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While Scream is regarded as Drew Barrymore’s first slasher movie, there should be some consideration for Far from Home as well. This largely unremembered blip in Barrymore’s acting career has the looks of a mere coming-of-age drama; the posters and promo photos alone sell it as such. However, upon actually watching this obscurity from 1989, signs of genre eventually show. In particular when Barrymore’s character becomes the center of a killing spree and the unseen assailant is closer than she realizes.

After Burning Man and gypsum mining, Far from Home is perhaps the most notable thing about Gerlach, Nevada. Technically, it wasn’t the first movie to be shot there; the Gary Cooper-starring western The Winning of Barbara Worth was partly filmed in Gerlach. Yet at the time, Far from Home was a big deal for the town. Not only was the girl from E.T. now staying there,...

Singing and dancing are an integral part of musicals, never mind that they’re often associated with a much more lighthearted, sentimental tone. That makes musicals feel out of place in the world of horror, a genre dedicated to graphic violence, death, and scaring audiences silly.

Yet, as it’s been proven time and time again, horror plays well with everything, including the movie musical. Movies like Little Shop of Horrors or Phantom of the Paradise showcase the magic of combining genre thrills with earworm songs and lavish production design, further stretching the boundaries of what horror can be.

This week’s streaming picks are dedicated to horror musicals, some that aim to tickle the funny bone while others go for the jugular. Here’s where to watch them on streaming this week.

For more Stay Home, Watch Horror picks, click here.

The Lure – Criterion Channel, Max

Before The Ugly Stepsister,...

Gene Hackman was an American original: an everyman actor with unremarkable physical features who became exceptional through the sheer force of his authenticity. Actors can drive themselves nuts trying to be believable, to simply inhabit a scene as a human being with sincere purpose, but Hackman was only ever genuine. He was also prolific, which means that his gift was occasionally squandered in some less-than-stellar films, but we watched them anyway because the promise of a new Hackman performance was worth the time. Now that he's left us for good at the age of 95, those hours we spent watching dreck like "Loose Cannons" or "The Replacements" hardly feel like a waste.

Hackman appeared in all kinds of movies, and excelled at so many different types of roles that he was never closely associated with one particular genre. But there was something about Westerns that perfectly suited his unfussy performance style.

Blu-ray.com has just revealed that Capelight Pictures and MPI Home Video will be releasing a brand-new Blu-ray transfer of Paul Verhoeven’s period action film Flesh+Blood. The film was released back in 1985 and stars Rutger Hauer, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Susan Tyrrell, Tom Burlinson and Jack Thompson. The new 40th Anniversary Edition Blu-ray is slated to hit retailers early next year on February 11.

The description reads,

“Director Paul Verhoeven brings no-holds-barred action and sensuality to the Middle Ages. A band of mercenaries led by Martin (Rutger Hauer) triumph in battle for their leader Arnolfini. When Martin is betrayed by the tyrant Arnolfini, he seeks revenge! Martin’s mercenaries abduct Agnes (Jennifer Jason Leigh), a convent girl and the bride-to-be of Arnolfini’s son Steven (Tom Burlinson). She in turn manipulates Martin to protect her from his men. But is she feigning devotion in order to survive or has she fallen in love?...

John Waters’s Cry-Baby is the ideal companion piece to the filmmaker’s 1988 hit Hairspray. That film takes place in the early ’60s, against the backdrop of the civil rights movement, and deals in a lighthearted fashion with thorny issues of racial segregation, while Cry-Baby uses its mid-’50s setting to poke fun at class conflict in staid Eisenhower-era Baltimore. And both films are perfectly realized period pieces awash with the music of their respective eras: Hairspray focusing on soul and R&b, Cry-Baby packed with catchy rockabilly and doowop numbers.

Cry-Baby focuses on Wade Walker (Johnny Depp), the leader of a redoubtable gang of “drapes,” a Baltimorean spin on the greasers of the time. Events begin to echo Romeo and Juliet once Cry-Baby, who’s known for driving girls crazy for the way he’s able to shed a single tear, makes a play for Allison (Amy Locane), the...

There aren’t many movies like Cry Baby, just like there aren’t many directors and writers like John Waters. Both are unique and unlike anything that has come before or since.

Cry Baby hit screens at the beginning of a new decade, 1990, and celebrated a time many decades prior. It was skewering of teenage delinquent movies of the 50s with a healthy dose of weird, transgressive and musical theater. The overly dramatic time of a teenager and how rebel films of the 50s took that angst and upped to off the charts.

John Waters grew up with those films, and Cry Baby was his unique and amazing spin on that genre. Cry Baby tells the story of Wade “Cry Baby” Walker and his bizarre family and gang of Drapes. These are the weirdos and outcasts of Baltimore, the ones Waters himself would identify more with than the Squares of the story.

It remains the most joltingly violent, psychosexual grindhouse shocker of the ’80s, directed by a veteran of I Love Lucy and starring a frequently shirtless former teen idol with an epically demented performance by an Oscar nominee. And now, Butcher, Baker, Nightmare Maker can be experienced for the first time ever in Uhd. Jimmy McNichol stars as an orphaned high-school student raised by his strangely overprotective aunt (Susan Tyrrell of Fat City fame) who becomes implicated in a grisly murder investigated by a psychotic police detective (an equally unhinged Bo Svenson of Inglorious Bastards). Seven-time Emmy nominee Julia Duffy (Newhart) and Bill Paxton (in one of his first film roles) co-star in this “jaw-dropping hunk of genre insanity” (Pop Culture Beast) and former Dpp 39 Video Nasty—also known as Night Warning—now scanned in 4K from the original camera negative with six hours of new and archival special features.

Butcher, Baker, Nightmare Maker...

Between its striking title, lurid artwork, and the timing of its release — 1981 bore the likes of Halloween II, Friday the 13th Part 2, My Bloody Valentine, The Burning, The Funhouse, The Prowler, and Happy Birthday to Me — one might mistake Butcher, Baker, Nightmare Maker (also known as Night Warning) for a run-of-the-mill slasher flick. While it vaguely fits in the slice-and-dice mold, the film is anything but generic.

The prologue — which may have inspired Final Destination 2‘s unforgettable opening sequence — was directed by Michael Miller with cinematography by Jan de Bont, but Miller was let go by the production after falling behind schedule. He was replaced by TV veteran William Asher, who shot the remainder of the film with Robbie Greenberg as director of photography.

14 years after his parents were killed in an over-the-top car crash, Billy Lynch witnesses his infantilizing aunt-turned-guardian, Cheryl Roberts, kill a repair man in cold blood.

Stars: Jimmy McNichol, Susan Tyrrell, Bo Svenson, Julia Duffy, Bill Paxton, Marcia Lewis, Britt Leach, Steve Eastin | Written by Steve Breimer, Alan Jay Glueckman, Boon Collins | Directed by William Asher

Butcher, Baker, Nightmare Maker is a gripping and unsettling horror that keeps you on the edge of your seat from start to finish. Helmed by William Asher, a veteran director of US sitcoms like I Love Lucy and Bewitched, this cult classic from 1981 has gained a reputation for its intense storyline and memorable performances and this release by Severin Films marks the films disc debut here in the UK – yes, former video nasty is finally seeing the light of day in the UK and it’s a feature-packed 4K release too!

At its core, Butcher, Baker, Nightmare Maker follows the story of Billy Lynch (Jimmy McNichol), a young man whose life takes a dark turn following the death of his parents.

To celebrate the release of Butcher, Baker, Nightmare Maker available on Special Edition Dual 4K Uhd and Blu-Ray on 13th May, we have a Special Edition Dual 4K Uhd and Blu-Ray to give away!

One of the notorious 1980s video nasties Butcher, Baker, Nightmare Maker has been lauded as ‘Brilliantly insane’ (Cool Ass Cinema) and a ‘horror gem, well-crafted, ripe for analysis… should not go overlooked (Bloody Disgusting) and now, thanks to Severin Films, you can witness the film like never before. The company announces a brand-new Special Edition Dual 4K Uhd and Blu-ray is set for its UK release on 13 May 2024.

In a surprising change of direction, William Asher – veteran of gentle TV delights such as I Love Lucy and Bewitched – directed one of the most joltingly brutal, psychosexual shockers of the ‘80s, the eye-poppingly violent and demented Butcher, Baker, Nightmare Maker, which can now be experienced for the first time ever in Uhd.

‘A deeply twisted shocker… You will never, ever, ever find a psychotic she-monster more blood-chilling than Susan Tyrrell’

Coming Soon

‘An excellent shocker… queasy and wildly ahead of its time… Susan Tyrrell delivers a character unlike any other in horror history’

Mondo Digital

‘Tyrrell steals the show… the sight of her… clutching a machete and chasing a poor unfortunate through a stormy night is once seen, never forgotten!… I heartedly recommend you seek out’

Hysteria Lives

One of the notorious 1980s video nasties Butcher, Baker, Nightmare Maker has been lauded as ‘Brilliantly insane’ (Cool Ass Cinema) and a ‘horror gem, well-crafted, ripe for analysis… should not go overlooked (Bloody Disgusting) and now, thanks to Severin Films, you can witness the film like never before. The company announces a brand-new Special Edition Dual 4K Uhd and Blu-ray is set for its UK release on 13th May 2024.

In a surprising change of direction,...

Killer Collectibles highlights five of the most exciting new horror products announced each and every week, from toys and apparel to artwork, records, and much more.

Here are the coolest horror collectibles unveiled this week!

Butcher, Baker, Nightmare Maker 4K Uhd from Severin Films

Butcher, Baker, Nightmare Maker will be released on 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray on May 28 via Severin Films. The 1981 psychosexual horror film has been newly scanned in 4K from the original camera negative.

Also known as Night Warning, the film is directed by William Asher (Bewitched) and written by Steve Breimer, Alan Jay Glueckman, and Boon Collins. Jimmy McNichol, Susan Tyrrell, Bo Svenson, Bill Paxton, and Julia Duffy star.

Special features include: commentary by McNichol; commentary by Breimer and Glueckman; commentary by co-producer Eugene Mazzola; and interviews with McNichol, Tyrrell, Svenson, Breimer, actor Steven Eastin, makeup artist Allan A. Alpone, director of photography Robbie Greenberg, and editor Ted Nicolaou.

Killer Collectibles highlights five of the most exciting new horror products announced each and every week, from toys and apparel to artwork, records, and much more.

Here are the coolest horror collectibles unveiled this week!

The Guyver 4K Uhd from Unearthed Films

The Guyver will merge onto 4K Uhd + Blu-ray + CD on May 21 via Unearthed Films. Based on the Japanese manga series of the same name, the 1991 sci-fi superhero film has been newly restored in 4K from the original, R-rated 35mm camera negative.

Special effects legends Steve Wang (Predator) and Screaming Mad George (Society) co-direct from a script by Jon Purdy. Mark Hamill, Vivian Wu, Jack Armstrong, Jimmie Walker, Michael Berryman, David Gale, and Jeffrey Combs star. Brian Yuzna produces.

New special features include: a commentary by George and Wang; interviews with George and Yuzna; suit tests, outtakes, and a gag reel with commentary; and a gallery. A soundtrack CD...

David Gordon Green's 2022 slasher film "Halloween Ends" is an unusual entry in the series in many ways. In it, the vicious masked serial killer Michael Myers (James Jude Courtney) has been living in a sewer and stays out of the film's central action for the bulk of its running time. "Ends," instead, focuses largely on a character named Corey Cunningham (Rohan Campbell), a man who, two years ago, accidentally killed the young boy he was babysitting. Green envisioned Corey's hometown town of Haddonfield, Illinois as a bitter and wounded place, full of spiteful, hurt people who cannot heal from the murderous damage that Michael caused way back in 1978, as well as his return in 2018. Every citizen is bitter, angry, and paranoid. Corey is bullied and picked on, unable to outlive his mistake. 

When Corey wanders into Michael's sewer (he was fleeing bullies), he finds Michael and a strange transference occurs.

In the 1980s, it was too easy for a film like Butcher, Baker, Nightmare Maker to get lost in the horror shuffle. Icons like Freddy and Jason were coming into the world and franchise fever was catching. A “video nasty” label also did little to help this hidden gem find an audience overseas in the U.K. Yet after years of being trapped on VHS under the name of Night Warning, this film finally surfaced on both DVD and Blu-ray and, for a short time, the streaming service Shudder. Cult followers relived what might have felt like a fever dream back in the day, and new fans have since latched on to the film’s sensational excesses.

Since he was three years old, Billy Lynch (played by Jimmy McNichol) has only known one mother: Aunt Cheryl (Susan Tyrrell). He has been in her care ever since his parents were killed...

(Welcome to The Daily Stream, an ongoing series in which the /Film team shares what they've been watching, why it's worth checking out, and where you can stream it.)

The Movie: "Forbidden Zone"

Where You Can Stream It: Tubi, Kanopy, Night Flight, Plex, Flixfling

The Pitch: Back in 1972, one Richard Elfman, then only a lad of 23, founded a musical theater troupe on the streets of Los Angeles called the Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo. This was after performing music in Paris and being involved in numerous theater projects throughout his youth. The Mystic Knights were a massive band, consisting of 15 members, and dedicated to performing old songs from the 1920s through the 1940s. For an early glimpse of what kind of act the Mystic Knights performed, check out their appearance on "The Gong Show" in 1976. Richard is the one in the miniature rocket ship playing the train whistle.

Fifty years ago, Angela Lansbury opened the 45th Academy Awards ceremony, with a song-and-dance number that paid homage to a day on a movie set. Carol Burnett, Michael Caine, Charlton Heston and Rock Hudson shared Oscars hosting duties on March 27, 1973, a historical night of Academy controversies, record-making, and memorable moments. Enjoy our Oscar flashback 50 years to the ceremony on NBC.

It began with Heston running late due to a flat tire; he was scheduled to deliver the voting rules in a “Ten Commandments” manner. Asked to fill in at the last minute was Clint Eastwood, who humorously claimed, “They pick the guy who hasn’t said but three lines in 12 movies to substitute for him.” Fortunately, Moses showed up and saved Dirty Harry about midway through the speech.

SEEOscar Best Picture Gallery: History of Every Academy Award-Winning Movie

Five completely different types of films were represented in the Best Picture category,...

Hey, everyone! Last Friday, we celebrated all the fun independent horror that was released throughout the 1980s (you can read that piece Here), and before we examine the ’90s indie horror scene tomorrow, I thought I’d take today to celebrate a few more underappreciated indie genre gems from the ’80s that are currently available to stream on Shudder’s platform. When it comes to movies from this decade, there are so many titles that get endless love, so I thought it would be fun to put the spotlight on five movies that I would consider to be underappreciated, but very much worth checking out if you’re a horror fan who enjoys offbeat horror stories.

Butcher, Baker, Nightmare Maker

The thing I love about Butcher, Baker, Nightmare Maker is that it feels like someone watched Friday the 13th and they were like, “What if we do some variation on this story,...

“Matt Dillon comes across like a young Brando or James Dean.” —Houston Post

Coolness Personified As Matt Dillon Stars In Mvd Rewind Collection’S ‘Liar’S Moon’ Making Its Long-awaited Debut On Blu-ray Through Mvd Entertainment Group. –The 1982 Teen Drama On Blu-ray Coming February 2022.

Here’s a trailer for the restoration:

Matt Dillon (The Outsiders) stars in this tender tale of love’s first promise… and its enduring strength. Dillon plays Jack Duncan, an athletic, hardworking boy from the small town of Noble, Texas. Jack is happy just enjoying himself with the local boys, until he meets Ginny Peterson (Cindy Fisher), the town’s wealthiest young lady. Despite their obviously different backgrounds, Jack and Ginny fall desperately in love. Even though their parents have forbidden them to meet, Jack and Ginny sneak out, and finally elope, hoping to find happiness far from their hometown. But theirs is a love that falls...

Hello, everyone! To kick off this month’s horror and sci-fi home media releases, we have an eclectic array of titles coming out this week. In terms of recent genre films, Rlje Films is releasing both Lucky by Natasha Kermani and Simon Barrett’s Seance on Tuesday, and if you’re a fan of the original Transformers movie (like this writer is), Shout! Factory has put together an incredible-looking Steelbook to celebrate the film’s 35th anniversary as well.

Arrow Video is keeping busy with two different sets of genre classics with their Sergio Martino Collection and The Daimajin Trilogy, and Code Red is showing some love to Butcher, Baker, Nightmare Maker this Tuesday with a special edition Blu-ray release.

Other titles headed home on August 3rd include Night Feeder, Dead Again, It Wants Blood, and Tailgate.

Butcher, Baker, Nightmare Maker Aka Night Warning: Special Edition

Terror begins when a...

The director of Palmer helps us kick off our new season by walking us through some of his favorite movies.

Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode

Bloodhounds Of Broadway (1989)

Salvador (1986)

True Believer (1989)

Palmer (2021)

Wonder Wheel (2017)

A Face In The Crowd (1957)

On The Waterfront (1954)

No Time For Sergeants (1958)

The Confidence Man (2018)

Lolita (1962)

Dr. Strangelove (1964)

The Ghost Of Peter Sellers (2018)

The Marrying Man (1991)

The Ruling Class (1972)

The Krays (1990)

Let Him Have It (1991)

The Changeling (1980)

On The Border (1998)

Murder By Decree (1979)

Bigger Than Life (1956)

The Night of the Iguana (1964)

Fat City (1972)

Angel (1984)

Animal House (1978)

My Science Project (1985)

Lucía (1968)

Paper Moon (1973)

Sullivan’s Travels (1941)

The Great McGinty (1940)

I Married A Witch (1942)

Do The Right Thing (1989)

Raging Bull (1980)

Once Upon A Time In America (1984)

The Rider (2017)

The Mustang (2019)

Nomadland (2020)

Murmur of the Heart (1971)

Sweet Smell Of Success (1957)

Mr. Smith Goes To Washington (1939)

Apocalypse Now (1979)

The Conversation (1974)

The Godfather (1972)

The Godfather Part III (1990)

The Magnificent Ambersons...

Darren Lynn Bousman joins Josh and Joe to discuss his favorite over-the-top musicals of the 70s.

Show Notes:

Movies Referenced In This Episode

Repo! The Genetic Opera (2008)

Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977)

Sorcerer (1977)

Star Wars (1977)

Death of Me (2020)

Jesus Christ: Superstar (1973)

Pennies From Heaven (1981)

A History Of Violence (2005)

Requiem For A Dream (2000)

The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)

The Movie Orgy (1968)

Gremlins (1984)

The Room (2003)

Rocky (1976)

Hair (1979)

The Apple (1980)

Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (1978)

Tommy (1975)

Quadrophenia (1979)

Altered States (1980)

The Devils (1971)

Trapped Ashes (2006)

Apocalypse Now (1979)

Devil’s Carnival (2012)

Phantom of the Paradise (1974)

Rent (2005)

Wild In The Streets (1968)

A Hard Day’s Night (1964)

Willy Wonka And The Chocolate Factory (1971)

The Wizard of Oz (1939)

The Jazz Singer (1980)

Forbidden Zone (1982)

Eddie and the Cruisers (1983)

The First Nudie Musical (1976)

Chatterbox (1977)

Goldilocks and the Three Bares (1963)

Cabaret (1972)

Saw II (2005)

Other Notable Items

Final Draft

Paris Hilton

Elvira

Angelyne

The William Friedkin podcast episode

Leonardo DiCaprio

Jesus Christ Superstar...

Welcome back for an all-new installment of Let’s Scare Bryan to Death. This month, I’m talking with Sam Wineman, who you may know as a director, musician, writer, podcaster, and master chef. I may have made that last one up, but what I’m saying is the dude is all-around talented. He’s also just been announced as the director for an upcoming documentary on the history of queer horror to be released on Shudder.

I was lucky enough to catch up with Wineman to chat about the 1982 slasher film Butcher, Baker, Nightmare Maker. Directed by William Asher, the film follows Billy (Jimmy McNichol), a high school senior getting ready to graduate and hopefully go off to college with his girlfriend, Julie (Julia Duffy). Alas, this doesn’t sit well with his aunt Cheryl (Susan Tyrrell), whose attachment to him is progressing nicely into obsession. When her attempt...

Our summer series "Supporting Actress Smackdown" returns on Sunday April 28th with a deep dive into the 1972 Oscar lineup:

• Jeannie Berlin, The Heartbreak Kid

• Eileen Heckart, Butterflies Are Free

• Geraldine Page, Pete N' Tillie

• Susan Tyrrell, Fat City

• Shelley Winters, The Poseidon Adventure

That's just two weeks away! So make sure to get your votes in (1 to 5 hearts for each of those performances that you've seen) since readers are the final collective panelist.

Want to meet the other panelists? Yeah, you do!

Please Welcome...

After playing the Leatherface-loving horror fan known as "Chainsaw" in Carl Reiner's Summer School, Dean Cameron played a vampire rock star with some serious bite in Rockula, and with the 1990 horror comedy coming to Blu-ray on March 20th, Scream Factory provided us with three high-def copies to give away to lucky Daily Dead readers!

---------

Prize Details: (3) Winners will receive (1) Blu-ray copy of Rockula.

How to Enter: We're giving Daily Dead readers multiple chances to enter and win:

1. Instagram: Following us on Instagram during the contest period will give you an automatic contest entry. Make sure to follow us at:

https://www.instagram.com/dailydead/

2. Email: For a chance to win via email, send an email to contest@dailydead.com with the subject “Rockula Contest”. Be sure to include your name and mailing address.

Entry Details: The contest will end at 12:01am Est on March 26th. This...

Ralph is a rock star with some serious bite, and he's coming to home media this March in a new Blu-ray release of 1990's Rockula. If you can't wait to sink your teeth into the bloodthirsty horror comedy, then perhaps Scream Factory can satisfy your crimson cravings with the Blu-ray's full list of special features, including a new interview with Dean Cameron, also known as "Chainsaw" from Summer School:

From Scream Factory: "If you're a fan of our upcoming March 20th Blu-ray release of Rockula then we hope you'll enjoy sinking your fangs into some blood-thirsty extras that we've cooked up!

- New Audio Commentary With Director Luca Bercovici, Actress Tawny Fere And Composer Hilary Bercovici

- New Interview With Director Luca Bercovici

- New Interview With Actor Dean Cameron

- Theatrical Trailer

There's also a reverse cover on the packaging as well! (Pictured below.)

Pre-order now for early...

'Under the Volcano' screening: John Huston's 'quality' comeback featuring daring Albert Finney tour de force As part of its John Huston film series, the UCLA Film & Television Archive will be presenting the 1984 drama Under the Volcano, starring Albert Finney, Jacqueline Bisset, and Anthony Andrews, on July 21 at 7:30 p.m. at the Billy Wilder Theater in the Los Angeles suburb of Westwood. Jacqueline Bisset is expected to be in attendance. Huston was 77, and suffering from emphysema for several years, when he returned to Mexico – the setting of both The Treasure of the Sierra Madre and The Night of the Iguana – to direct 28-year-old newcomer Guy Gallo's adaptation of English poet and novelist Malcolm Lowry's 1947 semi-autobiographical novel Under the Volcano, which until then had reportedly defied the screenwriting abilities of numerous professionals. Appropriately set on the Day of the Dead – 1938 – in the fictitious Mexican town of Quauhnahuac (the fact that it sounds like Cuernavaca...

By John LeMay

Fat City, released in 1972, was something of a “rebound” film for beloved director John Huston, whose previous two films had been flops. Based upon the 1969 novel by Leonard Gardner (who also wrote the screenplay), Fat City follows Stacy Keach as Billy Tully, a small time boxer who never made it big who is living in squalor. When Billy makes a rare return visit to the gym, he meets Ernie (Jeff Bridges, hot off of a Best Supporting Actor nomination for The Last Picture Show). Billy sees some potential in the teenager’s boxing ability and suggests he go see his old manager, Ruben (Nicholas Colasanto—the future “Coach” on Cheers). Ernie does as told, and soon finds himself under Ruben’s optimistic wing, while Billy’s life further deteriorates when he begins an affair with an alcoholic wreck named Oma (Susan Tyrell, who would herself secure a...

Crazy has always tapped a main vein in horror films; if it didn’t we would be stuck watching films of people being pranked or wronged, who laugh it off and become dentists instead (with all due respect to Corbin Bernsen). Now, of particular interest to me is when the sins of the flesh meet that fracture of the mind; where the lascivious and the lurid tangle in sweaty, blood stained sheets. And 1982 coughed up a doozy (in character and content) with Night Warning, a tale of a very protective aunt who doesn’t want to see her nephew leave the nest.

Also known as Butcher, Baker, Nightmare Maker (a cool title, but neither relate to the story at all), Night Warning was distributed by Comworld Pictures in early ’82 (but didn’t go wide until early ’83) and garnered some good reviews while passing by audiences. Why? Because it was just...

Long before he wrote the wild, dramatic score for Batman and the twisted song cycle that runs through the beloved Nightmare Before Christmas, Danny Elfman's original claim to cinematic fame was far quirkier than anything he'd ever dream up for Tim Burton: He portrayed Satan, dressed in a long-tail white tux, conducting an orchestra of goblins in a run-through of every "hidey-hidey-hidey-ho" in Cab Calloway's "Minnie the Moocher." The episode, in the campy 1980 cult hit Forbidden Zone, found the redheaded composer wiggling, shimmying and writhing as he...

John Huston sets the bar for director-driven quality filmmaking of the early 1970s. Stacy Keach is a punchy boxing bum who teams up with the ambitious newcomer Jeff Bridges; the glowing discovery is the amazing Susan Tyrell, film history's most convincingly caustic floozy-alcoholic, bar none. Her voice can peel paint, but we love her dearly. Fat City Blu-ray Twilight Time Limited Edition 1972 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 100 min. / Street Date September 8, 2015 / available through the Twilight Time Movies / 20.95 Starring Stacy Keach, Jeff Bridges, Susan Tyrrell, Candy Clark, Nicholas Colasanto, Art Aragon, Curtis Cokes, Sixto Rodriguez Cinematography Conrad L. Hall Production Designer Richard Sylbert Film Editor Walter Thompson Original Music Kris Kristofferson, Marvin Hamlisch (supervisor) Written by Leonard Gardner from his novel <Produced by John Huston, Ray Stark Directed by John Huston

Reviewed by Glenn Erickson

This rewarding show is a fine opportunity to catch up on two great talents, John Huston and Stacy Keach.

CopAt the ripe age of twenty-six—the two were born within days of each other in 1928—James B. Harris and Stanley Kubrick formed Harris-Kubrick Productions. With Kubrick leading the charge behind the camera and Harris acting as the right-hand-man producer, the duo completed three major critical successes: The Killing (1956), Paths of Glory (1957), and Lolita (1962). But where Kubrick’s subsequent work has achieved a supreme, hall-of-fame stature, Harris’s own directorial career—consisting of five excellent movies made across a four-decade span—remains, despite the valiant effort of a few notable English-language critics (Michael Atkinson, Jonathan Rosenbaum), on the relative sidelines. The latest attempt to boost Harris’s reputation: BAMcinématek’s week-long retrospective of Harris’s producing and directing output, selected by “Overdue” co-programmers Nick Pinkerton and Nicolas Rapold.Harris and Kubrick stopped working together amidst a pre-production disagreement during the making of what would become Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb...

We're back with a special round-up, taking a look at three upcoming horror film Blu-rays, two of which star the legendary Vincent Price. Scream Factory revealed the bonus features for the anthology horror film, From a Whisper to a Scream, Kino Lorber has announced they're bringing Jacques Tourneur's War Gods of the Deep, a.k.a. The City Under the Sea, out on Blu-ray with a new extra, and Olive Films has slated a Satan's Blade 30th anniversary Blu-ray for a spring release.

From a Whisper to a Scream: Scream Factory will release From a Whisper to a Scream on Blu-ray beginning April 28th, with bountiful bonus features included.

From Scream Factory: "**Extras for From A Whisper To A Scream Revealed!**

Fans of this underrated 1987 gem with Vincent Price (in his last role in a horror film) are in for a super treat. Check out the extensive line-up...

We’re back with another horror round-up. This time around, we focus on the slight delay in the upcoming premiere of Penny Dreadful Season 2, a new teaser for the second season of Salem, and details on the new street date for Scream Factory’s From a Whisper to a Scream Blu-ray.

Penny Dreadful: Showtime announced today that Penny Dreadful‘s Season 2 premiere, originally scheduled to air on April 26th, will now instead debut one week later on Sunday, May 3rd at 10pm Et.

“This season, Vanessa and Ethan form a deeper bond as the group, including Sir Malcolm (Timothy Dalton), Dr. Frankenstein (Harry Treadaway), and Sembene (Danny Sapani), unite to banish the evil forces that threaten to destroy them. Meanwhile, Dorian Gray (Reeve Carney), the Creature (Rory Kinnear) and Brona (Billie Piper) are all waging battles of their own. Patti LuPone will guest star as a mysterious character of...

You might remember paying Oldfield a visit via 1987’s horror anthology film, From a Whisper to a Scream, aka The Offspring, which starred the legendary likes of Vincent Price and Clu Gulager. With their “Shocktober” festivities in full force, Scream Factory is giving fright fans a chance to return to the town of terror with their announcement that they are bringing From a Whisper to a Scream to Blu-ray in February:

“Our month-long “Shocktober” celebration continues with another film to reveal. In Feb 2015, the 1987 anthology horror film From A Whisper To A Scream (also known as The Offspring) will make its debut on the Blu-ray format.

Directed by Jeff Burr (The Stepfather 2, Pumpkinhead II, Texas Chainsaw Massacre III and Puppetmaster 4 & 5), the film stars legendary king of horror Vincent Price, Clu Gulager (The Return of the Living Dead, A Nightmare on Elm Street 2), Susan Tyrell (Angel, Butcher Baker Nightmare Maker) and Cameron Mitchell (Silent Scream,...

A film easy to admire but equally hard to love, Paul Verhoeven’s 1985 film Flesh+Blood, his last title to make it to DVD about a decade ago, gets an exciting Blu-ray transfer this month. Notable in multiple regards, this was the last infamous collaboration between Verhoeven and his star Rutger Hauer, the pair having completed five previous films. Reportedly a grueling shoot, and the rising tensions between director and star didn’t help anything, this was also Verhoeven’s first English language film, the first time he didn’t use storyboards, and the last film he would make in his native Netherlands for two decades. While this sounds like a recipe for disaster, there is more to praise than damn in this ambitiously realized portrait of Medieval Europe that’s worthy of reconsideration.

It’s Western Europe in 1510, and amidst the bloodletting, Bubonic plague, and scourging of lands, a...

Moviefone's Top DVD of the Week

"Like Father, Like Son"

What's It About? Two families are thrown into upheaval when it's discovered there was a mistake at the hospital where their respective sons were born. Ryota (Masaharu Fukuyama) has to decide what's more important to him, the relationship he's developed with the six-year-old child he thought was his biological son or his "real" son. Hirokazu Kore-eda explores what it means to be a family and a father in this intimate drama.

Why We're In: Kore-eda's a critically acclaimed filmmaker and beloved arthouse auteur whose work deserves to be seen on a wider scale. Don't let the subtitles scare you -- check it out!

Moviefone's Top Blu-ray of the Week

"Cry-Baby"

What's It About? Johnny Depp plays a swoon-worthy bad boy who falls for Allison (Amy Locane), a sweet girl who's feeling a little feisty. This doesn't sit well with Allison's...

Auteurs! week continues at Trailers from Hell with director Karyn Kusama introducing John Huston's 1972 film "Fat City," starring Stacy Keach, Jeff Bridges and Susan Tyrrell.John Huston’s career rebounded after a series of boxoffice duds when this downbeat neo-noir boxing movie became a surprise critical and commercial success. “When you say you want to go to Fat City, it means you want the good life”, explains Leonard Gardner, author of the book and the screenplay. Strikingly shot by Conrad Hall in the long-since-demolished skid row area of Stockton, California.

Another Little Girl Down the Lane…

While the latest feature length film from the Zellner Brothers, Kid-Thing, may not be meant for children, its stammered nature definitely plays itself out as an adolescent affair. Their latest feature (after 2008’s comedic Goliath) is set in the Texas countryside, right outside of Austin, certainly a locale primed for ominous and terrifying happenings. Yet one can’t help but feel that the opaque and ambiguous tone of their latest effort squanders an excellent opportunity to have been a better film.

At the center of Kid-Thing is the 10 year old Annie (Sydney Aguirre), a motherless child left to her own devices while her goat farmer father (Nathan Zellner) engages in demolition derby and wastes a considerable amount of time engaging in inane activities with his equally simple friend, Caleb (David Zellner). A gas leak at her school has forced it to close for an...

Hugh Jackman at the UK premiere of The Wolverine

Birthday shoutouts go to Tony Kushner, who is 57, Phoebe Cates is 50, Will Ferrell is 46, and Mark Indelicato is 19. And a happy belated birthday to Tbl reader iheartfrosty.

Fuse has renewed Billy On The Street for another season.

Oxygen has cancelled The Glee Project.

Equal marriage bill passes final House of Commons stage and will receive Royal Assent

The British Columbia Coroner’s Office has released the initial autopsy report for Cory Monteith.

Here the latest Where The Bears Are “Gay A.R.P” made me snort.

Here’s the latest from Colton Ford, “All My Love.” It could be Nsfw. That’s some precise editing and blurring.

Oh Stephen … I’ll eff it. I’ll totally eff it.

Thanks for the image, Cheyenne. No seriously. Thank You.

Here’s your Tasty Two For Tuesday With Matt Bomer. Gifs!

And here’s...

Aimlessly Devoted To You: Reeder Culls More Stars and Less Sense for Sophomore Film

More proof that horror as a genre has been hedged out of midnight movie programming in favor of meandering strangeness is The Rambler, the sophomore feature of Calvin Lee Reeder. Rather than expanding on the mindf*ck bizarro-world shtick that characterized his polarizing 2011 debut, The Oregonian, Reeder seems more eager than ever to agitate, confound, and blow through our conditioned notions of film narrative. Fans of his first film can rejoice, but the rest of us should be praying for the return of David Lynch. Films by directors such as Reeder, who is obviously influenced by the likes of the grand master himself, only highlight how genius someone like Lynch is at making the grisly and bizarre as compelling as it is incomprehensible.

A man known as the Rambler (Dermot Mulroney) is recently released from prison,...

Review by Sam Moffitt

Has this ever happened to you? You’re sitting on a bar stool, in a bar, and when I say bar I don’t mean some uptown fancy bistro with little foo-foo umbrellas in the drinks and ferns hanging from the ceiling. I’m talking about a bar man, a dive, a saloon, a watering hole, like you find in south St. Louis where the doors stay open in the summer so neighborhood dogs can run in and out and drunks can stagger out and get some fresh air without having to try and work a door knob, so they can stagger out and get a grip before they heave up all that beer they’ve been drinking and paid for out of money they should have spent on the rent.

So anyway you’re sitting in this low class joint, drinking beer, and the occasional...

Where were Andy Griffith, Larry Hagman and other well-known celebrities in this year's Oscars In Memoriam montage? They were online at Oscar.com.

Every year it's one of the more reliably ridiculous award show controversies: Who didn't make the cut for In Memoriam?

When it comes to the Oscars, these "snubs" are particularly sensitive given the prestige and viewership of the show, and the fact that the montage inevitably leaves out names and faces of recognizable stars -- usually those known far more for their work in television than their work in film, which is the medium that the Academy Awards actually celebrate.

However, the Academy is hip to the annual controversy and this year produced a supplemental slideshow on their website featuring 114 names and photos of entertainers and film craftspeople who passed away in the past year.

Among the late greats included in the slideshow but not on the...

Review by Chris Wright, MoreHorror.com

Directed By: William Asher

Written By: Stephen Breimer, Boon Collins, & Alan Jay Glueckman

Starring: Susan Tyrrell (Aunt Cheryl), Bo Svenson (Detective Joe Carlson), Jimmy McNichol (Billy Lynch), William Paxton (Eddie), Marcia Lewis (Margie), Julia Duffy (Julia), Steve Eastin (Coach Landers), Britt Leach (Sgt. Cook), Caskey Swaim (Phil Brody), Cooper Neal (Frank), Gary Baxley (Bill Lynch Sr.) , Kay Kimler (Anna Lynch).

I came across this movie looking for rare horror films in the 80s. “Night Warning” has all the components of a solid psychological horror thriller movie yet it is virtually unknown today, which is surprising. I suspect it isn’t as well known due to the fact that it isn’t a slasher in the traditional sense. To add to its unknown nature, the movie has never seen another release beyond Thorn Emi video release in the mid 1980s. There has been speculation of...

This month, our community collectively said goodbye for a while to the flagship Alamo Drafthouse location and home of press screenings, special events, festivals like SXSW and aGLIFF Polari, and the two most dear in my heart: Butt-Numb-a-Thon and Fantastic Fest.

I have countless memories of this place, beginning with my first screening there eight years ago: Robin Williams in The Big White, the first screening of the first Fantastic Fest in 2005. I've likely seen more movies in this cinemaplex than in all the other theaters I've visited in my life combined. Certainly more than I dare attempt to count, though an average of 30 films each year for Fantastic Fest plus the five 24-hour Butt-Numb-a-Thons would equal roughly 600 hours, or 25 solid days of films watched there before we even started on SXSW, aGLIFF or any of the other shows.

No single word or phrase is sufficient to capture the significance of this place.

The “omnibus” horror film – a feature length collection of cinematic horror stories – is one of the most beloved and respected horror movie genres for many reasons; but most importantly, horror is often very effective in concentrated doses (just check out our excellent short film collection for some great examples), especially with a storyline that's designed to set up one good shock or twist, saving the writer the effort of milking more scares out of a single tale. The field is overflowing with some landmark films, including the timeless 1945 classic Dead of Night (still creepy and funny after all these years); Roger Corman's Poe collection Tales of Terror; a ton of cool flicks like From Beyond the Grave from UK studio Amicus; EC Comics-inspired films like the original Tales from the Crypt (actually another Amicus film) and George Romero's Creepshow; made-for-tv faves like Trilogy of Terror; and stylish international...

The AFI Film Fest (11.01-11.08) have announced the line-ups for our favorite sections at the fest in the Young American selections and New Auteurs section and they’ve managed to stack up on titles that are amongst the year’s best and which in the case of two films were mysteriously passed over by the likes of Telluride, Tiff and Nyff. Michel Franco’s After Lucia (see pic above) and Antonio Campos’ Simon Killer will be making the Los Angeles premieres accompanied by the best title to come out of the Main Comp at this year’s Cannes edition in Sergei Loznitsa’s In the Fog. This trio will be joined by a trio of gems that recently premiered at Tiff in: Maja Miloš’ Clip, Gabriela Pichler’s Eat Sleep Die and Tobias Lindholm’s A Hijacking. In the Young American Selections we find some filmmakers (Sean Baker and Amy...

By Tyler Draker

July 8 marked the third installment of this year’s Cinema East summer movie series. True to its reputation, it showed off two great films by local filmmakers.

Hellion is the short by Kat Candler that has been playing at many of the largest film festivals in the country, including Sundance and SXSW. I am currently a film student at The University of Texas and had Kat as a professor last year for the Advanced Narrative Production class. I’ve been trying to see Hellion since it was announced that it would be playing at Sundance. So, when I heard that it would be screening at Cinema East, I was set on going.

Hellion tells the story of three brothers who wreak havoc and the consequences when their father finds out. In the interest of not giving anything away, I’ll leave the rest of it a mystery...

By Brandon Martin

The collage of photos of the late Susan Tyrrell (1942-2012) set up on an easel outside the entrance to the theater -- her distinct expression made more potent by a background of clustered house keys -- reminded the Alamo Drafthouse audience that this was more than a regular film screening. The mass of flowers and Tyrrell artifacts surrounding the podium inside made it very clear that this was going to be a fitting memorial for a woman who defied the traditional.

I wasn't familiar with the actress' body of work. I'd never even heard of Fat City before reading about her passing away in Austin last month. Going into the tribute, all I knew about the John Huston-directed film was that Tyrrell played a drunk. This is how a movie viewing should be experienced. You walk into a dark room knowing as little as possible. It's spontaneous,...

The Alamo Drafthouse has quickly garnered a reputation as one of the greatest movie theaters in the history of mankind…or at least the history of movie theaters. With their signature events, ample food and drink selection, and strict no-talking policy, they make obsolete all tawdry multiplexes and completely redefine the movie-going experience. Here’s what they’re up to this week! Susan Tyrrell Tribute: Fat City Alamo South Lamar 6/28 7:00pm This week, the world lost one of its greatest, must untamed spirits. Susan Tyrrell wasn’t merely an actress; she was a devastating cinematic force of nature. Her turns in films like Angel, Cry-Baby, and especially Night Warning silences the issue of the mutual exclusivity between exploitation and quality. To...

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