Category: Horror

Brooklyn Blood by Paul Levitz and Tim Hamilton

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Brooklyn Blood by Paul Levitz and Tim Hamilton looks to be the kind of story fans of crime fiction and horror stories will love.

In Brooklyn, a serial killer is on the loose–and when strange clues lead down a paranormal path, a detective confronts his inner demons to solve the case.

After returning from a tour in Afghanistan, detective Billy O’Connor returns home to a Brooklyn he doesn’t recognize. As he tries to return to his normal routines, his PTSD is easily triggered and he suffers severe hallucinations. Once he begins to work a gruesome homicide case, however, O’Connor has difficulty sorting out what’s real–and after he uncovers some strange clues, he’ll have to face the unthinkable to bring the killer to justice.

From New York Times Bestselling authors Paul Levitz (75 Years of DC Comics: The Art of Modern Myth-Making) and Tim Hamilton (Ray Bradbury’s Farenheit 451: The Authorized Adaptation), this volume collects all sixteen chapters originally serialized in Dark Horse Presents Volume 3 #17-#22 and #24-#33!

SHOT BY SHOT: MEETING GILL-MAN IN ‘CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON’

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Will Digravio and Film School Rejects present SHOT BY SHOT: MEETING GILL-MAN IN CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON.   If you’re a fan of The Creature of the Black Lagoon, then you know the scene.  Kay Lawrence (Julie Adams) is taking a swim while unknown to her, the Creature is right below her.  It’s a tense, exciting scene and Digravio does a fine job of taking us through it.

I do have one nit to pick though.  Digravio wrote…

By all accounts, Creature from the Black Lagoon is not a great film. It’s a classic and loved by those (like me) who think that Gill-man is one of the coolest monsters.

I beg to differ.  Creature from the Black Lagoon is a great film.  It is a classic and loved by those who think the Creature is one of the coolest monsters, and by those who love classic (monster) films!

 

The 25 Best Horror Movies Based on True Stories

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Gem Seddon and Games Radar present The 25 best Horror Movies Based on True Stories.  Here are three that I enjoyed and my thoughts on each following Seddon’s comments.

21. The Strangers (2008)

The horror movie: House invasion horror starring Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman as a couple who go to stay at a summer home, only to fall victim to a trio of menacing, mask-wearing psychopaths.

The true story: Director Bryan Bertino revealed the movie’s premise was based on an incident that happened to him; as a kid a stranger appeared at his door, asked for someone who didn’t live there and left. He later found out that a series of break-ins occurred in his neighbourhood that night. On top of that, he also drew inspiration from the infamous Manson killings, carried out by the minions of occultist Charles Manson.

Craig’s Thoughts:  The Strangers is a creepy movie.  The idea that murders would randomly choose your house — not much is more frightening.  No reason, no rationale other than you were selected.  Brrr!  That gives me the chills.

14. The Town That Dreaded Sundown (1976)

The horror movie: A micro-budget indie slasher that pre-dates Halloween (but not Black Christmas). A hood-wearing killer terrorises a town in 1946 Arkansas, while a Texas Ranger attempts to bring him down.

The true story: A spate of murders in the 1940s, called the Texarkana Moonlight Murders, were carried out by the so-called Phantom Killer. Over a ten week period, the Phantom Killer murdered eight people… and the culprit was never found. Shudder.

Craig’s Thoughts:  I, like many folks, am intrigued by serial killers who never get caught.  First of all there’s something terrifying about a person who is compelled to kill again and again.  It’s even more frightening to think that despite the increasing publicity and police presence the killer still goes out and finds victims to slaughter.  Then add in that the killer could still be lurking around the corner…

5. The Silence of the Lambs (1990)

The horror movie: An Oscar-winning horror-thriller in which FBI trainee Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster) is chucked in at the deep end when she’s tasked with working alongside cannibal Dr. Lecter (Anthony Hopkins) to bring down Buffalo Bill (Ted Levine).

The true story: Author Thomas Harris based Buffalo Bill on a number of serial killers, including Ed Gein (skinning his victims) and Ted Bundy (using a cast to lure in innocent women). Harris also based the relationship between Starling and Lecter on that between Bundy and Robert Keppel, a criminal profiler and professor at the University of Washington.

Craig’s Thoughts: The Silence of the Lambs gives us two serial killers but interestingly enough, the one that gets remembered is the one that’s already caught!  Anthony Hopkins wasn’t the first to play Hannibal Lector, but he owned the role in such a way that not only is he the actor people remember, but it is THE role of his career.

Why not share YOUR thoughts by clicking on the link below and adding them?

13 Altogether Ooky Facts about “The Addams Family”

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MeTV presents 13 Altogether Ooky Facts about The Addams Family.  Here are three of my favorites…

1. Until the TV show, the characters did not have names.
Charles Addams, pictured here in his home office, did not name the creepy, charming characters in his one-panel cartoons. When the show was green-lit, Addams and producers came up with names for the clan. Did you know Wednesday’s middle name is Friday?

 

4. Ted Cassidy played two roles.
While best known for playing Lurch, Ted Cassidy also lent a hand — literally — by also playing Thing.

 

7. The Addams were the first TV family to have a home computer.
A couple years later, Bruce Wayne would utilize his Batcomputer in the Batcave, but the first family “P.C.” seen on TV was the UNIVAC on The Addams Family.

James Byron Huggins is Back!

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James Byron Huggins is back!

Long-time readers probably remember Huggins best as the author of Hunter.  Huggins wrote Hunter specifically with Sylvester Stallone (who bought the movie rights) in mind as the book’s hero.  Hunter is one of my all-time favorite novels and would make an exciting movie!  Stallone fans continue to hope that Sly will helm a movie version of Hunter even if he doesn’t star in it (and he should!).

Huggins wasn’t a one-hit wonder.  He also wrote The Reckoning, Cain, Leviathon, Rora, and other novels.  (And I recommend each of them!)  Huggins’ novels are a combination of thriller, action-adventure and horror.  His skill at seamlessly combining the genres made Huggins an international best-selling novelist.  When two of his books were optioned for over a million dollars a piece, Huggins turned his attention to work on films.

But now James Byron Huggins is back!

International and New York Times bestselling thriller author James Byron Huggins is back with a vengeance. The former police detective-turned successful author has signed with Denver based WildBlue Press to release two new novels and four backlisted titles. The backlisted books will begin release in April, starting with the thriller The Reckoning.  More backlisted titles will release in 2018, including The Hunter, a sci-fi/thriller with film rights owned by Sylvester Stallone. Dark Visions, a brand-new thriller from Huggins will release in July 2018. In the novel, Joe Mac, a legendary homicide detective forced into retirement when he lost his eyesight in the line of duty, is compelled to find whomever or whatever killed his grandson. Even if it costs him his life.

“I am both honored and privileged to put out the books I’ve been working on for so long,” Huggins said.  “I wouldn’t go with any other company. WildBlue will always be my company. They are solid. The best there is.”

Dark Visions will release July 31, 2018.

I am excited to revisit Hunter and The Reckoning.  It will be great to have the new Huggins’ novel, Dark Visions in July.  Now if Sly will add Hunter to his “Films to Do” List…

Mignola & Golden’s Joe Golem: Occult Detective Returns!

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Mike Mignola, best known as the creator of Hellboy, has teamed with best-selling novelist Christopher Golden and artist Peter Bergting for Joe Golem: Occult Detective – The Drowning City, a five issue mini-series premiering in September.  This will be the third mini-series featuring Golem with the first two being Joe Golem: Occult Detective—The Rat Catcher and the Sunken Dead and Joe Golem: Occult Detective—The Outer Dark.

Source: Paste.

How Do You Steal From Dracula? Stephan Franck Knows!

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I’ve been singing the praises of Stephan Franck (writer & artist) since I discovered his Silver graphic novels which he describes as…

… an original universe built around Bram Stoker’s original Dracula, and it begins 40 years after the events of the novel, into the noir/pulp era of the 1930s. You meet James Finnigan, who is the most notorious conman/gentleman-thief of his day, as he teams up with Rosalynd “Sledge” Van Helsing (granddaughter of the original Van Helsing, and altogether the last of the Van Helsings), to steal a mystical treasure hidden in Dracula’s castle. Finn, of course, brings his known associates—a fun assortment of conmen and grifters of all kinds—as well as the kind of amoral attitude that puts him immediately at odds with Sledge. Lastly, the team enlists Tao Leu (or more accurately, he enlists himself), who is a 10-year-old boy with the gift of second sight and who might be the biggest scoundrel of them all.

George Romero’s Tribute Statue Gets Perfect Location!

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If you were going to decide on the perfect place for this bust of George Romero, the man who re-invented and re-invigorated the zombie movie genre, where would it be?

If you asked me (and no one did) I’d say the mall where the original Dawn of the Dead was filmed.  Guess what?

The Monroeville Mall in Pittsburgh, Pennsylania just got 1000% times more in touch with it’s creepshow roots. A large copper bust of indie horror director (and grandfather of the genre) George A. Romero was finally installed… in the very shopping center that served as the location for much of his ‘birth of the modern zombie’ classic, 1978’s Dawn of the Dead.

Source: SyFy Wire.

The 25 Best Horror Movies of All Time

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David Houghton and GamesRadar present The 25 Best Horror Movies of All Time.  Using just his list here are my top three choices…

4. The Thing (1982)

The movie: A shapeshifting alien stalks the inhabitants of an Antarctic research station, masquerading as one of them until it gets an opportunity to attack. John Carpenter’s remake of the 1950s sci-fi The Thing From Another World ramps up the gore and the paranoia, and ends on a note of resignation, not triumph.

Why it’s scary: That paranoid atmosphere, for one thing. The Thing’s oppressive, one-second-from-doom vibe never lets up for a moment, amplified by brilliant, tightly-wound performances throughout. And it’s impossible to over-value The Thing’s ground-breaking (and award-winning) special effects work, which unleash increasingly bizarre, hybrid nightmare creatures that will stick with you for life.

 

3. Alien (1979)

The movie: Arguably one of the greatest science fiction movies ever made is also one of the greatest horror movies, as director Ridley Scott sends the crew of the Nostromo off to investigate a distress call from an abandoned alien spaceship as innocently as any gang of hormonal teenagers headed off to a remote cabin in the woods.

Why it’s scary: There’s nowhere more horribly isolated than a spaceship light years away from home. And Giger’s alien is as terrifying a monster as you could wish for. The dread goes much deeper than teeth and claws. The creature represents a multilayered, bottomless pit of psychosexual horror, its very form praying on a raft of primal terrors. And the visual ambiguity of Scott’s direction during the final act – during which the high-tech environments almost merge with the monster’s biomechanical countenance – are a masterclass in ‘What’s that in the shadows?’ tension.

 

1. The Exorcist (1973)

The movie: After messing with a Ouija board, Regan (Linda Blair) starts acting weirdly. And not just acting weirdly in a normal teenage kind of way: she talks backwards, scuttles around the house like a crab, and does unspeakable things with crucifixes. Her mother calls in a couple of Catholic priests to cast out Regan’s demons, but it won’t be easy.

Why it’s scary: It quite simply has the most evil-soaked atmosphere of any film ever made. The Exorcist is relentless in its determination to creep you out, but ignore the scares for a moment and you’re still left with an exceptionally smart and sophisticated film that demands your unreserved attention and has kept people talking to this day. A bona fide cinematic masterpiece that just so happens to be an edge-of-your-seat scare-fest too.

A few movies that didn’t make Houghton’s list that I’d have included are: 28 days later, Them! and World War Z.

U.S. Government Has Plan If Zombie Outbreak Comes!

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Did you know in 2011, the U.S. Department of Defense prepared and released the Counter-Zombie Dominance Plan, or “CONPLAN 8888-11″ which outlined the steps our military should take in the event of a zombie outbreak?  It did.

CONPLANN 8888-11 laid out a 31-page strategy in three parts. First, create and uphold a defensive plan to protect humankind from mind-munching predators. Second, establish procedures to eradicate any threat of zombies. Third, restore law and order to a war-ridden economy.

Want to know more?  You can get all the gory details at History.com.

Stephan Franck Interview – “Silver” Conclusion and More!

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Stephan Franck is the genius (writer & artist) behind Silver which he describes as…

… an original universe built around Bram Stoker’s original Dracula, and it begins 40 years after the events of the novel, into the noir/pulp era of the 1930s. You meet James Finnigan, who is the most notorious conman/gentleman-thief of his day, as he teams up with Rosalynd “Sledge” Van Helsing (granddaughter of the original Van Helsing, and altogether the last of the Van Helsings), to steal a mystical treasure hidden in Dracula’s castle. Finn, of course, brings his known associates—a fun assortment of conmen and grifters of all kinds—as well as the kind of amoral attitude that puts him immediately at odds with Sledge. Lastly, the team enlists Tao Leu (or more accurately, he enlists himself), who is a 10-year-old boy with the gift of second sight and who might be the biggest scoundrel of them all.

With the fourth and final volume now on Kickstarter, Franck sat for an interview with Johhny Hughes at Comic Crusaders.