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Jack Brennan’s something of a man of mystery on General Hospital, but in small dribs and drabs, we’re learning more about his character’s backstory. In real life, Chris McKenna has no problem sharing details of his life with the fans. He recently encountered a blast from his past that not only inspired him but also revealed his acting origins.

Revenge, Madness, and a Fridge Magnet

McKenna wrote on Instagram, “Just received the damn coolest thing! The new Blu-Ray release of the cult classic that helped launch my career. Stuart Gordon’s King of the Ants. Incredible art, multiple commentary tracks, documentaries about the film (including the final interview I did with @georgewendt ), a great booklet written by @skipstagraham, it even includes a @kariswuhrer as the Queen Ant fridge magnet! Thanks to everyone at @treasuredfilmsph and @101filmsuk @101films.”

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These days, Film Noir is mostly associated with cynical private detectives and obnoxious narration, but these movies are actually deeply rooted in the horrors of German Expressionism. In fact, many of the genre’s pioneers fled directly from Germany to Hollywood during World War II, where a growing fascination with True Crime journalism combined with wartime anxieties led to the creation of a new breed of crime thriller. These dimly lit movies told stories of murder and betrayal in nightmarish cityscapes populated by morally grey characters, so it’s only natural that these stories are at their best when presented with a touch of horror.

And while you’ll find your fair share of terrifying moments in films like Sin City or even Chinatown, today I’d like to discuss a quintessential example of horror-adjacent cinema, Stuart Gordon’s criminally underseen King of the Ants – a grimy little gem that...

George Wendt is best known for playing a regular at the bar where everybody knows your name. Yet other than Norm on Cheers, I mostly — and fondly — remember the late Wendt for two of his horror roles. Firstly, it’s hard to forget him as the nosy neighbor in 1985’s House; playing opposite William Katt, Wendt’s supporting character offered much-appreciated laughs in that rather tense horror-comedy. Then over a decade after closing out his tab on Cheers, Wendt landed not only a part in the anthology series Masters of Horror, he was, on this somewhat rare occasion, actually playing the lead.

After delivering the first season oddball “Deer Woman,” director John Landis returned with the more straightforward yet also comedic “Family.” This time, however, the story packed in some gruesome imagery and sick ideas that you wouldn’t normally associate with its star. It wasn’t until Stuart Gordon’s King of the Ants,...

It’s very sad news today. George Wendt, best known for playing Norm Peterson throughout all 11 seasons of Cheers, is dead at 76. His family confirmed that he died peacefully in his sleep at home.

“George was a doting family man, a well-loved friend and confidant to all of those lucky enough to have known him,” a rep for Wendt said in a statement. “He will be missed forever. The family has requested privacy during this time.“

Along with Ted Danson and Rhea Perlman, Wendt was the only member of the Cheers cast to appear in every single episode. Norm drank a lot of beer during the series, but the beverage that Wendt was actually drinking was a warm, flat, non-alcoholic drink that was layered with salt to create the foamy head. Sounds… awful. “There I was slamming those down for a whole day. It not only tastes disgusting, I was...

George Wendt, who earned six consecutive Emmy nominations for his performance as Norm Peterson on “Cheers,” passed away at his home this morning. He was 76.

Horror fans will remember his roles in Steve Miner’s House, John Landis’ “Masters of Horror” episode “Family,” and the “Tales from the Crypt” episode “The Reluctant Vampire.”

Wendy worked with Stuart Gordon on Space Truckers, King of the Ants, Edmond, and Re-Animator: The Musical, and more recently with Joe Begos on Vfw and Bliss.

His other genre credits include Dreamscape, Alien Avengers, Bryan Loves You, Aliens, Clowns & Geeks, and a segment in the ’80s revival of “The Twilight Zone.”

Wendt’s publicist, Melissa Nathan, confirmed the news: “George was a doting family man, a well-loved friend and confidant to all of those lucky enough to have known him. He will be missed forever. The family has requested privacy during this time.”

The post ‘Cheers’ Icon,...

The Bloody Disgusting-powered Screambox is home to a variety of unique horror content, from originals and exclusives to cult classics and documentaries. With such a rapidly-growing library, there are many hidden gems waiting to be discovered.

Here are five recommendations you can stream on Screambox right now.

King of the Ants

While Stuart Gordon cemented himself as a master of horror with early works like Re-Animator and From Beyond, his later output is also worthy of exploration. 2003’s King of the Ants kicked off a trio of intense thrillers (alongside Edmond and Stuck) that would end up being Gordon’s final features. It was also one of the first productions from The Asylum, who would go on to create Sharknado, Z Nation, and Black Summer.

Based on the 1992 novel by Charlie Higson, who also wrote the screenplay, the film’s unusual structure makes it unpredictable. Struggling to make ends meet,...

The Alien Report: "The Alien Report follows "The Abductee" (Braxton Hale), an everyday American who finds himself hijacked by extraterrestrial beings and taken on a terrifying journey of self-preservation, running afoul of classic "grey aliens", disturbing human-et hybrids, and the U.S. government's shady Men in Black. Based on countless documented reports made by self-proclaimed abductees, The Alien Report is a meticulous, straight-faced look at what an real-life alien abduction would be like, from the perspective of first-person cameras.

The Alien Report has screened at festivals worldwide, winning awards in the U.S., UK, Australia, and Brazil. Shot on iPhone and GoPro cameras as a non-traditional narrative composed of re-assembled found footage, the picture plays out as both a sci-fi thriller and first-person documentary. It is the intended first chapter in a trilogy of films about extraterrestrial abductions.

The Alien Report was directed by Patrick Donnelly and produced by Kevin Schroeder and Michael Sell.

Not one to be left out of monthly horror screamings the folks at Screambox have passed along this month's lineup of horror delights. Check out the full announcement below.    Screambox April Streaming Line-Up Includes King Of The Ants, What Is Buried Must Remain, Abraham Lincoln Vs Zombies   Screambox has revealed the new films that are joining the horror streaming service in April, including King of the Ants, What Is Buried Must Remain, and Abraham Lincoln vs. Zombies.     What Is Buried Must Remain haunts Screambox on April 12. A modern ghost story with ancient roots, the timely Lebanese found footage hybrid finds young filmmakers confronted by supernatural forces engaged in a war for the very soul of the land.   Screambox goes...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

It’s April and we’re bringing even more fun to Screambox, with new films including Stuart Gordon’s King of the Ants, the Lebanese found-footage horror What Is Buried Must Remain, and bonkers B-movie Abraham Lincoln vs. Zombies.

What Is Buried Must Remain haunts Screambox on April 12. A modern ghost story with ancient roots, the timely Lebanese found-footage hybrid finds young filmmakers confronted by supernatural forces engaged in a war for the very soul of the land.

Screambox goes to war with Abraham Lincoln vs. Zombies on April 12. Indie horror staple Bill Oberst Jr. (3 From Hell) stars as the President who emancipated the slaves, saved the Union, and slaughtered the undead.

Rise of the Zombies also takes a bite out of Screambox on April 12. Its all-star cast includes Mariel Hemingway (Manhattan), Ethan Suplee (Mallrats), LeVar Burton (“Star Trek: The Next Generation”), Danny Trejo (From Dusk Till Dawn), and French Stewart...

Stars: Julia Nagano, Yuichi Nakamura, Kohshu Kirano, Shun Nishime, Kanon Miyahara | Written by Junichiro Ashiki | Directed by Kôichi Sakamoto

With a title like Ninja vs Shark you might think this is another Mark Polonia film along the lines of Sharkula or Shark Encounters of the Third Kind. Or maybe one of the more bizarre Chinese kaiju films such as Land Shark. But you’d be wrong, it’s actually a Japanese film written by Junichiro Ashiki and directed by Kôichi Sakamoto.

During Japan’s Edo Period, Sayo, a pearl diver from the village of Okitsu, swims back to shore only to find the remains of one of her fellow divers washed up on the beach. This has been happening a lot since Lord Koshiro Mizuchi of the Crimson Devil Clan demanded the villagers hand over their pearls to him. When they refused he used sorcery to turn the sharks into living weapons.

Anyone who knows me would say my taste runs ever so slightly counter to the popular opinion but up top I wanted to shout out some big titles that I appreciate but didn’t quite make my favorites list. Oftentimes it feels like the days of true-blue horror icons are behind us, but Gerard Johnstone and Akela Cooper’s M3GAN was a veritable hoot that gave us an instantly iconic tiny terror in tights who more than lived up to the memes and showed everyone that hasn’t quite come around yet on HBO’s Girls just how #mother Allison Williams is. Also, that Skatt Brothers “Walk the Night” needle drop took up residence in my head last January and has not left. Talk to Me was one of the more intense in-theater experiences I had this year, and though it lost something the more I sat with it, what...

Director Joe Lynch’s (Wrong Turn 2, Mayhem, “Creepshow”) new movie Suitable Flesh, based on H.P. Lovecraft’s The Thing On The Doorstep, is poised to unleash body-swapping horror this Halloween weekend.

Suitable Flesh is bringing Lovecraftian madness to theaters and VOD on October 27, 2023, and the film will later be hitting Shudder for exclusive streaming in January 2024.

In Suitable Flesh, “After murdering her young patient, a once-esteemed psychiatrist helplessly watches her life spiral into a nightmarish maelstrom of supernatural hysteria and gruesome deaths, all linked to a seemingly unstoppable ancient curse.”

The film stars Barbara Crampton, Heather Graham, Judah Lewis, Bruce Davison, Johnathon Schaech, and Jonah Ray.

Dennis Paoli, the writer of Re-Animator and From Beyond, wrote the script.

Bloody Disgusting previously spoke with Joe Lynch at Tribeca, where he teased the Lovecraft connections for Gordon’s fans and the advice Brian Yuzna gave him when making the film.

In part two of our chat,...

[Editor's Note: This article was written during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, the film being discussed here wouldn't exist.]

“Joe Lynch is no Stuart Gordon!” That’s what many horror fans (yours truly included) have been shouting to the heavens since it was announced that the Wrong Turn 2: Dead End (2007) and Mayhem (2017) director was helming the late master of horror and his frequent collaborator Dennis Paoli’s long-unproduced adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft’s 1933 short story, The Thing On the Doorstep. Famous for their work together on Re-Animator, From Beyond, Castle Freak, and Dagon, finding a suitable fit to bring the project to the screen after decades of false starts and the death of the maestro would seem a fool’s errand, but Barbara Crampton, the actor most associated with Gordon’s body of work, was up to the task. She hand-picked Lynch, and right she was to do so, because, wonder of wonders Suitable Flesh is less suitable than it is superlative: a playful, gleefully horny Lovecraftian thriller...

Three years have gone by since director Stuart Gordon passed away at the age of 72… but he left one more piece of entertainment for us to enjoy. Fab Press has announced that they will be publishing Gordon’s memoir Naked Theater & Uncensored Horror on July 20th, and copies can be pre-ordered at This Link.

Here’s the information on Naked Theater & Uncensored Horror: In this engaging candid memoir, horror legend Stuart Gordon gives a vivid account of his remarkable journey, from a student manning the barricades during the civil unrest of the 1960s, via an infamous stint as an experimental theater maverick, to ultimately becoming an iconic figure in cult cinema. While he’d started his professional career as a theater director, Gordon’s first love was cinema, and in 1985 he shocked the world with his wickedly witty debut feature Re-Animator. The film established an unofficial Gordon repertory company, including...

We lost Master of Horror Stuart Gordon back in 2020, but he leaves us with one final gift this year. Just announced and put up for pre-order by Fab Press, Naked Theater & Uncensored Horror is a memoir written by the late filmmaker.

Fab Press previews, “Stuart Gordon’s final completed work is presented here unexpurgated, and fully endorsed and approved by the Gordon family trust.”

The book features a special tribute written by frequent Stuart Gordon collaborator Jeffrey Combs (Re-Animator), and it’s set to be released on July 20, 2023.

“In this engaging candid memoir, horror legend Stuart Gordon gives a vivid account of his remarkable journey, from a student manning the barricades during the civil unrest of the 1960s, via an infamous stint as an experimental theater maverick, to ultimately becoming an iconic figure in cult cinema.

“While he’d started his professional career as a theater director, Gordon’s first love was cinema,...

On March 24th, we lost a visionary Master of Horror with the passing of Stuart Gordon, and we honor his memory on this special episode of our podcast.

A Master of Horror across multiple mediums, Stuart Gordon gave something undeniably special to every project he brought to life, and there's no question that the horror genre won't be the same without him. On this special episode of Corpse Club, co-hosts Patrick Bromley, Heather Wixson, Scott Drebit, and Derek Anderson pay tribute to Gordon by reflecting on his memorable career, from his thought-provoking stage plays such as Nevermore: An Evening with Edgar Allan Poe and haunting television episodes of Masters of Horror to his cult feature films Re-Animator, From Beyond, and Castle Freak (all three of which star Jeffrey Combs and Barbara Crampton).

The co-hosts also share their cherished memories of meeting Gordon in person and over the phone, and they...

Filmmaker and theater director Stuart Gordon passed on March 24, as his family confirmed to Variety. The cause of death was not released as of press time. Gordon was 72.

Best known for his directorial debut Re-Animator, as well as indie horror favorites From Beyond and Abel Ferrara’s Body Snatchers, the latter of which he wrote, Gordon was also the co-creator of the Honey, I Shrunk the Kids franchise. He wrote the first film with an eye to direct, and he would go on to produce the sequel Honey, I Blew Up the Kid and write on the TV series.

Gordon was born in Chicago on Aug. 11, 1947. He apprenticed as a commercial artist before majoring in theater at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. In March 1968, Gordon produced The Game Show on the Play Circle stage of the school’s Wisconsin Union Theater. During the play, the audience was locked in the...

Today brings about some incredibly sad news for the horror community as cult classic filmmaker Stuart Gordon has passed away. A legend of the horror genre, Gordon is very well-known for directing genre movies like Re-Animator, From Beyond, Dolls, and a variety of others. This has obviously left fans all across the world deeply saddened over the loss, and many of Gordon's colleagues and contemporaries from his legendary career have taken to social media to react to the news.

Scream queen Barbara Crampton, who starred alongside Jeffrey Combs in Gordon's movie Re-Animator, has also reacted to the news of Gordon's passing on social media. "An enormous talent, vibrant & boundary breaking, his work was in a class by itself," Crampton writes on Twitter. She adds: "He created countless moments on film which were at once, funny, scary, daring & smart. He gave me my career. I lost a dear friend. I'm heartbroken.

Stuart Gordon, best known as the filmmaker behind such cult classics as “Re-Animator” and “From Beyond,” has died, his family confirmed to Variety Tuesday night. He was 72.

Although best known for his seminal work in independent horror, Gordon had a varied career that included founding the Organic Theater Company with his wife, Carolyn Purdy-Gordon. The Organic premiered such prominent works as David Mamet’s “Sexual Perversity in Chicago” and “Bleacher Bums,” which starred Dennis Franz and Joe Mantegna. He was a co-creator of the “Honey, I Shrunk the Kids” franchise, for which he shared a story credit, and produced the film’s sequel and directed an episode of the TV spin-off. In 2005, he directed a film adaptation of Mamet’s “Edmond,” starring William H. Macy. Other films include “Fortress,” “Castle Freak” and “King of the Ants.”

In recent years, Gordon was active in L.A. theater, finding success directing the solo show “Nevermore…...

We've heard the rumours, seen the house pictures, spied the Diary Room chair and we know that there's going to be a UK vs Us theme. That's right, Celebrity Big Brother is back - and now all we need are some housemates.

As well as meeting the people due to keep us entertained for the forseeable, we've been promised a big twist to kick things off, so we should be in for a good night. Join us from 9pm as we bring you all the action...

23:01Right though - for now, that's your lot. Thanks for joining us and make sure you keep leaving your comments below - we want to know all your thoughts about what just happened!

22:58Well, it looks like Daniel has been banished with Scoop and Farrah. He's holding court talking about his movies, so who says they're not at a party right now?...

With the classic Re-Animator getting its Blu-ray reissue this week, we talk to its director about this and his other genre films...

Interview

Re-Animator landed like a firecracker in the middle of 80s horror cinema. A wild, vibrant adaptation of the Hp Lovecraft tale, Herbert West-Reanimator, it was both extremely funny and remarkably close to the writer’s source text. Jeffrey Combs plays the darting-eyed Herbert West, a gifted yet utterly mad young medical student who invents a serum which brings the dead back to kicking, screaming life.

A sprightly Bruce Abbott and Barbara Crampton play his fellow students, who can only watch in horror as their Miskatonic University campus fills up with angry revenant corpses from the morgue, while David Gale is brilliantly glowering as Dr Hill, West’s nemesis.

With glowing reviews from mainstream critics, Re-Animator quickly became a cult favourite, establishing Stuart Gordon’s reputation as a talented genre director.

Time to give you cats a chance to score more free stuff! You know you love free stuff! If you're a fan of the living dead! Listen up! In honor of the latest entry in Charlie Higson's zombie series entitled, The Fallen, which streets on June 2, we are giving away the whole series and more!

The Fallen is Book 5 in a 7-Book saga about a group of kids surviving the zombie apocalypse. Here's your chance to start at the beginning!

We're giving away all the current books (all 5 including The Fallen) along with a “Survival Kit” including an embroidered utility backpack and flashlight!

Charlie Higson is an acclaimed comedy writer, producer, actor, and genuine James Bond aficionado. He is the author of the adult thrillers Full Whack and King of the Ants; the internationally best-selling Young Bond series: SilverFin, Blood Fever, Double or Die, Hurricane Gold, and By Royal...

Early April will see the start of Taste, a new play that should interest horror fans, as it was directed by Stuart Gordon. For those in the Hollywood area, we have details on when you can see Taste, including details on special showings that include a Stuart Gordon Q&A:

“You’re invited to the most disturbing dinner party of the year. Based on a shocking true story, two men meet online and make a unique arrangement: one will kill, cook, and eat the other. Taste imagines their first and only meeting, told in real time, in a working kitchen.

In 2011, acclaimed horror director Stuart Gordon brought his feature-film cult classic Re–Animator to the stage with the inspired songs of composer Mark Nutter and created a singing, dancing Re-Animator The Musical. The hilarious, blood drenched show ran for six months at the Steve Allen Theater before triumphant runs at...

Stuart Gordon has brought us many classic movies throughout his career, and recently his stage productions of Nevermore and Re-Animator: The Musical have lit up the stage wherever they've played. Now we have some new details about his latest stage play, Taste, and more!

From the Press Release

You’re invited to the most disturbing dinner party of the year. Based on a shocking true story, two men meet online and make a unique arrangement: One will kill, cook, and eat the other. Taste imagines their first and only meeting, told in real time, in a working kitchen.

In 2011, acclaimed horror director Stuart Gordon brought his feature-film cult classic Re–Animator to the stage with the inspired songs of composer Mark Nutter and created a singing, dancing Re-Animator: The Musical. The hilarious, blood-drenched show ran for six months at the Steve Allen Theater before triumphant runs at the...

Finally the East coast is about to get a taste of the murder, mayhem, and majesty that is Re-Animator The Musical! So good to know that the Big Apple is about to get bitten! Grab your tarps and head to the splash zone, kids! There's nothing else like it!

From the Press Release

The 2012 New York Musical Theatre Festival, Red Hen Productions, The Schramm Group LLC and Gramily Entertainment present the New York premiere of Re-animator The Musical starring George Wendt (“Cheers”, Broadway’s Elf).

A hilarious new musical comedy based on the classic horror film (and featuring a bloody “splash zone” in the first few rows), Re-animator The Musical plays at the PTC Performance Space, located at 555 West 42nd Street. Tickets for Re-animator The Musical are $25, a can be purchased by calling (212) 352-3101 or by visiting Nymf.org.

In 1985, Stuart Gordon directed his first feature film and created a...

Our $10 ticket sale for Re-Animator the Musical at The Hayworth Theatre in Los Angles went so well last week that the promoters have offered to let us run it once more...just in time for Mother's Day!

Tickets are regularly $35-$60 each, but on May 7th for One Day Only Dread Central readers can buy them for just $10 each. What mother wouldn't be proud to attend this bloody winner of a show with her offspring?!?

This offer is good for regular priced tickets from Thursday, May 10th, through Sunday, May 13th. Showtimes are 8:00 pm on Thursday, Friday, and Sunday with two shows on Saturday at 7:00 pm and 10:30 pm.

Enter one of these codes on the official Re-Animator the Musical website:

WKDAY10 to receive $10 tickets for select performances on May 10th

WKEND10 to receive $10 tickets for select performances on May 11th-13th

*Tickets subject to availability. Not valid with any other discount.

As promised, the April 30th one-day only sale of Re-Animator the Musical tickets for just $10 has begun so read on to get the code and more details.

On May 3rd Re-Animator the Musical reopens at a new location in Los Angeles (The Hayworth Theatre) for a limited ten-week engagement that includes the return of George Wendt, and we have a special offer for Dread Central readers to score opening weekend tickets at a big discount.

Tickets are regularly $35-$60 each, but on April 30th for One Day Only Dread Central readers can buy them for just $10 each. This offer is good for regular priced tickets during opening weekend performances only, excluding the May 3rd opening night: Friday, May 4th; Saturday, May 5th; and Sunday, May 6th. Showtimes are 8:00 pm on Friday and Sunday with two shows on Saturday at 7:00 pm and 10:30 pm.

Enter this code: WKEND10 to...

On May 3rd Re-Animator the Musical reopens at a new location in Los Angeles (The Hayworth Theatre) for a limited ten-week engagement that includes the return of George Wendt, and we have a special offer for Dread Central readers to score opening weekend tickets at a big discount.

Earlier this month Re-Animator the Musical won six La Weekly Theater Awards including "Musical Of The Year", "Original Music" - Mark Nutter, "Direction of a Musical" - Stuart Gordon, "Musical Ensemble" - The Cast, "Adaptation" - Dennis Paoli/William J. Norris/Stuart Gordon, and "Blood Effects" - Stuart Gordon!

The musical's ten-week only run comes just prior to its performance dates in New York and at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Tickets are regularly $35-$60 each, but on April 30th for One Day Only Dread Central readers can buy them for just $10 each. This offer is good for regular priced tickets during opening weekend performances only,...

One of the best damned times we have had all year was spent seeing Re-Animator: The Musical on the stage in Los Angeles. It's a shame that the rest of the country is missing out on what is nothing short of a splattery good time; however, you can now at the very least get a sampling of the mayhem!

That's right, kids! Dig on a clip of the famed beheading scene below and pray this sucker comes to a town near you. If it does? Don't be a pussy! Sit in the splash zone!

Re-Animator: The Musical is playing exclusively at The Steve Allen Theater. Hit up that link for directions and ticket info.

In 1985 Stuart Gordon directed his first feature film and created a sensation. It was “Re-Animator,” a smashing success based on a horror story by H.P. Lovecraft. The film delivered as many laughs as it did screams,...

Good news for you folks in Los Angeles who have not witnessed the absolute mad genius that is Re-Animator The Musical! More dates have been added (including midnight shows) and more gore will be flowing freely! I'm Still washing the blood off me! What an experience!

Starting April 22nd, midnight shows on Friday nights and 3:30 pm matinee performances on Sunday afternoons have been added at The Steve Allen Theater. Hit up that link for directions and ticket info. You Won't be sorry! Hell, if you live out of state, believe us when we say this is totally worth flying in for!

In 1985 Stuart Gordon directed his first feature film and created a sensation. It was “Re-Animator,” a smashing success based on a horror story by H.P. Lovecraft. The film delivered as many laughs as it did screams, making it a cult classic among horror fans, and won a Critic...

Hold on to your head (hardy, har, har)! Re-Animator - The Musical is upon us. At least, it is for you lucky sons of bitches with some sort of proximity to Los Angeles' Steve Allen Theater.

This would be a cool project on its own, but considering that Stuart Gordon is actually directing this sucker, it's a must see. In 1985 Stuart Gordon directed his first feature film and created a sensation. It was “Re-Animator,” a smashing success based on a horror story by H.P. Lovecraft. The film delivered as many laughs as it did screams, making it a cult classic among horror fans, and won a Critic’s Prize at the Cannes Film Festival. Now Gordon is back with his co-writers Dennis Paoli and William J. Norris and composer/lyricist Mark Nutter to turn “Re-Animator” into a musical for the stage.

Special effects are being done by the same guys...

Stuart Gordon is returning to Dr. Herbert West territory. Early last year, we told you Gordon was experimenting with Re-Animator: The Musical which he was aiming to bring to the stage in Los Angeles. Well, the time has arrived. It has a venue. It has a start date. And it's bound to get messy, but not in the Spider-Man: The Musical sort of way. Special effects are being done by the same guys who did them for the 1985 movie: Tony Doublin, John Naulin and John Beuchler. And the blood will flow so freely that the first row will literally be designated as a "splash zone." Needless to say, the show is not for small children. The cast stars George Wendt (Cheers), Chris L. McKenna (King of the Ants), and Jesse Merlin (Star of The Beastly Bombing). Also starring,...

Rarely has half a year's wait been so richly rewarded. Early in August 2009 Jack Stevenson had promised a review copy of his forthcoming book "Scandinavian Blue," to be published by McFarland & Company, and dealing with a highly Ferronian subject: "The Erotic Cinema of Sweden and Denmark in the 1960s and 1970s." Still, I had nearly forgotten about it, when it finally arrived this March: But whatever the reasons for the delay, I'm sure they were good. Because as it turns out, Stevenson's book is not just an exhaustive and long-overdue study of a chapter in film history that by now mostly lives as a cliché of semi-trashy sixties liberation memorabilia, but doubles as one of the most timely political essays around.

Which is not to say it doesn't deliver as a connoisseur's chronicle of erotic esoterica, delving deeply into the more demented side of sexually charged filmmaking. Entire chapters are...

Curious to know what frightful films and devilish discs will be available to view in the privacy of your own digital dungeon this week? Fango's got you covered.

Below the jump you'll find the full list of titles arriving in-stores this Tuesday, October 6, 2009 in our weekly version of the famous Fangoria Chopping List. It's a Big week, with Trick 'R Treat finally hitting the home market, along with re-issues of The Gate, Audition, and a whole lot more!

Note: Clickable links lead to Amazon.com

Audition (Bd)

New 1080P High-Definition Transfer From The Negative!

Deceptively innocent at first, Takashi Miikes Audition finds Shigeharu Aoyama (Ryo Ishibashi, Suicide Club, The Grudge), a middle-aged widower of many years, urged by his teenage son and his film producer friend Yasuhisa Yoshikawa (Jun Kunimura, Ichi The Killer) to get out and start dating again. To help Aoyama meet women, Yoshikawa devises a plan to...

At the Museum of Contemporary Art/American Cinematheque benefit screening of Parasomnia (see item here), Fango got a chance to quickly chat to some of the assembled filmmakers about their upcoming projects. First up, Wes Craven took a moment to discuss the title of his latest feature, Rogue Pictures’ 25/8.

“It’s based on a phrase in the movie, saying that if you fight the devil 24/7, it’s not enough—you have to fight 25/8,” Craven tells us. “The phrase was in the film, in the dialogue. The original title of the movie was Bug, which is the name of the central character [played by Max Thieriot, pictured]. I was about halfway through writing the script when somebody said, ‘I just read that William Friedkin has a film coming out called Bug.’ So that was that for that title. It’s very punchy and intriguing, but that’s the way the cookie crumbles.”

Meanwhile, Mick Garris, recently...

Twentysomething decorator, Sean Crawley, isn't very good at painting. This hasn’t gone unnoticed by his boss, Duke, who offers him an alternative; an introduction to his boss in turn, Matthews, whose shady business interests may be threatened by a man he wants followed. When stalking turns to murder, the deal goes sour and Sean must take it upon himself to collect money owed to him for his completed side of the bargain. However, this decision not only carries heavy consequences, but is complicated by his attraction to the dead mans widow.

In one of the more bizarre cinematic pairings, King of the Ants sees the writing talents of Charlie 'Fast Show' Higson combined with the directing talents of Stuart 'Re-Animator' Gordon. Higson wrote the screenplay based on his novel of the same name (his only novel) apparently using his own early decorating days as literary fodder. George 'Cheers...

• The Canadian Premiere of Edmond took place at the Fantasia Film Festival a few days after the release of the film in the Us. Cult director Stuart Gordon came to Montreal to present the film at the festival. Despite it was his first visit to the festival, Fantasia fans are well aware of Stuart Gordon’s filmography and deserved him a standing ovation. Stuard Gordon didn’t really need any introductions with films like Reanimator and King Of The Ants under his belt. While most screenings of the festival have a few dozens empty seats in the 700-something seats auditorium, the room was packed for Edmond and almost every single seat was occupied! This is outstanding since Edmond fits rather strangely in a genre festival line up. And … so does it fit strangely in Stuart Gordon’s filmography … I met with Stuart Gordon the day prior to the premiere

...

PUCHON, South Korea -- In a much more low-key and thoughtful opening ceremony than previous years, the eighth Puchon International Film Festival kicked off Thursday evening. In keeping with the festival's fantasy/horror theme Stuart Gordon's King of the Ants opened the event, which runs July 15-24 and overall will screen 83 feature films and 178 shorts from 32 countries. Other special sections include programs on early Japanese animation, Troma Studios, later Shaw Brothers films, independent pioneer Amos Vogel, and the works of Jurg Buttgereit (Nekromantik). This year also marks the debut of a small film market and the European Fantastic Film Festival's Asian film award.