Category: Horror

Steve Niles’ The Complete Cal McDonald Stories (with Two New Tales) is Coming! John Carpenter Intro!

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Yesterday Steve Niles sent a Tweet with the image above and…

The complete collection of Criminal Macabre prose stories by Steve Niles featuring two brand new tales and an introduction by horror legend John Carpenter! Now available for pre-order! In stores March 2, 2022. Cover by E.M. Gist.  @DarkHorseComics  @TheHorrorMaster

Here’s the synopsis…

The complete collection of Criminal Macabre prose stories by Steve Niles (30 Days of Night) featuring two brand new tales and an introduction by horror legend John Carpenter!

The world has two faces. The natural and the supernatural. The face we see every day, people filing past us in an almost zombie-like stupor, numb to the horrors of everyday life or driven to madness by the pain and agony of modern-day existence. And those are the people who aren’t zombies or monsters!

Cal McDonald is a detective with one foot in the real world, and one in the world of magic. For Cal, the horrors we all dream about in the fevered darkness of the night are all-too real, kept at bay through an almost constant influx of drugs to numb the pain, but never erase it. Cut from the same mold as Sam Spade, Jake Gittes, and the famous detectives of Chandler, Hammett and Spillane, Cal McDonald, whether he likes it or not, is all that stands between us and the nightmare world just outside our vision.

Collects the complete Criminal Macabre prose stories Savage Membrane; Guns, Drugs, and Monsters; Dial M for Monster, All My Bloody Things, and two new prose stories: The Dead Son and Out of Water.

Criminal Macabre: The Complete Cal McDonald Prose Stories by Steve Niles is available for pre-order now. Deal me in!

The All-Time Most Influential Horror Movies

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Kevin Delsignore at CBR.com came up with his list of The All-Time Most Influential Horror Movies.  (Sadly, although it was an interesting list, it is no longer available.)  I decided to play along and using Delsignore’s films, came up with my top two.  Interestingly enough, my #1 pick didn’t make his list.

#3.  Jaws:  While some may argue that Jaws isn’t really a horror film, it made Delsignore’s list, so for our purposes here it is.  Jaws not only spawned 3 sequels but also inspired countless other shark, octopus, orca, alligator, piranha… well, you get the idea, movies.

#2.  Halloween:  John Carpenter’s Halloween spawned 11 sequels with a 12th on the way.  It also opened the door for low-budget unstoppable serial killer movies where the victims were usually teenage kids (Friday the 13th, Nightmare on Elm Street, Scream, etc.)..

#1  Night of the Living Dead:  My choice for the top spot is Night of the Living Dead and surprisingly it didn’t even make Delsignore’s list!  Not only did George Romero re-invent the “rules” for zombies, but he kickstarted a genre that has expanded from movies to tv to comics to video games and more.  What’s just as crazy is that the zombie craze is still going strong over 50 years later!

“Broken Darkness” – The Poster and Trailer are Here!

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The poster for Broken Darkness is pretty bland, but the trailer has enough action to make it a potentially good drive-in movie.  It will be streaming for me.

Eight years after the world ends, humanity has sought refuge under ground. One man, with nothing left to lose, finds there is more to himself when he and a young girl are left alone to survive and find their way home after their team is killed off by mysterious creatures.

Directed By Christopher-Lee Dos Santos
Starring: Sean Cameron Michael, Brandon Auret, Suraya Santos, Brendan Murray

“Lair” – Sometimes Your Inner Demons Get Out -The Poster and Trailer are Here!

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I like the poster and trailer for Lair and will check it out when it comes to one of my streaming services.

When Ben Dollarhdye is accused of murder, saying he was possessed by a demonic force, Steven Caramore investigates his friend’s claims, setting off a chain of events that forces a young family into a terrifying battle for survival. Available November 9.

Directed by: Adam Ethan Crow

The Addams Family by Eduardo Francisco!

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Once a week Joblo.com has a feature called Awesome Art We’ve Found Around the Net.  As you can imagine, they post awesome art that they, well, you get the idea.

I always enjoy seeing what JoBlo has found because with each post they list the artist’s name and a link to more of his/her art.  If you check it out you’ll discover amazing artists like Eduardo Francisco who did the very cool Addams Family piece above.

The All-Time Best Vampire Movies (That Don’t Star Dracula)!

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Anna Swanson at Film School Rejects posted her list of the 10 Best Vampire Movies That Don’t Star Dracula.  Her list is a good one.  As I thought about my choices for the top 5 (using just her list) I realized that if you ask me again tomorrow the order might change.

As of today, here are my top five and a three others that didn’t make Swanson’s top ten but would have made mine…

30 Days of Night (2007) is an under-rated horror film.  I love the slow burn set-up. Strange things happen but no one knows what is coming.  When the vampire attacks begin, the overhead shot of the town in chaos is worth the price of admission.

Interview with the Vampire (1994) has grown on me with each new viewing.  I still haven’t read the novel but if it is as good as the movie, I shouldn’t put it off.  Oh, and has there ever been another vampire movie with the star power of Interview with a Vampire?

Near Dark (1987).  A modern western/horror/love story?  Yep and it works.

What We Do in the Shadows (2014).  A mockumentary about vampire roommates and their day to day (un)life.  Sounds terrible, but is truly funny.

Fright Night (1985) walks the line as a horror movie that is funny or a comedy that is scary.  Either way it works.

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Here are three movies that didn’t make Swanson’s list but would have made mine…

Salem’s Lot (1979).  A tv movie that still works.

From Dusk Till Dawn (1996).  Any time you can have a crime and horror film mash-up, count me in.

Blade II (2002).  Man, I love this film so much I would have put it in the #1 spot.   (Which is even more surprising since I didn’t care for Blade!)

“Seek” – The Award-Winning Horror Short is Here!

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Seek is an award-winning horror short written by Eric Vespe & Aaron Morgan (who also directed it).  Keep your eye out for these guys.  I can’t wait to see what they could do with a feature!

Heidi and Jordan have been driving all night, and the two estranged sisters aren’t getting along. Amidst this tense atmosphere, they make a stop at a dilapidated roadside park, where Heidi takes a bathroom break. But inside the filthy room, a mischievous inhabitant demands to play a terrifying game.

Directed by Aaron Morgan from a script co-written with Eric Vespe, this short, shivery horror delivers highly effective chills and thrills in its compact runtime, elevated by superb cinematic craftsmanship and a surefire build-up of suspense, tension and ultimately terror.

“Ragdoll” – The Poster and Trailer are Here!

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I like the poster and trailer for Ragdoll.  This one looks like a winner.

RAGDOLL Official Trailer

PLOT: Upcoming internationally co-produced thriller series based upon the novel of the same name by Daniel Cole. The series follows the murder of six people who have been dismembered and sewn into the shape of a grotesque body, “The Ragdoll”. As detectives begin to investigate, the killer begins to taunt them.

CAST: Lucy Hale, Ali Cook, Lee Byford

“Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City” – The Trailer is Here!

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Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City doesn’t look bad.

Returning to the origins of the massively popular RESIDENT EVIL franchise, fan and filmmaker Johannes Roberts brings the games to life for a whole new generation of fans. In RESIDENT EVIL: WELCOME TO RACCOON CITY, once the booming home of pharmaceutical giant Umbrella Corporation, Raccoon City is now a dying Midwestern town. The company’s exodus left the city a wasteland…with great evil brewing below the surface. When that evil is unleashed, a group of survivors must work together to uncover the truth behind Umbrella and make it through the night.

Written & Directed by:  Johannes Roberts

The Scariest Scenes from the “Alien” Movies!

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Chad Collins at /Film came up with his list of The 10 Scariest Scenes From The Alien Franchise.  Collins’ list is a good one and got me thinking.  Here are my top three scariest scenes, comments on each and a couple of scenes that would have made my top ten, but didn’t make Collins’ list.

The chestburster scene — Alien.  I was surprised that this scene didn’t rate higher on Collins’ list.  If, like me, you were saw the original release of Alien you can remember the shock that went through the actors on the screen (they hadn’t been prepped for what was about to happen) and the screams from the audience viewing the film. It was truly scary to see the alien bursting from William Hurt’s chest.  Scenes like that (especially with CGI) have become common place, but Alien was the first and remains the scariest.

Monsters in the vent — Alien.  This scene is a slow build to a jump scare and works perfectly.  Dallas, alone in the vents is searching for the creature.  His radio contacts are telling him it is close and getting closer.  He can’t see or hear it.  His only light is the small flame coming off the tip of his flamethrower.  They keep telling him it is closer and closer and RUN!  Too late.

A stowaway — Alien.   Ripley is alone on the escape pod… until we see the alien slowly come out from its hiding spot.  Ripley is unarmed and barely dressed.  She has no weapons… talk about a scary scene!

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I’m glad that the underwater chase scene from Alien Resurrection made Collins’ list.  It almost made mine.  I’m a fan of Alien Resurrection.

A couple of scenes that would have made my list but didn’t make Collins’…

Aliens inside the perimeter – Aliens.  The Colonial Marines have set up a perimeter with automatic weapons and have huddled together in a room hoping the aliens can’t get in.  Hudson is monitoring the aliens coming. He calls out their location and they are closing in.  Hicks’ tells Hudson reading can’t be right, that would put them inside the perimeter.  They all slowly look up… could the aliens be in the crawlspace above them…

Colonial Marines Escape – Aliens.  The Colonial Marines have had their first encounter with the aliens and are now in retreat.  As they get their wounded on the transport driven by Ripley, the aliens are still attacking.  Finally they are all on board and as marines pull the doors closed…an alien’s hands grip the door pulling it open…

“The Spore” – The Poster and Trailer are Here!

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The poster for The Spore gets an “A” for effort.  I like the use of art, but don’t think the poster excels at making me want to see the movie.  The trailer works for me though.  I plan to check out The Spore.

Lionsgate’s horror film THE SPORE will be arriving on Digital, on Demand and DVD November 9.

“Fleeing from civilization as a horrific plague ravages mankind. Meadow gets a lift from a stranger. When she sees that the driver is gruesomely infected, Meadow escapes and takes refuge in a cabin that’s abandoned…or is it? The apocalypse started days earlier when an evil spore, long dormant beneath an ancient ice field, was awakened by global warming. Now, as ten strangers try to evade the madness, some must succumb to the hideously mutating fungus and claim the survivors as their bitter prey.”

“Night Teeth” – The Poster and Trailer are Here!

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I can usually tell pretty quickly watching a trailer if it is going to be my kind of film.  Not so with Night Teeth.  I started out thinking it wasn’t going to be for me, but the more I watched the more I liked what I was seeing.  Night Teeth looks like Collateral with vampires.  I plan to go along for the ride.

Benny’s entire world is turned upside down after picking up two mysterious girls who expose him to a secret world he never knew existed. He is suddenly hurled into their cryptic underworld on a mission to save his city from dripping in blood.