News from Dread Central

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7 September 2008 4:26 PM, PDT

It seems like certain low budget filmmakers just flip through their serial killer trading cards looking for inspiration. I've no qualms about watching a documentary that deals with specific serial killers from a just-the-facts analytical point-of-view or even a well-made docudrama like Helter Skelter or Zodiac, but these DVD releases of late have just been low rent exploitation flicks of questionable taste and quality. This November necrophiliac serial killer Ed Kemper gets his turn.

"Co-ed killer" Edmund Kemper committed his first murders as a teenager in 1964 when he gunned down his grandparents, a crime for which he spent several years in a state mental hospital before convincing doctors he was sane. His killing spree resumed for a year beginning in mid-1972 with the brutal murders of six female hitchhikers; afterwards dissecting their corpses and performing necrophilia. His lifelong struggle with his abusive mother came to end in 1973 when he beat

Foywonder

7 September 2008 12:19 PM, PDT

Who knew that bobble heads would make such a big comeback in recent years? Then again, for the longest time we didn't have big-headed versions of the Terminator, Alien, and Predator.

It also helps when the people making this new generation of novelties put in a generous amount of details. This weekend Neca sent over some hi-res shots of their two newest Head Knockers. The ghost with the most, Beetlejuice, and the Pazuzu-possessed Regan join their already healthy line of bobble heads this fall.

- Syxx

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Kryten Syxx

7 September 2008 7:56 AM, PDT

First we heard from Dan Aykroyd about the very real possibility of Ghostbusters 3 happening, then word came down from Columbia announcing it was being developed, and now Harold Ramis, who co-wrote and starred as Egon in the first two, dropped a line to the Chicago Tribune with some details that I can’t help but point out sound very familiar...

”Columbia is developing a script for GB3 with my Year One writing partners, Gene Stupnitsky and Lee Eisenberg. Judd Apatow is co-producing Year One and has made several other films for Sony, so of course the studio is hoping to tap into some of the same acting talent.” He told the paper, ”Aykroyd, Ivan Reitman and I are consulting at this point, and according to Dan, Bill Murray is willing to be involved on some level. He did record his dialogue for the new Ghostbusters video game, as did Danny and I,

Johnny Butane

6 September 2008 6:09 AM, PDT

I really don’t know how I feel about this or pretty much any other poster that’s come out for Let the Right One In. They’ve all got the same general color scheme and don’t really say anything at all about the movie. I find it strange since there are so many iconic shots in this film that could be better utilized.

But I digress. Bloody Disgusting got its hands on the official poster for Magnolia’s release of Le the Right One In, which will hit New York and Los Angeles on October 24th before hopefully going much wider. This film needs to be seen by jaded horror fans, if nothing else for a glimpse of how it can be done.

We’ll bring you more release info on Let the Right One In as it comes down so stay tuned!

- Johnny Butane

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Johnny Butane

6 September 2008 5:44 AM, PDT

Seems the upcoming Children of the Corn remake, which started rolling in Iowa this week, has found itself a Malachai in the form of Cirque du Freak actor Daniel Newman, according to Styd this morning.

The redux, which already has a slot on the Sci Fi Channel for its premiere in 2009, is being directed by Donald Borchers, one of the producers on the 1984 original, and will also feature David Anders and Kandyse McClure in starring roles.

Hopefully Borchers’ earlier promise of keeping this one scary and the tone serious will be upheld. It’s bad enough it’s premiering on the Sci Fi Channel; making sure it’s a good film and a faithful adaptation of the Stephen King short story that inspired it is necessary.

- Johnny Butane

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Johnny Butane

6 September 2008 5:25 AM, PDT

Douglas Preston and Mario Spezi’s best-selling serial killer novel The Monster of Florence has been picked up for a filmed adaptation by Tom Cruise and United Artists, according to Variety. Cruise will produce and possibly star in the film.

The case that inspired Preston and Spezi to write Monster is that of eight grisly double homicides committed between 1968 and 1985, which the police believe were all done by one person. The same case served as the inspiration for Thomas Harris’ Hannibal as well.

The deal serves as the biggest ever done for one of Preston's novels, the last of which to be made into a film being The Relic.

Once Cruise gets his crazy hands on the script for The Monster of Florence, he will decide if he wants to star in it in addition to producing, which I’m sure would give the film’s press a huge boost if it did happen.

Johnny Butane

6 September 2008 5:10 AM, PDT

I’ve wondered off and on whatever happened to Mark Pellington, the man who brought us The Mothman Prophecies a few years back. Variety got the answer in the form of a new film Pellington’s been hired on to direct for New Line called Solace.

The story follows a psychic doctor who’s enlisted by the police to track a serial killer. Doesn’t really sound like it’ll be anything terribly new, but hopefully Pellington will provide enough style to give it personality.

The script was penned by Sean Bailey and Ted Griffin, the former a producer on Gone Baby Gone and the latter one of the writers of Oceans 11. Solace will be one of the six films to come out under the New Line banner, which is all the output Warner Bros. will allow for the scaled-down division.

- Johnny Butane

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Johnny Butane

5 September 2008 11:06 PM, PDT

I've started looking forward to Friday nights, when I sip some vino and cull the stories that will comprise the Weekly Wrap-Up. Sometimes it is a struggle to find the thread that ties them together, but for the week of August 30-September 5, 2008, it was no problem determining the theme: Indies! Incredible, edible indies. We love them, we hate them, and we can't live without them!

One indie that I am definitely intrigued by is Netherbeast Incorporated, which is getting a limited theatrical run. The premise sounds like sheer genius, and in her Netherbeast review, Melissa claims the film "creates a whole new way to look at the legend of vampire." High praise indeed. The eclectic cast includes Judd Nelson, Dave Foley, Jason Mewes, and Robert Wagner. Does it get any stranger?

If you had a chance to watch any of the HBO series "In Treatment," then you know how brilliantly

The Woman In Black

5 September 2008 3:15 PM, PDT

We first reported the news that Viz Pictures will be releasing the live action Death Note (review) DVD on September 16, 2008, way back in June, but details on the disc were scarce. Today Viz Media sent out a press release with the skinny on what we can expect.

The DVD features include:

A newly dubbed English soundtrack, along with the original Japanese dialogue with English subtitles An interview with director Shusuke Kaneko An insightful making-of segment The original theatrical trailers "Fans across the country have eagerly anticipated the release of Death Note on DVD following a very successful series of nationwide theatrical engagements that Viz staged with Ncm Fathom earlier this year," says Seiji Horibuchi, President and CEO of Viz Pictures. “Fans now have a brand-new way to enjoy this riveting story as a live action DVD, and for those who have yet to witness what the buzz is about, this

The Woman In Black

5 September 2008 2:10 PM, PDT

Recently we caught up with Don Mancini and David Kirschner regarding the upcoming Child's Play remake so it was time to do a little diggin'!

We all know that Dourif is coming back and that the duo want to bring the remake back to the film's scarier roots, but was there anything else to learn at this point?

"My producing partner and I sat in the room and listened to where Don was going with the remake -- and it is a remake, but he also very significantly subverts your expectation," says Kirschner. "There are all the same characters and everything that you would expect, but he pulls the rug out from under you.

We've been friends for a long time," Kirschner continues. "I know Don's humor, I know Don's mind, and I was shocked by where he took us, and where I thought I was going, and then at

Uncle Creepy

5 September 2008 10:11 AM, PDT

Cons. Everyone and their brother seem to be putting one on these days, so someone’s going to have to do something really different to set themselves apart from the rest. Choosing a date with little to no competing shows around it is a good start, so in that sense the first annual Macabre Con is ahead of the game.

Going down in Pomona, CA, this December 5th-7th, Macabre Con is the brainchild of Uhm owner/Gutterballs producer Dan Walton and Moomooch Clothing, and they've got some big things planned to make his show stand out. Horror bands, freak shows, a working gallows(!), tattooing ... this show sounds like it’s going to have a bit for everyone.

Oh, and of course there will be guests, too. The lineup hasn’t been finalized yet, but they’re promising guests you don’t normally see at cons, people who want to

Johnny Butane

5 September 2008 6:47 AM, PDT

We’d be remiss to forget our horror-loving brothers across the pond, who I’m sure are just as eagerly looking forward to seeing more of Jigsaw’s antics in Saw V as we are. The sequel opens on October 24th in UK cinemas, and to give Dread some international flavor, I thought we’d share the UK quad poster with you guys today.

It’s nothing we’ve not seen already, just in a different layout. What is with the UK and their quads anyway? Why not just regular posters?

- Johnny Butane

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Johnny Butane

5 September 2008 1:20 AM, PDT

Just a few days after we posted an article that was the result of a recent chat I had with Jeffrey Combs (read it here), word has come down about the premiere for one of the films he mentions very much looking forward to seeing, William Malone’s Parasomnia.

The folks over at Combs' fan site The Combs Corner heard from the director of Screamfest La, who confirmed that Parasomnia will debut at this year's festival on Friday, October 17th. I’m sure Malone, Combs, and various other cast and crew will be on hand for it, this being the first time the public will get a chance to see the director's labor of love that he’s been working on for years.

Keep an eye on Screamfest’s official site for updates, which I’m sure have to be coming soon. The festival runs from October 10th–19th this

Johnny Butane

5 September 2008 1:07 AM, PDT

We’ve been keeping info on the new Tara Reid opus Vipers close to our chests since it was first announced, but we’ve done it for your own good. We know how insane the hype can be for a new horror movie with Reid so we’ve basically been trying to avoid mass hysteria.

Now that we’re less than a month from the film’s September 23rd DVD release date (pre-order it here ... you know you want to...), we’re happy to get more info out there. If you choose to riot in the streets demanding this film be released now, we cannot be held responsible.

Vipers tells of a group of genetically altered snakes who create havoc in the woods near a small town. The good folks at Genius Entertainment sent us over a stack of imagery for the film, which should help soothe your tired ocular

Johnny Butane

5 September 2008 12:46 AM, PDT

Fabrice du Welz’s Vinyan is one of the first lucky recipients of a distro deal courtesy of this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, which kicked off yesterday, according to THR. Not too shabby getting your film nabbed within the first 24 hours of any fest. I just hope it doesn't end up being as over-hyped as du Welz's last film, Calvaire.

Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions is who put up the cash and contracts, though of course no release plans were mentioned yet; it's far too early for that. We can only hope Vinyan is given a fair shake on screens here in the U.S. before its eventual DVD release.

Vinyan follows a couple, played by Rufus Sewell and Emmanuelle Beart, searching for their child, who was lost during a tsunami. Their quest takes them into the incredibly dangerous Thai-Burmese waters, then into the jungle beyond, where even more

Johnny Butane

5 September 2008 12:30 AM, PDT

Check this out; writer Stef Hutchinson just sent over an exclusive look at one of the covers for the new comic Halloween: The First Death of Laurie Strode, which is set to hit comic shelves on September 24th from Devil’s Due.

This cover was done by Jon Rea (Killing Pickman), one of four variants created by various artists for the first issue of the three-part “official” sequel to Halloween II. Check out some official plot:

As the only survivor of Michael Myers' rampage through the small town of Haddonfield on Halloween night, 1978, Laurie Strode is haunted by the memories of her encounter with evil itself. To make things worse, she is convinced Michael Myers is still out there, ready to strike again-- and the only person who believes her is Dr. Sam Loomis!

Sounds pretty cool to me; bout time we found out what happened after the events of the second film!

Johnny Butane

4 September 2008 2:23 PM, PDT

Jack Messit, the director of Midnight Movie which will be out on DVD come January 9th, 2009, did us a solid and sent over one of the three new promo posters for his monster flick.

Midnight Movie centers around a "midnight showing of an early 1970's horror movie [that] turns to chaos when the Killer from the movie comes out of the film to attack those in the theater." We should have a review for it soon!

- Syxx

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Kryten Syxx

4 September 2008 2:01 PM, PDT

I was skeptical of even writing this article since I honestly don't believe a sequel to Ghost Rider (review) will ever actually see the light of day. But since Nic Cage insists on talking it up, even claiming he's spoken to the studio about returning for a sequel, I guess it's news-worthy.

Honestly though, is there anyone out there truly clamoring for another Ghost Rider aside from Cage? I mean, yeah, if there was hope they might do it right this time, but I think we all know that's not going to be the case. After seeing Iron Man, The Dark Knight, and even the Incredible Hulk reboot this past summer, how much worse does a movie like Ghost Rider look in retrospect? I come across more positive word-of-mouth about the Fantastic Four flicks. Sure, technically speaking, Ghost Rider did make money at the box office. Technically speaking, so did Meet the Spartans.

Foywonder

4 September 2008 1:29 PM, PDT

Never mind "rumors"; Variety reports that Columbia Pictures have hired "The Office" co-executive producers, Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky, to write a script for a third film designed to bring back together the original cast of Harold Ramis, Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, and Ernie Hudson.

There. Let the useless Net bickering officially commence! Glad to see we were at least somewhat right!

A few months back we ran a story about a new Ghostbusters film that may have been in the works with Seth Rogen involved. Diehard Gb fans went nuts because, as we all know, this is serious business...

Well, it looks like we may have been right after all thanks to a story AICN just posted. According to Dan Akroyd's quick talk with E!, a couple of sharp young writers are possibly writing the script for the third film in the franchise. But what about all that Seth Rogen and Judd Apatow talk?

Kryten Syxx

4 September 2008 9:55 AM, PDT

Wow, it’s been a long, long time since this sucker reared its ugly head our way. Finally we’ve found the time and clips that are worthy of your attention, so we’ve resurrected It Came From the Internet and now present you with the following bits of randomness from across the interwebs!

Comments or suggestions for future installments are always welcome right here; just be sure the subject line is "It Came From the Internet!"

Bruce Campbell does live radio? Why the hell not!

Ever hear of the Dramatic Reading of Half Life: Full Life Consequences? Well if you haven't, go to Ymtmd and look it up. If you don't want to do that, check out the video someone made for the epic fan fiction Half Life: Full Life Consequences! Complete with music.

Do you Larp? God knows I do. And so do these guys. This is one

Johnny Butane

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