Horror Community Highlights – October 2nd, 2009

  • Film Poster Paintings from Ghana
    Ephemera Assemblyman
    I’ve never seen “Monster Evil Protact,” but based on the Ghanan artwork for it, I would certainly like to.
  • Review – Devil Hunter (Sexo Canibal)
    Horror Extreme Movie
    “If you like ‘sleaze for the sake of sleaze’ exploitation flicks then Jess Franco is a director delivered by angels.”
  • Dial “Z” For Zombie
    The Horrors of it All
    A “wickedly goofy” zombie tale from Jim Mooney
  • Jack Hill: The Exploitation and Blaxploitation Master
    The Groovy Age of Horror
    Douglass has written a solid review that also pays tribute to “the good old days of seat of your pants film making.”
  • 21st Century Terrors, Part 1: 2000
    The Vault of Horror
    This is part one of a year-by-year assessment of this decade’s horror films. The folks at the vault don’t seem all that impressed with the year 2000, but they do concede that it included such gems as Shadows of the Vampire, Ginger Snaps, Final Destination, AND American Pyscho.
  • Review of Deathbell
    Brutal as Hell
    In this horror gem from South Korea, “there’s no getting Saved by the Bell”
  • Deadline: News roundup
    The Inevitable Zombie Apocalypse
    Not only is this arguably the greatest name for a website ever, they do us all the service of featuring DAILY news on all things zombie-related.


email suggestions for next week’s community highlights to jon@evilontwolegs.com

Hammer Glamour Winner

after a very complicated and technologically sophisticated random selection procedure (i.e., i put everyone’s name on a scrap of post-it note, placed them in a plastic bowl and had a co-worker pick one), we’ve decided on a winner for our hammer glamour book give-away!

in addition to running one of the most stylish and polished websites i’ve ever seen, micah from reeldistraction.com is also now the proud owner of the ladies of hammer horror book, hammer glamour! congrats, micah, and thank you to all that entered!

for those of you that are not micah, hammer glamour is now available to be purchased at amazon and, i’m fairly certain, other fine bookish-like-object retailers everywhere.

Elm Street Remake Trailer

the new a nightmare on elm street remake trailer is out, and it’s surprisingly good. i wasn’t particularly interested in this remake until this trailer, but now they’ve got my attention. i’d say they’ve definitely chosen the right guy to put on robert englund’s glove, as this freddy is definitely creepy. we’ll see if this freddy surpasses the original, but i can already tell that i prefer the character makeup this time around as it looks far more realistic.

i’ve seen some people complaining that this remake is unnecessary, some even to the point of boycotting watching the trailer. to me, that’s just silly… whether they turn out good or bad, i love seeing other people’s interpretation of stories i love. macbeth is my favorite of shakespeare’s works, and i enjoy seeing it reinterpreted by different directors and actors time and time again. the same is true of my favorite horror films. remake them all, i say. and when they’re done remaking them… remake them again. the more horror films out there, remakes or original, the better.

Horror DVD Releases – Week of September 29th, 2009

(descriptions from netflix and bestbuy)

The Hills Run Red (2009)
When they hear there’s a complete print of their favorite slasher movie hidden in their hometown’s backwoods, a group of horror movie buffs heads out in search of the celluloid treasure. Once arriving at their destination, they discover that the carnage captured in the movie was completely real, and worse yet, the filmmakers are looking to spill more blood before they’re ready to call “cut.” Sophie Monk and William Sadler star.

Dinner with a Vampire (1988)
Hoping to land roles in an upcoming movie by enigmatic horror director Jurek (George Hilton), four aspiring actors agree to spend the night in his creepy, isolated castle — only to discover that the auteur is an ancient vampire. But the thespians are in for an extra shock when Jurek announces the real reason he lured them to his mansion. Patrizia Pellegrino co-stars in this Italian horror film directed by Lamberto Bava.

The Shortcut (2008)
When Derek (Andrew Seeley) moves to a new town and discovers a shortcut through the woods to his high school, he learns about a crazy old man who lives near its path: Legend has it that he abducted a group of teenagers years ago. Ignoring the warning, Derek and his friends set out to uncover the dark secret that’s buried deep in the woods. But will they survive to tell it? Shannon Woodward and Katrina Bowden co-star in this creepy thriller.

The Hanging Woman (1973)
Upon his uncle’s death, Serge Chekov (Stelvio Rosi) journeys to a spooky Scottish village for the reading of the will. But when he inherits the estate, Serge runs afoul of his uncle’s jealous wife (Maria Pia Conte), his business partner (Gérard Tichy), his maid (Dyanik Zurakowska) and others. It’s not long before zombies join the fun in this Italian supernatural thriller, also starring Paul Naschy as a nutso gravedigger.

Farmhouse (2008)
When they crash their car near an isolated vineyard, Chad (William Lee Scott) and Scarlet (Jamie Anne Allman) seek shelter at the house of locals Samael (Steven Webber) and Lilith (Kelly Hu), who turn the couple’s overnight stay into a nightmare of hellish imprisonment and torture. Now, Chad and Scarlet must confront a terrible secret from their past if they hope to escape with their lives. George Bessudo directs this tense thriller.

Uninvited/Mutant (1984)
Greedy corporate misdeeds yield horrific results in this double bill of 1980s B-movie treats that feature a killer cat, a greedy gangster, a toxic waste disaster and a town overrun with zombie cannibals. In Uninvited, a feline freak of nature flees a sinister corporation’s laboratory and wreaks havoc on board a mobster’s yacht, and in Mutant, chemical dumping in a small Southern town turns the residents into undead bloodsuckers.

Nightmare (2005)
A celebratory night of sex following a screening of his new movie turns into a nightmare for an up-and-coming filmmaker when he wakes up to find a camera focused on his bed and a video seeming to show he and his sex partner committing murder. Jason Scott Campbell stars as the aspiring director and Nicole Roderick is his girlfriend in this horror flick that has the young helmer sorting out his nightmare the only way he knows how — by filming it.

Haunting of Winchester House (2009)
When a young family moves into the famously haunted Winchester House, a wildly sprawling mansion built by an eccentric heiress, they begin to wonder if the tales of spooks and ghosts roaming the halls may actually be true. But all their doubts are erased when an evil spirit takes their own daughter captive. This horror-thriller from director Mark Atkins stars Lira Kellerman, Tomas Boykin, Patty Roberts and Michael Holmes.

Flesh, TX (2009)
While passing through the backwater burg of Flesh, Texas, Donna Parker (Eleni C. Krimitsos) suddenly finds herself propelled into a nightmarish world when her daughter, Tabitha (Jada Kline), disappears from a filling station. After seeking help from the less-than-obliging town sheriff (Dale Denton), Donna goes looking for Tabitha — a pursuit that leads to the insane, inbred Barley clan in director Guy Crawford’s blood-spattered tale of horror.

Burke and Hare (1972)
When a man in their Edinburgh boarding house dies, poor Irish immigrants Burke (Derren Nesbitt) and Hare (Glynn Edwards) discover they can make good money by supplying corpses for scientific study to a doctor at the university medical school. Inconvenienced by the lack of available cadavers, the cunning pair soon turn to murder to maintain their revenue stream. Vernon Sewell directs this classic comedy-horror romp that co-stars Harry Andrews.

New to Blu-ray

Horror Community Highlights – September 25th, 2009



email suggestions for next week’s community highlights to jon@evilontwolegs.com

Hostel’s Elite Hunting Logo Shirt

inspired by 1twistedmind‘s twitter request for info on a hostel ‘elite hunting’ logo t-shirt, i began looking around for such an item for myself. i found one at tshirtbordello.com that was close to what i wanted, but it has the film title in letters bigger than anything else, which sort of ruins the design for me and kills any subtlety the logo may have had.

i couldn’t find any that just had the bloodhound and the company name, so i decided to just go and make it myself. the finished logo is hardly a huge accomplishment in graphical design, but simple is what i was going for. if anyone else happened to want such a shirt, i’ve added a few variations of it to my zazzle store.

Horror Posters: Japan



Re-Animator
housesmall5be
House of 1000 Corpses
The Evil Dead
Dead Alive (Braindead)
Dead Silence
Cannibal Ferox (Make Them Die Slowly)
Day of the Dead
An American Werewolf in London
Tremors
Cannibal Holocaust
Friday the 13th
Dawn of the Dead
Friday the 13th Part VII
Friday the 13th Part V
Rosemary’s Killer (The Prowler)
Army of Darkness
Phantasm
The Thing
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
Twilight

Horror DVD Releases – Week of September 22nd, 2009

(descriptions from netflix and bestbuy)

Book of Blood (2008)
Based on the writings of horror master Clive Barker, this creepy thriller centers on paranormal expert Mary Florescu (Sophie Ward) and spiritual medium Simon McNeal (Jonas Armstrong), who band together to investigate the mysterious occurrences of an alleged haunted house. When hostile spirits begin to speak through Simon in a horrifying fashion, he and Mary discover that the house may be a crossroad of spiritual paths.

Friday the 13th: Season 3 (1989)
A long-ago pact with the devil continues to yield grave consequences for the staff of Vendredi’s Antiques, as plucky owner Micki (Louise Robey), occult expert Jack (Chris Wiggins) and handsome Johnny (Steve Monarque) race to find the jinxed relics of Lewis Vendredi. In the third season of the serial horror sensation, the trio tracks down a poison-producing tea set, a painting by the Marquis de Sade, a deadly cross from the Crusades and more.

The Haunted World of El Superbeasto (2009)
Mexican wrestler El Superbeasto (voiced by Tom Papa) may be well past his prime, but that won’t stop him and his sultry sister, Suzi-X (Sheri Moon), from saving the world from the greedy and evil clutches of Dr. Satan (Paul Giamatti). Rob Zombie adapts his own comic book series into this gleefully filthy monster adventure, which also features the voice talents of Brian Posehn as Murray the Robot and Rosario Dawson as Velvet Von Black.

Albino Farm (2008)
Decades of religious fanaticism in an Ozark Mountain town have produced an in-bred community of albino misfits who have become the stuff of legend in surrounding areas. Now, four college pals are trapped there when their research trip goes awry. Stuck in a land of pigment-impaired predators, the group struggles for survival in this horror fest starring Chris Jericho, Tammin Sursok, Richard Christy and Duane Whitaker.

Edges of Darkness (2008)
The undead roam Earth after a global apocalypse in this collection of three films, each following survivors’ tales as they battle flesh-eating zombies, vicious vampires and crazed holy men bent on finishing God’s judgment. While a girl captured by vampires discovers her own way to fight back, a lonely writer uses a macabre energy source to power his computer, and a survivalist protects a boy who manifests a whole new kind of evil.

Grave Danger (2009)
Home alone, Becky (Debbie Kopacz) is already on edge from a night of watching scary movies when an anonymous caller takes her terror to the brink by forcing her to trade spooky stories with him in this Jim Haggerty-helmed horror flick. Tales of murderous ventriloquist dummies, housewives ensnared by voodoo and more follow in an agonizing game of one-upmanship that could end up with Becky dead. Cathy St. George and Vic Martino co-star.

Witchmaster General (2009)
LA Guns lead singer Phil Lewis stars as the evil Dr. Phineas Gorgan, a witch doctor who runs a killing business, in this Jim Haggerty-helmed chiller featuring horror babe Suzi Lorrain, “Sopranos” alum Vic Martino and centerfold Colleen Marie. From bad bosses to wandering wives, the accommodating Dr. Gorgan will take care of whoever bothers you, but the price is your soul in this sexy, scary romp from a master of the genre.

New to Blu-ray

Hammer Glamour

titan books was kind enough to send us a preview copy of their upcoming book hammer glamour. the book details a bit of the history of hammer studios before giving a comprehensive list of the starlets that made the films famous. each actress is given their own filmography and biography, complete with gorgeous photographs and images from their films. i’ve rarely been as impressed by the design of a published work as i am by this hardcover coffee table book.

the book can be pre-purchased through amazon or, even easier, you can win a copy from us for nothing but the cost of the time it takes to write an email! simply send an email to me at corey@evilontwolegs.com with something like “I WANT THAT BOOK” or “GIMME GIMME GIMME” as the subject line, and you’re automagically entered into the contest. or just leave a comment on this post (be sure to fill in your email). what could be easier?

win it or buy it, this is a ‘must-have’ for anyone with an interest in the hammer horror films, their history and their leading ladies. or even those just interested in vampire twins.

[contest ended… see the winner here!]

Horror Community Highlights – September 18th, 2009

  • Unusual Histories
    Arbogast on Film
    Incredibly, Arbogast works in references to W.H. Auden, Jeffrey Dahmer, and Lord Byron in this smart and savvy analysis of the sexual politics in Jack Arnold’s 1955 film Tarantula.
  • The Happiness of the Katakuris (Katakuri-ke no kôfuku)
    Horror Extreme
    Takishii Miike has made a musical and so the hills are alive with the sound of screaming.
  • Review: Zombieland
    All Things Horror
    Chris has written a pithy and fun review. And while you’re at ATH, check out on Mike’s tribute to Margot Kidder.
  • The Five Slasher Remakes You Meet in Heaven
    Slasher Speak
    In what looks to be the decade of the horror remake, Vince offers some films that really could benefit from a reboot.
  • Vampire With the Iron Teeth
    The Horrors of it All
    In the golden age of horror comics, vampires didn’t sparkle or glint or glisten even with reflective metal teeth.
  • Beware the Moon (2009)
    Horror Movie a Day
    This terrific documentary is finally available as a special feature on Blu-Ray versions of An American Werewolf in London.
  • The Terror of Toy Story
    The Paradise of Horror
    A very interesting article that reinterprets the classic pixar film as a horror story.


[email suggestions for next week’s community highlights to jon@evilontwolegs.com]