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| FEO NEWS FOR WINTER 2026: - JANUARY - The detritus of old Horror/Thriller history can be found here. These are archived news items, many of them linked outside of this website. |
THE THING That Never Ends
And - DEEP RISING Turns 28
Some movies are meant to be dumb fun, which covers nearly all of the Toho GOJIRA movies and all of the GAMERA movies. The monsters in this movie are nowhere near Kaiju size, but if you've never seen it, there's still a great time in DEEP RISING. Plus - FINAL DESTINATION 2 is 23
Producer and script writer of FINAL DESTINATION, James Wong, left the franchise to write and produce WILLARD and The One. His partner, Glenn Morgan, left with him to work on those films as well. So what happened? Both of their own movies bombed and the sequel to Jeffrey Reddick's original creation, even while nowhere near as good as the first (low-budget writers and a director), was a hit! That awesome opening scene is legendary, but how does the rest of FINAL DESTINATION 2 hold up? Also - THE UNINVITED Turns 17
Can an American Hollywood studio remake of a South Korean Horror movie (A TALE OF TWO SISTERS) actually be any good? It's only happened twice to my recollection. MIRRORS (remake from GEOUL SOKEURO) and this, THE UNINVITED. Finale - HAPPY HORROR THRILLER BIRTHDAYS TO -
Actor Christian Bale (AMERICAN PSYCHO, REIGN OF FIRE, EQUILIBRIUM, THE MACHINIST, BATMAN BEGINS, THE PRESTIGE, BATMAN: THE DARK KNIGHT, TERMINATOR: SALVATION, THE DARK KNIGHT RISES, OUT OF THE FURNACE, THE PALE BLUE EYE, THE BOY AND THE HERON) is 53.
CHILDREN OF THE DAMNED Turns 62
And are too damn old to still be calling themselves "Children", by cracky! Seriously, this sequel turned out as good as you'd expect of a sequel in the 1960s. And by that I mean, while it wasn't anywhere near as bad as CHILDREN OF THE CORN in the 1980s. Rushed and under budget, CHILDREN OF THE DAMNED was still a ... And - It Was 22 Years Ago Today
IRAQ ATTACK: Susan Sarandon Edition Susan wants to be the compassionate face of terrorists, anti-semites, and NAZI enthusiasts today, but how did she feel 22 years ago? HAPPY HORROR THRILLER BIRTHDAYS TO -
BODY SNATCHERS Turns 33
Since I saw 2007's INVASION, I've new respect for this... uh... sequel? Prequel? Parallel other story of the same event? Whatever. My point is, it's not bad (it's not good, mind you), and nowhere near as great as the 1978 remake or the original, but there are elements that make BODY SNATCHERS a decent (again, not good, mind you) movie. And - ALONE IN THE DARK IS 22
Starring Christian Slater (INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE), Stephen Dorff (BLADE), and Tara Reid (URBAN LEGEND), this is the movie that put Director Uwe Bolls on the map! The M! F! Map, I tell you! You know the map I mean! THAT map!: ALONE IN THE DARK. Cool poster, anyway. Plus - HAPPY HORROR THRILLER BIRTHDAYS TO -
Writer / Director Frank Darabont (THE WOMAN IN THE ROOM, A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET 3, THE BLOB [1988], THE FLY II, FRANKENSTIEN, THE GREEN MILE, THE MIST, THE WALKING DEAD [TV]) is 67.
17 Years With the DARK DREAMERS
Read E.C. McMullen Jr.'s review of the 4 DVD Ultimate Disc Extras ever made. Bram Stoker award winning Stanley Wiater's, DARK DREAMERS. Plus - THE GREY Turns 14
For some actors who, after decades of building a career only to feel they are watching success slip away with age, find the temptation of "Once you've found your niche, exploit the hell out of it", becoming a viable option. Liam Neeson (EXCALIBER) became a prominent actor in the 1990s with a starring role in Sam Raimi's 1990 superhero film, DARKMAN. His performance convinced Steven Spielberg and Liam arrived with 1993's SCHINDLER'S LIST and an Academy Award Nom. Finally! After over a decade of being in the background. But it wasn't until 2008 and TAKEN that Liam realized what audiences wanted to see from him. Since then, he hasn't stopped playing Bryan Mills regardless of the name of the character he portrays. That's what you get with this movie: A Wild Varmint Horror movie starring Liam Neeson's Bryan Mills character playing John Ottoway. It's a gravel gargling Liam Neeson at his most Liam Neesonist! Screenwriter Ken King tells you about THE GREY. Also - HAPPY HORROR THRILLER BIRTHDAYS TO -
Horror Host Joe Bob Briggs aka John Bloom (EVIL EVER AFTER, GHOSTS OF GOLDFIELD, HOGZILLA, RAPTURIOUS, JOE BOB'S HAUNTED DRIVE IN, CRYPTIDS, WEREWOLF SANTA) who is 73.
YOU DUG IT The huge Winter temperature drop kept many from the theaters this weekend, but in its 6th weekend, AVATAR: FIRE AND ASH was finally moved from its perch by the new #1.
1. MERCY actor Chris Pratt (JURASSIC WORLD) and Director Timur Bekmambetov (NIGHTWATCH) reunited in 2023 to begin production on their first movie together since WANTED (MERCY wrapped Production in early 2024). Though the box office for MERCY was low this frigid weekend, it was still high enough to knock the reigning champ off its perch, bringing just over $11 million in the U.S. and twice that in the world market. 2. AVATAR: FIRE AND ASH finally stepped down this weekend from is throne at #1 for 5 weekends straight. James Cameron's latest has performed above expectations every single weekend of its release and currently approaches the $1.5 billion box office figure, making Cameron movies the most successful in theaters ever. 4. THE HOUSEMAID, in its 6th weekend, holds onto its #4 spot for three weekends straight. More impressive is that it held its own when opening on the same weekend as AVATAR. Even more impressive is that it did this while outperfoming all expectations by nearly double. Relative to its $35 million Production budget, this movie is more profitable than its chief competitor. This is a tremendous box office boost for Writers Rebecca Sonnenshine (WITHIN) and author of the best selling novel series, Frieda McFadden, as well as actor Sydney Sweeney. This is also a career saving return for actor Amanda Seyfried, whose last hit production was long before Covid back in 2018, and especially Director Paul Fieg, whose last hit production was in 2011. 5. 28 YEARS LATER: THE BONE TEMPLE dropped a staggering 71% in box office since its debut last weekend despite no loss of its 3,506 screens 7. RETURN TO SILENT HILL, after nearly 20 years of trying to convince investors that he knew where he went wrong with his directing the first SILENT HILL, and knew how to make it right, Konami allowed him the rights to direct a second feature. It debuted this weekend on 1,850 screens. 9. THE LORD OF THE RINGS: FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING is only a release in celebration of its anniverssary, but it has a powerful hold at the box office as it moves into its second weekend on the Top Ten. With only a 44% drop against a huge 1,354 additional screens Peter Jackson's magnum opus is still finding new audiences after 25 years. 10. PRIMATE with a 67% loss in ticket sales, fell from its place at last weekend's #6. You may be ready to bury this one. 13. ANACONDA (2025) with a 61% drop in ticket sales against a 617 screen cut, this movie squeeked into profit in the world market as it dropped off the Top Ten after 5 weekends. You Buried Nothing This Week 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 -
And - HAPPY HORROR THRILLER BIRTHDAYS TO -
Actor Cameron Bright (BROTHER'S KEEPER, THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT, GODSEND, BIRTH, ULTRAVIOLET, X-MEN: THE LAST STAND, WALLED IN, THE TWILIGHT SAGA: NEW MOON, THE TWILIGHT SAGA: ECLIPSE, EARTH'S FINAL HOURS, THE TWILIGHT SAGA: BREAKING DAWN PART 2, MOTIVE [TV], FINAL GIRL) is 33. SUNDAY -
Actor Claudia Kim (AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON, EQUALS, THE DARK TOWER, FANTASTIC BEASTS: THE CRIMES OF GRINDLEWALD, GYEONGSEONG CREATURE [TV]) is 40. THE RAVEN Turns 63
The both famous and infamous Roger Corman would occasionally create quality movies despite his pursuit of schlock for profit. In his autobiography, How I Made A Hundred Movies In Hollywood And Never Lost A Dime, Roger explains that he knew when he was making cheap schlock and when he was trying for something greater. He didn't always achieve greatness when he tried. In fact he usually failed. But he always knew how to sell it. Continued at THE RAVEN. THE GODSEND Turns 46
Can a movie told as a Supernatural tale actually be a legitimate Science Fiction flick? A solid, even hardcore Science Fiction flick? Reviewer Kelly Parks thought so as this is what he saw when he watched 1980's THE GODSEND. THE MOTHMAN PROPHECIES Is 24
Just because a studio wants to make a scary Horror movie with A-List movie and TV actors doesn't mean they'll succeed. In fact it's so rare it's nearly guaranteed that they won't. Nearly Once in a great while a major studio has their THE MOTHMAN PROPHECIES moment. SATURDAY -
Actor Mischa Barton (ASSASSINATION OF A HIGH SCHOOL PRESIDENT, HOMECOMING, CYBERSTALKER, I WILL FOLLOW YOU INTO THE DARK, APARTMENT 1303 3D, A RESURRECTION, STARCROSSED, ZK: ELEPHANT'S GRAVEYARD, THE HOARDER, HOPE LOST, L.A. SLASHER, MONSTERS AT LARGE, THE TOYBOX, OUIJA HOUSE, THE BASEMENT, SPREE, INVITATION TO A MURDER, MURDER AT THE
EMBASSY, SLEEPWALKER) is 40.
VHS SUMMER CAMP Opens Today
And - KILLERS FROM SPACE Turns 72
A SciFi Monster movies from the 1950s was made for Drive-In theaters! If you know what I mean... And if you're thinking sex then you don't know what I mean. I'm talking the newly minted adults born in the 2000s who love Joe Bob Briggs and will swear that Horror movies were better in the 1980s. Seriously? Because the 80s ones that keep coming up in these conversations are movies like CRITTERS, KILLER KLOWNS FROM OUTER SPACE, David Cronenberg's THE FLY, and John Carpenter's THE THING, which all in turn were upgrading the retro nostalgia of 1950s monster movies. And when they did they sure as hell weren't trying to update this old flick. Why? Because it's not all beer and skittles, kiddies. More like backseat and bullshit, and the reason TV shows like Mystery Science Theater 3000 were born. Yeah, nostalgia is weird stuff and, other than the fun of mocking it, I can't figure out any appeal to KILLERS FROM SPACE. Plus - Dean Koontz's PHANTOMS Turns 28
Like EVENT HORIZON, this is one of those movies that came so tantalizingly close to great. Based on the bestselling novel by Dean Koontz, and with a screenplay by Dean Koontz, and starring the 1990s Weinstein stable of young actors, this could have been great. If only it wasn't a Dimension Film. But it was and this is how Dean Koontz's PHANTOMS played in the theater. Also - THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT is 22
Imagine you can go back in time. But because you're a self-centered, narcissistic douchebag you come back to your present to discover that you screwed people's lives up with the changes you made: People that you actually like! So you go back to fix things with a Pardon, Me! Okay. Everything's cushy, right? No, you insufferable douchebag! You've made everything worse! In 2004 Ashton Kutcher took on the role of a time traveling pain in the ass who thinks he's the most important person on the planet - which he is because he can travel forward and backward through time. And Ashton did this in THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT. Also - UNDERWORLD III: RISE OF THE LYCANS Turns 17
Are you a Werewolf fan who is really Likin' them Lycans? Then have I got a Bone to Throw to You! My review of UNDERWORLD III: RISE OF THE LYCANS. Finale - HAPPY HORROR THRILLER BIRTHDAYS TO -
THE COMEDY OF TERRORS Turns 62
Adults turned out in droves in 1964, but why? These actors were all has-beens and the scary movies those grown ups saw when they were children had the Horrors of a World War and a Korean "Conflict" between the who they were and who they are: grown-ups with their own kids. What Roger Corman understood that the studios didn't, is that these aging "has-beens" were still beloved by their legions of fans and there was a new generation to introduce to the old masters. A generation who would love them not for Horror, but for THE COMEDY OF TERRORS. And - HAPPY HORROR THRILLER BIRTHDAYS TO -
Actor Linda Blair (THE EXORCIST, EXORCIST II: THE HERETIC, SUMMER OF FEAR, HELL NIGHT, RED HEAT [1985], GROTESQUE, WITCHERY, MOVING TARGET, BAD BLOOD, BEDROOM EYES II, THE CHILLING, REPOSSESSED, DEAD SLEEP, FATAL BOND, SORCERESS [1995], MONSTER MAKERS, ALL IS NORMAL, LANDFILL, THE EXORCIST: BELIEVER) is 66.
26 Years of AMERICAN PSYCHO
When you say AMERICAN PSYCHO in 2026, everybody remembers Director Mary Harron's magnum opus and Christian Bale's breakout role. Few remember that it came from a New York Times bestselling novel. This is why, 25 years later, AMERICAN PSYCHO still dominates the room. And - HAPPY HORROR THRILLER BIRTHDAYS TO -
Actor John DeSantis (THE 13th WARRIOR, THE NEW ADDAMS FAMILY [TV], THIR13EN GHOSTS [2001], BLOODSUCKERS, Masters of Horror: INCIDENT ON AND OFF A MOUNTAIN ROAD, BLADE: THE SERIES [TV], THE HOLE [2009], STAN HELSING, 30 DAYS OF NIGHT: DARK DAYS, MUTANT WORLD, FALLING SKIES [TV], DEAD RISING 4 [VG], SUPERNATURAL [TV], VAN HELSING [TV], A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS [TV], CORRECTIVE MEASURES) is 49.
Actor Michael Wincott (CURTAINS, TALK RADIO, THE CROW, STRANGE DAYS, ALIEN: RESURRECTION, HIDDEN AGENDA,
ALONG CAME A SPIDER, HALO 2 [VG], A LONELY PLACE FOR DYING, INFEX [VG], HALO 2: ANNIVERSARY, NOPE) is 68.
THE TOMB OF LIGEIA Turns 62
At his prime actor Vincent Price was a handsome devil with a rich honeyed voice and a suave demeanor draped over a cad beneath. This was catnip to his overwhelmingly large female audience. But he never had a breakout hit like the major actors of his day and age range. For one thing, he presented the cool intellect of a tiger biding its time before the pounce. He wasn't the kind of actor that could carry a romantic movie, which is what all the A-List actors of his era had in their portfolio as their "break-out" movie. By the late 1950s, consigned to powerful character actor roles, a middle-aged and aging Vincent Price found his movie offers growing ever more Schlocky. So much so that he was approached by famed Schlockmiester Roger Corman. Roger made his name as a movie making machine who could turn a dime on the most ridiculous crap. Yet among all of his quantity, he occasionally created quality so stunning that the major studios and critics were left gasping. "How did that Corman make that picture?" Despite the occasional stumbles with each other, the two worked on eight Edgar Allen Poe movies together. Price the leading man in every one and Roger proving that he could make quality. It culminated in their last, most expensive and experimental: 1964's THE TOMB OF LIGEIA. Plus - THE GHOST AND MR. CHICKEN is 60
On his own and as a leading man way late in life, Stand-up comic and TV star, Don Knotts made exactly one Horror Comedy, one Science Fiction Comedy, and one Fantasy Comedy. And they were all hits! You can buy them in disc Don Knotts packs, but they're also available at premium prices on Bluray! That includes this one, THE GHOST AND MR. CHICKEN. Also - THE PROPHECY II Turns 27
Like any sequel from Dimension Films, if you liked the first one you probably won't be *that* disappointed by the Direct to Video second one. At least THE PROPHECY II offers just as much Christopher Walken as the first. Wassmor - UNDERWORLD: EVOLUTION is 20
Like any sequel released to theaters by Sony Pictures in the 2006 Dump Month of January, if you liked the first UNDERWORLD you may like the second, UNDERWORLD EVOLUTION, a little better. Finale - HAPPY HORROR THRILLER BIRTHDAYS TO - Actor Tom Baker (THE CANTERBURY TALES [1972], THE VAULT OF HORROR, FRANKENSTEIN: THE TRUE STORY, THE GOLDEN VOYAGE OF SINBAD, THE MUTATIONS, THE CURSE OF KING TUT'S TOMB, DOCTOR WHO [TV], SHERLOCK HOLMES: THE HOUNDS OF BASKERVILLES [TV - 1982], BACKTIME, DUNGEONS AND DRAGONS, AGATHA CHRISTIE MARPLE: TOWARDS ZERO) is 89.
YOU DUG IT For the 5th weekend in a row, one movie still has a death grip on the top of the Top Ten.
1. AVATAR: FIRE AND ASH wins for the 5th weekend in a row with a 33% drop in ticket sales against a 400 screen cut. Even after over 500 screens were cut from its showings, AVATAR, at 3,300 screens, still has more than most movies get in their first week of release. It has also crossed the $1 billion mark by well over $300 million. 2. 28 YEARS LATER: THE BONE TEMPLE Opening this week comes the sequel to last year's 28 YEARS LATER, itself a re-igniting of Danny Boyle's original 28 DAYS LATER. 4. THE HOUSEMAID, in its 5th week (can you believe they opened this against AVATAR? Oy! The chutzpah!) drops only 21% in box office against a 22 screen cut. 6. PRIMATE goes into freefall in only its 2nd weekend, falling from #2 to its new number with a 55% loss in BO despite no cut in screens. 7. THE LORD OF THE RINGS: FELLOWSHIP OF THE RINGS returned for a limited time in celebration of its 25th release anniverssary and brought in over $3.5 million on 349 screens, making it the #1 in per screen average over every other movie in the Top Ten. 9. ANACONDA, the 2025 remake with Paul Rudd and Jack Black suffered only a 33% drop in ticket sales against a 651 screen cut in its 4th weekend on the Top Ten. Bubbling Under - 13. NO OTHER CHOICE, with 4 weekends on the Top Twenty, holds onto last weekend's position with a 62% increase in ticket sales and a boost of 550 screens. Directed by Park Chan Wook (SYMPATHY FOR MR. VENGEANCE, OLD BOY, LADY VENGEANCE, THIRST), this is the one to watch for and boutique distributor NEON is being careful in guiding this. You Buried Nothing This Week 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 - TREMORS Turns 36
Ahh... remember when you were 18 and saw TREMORS in the theater for the first time? Well now yer 54 and yer OLD! 54 isn't the new 34! Yer old, damn it, Old! But you know what else? Your kids and possibly your grandkids still enjoy this damn movie! And you know why? You Know Why? This is why we still love TREMORS. Plus - FROM DUSK TILL DAWN Turns 30
In 1996, Fans were already wild over the fact that this movie would feature the talents of Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino together, but the unexpected showstopper wasn't the Balls-To-The-Wall Special Make-up Effects by Robert Kurtzman, but the appearance of Salma Hayek as Santanico Pandemonium: the Vampire Queen! This was my youthful reaction to 1996's FROM DUSK TILL DAWN. Finale - HAPPY HORROR THRILLER BIRTHDAYS TO -
I don't usually give Happy Birthdays to dead people, but dead people rarely have a career this active for so long after their death! SUNDAY -
Actor Dave Bautista (THE SCORPION KING 3, RIDDICK, GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY [all], L.A. SLASHER, SPECTRE, MARAUDERS, BUSHWICK, BLADE RUNNER 2049, AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR, HOTEL ARTEMIS, AVENGERS: ENDGAME, ARMY OF THE DEAD, DUNE, SEE [TV], ARMY OF THE DEAD [TV], DUNE, SEE [TV], GLASS ONION, KNOCK AT THE CABIN, DUNE PART 2) is 57. EVE OF DESTRUCTION Turns 35
You want to talk about a movie that is ripe for remake? A movie with a solid concept, great possibilities, amazingly untouched by all of the episodes of the WESTWORLD TV series (itself an unfortunate chock-a-block of missed opportunities), yet suffused with poor execution due to a complete misunderstanding of what such a plot entails? What this movie got wrong in 1991, the animated GHOST IN THE SHELL got right in 1995 (and the live-action movie got wrong in 2017). Still, just as there's more than one tale in a Zombie apocalypse, so there is more than one tale of robots in our future. This is EVE OF DESTRUCTION. FROM DUSK TILL DAWN 3 Turns 26
I'm old enough to remember 1999 and my Art House theater friends moaning over the fact that their beloved Foreign Artsy Queen, Sonia Braga, had lowered herself to be in a cheap Direct-To-Video movie sequel like this one. While Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino retained Producer name and rights, they had little involvement in this. Yet here was my friend's Sonia Braga slumming through a movie where she didn't even get top billing. She's not even on the poster! The thing about being an Art House fan of foreign actors, is that you miss everything that person does that never makes it to your little cinema alcove in your tony little 'hood. Your favorite star in the sky, unknown to the hoi polloi and all the more cherished for her relative obscurity "Why, you've never heard of Sonia Braga? Harrumph! Peasant1!" is not who you think she is. Sonia started and stayed in low-budget sex comedies and dramas. A large body of her work could charitably be viewed as the equivalent of late night cable adult soft core porn aka "Skinamax". It was not unusual for posters to feature her front and center, legs spread or cupping her breast. Once in a while she wound up in a good or great movie like KISS OF THE SPIDER WOMAN, The Milagro Beanfield War, and a few others, but she made her name in softcore skin flicks and in addition to her youth and beauty of the era, she could actually Act! In her country she regularly turned up in TV series. Sometimes she'd cross the pond to act in U.S.A. TV shows like an episode of TALES FROM THE CRYPT. None of which takes anything away from her training, experience, and talent as an actor, but she wasn't slumming in a low rent vampire flick. Sonia is a working actor: making another in a long string of movies in her career. Sonia fit right in with her other character actors in FROM DUSK TILL DAWN 3: THE HANGMAN'S DAUGHTER. 1Or "Pissant" in Texas. CLOVERFIELD Turns 17
For fans of Universal Pictures' FRANKENSTEIN franchise, they have their favored non-canon spin-off, YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN. Trekkies have their GALAXY QUEST and Romero's Children have SHAUN OF THE DEAD. But those are all comedies! In 2008, Drew Goddard and Matt Reeves decided to do a Kaiju movie with a light touch and a hardcore heart. They wanted you to laugh, cry, and be chilled to the bone. Which wound up making their movie less of a GODZILLA tribute, with CLOVERFIELD coming dangerously close to being a... GLASS Turns 7
Why does M. Night Shyamalan's final movie in his protean Superhero franchise join the ranks of rare trilogies that finished their franchise on top? This is why GLASS completes M. Night's nearly 2 decade masterpiece. SATURDAY -
Actor Naveen Andrews (MIGHTY JOE YOUNG, FUTURE TENSE, GRINDHOUSE, PLANET TERROR, THE BRAVE ONE, ANIMALS, LOST [TV], SINBAD [TV], ONCE UPON A TIME IN WONDERLAND [TV], SENSE8 [TV], INSTINCT [TV]) is 56.
CUBE Turns 28
It's nearly startling to watch this movie today, realize that it's nearly three decades old, and not only is this Science Fiction Horror Thriller not obsolete, it's a future that is so close it could be happening right now. No other movie is anything like it, and its sequels and remake never lived up to it. Still as relevant as it was 28 years ago, this is the icy hot tension wire of Vincenzo Natali's CUBE. And - DIE YOU ZOMBIE BASTARDS! Turns 19
There's nothing I have to say about Caleb Emerson's 2005 magnum opus that I didn't say in my review of DIE YOU ZOMBIE BASTARDS! Plus - MY BLOODY VALENTINE 3D Turns 17
It's a remake of a 1980s (1981 to be exact) Horror movie that did ... O-ka-ay-ee... So in 2009 they released a reboot that fixed all the gaps and crap that derailed the first one, right? Because after nearly 30 years, everyone had outlined exactly where the movie went wrong and what it could have done better and the folks remaking this paid attention to the audience they wanted to turn out for their movie, right? Right? Or maybe what they did was what we have with MY BLOODY VALENTINE 3D. Finale - HAPPY HORROR THRILLER BIRTHDAYS TO -
Director/ Producer/ Composer John Carpenter (ATTACK
ON PRECINCT 13 [1976], HALLOWEEN, THE FOG, ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK, HALLOWEEN II, THE THING, CHRISTINE, BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA, PRINCE OF DARKNESS, THEY LIVE, IN THE MOUTH OF MADNESS, GHOSTS OF MARS, VAMPIRES, Masters of Horror: CIGARETTE BURNS, Masters of Horror: PRO-LIFE, THE WARD, HALLOWEEN [2018], HALLOWEEN KILLS, HALLOWEEN ENDS) is 77.
IN DREAMS Turns 27 Starring Annette Bening (MARS ATTACKS!), Aiden Quinn (FRANKENSTEIN [1994]), Stephen Rea (INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE), and Robert Downey Jr. (IRON MAN), this movie had the misfortune of getting a 1999 release when the competition would be staggeringly high. January being a Hollywood "Dump Month" (especially then), meant this would be the best time to open your movie if studio confidence with it was in the toilet. Especially by comparison to 1999's extraordinarily high output later that year, this is what we thought of Neil Jordan's IN DREAMS. And Released on the Same Day - VIRUS Turns 27
VIRUS, based on the wildly popular Dark Horse Comic by Chuck Pfarrar, found initial favor with Science Fiction Horror movie Producer, Gale Anne Hurd (THE TERMINATOR, ALIENS, ALIEN NATION, TREMORS, THE WALKING DEAD [TV]). However, Jamie Lee Curtis (HALLOWEEN, PROM NIGHT, TERROR TRAIN) hates this movie, saying, "Virus is so bad that it's shocking. That would be the all time piece of shit. It's just dreadful." Under contract and from the start, she didn't want to work with neophyte director and pro SFX Artist, John Bruno, on his first full feature film (he'd only directed the opening segment, Dan O'Bannon's Soft Landing, for the animated movie HEAVY METAL). According to Jamie, she lobbied hard to to have John fired and Steve Miner (FRIDAY THE 13th: Part 2 and Part 3, HOUSE) hired, as she's fond of the movie they made together, HALLOWEEN: H2O. Steve, however, was busy working on the TV Show, Dawson's Creek. So you can take Jamie Lee Curtis word for it, or read what I had to say in my review of VIRUS. Plus - THE ATTIC Turns 18
Also - THE BOOK OF ELI Turns 16
Yep. I watched it in the theaters and reviewed it. Here it is, THE BOOK OF ELI. Wassmor - HAPPY HORROR THRILLER BIRTHDAYS TO -
SCANNERS Turns 44
1970s When you're making a low budget movie, and you're Canadian, even your previous, critically acclaimed movies can't save you because the government has a stranglehold on what you can and cannot do and say and are more than happy to throw you in prison if you attempt to thwart their rule. U.S.A. Directors may not like the arbitrary, even downright Byzantine process of the Film Ratings board of the MPAA, but that association has nothing on the film boards of Canada. 1980s It was with SCANNERS that David Cronenberg became acutely aware of this and made the move to Hollywood (and we know this because he said so - much to the surprise of Mick Garris, John Landis, and John Carpenter): Partly to protect his artistic vision but mainly to protect his liberty. Yes, the American studios may send him right back to the Motherland to shoot his movie, but by law he's protected by working on an American Production. And if there is one thing the Canadian bureaucracy will eagerly bend over and present to it's Money! No matter where that money comes from as long as it isn't out of their pocket. It's because of this that there's a deep line of demarcation between the brilliant concepts but awkward execution, or presentations of, SHIVERS, RABID, THE BROOD, and SCANNERS, compared to the brilliant concept and execution of Cronenberg's very next movie, VIDEODROME, and the rest of his 1980s output. For a long time, until a growing sense of Patriotism had him re-embrace the Motherland (It happens. Home is a tough place to stay away from forever, even if it is a tough place to live), SCANNERS was David's last film under the yoke. And - SUPERNOVA is 26
A quarter century later and this movie will never be a classic. But why? EVENT HORIZON came out in 1997 and that found its audience, warts and all. Why not SUPERNOVA? In story, direction, acting, editing, SFX, some combination or what have you, EVENT HORIZON felt like it had a sincerity to it. A whole bunch of somebodies were taking something old (PLANET OF THE VAMPIRES, IT! THE TERROR FROM BEYOND SPACE, ALIEN) and trying something new, entertaining, scary, unpredictable, yet exhilarating. Maybe it wasn't the best performer on stage that night: a feature instead of a headliner, but flaws and all, you enjoyed it. This is why SUPERNOVA felt like an embarrassment too pitiful to "Boo". Plus - HAPPY HORROR THRILLER BIRTHDAYS TO -
Actor Kevin Durand (DARK ANGEL [TV], TAKEN [TV], THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT, LOST [TV], TOUCHING EVIL, TOUCHING EVIL [TV], SCOOBY-DOO 2: MONSTERS UNLEASHED, THE ECHO, X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE, CONVICT, LEGION, I AM NUMBER FOUR, RESIDENT EVIL: RETRIBUTION, A DARK TRUTH, THE MORTAL INSTRUMENTS: CITY OF BONES, DARK WAS THE NIGHT, WINTER'S TALE, NOAH, THE CAPTIVE, THE STRAIN [TV], GARM WARS: THE LAST DRUID, SWAMP THING [TV], PRIMAL, DANGEROUS, LOCKE & KEY [TV], PANTHEON [TV], ABIGAIL, KINGDOM OF THE PLANET OF THE APES, CLOWN IN A CORNFIELD) is 52.
SON OF FRANKENSTEIN Turns 87
Thanks to a legal loophole, a loan that Carl Lamelle Jr. took out to finish his lavish musical Show Boat, wound up being called in and the studio taken out of the Lamelle family's hands forever - despite the fact that the movie was a critical and box office hit. Standard Capital's J. Cheever Cowdin, took over and rapidly drove the once proud Universal Studios straight off a cliff. So incompetent was Cowdin that even the other major studios were flabbergasted. Then popular comic, the late Groucho Marx, dubbed him "J. Cheever Loophole" and played the character in MGM's 1939 Marx Bros. movie, At The Circus. Though Cowdin was a leader in aviation financing, his ambition to show any imagination or creativity in entertainment rapidly doomed Universal Pictures - all except for one movie. Prior to foreclosure, the Lamelle's had SON OF FRANKENSTEIN in development. The hiring of players and the money to fund it was, to some extent, already spent. Cowdin did his best to lowball the returning actors, particularly Bela Lugosi, and gave second billing to the star, Boris Karloff, in favor of then popular actor, Basil Rathbone. Cowdin's problem was that he was charmless and unlikable and, where being a studio head was concerned, useless - except he didn't seem to know it, he thought he was an expert, and no amount of diminishing box office returns could convince him otherwise: It just had to be everyone's fault but his. There's no other possible explanation! After all, look how well he did in a field that had nothing to do with Show Business? So the people put to work on the movie, from veteran Director Rowland V. Lee (A NIGHT OF TERROR) to Karloff, Lugosi, Rathbone, and even Lionel Atwill - who all had their future careers to consider - decided to do things their way and screw any directives from the new studio boss. The result is what is still, 87 years later, considered the best of the Universal Pictures Frankensteins: SON OF FRANKENSTEIN. Plus - DEEPSTAR SIX Turns 37
Have you ever watched January 1989's DEEPSTAR SIX? Well then you've also seen March 1989's LEVIATHAN. Have you never seen DEEPSTAR SIX but you've watched LEVIATHAN? Well, it's like this: you've still seen DEEPSTAR SIX. Also - DEMON KNIGHT Turns 29 Hey wait! It's a popular cable TV show that has run its course! Do you really think you can get a hit movie out of a freshly cancelled TV show? In 1995 the TV show creators, Roger Zemekis (DEATH BECOMES HER), Walter Hill (ALIEN), Joel Silver (PREDATOR), and Richard Donner (THE OMEN) decided to take a chance and see how much life was left in the dead when they hired Director Ernest R. Dickerson to helm his first Horror movie, Tales From The Crypt: DEMON KNIGHT. Wassmor - ONE HOUR PHOTO is 24
What happens when you have one of America's most beloved Comics and take away their humor? For Comic and Actor Robin Williams, something profoundly unnerving happened on the screen in Writer and Director, Mark Romanek's ONEHOUR PHOTO. Finale - HAPPY HORROR THRILLER BIRTHDAYS TO -
Actor Orlando Bloom (THE LORD OF THE RINGS [all], PIRATES
OF THE CARIBBEAN: THE CURSE OF THE BLACK PEARL, DEAD MAN'S CHEST, AT WORLD'S END, THE GOOD DOCTOR, THE HOBBIT: THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG, THE HOBBIT: THERE AND BACK AGAIN, CARNIVAL ROW [TV], NEEDLE IN A TIMESTACK) is 48.
YOU DUG IT For the 4th weekend in a row, it should come as no surprise who has a death grip on the top of the Top Ten.
1. AVATAR: FIRE AND ASH wins for the 4rth weekend in a row with a 48% cut in ticket sales against a 135 screen cut. As always, never bet against JC. 2. PRIMATE takes the #2 spot in its opening weekend, earning more than half of its Production Budget at the box office. 3. THE HOUSEMAID, which opened against AVATAR (talk about a bad release date) holds onto its #3 spot from last weekend. Despite James Cameron sweeping all from his path, this movie has still made an impressive 5.5 times its Production budget (Risk can be rewarding), garnering a mere 28% drop in ticket sales while adding 53 screens - some of which were taken from AVATAR! 7. ANACONDA (2026) in its 3rd weekend drops from its #5 position with a 50% cut in ticket sales against a 434 screen cut. 15. WICKED: FOR GOOD after 8 weekends, this movie falls off last weekend's position at #9 on the Top Ten with a huge 69% drop in ticket sales against a 743 screen cut, earning less than $900 per screen. Having made only 3.5 times its Production budget in 2 months, it may need streaming and disc sales to push it into profit. 16. FIVE NIGHTS AT FREDDY'S 2 in its 6th weekend, falls off last weekend's #10 spot with a 67% drop in Box Office against a 954 screen cut. What matters, however, is that it made nearly 5 times its Production Budget, is likely in profit territory, and we may see a FIVE NIGHTS AT FREDDY'S 3 if the Producers can course correct. Bubbling Under - 13. NO OTHER CHOICE, despite dropping one place on the Top 20, actually increased its box office by 37% and added an additional 102 screens. This means that, while showing on only 147 screens, it made nearly twice as much in ticket sales, per screen, than the #1 movie. Its boutique distributor, NEON, is carefully and, apparently, wisely guiding this Suspense Thriller. You Buried Nothing This Week 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 - PRIMEVAL Turns 19
Imagine going to all of the trouble to make the best Killer Crocodile movie ever, only to see your movie get released in the Dump Month of January with little fanfare because there is a promising TV show in England that has such high hopes, it's already slated for a Mega-Budget U.S. television reshoot and their promotions and ads are everywhere! And the ads for the TV show, which has the same name as your movie, is about time travel - so has zero connection to your movie - YET many of the scenes involving people getting attacked by wild varmints look like your movie! Written by the team of John Brancato and Michael Ferris (THE GAME, TERMINATOR 3, SURROGATES) and by episodic television director Michael Katleman, this is why you may enjoy The Movie, PRIMEVAL far more than North American audiences cared for the TeeVee Show, PRIMEVAL. Also - HAPPY HORROR THRILLER BIRTHDAYS TO - SUNDAY -
Writer, Director, Darren Lynn Bousman (IDENTITY LOST, SAW II, SAW III, SAW IV, REPO: THE GENETIC OPERA, MOTHER'S DAY, 11-11-11, THE DEVIL'S CARNIVAL, THE BARRENS, ANGELUS, TALES OF HALLOWEEN, ALLELUIA! THE DEVIL'S CARNIVAL, ABBATOIR, ST. AGATHA, DEATH OF ME, SPIRAL, THE CELLO) is 47. KOLCHAK: THE NIGHT STALKER Turns 53
Different producers, different actors and directors - but only one writer consistently knew how to bring the scary to broadcast television. So scary and expert at keeping people glued to their sets, that his THE NIGHT made for TV movies made the nearly unique backward leap from TV to theatrical release. It had only happened once before: the previous time this writer wrote a scary TV movie: DUEL. His name was Richard Matheson (THE INCREDIBLE SHRINKING MAN, HOUSE OF USHER, THE PIT AND THE PENDULUM, THE TWILIGHT ZONE [TV], THE LAST MAN ON EARTH, TRILOGY OF TERROR), one of the most influential writers you may have never heard of. Matheson's novel I AM LEGEND inspired George A. Romero to make NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, actor Charleton Heston's THE OMEGA MAN, Steven Spielberg's I AM LEGEND. Richard's short story, LITTLE GIRL LOST inspired Steven Spielberg's POLTERGEIST (Spielberg's 2nd Richard Matheson scripted movie. He's directed three). Today I'm talking about how Richard adapted Jeff Rice's novel for the TV screen when he wrote KOLCHAK: THE NIGHTSTALKER. SATURDAY -
Writer, Director, Producer Walter Hill (THE GETAWAY, THE MAKINTOSH MAN, THE DROWNING POOL, THE WARRIORS, ALIEN [all], CROSSROADS, JOHNNY HANDSOME, TRESPASS, TALES FROM THE CRYPT [TV], TALES FROM THE CRYPT: DEMON KNIGHT, TALES FROM THE CRYPT: BORDELLO OF BLOOD, PERVERSIONS OF SCIENCE [TV], TALES FROM THE CRYPT: RITUAL, AVP: ALIEN VS. PREDATOR, AVPR: ALIENS VS PREDATOR, PROMETHEUS, ALIEN: COVENANT, DEAD FOR A DOLLAR) is 84. METROPOLIS Turns 98
It was today, possibly before your Grandparents were born and when your Great-grandparents were children, that a hardcore Science Fiction Horror movie, freely adapting Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley's FRANKENSTEIN (Being both the first Science Fiction novel and the first Horror novel) for the 20th century, was released on theater screens. But Mary's FRANKENSTEIN (itself inspired by the legends of a Golem, among others) wasn't this movie's foundation, but its launchpad. The result was a vision of the future by novelist and screenwriter, Thea von Harbou, that inspired vanguards of Liberty as well as Tyrants: Futurists and fascists. Some Dictators praised it while others banned it. This silent picture continues to strongly echo throughout many stories and movies since its birth. From its direct influence on Star Wars to TRON to BLADE RUNNER to the book and movies of Dune: 1984 to THE MATRIX to EQUILIBRIUM, the list is exhaustive. This is the movie that, throughout its history, has seen those who tried to preserve it and those who thought they'd destroyed the original. Up to this day, many filmmakers yearn to do a modern reboot, but no one knows how. Being nearly 100 years old, its certainly not for glazed over eyes and gnat-sized attention spans of modern smartphone droolers, but it remains a high bar that has yet to be reached: METROPOLIS. THE RELIC Turns 29
The Hollywood echelon - boardroom suits that pass through their jobs faster than contestants on America's Got Talent - maintaines their delusion that they are the guard of "Real Science" when it comes to Science Fiction movies. The only reason they throw endless fantasy nonsense into their science fiction is because the rest of us - rubes - wouldn't get it. Yet the fact remains that, by overwhelming numbers, science fiction movies that stick to the science (FORBIDDEN PLANET, THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL, 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY, ALIEN, THE TERMINATOR, THE THING, TREMORS) become enduring hits and those that don't, crash and burn. If you want to look for exceptions to this history you don't have to look far. Star Wars. That's all and that doesn't count the daffy Phantom Menace trilogy and the sappy Mary Sue trilogy after that. Yet in 1997 two science fiction monster movies came out, born in faux science so laughably bad that today they are known for being amusing jokes of mockery than anything of value. MIMIC - a movie even its director, Guillermo del Toro mocks - and today's embarrassment, released in the "Dump Month" of January. Peter Hyams old but never classic, THE RELIC.
THE KINDRED Turns 39
Okay, here's the thing and I know a few of my Horror fam can relate. There's this Horror movie that... well it's not perfect. We can't even call it great. Yet there's just something about it. It's not great, not awful, not So Bad It's Good. It's what I call a flawed gem, like the charmingly addictive THE KINDRED. And - THE UNBORN Turns 17
David S. Goyer has penned some of my favorite dark fantasy and dark science fiction movies. But though he approaches horror, as a director and writer he's yet to cross the border into Horror. An attempt was made in 2009 with THE UNBORN. Plus - DØD SNØ Turns 17
Of the many places NAZI Zombies could turn up, we've had them rise from old battlefields (OUTPOST), lakes (ZOMBIE LAKE), and the ocean (SHOCKWAVES). Norwegians Tommy Wirkola and Stig Frode Henriksen felt it was time for the world to witness NAZI Zombies in DEAD SNOW. Finale - HAPPY HORROR THRILLER BIRTHDAYS TO -
Actor Angela Bettis (BLESS THE CHILD, MAY, CARRIE [2002], TOOLBOX MURDERS, THE CIRCLE, Masters of Horror: SICK GIRL, THE WOODS, SCAR, WICKED LAKE, DRONES, THE WOMAN, TOM HOLLAND'S TWISTED TALES, DIG, 12 HOUR SHIFT, GHOSTS OF THE OZARKS, THE WEIRD KIDZ) is 52.
WHITE NOISE 2 Turns 17
Director Patrick Lussier (DRACULA 2000, MY BLOODY VALENTINE - 2009), and newbie writer Matt Venne did something so rare its arguably unique: They made a sequel better than the original, and I mean Way better than the original. Unfortunately their producer, Shawn Williamson (SANCTIMONY, BLACKWOODS, HOUSE OF THE DEAD, ALONE IN THE DARK, SEVERED, BLOODRAYNE, THE WICKERMAN - 2006, SEED, APOLLO 18, BLOODRAYNE II, lots of disposable Christmas TV roms for Hallmark, Lifetime, etc.), has made a career out of avoiding the effort of reaching for the lowest hanging fruit and just picks up what he can find rotting on the ground. Then he hires folks to spruce it up, glue some macaroni noodles to it, and spray it with gold taint in time for the annual Yard Sale (AFM). And boy does Shawn's IMDb page show it! Unfortunately for Patrick, as good a director as he is, he's spent his career waiting for paychecks from producer's like Shawn, despite the fact that he was fortunate enough to learn valuable work lessons by visionary indie rebels from Wes Craven to Guillermo Del Toro. Patrick seems to follow the Jimmy Sangster "Do You Want It Good Or Do You Want It Tuesday?" method of career path and, so far, all of his boss's want it Tuesday. So all of Patrick's talent, experience, and hard work couldn't save this movie from going straight to video - because Shawn can't tell a good movie from crap - and again - his body of work reflects this in 8K IMAX crystal clarity. Too bad, because WHITE NOISE 2 is the theatrical release movie WHITE NOISE should have been. And - DAYBREAKERS Turns 16
Some movies appear to be stuck in the culture of their country of origin. The Spierig Bros. make hit after hit in their native Australia, and their movies do well in the U.K. including Canada. Yet after nearly 20 years and movies with big name actors, they still can't break through the American Market. Find out about the hardcore vampire movie you may have never seen, DAYBREAKERS. Plus - HAPPY HORROR THRILLER BIRTHDAYS TO -
Actor Michelle Forbes (KALIFORNIA, LOVE BITES, ESCAPE FROM L.A., 24 [TV], BATTLESTAR GALACTICA [TV], GLOBAL FREQUENCY, HALF-LIFE 2 [VG], BATTLESTAR GALACTICA: RAZOR, WAKING THE DEAD [TV], TRUE BLOOD [TV], THE KILLING [TV], THE HUNTERS, ORPHAN BLACK [TV], THE RETURNED [TV - 2015], THE HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY Part 2, POWERS [TV], GEMINI, WOLFENSTEIN II: THE NEW COLOSSUS [VG], BERLIN STATION, TREADSTONE [TV], BIG SKY [TV]) is 60.
WHITE NOISE Is Old Enough to Hit the Bar!
Actor Michael Keaton's career is on an upswing, thanks in large part to his 2014 indie movie, BIRDMAN. But in 2005 it was a different story and it looked like Michael might sink forever thanks to a high profile studio distributed movie called WHITE NOISE. Plus - 15 Years ago Today: Nicolas Cage's SEASON OF THE WITCH Every famous person has their followers and detractors, yet actors are often limited by how many roles they've had and this is particularly true for how many leading roles they've had. For fans of Nicolas Cage, however, there are an embarrassment of riches in over 100 of his works. Plus, SEASON OF THE WITCH has Christopher Lee! Finale - HAPPY HORROR THRILLER BIRTHDAYS TO -
Actor Lauren Cohan (SUPERNATURAL [TV], DEATH RACE 2, YOUNG ALEXANDER THE GREAT, THE VAMPIRE DIARIES [TV], THE WALKING DEAD [TV], THE WALKING DEAD: DEAD CITY [TV]) is 44.
COMA Turns 48
How on earth can a Science Fiction Thriller, nearly half a century old, still be relevant? And what do you need to know to write one? Read my article on the Robin Cook and Michael Crichton Science Fiction Thriller, COMA. Plus - HOSTEL is 20
Imagine getting the opportunity to hang with Quentin Tarantino and one night, he wants to hear your pitches. So you tell him all of the ones you think he'd like and he's... whelmed. Well, you do have that one in your back pocket but, no, it's too crazy. No theater, no investor who wants to make their money back will help you get this movie made. But what the hell? It can't hurt to just tell Quentin about this idea you have for a movie called HOSTEL. Also - MEGAN is 4
They grow old so fast! With this 2022 release, Producer and co-writer James Wan finally figured out a way to bring his love of scary dolls (a fear he seems to share with Charles Band) into the modern age (instead of being merely supernatural) in a way that was fun and realistic enough to be bring the frights and chills. He brought in Gerard Johnstone, who made his mark in fun, scary Horror with his 2014 feature, HOUSEBOUND. This is how they did it with MEGAN. Finale - HAPPY HORROR THRILLER BIRTHDAYS TO -
Actor Elizabeth Blackmore (EVIL DEAD, THE VAMPIRE DIARIES [TV], SUPERNATURAL [TV], SLEEPING DOGS) is 38.
YOU DUG IT Once again, while some of the drops on the Top Ten this week were huge, none of the losses in ticket sales were damaging. It's just that the No. 1 spot is taking up most of the oxygen in the room. That movie being...
1. AVATAR: FIRE AND ASH wins for the third weekend in a row with a mere 37% cut in ticket sales against a 35 screen boost. As always, never bet against JC. And for proof, no new movies were released this week to compete against him that entered the Top Ten. 3. THE HOUSEMAID is far surpassing industry predictions. While all movies on the Top Ten this week suffered ticket sales losses from last week, this one got the smallest of cuts with only 3% (Box Office Mojo, who are more exacting in their figures, gave it a 2.9% cut), making good use of its added boost of another 28 screens. All of these combined made this little Suspense Thriller rise back up to its opening figure from last weekend's #4 dip. It's important to note that, while Critics "Like" THE HOUSEMAID enough, giving it an average 3 out of 5, its the audience survey's that rated this that Oh So rare HOT, with an average of 4.5. 5. ANACONDA holds onto its opening spot from last week with a small 31% cut in its ticket sales against no change in screens. 9. WICKED: FOR GOOD held onto last weekend's #9 position despite a 39% loss in ticket sales (Box Office Mojo says 38.9% cut) against a 131 screen cut. 10. FIVE NIGHTS AT FREDDY'S 2 also held onto its #10 spot despite the same 39% loss in ticket sales (Box Office Mojo says 38.7% cut) against a 294 screen cut. Despite earnings below expectations, throughout its 5 weeks in the Top Ten, it earned 4.5 times its Production budget. By comparison, WICKED: FOR GOOD cost nearly three times that, has two extra weeks of Top Ten over FREDDY'S, and earned less than 3.5 times its Production budget. So the FREDDY'S 2 take should put it in the profit zone (Marketing and Ad budget unknown). Bubbling Under -
11. WE BURY THE DEAD opened from boutique distributor, Vertical Entertainment on a modest 1,171 screens. It's got its work cut out for it as January is a traditional "dump month" for what studios consider their weakest fare and the dump truck pulls in next week. Still, flowers can grow from graves and this movie earned more per screen average than #8, #9, and #10 on the Top Ten.
12. NO OTHER CHOICE, thanks to its distributor, NEON, rose from last weekend's opening at #13 with a boost in ticket sales of 198% against an additional 32 screens! This is important because its only playing on 45 total screens world wide, yet out earned all of the movies on the Top Ten! In North America it earned a more than double per screen average than AVATAR: FIRE AND ASH! In only two weekends on fewer than 50 screens its nearly doubled its $12 million budget.
14. THE PLAGUE, from Boutique distributor IFC Entertainment got a big vote of confidence this week from them as it went from 2 screens to 588. That's still small bones and few theaters, but if it can build on that then IFC will likely work to get it more screens. How well all of the movies on the Top Ten do throughout the week will determine that and the "Who will get more screens for the weekend?" decisions have been made on last minute Thursdays. You Buried Nothing This Week 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 Clancy Brown (THE BRIDE, HIGHLANDER, BLUE STEEL, AMBITION, CAST A DEADLY SPELL, PET SEMETERY II, PAST MIDNIGHT, GARGOYLES [TV], STARSHIP TROOPERS, CARNIVÀLE [TV], THE BURROWERS [TV], A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET [2010], COWBOYS AND ALIENS, JOHN DIES AT THE END, AT ANY PRICE, HELLBENDERS, SPARKS, TRANSFORMERS PRIME [TV - Animated], THE LEGEND KORRA [TV - Animated], NOTHING LEFT TO FEAR, HOMEFRONT, HULK AND THE AGENTS OF S.M.A.S.H. [TV - Animated], TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES [2012-2017, TV - Animated], DOOM PATROL [TV], SLEEPY HOLLOW [TV], AXE COP [TV - Animated], LITTLE EVIL [TV], THOR: RAGNAROK, DETROIT: BECOME HUMAN [VG], THE VENTURE BROS. [TV], THE MORTUARY COLLECTION, LAST LOOKS, DEXTER: NEW BLOOD [TV], JOHN WICK 4, INVINCIBLE [TV - Animated]) is 66. SUNDAY -
Actor Matt Frewer (MAX HEADROOM, THE FOURTH PROTOCOL, FAR FROM HOME, THE STAND [TV], THE LANWMOWER MAN II, GARGOYLES [TV], DEAD MAN'S GUN, QUICKSILVER HIGHWAY, DEAD FIRE, THE INCREDIBLE HULK [TV - Animated], PSI FACTOR, THE HOUND OF BASKERVILLES [2000], THE SIGN OF FOUR [2001], THE ROYAL SCANDAL [2001], THE CASE OF THE WHITECHAPEL VAMPIRE [2002], TAKEN [TV], DAWN OF THE DEAD [2004], RIDING THE BULLET, DESPERATION, EUReKA [TV], WEIRDSVILLE, INTELLIGENCE [TV], WATCHMEN, RAMPAGE, BAG OF BONES, FALLING SKIES [TV], ORPHAN BLACK [TV], TIMELESS [TV], RESIDUE, ALTERED CARBON [TV], CASTLEVANIA [TV], THE ORDER [TV], FEAR THE WALKING DEAD [TV], THE MAGICIANS [TV], THE HUNTING PARTY [TV]) is 68. 53 Years of Emerson, Lake, and Palmer's BRAIN SALAD SURGERY
How can you blame me? I was just a child! The first time I ever saw Hans Rudi Giger's art was in an ancient used record store. It was an album cover to a band I'd never heard of, Emerson, Lake, and Palmer. The album was Brain Salad Surgery. By that H.R. Giger cover alone I knew I had to get it! I had to listen to it! But my parents took one look at that album cover and weren't just No, but an emphatic "Hell no!". My Catholic Pop never shook off the paranoia of watching THE OMEN (and never looked at me the same afterwards) just as he never shook his paranoia over surfing again after seeing JAWS (My Pop was no one to go to for advice about anything at all, but he was the only Father I knew and it would be a regrettably long time before I realized his flaws). Anyway, in that nameless record store I swore then and there on my first grade teacher's life (Mrs. Foresmo) that one day, I would buy that album! I patiently bided my time until adulthood and living on my own. Then I haunted used record stores. The original had a gateway fold out cover I'd discovered. None of that brand new single sleeve regular CENSORED cover or itty bitty CD album with a *Great Music! Great Price* sticker on it for me! Not after all of these years! I found it. I made sure it was the original pressing. It was! I bought it, took it home, and put it on my record player. After so many years, was I happy or disappointed in Emerson, Lake, and Palmer's BRAIN SALAD SURGERY?
SATURDAY -
Actor Alisen Down aka Alisen Richmond-Peck (COLD SQUAD [TV], MYSTERIOUS WAYS [TV], TRIPPING THE WIRE: A STEPHEN TREE MYSTERY, DA VINCI'S INQUEST [TV], BATTLESTAR GALATICA [TV], THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL [2008], CASE 39, PARADOX, GRACEPOINT [TV], LOST GIRL [TV], 12 MONKEYS [TV]) is 50.
TREMORS 4 is 22
Thanks to the distributor, Universal Pictures, tragic corporate culture of ever smaller budgets and demands for shorter production times (a well-established recipe for disaster) on sequels, the quality of the TREMORS francise from Stampede Entertainment dropped percent by percent. TREMORS 2 was only half as good as TREMORS and TREMORS 3 was only half as good as TREMORS 2. With TREMORS 2, the franchise was purely Direct to Video. By 2004, TREMORS 4 hit the rock bottom of Syfy Channel bilge. And - HAPPY HORROR THRILLER BIRTHDAYS TO -
Actor Tia Carrere (COVENANT, ZOMBIE NIGHTMARE, INTIMATE STRANGER, RISING SUN, TREACHEROUS, TRUE LIES, HOLLOW POINT, KULL THE CONQUEROR, TOP OF THE WORLD, DOG BOYS, SCAR CITY, THE NIGHT OF THE HEADLESS HORSEMAN, RELIC HUNTER [TV], TORN APART, SUPERNOVA, DARK HONEYMOON, IN PLAIN SIGHT [TV], SCOOBY DOO! MYSTERY INCORPORATED [TV], GUTSHOT STRAIGHT, THE GIRL [2016], LEGEND OF HALLOWAIIAN) is 58.
HAPPY NEW YEAR BIRTHDAYS TO -
Actor Jonas Armstrong (GHOST SQUAD, BOOKS OF BLOOD, THE FIELD OF BLOOD, RAGE OF THE YETI, TWENTY8K, EDGE OF TOMORROW, LOOK THE OTHER WAY AND RUN, GHOST SEEKERS [TV], THE DROWNING [TV], HOLLINGTON DR. [TV], LOOK THE OTHER WAY AND RUN, C.B. STRIKE [TV], AFTER THE FLOOD [TV], COMA [TV]) is 45. But that's not what happened. This is: - A film that was "Completed" is now "Production Unknown"? Colloquially, where there's smoke there's fire but in this case there's No Smoke and No Fire where a Fire should be. It's as if both the novel and the movie is silently disappearing and none of the usual publishing and motion picture sources are reporting anything. Martyr's Crossing is still available at online book retailers, except at Target where the sales page for it was scrubbed. Why? I don't know why. This is all I know. Please contact me if you have any credible sources.
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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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