Scare and Scare Alike

Official Trailer and Poster for “Monster Brawl” makes me giddy like a ten-year-old

via Werewolf News by Andrew on 9/8/11

I last posted about Monster Brawl a year ago, when we didn’t know much more than the basic premise and some casting information. Now, with an official site, official trailer (see below) and a delightfully authentic poster (see further below), it looks like we’re getting closer to seeing these monsters kick each other’s asses. Here’s a synopsis from the film’s Facebook page:

Set in the tradition of a Pay-Per-View main event, comes a grotesque and hilarious fight to the death featuring a cast of eight classic combatants in all. Along with their colorful managers, these Monsters compete in visceral bloody combat in the ring to determine the most powerful monster of all time. Monster Brawl stars comedian Dave Foley (Kids in the Hall, Bugs Life, Despicable Me), wrestling icons Jimmy Hart – The Mouth of the South, Kevin Nash, revered MMA referee Herb Dean, Robert Maillet (300, Sherlock Holmes, The Immortals), Art Hindle (Porky’s, Black Christmas) and the voice of horror legend and Call of Duty narrator Lance Henriksen (Aliens, Terminator). Monster Brawl is sure to be a cult classic in the making!

There’s no release date yet, but the film is making the rounds at these festivals:

International Premiere - Lund International Fantastic Film Festival
European Premiere – Slash Film Festival
Calgary Premiere/Black Carpet Gala – Calgary International
Toronto Premiere - TORONTO AFTER DARK FILM FESTIVAL – Horror, Sci-Fi, Action & Cult Movies
French Premiere – Fantastique Semaine Du Cinema

Watch this trailer and tell me this doesn’t look like a throwback to everything that was awesome about being a rowdy ten-year-old boy in 1991.

You want more? That’s good, because I have more. Here’s the poster, which prominently features the Undead Conference vs. Creature Conference matchup between Frankenstein and Werewolf. Dang, I got a little giddy just typing the last half of that sentence.

'Dog Soldiers: Red' Teaser Teases 'Dog Soldiers 2'

via Bloody-Disgusting Horror News on 9/12/11

Neil Marshall's Dog Soldiers is still part part of the horror conversation almost ten years after its' release, so it makes sense that Dog Soldiers 2 is something of a long awaited project. While Dog Soldiers 2 is still in pre-production, its producers at Kismet Entertainment have started rolling on the Dog Soldiers: Legacy web series while they get warmed (and to get you warmed up) up for their feature. Today we have the first installment in the web series, Red, along with some stills from the shoot! The Dog Soldiers: Red trailer" brings back a sense of the unique werewolf style that we have all come to love from the original 'Dog Soldiers' film... Based on a modern-day version of Little Red Riding Hood, multiple members of Allens family took part in the Ryan Lightbourn-directed trailer including his grandmother Pat Nan Allen who plays the awaiting grandma and his sister Emmy Allen who portrays Red.... Kismet Entertainment is also in the early stages of pre-production for the first sequel to the 2002 cult hit 'Dog Soldiers'. Hit the jump of the teaser and stills.

Alex Proyas Reunites With 'Dark City's Rufus Sewell for 'Paradise Lost'

via Bloody-Disgusting Horror News on 8/23/11

Officially excited... Director Alex Proyas is looking to reteam with his Dark City star Rufus Sewell, who's in negotiations to join the cast of Paradise Lost at Legendary Pictures, reports Variety. He would join the previously cast Bradley Cooper, Benjamin Walker and Djimon Hounsou. Written in 1667, Milton's epic poem revolves around the fall of man and the classic battle of good vs. evil, telling along the way the story of Satan/Lucifer, the angel who tries to overthrow God, and the temptation of Adam and Eve and their expulsion from the Garden of Eden. The project tells the story of the epic war in heaven between archangels Michael and Lucifer, and will be crafted as an action vehicle that will include aerial warfare, possibly shot in 3D.

How To Make Twilight Awesome

via Fraggmented by John Seavey on 8/14/11

I watched the Rifftrax of 'Twilight' last night, and while I could review the film itself, I think I know my reading audience well enough to be reasonably sure that you've all formed your opinions of the film/book/franchise already, and they're not good. (The only thing I think is directly worth mentioning is the lighting in the film. They chose a tonal palette of muted, wintery blue and green lighting that made the whole thing even more of an ordeal than it would have been already. I felt like I was watching the world's first movie shot entirely underwater.) But it did occur to me that the movie could actually have been very intense and intelligent if they'd made one small change...
It would have been actually pretty decent if Bella hadn't loved Edward.
I mean, I'm not telling anyone anything they don't already know when I say that Edward comes off as a creepy, domineering, borderline abusive stalker. He threatens her, he breaks into her room, he veers between wildly overprotective and actually endangering, he constantly talks about how he loves her so much that he wants to kill her...it's a non-stop Disturbing Behavior Festival, and you spend the whole movie wishing Bella would come to her senses and get a restraining order.
But what if that's exactly what she did? What if she really did recognize that Edward was downright dangerous, that his obsessive attraction to her was a threat to her life and safety, and that he really was a bloodthirsty monster whose tenuous self-control was the only thing that stood between her and a brutal death with an eternal unlife hungering for the blood of the living if she was "lucky"? What if, on realizing it, she then realized that there wasn't a whole hell of a lot she could do because getting someone involved was just signing their death warrant, and her only hope involved establishing an emotional connection with the Cullen family so they saw her as more than just a meal? You've already got the tension of "abusive boyfriend and girl who knows that nobody can help her", might as well make deliberate use of it instead of fighting it for your entire franchise.
A four-book series about a teenage girl trying desperately to stay on the good side of a group of barely-sane vampires, knowing that there's no hope for her if they take a mind to kill her, but needing to use them to keep her away from the even crazier vampires because apparently her super-power is being yummy? That might be readable.
If, y'know, someone else wrote it.

'House of Wax'/'Orphan' Helmer Destroys New York With 'Akira' Weapon

via Bloody-Disgusting Horror News on 7/14/11

Warners has come back to their senses having enlisted Orphan, House of Wax and "The River" helmer Jaume Collet-Serra to direct the live-action version of the anime cult classic Akira, reports Variety. WB acquired the project for a seven-figure sum from Japanese manga publisher Kodansha in 2008. Ruairi Robinson and Albert Hughes were previously attached to direct the adaptation of Katsuhiro Otomo's graphic novel, with Hughes exiting the project amicably in May as a result of creative differences. Gary Whitta was the first writer attached, while Albert Torres and the team of Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby also contributed drafts. Steve Kloves wrote the latest draft, having been WB's go-to scribe for its lucrative "Harry Potter" franchise. Set in New Manhattan, story follows the leader of a biker gang who saves his friend from a medical experiment. Appian Way's Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Davisson Killoran are producing with Mad Chance's Andrew Lazar. Otomo, who wrote and directed the popular 1988 Japanese anime pic of the same name, will exec produce "Akira."

Werewolf bikini set from Iron Fist

via Werewolf News by Andrew on 7/9/11

Last year Iron Fist brought you werewolf-themed high heels, flats and clutch purses, and now their product designers have turned their sights on the beach scene with this werewolf print bikini set. This is good. This is sensible. This is how you build a brand.

The regular price is $48.00 US, but as of this post the bikini set is on sale for $30.00, and sizes run from XS to 2XL. If you are a lady of any shape or size and you are reading this web site, I have a suggestion: buy this bikini, get in touch with others who have done the same, and form an official opposition to the Swedish Bikini Werewolf Destruction Unit.

A 'Strippers vs Werewolves' Poster That Doesn't Suck

via Bloody-Disgusting Horror News on 6/23/11

Remember this embarrassing teaser for Black & Blue Films' Strippers vs Werewolves? Thankfully the producers have spent some cash and delivered a brand new Sucker Punch-inspired quad that's way more professional. Centered around "Vixens", a London strip-club, Strippers vs Werewolves stars Adele Silva, Barbara Nedeljekova (star of Hostel), Lucy Pinder, Billy Murray & Superman villain Sarah Douglas and will be directed by Jonathan (13 Hrs) Glendenning. "When werewolf chief Jack Ferris is accidentally killed in a strip club the girls who work there have until the next full moon before his bloodthirsty wolfpack seek murderous retribution..."

New Images, Interview with 'Some Guy Who Kills People' Writer/Producer

via Bloody-Disgusting Horror News on 6/22/11

There's a whole lot going on with Jack Perez's Some Guy Who Kills People, a horror-comedy about a lonely, small-town loser who sets out to kill each of the men he deems responsible for his miserable life. Writer/producer Ryan Levin wrote us to reveal that the film will be playing PiFan, Fantasia Fest, Fantaspoa and RioFan, and has asked for support via Facebook and Twitter. In addition, Levin took some time out of his busy schedule and appeared on a pair of podcasts, the Rex Sikes Movie Beat and on Blog Talk Radio. There he discusses the process of getting the money, casting, shooting the movie and now getting the movie out there. We scored some brand new stills, all of which can be found inside.

Apex Books Has a Chance to Join the Big Leagues and You Can Help

via Horror Books with the Undead Rat by The Undead Rat on 6/21/11

Apex Book Company is one of the scrappiest small presses around specializing in horror, dark fantasy and science fiction stories.
They’re the company who brought us such off beat books as HebrewPunk by Lavie Tidhar, Orgy of Souls by Maurice Broaddus and Wrath James White, The Monster Within Idea by R. Thomas Riley, Harlan County Horrors edited by Mari Adkins, Starve Better by Nick Mamatas and Let’s Play White by Chesya Burke just to name a few.
Aegri Somnia edited by J. Sizemore and G. Ainsworth, Mama’s Boy and Other Dark Tales by Fran Friel and Dark Faith by Maurice Broaddus and Jerry Gordon are all Stoker nominated works.
Taste of Tenderloin by Gene O’Neill and To Each Their Darkness by Gary A. Braunbeck won Stoker Awards.
Recently, a major distributor has indicated a desire to put Apex Books into a bookstore near you. This requires a shift in production from small print runs to large productions like major presses.
To make that shift, Apex needs to raise $5,000 within a month.
They have 21 days left.
You have an unpresidented chance to help raise the money through Peerbackers.
Peerbackers assists in raising funds through collective donations from people like you and me. It’s called cloudfunding.
Click this link as Apex Books joins the big leagues with your help.
You can donate $10, 25, 50, 100, 250, up to $1,000. When you click on the Peerbacker link, you can see the list of donation stages to the right along with benefits and a talley of backers.
Apex is ready to move into bookstores everywhere — they just need a little help.
Donate if you can, what you can.

Bloody Gets Evil With Elvira, Mistress of the Dark!

via Bloody-Disgusting Horror News on 6/13/11

Growing up Catholic, in Kansas, being a bit too overzealous, overweight (for a time) and loving horror films, I had a lot working against me. Perhaps that's why I was always drawn to the one and only Elvira, Mistress of the Dark. She embodied everything I dreamed of being. Quirky, always having the right comment at the right time, strong, funny, independent, and of course, hotter than hell! Luckily, being born in the late 70s, I was able to grow up watching Movie Macabre and its iconic hostess (which was a hell of a lot better than our local station's knock off!). Movie Macabre began in 1981 and since then Elvira has become a household name with her likeness on everything from beer to perfume to guitars to theme parks. In 1989, Elvira: Mistress of the Dark was released in theatres, with a follow up, Elvira's Haunted Hills, in 2001. Last year, Elvira's Movie Macabre returned to the air in September. Two DVD sets will be released Tuesday, featuring Elvira's signature, unflinching, tongue-in-cheek commentary of some of the "greatest" B-movies ever to unspool. The release kicks off with the zombie-themed pairing of George Romero's Night of the Living Dead with I Eat Your Skin, and a double-bill of Hammer Film's The Satanic Rites of Dracula with The Werewolf of Washington. Both discs are fantastic, including a music video by Ghoultown, behind the scenes, a photoshoot, and a now famous viral video shot by Elvira herself (see interview) - fans will only be disappointed with the fact that there isn't enough Elvira! I had the pleasure of speaking with the woman behind Elvira, Cassandra Peterson, on the phone this week. If you don't know her story, and you are interested in knowing more about her, I encourage you to check out her site www.elvira.com and read her bio. She is truly an extraordinary woman!