Horror Rundown 2013 So Far

Since we’re halfway through 2013, I thought it would be fun to give you a rundown on all the horror films released so far this year. I am not listing limited release films, films that are currently running on the horror convention circuit or straight-to-Blu-ray films. These are films that had been released on over 2,000 theater screens.
This year was started with Texas Chainsaw 3D, a film that picks up after Tobe Hooper’s original 1974 classic The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Ignoring the two remakes before it, this tells the tale of what happens to the mascot of the series, Leatherface when his long-lost cousin comes to visit. I was excited for this movie but I left disappointed due to the lack of story and huge plot holes.
Next up we have Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters. This film, at face value, seems silly as the story picks up where the fairy tale left off. The brother and sister duo take up bounty hunting witches. The film is surprisingly fun and not to be taken seriously with high-paced action and a dark comedic tone, it was entertaining.
Mama, shot in Hamilton and the Kitchener-Waterloo area is a middle-of-the-road ghost tale. The plot starts off with two sisters being abandoned in the woods, they are found with the help of an uncle a couple years later but a mysterious ghost called Mama has followed the two sisters to their new home. It’s an OK movie but best suited for young teens that are just curious about the genre and don’t like their horror too extreme.
Dark Skies, basically the 2011 film Insidious with aliens minus the cool parts. If you saw this in the theater then ‘Hi,’ I was the other guy in the theater.
The Last Exorcism Part 2: where do we begin? The title itself was sort of contradictory and as a fan of the first Last Exorcism, this movie was just bad. Except for an unintentionally hilarious last 10 minutes that almost warrants a rent, or an instant stream or whatever the cool kids call it these days. I am old-fashioned and stick with my Blu-rays.
The next film I am going to talk about comes on Blu-ray this month and is currently available on iTunes. It’s the best horror film of the year so far and one of the best remakes to come along in quite some time.
Evil Dead I saw three times in theaters and walked out rendered speechless and full of energy every time, a feeling I have never experienced since I saw the original cut of the 2007 film Paranormal Activity.
The story consists of five friends going down to a cabin to help a friend with a drug addiction, then bad stuff happens of course. I don’t want to say anything more because you deserve to see it fresh. The film just reminded me of what it was like to discover cool horror movies as a kid and then go tell all my friends about it.
Too bad at that point my friends were like “Oh, The Exorcist? That’s not scary - it’s old and boring. The original Halloween is so slow and there was no CGI… lame. But this remake Prom Night or this one The Messengers - now that’s scary.”
It was at that point I realized I needed more friends.
The last film that just came out recently is The Purge. An interesting concept where one day a year, all crimes are legal for 12 hours, even murder. If you buy into the premise, then you will enjoy this interesting take on a home-invasion film.
It’s more of an action film than horror, which will polarize people. The film also gets really preachy with the social commentary but is an overall solid flick.
There you have it folks, some good, one bad, one great. But we still have the second half of the year to look forward to.

Adam Green And The Horror Community For 1 Fund Boston

Adam Green, creator of the Hatchet franchise, Holliston TV series and Frozen is helping victims out of the Boston Bombings in a huge way. If you are in the Boston area then you should defiantly get into one of these events.

1. Holliston Comes To Holliston
Tuesday, May 28, 2013
Holliston High School, 370 Hollis St., Holliston, MA 01746
Admission $5
Holliston comes to Holliston: Season 2 with an advanced screening of the three of season 2's episodes, Q&A after the screening with cast members Adam Green, Joe Lynch and Laura Ortis





2. Horror/Boston Strong Party
 Wednesday, May 29, 2013  
The Palladium, 261 Main St., Worcester, MA 01608
Doors open at 7 p.m. 
Admission $5
Horror/Boston Strong party at The Palladium hosted by Adam Green. Special guests include Jason
Vorhees himself Kane Hodder, Zach Galligan and more celebrity guests. A silent auction will be taking place on rare gifts, gift cards and other horror memorabilia. In advance people can bid on the Online auction here

3. Hatchet Movie Marathon Featuring The First Ever Screening of Hatchet III
Thursday, May 30, 2013
The Revere Hotel, Theater One, 200 Stuart St., Boston, MA 02116
$25 (minimum donation but you can donate more to the victims if you wish)
Adam Green hosts the first ever Hatchet Marathon, which consists of a rare uncensored UK 35mm print of the original Hatchet, An uncensored 35mm print of Hatchet II and the first ever Hatchet III uncensored screening.

Tickets will be available to buy at the door for more information call the Palladium box office 508-797-9696

American Horror Story: Coven Gets Big Name Stars

American Horror Story: Coven is packing a lot of punch with the name actors and actresses they are getting and these next two are no exception.
Ryan Murphy, co-creator of the series took to twitter to announce two new faces that will be in Coven.
Ryan Murphy's Tweet: "Two legends are joining the cast of American Horror Story: Coven -- Oscar nominee Angela Bassett and Tony winner Patti LuPone!"
No details were released to who they would be playing on the show.

NEW: Friday Froude Flix

Our newest addition to the site is going to be Friday Froude Flix. Where are very own, Fearless_Froude, searches out the most obscure B-Movie horror films or the most strange ones that make you go WTF?
Every Friday they will be posted up giving you thoughts on the strange, bizarre, bad and just plain ugly cult horror films this side of the internet.

Fright Meter Adds New Category

Horror always gets snubbed by the Oscars. It's like were the bastard step-child of film but there is always that one person that likes the bastard, and that is Fright Meter 
Fright Meter honors the best in horror and now they have added a new category called Best Short Film. So filmmakers submit your best work and who knows, maybe you will win.

From the website
"The Fright Meter Awards will be adding a new category to the 2013 Awards: Best Short Horror Film.  We are seeking submissions to be considered for this award. To be eligible, your film must be submitted to a film festival between December 1st, 2012 and November 13th, 2013.  The Fright Meter Awards will be presented LIVE in March of 2014!  If you are interested in having your short film considered, please contact us."

Editorial

REMAKES: THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UNGODLY AWFUL (Part 1)

Alright lets face it, remakes aren't going away anytime soon. 

They just make too much money to warrant them not being an easy cash in for studios. Original ideas always run that risk of not making those glorious dolla' dolla' bills for the studio execs, and the easiest way in the film industry to make a quick buck is to rehash an old idea, slather some new glossy effects all over it and beat that dead horse until it stops producing green.

FRIDAY ON ELM ST. THE RECKONING PART 2... GIVE US MONEY!

Help A Brotha Out

Buz 'Danger' Wallick

The horror community is said to have the kindest most dedicated fan base in any genre of film, hell we have horror conventions where we all get together and discuss horror films. Ever heard of a romantic comedy con? No? Yeah, neither have I. But now its time to band together and contribute as one to get a very interesting original film off the ground.
Buz 'Danger' Wallick is producing a new original film but needs our help.
Buz is a name you have probably heard of. He was cinematographer on a short film called Thirsty which blew up on the internet and he was also cinematographer on the most acclaimed horror documentary ever made Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy. You may also know him on Dreadcentrals Dinner For Fiends podcast and also his own podcast Same Shit Different Show 
He has also done the upcoming Friday The 13th documentary Crystal Lake Memories: The Complete History of Friday The 13th as well as the previous Friday The 13th documentary His Name Was Jason.
His newest project is something called Truth or Dare. An original film where he has taken the role of producer. You can help this film by contributing to it but the neat thing is the more you contribute the more stuff you get. Like if you donate $25 you will receive a signed and personalized 8.5 x 11 inch photograph of director Jessica Cameron. You can choose between sexy or conservative photographs of her. The more you donate the more things the makers through at you.
For more information and where and how to donate here click Here

Luke Evans to Play Dracula in Upcoming Origin Story

Luke Evans (Immortals, The Raven) is set to star as Dracula in an upcoming origin story titled Dracula Year Zero. 

It reportedly takes place before the events of Bram Stokers original classic, and will be produced by Universal the studio behind the original 1931 Dracula starring Bela Lugosi.

Evans can be seen in the upcoming Fast & Furious 6.

Blu Ray Art For John Carpenter's The Fog

Our friends at Scream Factory have unveiled the cover art for John Carpenters 1980 classic The Fog. The release was first put on the Scream Factory's Facebook Page.

"This new “remix” of the ghostly classic comes to us from artist Justin Osbourn. As always with our Collector’s Editions, the reverse wrap will have the original theatrical key art (the iconic one with Jamie Lee Curtis bolted up against the door).
DVD & Blu-ray streets 7/30. More details on extras forthcoming, but we can say it will be packed."

Fired Walking Dead Showrunnner Writing The Shining Prequel

Glen Mazzara

If the second part of The Walking Dead season 3 is any indication of what Glen Mazzara can write then there is cause for concern for his latest project.
Deadline is reporting that the previous show runner of AMC's most popular show is penning The Shining prequel.
More as it comes.

Dark Skies

Director Scott Stewart returns to the big screen with Jason Blum for Dark Skies and the result is Disappointing not just for fans of Blumhouse And Sci-Fi horror but also at the box office.

The story is simple, normal family dealing with financial hardships encounters weird moments that question their sanity. 
This movie takes slow burn to a new level. It's a good 30 minutes before things get going and it feels even longer with needless character back story. As the film goes on it starts going against its own premise for example we are told and reminded that this family is struggling with money, but everyone has an iPhone, they have a huge house, the dad has one of the high end Apple Macs. And when all the creepy stuff happens the Father (Josh Hamilton) then goes out and buys top of the line security cameras that would make Paranormal Activity 2's security cameras to shame.
The acting is good between Hamilton and Kerri Russel as they play a couple that has their marriage strained by these incidents. The conflicts are acted out beautifully but its J.K Simmons character that steals this movie as he plays the expert the family consults after everything else they have done is exhausted. He saves the movie from being a complete bore fest, he plays the role with such grace u can't help be feel sorry for him because his role is so short.
Some of the dialogue here is some of the worst I've heard in a while. One character in particular, a red headed 15 year old douch bag drove me insane with lines like "I had this one girl on my jock." and "did u feel her titis? Man, you gotta go down town, that's what I do with all my ladies." I wish the aliens had captured him and anal probed his ass. If this movie ended with that red head getting anal probed it would be my favorite film of the year so far.
The third act of the film plays like the earlier half where the the family goes out and buys guns and a dog with the money I guess they all of a sudden have.
There is one great scene in the finale in which they could have ended it and I would have given it higher praise but nope, they pull a "IT'S ALL A VISION" bullshit that just makes you throw your hands up and go mother fuck!
This movie had such potential to be cool and deliver a scary alien home invasion film but nope, they blew it. It feels like Insidious without the cool, it's like an old X Files episode of the later seasons that got thrown out.

1.5 out of 5
 -Fearless Froude 

Shock Stock 2013

Shock Stock is coming back to the London Convention Center and ready to bring the horror.
The convention is a weekend of all things horror starting on April 12th and ending on the 14th. Some of the most prominent people in the horror genre are all going to be in attendance like Christiana Lindberg, Magneta herself Partricia Quinn and the Maniac Cop Robert Z'Dar.
There are also going to be a handful of special events that will make you bleed with excitement such as a screening with Partricia Quinn of The Rock Horror Picture Show.
Also on tap is the Christiana Lindberg ' Life in Cult Cinema EXPOSED" retrospective.
And yes, yours truly ME, Fearless Froude will be there, so come out say Hi and lets all have a great weekend.

For more information on this exciting horror convention weekend visit
http://www.grimbrothers.com/

Dark Skies to anal probe you on Blu Ray

Anyone see Dark Skies in theaters? No? ohhh you, that one guy, well, hi, I was the other guy in the theater. This Sci-Fi flick flopped big time coming in at #4 during its opening weekend. Now we can take the the film home and have our very own anal probe session on Blu ray as

Dark Skies will be released on blu ray May 28th, 2013.

Friday the 13th will be of Insidious nature

The office Title Card for Insidious Chapter 2

The sequel to James Wan's Insidious has hit another date change.
 Insidious Chapter 2 was originally slated for release August 30th 2013 but was pushed back for technical reasons to September 20th 2013. Now Box Box Office Mojo is now reporting that Friday September 13th 2013 is the new date that Insidious Chapter 2 will haunt theaters every where.
 
James Wan also has another highly anticipated film coming this year called The Conjuring starring Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga. The film is produced by New Line Cinema and will be released July 19 2013.

A Look Back at, The Evil Dead (1981)

I think every horror fan has seen The Evil Dead, and I think every horror fan knows that it’s an incredible piece of cheesy, gory, scary fun. And with the recent remake, more people may feel inclined to seek out the original and find out why this film is such a big deal to people who have already seen it. So let’s take a look back at the original Evil Dead.