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The "Harry Potter" books have sold millions of copies, birthing a franchise that includes hit movies, video games, and an upcoming television series for HBO Max that is speculated to be the most expensive show ever produced. Despite its overwhelming success, though, the Wizarding World saga might not be entirely original. The lawsuits against author J.K. Rowling in regard to plagiarism are well-documented, with authors like Nancy Stouffer alleging that she stole ideas from her novels "The Legend of Rah and the Muggles" and "Larry Potter and His Best Friend Lilly." Not only that, but the filmmakers behind the '80s fantasy flick "Troll" believe that they came up with the Harry Potter character first.

Directed by John Carl Buechler from a script by Ed Naha, "Troll" tells the story of Torok (Frank Welker), an evil troll king who torments and possesses the Potter family in an effort to regain his former glory.

Why Was Noah Hathaway Cast, Dropped & Re-Cast As Atreyu In The NeverEnding Story? (Photo Credit – Youtube)

Before The NeverEnding Story whisked us away to Fantasia, its lead star, Noah Hathaway, lived a plot twist worthy of the big screen. He was cast, dropped, and then re-cast again as Atreyu. His journey to land the iconic role wasn’t just long; it was wild.

When Hathaway stepped into auditions for the 1984 fantasy epic, he already had some serious credits. He starred in Battlestar Galactica (1978-1979) and appeared in Best Friends (1982) alongside Burt Reynolds and Goldie Hawn. So when German director Wolfgang Petersen came aboard The NeverEnding Story, Hathaway had experience, but not yet the part.

He first auditioned under a different director. And not just once. “They did one of those worldwide searches to cast the role and they saw something like 50,000 kids,” Hathaway said during a 2019 Entertainment Weekly reunion interview.

Movie Legend: The horse that played Artax in The NeverEnding Story died in real life during the filming of the movie.

One of the most typical types of legend when it comes to the world of films and movies is the "Did someone die making that movie or show?" legend, as obviously, stories of death tend to resonate with people the most. I've done a number of legends over the years involving deaths during the production of shows.

For the most part, most of these legends can be easily dismissed out of hands, but you see, there is a little label that you might be familiar with that shows up in the credits of movies, "No animals were harmed in the making of this film." That message is given with the approval of the American Humane Association, which has oversight over the treatment of animals in films (they actually own...

The fantasy genre has long captivated audiences with its imaginative worlds, magical creatures, and epic tales of heroism. From timeless classics like The Princess Bride to modern masterpieces like Harry Potter, fantasy films transport viewers to realms where the impossible becomes possible, and the ordinary becomes extraordinary. These movies can ignite the imagination, allowing audiences to escape into worlds filled with wonder, adventure, and magic.

Beyond mere escapism, fantasy films often delve into themes like the battle between good and evil, the journey of self-discovery, and the power of hope and resilience. These iconic fantasy movies resonate on a deeper level, offering entertainment and insight into the human experience. Whether it's the quest of a hero, the enchantment of a mystical world, or the struggle against darkness, beloved fantasy films continue to captivate audiences of all ages. By exploring these universal themes, the fantasy genre has produced some of the...

When audiences watch fantasy films, they look for movies that transport them to otherworldly places filled with magic, mythical creatures, and epic adventures. Some of these films are so innovative and unique that they beckon watchers back over and over again. Whether it's their compelling characters, visually stunning landscapes, or timeless themes of good versus evil, these movies have a lasting appeal that keeps fans coming back for more. They're not just good, they're rewatchable.

From enchanting classics to modern-day blockbusters, these films have earned their place as fan favorites. They only reach such an acclaimed spot by captivating audiences repeatedly, offering new enjoyment and insights with every viewing. Whether it's through intricate world-building, unforgettable performances, or a perfect blend of action and emotion, these movies have stood the test of time as essential rewatchable fantasies.

The NeverEnding Story Is a Timeless Tale of Imagination and Adventure That Resonates With...

The NeverEnding Story continues to live on, four decades later.

Warner Bros. released director Wolfgang Petersen’s epic fantasy film on July 20, 1984. Based on author Michael Ende’s German-language novel of the same name, the movie centered on an isolated boy named Bastian Bux (played by Barret Oliver) who is transported to a fantasy world through a mysterious book. Bastian encounters warrior Atreyu (Noah Hathaway) and the Childlike Empress (Tami Stronach) and must help them save their world from the Nothing, with some help from the Luck Dragon Falkor.

A modest box office performer domestically but beloved in Petersen’s native Germany, The NeverEnding Story became a cult hit that spawned two sequels, and a feature reboot is in development. The film’s three child leads remain largely known for this film, but Stronach — who turned to a career in modern dance — has returned to feature acting for the first...

A grieving boy is drawn into a magical land in Wolfgang Petersen’s ambitious fantasy adventure, rereleased for its 40th anniversary

This 1984 family fantasy adventure has been rereleased for its 40th anniversary; it is an ambitious German production in English (with the opening scenes shot in Vancouver) from director Wolfgang Petersen, featuring Spielbergian mop-haired kids and an extravaganza of wondrous beasts and princesses – surely an influence on the Harry Potter movies a generation later. It is freely adapted from one section of the popular German children’s story Die Unendliche Geschichte by Michael Ende. Oddly, given the title, the film does of course provide us with a resoundingly happy ending (although more franchise episodes were to come).

A lonely, bullied boy called Bastian (Barret Oliver) is devastated by the recent death of his mother; his emotionally cold father brusquely tells him not to dwell on his feelings and just get on with things.

The Battlestar Galactica reboot has been lost in space. After about five years in development hell, the project has officially been scrapped.

Per Variety, Peacock has axed a planned Battlestar Galactica reboot that was in the works for a streaming release on the NBCUniversal platform. The unfortunate update comes nearly five full years since the project was announced in September 2019. At the time, a Battlestar Galactica reboot series was one of the titles announced by NBCUniversal for Peacock's original programming ahead of the platform's official launch in 2020. However, though it was given an announcement, the show was never officially ordered to series, and it would now appear that NBCUniversal had called it quits on making it happen.

Related Beloved Crime Drama Lands Streaming Home for First Time 31 Years After Debut

The series will stream for the first time ever 25 years after ending its acclaimed run on television.

Storyline details were not revealed for the reboot,...

The NeverEnding Story gets the documentary treatment to celebrate its 40th anniversary. More below…

Wolfgang Petersen’s The NeverEnding Story is one of those films that’s taken on a life of its own since its release. The most expensive film produced outside of the US or the Ussr back in 1984, the decidedly odd story of a young boy and his puppet-filled quest to stop an indescribable evil has developed something of a cult following despite – or perhaps because of – its occasionally hallucinogenic tale of flying goblins and drowning horses.

Perfect fodder, then, for the Life After treatment. Hot on the tail of Life After Flash and Life After The Navigator, director Lisa Downs and Life After Movies’ latest documentary takes a look at the legacy of one of the most beloved fantasy films of the 1980s, exploring the life of its child star, Noah Hathaway in the years since.

"What magical spell does it cast on all who read it? What is the secret of The NeverEnding Story?" This unforgettably fantasy adventure movie originally opened in theaters in West German in April 1984 - a full 40 years ago this month. In celebration of its 40th anniversary, and for a look back at a classic trailer that has re-appeared online, enjoy these previews for Wolfgang Petersen's classic The NeverEnding Story. In this big screen adventure, a troubled boy dives into a wondrous fantasy world through the pages of a book. He ends up journeying through strange lands, encountering all kinds of creatures both kind & evil, making some friends & enemies along the way. Barret Oliver stars as Bastian, with Noah Hathaway as Atreyu, Tami Stronach as the "Moon Child", plus Patricia Hayes, Sydney Bromley, Gerald McRaney, and Moses Gunn. If you grew up in the 80s or 90s like me, you...

The first film in The NeverEnding Story trilogy is considered the best, setting high expectations for the upcoming remake. Director Wolfgang Petersen's vision brought the original film to life with animatronic animals and a relatable story. The modern update of The NeverEnding Story must balance faithful recreations with new elements to captivate new audiences.

The NeverEnding Story is a magical children's film that's remained popular for generations, and now that it's getting a remake, there are plenty of iconic scenes that must be included in the update. The original 1984 film was based on the novel by Micheal Ende and follows the story of Bastian, played by Barret Oliver. When Bastian finds a mystical book that holds a tale about the fantasy land of Fantasia, he becomes invested in the story and eventually becomes part of its ending.

It's well-established that the first film of the original trilogy, The NeverEnding Story,...

The Neverending Story is living up to its name. As first reported by Variety, late German author Michael Ende’s fantasy novel is once again being adapted for a new live-action film series.

The movies will be a joint effort from Michael Ende Productions (overseen by his estate) and See-Saw Films, with Iain Canning and Emile Sherman producing for See-Saw and Roman Hocke and Ralph Gassmann for Michael Ende Productions.

Published in 1979, The Neverending Story was a bestseller in Germany and became a global success after being translated into 45 languages. The novel revolves around a lonely boy named Bastian Balthazar Bux who discovers the titular book at an antique bookstore. As he begins reading about a young warrior named Atreyu tasked with saving the Empress of Fantastica, Bastian eventually finds himself as a character in the story.

There isn’t a creative team attached to the project as of yet,...

With a fresh poster for a supposed 2024 Never Ending Story remake currently making the rounds on social media, fan speculation is swirling about whether the rumors of a sequel are fact or fiction.

The NeverEnding Story is a popular fantasy movie released in 1984. Based upon the book of the same name by Michael Ende, the film starred Noah Hathaway and Barrett Oliver.

Two sequels spawned from the success of the original: The NeverEnding Story II: The Next Chapter and The NeverEnding Story III: Escape from Fantasia. Though neither reached the heights of popularity the first movie achieved, the second and third parts were universally panned.

Read full article on The Direct.

Clockwise from top left: Moon (courtesy Liberty Films UK), Die Hard (courtesy 20th Century Studios), The Iron Giant (courtesy Warner Bros.), The Truman Show (courtesy Paramount Pictures) Graphic: The A.V. Club YouTube offers a veritable treasure trove of free movies ready to watch at your convenience. Comedies, dramas, hidden gems,...

Clockwise from top left: Moon (courtesy Liberty Films UK), Die Hard (courtesy 20th Century Studios), The Iron Giant (courtesy Warner Bros.), The Truman Show (courtesy Paramount Pictures)Graphic: The A.V. Club

YouTube offers a veritable treasure trove of free movies ready to watch at your convenience. Comedies, dramas, hidden gems,...

The premise of Glen A. Larson's 1978 sci-fi series "Battlestar Galactica" was high-concept and complex. It took place far from Earth, at the end of humanity's millennium-long war with a species of robots called the Cylons. The Cylons themselves were built by a long-extinct race of humanoid reptiles, and they seem poised to offer the same fate to humankind. Feeling that the writing was on the wall, a human named Count Baltar (John Colicos) betrayed humanity and sided with the Cylons, putting the robots hot on the trail of the Battlestar Galactica, a massive starship carrying most of the galaxy's last-known humans. Their goal is to find a long-lost "thirteenth tribe," a human colony that was said to have settled on a distant planet called Earth. 

The assumption for viewers was that "Battlestar Galactica" was set in the distant future, but at the end of the 24th episode of its only season,...

Let's be real: Dragons are awesome! Since ancient Mesopotamians whispered about Tiamat and Marduk's red serpent servant, the legend of dragons thrived. For generations, these scaly creatures have induced fear and delight. Tolkien drew from these myths to bring the creature into the modern fantasy canon, with his childhood love of Fafnir, Siegfried's legendary foe, transformed into the prideful Smaug. Now the fantasy genre is almost synonymous with dragons. Of course, the '70s introduction of Dungeons & Dragons helped, too! Today, there's a resurgence of love for these big fellas -- starring in movies like "How to Train Your Dragon" and "Raya and the Last Dragon."

Putting dragons on the big screen is a huge technical challenge. Not every movie's budget can commit to that feat. For decades, animation came to the rescue -- pitching price-conscious versions to younger and more accepting viewers. But after the release of "Jurassic Park,...

Few scenes get me as much as that scene in "The Neverending Story" where Atreyu and Artax attempt to cross through the Swamp of Sadness. "Everyone knew that whoever let the sadness overtake him, would sink into the swamp," reads Bastian (Barret Oliver) in the film. Of course, anytime a scene begins with that kind of narration, you know things are not going to end well for at least one of the characters on screen. And it's true. Artax, that beautiful, beloved white stallion, lets the swamp get the best of him. The horse refuses to take one more step and slowly begins to sink into the mud while a panicked Atreyu (Noah Hathaway) desperately tries to get his horse to move. "Please," he pleads. "You're my friend!" And there I go again crying into my dog's fur as I hold him close to my chest and sob. This scene...

Up until a few years ago, there was a shady little pub here in Brno, Czech Republic, that only had one desirable feature: A six-foot statue of the lovable Rockbiter creature from "The NeverEnding Story." I would even take people there to suffer bad beer just so we could marvel at that unexpected monument to Wolfgang Petersen's dark fantasy adventure. It wasn't the only legacy of the film's enduring popularity around here; Limahl's title song, which was a hit single across Europe, is still played on regular rotation on the local radio station. It is one of the many benefits of living in the Czech Republic.

"The NeverEnding Story," based on the first half of Michael Ende's epic fantasy novel, was Petersen's next project after spending three years making his tense U-boat drama, "Das Boot." The German director received an Oscar nomination for his troubles but wanted...

When you think of director Wolfgang Petersen (who passed away last year), the first thing that comes to mind is probably not a movie about ailing Empresses, heroic young boys, and giant, flying luck dragons. After all, a glimpse of Petersen's filmography doesn't really seem to suggest that he's the kind of guy too interested in fantasy movies for children. Much of his resume is studded with impressive hits like 1981's "Das Boot" and 1997's "Air Force One." Both of these films are firmly based in reality and depict both militaristic and political storylines, with "Das Boot" focusing on a German submarine in World War II and "Air Force One" honing in on a terrorist attack aboard the President of the United States' plane with not a single luck dragon is in sight.

Still, there is one movie of Petersen's that, while great, doesn't quite fit with the rest of...

On the JoBlo Movies YouTube channel, we will be posting one full movie every day of the week, giving viewers the chance to watch them entirely free of charge. Today’s Free Movie of the Day is the 2016 prison horror film The Chair, and you can watch the movie over on the YouTube channel linked above, or you can just watch it in the embed at the top of this article.

Directed by Chad Ferrin from a screenplay by Erin Kohut, The Chair is based on the comic book mini-series from Alterna Comics. The film has the following synopsis:

This death row horror thriller follows the story of Richard Sullivan – a man on death row, struggling to escape a grisly fate. Pitted against a sadistic warden and his crew of cruel prison guards, Sullivan is forced to confront his own horrifying past as he questions his own sanity.

Bill Oberst Jr.,...

The late Wolfgang Petersen's 1984 film "The NeverEnding Story," while ostensibly a fantasy film, lacks the genre's expected sense of lighthearted, dazzling wonderment. Indeed, the film's fantasy sequences bear a tragic note of muddy entropy, and fantastical characters live in a state of resigned abnegation. Despite amazing special effects and myriad imaginative monsters, "The NeverEnding Story" is most notable for its overwhelming ennui. A savvy youth might be so beleaguered by the film's sadness, they may find its final moments of triumph to feel artificial, like the hero may only be imagining his own escape from pain. The film ends with a moment of mourning, of acceptance that a parent is dead. Some find the film uplifting. Others may not.

The plot of "The NeverEnding Story" follows a young boy named Bastian (Barret Oliver) who recently lost his mother and who is beset by bullies at school. When he absconds...

Saban Films has just unleashed the trailer and the poster for Dolph Lundgren shoots thousands of zombies in the undead face flick Dead Trigger. The zombie-action motion picture will be receiving a theatrical and VOD release this May and begins when a mysterious virus kills billions and turns many others into bloodthirsty zombies. From there it's up to once upon a time Frank Castle himself, Captain Walker (Lundgren) to lead an elite team to destroy these undead freaks and save the world.

For those of you out there that might not know, Dead Trigger is based on a zombie-themed first-person survival horror mobile game of the same name developed and first published by Madfinger Games in June 2012 for iOS and Android mobile devices. The game is single-player only. Dead Trigger has over 23 million downloads, on all platforms, and a sequel, fittingly called Dead Trigger 2, was released in 2013. The first-person shooter...

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Chicago – The TV, movie and entertainment world is coming back to Chicagoland with The Hollywood Show on March 23rd and 24th, 2019, at the Hyatt Rosemont/Chicago O’Hare Hotel in Rosemont, Ill. The event gives fans and admirers an opportunity to meet and get pictures with celebrities and take advantage of vendors offering show business memorabilia.

Prominent film actor John Cusack will make his first Chicago appearance at The Hollywood Show (Saturday the 23rd only). For nostalgists, Russ Tamblyn and George Chakiris of “West Side Story” (1961) are appearing. This year’s show will also focus on some of the biggest TV shows in history, as Richard Thomas (John-Boy from “The Waltons”), Loretta Swit (M*A*S*H), Shirley Jones (“The Partridge Family”) and Dawn Wells (Gilligan’s Island) are set to appear. Also in attendance...

“Indy, why does the floor move?”

Everyone knows that Art Hill, in front of the St. Louis Art Museum, is a great place to go sledding in the winter. But did you know it’s a great place to see movies in the summer?

Inspired by the remarkable story behind Sunken Cities: Egypt’s Lost Worlds, these four films follow the search for something vital—whether it be truth, treasure, or justice. Discover other lives, other eras, and other worlds with these Epic Quests.

The We Are Movie Geeks gang always goes to these, so if you wanna hang with the cool kids, you should go too. It’s free and they set up a big screen at the bottom of the hill. There are food trucks and beer and wine for sale. You can even go dine in the museum’s restaurant before the show if you got money to burn.

Ryan Lambie Mar 22, 2017

Fearsome monsters, grasping hands, and a suggestive tree. Here are 10 fantasy movie moments that scarred us as kids...

Sooner or later, you're going to see a scary movie. Whether you sneak down and watch a horror film on late night television, watch a Nightmare On Elm Street sequel round a friend's house or watch clips of slasher movies on YouTube, horror movies are always out there, waiting in the wings for the young and curious.

See related The Last Kingdom series 2 episode 1 review The Last Kingdom series 2: politics, battles and arselings What can we expect from new BBC drama, The Last Kingdom?

But long before most of us graduate to the stage of our lives where we start seeking out 18-rated movies of gore and terror, we reliably encounter scary moments in what might initially seem to be harmless family adventure films.

The 1980s was an...

[[tmz:video id="0_dg09d1io"]] Noah Hathaway, who played Atreyu in the 'NeverEnding Story' films, is still plagued by a spinal injury from film rehearsals over 30 years ago that cost him nearly $1 million in surgeries. Noah's been in and out of hospitals ever since he was 12, after a rogue horse crushed 2 of his lower vertebrae during a rehearsal for the movie. Noah somehow plowed through filming in great pain, but it's lingered for decades. Noah's bills have amounted to $800k over the years.

A neighbor of Noah Hathaway has started a GoFundMe campaign to raise money to help pay for the actor’s medical bills. According to the information shared by Gregor Gillespie, the actor, known for his portrayal of Atreyu in the 1984 film “The Neverending Story,” recently underwent a major spinal fusion surgery, which he is still recovering from and has left him with a medical bill for $184,138.67.

Read More: ‘American Gods’: Bryan Fuller Celebrates Telling an Immigrant Story in a ‘Climate That Vilifies Immigrants’ — SXSW 2017

“Let’s show our support for a true film icon in his hour of need,” Gillespie wrote. “[He] has given so much to our movie heritage, which has inspired generations and will continue to do so for many more years to come.”

According to Gillespie, during rehearsals for “The Neverending Story,” Hathaway, who was about 12 years old at the time, fell from his horse. Gillespie says...

In the wake of the success of Joe Dante’s classic Gremlins in the mid-’80s, movie theaters were flooded with low-budget horror movies about pint-sized creatures wreaking havoc on unsuspecting humans. No one took better advantage of this phenomenon than Charles Band, who would build a dynasty of films about little monsters first with his Empire Pictures and later with Full Moon Features—everything from Ghoulies to Puppet Master, Demonic Toys to Dolls. One of Empire’s first fantasy horror films about little monsters, 1986’s Troll makes its HD debut on Scream Factory’s Blu-ray alongside its notorious sequel, Troll 2, often considered one of the worst movies ever made.

The original Troll, directed by makeup effects legend John Carl Buechler in his feature debut, tells the story of the Potter family, recent transplants to a San Francisco apartment complex who begin to notice strange goings-on in their building,...

75 years ago today, Disney took a risk with the opening of its experimental animated film, “Fantasia.” The third feature film made by the House of Mouse, “Fantasia” was released as a limited-run roadshow attraction, starting on November 13, 1940. The New York Times review published the following day declared it to be a film that “really dumps conventional formulas overboard and boldly reveals the scope of films for imaginative excursion.” Images of Mickey Mouse set to music by Paul Dukas, hippos dancing to the tune of Ponchielli, and centaurs and cupids backed by Beethoven have all become iconic in the decades since its release. The film has further secured its pop culture status with “Fantasia” video games, a follow-up feature called “Fantasia 2000,” and with a spot on AFI’s list of the greatest 100 American films. One “Fantasia” segment will soon get the live action treatment: the nightmarish “Night on Bald Mountain...

It looks like Troll is the latest classic film to get the remake/reboot treatment, as today brings word of an animated revival on both the big and small screens.  Come inside to learn more! 

There's a new wizard in town!  Sort of.  Sc Films International, a London-based company, is in pre-production for a new project which will reprise 'Troll', a 1986 cult classic.  It is to be produced as an animated film and television series titled Troll: The Rise of Harry Potter, Jr.  However, do not confuse this with the J.K. Rowling franchise as Harry Potter, Harry Potter Jr., and his family were characters in Troll which was independently produced and distributed 11 years before Rowling's version!

The general synopsis is that the animated feature will revisit the magical world created in the original Troll film.  Envision an evil, magical troll wizard as the villain doing what villains...

Here is some very strange news! And it is not associated with J.K. Rowling's boy wizard in any way. The 1986 cult classic film Troll is being reprised as an animated film and television series titled Troll: The Rise of Harry Potter, Jr. John Carl Buechler, who penned and directed the original film has agreed to co-produce the &#160full-length 3D animated feature along with Peter Davy.

Academy Award winner Patricia Arquette has been signed for the voice of the witch, and up and coming child actor Baxter Bartlett is slated to be the voice of young Harry Potter, Jr.&#160 Plans are underway to round out the remainder of the characters. Cast members in the original 1986 live-action feature included Noah Hathaway, as Harry Potter, Jr., along with Michael Moriarty, Shelley Hack, Anne Lockhart and Julia Louis-Dreyfus. The film is being represented and distributed internationally by London-based Sc Films International, a sales,...

Oscar winner Patricia Arquette has signed on to voice a witch in “Troll: The Rise of Harry Potter, Jr.,” an animated revival of the 1986 cult classic horror film “Troll.” John Carl Buechler, the writer and director of the original film, has agreed to co-produce the full-length 3D animated feature film along with Peter Davy. Newcomer Baxter Barlett will be the voice of young Harry Potter, Jr., a character previously played by Noah Hathaway — and yes, there really was a cinematic character named Harry Potter before J.K. Rowling’s boy wizard became a cultural phenomenon. Also read: J.K. Rowling Slams Sexist Serena.

Come with us on a journey to meet a young man named Harry Potter, who must stop a diabolical evil from... No, wait! It’s not a new story set in J.K. Rowling’s world, as the new project’s lawyers are at pains to point out. It’s actually an animated follow-up to 1986 oddity Troll, and Patricia Arquette is the first person to be announced as part of the voice cast.Yes, despite the fact that it was critically mauled upon release, Troll – which saw the titular creature invade a San Francisco apartment on the hunt for a magical ring that can turn him back into human form – has become something of a cult curio, if not exactly a hit.Now the original film’s director, John Carl Buechler is involved in the new film, known as Troll: The Rise Of Harry Potter, Jr., which finds the young...

Stars: Amber Benson, Angela Bettis, Aj Bowen, Jose Pablo Cantillo, James Duval, William Forsythe, Eddie Hargitay, Danielle Harris, Noah Hathaway, Marc Senter, Megan Thompson, Alex Urbom, Ray Wise | Written and Directed by Tom Holland

Originally conceived and made as a 9-episode web series for the now defunct FearNet, Tom Holland’s Twisted Tales has been released on to DVD as yet another horror anthology rather than TV show – running a huge 144 minutes – encompassing the entire series in one “movie”; and an inconsistent movie at that.

Some would say that you have to give web-based programming some leaway, after all budgets aren’t as high etc. However when said web series comes from FearNet, a site that had backing and had the resources, you have to wonder why they didn’t spend that little bit more money to make something a little more polished. Apparently the budget for Twisted Tales was...

From the legendary horror director Tom Holland comes a new anthology series in the tradition of Fear Itself, Masters of Horror and The Twilight Zone: Twisted Tales! The perfect blend between terror and tongue-in-cheek humour, Twisted Tales is out on DVD and to own or rent digitally on 15th June, courtesy of Bulldog Film Distribution.

A new psychotic drug with the power to see into the future reveals a shocking, mind-melting fate for the characters of “Bite”, while Mongo The Magnificent (Ray Wise) comes face to face with horror with a mirror unlike any other. A Saw-like trap ticks throughout the intense “Boom” starring Noah Hathaway (The Never-Ending Story) and dire consequence are in store when you make a contract with a demon from Hell in “To Hell With You”.

Turn left at the next roundabout and face your doom as “Fred & his Gps” take a trip Fred (A J Bowen) will never forget.

Principal photography just wrapped up on the feature The Chair, based on a 2006 graphic novel of the same name. Stills can be seen here.

Thhis psychological horror film film stars Bill Oberst Jr., Roddy Piper, Noah Hathaway, Zach Galligan, Naomi Grossman and a slew of other actors from film and television.

An innocent man on death row witnesses the murders of his fellow inmates at the hands of the psychotic Warden. To survive, he … Continue reading →

Horrornews.net...

Sandwiched between Star Wars and Star Trek: The Motion Picture in the heyday of late 1970’s sci-fi entertainment was Battlestar Galactica. The show pitted Cylons against the crew of the Galactica for 24 episodes before being followed by Galactica 1980, and fans of the franchise should be pleased to hear that Universal is releasing both series on two separate Blu-ray releases—each with a bunch of bonus features:

(Press release via TVShowsOnDVD.com.) “Universal City, Calif., Nov. 24, 2014 – From renowned writer/producer Glen A. Larson, the creative force behind Knight Rider, The Six Million Dollar Man, and Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, comes the groundbreaking TV series that launched one of the most beloved sci-fi franchises in history, now available in widescreen and high definition as both Battlestar Galactica: The Definitive Collection and Battlestar Galactica: The Remastered Collection come to Blu-ray on May 12, 2015 from Universal Pictures Home Entertainment.

In the spirit of October, this list will look at scary scenes, but not from the horror classics directed by Craven or Carpenter or even Hitchcock (I’m excluding him, though I argue most of his work isn’t exactly horror). These are from the films that aren’t really meant to scare you. At least, not at the visceral level that horror films do. These are the fifty definitive moments from non-horror films that still made an impact on the “frightening front.” From shocking to creepy to unsettlingly hair raising, these are moments that will stick in your mind long after watching the films, even if they are part of a very different narrative.

50. Toy Story 3 (2010)

Scene: Monkey Security

Video: http://youtu.be/x6QkcJjx-Vo

The third installment of the one of the greatest movie trilogies of all time is also one of the darkest children’s films ever made.

The Neverending Story is a movie that I grew up loving, and I recently realized that I've never really heard any stories about the film's development. Usually when a person spends as much time online as I do, you come across all kinds of interesting facts and trivia about the movies we love, but this isn't one of them. I haven't come across much about this movie, so I thought I'd point out a few fun facts that you maybe haven't heard before. The only bit of trivia I knew about it before I looked up this stuff was the first bit of information below:

During the first Ivory Tower scene when the group of Fantasians are gathered together, if you look very closely you will see characters such as Yoda, Mickey Mouse, Chewbacca, C3PO, The Ewoks, Et and Gumby. Here's a photo pointing them out: The original Auryn...

Last week, EW published The 55 Essential Movies Kids Must Experience (Before Turning 13). Predictably, given that we published a post on the Internet whose headline contained a concrete number and the word “essential,” we got some impassioned feedback from readers—many of whom were eager to suggest additional great movies kids should see that we’d left out.

As we noted last week, “This isn’t a list of the 55 ‘best’ kids movies, nor a compendium of hidden gems. Rather, it’s a survival-guide syllabus of films that we all need to know to be able to speak the same pop-cultural language.

We return with another edition of the Indie Spotlight, highlighting recent independent horror news sent our way. Today’s feature includes casting details on The Chair, Camp of the Damned, and Love Sick, trailers for Chimeres and Phantasmagoria, production and distribution news on Australian film, The Pack, and much more:

Exclusive Casting News for The Chair: We’ve been told that Travis Love (Shumpert from The Walking Dead) has been added to the cast of the upcoming horror/thriller, The Chair. Love will play the Commanding Officer in a flashback scene that features Jimmy (Jacob Banser) and Sullivan (Brian Thompson).

Synopsis: “Based off of the Alterna Comics graphic novel of the same name, The Chair follows the story of Richard Sullivan, an innocent man struggling to escape execution on death row. Witnessing the torture and murder of his fellow inmates at the hands of the prison’s sadistic and psychotic Warden,...

The feature adaptation of Alterna Comics' The Chair is moving along nicely, and today we have another addition to the cast plus several new members of the crew that is being assembled for the film.

Tomas Boykin (Lazarus Rising, I Am) will portray Father Alexander, the priest who comes to read Richard Sullivan his last rites.

Joining the production team are stunt coordinator Paul Lacovara (Avengers, Godzilla, Thor), production designer Tim Eckel ("CSI," "Veronica Mars," Hellraiser 3), key grip Anthony Ragonese (Dead Man's Curve, "Desperate Housewives"), hair stylist Lisa Meyers (Gangster Squad, "Without a Trace," "Freaks and Geeks"), and iconic horror film composer Charles Bernstein (Nightmare on Elm Street, Cujo).

Casting announcements for Mr. Bates (rumored to be Loren Lester but not yet official), Johnny the Janitor, and the Commanding Officer will be announced before the May 15th start date of the film's Kickstarter fundraiser. Producer, co-writer (with Erin Kohut), and...

For the past several weeks we've been talking about an upcoming feature adaptation of Alterna Comics' The Chair with the filmmakers promising that casting news for the lead was forthcoming. Well, it has arrived along with one more update...

The latest additions are Noah Hathaway (Sushi Girl, Troll, Neverending Story) rounding out the prison guard crew as Alvarez and Brian Thompson ("Buffy the Vampire Slayer," Fright Night Part 2, Star Trek: Enterprise) as the lead role of death row inmate Richard Sullivan.

Several other actors are in talks to fill out the cast, which is very close to being complete, so expect more soon!

Producer, co-writer (with Erin Kohut), and creator of the graphic novel Peter Simeti previously promised, "We are making a horror film that has as much 'brains' in it as it does 'guts'."

The adaptation is being directed by Chad Ferrin. Also appearing in the film are Bill Oberst,...

With Tom Holland’s latest series now available on FEARnet and VOD entitled “Twisted Tales” and his group of short stories exclusively for the Kindle, “Untold Tales”, Holland is entering into a new creative stage in his long and varied career as an actor, writer, director, and producer.

The legendary creator of Fright Night, Child’s Play, Cloak & Dagger, and Psycho II (just to name a few), Holland recently reached out to Dread Central to discuss his thoughts on the new incarnation of Fright Night 2: New Blood (review) from director Eduardo Rodriguez, the new FEARnet series, and his upcoming projects including his desire to remake his 1982 screenplay The Beast Within. There’s also a great update about adapting Stephen King’s “The Ten O’Clock People” showing how both writers are working together to make the story fit more into the modern world.

Dread Central: So, you saw the...

Reviewed by Marcey Papandrea, MoreHorror.com

Sushi Girl is a delicious film; it perfectly shows why independent cinema is where my heart lies. The film is unusual, it's raw, it's funny, it's gory and it is a damn good time. My experience with watching this film is possibly the most unique one I have ever had.

I met some of the cast Noah Hathaway, James Duval and Andy Mackenzie and the director Kern Saxton at Supanova Expo, after chatting to them I made the promise I'd watch the film that night and return the next day to discuss it. So the very next day I got to discuss the film with those guys again, and also Tony Todd. What a thrill that was, chances like that don't come by often. It was a real pleasure to tell them all I loved the film, nothing beats the smiles and energy that comes with that.

Sushi Girl is a (literally) torturous revenge drama in the violent style of Quentin Tarantino—as opposed to the soapy style of Emily Thorne. Six years (five months and seventeen days) after a botched diamond heist, a group of thieving criminals unites for a Last Supper-esque sushi dinner served on the nubile sushi girl Cortney Palm (a la Samantha in the Sex and the City movie). Host and heist leader Duke (Tony Todd) slowly raises the stakes as he tries to uncover the location of those lost diamonds.

The gang of criminals around the table makes for a motley crew. Clean-cut Francis (James Duval sporting Jerry O’Connell hair); fey bitchy Crow (Mark Hamill sporting long, blond hair); and rough-and-tumble brute Max (Andy Mackenzie sporting a Westerosi hairdo) are pitted against each other to torture the diamonds’ whereabouts out of recently paroled Fish (Noah Hathaway—The NeverEnding Story’s...

Sushi Girl is now available on Blu-ray and DVD, and to celebrate its arrival, we have an exclusive "commercial" for you cats to dig upon that's hotter than even the hottest wasabi! Check it out!

Look for Kern Saxton's Sushi Girl (review here) on home video Now.

Special features include the following:

• Filmmaker Commentary with Kern Saxton, Destin Pfaff, Neal Fischer, and Suren M. Seron

• Cast Commentary with Tony Todd, James Duval, Noah Hathaway, Andy Mackenzie, David Dastmalchian, Destin Pfaff, and Kern Saxton

• Sushi Girl: A Documentary

• Alternate Scenes

• Outtakes

• Fake TV Commercials á la Sushi Girl

• Producer's Diaries

• Sushi Girl Music Video: "Victories and Consequences" by Send the Sages

• Cast and Crew Interviews at the International Premiere

• Poster and Promotional Image Gallery

• Behind-the-Scenes Photo Gallery

• Storyboards

• Trailers

Synopsis:

Mark Hamill (Star Wars franchise) and Tony Todd (Candyman) lead a cast of cult heroes including Noah Hathaway (The NeverEnding Story...

Magnolia Home Entertainment has released the Blu-ray trailer for Sushi Girl, which debuts on Blu-ray and DVD February 19. Noah Hathaway stars as Fish, who spent six years in prison after a robbery gone bad, never once spilling about his friends who were also there. Upon his release, he reunites with his partners in crime over a meal of sushi, served off the body of a subservient, naked girl. Before long, tempers flare, with the others wanting to know where Fish hid their missing loot all those years ago. Take a look at the first footage from this crime thriller, also starring Mark Hamill, Tony Todd, James Duval, and Sonny Chiba.

Sushi Girl - Trailer

Fish has spent six years in jail. Six years alone. Six years keeping his mouth shut about the robbery, about the other men involved. The night he is released, the four men he protected with silence...

Director Gregory Hatanaka is, to put it mildly, a madman. His films are wild concoctions of disparate influences jammed together with an urgent energy, the sorts of things that seem steeped more in experimental theater than they do with any sort of mainstream film culture. He first came to attention here thanks to his 2006 effort Mad Cowgirl and he's back now with Blue Dream.James Duval, Dominique Swain, Pollyanna McIntosh, Kayden Kross, Noah Hathaway, Walter Koenig, Sal Landi and Richard Riehle star in the story of a news writer who finds himself caught up in a world of sex, drugs and corporate takeovers as he tries to solve a series of murders. This, of course, only scratches the surface of what Hatanaka is up to....

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