|
 |
| FEO NEWS FOR WINTER 2025: - APRIL - The detritus of old Horror/Thriller history can be found here. These are archived news items, many of them linked outside of this website. |
YOU DUG IT
1. SINNERS Warner Bros wins the #1 for the third week in a row and even better, with another movie. This Horror Thriller stars Michael B. Jordan (CHRONICLE), Sam Malone (SYNCHRONIC), and Delroy Lindo (THE CORE). 2. MINECRAFT steps down to #2 in its third weekend with a mild 48% loss in ticket sales against a 25 screen cut. This movie is profitable in the U.S. in its third weekend and nearing the billion mark world wide. 6. DROP steps down from last week's #5 in the profit zone in only its second weekend, despite adding 4 screens but losing 55% in ticket sales. 13. THE WOMAN IN THE YARD didn't make a splash despite being presented by Universal. It leaves the Top Ten in its 4th weekend with a 64% loss in ticket sales against a 963 screen cut. You Buried Nothing Figures calibrated from reporting by Box Office Mojo and The Numbers. Should there be differences between the two, I err on the side of caution and post the most positive numbers. PET SEMATARY Turns 35
It's the original movie based on the book that Stephen King wishes he never wrote. A book so brutal and scary the King of Horror novelists regrets it. Screenwriter Ken King tells us how Director Mary Lambert's magnum opus grabbed him by the throat in his review of PET SEMATARY. And - SILENT HILL Turns 19
Director Christophe Gans was riding high on the International Horror hit, BROTHERHOOD OF THE WOLF. For five years he'd struggled to convince game maker Konami, that he was the one to make the feature film of their number one game, SILENT HILL. He got the budget to bring together the best practical effects team, digital artists, and the top monster choreographer. Everyone gave it their best and it all shows. The only problem was, there was one key person there whose best wasn't good enough. He spent the next 19 years trying to fix his mistake. I'll tell you all about it in my review of 2006's SILENT HILL. Plus - HAPPY HORROR THRILLER BIRTHDAYS TO -
Actor, Producer Jennifer Blanc-Biehn (THE CROW, KISS TOMORROW GOODBYE, DARK ANGEL [TV], MY APOCALYPSE, PRANK, THE JACK OF SPADES, THE BLOOD BOND, THE ABSENT, THE DIVIDE, THE VICTIM, JACOB, AMONG FRIENDS, TREACHERY, THE NIGHT VISITOR, THE LEGEND OF DARK HORSE COUNTY, MINDLESS, EVERLY, HIDDEN IN THE WOODS, HAVENHURST, DEADLY SIGNAL, SHE RISES [2016], DEADLY RETREAT, ALTERED PERCEPTION, FETISH FACTORY, KILLER WEEKEND, SORRY I KILLED YOU, TERROR EYES) is 51. SUNDAY -
We bid a last farewell to Dario Argento's TRAUMA is 32
Three common threads of agreement can be found among the fans of Dario Argento. One - He has his best and his worst. Two - Fans can't agree on which is his best and which is his worst. Three - His movies are visually nightmarish dreams of eye candy. Reviewer Max Glaessner delves into why he feels TRAUMA is a massively under rated Argento ... masterpiece? HOT FUZZ is 18
After the success of SHAUN OF THE DEAD, Director Edgar Wright, and actors Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, were back. This movie would be nothing like their past successes. They were neither boastful or cocky. Instead they were all confident and in their sophomore outing delivered their second classic in a row, HOT FUZZ. SATURDAY -
Actor Tim Curry (THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW, THE SHOUT, LEGEND, CLUE, THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER, IT [TV - 1990], THE SHADOW, CONGO, GARGOYLES [TV], THE MASK [TV], AAAHH!!! REAL MONSTERS, DOOM RUNNERS [TV], ADDAMS FAMILY REUNION, THE NET [TV], SCARY MOVIE 2, BLOOD MOON, TALES FROM THE CRYPT: RITUAL, BURKE AND HARE, GINGERCLOWN) is 79. THE SCORPION KING Turns 23
The Rock had his own starring role and the movie did okay, but the then WWF (now WWE) owned his Wrestling Ring name. The Rock knew he, and not the WWE, built his audience. So in the Ring he's The Rock. In Life he's Dwayne Johnson, and in this movie he's a wandering warrior named Mathayus. This is how he came to be known as THE SCORPION KING. Careful though, it involves Scorpions.
HAPPY HORROR THRILLER BIRTHDAYS TO -
by E.C. McMullen Jr.
HAPPY HORROR THRILLER BIRTHDAYS TO -
By E.C. McMullen Jr. And a Final Farewell to,
Actor Olivia Hussey (BLACK CHRISTMAS, DEATH ON THE NILE, THE CAT AND THE CANARY, VIRUS [1980], ESCAPE 2000, DISTORTIONS, PSYCHO IV, IT [1990], ICE CREAM MAN, THE GARDENER, EL GRITO, ISLAND PREY, HEADSPACE) would be celebrating her 74th birthday today.
KILL BILL Vol. 2 is a Legal Adult
On the one hand, it was a sequel, but in a more hopeful way, KILL BILL was really one movie cut in half, making it Quentin Tarantino's "Fifth movie". He was still relatively new! Would KILL BILL Vol. 2 deliver? Would it ever! No wait... would it ever? And - KICK-ASS is 15
Major studios with their major budgets, have to be concerned, for the sake of their investors, over releasing their movies to the many and myriad movie theaters. All of the movie houses nestled in snug communities across the U.S. and abroad, and all of those communities having at least one corrupt Mrs. Carmody who will need to defend his or herself with self-righteous indignation and Cut & Paste morality, to cover the barely hidden crawlies beneath their skin. These Oogie Boogie shriekers with nothing to lose (because they live nothing lives) can bring down a major investment over nothing. So its always surprising when a Blue Moon shines and a Major studio takes a risk with an over-the-top violent movie like this one. Of course, this millennium's fresh-faced major studio grew to its current status by releasing over-the-top violent movies to major theater chains in the first place. Which is why, if anyone was going to release a controversial movie like KICK-ASS, it would be Lionsgate. Plus - HAPPY HORROR THRILLER BIRTHDAYS TO -
Actor Noah Fleiss (PAST THE BLEACHERS, BAD DAY ON THE BLOCK, BRINGING RAIN, BRICK, MOTHER'S DAY MASSACRE, RED CANYON, DEAD SOULS [2012], PATIENT 001) is 41.
BRAIN DAMAGE Turns 36
Writer, Producer, Director Frank Hennenlotter, has made lots of Horror movies but considers himself an Exploitation filmmaker. Yet he's never worked so furiously hard to create a cult following behind his movies as many other Exploitation Horror movie makers. Not that the void he left stopped those cults from creating themselves, growing and keeping his movies profitable, one media iteration after the next. E.C. McMullen Jr. recalls the first time he saw Frank Hennenlotter's BRAIN DAMAGE. And - 20 Years Ago Director Andrew Douglas Brought us... Sometimes the remake is better. This was one of those times, but just barely. E.C. McMullen Jr. was there on the opening weekend of THE AMITYVILLE HORROR (2005). Plus - HAPPY HORROR THRILLER BIRTHDAYS TO -
Actor Alice Braga (SÓLO DIOS SABE, JOURNEY TO THE END OF THE NIGHT, O CHEIRO DU RALO, I AM LEGEND, BLINDNESS, REPO MEN, PREDATORS, THE RITE, ELYSIUM, THE SHACK, THE NEW MUTANTS, THE SUICIDE SQUAD [2021], HYPNOTIC, SHARE?, A MURDER AT THE END OF THE WORLD [TV], DARK MATTER [TV - 2024) is 42.
YOU DUG IT
1. MINECRAFT holds its # position in its second weekend, dropping a rough 50% in ticket sales despite a 26 screen increase. No less than 6 new movies entered the Top Ten this weekend, killing off or seriously wounding all mediocre performers. With all of that said, this week's #2 movie didn't come within a quarter of MINECRAFT's $80 mill 2nd weekend. 3. THE AMATUER, despite having Oscar winning actor Rami Malek and fan favorite, Lawrence Fishburn, this Thriller hits its opening weekend with a disappointing $15 mill in ticket sales. It has 200 more screens than the non-genre #2 opener, but there we are. Not a good look for a $60 mill movie. 5. DROP, the Mystery Thriller from Universal, opens on 3,085 screens with a $7.5 mill box office. Having budget of only $11 mill., this could be a winner. 7. WORKING MAN, in its 3rd weekend, drops 58%, falling five places from last week's #2, and loses 590 screens. 9. THE WOMAN IN THE YARD, from Universal, fell from last week's #5 with a 54% drop in ticket sales against a 711 screen cut. 16. CAPTAIN AMERICA: BRAVE NEW WORLD, after 9 weeks on the Top Ten, finally leaves with a technical break-even world-wide box office take of $413 mill. YOU BURIED IT 13. DEATH OF A UNICORN from A24 didn't have the worst drop in this week's Box Office, but it was the 2nd worst. Falling 7 places from last weekend's #6, it couldn't withstand the force of 6 new movies all at once, and suffered a gargantuan 87% drop in ticket sales in its 3rd weekend and a 2,219 screen cut. 14. HELL OF A SUMMER, from NEON, and with a storyline that sounds way too FRIDAY THE 13th wannabee for Horror fans, fell 6 places from last week's opening #8 with a 75% drop in ticket sales against a 287 screen cut. Figures calibrated from reporting by Box Office Mojo and The Numbers. Should there be differences between the two, I err on the side of caution and post the most positive numbers. And - AMERICAN PSYCHO Turns 24
Think about this: the people who were born when this movie came out, never had to leave a party early to "Return some tapes". Bram Stoker winning novelist and Comic book author Mike Oliveri saw it in the theater! Flashback to his first impression of AMERICAN PSYCHO! Plus - HAPPY HORROR THRILLER BIRTHDAYS TO -
Actor Abigail Breslin (SIGNS, KEANE, ZOMBIELAND [all], HAUNTER, THE CALL [2013], PERFECT SISTERS, MAGGIE, FINAL GIRL, FEAR INC., SCREAM QUEENS [TV], YAMASONG: MARCH OF THE HOLLOWS, SLAYERS) is 29. SUNDAY -
Horror Writer Nate Kenyon (BLOODSTONE, THE REACH, THE BONE FACTORY, PRIME, DIABLO III: THE ORDER) is 53. George A. Romero's DAWN OF THE DEAD is 46
In the year of our Star Wars, 1977, George A. Romero's 1968 Masterpiece, NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD was blistering hot in Arthouse theaters and on college campuses across America. Hollywood wanted to hire Romero but no major or minor Hollywood studio wanted to touch his script - his sequel. It would have more blood, more gore, more violence, and what's more, it would have a damn black man as the hero! Throughout the 1960s to the present, Hollywood relegated black guys in Horror and Science Fiction to the roles of cowards, pimps, drug abusers, street gang criminals, and general mentally damaged jive talkers. Black gals were all hookers, screaming crackpots, and out of nowhere might break out at any moment into booty dance twerking. If the black gal had any measure of success above the black guys, it was only so she could be the best friend of the lead white gal (to check a diversity box on the caucasian), and maybe give the white gal a few lessons on how to be "cool". If a black character in a Horror or SciFi movie was going to be in anyway heroic or even so much as equal to the white people around him or her, that character had to die before the end credits, leaving only white survivors. Hollywood studios of the era would grudgingly allow the black character to die a hero, but die they must. So with all of this going against George it took, as usual, an indie outsider to step in and make it happen. In this case, someone from across the ocean stood up for Romero and his second legendary hit, DAWN OF THE DEAD. FRIDAY THE 13th: THE FINAL CHAPTER is 41
40 years later and fans are still waving their canes around in the air and saying "Final Chapter! HA!" This is what screenwriter Ken "The Fan Behind the Mask" thinks of FRIDAY THE 13th Part IV: THE FINAL CHAPTER. The CABIN IN THE WOODS Turns 13 Today
What a damn difference twelve years makes! Actor Chris Hemsworth went from a nobody in a Lionsgate movie to world famous somebody after he hooked up with Marvel. Producer Joss Whedon went from world famous somebody in a Lionsgate movie to a pariah in hiding after he hooked up with DC. And as for me? I was there in the theater on opening weekend! This is how it was watching Director Drew Goddard's THE CABIN IN THE WOODS. SATURDAY -
Actor Nicholas Brendon (CHILDREN OF THE CORN III, PSYCHO BEACH PARTY, SURVIVAL ISLAND, BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER [TV], FIRE SERPENT, UNHOLY [2007], BLOOD ON THE HIGHWAY, MY NEIGHBOR'S SECRET, THE PORTAL, COHERENCE, ATTACK OF THE MORNINSIDE MONSTER, INDIGO, REDWOOD, THE NANNY [2018], WANTON WANT, JUDGEMENT, DAWN, CHRISTMAS SLASHER) is 54. CAT'S EYE is 40
Well think about it! Presented by none other than Oscar winning Dino De Laurentiis (KING KONG [1976], FLASH GORDON, HALLOWEEN II, CONAN, FIRESTARTER, MANHUNTER, ARMY OF DARKNESS)! Creature effects by 3 time Oscar winner Carlo Rambaldi (PLANET OF THE VAMPIRES, A BAY OF BLOOD, BARON BLOOD, KING KONG [1976], CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND, ALIEN), Oscar winning Cinematographer Jack Cardiff (GHOST STORY), Directed by Lewis Teague (CUJO)! Amicus Horror movie Producer Milton Subotsky (CITY OF THE DEAD, DR. WHO AND THE DALEKS, DR. TERROR'S HOUSE OF HORRORS, THE SKULL, THE PSYCHOPATH, THE TERRORNAUTS, THEY CAME FROM BEYOND SPACE, SCREAM AND SCREAM AGAIN, THE HOUSE THAT DRIPPED BLOOD, TALES FROM THE CRYPT [1972], ASYLUM, VAULT OF HORROR, AND NOW THE SCREAMING STARTS, FROM BEYOND THE GRAVE), Producer Martha J. Schumacher (aka Mrs. De Laurentiis: FIRESTARTER, SILVER BULLET, HANNIBAL) and nearly all of them veterans of Stephen King movies working on a Stephen King screenplay! Whew! How could you NOT make a hit? Wait. Was Stephen King's CAT'S EYE a hit? 23 Years of the Late Bill Paxton's Masterpiece: FRAILTY
Award winning Comic book writer, Christos N. Gage, delves into why Actor and Director Bill Paxton's FRAILTY chills like no other!
39 Years of CRITTERS
Long before the world-wide cultural watershed moment of 1990s 53K Internet and before the second onrush cultural watershed moment of worldwide distribution of wireless smartphones, stories and movies consistently used the vacuum of these two nonexistent technologies to propel their plot. People without knowledge needed to seek out a library or wait for one to open. People needed to find the latest edition of a newspaper or track down a company or public entity (again, a library) to research something. People in danger needed to get to a phone somewhere, anywhere, even if that place appeared dangerous. So back in 1986? Just what was it like to see the first theatrical showing of total n00b Writer and Director Stephen Herek's daeboo feature film, CRITTERS? And - THE TOXIC AVENGER is 39
There's only one force on earth that keeps the Japanese from outweirding the Good Ol' U.S. of A in cinema and that's the Troma Studios of Lloyd Kaufmann and Michael Herz. I was recruited into their madness when I saw THE TOXIC AVENGER! Plus - 28 Years of ANACONDA
Yep! That's right! After a quarter century this movie remains on everyone's radar because despite its low budget, for 1997 it had better cgi than JURASSIC PARK! Way back then, Reviewer Kelly Parks was there in the theater to see the original ANACONDA! Also - HOUSE OF 1000 CORPSES is 22
Two huge Horror fans in New York, Rob Zombie and Sean Yseult, met at a design school and started the White Zombie band in 1985. Rob wrote lyrics and created the direction. Sean wrote riffs, created the musical ethos (Noise Metal), and look of White Zombie. It took them years of living in poverty, scraping to get by, to finally reach success ten years later. In 1998 they broke up. That same year, Sean and Rob started their own bands. Sean's was an all girl band, FAMOUS MONSTERS. Rob was himself with HELLBILLY DELUXE and was soon being courted by Hollywood. Why? Rob was talking about Directing Horror movies. After Rob designed a Halloween theme for Universal Studios in 1999, they accepted his pitch for a movie idea he made up on the spot. However, in 2000, Rob knew shit about directing feature films and Universal eventually soured on his learning curve. Time passed and through all of the trials and tribulations, Universal released HOUSE OF 1000 CORPSES on April 11, 2003, just one week before the Kansas City, Missouri World Horror Convention. Wassmor - THE DARK Turns 20
Imagine 2003... Producer 1: "Hey! Check this out. Sean Bean, who plays Borimor in THE LORD OF THE RINGS, will be in a new big budget Hollywood movie called National Treasure." Producer 2: "Hell, everyone involved in those Rings movies are taking off right now." Producer 1: "But check out this slate! He's also contracted to be in the big budget Hollywood movies, THE ISLAND, FLIGHTPLAN, and SILENT HILL. All in development right now." Producer 2: "Yeah his star is rising all right. Hooray for Sean Bean. Good for him." Producer 1: "Ahem. Have you forgot? He's one of the actors we've contracted for our features! We can get him for our current movie right now!" Producer 2: "Wait! WHAT? We've got Sean Bean?" Producer 1: "Yeah!" Producer 2: "We've got Super Hot Hollywood SEAN BEAN for our THE DARK?!?" Producer 1: "YEAH!"
THE HOWLING Turns 44
In the 1970s, Writer Gary Brandner made a good living off of his Horror novels, but he was really onto something when he wrote THE HOWLING. Director Joe Dante has made some good movies, but he really wowed audiences with this movie, loosely based on Gary's novel and largely re-written by master scribe, John Sayles. Gary turned his novel into a popular series, Joe Dante moved on. Yet to this day, the Wow factor is mainly thanks to the practical effects by Rob Bottin and Rick Baker, the changeling scenes remain unmatched by other make-up artists or CGI anything. This is THE HOWLING. And - GOTHIC Turns 38
As over the top and hambone in all of the scene chewing rococo ways that Director Ken Russell (ALTERED STATES) was infamous for, GOTHIC is Russell unleashed. Plus - SLEEPWALKERS Turns 33
While watching this movie in my foolish youth, I remember sitting in the theater with the distant hope that one of those damn cats would scratch my OWN eyes out before I had to watch another second of this drivel. Don't worry, my review of SLEEPWALKERS will be brief. Also - SPECIES II is 27
To my knowledge, this movie is unique in the fact that all three of the big names were so repulsed by the finished product that they wanted nothing to do with it. Michael Madsen (who I'm certain has been in so much worse), and Natasha Henstridge disowned it (claiming, in fact, that they hate it). H.R. Giger, failing to get his name removed, asked that it at least be minimized so as not to promote the movie. No dice. SPECIES II, the last of the theater releases in this franchise, needed all the help it could get. Wassmor - ABOMINABLE Turns 19
Legendary film composer, Lalo Schifrin had a son, Ryan, who grew up surrounded by the movie industry. One day Ryan had a story about a monstrous Abominable Snowman. He got help fleshing it out, wrote the script, and wanted to direct it himself. Of course, no matter how well-oiled the wheels are for you, if you get your big break - and you suck - you'll shrivel in the blinding bright glare of sneers and mockery that no bunch of yahoos from the Big Mitten would ever have to deal with, because nobody knows or gives a damn about who they are. So when it came time for Ryan's turn at bat... He hit a home run! Imagine how different his life would be today in 2024, as well as the lives of his investors, if they'd only have kept the faith in the audience (won two jury prizes at the 2006 Austin Fantastic Fest) and didn't toss Ryan's movie at the cable teevee, the second SciFi Channel waved a few bucks in their face? This is the Cinema Obscura of Ryan Schifrin's great freshman entry into Horror, ABOMINABLE. Sadly, that was 19 years ago and Ryan never directed another feature film again. Finale - HAPPY HORROR THRILLER BIRTHDAYS TO -
TREMORS 2: AFTERSHOCKS is 29
This is still another tale of a major studio that had a fantastic movie franchise in its posession yet had absolutely no idea how to sell it. So they didn't bother. Contractually obligated to release TREMORS to theaters, Universal Pictures tossed the minimum number of "wide release" copies to the theater chains with virtually no advance promotion or advertising. I was unaware of it in the age Before Internet (B.I.) and only saw it because it was playing at a second run Dollar Theater and my group of friends couldn't agree on a movie, all were getting frustrated, I saw the poster of a movie I knew nothing about and chose TREMORS, which won by default. We were FLOORED! HOW did we not know about this movie? Then TREMORS made a fortune in Home Video. By how much? More than three times what it made in theaters. Universal was stunned by the video rental store reaction that word of mouth created. By 1993, Universal was having no success in launching the sequel and, in fact, was making a flurry of errors in the attempt of Development, Pre-Production, Production, and Post-Production. Which includes having the finished film sit on the shelf Two Years after completion. So what did TREMORS fans eventually get? A far less interesting and entertaining story than the original, but a significantly better sequel than Every Single Diminishing Returns Tremors sequel that came after. That's what Universal corporate board smushed in the faces of the audience: the ones who bought their Lambos and swimming pools. They called it TREMORS 2: AFTERSHOCKS. And - HAPPY HORROR THRILLER BIRTHDAYS TO -
Writer/ Director Fred Dekker (GODZILLA 1985, HOUSE, NIGHT OF THE CREEPS, HOUSE II, THE MONSTER SQUAD, TALES FROM THE CRYPT [TV], ROBOCOP 3, THE PREDATOR) is 65.
THE FORBIN PROJECT Turns 55
Yes, in 2025 we've finally entered the long predicted age of Artificial Intelligence (AI). What's more, the people who are inventing / creating the AI age are the same ones warning us that AI will destroy humanity. The ones who are seemingly the most eager to invent AI, and are most likely to put humanity beneath "digital life", possibly like Larry Page or Sam Altman, are the actual problem. The problem isn't that AI will rise up and destroy us, but that the people who fund and own it are the ones creating AI to rise up and destroy us. Presumably with the intent that they will be saved, through safeguards they've put into place. However, the best laid safeguards don't go quite as planned in the 1970 movie, COLOSSUS: THE FORBIN PROJECT. And - David Cronenberg's RABID Turns 48
Before Producer Ivan Reitman made GHOSTBUSTERS, he was often the guiding light of Writer and Director, David Cronenberg. And before he did that, Ivan made pornography - but not using his real name. By 1971 he released his first straight picture, a sexy comedy starring Andrea Martin (CANNIBAL GIRLS, BLACK CHRISTMAS, EARTHWORM JIM [TV]), Eugene Levy (CANNIBAL GIRLS, HEAVY METAL), and Art Hindle (BLACK CHRISTMAS, INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS, THE BROOD, THE VOID). And because of this, Ivan had among his group of friends folks involved with Porn, Comedy, and Horror. Now connected to Chicago's Second City Comedy, Toronto, Canada's Second Comedy Troupe, and Second City TV series (SCTV), Ivan was well positioned for access to Lorne Michaels' Saturday Night Live (SNL), as Michaels hired many comics who began in Chicago and, later, Toronto. But in the new creeping garden of 1970s Canadian Horror, David Cronenberg was stirring. And boy, could Ivan bring a heady mix of actors to a project! So he got A-List porn actor, Marilyn Chambers, to be the lead in David Cronenberg's RABID. But that's not all... Plus - HAPPY HORROR THRILLER BIRTHDAYS TO -
Actor / Stuntman Kane Hodder (HOUSE, HOUSE II, FRIDAY THE 13TH PART VII, FRIDAY THE 13TH PART VIII, DEEPSTAR SIX, ALLIGATOR II, JASON GOES TO HELL, PUMPKINHEAD II, PROJECT: METALBEAST, SCANNERCOP II, SE7EN, WISHMASTER, CHILDREN OF THE CORN V, WATCHERS REBORN, JASON X, DARKWOLF, THE DEVIL'S REJECTS, 2001 MANIACS, HATCHET [all], BEHIND THE MASK: THE RISE OF LESLIE VERNON, ROOM 6, FALLEN ANGELS, BORN, ED GEIN: THE BUTCHER OF PLAINFIELD, HACK!, DEAD NOON, B.T.K., MONSTERPIECE THEATER VOL. 1, OLD HABITS DIE HARD, FROZEN, AFFLICTED, MONSTERPIECE THEATER, CUT, EXIT 33, CHILLERAMA, ROBIN HOOD: GHOSTS OF SHERWOOD 3D, AMONG FRIENDS, EXIT TO HELL, LOVE IN THE TIME OF MONSTERS, SMOTHERED, ALICE D, FIELDS OF THE UNDEAD, MUCK, FURY: THE TALES OF RONAN PIERCE, OLD 37, CHARLIE'S FARM, CANNIBALS, SHED OF THE DEAD, KNIFECORP, ROOM 9, and way more) is 75.
YOU DUG IT
1. MINECRAFT is this weekend's #1 movie. It blew the box office away, earning nearly twice its expected take in the North American domestic market alone and over its budget at the theaters. Did the fact that much of the trailer looks like a Horror movie, contribute to its success? I don't know, but it obviously didn't HURT! 5. THE WOMAN IN THE YARD steps down from last weekend's #4 opening, despite dropping 52% in ticket sales and adding 3 more screens. 6. THE LAST UNICORN steps down from last weekend's #5 opening, with a 53% loss in ticket sales against a 55 screen cut. 8. HELL OF A SUMMER from boutique distributor, Neon, opens on 1,255 screens. That said, its per screen average outperformed this week's 6th place winner. 10. CAPTAIN AMERICA: BRAVE NEW WORLD drops from last week's #7. An underperformer from the start, this movie spent two months on the Top Ten and finally surpassed its break even point by a thin margin with the worst per screen average on the Top Ten. It has an audience, just not one that will make it a hit at a $188 million budget. If there's a sequel, it will probably do great launching from an $88 million budget. YOU BURIED IT 12. MICKEY 17, never grew its audience despite getting a critics 77% Fresh and an audience 73% Popcorn from Rotten Tomatoes. It leaves the Top Ten falling from #9 and a steep 60% drop in ticket sales against a whopping 1,005 screen cut. That said, it too had a better per screen average than this week's 6th place winner. Figures calibrated from reporting by Box Office Mojo and The Numbers. Should there be differences between the two, I err on the side of caution and post the most positive numbers. And - KING KONG is 92
And still an active franchise! In fact, KING KONG is the world's oldest active film franchise to date! In addition to its tons of sequels, tons of spin-offs, many with their own sequels, KING KONG has been remade three freaking times! KING KONG (1976), KING KONG (2005), and KONG: SKULL ISLAND, were all remade from the original movie as source material: not an adaptation of a novel in the bunch! Holy Mackerel! How on earth can such a movie franchise endure? To know that, let's deep dive into what KING KONG started. Plus - HAPPY HORROR THRILLER BIRTHDAYS TO - Actor Kyle Labine (DARKSTALKERS [TV], MR. RICE'S SECRET, SPOOKY HOUSE, HALLOWEEN: RESURRECTION, I WAS A TEENAGE FAUST, FREDDY VS. JASON, OGRE, 388 ARLETTA AVENUE, SCARY STORIES TO TELL IN THE DARK) is 42. SUNDAY -
Actor Candace Cameron Bure (I SAW WHAT YOU DID, MONSTER MASH: THE MOVIE, SHARON'S SECRET, VISITORS OF THE NIGHT, NO ONE WOULD TELL, NIGHT SCREAM, AURORA TEAGARDEN MYSTERIES [all]) is 48. Howard Hawks THE THING FROM ANOTHER WORLD is 74
It was 1951. The Giant Monkey Movie studio, RKO Pictures, was nearly broke. Which gave Director Howard W. Hawks room to negotiate with them when he wanted to launch his own production company, Winchester (The "W" in Hawk's name), something the major studios didn't want to negotiate. Howard's budget was so low, only $40,000, that even today this movie would be considered low-budget at an inflation adjusted $462,000. So Howard went super cheap on everything and, probably because he was raised in the era of U.S. public schools teaching children to talk with the artificial "Trans-Atlantic" accent, he had the actors use that linguistic argot for his movie (unfortunately for the government, it didn't stick. Damn smart-ass teenage kids going off and making up their own slang and argot!). It wasn't just a gimmick for Howard, as it worked well for low sound quality audio, which Howard also likely had. And if you don't believe me, why, then you're stuffed full of wild blueberry muffins! Yet despite all of these roadblocks, Producer Hawks and Director Christian Nyby's movie outperformed the Big studio budget SciFi movies of that year, WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE and THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL. Both this movie and John Carpenter's THE THING share the same Top 100 American Movies list, and this is how THE THING FROM ANOTHER WORLD got there. GRINDHOUSE: PLANET TERROR and DEATH PROOF are 17
By 2007, good friends Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino made enough box office winners that they wanted to make a double feature. A Retro-Throwback to the cheap and sleazy cinemas of their youth: the ones that inspired them to be filmmakers. Robert would make one (that starred QT) and Quentin would make the other, and both would be shown together and include lots of short films by their friends, presented as trailers. Nobody in Hollywood wanted to say no, but no one wanted to be the first to say yes. This was an over three hour movie they were talking about. In addition to the high budget, such a flick would also have fewer shows per day to make that return. Nobody could talk them out of it. QT and RR had their budget and would shoot the whole movie under their production companies. Finally a distribution deal was made with Dimension Films (subset of the long dead Miramax), and the rest his history: 17 years of history with GRINDHOUSE. SATURDAY -
A Final Farewell to
Producer Larry J. Franco (ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK, THE THING [1982], CHRISTINE, STARMAN, BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA, PRINCE OF DARKNESS, THEY LIVE, THE ROCKETEER, BATMAN RETURNS, MARS ATTACKS!, SLEEPY HOLLOW, JURASSIC PARK III, HULK, BATMAN BEGINS, DISCARNATE) is 76. Disney Drops TRON ARES Trailer
Will it be better than TRON or worse than TRON LEGACY? TRON ARES will be released 1010 2025. EVIL DEAD is 12
Have you seen Sam Raimi's original THE EVIL DEAD? Have you seen Diablo Cody's version of Sam Raimi's THE EVIL DEAD? Did you like it? Well, I reviewed it! Yes, I reviewed EVIL DEAD! MEGAN 2.0 Trailer Drop
I loved the first MEGAN. How do I feel about this trailer? Cautiously optimistic.
From A24 and the Directors of TALK TO ME Comes
And - ALIEN³ : THE LEGACY CUT
Possibly the most dedicated Fan FIlm you will ever see. 4 years of painstaking reconstruction to bring you this. Want to know more? Go to PROJECT A34K. Plus - PHONE BOOTH Turns 22
Writer, Producer, and Director Joel Schumaker was a mixed bag. He could crash and burn, boy could he ever: big time make no mistake. But he approached movie making as an artist and when the studios trusted their instincts for hiring him in the first place, and kept their meddling to a minimum, Joel at his best created classics like THE LOST BOYS, FALLING DOWN, THE CLIENT, A TIME TO KILL, 8MM, and this one, PHONE BOOTH. Also - John Everson's VIGILANTES OF LOVE is 21
Read why our reviewer, Jimmy Z, gave Everson's collection of VooDoo and Sex Magic all 5 Bookwyrms when he reviewed, VIGILANTES OF LOVE. Finale - HAPPY HORROR THRILLER BIRTHDAYS TO -
By E.C. McMullen Jr.
Imagine this Twofer your Grandparents had back on this date in 1968! Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY Turns 57
What happens when you choose to make a hardcore futuristic Science Fiction movie, as accurate as possible on the science? You get a movie that not only outlasts the built-in obsolescence of its title, but remains futuristic and relevant decades after its forecasted due date. What's more, as Stanley admitted in several promotional interviews at the time, he not only wanted this to be as true as possible to the science in the fiction, but terrifying as well. In many ways, 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY is Kubrick's first Horror movie. AsWell - PLANET OF THE APES Turns 57
It's the world's longest running SciFi motion picture franchise from the studio that brought you the 2nd (Star Wars) and 3rd (ALIEN) longest running SciFi motion picture franchises. The movie bore little if any resemblance to the Pierre Boulett novel of the same name (which happens A. Lot. in Hollywood), but under the guidance of WWII hero, Rod Serling, it was suffused with modern day (late 20th Century) analogies and parables, among them being the threat of nuclear annihilation and racism. And that's when an odd thing happened on the set. Dressed in various ape costumes, the actors - themselves of different ethnicities - would eat their lunch with other actors who wore the same ape costumes as them. Actors dressed as Gorillas, Orangutans, and Chimpanzees quietly self-segregated to eat their meals with each other, regardless of the race or nationality of the person inside. This was only one of the odd things that happened in PLANET OF THE APES. And - HAPPY HORROR THRILLER BIRTHDAYS TO -
By E.C. McMullen Jr.
Actor Sofia Boutella (MONSTERS: DARK CONTINENT, KINGSMAN: THE SECRET SERVICE, STAR TREK BEYOND, ATOMIC BLONDE, THE MUMMY [2017], FARENHEIT 451 [2018], CLIMAX, HOTEL ARTEMIS, SETTLERS, PRISONERS OF GHOSTLAND, SETTLERS [TV], ARGYLE) is 43.
Mario Bava's LISA AND THE DEVIL Turns 53
This is a Horror movie by Mario Bava. But behind the camera, it is a sad tale of a friendship destroyed by a director who made a vanity project and his good friend who funded it, because he was convinced that he could sell any movie with his friend, Bava's name on it. Reality, as reality does, smashed their faith in each other and in so doing, the friendship based upon it. Once 1972's LISA AND THE DEVIL was partially re-shot and fully re-edited to become 1975's THE HOUSE OF EXORCISM, the once wonderful friendship was damaged beyond repair. This is a review of the movie and its real world outcome, LISA AND THE DEVIL. Plus - Dario Argento's INFERNO Turns 45
The Horror Geek himself, Mike Bracken, weighed in on what makes Dario Argento's masterpiece work. Mike's review of INFERNO. Also - Paul Schrader's CAT PEOPLE Turns 43
Was the remake doomed from the start? It had everything going for it. Great cast, great writer, bit of a newbie director, but Paul Schrader had his successes before. And even if it was his first Horror movie, so what? Lots of first time Horror movie directors hit a home run with their first Horror movie. But why was a Horror movie remake like this released during 1980s Comedy movie month for Spring Break? And rated R, keeping a sizeable chunk of those public school Spring Breakers out of it? Like the same year's THE THING, CAT PEOPLE crashed and burned in theaters, only to find the untapped audience that was always there, in home video. WassMor - HELLBOY Turns 21
Guillermo del Toro loves to bring the human element to his stories. His Monsters in particular are usually flawed, emotionally damaged, but worthy of grace. Comic book writer and artist, Mike Mignola excels at this throughout his comics, with characters every bit as puzzling and fascinating as anything by Tim Burton. So what happened with the fusion of these two talents that resulted in an Un-Mignola, Un-Del Toro movie HELLBOY? FurthrMor - CLASH OF THE TITANS is 15
It must have taken the greatest of care to create a remake to the 1981 original that was just as flawed in writing, direction, and acting, without being better or worse. Is that what my reviewer, Mark Worthen found with 2010's CLASH OF THE TITANS? Finale - HAPPY HORROR THRILLER BIRTHDAYS TO -
Actor Lindy Booth (EERIE INDIANA [TV], TEENAGE SPACE VAMPIRES, THE SKULLS II, AMERICAN PSYCHO 2, ODYSSEY 5, WRONG TURN, DAWN OF THE DEAD [2004], CRY WOLF, DARK HONEYMOON, BEHIND THE WALL, BRAIN TRUST, KICK-ASS 2, THE LIBRARIANS) is 45 today.
SIN CITY is 20
Director Robert Rodriguez put so many roadblocks in front of himself it's amazing this movie got made at all. He cheesed off the Director's Guild by having three different directors all work on the same single movie story (anthology movies are different). True, Rodriguez didn't belong to the guild, but neither did the movie's original creator Frank Miller, who was also brought onboard as a director, and Robert's good friend, Quentin Tarantino. For the Directors Guild, that combination was a "And that's another thing!" Yet despite everything that could have gone wrong, this is how everything goes right with SIN CITY. And - DEAD MOON RISING is 17
At some point it seems that Writer, Producer, Cinematographer, Editor, Digital Compositor, and Director Mark E. Poole, living in the middle of nowhere Louisville, Kentucky (a town so awkward its native citizenry still furiously argue over how to pronounce Louisville!), decided he wanted to make a movie! - and not just any movie! Mark E. Poole: "Hey everybody! Let's put on a Zombie movie!" Proto-Extra: "Hey, can I be a zombie?" Mark E. Poole: "Why sure as shit you can!" Proto-SFX MUA: "Can I do the Special Effects?" Mark E. Poole: "Why sure as shit you can!" Proto-Crew: "Gosh! This will be the best zombie holocaust movie ever!" ...is probably how it started. Of course, the most difficult thing about this movie or any movie was, as always, getting paid enough for it to cover the cost of making it and making another movie. Many involved were able to use this movie (to greater and lesser success) as their launch pad to greater movie work. Many, that is, except for the guy who put the whole furshlugginer thing together in the first place, Mark E. Poole. As near as I can figure, that pretty much is what launched 2008's DEAD MOON RISING. Plus - HAPPY HORROR THRILLER BIRTHDAYS TO -
|
| FEO'S BRAGGADOCIO | ||||||||
INTERVIEWS Matt Jarbo's interview with Feo Amante at The Zurvivalist. James Cheetham's Q&A with Feo Amante at Unconventional Interviews *. Megan Scudellari interviews Feo Amante and Kelly Parks (of THE SCIENCE MOMENT) in The Scientist Magazine. Check out our interview at The-Scientist.com. REFERENCES Researcher David Waldron, references my review of UNDERWORLD in the Spring 2005, Journal of Religion and Popular Culture entry, Role-Playing Games and the Christian Right: Community Formation in Response to a Moral Panic (downloadable pdf). E.C. McMullen Jr.
*Linked to archive.org |
NEWS? |
FAIR USE - |