Jacob Tremblay, Keegan-Michael Key, Olivia Munn, Sterling K. Brown, Thomas Jane, Alfie Allen, Jake Busey and Yvonne Strahovski

Tagline:   You’ll never see him coming.

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

While on a rescue mission, Quint McKenna (Holbrook) and his team are attacked by a Predator.  Against all odds, McKenna escapes with his life as well as a Predator faceplate and armor.  McKenna is sure no one will believe his story about an alien encounter so he mails the Predator gear to himself.  McKenna’s plan is to get home and collect the package before his estranged wife, Emily ( Strahovski) gets to it.

McKenna’s plan is foiled when he is picked up for debriefing.  Meanwhile at home, McKenna’s son opens the package and accidentally triggers the alien technology.  At his debriefing McKenna tells about his team’s encounter with the Predator. He is then placed in a group of soldiers with mental issues.  Meanwhile in another part of the facility, a sedated Predator is being prepped for examination.  The Predator wakes up, breaks it’s bonds and kills anyone in it’s way as it escapes.

McKenna is telling the other soldiers about his run-in with the Predator and they’re all laughing at the “real” nut among them… until they see the Predator jumping out of a lab window.  McKenna and the crazy soldiers take-over a bus and give chase.  The Predator escapes and McKenna realizes it is after the armor he mailed to himself.  McKenna and the “loonie” soldiers are the kid’s only chance for survival.

Man, I really had high expectations for The Predator.  Shane Black as the director and co-writer of the screenplay!  It had a good cast (Boyd Holbrook, Sterling K. Brown and Thomas Jane to name three).  What could go wrong?

The Predator starts out okay.  But as the movie rolls along it comes off the rails.

  • We get bad joke after bad joke.
  • The Predator gets into a van and kills a soldier in the back.  When the driver asks his partner if he’s okay, the Predator picks up the man’s severed arm which is in a “thumbs up” position and shows it to the driver.
  • There are Predator dogs with dreadlocks… that play fetch.
  • Two of the “loonie” soldiers get impaled across from each other.  Despite mortal injuries and great pain, they shoot each other in the head to end the other’s misery.
  • We learn that the Predators keep coming back to earth because of climate change and they will thrive as we die off.  What?
  • We learn that McKenna’s autistic son is seen as the next stage of human evolution.
  • We see our heroes jump on the surface of a Predator space ship and those who don’t get cut in half by the ship’s force field will have the chance to bring the ship down by jumping into one of it’s turbines?!
  • Oh, and there’s good Predators and bad Predators… and some are really BIG.

What a mess.  The Predator rates 2 of 5 stars.

George Perez and Svengoolie – The Fan Connection!

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The photo above is of George Perez (in the middle), George’s wife Carol, and Svengoolie.  If you don’t know who George Perez is, either do a search on my site or Google him.  I’ll wait.

Ok, now that we’re on the same page with the late George Perez, one of the most popular artists to ever draw a comic, let’s talk Svengoolie.

Svengoolie is a host of horror movies.  He’s been doing this gig for over 40 years.  For the last decade or so, Svengoolie’s show has been on Me-TV every Saturday at 8pm.  It’s a weekly ritual for many horror movie fans who Tweet along.

As it turns out, George Perez was a Svengoolie fan, and Svengoolie was a George Perez fan! George and/or his art had appeared on Svengoolie’s shows.  When George passed, Svengoolie paid tribute on his next episode.  Which brings us to the art below.  Svengoolie says George…

… once asked me about who some of my favorite superheroes were — and surprised me by sending a fantastic book about his artwork — in which he had actually drawn, on the inside cover, Batman and Captain America discovering a familiar artifact of our set! It is a cherished reminder tome of a friend who was not only a great artist, but a really good and generous man.

Svengoolie shared this in his latest newsletter.  You can learn about Svengoolie, his upcoming shows and more here.

“Old” (2021) / Z-View

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Old (2021)

Director:  M. Night Shyamalan

Screenplay:  M. Night Shyamalan based on the graphic novel Sandcastle by Pierre Oscar Levy and Frederik Peeters

Starring:  Gael García Bernal, Vicky Krieps, Rufus Sewell, Ken Leung, Aaron Pierre and M. Night Shyamalan

Tagline: It’s only a matter of time.

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

Guy and Prisca Cappa along with their young children, Maddox and Trenton arrive at a luxurious remote island resort.  The next morning the resort manager invites the Capra family to join a select few on a trip to a secluded part of the beach off limits to the general population.  Joining them are Charles, his young wife, their daughter along with Charles’ elderly mother and  another married couple, Jarin and Patricia Carmichael.

The secluded area is surrounded by high rock formations. They are driven to a path that will take them to the beach.  Once on the beach they are surprised that a famous rapper, “Mid-Size Sedan”, is there.  They are shocked to see his girlfriend lying dead in the sand!  There is no cell service so the group is unable to contact the resort. Anyone trying to walk back to the road suffers painful headaches and loses consciousness.  As the group argues about what to do, they notice that the children are suddenly looking much older.  Somehow the beach is aging everyone one year for every thirty minutes!

As the group struggles with the reality of their situation one of them begins to have psychotic episodes endangering everyone.  Will they figure a way off the beach?  Will anyone survive?  Only time will tell.

Old works because of M. Knight Shyamalan’s talents behind the camera.  The story is interesting, but would probably have worked better as a thirty minute episode of The Twilight Zone.  My nit to pick with Old is that it becomes redundant, and although the characters’ bodies age, they should remain at their original age mentally.  This makes some of what happens gross (and I’m not talking about the brittle bones lady).  I do give credit for the explanation of how the characters were chosen for the secluded beach.

Old isn’t a great film or one of M. Night Shyamalan’s best but still rates 3 of 5 stars.

“The Mutations” aka “The Freakmaker” (1974) / Z-View

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The Mutations aka The Freakmaker (1974)

Director:  Jack Cardiff

Screenplay:  Robert D. Weinbach, Edward Mann

Starring: Donald Pleasence, Tom Baker, Brad Harris and Michael Dunn

Tagline:  It’s not nice to fool with Mother Nature…… it can be HORRIFYING! EVEN TO THEM!

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

Professor Nolter (Pleasence) believes he is close to a breakthrough.  His goal to create the next stage in human development — a hybrid human/plant!  Nolter gives the results of his failed experiments to a circus sideshow owner who puts them on display.  When students from Professor Nolter’s class start disappearing, it’s time to check to see if the sideshow is getting bigger.

The Mutations would have been the third or fourth feature at a drive-in theater.  Donald Pleasence wanted to play his character “low key”.  If that means without emotion and monotone, he succeeded.  Like many low-budget films of this type made in the early 70s, The Mutations included several topless scenes with women who were in danger,  The producers brought in real sideshow performers to take up some of the slack when no boobies were showing.

Jack Cardiff, the director of The Mutations, was an Oscar nominee for Best Director in 1960, but you’d never guess it from this film.  Mr. Cardiff was better known for his Oscar-worthy Cinematography (3 nominations for Best Cinematography with one win and one Honorary Oscar)!  As a side note, Jack Cardiff was the Director of Photography on Rambo; First Blood, Part II.

The Mutations barely earns a 2 of 5 star rating.

“Dr. Phibes Rises Again” (1972) / Z-View

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Dr. Phibes Rises Again (1972)

Director:  Robert Fuest

Screenplay:  Robert Fuest, Robert Blees based on characters created by James Whiton and William Goldstein

Starring:  Vincent Price, Robert Quarry, Valli Kemp, Milton Reid, Peter Cushing, Terry-Thomas, Caroline Munro and Gary Owens

Tagline: He lives!

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

Three years after the events in The Abominable Dr. Phibes, the moon and planets literally align to bring Dr. Phibes (Price) back from his self-imposed suspended animation.  According to an ancient papyrus that Phibes locked away, there is a secret location in Egypt that contains the River of Life.  This river has special powers that will bring Phibes’ wife back from the dead and provide them with eternal life.

Phibes learns that Darius Biederbeck (Quarry) has stolen the papyrus, so Phibes recruits his mute assistant Vulnavia to help him get it back.  They will kill anyone who gets in their way.  And so they do.  The strange murders get the police involved.  Phibes and Bierderbeck race to Egypt to find the River of Life, with the police in hot pursuit.

Dr. Phibes Rises Again isn’t quite as strange as The Abominable Dr. Phibes, but it’s close.  If you liked the original, you should enjoy this follow-up.  I was disappointed that Darrus Biederbeck’s manservant, Cheng (Reid) was killed so soon, but at least he got to go out in an amusing way.  Dr. Phibes Rises Again is one of those movies where you don’t question what you’re seeing and just go with the flow like you’re on the River of Life.

Dr. Phibes Rises Again rates 2 of 5 stars.

The Abominable Dr. Phibes (1971) / Z-View

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The Abominable Dr. Phibes (1971)

Director:  Robert Fuest

Screenplay:  James Whiton, William Goldstein

Starring:  Vincent Price, Joseph Cotton, Virginia North and Terry-Thomas

Tagline: Dr. Phibes has great vibes!

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

Dr. Anton Phibes (Price) is out for revenge.  When Phibes learned his wife was in a terrible auto accident, he jumped in his car and raced to get to her.  Sadly, Phibes was also involved in a wreck.  Meanwhile, Dr. Phibes’ wife died on the operating table.

Four years later, disfigured due to his accident, Dr. Phibes is ready to extract his revenge on the doctors who failed to save his wife.  Phibes plots to kill each based on one of the Ten Plagues of Egypt.  After the third doctor is murdered, the police figure out Dr. Phibes is the killer.  Always a step behind the insane Dr. Phibes, the police continue to search for clues as the bodies pile up.

The Abominable Dr. Phibes is supposed to be a dark comedy, but there aren’t any real laughs.  Dr. Phibes often kills his victims using elaborate Rube Goldbergesque contraptions.  In between murders he spends time dancing with his mute assistant with music provided by his large wind-up animatrons.  The advertising for Dr. Phibes – “Love Means Never Having to Say You’re Ugly” – “Dr. Phibes has great vibes” – indicates they weren’t sure how to sell the film to the public.  Once you’ve seen the film, that is understandable.

The Abominable Dr. Phibes isn’t a great film or a bad film.  It’s a strange film.  For that reason The Abominable Dr. Phibes rates 2 of 5 stars.

THE CULT OF ICARUS by Jenna Lynn Wright & Karl Slominski is Coming!

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The Cult of Icarus trade paperback written by Jenna Lynn Wright and art by Karl Slominski will be released on July 12, 2022.  Check out the synopsis…

Cult Of Ikarus is a dark, coming-of-age fantasy comic book series featuring vampires and a magical, supernatural underworld written by Jenna Lyn Wright, illustrated by Karl Slominski, lettered by Taylor Esposito, published monthly by Scout Comics.

Tossed out by her foster family after one-too-many rides home in the back of a cop car, Hunter packs up her meager belongings and hops a train on a mission: stop drifting and finally find out who she is.

That trip to the city is more like a trip down the rabbit hole, as she’s introduced to a covert world of magic and danger running parallel to our own, complete with undead rock stars, a pair of sorcerer brothers with questionable morals, and a prophecy that puts her at the top of an ancient vampire coven’s hit list.

Turns out Hunter is half-human, half-vampire. The product of a forbidden love; she’s an anomaly that shouldn’t exist. And if those vamps get their hands on her, humanity’s time at the top of the food chain may come to a swift and vicious end, and the world as we know it will cease to exist.

Hunter came looking for answers. What will become of her once she gets them?


If Cult of Icarus sounds like something you’d like, you can pre-order it here.  I did.

House of Wax (1953) / Z-View

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House of Wax (1953)

Director:  André De Toth

Screenplay:  Crane Wilbur based on The Wax Works by Charles S. Belden

Starring:  Vincent Price, Frank Lovejoy, Phyllis Kirk, Carolyn Jones, Roy Roberts and Charles Bronson (as Charles Buchinsky).

Tagline: UNLIKE ANYTHING YOU’VE SEEN BEFORE!

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

Henry Jarrod (Price) is a skilled sculptor who creates life-like wax figures of famous people from history.  Jarrod’s business partner, Matthew Burke (Roberts) feels their wax museum would do better business if Jarrod sculpted scenes of murderers and their victims.  Jarrod refuses. So for the insurance, Burke sets the museum on fire.  He douses Jarrod with kerosene and leaves him to burn alive!

Months later a horribly disfigured man murders Burke.  Coincidently (?), Henry Jarrod reappears.  Although the fire didn’t disfigure his face or kill him, Jarrod is confined to a wheelchair.  His burned hands are no longer useful.   Jarrod plans to create a new wax museum with the help of his assistant, Igor (Bronson) and some of his art students.  When Burke’s fiancé is murdered by a disfigured man, the police begin looking for a serial killer.  And isn’t it strange that Jarrod’s new figures look amazingly like women who have recently been killed?

The disfigured man has his sights on more victims… will the police discover his identity in time to stop him?

House of Wax was originally presented in 3D, so there are some scenes specifically to take advantage of the process.  This is one of Vincent Price’s most famous roles and rightly so.  Carolyn Jones is a standout in one of her earliest roles.  Charles Bronson is effective as Igor, Price’s deaf/mute assistant.

House of Wax is a reworking of 1933’s Mystery at the Wax Museum (which is also worth a watch).  Interestingly enough, the success of the 1953 film, gave Warner Bros. the idea to create a weekly television series involving bizarre murders solved by a trio of amateur detectives who own a wax museum.  A pilot was filmed, but rejected as too intense for television.  The pilot was then expanded into a full length feature, titled Chamber of Horrors and released to theaters!

House of Wax rates 4 of 5 stars.

“The Winchesters” – The Extended Trailer for the “Supernatural” Prequel is Here!

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Today we have an extended trailer for The Winchesters, the prequel series to Supernatural.  Although I wasn’t a fan of the original series, the humor is drawing me in for prequel.  “Stop Helping!”

About The Winchesters:
Before Sam and Dean, there was John and Mary. Told from the perspective of narrator Dean Winchester, this is the epic, untold love story of how John met Mary, and how they put it all on the line to not only save their love, but the entire world.

“The Good Neighbor” – The Poster and Trailer are Here!

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The trailer for The Good Neighbor makes it look like a suspense film with brains.  The poster though, appears to be for a drive-in horror movie.  Both types could be good, but I hope The Good Neighbor is more of the first.  Deal me in.

A nightmarish evening unfolds for neighbors David (Luke Kleintank) and Robert (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) when they accidentally hit a woman on her bike and flee the scene. While David is increasingly plagued by feelings of guilt, Robert shows no remorse and becomes overbearing and possessive. When David meets Vanessa (Eloise Smyth), the victim’s sister, he submits to a reckless passion and underlying sense of redemption before realizing Robert will do unspeakable things to protect their secret.

“The Deep House” (2021) / Z-View

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The Deep House (2021)

Director:  Alexandre Bustillo, Julien Maury

Screenplay:  Alexandre Bustillo, Julien Maury, Julien David, Rachel Parker

Starring:  Camille Rowe, James Jagger and Eric Savin.

Tagline:  None..

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

Tina (Rowe) and Ben (Jagger) are an engaged couple looking for adventure.  They explore haunted locations for Ben’s social media.  While in France they learn of an old insane asylum at the bottom of a lake.  Of course they decide to check it out.

When Tina and Ben arrive at the location, they’re disappointed to discover the lake has become a tourist hot spot.  Ben strikes up a conversation with a local.  The man (Savin) says he can knows of an isolated area that contains a mansion perfectly preserved at the bottom of the lake.  Tina and Ben agree to the man’s price and he takes them there.

At the bottom of the lake, Tina and Ben find the mansion.  The place is creepy enough on the outside and once inside strange things start happening.  They hear scary noises and what sounds like muffled voices.  Do they leave?  Of course not.  They go deeper into the house and discover photos of missing children, satanic symbols and scratches on the inside of the front door.  Do they return to the surface?  Nope.  Then they find a huge crucifix holding a door closed.  Time to go, now?  Naw, let’s move the cross and go downstairs.

The House Below has a several creepy scenes and a few scares.  Since we don’t know much about the characters, we’re not as vested in their survival as we could be.  Some things happen that are attributed to ghosts, but the ghosts must be about as smart as our leads..  The ending is supposed to be shocking (and it may surprise you), but it’s just another example of a character’s stupid choice.

The Deep House rates 2 of 5 stars.

“Prey” – The Teaser is Here!

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Prey – The teaser is short and sweet.  Deal me in.

“Prey,” an all-new action-thriller from 20th Century Studios directed by Dan Trachtenberg (“The Boys,” “10 Cloverfield Lane”) and the newest entry in the “Predator” franchise, will stream August 5, 2022, exclusively on Hulu.

Set in the Comanche Nation 300 years ago, “Prey” is the story of a young woman, Naru, a fierce and highly skilled warrior. She has been raised in the shadow of some of the most legendary hunters who roam the Great Plains, so when danger threatens her camp, she sets out to protect her people. The prey she stalks, and ultimately confronts, turns out to be a highly evolved alien predator with a technically advanced arsenal, resulting in a vicious and terrifying showdown between the two adversaries.

“Prey” is directed by Dan Trachtenberg, written by Patrick Aison (“Jack Ryan,” “Treadstone”), and produced by John Davis (“Jungle Cruise,” “The Predator”) and Jhane Myers (“Monsters of God”), with Lawrence Gordon (“Watchmen”), Marty Ewing (“It: Chapter Two”), James E. Thomas, John C. Thomas and Marc Toberoff (“Fantasy Island”) serving as executive producers.

The filmmakers were committed to creating a film that provides an accurate portrayal of the Comanche and brings a level of authenticity that rings true to its Indigenous peoples. Myers, an acclaimed filmmaker, Sundance Fellow and member of the Comanche nation herself, is known for her attention and dedication to films surrounding the Comanche and Blackfeet nations and her passion for honoring the legacies of the Native communities. As a result, the film features a cast comprised almost entirely of Native and First Nation’s talent, including Amber Midthunder (“The Ice Road,” “Roswell, New Mexico”), newcomer Dakota Beavers, Stormee Kipp (“Sooyii”), Michelle Thrush (“The Journey Home”), Julian Black Antelope (“Tribal”).

“Invaders from Mars (1986)” / Z-View

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Invaders from Mars (1986)

Director:  Tobe Hooper

Screenplay: Dan O’Bannon, Don Jakoby based on a screenplay for the 1953 film by Richard Blake

Starring:  Karen Black, Hunter Carson, Timothy Bottoms, Laraine Newman, Louise Fletcher and Jimmy Hunt.

Tagline: He knows they’re here.

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

One night young David Gardner (Carson) wakes to see a spaceship landing beyond the hill behind his house.  He wakes his parents (Bottoms, Newman), they come to his window, but everything seems normal.  The next day the boy discovers that his teacher (Fletcher) and one of his classmates have become possessed by aliens.

Of course no one believes him… except the school nurse (Black).  Now it is up to the young boy and the school nurse to save the world.

Invaders from Mars is not a good movie. I kept watching trying to figure out how much was a wink at the original 1953 film and how much was just an updated misfire.

If you take Invaders from Mars as a dream the boy had, it kind of makes more sense.  It explains how the kid is the real star of the film and why he has more brains than the adults, including military leaders.  It also explains the goofy (and far from scary) aliens.  It doesn’t explain the famous final scene though.

Invaders from Mars has good actors that don’t prove it with this movie.  Hunter Carson is Karen Black’s son and maybe Tobe Hooper got a two-fer;  Black would do the movie if her son got to play the kid.  Sadly, all poor Carson gets to do is repeatedly look scared and run flailing his arms.  Louise Fletcher’s most memorable scene is when she turns around with a frog hanging from her mouth.  I do applaud that Jimmy Hunt (who played the kid in the original film) is brought back to play a small role in this remake.

Invaders from Mars is one of those rare movies that I make it all the way through and then decide, it’s not for me.  Invaders from Mars rates 1 of 5 stars.