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| FEO NEWS FOR WINTER 2026: - FEBRUARY - The detritus of old Horror/Thriller history can be found here. These are archived news items, many of them linked outside of this website. |
GOTHIC Turns 40
GOTHIC was a catastrophic bomb at the box office in 1986, and when you look at the posters and movie trailer its not hard to understand why. What on earth is this movie supposed to be? Avante Garde on stage can be fascinating, thought provoking, intriguing. Short form movies can also do well with it. But beyond 30 minutes it tends to drag as nothing that's happening is coherent and can be sustained. It all degenerates into one damn thing after another as confusion increases and the point is lost. And the pointlessness of existence? That can be your point - one time - but not every single time with every semester's drama club and film school who takes a shot at it. Okay, sure, Alejandro Jodorowsky (FANDO AND LIS, SANTA SANGRE, THE DANCE OF REALITY) can get away with it, but he's Alejandro Jodorowsky and he holds it all together with Surrealism and Comedy. Alejandro can tell tons of disjointed stories in one feature film and its all held together under the umbrella of what is Discovered on a Journey. Or perhaps a group of people who live together in a Cult or Circus. In either case, all of the many main characters are connected to the same viscera, fed life by the same heart. No doubt, Ken Russell was both quixotic and experimental enough to try it, and maybe if it had been marketed better it would have done better. There are many movies that found an audience after they tanked at the theater because their debut was so horribly announced (THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW, BLADE RUNNER, John Carpenter's THE THING, ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK, BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA, BRAZIL, EVENT HORIZON, DONNIE DARKO, THE IRON GIANT, DREDD, and plenty of non-genre like The Big Lebowski, Office Space, Fight Club, The Boondock Saints - too many). Horror author Nicholas Kaufmann (THE HUNGRY EARTH, IN THE SHADOW OF THE AXE) came to Feo Amante's Horror Thriller to give his love to Ken Russell's GOTHIC. Plus - A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET 3: THE DREAM WARRIORS is 39
This was the first movie of the franchise that New Line Cinema released nationally. It's also the first of the NIGHTMARE movies to open at #1. I've never met a fan of the A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET franchise that loves them all. In fact, I've never met anyone who didn't hate at least one of them. If you don't like this movie it doesn't matter what you think. Part 3 proved itself to fans over 35 years ago. However, if you haven't seen it, Horror author Paul V. Wargelin (V. for Victor) is a blood-dyed-in-the-fabric fan of the franchise and this is what he thinks of A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET 3: THE DREAM WARRIORS. Also - DARK CITY is 28
This was director Alex Proyas personal project after his incredible success with THE CROW: A movie that belongs to a special club that no one ever wants to be a part of. A movie beset with horrific tragedy. Unfortunately for Alex, New Line Cinema suits were empathetic to him and, while they suggested changing the name from DARK CITY to DARK WORLD, for its February 1998 release, Alex refused and NLC allowed it. The suits had good reason, though. The popular movie, MAD CITY (directed by Costa-Gravas and starring Dustin Hoffman and John Travolta - all at the height of their popularity) was released only few months before in November 1997 and was still playing at some theaters. A movie titled DARK CITY would come off as either a fast-buck sequel or a hack wannabee and in either case, the two movies were nothing alike. So critics loved it and audiences largely avoided it, causing Proyas' labor of love to bomb at the box office. Over time, Home video grew a fanbase that regretted not seeing DARK CITY on the big screen. Finale - HAPPY HORROR THRILLER BIRTHDAYS TO -
Actor Adam Baldwin (PREDATOR 2, DEAD BOLT, COLD SWEAT, BITTER HARVEST, TREACHEROUS, SAWBONES [TV], SHADOW-0PS, FIREFLY [TV], GARGANTUA [TV], INDISCREET [TV], GACY, EVIL EYES, SERENITY, THE THIRST, SANDS OF OBLIVION, SUPERMAN/DOOMSDAY, INSIGHT, TRANSFORMERS PRIME [TV], THE LAST SHIP, MASS EFFECT: LEGENDARY EDITION [VG], and more) is 64.
THE CRAZIES Turns 16
There are so few remakes that match the original, let alone surpass it. Breck Eisner's 2010 version surpassed George A. Romero's original SACRILEGE! and this is what made 2010's THE CRAZIES better. And - HAPPY HORROR THRILLER BIRTHDAYS TO -
Actor Shiloh Fernandez (INTERSTATE, JERICHO [TV], RED, DEADGIRL, RED RIDING HOOD, EVIL DEAD [2013], WHITE BIRD IN A BLIZZARD, RETURN TO SENDER, EDGE OF WINTER, QUEEN OF CARTHAGE, GYPSY [TV], TREMORS [2018], BURN, BIG GOLD BRICK,
Drew's 2013 project, ROBOPOCALYPSE, based on the New York Times bestseller by Daniel H. Wilson, has spent the last 15 years in development and will likely never see completion with its current stewards who still cannot fathom how to turn a robot uprising novel into a movie, let alone pitch it for a budget. Alll previously attached actors and othere writers are released and as of 2026, it's development starts back to zero.
Production stopped on the expected 2024 release of James' THE LAST TRAIN TO NEW YORK and as of 2026, the movie is back in Pre-Production.
BARON BLOOD Turns 54
Some movies are products of their time. This movie abuses such a privilege, particularly with the way it rubs a shit ton of product placement in your face. This is the movie Director Mario Bava didn't want to do, but did anyway, because by directing it and having his name attached, he was promised the budget he wanted for his dream project and very next picture. Hey, if you want folks to fund you, ya gotta negotiate! This is result, BARON BLOOD. And - HAPPY HORROR THRILLER BIRTHDAYS TO -
Actor Alexis Denisoff (BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER [TV], ANGEL [TV], DOLLHOUSE [TV], THE AVENGERS, H+, GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY, GRIMM [TV], LEGACIES [TV], CHILLING ADVENTURES OF SABRINA [TV], LEGACIES [TV]) is 59.
GET OUT Turns 7
Jordan Peele wowed us all with his comedy TV shows. His Comedy movies? Not so much. Then, like Dan O'Bannon before him, he decided that if he couldn't make us laugh, he'd scare us. This is what happened when he made GET OUT. Plus - HAPPY HORROR THRILLER BIRTHDAYS TO -
Writer / Publisher / Editor and Feo Amante alumni, Monica J. O'Rourke (SUFFER THE FLESH, DECADENCE volumes 1 & 2) is 60 today.
YOU DUG IT February is usually a good to great month for indie Horror, yet so far, family and children's films are dominating this year. This is no accident, as theatrical bookings for features are negotiated well in advance of release. This puts Horror, Thriller, Mystery, and Suspense movies into a slide this weekend as
5. SEND HELP, in its 4th weekend, slips from last weekend's #4 place with a 49% drop in box office against a 175 screen cut. That said, this movie is just over 2 times its Production budget, so if it lasts another two weekends on the Top Ten it should see a modest profit. 6. HOW TO MAKE A KILLING from A24 debuts on a modest 1,625 screens. A not unusual number for A24 and the competition above it isn't box office remarkable enough to suppress it. Will this be the hit that newly minted lead actor, Glen Powell needs? 10. AVATAR: FIRE AND ASH, in its 10th weekend, drops from last weekend's #8. With nearly 4 times its $400 million Production budget made in the world-wide market, theater chains are happy to welcome another sequel. 14. IRON LUNG in its 4th week falls off the Top Ten with a resounding fall from last weekend's 9th place, a 68% drop in box office, against an 857 screen cut. However, this Crowd Sourced micro-indie started small with only a $3 million budget, was self distributed with virtually no marketing beyond its Writer, Director, and lead actor's own YouTube channel, yet earned nearly 17 times its budget in the world market! YOU BURIED IT 13. DRACULA, in only its 3rd weekend, Writer, Producer, and Director Luc Besson's expensive retelling of Bram Stoker's legend falls off of the Top Ten with a 55% drop in ticket sales against a 512 screen cut. Since its initial world release in June of 2025 it has struggled to come this far on Feb. 23, 2026, to earn a grand total of $32+ million. Far below its $52 million Production Budget. 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 - Yall released these on my Birthday?!? Aw... You GUYS! THE ABANDONED Turns 19
Pretty much all movies that appeared under the old and nearly forgotten After Dark Film Festival banner have faded into obscurity: What I've labeled as modern Cinema Obscura. That doesn't mean they deserve to and Nacho Cerda's 2007 THE ABANDONED is a good reason why they should be rediscovered. Plus - THE NUMBER 23 Turns 19
Taste is subjective. You may not like what I like and vice versa. But of all the criticisms a movie should endure, this one doesn't deserve the "Unbelievable" concept. The fact is, the Number 23 Enigma, as profoundly damaging as a gambling addiction or Body Integrity Identity Disorder (BIID), is all too real to the people who become affected by it and we still aren't sure why it happens. That is the incurable syndrome that terrifies character Walter Sparrow in THE NUMBER 23. Also - HAPPY HORROR THRILLER BIRTHDAYS TO -
By E.C. McMullen Jr. SUNDAY -
Horror Artist Eddie Allen is 65 or something. BRIDE OF RE-ANIMATOR is 35
Stuart Gordon's 1985 RE-ANIMATOR was an underground hit. Fans kept going back to it, it made the midnight movie circuit, and held a high ranking in home video rentals up against major competition from big budget studios. But 1991 was still in the era of cheap shit sequels cranked out quickly. Back when studio heads considered their audiences beneath contempt and loved treating them that way. Except for one thing, RE-ANIMATOR was already a low budget flick from Schlock-miester Charles Band and his boutique production and distribution company, Empire Pictures. Charles didn't have to bow to no one unless it pleased him. What's more, he couldn't afford the massive expense of test audiences and tailor-made marketing in the form of studio edits - which castrated any art out of every production. Charles Band, like all low budget independent companies, had to roll the dice and take the risk every time. Big Studios strive to give the audiences what they want to see. Low budget indies have to give the audiences what they've never seen. The Writer creator and Producer of the original RE-ANIMATOR, Brian Yuzna, was in the director's chair for the sequel. He was certain he knew all of the elements that attracted the audience in the first place. He understood why such a low budget exploitation movie was attracting a slice of Horror fans. But did he know how to bring them back with RE-ANIMATOR 2 (in UK) aka BRIDE OF RE-ANIMATOR? QUEEN OF THE DAMNED is 24
Warner Bros. wanted to try again with a successful sequel to INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE. Lucky for them, creator Anne Rice not only wrote it, but the sequel novel was a best selling smash hit. Not only that, but they had the hottest star at the time in the lead role as the Queen herself, Akasha. Then they gave her second billing to the 100th hottest star of that time in QUEEN OF THE DAMNED. Plus - CUBE ZERO is 22
Have you seen Vincenzo Natali's CUBE? If not, know that's it's one of the most believable science fiction movies you'll ever see. And even though it was released in 1997, it remains futuristic over a quarter century later in 2026. No small feat! Writer, Director, and Executive Producer, Ernie Babarash, looked at the mind-bending dystopia of CUBE and wanted none of it. He bought his way into the CUBE franchise, took control of it, and made them silly like LEPRECHAUN movies. And not just any LEPRECHAUN silliness, let's make it LEPRECHAUN by the 3rd sequel silly! How well did Ernie do? He built on that to where he is today: making Hallmark and Lifetime Channel Christmas romance movies. Our review of the Ernie Babarash masterpiece, CUBE ZERO. SATURDAY -
Actor Ashley Greene (OTIS, TWILIGHT [all], SUMMER'S BLOOD, THE APPARITION, KRISTY, BURYING THE EX, URGE, AFTERMATH, ONE SHOT, SOME OTHER WOMAN, IT FEEDS, THE RITUAL) is 39. THE HITCHER Turns 40
By 1984 Screenwriter Eric Red (NEAR DARK) hadn't proven himself. He had a short film to his credit but now had the opportunity to write a feature film. By 1984 movie still photographer, Robert Harmon (TOURIST TRAP) hadn't proven himself. He had a short film to his credit, but now he had the opportunity to direct a feature film. In 1984 Producer Kip Ohlman had worked for years to bring her vision of a THE FLY remake to the screens. But in the world of showbiz, she needed to prove herself low budget to earn the big budget. By 1984 David Bombyk just launched with Co-Producer credit on WITNESS, but that wouldn't be released until 1985. He was slated to get his Producer credit on THE EXPLORERS, but again, that was a year away and, because he was a no-name, it would be promoted as a Joe Dante film. They all worked in relative obscurity for years and at last they felt like they were on solid ground. Now it was time to fly and they were all ready. Bombyk was friends with, and had a mentor in, long time Producer Edward S. Feldman (WHAT'S THE MATTER WITH HELEN?, THE SENDER). With his guidance, their first project - all together - was the 1986 Rutger Hauer (BLADE RUNNER) feature film, THE HITCHER.
PSYCHO KILLER Is Out Today
And - HAPPY HORROR THRILLER BIRTHDAYS TO -
Producer Jason Blum (PARANORMAL ACTIVITY [all], INSIDEOUS [all], SINISTER [all], THE RIVER [TV], THE LORDS OF SALEM, THE BAY, DARK SKIES, THE PURGE [all], THE GREEN INFERNO, OCULUS, 13 SINS, CREEP [2014], NOT SAFE FOR WORK, UNFRIENDED [all], THE TOWN THAT DREADED SUNDOWN [2014], MOCKINGBIRD, MERCY, OUIJA [all], JESSEBELLE, ASCENSION [TV], THE BOY NEXT DOOR, EXETER, THE LAZARUS EFFECT, AREA 51, THE GALLOWS, THE GIFT, VISIONS, THE VISIT, CURVE, MARTYRS [2015], SOUTH OF HELL [TV], HELLEVATOR [TV], THE VEIL, SLEIGHT, HUSH, THE DARKNESS, VIRAL, SPLIT, INCARNATE, 12 DEADLY DAYS [TV], GET OUT, STEPHANIE, THE KEEPING HOURS, AMITYVILLE: THE AWAKENING, HAPPY DEATH DAY [all], UPGRADE, TRUTH OR DARE [2018], DELIRIUM [2018], GHOUL [TV], HALLOWEEN [2018], SACRED LIES [TV], BLOODLINE, SEVEN IN HEAVEN, TREMORS [2018], GLASS, RELIVE, SWEETHEART, INTO THE DARK [TV], US, PREY, MA, BLACK CHRISTMAS, RUN SWEATHEART RUN, YOU SHOULD HAVE LEFT, FANTASY ISLAND, YOU SHOULD HAVE LEFT, THE INVISIBLE MAN, THE HUNT, NOCTURNE, THE CRAFT, M3GAN, THE EXORCIST: BELIEVER, FIVE NIGHTS AT FREDDY'S, SWIM NIGHT, IMAGINARY, SPEAK NO EVIL, M3GAN 2.0, BLACK PHONE 2, FIVE NIGHTS AT FREDDY'S 2, Over 220 in all!) is 57.
THE BIRD WITH THE CRYSTAL PLUMMAGE is 56
Dario Argento's first solo Director effort. He wrote the script in only five days. One of the Executive Producers wanted Dario fired from directing the project. Dario's lead male actor Tony Musante (his only Horror movie) was an inconsiderate pain in the ass. Dario's lead female actor, Eva Renzi (FUNERAL IN BERLIN, TASTE OF EXCITEMENT) didn't like the male lead and didn't like the movie, certain it would be career suicide. The movie seemed to have everything going against it except one person. Dario was in the driver's seat and determined to make a classic that his hero, Alfred Hitchcock, would be proud of. Result? This was the movie that launched Dario's career. Terrence Kelsey reviews THE BIRD WITH THE CRYSTAL PLUMAGE. Plus - ARMY OF DARKNESS Turns 33
What is there left to say about this Sam Raimi movie that hasn't already been said? Plenty if you're rating the copious number of Director's Cut Edition, Limited Edition, Special Edition, Bootleg Edition, and on and on and on releases. Once distributor, Anchor Bay, got ahold of this title, they went mad with their endless releases and diminishing returns on the disc extras. Seriously! How many different Director Commentaries can we hear from the same guy about the same movie? Yet, oddly enough, this marketing madness became part of the EVIL DEAD franchise's strength. So follow me through the gloating, gory, glory of a small distributor that hit gold where major studio Universal could only find dust in ARMY OF DARKNESS. Also - SHUTTER ISLAND is 16
16 years ago today, Leonardo DiCaprio was too old to go out on a date with himself! Ha! Ha! Ha! But seriously... For Martin Scorsese, this movie was a box office hit at a time when he really needed one. But Martin is the kind of guy who'd rather have a box office dud that won awards than a profitable movie that gets released in a traditional "Dump Month" like February and ignored by the Academy. But why was this movie ignored by The Academy (Leonardo DiCaprio did win a Teen Choice Award)? And why did such a major theatrical hit fail to have legs over the years? My review of SHUTTER ISLAND. Wassmor - A Decade of THE WITCH
This Robert Eggers movie has an interesting behind the scenes twist. Eggers had four young actors in their first feature (five if you count the baby, Samuel), and he'd never directed children before. Robert was relatively new to directing, in fact, this being his first feature film. What Robert did have was Ralph Ellison as his lead. Ralph is more than an actor, he's an acting teacher and coach who specializes in teaching children. So when Harvey Scrimshaw, who played the eldest son, had difficulty visualizing what Eggers wanted from him, Eggers allowed Ineson to take over and direct the young actor himself. This was the result in Robert Eggers THE WITCH. Finale - HAPPY HORROR THRILLER BIRTHDAYS TO -
Actor Millie Bobby Brown (INTRUDERS [TV], STRANGER THINGS [TV], GODZILLA: KING OF THE MONSTERS, GODZILLA VS. KING KONG, DAMSEL, THE ELECTRIC STATE) is 22.
BODY SNATCHERS is 32 Today
So you're watching a movie. It has okay to good to great acting, depending on the actor and the scene. As someone who loves to watch movies you realize the problem is with the Director. The storyteller of the flick can't keep everyone on the same page. The Cinematographer is doing all they can - great job there. The script from Raymond Cistheri and Larry Cohen (IT'S ALIVE) is, by turns, groan and cringe worthy, but occasionally a great moment happens and you wish the whole movie was this good, instead of having to sit through the occasional diamond in a landfill. Anyway, Abel Ferrara's BODY SNATCHERS was released in the U.S. on this day in 1994. And - AMITYVILLE: DOLLHOUSE is 29
The original 1977 book, THE AMITYVILLE HORROR, by Jay Anson, was a hit because it was sold as a True Story. 1979's THE AMITYVILLE HORROR movie was a hit for the same reason. Except while the movie was winning weekends at the theaters enough time had passed for the family living in the house At That Time to debunk and blow the lid off of it all. No Haunted House. No demented demons. It wasn't even a proper Poltergiest Property. The "scariest" thing aboout it was theguy who murdered his family there, Ronald "Butch" DeFeo Jr. (no relation). And he was in prison and very much alive throughout the book and movie (and the many sequels). Further, often said as much: "There's no ghost". However, Ronald's attorney, William Weber, was a scam creative. Together with the dimwitted former owners, George and Kathy Lutz, they created the whole Spooky house nonsense that was so numbskull in its execution even Mystery Incorporated and their dog Scooby-Doo could have solved it in 30 minutes or less. Still, fools love to believe foolish things and devotion to the Amityville hauntings remained in high spirits while fomented by "Christian" crackpots and famous fraudsters, such as "Demonologist" Ed Warren and his "Clairvoyant" wife, Lorraine, for over 30 years. So the myth was still breathing and feebly kicking among the faithful in 1997 when this website and AMITYVILLE: Plus - 1 Quarter Century of PITCH BLACK
Borrowing extensively from Isaac Asimov's NIGHTFALL (the movie was originally called "Nightfall"), and Dan O'Bannon and Ron Shusett's ALIEN, a David Twohy (CRITTERS 2, WARLOCK, THE ARRIVAL, IMPOSTOR, BELOW, A PERFECT GETAWAY) screenplay, adapted from a pitch by the Wheat Brothers (Ewoks: The Battle for Endor, A NIGHTMARE ON ELMSTREET IV: THE DREAM MASTER, THE FLY II, THE BIRDS II, IT CAME FROM OUTER SPACE II, THE STEPFORD HUSBANDS), was also repurposed from Twohy's unused script for ALIEN3. This amalgam didn't result in a movie that was anywhere close to the equal of Asimov's tale or ALIEN. In fact, the popularity of the movie as we see it is a direct result of actor Vin Diesel's performance that so surprised the Director (also Twohy) and the film crew that it was decided to change the movie so that Diesel's character, Riddick (who was a member of the body count), could be explored in future, hoped for, sequels. This is how the RIDDICK franchise was born, how the Fast and Furious franchise was born, and why PITCH BLACK remains on the map for Horror fans. Finale - HAPPY HORROR THRILLER BIRTHDAYS TO -
Writer Denise Dumars (LOVECRAFT SLEPT HERE, LETTING IN THE DARK) is 60.
HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL Turns 68
I know people who swear by director William Castle and his original HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL, starring Vincent Price. However, Bram Stoker Award winning Horror writer, Mike Oliveri (DEADLIEST OF THE SPECIES) is not one of them. He explains why in his take on the 1958 chiller, HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL. And - ALIEN RAIDERS Turns 18
Though intended for Home Video Rental distribution by Warner Bros. this took the film festival circuit tour anyway, ostensibly to drum up support for Warner's new Direct to Video arm, Raw Feed and their 2006 line of Video Rental collections for Brick & Mortar Video Rental shops. It was on that film festival tour that this movie Wowed and Won, leaving many to wonder if, like Universal's 2004 remake of DAWN OF THE DEAD, by the then unknowns, Zack Snyder and James Gunn, Ben Rock's ALIEN RAIDERS would get the push to go theatrical. Continued at ALIEN RAIDERS. Finale - HAPPY HORROR THRILLER BIRTHDAYS TO -
Director / Producer Michael Bay (THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE [2004], THE AMITYVILLE HORROR [2005], THE ISLAND, THE HITCHER [2007], THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE: THE BEGINNING, TRANSFORMERS [all], THE UNBORN, FRIDAY THE 13TH [2009], A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET [2010], I AM NUMBER FOUR, THE PURGE [all], OUIJA [all], HORROR AT THE CECIL HOTEL [TV], A QUIET PLACE, THE PURGE [TV], 6 UNDERGROUND, SONGBIRD, A QUIET PLACE II, THE FOREVER PURGE, TRANSFORMERS: RISE OF THE BEASTS, A QUIET PLACE: DAY ONE, APARTMENT 7A) is 61. On IMDb ROBOPOCALYPSE is listed as being in "Production", but like the false starts before, no one is listed as being attached other than Michael, Drew, and of course, poor Daniel who wrote the bestselling novel in the first place. ROBOPOCALYPSE: 15 years of Development Hell
Not the first time for Spielberg. After 13 years of pre-Production, Steven released the remake of WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE in 2020 - not to theaters - but to signed Producer and director, Stephen Sommers (DEEP RISING, THE MUMMY) who took the Producer's chair and where the movie remains in its own Development Hell. Writer, Director, Producer Don Coscarelli (PHANTASM [all], SURVIVAL QUEST, BUBBA HO-TEP, Masters of Horror INCIDENT ON AND OFF A MOUNTAIN ROAD, JOHN DIES AT THE END, DEAD NIGHT) is 70.
YOU DUG IT Valentine's Day and President's Day on the same weekend in the U.S. How did that affect the box office?
4. SEND HELP tumbled from its two weekends at #1 in the face of 3 new movies all claiming the first 3 spots. That said, its box office drop was ridiculously mild, a mere 1% (0.9% for BOM, 3% for The Numbers) against a huge 500 screen cut. With a drop in sales so minor, Sam Raimi's latest could see it holding onto 4 next weekend and maybe even a dead cat bounce back up at least to 3. We'll see. 7. GOOD LUCK HAVE FUN DON'T DIE debuts at #7 and with such major marketing behind it, I'm surprised that boutique distributor, Briarcliffe-Entertainment, only secured a 1,610 screen opening. Especially considering it had a better per screen average than every movie below 4. 8. AVATAR: FIRE AND ASH holds onto its position for the second weekend in a row, suffering only an insignificant 1% drop in ticket sales (4+% from BOM) in its 9th weekend on the Top Ten despite a whopping 715 screen cut. 9. IRON LUNG had the biggest drop this weekend. A staggering 6 places from last weekend's #3 position in its 3rd weekend. Normally that would add up to an almost certain for next weekend's predicted drop off the Top Ten, but even if that happens, IRON LUNG had a $3 million budget and has made over $46 million world-wide. That's over 15 times its producton budget. AVATAR: FIRE AND ASH couldn't earn 15 times its Production budget in 9 weeks! Markiplier and crew did it in 3! 10. DRACULA, from boutique distributor, Verticle Entertainment, fell five places in its 2nd weekend. Director Luc Besson, once the golden child of 21st Century French cinema, has had an overall bad time of it for the past decade. Oddly enough? It performed better than expected! How can that be? This movie opened worldwide in July 2025! Yet despite being in theaters for over 6 months, its made under $30 million world wide. That said, and this is iportant, Critics don't like it but the audiences love it. Now if only it had more audience. YOU BURIED IT 11. THE STRANGERS: CHAPTER 3 in a single week, fell from its 7th place opening to right off the Top Ten. Reviled by critics and audiences alike, this is the theatrical death knell of the franchise. Bubbling Under 14. COLD STORAGE debuts from distributor The Samuel Goldwyn Company (gone are the days when that name was synonymous with MGM, back in the days when MGM meant major studio) on only 1,041 screens but critics and audience alike are loving this movie. If it can at least double its screens for next weekend it may stand a fighting chance of entering the Top Ten. 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 - FIVE MILLION YEARS TO EARTH aka QUATERMASS AND THE PIT, is 56
I first saw this on TV way back when I was but a pup. The movie captivated my Pop and when that end came he was thoroughly wigged out. Many months later he drove me to an Art house theater in Orlando where the movie was playing. In the dark, as the movie barreled toward its conclusion, I could sense him tensing up. He was squirming in his seat next to me and the end, without the movie being chopped up by commercials every five minutes, hit him theater screen-style with its full impact. Years later, I was an adult and watching it on DVD before I understood the full force of the Horror that my Pop must have felt. This has adult scares, it seems. What's more, being the third movie in the trilogy, the second sequel, it's considered the best of the three QUATERMASS movies (Like James Bond, they increased the budget with every sequel, imagine that!). In England it was originally released in 1968 as FIVE MILLION YEARS TO EARTH, but in the U.S. that sounded more like a sequel title to the then still popular 1957 SciFi movie, 20 MILLION MILES TO EARTH, so now we call it, QUATERMASS AND THE PIT. Plus - THE NIGHTBREED Turns 36
This movie is 36 and is old enough to be your GrandMonster! If you haven't seen the 2014, NIGHTBREED Director's Cut, it's available now at SHUDDER, and on Disc. Read why you should move it to the top of your watch list! Finale - HAPPY HORROR THRILLER BIRTHDAYS TO -
Writer Allyson Bird (BULL RUNNING FOR GIRLS, WINE AND RANK POISON, ISIS UNBOUND, Editor: NEVER AGAIN) is 65 or something. SUNDAY -
Actor Jessica De Gouw (UNDERBELLY [TV], THE MYSTERY OF A HANSOM CAB, ARROW [TV], THESE FINAL HOURS, DRACULA [TV], CUT SNAKE, THE REZORT, OTHERLIFE, GRETEL AND HANSEL, THE SECRETS SHE KEEPS [TV], PENNYWORTH [TV], THE PORTABLE DOOR, THE COUPLE NEXT DOOR [TV], THE SURVIVORS [TV], ) is 38. SATURDAY -
Actor Zach Galligan (GREMLINS [both], NOTHING LASTS FOREVER, WAXWORK, MORTAL PASSIONS, RISING STORM, ZANDALEE, THE PSYCHIC, WAXWORK II, WARLOCK: THE ARMAGEDDON, CAROLINE AT MIDNIGHT, CYBORG 3: THE RECYCLER, STORM TROOPER, RAW NERVE, G-MEN FROM HELL, THE TOMORROW MAN, INFESTED, MOMENTUM, LEGION OF THE DEAD, CUT, NIGHTBEASTS, HATCHET III, BAD CANDY, MIDNIGHT PEEPSHOW, SACRED GROUNDS: FORBIDDEN, GREMLINS: SECRET OF THE MOGWAI [TV]) is 61. It's Valentine's Day Horror!
DRACULA Turns 95
F.W. Murnau's 1922 silent picture, NOSFERATU came before Tod Browning's picture, but life isn't always a race over who got there first, but who did it better. The bland styling of a Tesla car might win the race, but you come cruising up to 2nd place in your George Barris Batmobile? Baby, you've won! After nearly a century, it's clear that Bela Lugosi's Count made a slam dunk not only in Western culture, but world-wide. Wherever you go in the world, and however stylized and cartoonish the Vampire, the Draculas, with their vague Eastern European accent, will be a pale but sharp dressed blood-sucker with high collar black cape and a sharp widow's peak (an affectation which Bela sported in nearly every movie but DRACULA). It's actually that pronounced widow's peak style, that Bela's Dracula doesn't have, that cinches Lugosi as the actor over character that we earthlings think of when we think of Dracula. That was his style in many movies like WHITE ZOMBIE and Tod Browning's MARK OF THE VAMPIRE (Bela played the vampire, Count Mora, for Warner Bros.) that came after, not before Dracula. In movie after movie, particularly with Universal, he was billed as Bela "Dracula" Lugosi even when he wasn't playing the role, and he only played the role one time. Many actors have lived by their one favorite role (Yul Brynner preferred his King of Siam over his Cowboy), but no one captured the world's imagination as well and so long as Bela Lugosi. And with only one movie? How did it do it? Find out in my review of DRACULA. THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS Turns 35
Some movies are so entrenched in Western culture that it couldn't matter what a reviewer or worse, a critic, thinks of it ten or more years down the road. You hate Anthony Hopkins' performance of Hannibal Lector? Tough! The man owns it and nothing you can ever say will change that. Oh wait. You haven't actually seen it yet and you wonder what all the memes are about? Well, when it comes to super twisted love, or at least something that could pass for love to a twisted mind, this is why THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS should be our Valentine's Day viewing!
IT'S...
And - SPHERE Turns 27
This movie had everything going for it. It was based on a best selling Michael Crichton novel and he was gold. It was adapted by Kurt Wimmmer (EQUILIBRIUM) and he was an Up and Comer. It was produced and directed by the legendary Barry Levinson (THE BAY) with a cast of three A-Listers and three more strong character actors. It had everything it needed to be a hit. Except James Cameron's Titanic came out just the year before, dominated everyone, and Warner Bros., hoping to ride the audience appeal wave James created, rushed both the production and post-production into an early grave. A hard lesson for all filmmakers who choose to deal with a major studio. This is why SPHERE sank at the theaters and never surfaced again. And - The Last FRIDAY THE 13th movie turns 16
While ownership rights are fought in court, current franchise steward, Sean S. Cunningham, let Jason sleep. Ken King "The Fan Behind the Mask", gives you a F13 fan perspective of Producer Michael Bay (THE AMITYVILLE HORROR [2005], THE HITCHER [2007], A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET [2010], THE PURGE) and Director Marcus Nispel (THE TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE [2003])'s FRIDAY THE 13th. Plus - HAPPY HORROR THRILLER BIRTHDAYS TO -
By E.C. McMullen Jr.
SPIDER-MAN Noir in 2026!
And - THE STEPFORD WIVES Turn 51
The late Ira Levin had the most curious knack for choosing a title that resonated across the widest spectrum of Western Society. People who have never read his books understand when, at the end of a lover's breakup, one will softly say, "A Kiss Before Dying?". In conversation, everyone gathered knows what someone means when they refer to someone else's child as a Rosemary's Baby, a Boy From Brazil, or a woman as a Stepford Wife. His novels are usually slim, just squeeking out the word count to avoid being a novella. So few pages in fact, that in a moment of self-mockery Ira chose the title, Sliver, and then wrote a thin book about it. Overwhelmingly, however, forays into his work enmesh the reader into unknown, unconsidered surban Horrors. They begin and beguile as if they were only character dramas of every day life. However each one is a deathtrap maze, leading the reader toward a Horror that you never considered, and so have no idea how it could end. The trap is that you want to put it down but the story is too compelling. Its so close to real life that if you put it down you'll never know what happens. The end is the only release and, because they're such slim, small novels, there isn't that much left to read. The end will be quick. Then Hollywood goes and makes their "better" version of it by hiring directors who don't like those kind of books and are blind to how personally close they are to the fictional source material. Like what happened with 1975's THE STEPFORD WIVES. Plus - BRAIN DEAD is 34
Zombies! Romance! Comedy! It's a Zom Rom Com and probably the first! Gory as hell, lots of fun, and an unbelievable amount of heart! If you've never seen it, this is why you'll love Peter Jackson's BRAINDEAD aka DEAD ALIVE. Also - THE WOLFMAN Turns 16
No matter how many years pass, this abortion of a Universal Pictures reboot will never achieve "classic" status. By the time it reaches its Silver 25th Anniversary, any 100 independent Horror movies with the combined budget of this one, and created by non-expert newbies, will have flown past it. Nearly half that number already have. This is the unbelievable tale of Big budget studio experts having no clue about their company's legacy or their current audience: THE WOLFMAN (2010). Finale - HAPPY HORROR THRILLER BIRTHDAYS TO -
Writer, Director, Producer, Darren Aronofsky (Pi, REQUIEM FOR A DREAM, THE FOUNTAIN, BELOW, BLACK SWAN, NOAH, MOTHER!, AFTERMATH, SPHERES, POSTCARD FROM EARTH) is 56.
HAPPY HORROR THRILLER BIRTHDAYS TO -
Actor Sarah Butler (FLU BIRD HORROR, LUKE 11:17 [TV], I <3 VAMPIRES [TV], I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE [2010], NUCLEAR FAMILY, TREACHERY, THE DEMENTED, THE STRANGER WITHIN, STUCK [2014], I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE: VENGEANCE IS MINE, MOONTRAP: TARGET EARTHWOMAN ON THE RUNALL LIGHT WILL END, POINT DEFIANCE, REVENGE FOR DADDY, MY HUSBAND'S DEADLY PAST) is 40.
ATTACK OF THE CRAB MONSTERS is 69
Roger Corman was trying his damndest to be original. What the hell could he do with a monster that no one else was doing? He came up with this. A super creepy take on John W. Campbell's Who Goes There (THE THING From Another World), Robert A. Heinlein's THE PUPPET MASTERS, and Jack Finney's THE BODY SNATCHERS, only instead of aliens, it's a bizarre species of Crab. The budget was too low to realize its concept, which is why the concept is ripe for remaking ATTACK OF THE CRAB MONSTERS. And - THE NIGHT VISITOR is 55
Imagine a homicidal maniac so fiendishly clever that no detective can figure who is committing the crimes, because no one can imagine the insane risks and reasons behind so may unrelated killings, each with their own method of murder, and none of them having any connection, any Modus Operandi, other than taking place in the same area. This is Max von Sydow at his most villainous: THE NIGHT VISITOR. Plus - THE FLY II is 34
Yay. The movie that killed the nascent franchise, THE FLY II. Anyway... Also - THE RELIC is 28
One of the funniest insults Guillermo del Toro ever experienced as a young filmmaker was when he read a The Onion article headline that stated, "Man Watches THE RELIC and MIMIC - Cannot Tell Them Apart". Though MIMIC went on to have two more Direct to Video sequels (it was just someting the Weinstein brothers did), that joke probably remains the best thing we can say about MIMIC, or THE RELIC for that matter. Wassmor - FINAL DESTINATION 3 is 23
FINAL DESTINATION movies have reached that rarified air that even most franchises do not: It's both Classic and Iconic. Classic in that everyone has heard of it and it keeps attracting new audiences. Iconic in that its part of our culture: At some point, everyone experiences their "Final Destination" moment that made them think of a scene in one of the movies. I saw it in the theater and FINAL DESTINATION 3 didn't let me down. Furthrmor - RED MIST Turns 16
A movie going Direct to Video is not enough to prove its value. Even major studios have lost a fortune by underestimating the value of a movie (and lost at least as much by over-estimating the value of a movie. This is a tough biz!). Taste is subjective and, while some folks liked this movie, its 15 years of history shows they were in the minority. That said, my reasons for not liking something may not be the same as your reasons for disliking something. This is the where and why I found RED MIST falling short. Finale - HAPPY HORROR THRILLER BIRTHDAYS TO -
Writer James Cheetham (FADE TO PALE, THE BEEKEEPER, SEASONS OF THE BRITTLE HARVEST) is 55.
YOU DUG IT Superbowl Sunday usually has a negative effect on the theater box office, even though many people still go because they aren't interested in football (which includes a sizeable number of sports fans who are only interested in other sports - this time of year ain't their season). How did that shake out for this weekend?
1. SEND HELP from Director Sam Raimi (THE EVIL DEAD, SPIDER-MAN) wins its second weekend in a row at the Top Spot despite 48% drop in ticket sales against no loss of screens. Expectations weren't high to start with but this movie is at least performing as well as could be expected. Studio 20th Century, obviously, feared the worst and hasn't released the Production Budget. Over at KoiMoi they relay estimates of the budget at about $40 mil. If true, at a worldwide take this weekend of $53 mil, Sam Raimi's movie has a long way to go but can still get there. 3. IRON LUNG takes a step down from last weekend's #2 position but the slow box office of the weekend nearly hides the fact that it lost a gargantuan 67% from last weekend's box office take and took a 99 screen cut. Like SEND HELP, Markiplier hid the Production budget, yet its been talked enough everywhere else, at $3 million. With a worldwide box office of over $34 million, this movie is a success by every measure. 5. DRACULA, the title alone should have put this movie higher on the Top Ten this week, but boutique distributor, Vertical could only negotiate a first week run of 2,050 screens (Ultra micro indie, IRON LUNG managed a 3,015 screen opening weekend.) That said, with Luc Besson (THE FIFTH ELEMENT, DISTRICT B13) at the helm as Writer, Producer, and Director, the sky is the limit: It could be another monster smash or a monster crash. 7. AVATAR: FIRE AND ASH, after 8 weekends on the Top Ten, continues its slide from last weekend's #5 with a mild 38% drop in ticket sales against a 435 screen cut. Despite a $400 million budget, its nearing the $1.5 Billion mark so 20th Century, via Disney, should be happy with that. Of course, Disney is likely way happier with Zootopia 2, which cost less than half of AVATAR's budget, is sitting pretty at #6 on the top ten, and is nearing the $2 Billion mark. 8. THE STRANGERS: CHAPTER 3, opens at a disappointing level despite having the 2nd highest number of opening screens this weekend. 11. THE HOUSEMAID leaves the Top Ten after 8 weekends and with an impressive theatrical gross of 10 times its Production budget. Since the bestsellling novels are part of a series expect Lionsgate to make more HOUSEMAIDS and fast. YOU BURIED IT 16. 28 YEARS LATER: THE BONE TEMPLE, freefalls from last weekend's #10 spot in its 4th weekend with a 69% drop in ticket sales against a 1,257 screen cut. The budget, though hidden since opening weekend, was originaly reported at $63 million, which is why its buried after falling from the Top ten with a combined world wide theatrical total nearly $10 million less than that. 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 - HANNIBAL is 25
It took a decade to make this sequel. The original studio, Orion Pictures, was defunct. Ownership of the rights was prickly and contested. Everyone wanted the sequel, no one wanted to get screwed out of the royalties. And Anthony Hopkins? He was 53 when he acted in THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS. When the cameras finally got to rolling he looked every bit of the 10 years that had passed. And this movie was supposed to come after the Thomas Harris novel that began the series, RED DRAGON. But that movie already existed as Michael Mann's MANHUNTER and it didn't have Anthony Hopkins. So what did the experts do to get an Anthony Hopkins trilogy under their ownership? They threw as much money at it as possible: Far more than the story could possibly need. Okay, but did that work for HANNIBAL? Plus - HAPPY HORROR THRILLER BIRTHDAYS TO -
By E.C. McMullen Jr. SUNDAY -
Actor Brooke Adams (WHO IS THE BLACK DAHLIA?, SONG OF THE SUCCUBUS, SHOCK WAVES, INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS [1978], THE DEAD ZONE, THE STUFF, MAN ON FIRE [1987], THE UNBORN [1991], SOMETIMES THEY COME BACK, THE LAST HIT, PROBABLE CAUSE, THE LEGEND OF LUCY KEYES, BRAIN DEAD [TV]) is 78. John Carpenter's THE FOG is 46
If John had his way, this might have been the last movie he ever made. But his producer partner, the late Debra Hill, called him back to California. They had to fix what they messed up and John couldn't give up, because it was Debra's reputation too. To fix it with virtually no budget meant low-key negotiation and that brought the then unknown Rob Bottin into the picture. Using their own money, they didn't have enough budget to make it great, but at least they could make THE FOG seaworthy. This is how it all shook out. SATURDAY -
The good die young but
DRACULA HAS RISEN FROM THE GRAVE is 57
You may have been born in the new millennium, but it doesn't matter. As a Horror fan you are aware of England's old Hammer Studios and their Horror movies: Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, and large heaving breasts. This was Hammer's formula for success throughout the 1960s and it never worked better than when Christopher Lee was the centerpiece as in DRACULA HAS RISEN FROM THE GRAVE. Plus - NETHERWORLD Turns 34
Well, anyway, this is what I think of NETHERWORLD. Also - THE NIGHT FLIER Turns 29
I remain amazed at how many Stephen King fans and vampire fans are either unaware of this, or have heard about it yet still haven't seen it. In the category of good and bad Stephen King movies, this sits in the top 10 of the best, and this is why I feel this way about THE NIGHT FLIER. Wassmor - CORALINE Turns 17
Another fantasy about another child in another house who finds yet another mysterious portal in it or on the property. But Neil Gaiman is familiar with such stories, knows his way around them, and through his writing and Director Henry Selick's wonderful adaptation and storytelling, CORALINE became a frighteningly fun tale all its own. Finale - HAPPY HORROR THRILLER BIRTHDAYS TO -
Actor Dane DeHaan (THE FRONT, TRUE BLOOD [TV], CHRONICLE, JACK AND DIANE, THE PLACE BEYOND THE PINES, LIFE AFTER BETH, THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2, A CURE FOR WELLNESS, VALERIAN AND THE CITY OF A THOUSAND PLANETS, LISEY'S STORY [TV], THE STAIRCASE [TV]) is 40.
INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS is 70
When Jack Finney's novel, THE BODY SNATCHERS, was released in 1955, following a successful run as a magazine serial in 1954, several prominent Science Fiction writers dismissed it. After all, Robert Heinlein's THE PUPPET MASTERS was practically the same thing, other science fiction writers were filling pages with identity stealing aliens, and the top science fiction publisher and editor, seemingly began this new craze with his short story, Who Goes There? (made repeatedly over the years as THE THING). Yet the readers had the final say, were voracious in their appreciation, and when the story was released as a novel in 1955, fans turned it into a best seller. So of course, the rush was on to make it a movie and low rent Allied Artists pulled the trigger first to win the rights, rushing into production, and releasing it the following year. It was not in the Top Ten highest grossing movies of 1956, or the #1 movie released in February (that movie was Picnic, based on the Pulitzer Prize winning play. Remember Picnic?). Nor did it have a single top star for its time (Picnic had three A-Listers), but after 70 freaking years, INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS is arguably the best remembered. This is why. And - FROZEN is 16 Today
When Director Adam Green made HATCHET, he did what Elvis did, what the Beatles did, what Led Zepplin did: He imitated the old masters. In his case, "Old School American Horror". Everyone could see he had Tobe Hooper and Wes Craven in mind. So when it came time to pursue his own identity, he wowed us all in 2010 with FROZEN. That was 16 years ago today. Plus - HAPPY HORROR THRILLER BIRTHDAYS TO -
Actor Charlotte Rampling (TARGET: HARRY, ASYLUM, ZARDOZ, THE NIGHT PORTER, THE FLESH OF THE ORCHID, FAREWELL MY LOVELY, SHERLOCK HOLMES IN NEW YORK, ORCA, ANGEL HEART, HE DIED WITH HIS EYES OPEN, MASCARA, D.O.A., PARIS BY NIGHT, INVASION OF PRIVACY, UNDER THE SAND, SUPERSTITION, I'LL SLEEP WHEN I'M DEAD, SWIMMING POOL, THE STATEMENT, IMMORTAL, LEMMING, DECEPTION, BABYLON A.D., MELANCHOLIA, NIGHT TRAIN TO LISBON, THE FORBIDDEN ROOM, SCULPT, ASSASSIN'S CREED, THE SENSE OF ENDING, EUPHORIA, RED SPARROW, THE LITTLE STRANGER, LAST WORDS, DUNE (1 & 2) is 80.
VIDEODROME Is Old Enough To Be Your 43 Year Old Dad!
But how can it be that a 43 year old movie still foretells a possible future? With boxy old TV sets, old cars, and a city that resembles a crumbling Soviet-era bloc, how can such a movie possibly compete in the computerized television age? Because back in 1983, David Cronenberg made his future look outdated even for its time. We weren't looking at a faltering utopia, we were gazing into a garbage dump dystopia (aka 2026 Canada, I suppose). Like Ridley Scott's 1982 BLADE RUNNER and Terry Gilliam's 1985 BRAZIL, David didn't depict a throw-away society, but a thrown-away society, past tense. The heroes that could have saved us, failed us, and David's movie is humanity stumbling toward the grave as they sputter on the fumes of a stolen future that could have been. This is how Cronenberg's predators came out of hiding from behind bureacracy. Macabre, Horrific, and brutal, my review of David Cronenberg's unflinching prediction, VIDEODROME. And - SCREAM 3 is a Quarter of a Century Old
It could have stopped here. It should have stopped here. They had their trilogy. Instead, the Horror skyscraper of cool that Craven built cracker crumbled in on itself under its own weight. The demolition team? Its own distributor, Bob and Harvey Weinstein of Miramax (named after their parents, Mira and Max, whose names the sons tarnished forever). It's as if, like HALLOWEEN, FRIDAY THE 13th, A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET, HELLRAISER, TREMORS, SAW, and PARANORMAL ACTIVITY, it was despised by the very studio it enriched. According to writer Mike Oliveri, SCREAM 3 was good (better than 2), but the writing was on the wall. Plus - HAPPY HORROR THRILLER BIRTHDAYS TO -
Musician / Actor Alice Cooper (Music: KILLER, BILLION DOLLAR BABIES, SCHOOL'S OUT, WELCOME TO MY NIGHTMARE, POISON, DRAGONTOWN, WELCOME 2 MY NIGHTMARE, TRASH, PARANORMAL, A PARANORMAL EVENING AT THE OLYMPIA PARIS, DETROIT STORIES
IN THE MOUTH OF MADNESS Is 31
Some John Carpenter fans are bored by this movie, others are bananas for it. Welcome to the polarizing world of John Carpenter, where practically every movie he makes doesn't quite satisfy his old fans, yet almost always brings him new ones. John Carpenter's HALLOWEEN fans aren't his strongest THE THING fans and they aren't quite the BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA fans, and so on. So if you've yet to see this movie, this is why you might become a IN THE MOUTH OF MADNESS fan. And - THE INNKEEPERS Turns 15
Slow, but not as sloth as most Ti West movies, if you're looking for the perfect lonely (or even a date) movie on a dark winter night, you might like THE INNKEEPERS. Plus - HAPPY HORROR THRILLER BIRTHDAYS TO -
Actor Terry Chen (AFTERSHOCK: EARTHQUAKE IN NEW YORK, ROMEO MUST DIE, TRIXIE, SOLE SURVIVOR [2000], PARANORMAL GIRL, BALLISTIC: ECKS VS. SEVER, THE CHRONICLES OF RIDDICK, I, ROBOT, DA VINCI'S INQUEST, SNAKES ON A PLANE, MEMORY, THEY WAIT [2007], HARDWIRED, STORM SEEKERS, THE CABIN IN THE WOODS, BOREALIS, CONTINUUM [TV], BATES MOTEL [TV], TIME OF DEATH, ELYSIUM, EVIL FEED, VAN HELSING [TV], JESSICA JONES [TV], THE EXPANSE [TV], THE UNRESTRICTED WAR) is 51.
1/12th of 2026 Is Over... YOU DUG IT Audiences returned to theaters this weekend despite the cold and turned the box office topsy turvey by making this weekend's box office top heavy with debut titles.
1. SEND HELP from Director Sam Raimi (THE EVIL DEAD, SPIDER-MAN) won the weekend with a $20 million domestic box office debut on 3,475 screens in the final days of the Dump Month of January. 2. IRON LUNG explodes the new year by having the most daring storyline I've heard in a while. Part of the reason is it being based on the game. Yet udiences warmed to it as it showed on significantly fewer screens than the #1 movie, but earned more per screen average. In fact, it made more per screen than any other movie in the Top Ten.
6. AVATAR: FIRE AND ASH dropped only 14% in box office ticket sales against a 350 screen cut, but that was enough to send it hurtling down the Top Ten from last weekend's #2 spot. 7. MERCY from Amazon MGM had an even greater fall with a 56% drop in ticket sales, resulting in a fall from last weekend's #1 debut. 8. THE HOUSEMAID had a 11% drop in ticket sales against a 404 screen cut. Though dropping from its long held perch at #4, it has earned nearly 9 times its Production budget as it opened on the same weekend as AVATAR, which has earned 3.5 times its buproduction budget. 10. 28 YEARS LATER: THE BONE TEMPLE in its third weekend, fell from last weekend's 6th spot. 13. ANACONDA (2025) earned 2.9 times its Production budget before leaving the Top Ten after 6 weeks. You Buried It 12. RETURN TO SILENT HILL fell off the Top Ten in a single week, freefalling from #7 with a 70% drop in BO against a 242 screen cut. 14. PRIMATE fell off the Top Ten in its 4th weekend earning far less than its break even point at the box office even including world ticket sales. Domestic ticket sales dropped 50% against a 920 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 - HAPPY HORROR THRILLER BIRTHDAYS TO - Actor, Writer, Director Oz Perkins (PSYCHO II, SIX DEGREES OF SEPARATION, WOLF, SECRETARY, DEAD & BREAKFAST, EROSION, THE UTAH MURDER PROJECT, STAR TREK [2009], REMOVAL, COLD COMES THE NIGHT, THE BLACKCOAT'S DAUGHTER, THE GIRL IN THE PHOTOGRAPHS, I AM THE PRETTY THING THAT LIVES IN THE HOUSE, GRETEL AND HANSEL, NOPE, LONG LEGS, Stephen King's THE MONKEY, KEEPER) is 51. SUNDAY -
Actor / Producer Michael C. Hall (PAYCHECK, 6 FEET UNDER [TV], DEXTER [TV - all], GAMER, COLD IN JULY, IN THE SHADOW OF THE MOON, SHADOWPLAY [TV], JOHN AND THE HOLE) is 54. SCARED TO DEATH Turns 80
It's the only full color motion picture Bela Lugosi ever made and its a Horror Comedy. Well, it was supposed to be Horror and it was supposed to be a comedy. What then famed and prolific comedy director Christy Cabanne got out of a first timer's low budget script is what became of SCARED TO DEATH. SATURDAY -
Actor, Stunts Danielle Burgio (John Carpenter's VAMPIRES, BLADE, THE GREEN MILE, ALL AMERICAN MASSACRE, John Carpenter's GHOSTS OF MARS, DAREDEVIL, THE MATRIX RELOADED, THE MATRIX REVOLUTIONS, ANGEL [TV], THE ELIMINATOR, MAX HAVOC: CURSE OF THE DRAGON, ALL SOULS DAY: DIA DE LOS MUERTOS, WHEN A STRANGER CALLS, HOUSE OF THE DEAD 2, BACKLASH, THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN, HITCHCOCK, THE BLACK OUT, BEYOND THE SKY, ARMY OF THE DEAD, SQUEALER, REBEL MOON) is 57. PHENOMEMA Turns 41
Master of Horror, Dario Argento brought on Donald Pleasence, an aging actor with a wide range who had a taste for Horror movies. He paired Donald with Jennifer Connelly, a young actor just starting out who would go on to play a wide range of roles, but always have a taste for Horror movies. The result is one of Argento's best movies, PHENOMENA aka CREEPERS. Mike Bracken, the Horror Geek, tells us why.
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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 |
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