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Nearly a decade before directing "Spider-Man," Sam Raimi gave the world "M.A.N.T.I.S."

To answer the most burning question right away, "M.A.N.T.I.S." stands for Mechanically Augmented Neuro-Transmitter Interception System. It's the nickname that Dr. Miles Hawkins (Carl Lumbly) gave to the elaborate metal exoskeleton that he strapped around his body to fight crime. Dr. Hawkins had previously been paralyzed from the waist down after being shot in the spine by the police while trying to rescue a child in peril during a riot. He tried to sue the police department, but instead found a racist conspiracy designed to keep the city's Black population oppressed. Moved to justice, Dr. Hawkins invented the M.A.N.T.I.S. exoskeleton to help him walk. The exoskeleton worked better than he could have possibly imagined, though, granting him superhuman strength. He elected to become a bug-inspired superhero, doling out justice and confronting police corruption.

If you are a horror fan then there is a big chance that you might have heard about the horror streaming service Shudder, and if you have its subscription you might be wondering what’s in store for you in September 2024. Don’t worry there is a host of new and old horror movies coming to the service in the upcoming month and we have listed the 10 best movies coming to Shudder in September 2024.

Candyman (September 1)

Candyman is a gothic supernatural horror film written and directed by Bernard Rose. Based on a short story titled The Forbidden by Clive Barker, the 1992 film follows the story of Helen as she investigates a local legend of the Candyman but her investigation takes a dark turn when a series of brutal murders start happening. Candyman stars Tony Todd, Virginia Madsen, Bernard Rose, Kasi Lemmons, Vanessa Estelle Williams, Xander Berkeley, Stanley DeSantis, and Ted Raimi.

1980s action comedies featured iconic movie stars like Stallone, Gibson, and De Niro. Tango & Cash, a buddy cop film released in 1989, brought together Stallone and Russell for a fun, cheesy, and action-packed adventure. The 1980s were a golden age for action comedies, with films like Beverly Hills Cop and Lethal Weapon redefining the genre with humor and action.

The 1980s were a fantastic time for action comedies as major movie stars led fantastic films that would go on to achieve iconic status. With over-the-top cheesy 1980s aesthetics to an innate sense of fun that didnt take itself too seriously, action comedies of this era were endlessly rewatchable as they usually focused on the comedic rapport and chemistry between actors rather than over-the-top set pieces of the action comedies that came later. While these stylistic choices may immediately date these movies to their time and place, this was also part of their innate charm.

The cult classic and lesser-known work of Star Wars creator George Lucas, Radioland Murders, starring Brian Benben and Mary Stuart Masterson, will be celebrating its 30th anniversary with a brand new special Blu-ray release, according to Blu-ray.com. The 1994 film was directed by Mel Smith and the screenplay was penned by Lucas with Willard Huyck, Gloria Katz, Jeff Reno and Ron Osborn. The movie was also produced by Star Wars: Special Edition and Star Wars Episode I-iii producer Rick McCallum.

The description reads,

“The secretary at radio station Wbn, Penny Henderson (Mary Stuart Masterson) is frantically trying to keep things in order as a broadcast goes on the air. Chaos breaks loose, however, when a series of murders occurs in the building, accompanied by an enigmatic voice over the airwaves. Penny’s writer husband, Roger (Brian Benben), tries to deduce who the killer is, but he also happens to be the prime suspect.

When was Bruce Willis at the peak of his popularity? It’s hard to say because, truth be told, the man has been a superstar for almost as long as I’ve been alive. When I was in Kindergarten, he was rockin’ the airwaves on Moonlighting and cutting an album, peddling Seagram’s Wine Coolers and starring in hit movies like Blind Date, and this was Before Die Hard. Yet, that 1988 movie took him to another level, with Die Hard 2 and The Last Boy Scout solidifying him as a major, major action star. Yet, one movie almost always overlooked in his filmography is a thriller he did for Sony Pictures that was sandwiched between two against-type turns, one being in Death Becomes Her, the other being in Pulp Fiction. The movie is Striking Distance, and it’s the subject of this month’s The Best Movie You Never Saw!

Terry Matalas, known for impressive work reimagining sci-fi from the past, will pen a remake of the 1985 film Enemy Mine for 20th Century Studios. Chosen by studio head Steve Asbell, Matalas aims to bring new life to the interstellar tale. The movie is in early development with no cast or director set yet. Despite initial box office disappointment, 1985's Enemy Mine has garnered a cult following and critical reappraisal over the years for its unique charm.

Terry Matalas, the writer and showrunner behind the 12 Monkeys series and seasons two and three of Star Trek: Picard, will use his genre knack to pen a remake of the 1985 sci-fi movie Enemy Mine. The new film from 20th Century Studios is still in the early stages of development and no cast member or director has been announced. But given Matalas' work in the series led by Patrick Stewart, chances are he will create...

Blade Runner's iconic quotes are both poetic and sly, showcasing the best of the science fiction genre through its memorable characters. The film's exploration of humanity through man-versus-machine narrative remains relevant and thought-provoking even after decades of its release. The profound and complex themes of Blade Runner are reflected in its powerful dialogue, highlighting the moral implications of creating beings "more human than human."

When Ridley Scott adapted Philip K. Dick's classic sci-fi novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? for the big screen, there was plenty of gilded text to turn to for memorable Blade Runner quotes. Blade Runner took the novel's broader themes and infused them with elements that can make a cinematic experience truly unique: arresting visuals and memorable one-liners. Scott's opus wasn't a dramatic hit in 1982 but has since risen to the level of a cult classic and even spawned a sequel, thanks in...

We have discussed killers that received slasher movies, folklore turned cannibalism, and plenty of possession via person, home, or even object. What we haven’t done too much of is the good old-fashioned cult. While we took a deep dive into Jim Jones and the tragedy of Jonestown paired with the very well-done Sacrament, there are a ton of real-life cults and cult leaders that have been put to celluloid in an attempt to both cash in and tell a compelling story. I mean, I’m writing this right now on the couch while my wife watches a documentary about a cult on Netflix. True crime and religious cult stuff exist in popular forms like podcasts, shows, and of course movies too. Today we will look at two things that don’t get a lot of widespread attention. The 2007 horror movie Borderland (watch it Here) and what it is loosely...

Frank McRae was originally intended to play the role of Leon in Blade Runner, but Brion James ended up getting the part instead. Brion James' audition for the role of Leon impressed Ridley Scott, particularly because of his scary appearance after a recent car accident. Brion James' portrayal of Leon in Blade Runner launched his career and he became known for his villainous roles in other projects.

When doing casting for the iconic sci-fi film Blade Runner, director Ridley Scott had one person in mind for the role of Leon Kowalski, and it wasn't Brion James, so what happened to the original Leon? 1982's Blade Runner is based on the 1968 novel "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" It takes place in a futuristic 2019 and follows a man named Deckard who is tasked with retiring old androids called replicants, but who struggles to complete his job when he falls in love with a replicant named Rachael.

This article contains mild spoilers for "Evil Dead Rise.""Evil Dead Rise," the latest installment in the now 40-odd-year-old "Evil Dead" franchise, is filled to the brim with evidence of writer/director Lee Cronin's bonafides toward being a fan of the series. While the film isn't merely a work of fan service, the movie is suffused with references to the earlier "Evil Dead" films, from Deadites screaming "Dead by dawn!" to a very particular clock being seen at a cabin in the film's opening sequence.

Yet Cronin isn't content with paying homage to just the "Evil Dead" series — in addition to multiple references to Stanley Kubrick's "The Shining," "Evil Dead Rise" contains some latent homages to numerous other horror films, including Lamberto Bava's similar demons-loose-in-a-high-rise splatter opus, "Demons 2." Most surprisingly, however, "Evil Dead Rise" appears to have a good deal in common with another Sam Raimi film,...

Sylvester Stallone has been a fixture of pop culture for some 50 years, and it began with "Rocky," one of Hollywood's biggest success stories. That is not hyperbole. Stallone wrote a script that took him from obscurity and made him an Oscar-nominated actor and writer with instant star power and a few million in the bank.

Hopes were high for Stallone. Roger Ebert, for instance, wrote that the young actor reminded him of Marlon Brando, who had played a journeyman fighter in "On The Waterfront." However, thanks to mindless vanity pieces like "Cobra" and "Rambo: First Blood Part II," it wouldn't be long before such a comparison was viewed with derision.

Still, people shouldn't forget what made Stallone a success from 1976 to 1982, during which he proved himself as an actor of intelligence, naturalism, and heart. A mixture of ego and '80s commercialism reoriented his dramatic foundation throughout the rest of the decade,...

Fashioning herself as the quintessential scream queen of the 1990s, nearly every horror film that Neve Campbell starred in were surefire hits in the '90s and early-'00s. Most remembered for her extensive run as the heroine Sidney Prescott in the first five films in the Scream franchise, Campbell's filmography has been dotted with other breakout horror performances that allowed her to show off her range as an actor. Even if she never stars in another horror film again, Neve Campbell was an inextricable part of '90s pop culture and left an indelible mark on the horror of that nostalgic decade.

After a few credits on television shows in her native Canada, Campbell made her feature film debut in the 1993 horror movie The Dark. She soon returned to television though when she landed a starring role in Party of Five in 1994. Though the quality of '90s horror movies is dubious,...

Stars: Brion James, Richard Crystal, Zalman King, Robert Walden, Mark Goddard, Charles Siebert, Stefan Gierasch, Alice Ghostley, Ray Young, Bill Adler | Written and Directed by Jeff Lieberman

Showing as part of this year’s Fantasia Midnights program, Synapse Films premiered their restoration of writer/director Jeff Lieberman’s cult favorite Blue Sunshine. The 1977 film about former hippies suffering from homicidal acid flashbacks will be getting a 4K release at an undisclosed future date, and the image quality is noticeably better than on my DVD. But, what about the actual film? Glad you asked…

Blue Sunshine begins at a party where one of the guests is doing an impersonation of Rodan. “The artist?” asks one of the guests. “No, the monster” But a real monster is about to show up as Frannie loses his wig and his mind and begins shoving guests into the fireplace.

Jerry narrowly avoids becoming his next...

Click here to read the full article.

Blade Runner star Rutger Hauer did not see his character as a villain, and the actor took some exception to that notion while doing press for the film’s initial release.

The iconic Ridley Scott sci-fi movie set in 2019 Los Angeles starring Harrison Ford as a former police officer tasked with hunting down synthetic humans turns 40 on Saturday.

In an interview for the film’s 1982 release, the Netherlands-born Hauer, while being flattered by a journalist about his good looks, was asked why he would want to play a “villain” in the film when he was handsome enough to be the hero. A polite Hauer responded that he did not see his character, Roy Batty, in the same light.

“I don’t think this is a villain,” he began. “What is wrong with a man — from the point where they start chasing him, he...

Vestron Video and Lionsgate Home Entertainment have detailed the upcoming Collector's Series Edition of Lance Hool's Steel Dawn (1987), starring Patrick Swayze, Lisa Niemi, Anthony Zerbe, Christopher Neame, and Brion James.

The release is available for purchase now for it's October 26 release date.

Synopsis:

Whoever controls the water controls the valley," proclaims the evil Damnil in this cult favorite starring Patrick Swayze as Nomad, an ex-sold...

The acclaimed Vestron Video Collector’s Series delivers a gripping dystopian punch when the suspenseful and action-packed Steel Dawn (1987) — available for the first time on limited-edition Blu-ray (plus Digital) — arrives on October 26 from Lionsgate.

The acclaimed Vestron Video Collector’s Series delivers a gripping dystopian punch when the suspenseful and action-packed Steel Dawn — available for the first time on limited-edition Blu-ray (plus Digital) — arrives on October 26 from Lionsgate. Golden Globe® nominee Patrick Swayze stars as a new breed of warrior in a post-nuclear era where laws are useless and water is more precious than blood. Also featuring Lisa Niemi (TV’s “Super Force”) and Primetime Emmy® Award winner Anthony Zerbe, Steel Dawn will be available on limited-edition Blu-ray for the suggested retail price of $17.99.

“Whoever controls the water controls the valley,” proclaims the evil Damnil in this cult favorite starring Patrick Swayze as Nomad, an ex-soldier roaming the desert wastes of a war-ravaged world.

If you enjoy George A. Romero's The Crazies, you might want to watch it as a double bill with another "infected town" film: Nico Mastorakis' Nightmare at Noon. Also known as Death Street USA, Nightmare at Noon is out now on a new Blu-ray from Scream Factory, and we've been provided with three Blu-ray copies to give away to Daily Dead readers brave enough to visit Canyonland.

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

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 “Nightmare at Noon Contest”. Be sure to include your name and mailing address.

March 20th’s horror and sci-fi home media releases are an eclectic bunch, Shout Select’s Collector’s Edition of The ’Burbs and the new Blu-ray of Michele Soavi's The Church leading the pack. Arrow Video has put together a stunning release of Robert Altman’s Images that fans will definitely want to pick up, and for those of you who enjoy the work of Takashi Miike, Well Go USA has put together a remastered edition of Ichi the Killer that you’ll want to nab as well.

Kino Lorber has resurrected Offerings on Blu-ray, and Scream Factory has a pair of cult classics—Rockula and Nightmare at Noon—that are also enjoying a brand new HD overhaul as well. Other notable releases for March 20th include Delirium, Caged, Still/Born and Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (which I’d call something of a family fantasy/adventure hybrid, so...

Something I’ve stated before in pieces such as this is the rather distinct feeing of euphoria that comes from experiencing the classics on the big screen. The best ones have the capability to “transport” their audience back to the days of original release, granting new generations of audiences a taste of what past audience members felt and experienced back when. And then, every once in a while, there’s the experience that transcends what came before. For one night only – the night of Wednesday the 20th, to be precise – a rather small handful of IMAX theaters around the country, including Hollywood’s historic Tcl Chinese IMAX (where this “humble” cinephile ), ran what was advertised as a “one night only” IMAX projection of the “Final Cut” edit of Sir Ridley Scott’s seminal Blade Runner, both as a tribute to the film on its 35th anniversary and to give the...

Edited by Hans-Åke Lilja, Shining in the Dark: Celebrating Twenty Years of Lilja's Library is exclusive to Cemetery Dance Publications and will feature a Stephen King story that hasn't been released since 1981. We also have updated release details for The Similars, the final wave of films announced at Monster Fest 2016, six photos / details for The Orphanage video game, and a new trailer for Gremlin.

Cemetery Dance Publications' Shining in the Dark Anthology: From Cemetery Dance: "Shining In the Dark: Celebrating Twenty Years of Lilja's Library edited by Hans-Åke Lilja.

About the Book:

Hans-Ake Lilja, the founder of Lilja's Library, has compiled a brand new anthology of horror stories to help celebrate twenty years of running the #1 Stephen King news website on the web!

This anthology includes both original stories like the brand new novella by John Ajvide Lindqvist (Let the Right One In) very rare reprints like "The Blue Air...

Robert Altman's murder tale reeks of insider access and Hollywood hipster Bs; its main claim to greatness is its fifty-plus star cameos. It may no longer seem as smart as it looked in 1992, but they don't make 'em any slicker than this. The Player Blu-ray The Criterion Collection 812 1992 / Color /1:85 widescreen / 124 min. / Available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date May 24, 2016 / 39.95 Starring Tim Robbins, Greta Scacchi, Fred Ward, Whoopi Goldberg, Peter Gallagher, Brion James, Cynthia Stevenson, Vincent D'Onofrio, Lyle Lovett. Cinematography Jean Lépine Original Music Thomas Newman Written by Michael Tolkin from his novel Produced by David Brown, Michael Tolkin, Nick Wechsler Directed by Robert Altman

Reviewed by Glenn Erickson

Robert Altman's filmography is undergoing what looks like a full retrospective through Criterion; even the 1975 title Nashville came out not long ago. This very successful later picture marks a revitalization of the director's career. It's sort of a Kafkaesque spin on Hail,...

We may remember Independence Day, The Matrix, The Phantom Menace. But what about these forgotten 90s sci-fi films? And are any worth seeing?

Think back to the science fiction cinema of the 1990s, and some of the decade's biggest box-office hits will immediately spring to mind: The Phantom Menace, Jurassic Park, Independence Day, Men In Black, Armageddon and Terminator 2 were all in the top 20 most lucrative films of the era.

But what about the sci-fi films of the 1990s that failed to make even close to the same cultural and financial impact of those big hitters? These are the films this list is devoted to - the flops, the straight-to-video releases, the low-budget and critically-derided. We've picked 50 live-action films that fit these criteria, and dug them up to see whether they're still worth watching in the 21st century.

So here's a mix of everything from hidden classics to forgettable dreck,...

From anime to pitch-black thrillers, here's our pick of the underappreciated movies of 1987...

Sometimes, the challenge with these lists isn't just what to put in, but what to leave out. We loved Princess Bride, but with a decent showing at the box office and a huge cult following, isn't it a bit too popular to be described as underappreciated? Likewise Joe Dante's Innerspace, a fabulously geeky, comic reworking of the 60s sci-fi flick, Fantastic Voyage.

What we've gone for instead is a mix of genre fare, dramas and animated films that may have garnered a cult following since, but didn't do well either critically or financially at the time of release. Some of the movies on our list just about made their money back, but none made anything close to the sort of returns enjoyed by the likes of 1987's biggest films - Three Men And A Baby, Fatal Attraction...

You definitely will not be disappointed by the absolutely amazing Mad Max: Fury Road. However, I make no promises about this week's movie… Steel Dawn (1987) Director: Lance Hool Stars: Patrick Swayze, Lisa Niemi, Brion James In a desert wasteland overrun by famine and warlords, the only savior: Patrick Swayze and his mullet. Following the global success of the Mad Max series in the 1980s, a whole...

Our look at underappreciated films of the 80s continues, as we head back to 1988...

Either in terms of ticket sales or critical acclaim, 1988 was dominated by the likes of Rain Man, Who Framed Roger Rabbit and Coming To America. It was the year Bruce Willis made the jump from TV to action star with Die Hard, and became a star in the process.

It was the year Leslie Nielsen made his own jump from the small to silver screen with Police Squad spin-off The Naked Gun, which sparked a hugely popular franchise of its own. Elsewhere, the eccentric Tim Burton scored one of the biggest hits of the year with Beetlejuice, the success of which would result in the birth of Batman a year later. And then there was Tom Cruise, who managed to make a drama about a student-turned-barman into a $170m hit, back when $170m was still an...

One of the greatest science fiction films ever made is about to be screened across the country in its definitive version. With its towering cityscapes, dreamy Vangelis soundtrack and nods to film noir, the movie offers a vision of a dystopian future devoid of human emotion

It’s entirely apt that a film dedicated to replication should exist in multiple versions; there is not one Blade Runner, but seven. Though opinions on which is best vary and every edition has its partisans, the definitive rendering of Ridley Scott’s 1982 dystopian film is most likely The Final Cut (2002), about to play out once more in cinemas across the UK. Aptly, too, repetition is written into the movie’s plot (there are spoilers coming), that sees Deckard (played by Harrison Ford) as an official bounty hunter (or “Blade Runner”) consigned to hunt down, one after the other, four Nexus-6 replicants (genetically-designed artificial human beings,...

The BFI has created a special trailer for Blade Runner: The Final Cut, which will hit select UK theaters this April. This is the version of the film director Ridley Scott oversaw for the 2007 Blu-ray release of the sci-fi classic starring Harrison Ford, Sean Young, Daryl Hannah and Rutger Hauer. At this time, there are no planned U.S. re-release dates.

Blade Runner: The Final Cut contains a number of small changes from the Director's Cut, which was released way back in 1991. The most significant difference is that this version has the full 'unicorn dream sequence' that points to a deciding factor in whether or not Harrison Ford's character is actually a replicant. About this new trailer Ridley Scott stated:

"This new trailer captures the essence of the film and I hope will inspire a new generation to see Blade Runner when it is re-released across the UK on 3 April.

Harrison Ford will reprise his celebrated role as Rick Deckard in the sequel to Alcon Entertainment's Blade Runner, with Academy Award nominee Denis Villeneuve (Prisoners, Incendies) in negotiations to direct, it was announced by Alcon co-founders and co-ceo's Andrew A. Kosove and Broderick Johnson. The film is scheduled to start principal photography in summer of 2016. Hampton Fancher (co-writer of the original) and Michael Green have written the original screenplay based on an idea by Fancher and Ridley Scott. Ridley Scott, who directed the iconic 1982 sci-fi pic for Warner Bros., is aboard to executive produce.The story takes place several decades after the conclusion of the 1982 original. Here's what Andrew A. Kosove and Broderick Johnson had to say in a statement.

"We are honored that Harrison is joining us on this journey with Denis Villeneuve, who is a singular talent, as we experienced personally on Prisoners. Hampton and Michael, with Ridley Scott,...

Harrison Ford will reprise his celebrated role as Rick Deckard in the sequel to Alcon Entertainment's Blade Runner, with Academy Award nominee Denis Villeneuve (Prisoners, Incendies) in negotiations to direct, it was announced by Alcon co-founders and co-ceo's Andrew A. Kosove and Broderick Johnson. The film is scheduled to start principal photography in summer of 2016. Hampton Fancher (co-writer of the original) and Michael Green have written the original screenplay based on an idea by Fancher and Ridley Scott. Ridley Scott, who directed the iconic 1982 sci-fi pic for Warner Bros., is aboard to executive produce.The story takes place several decades after the conclusion of the 1982 original. Here's what Andrew A. Kosove and Broderick Johnson had to say in a statement.

"We are honored that Harrison is joining us on this journey with Denis Villeneuve, who is a singular talent, as we experienced personally on Prisoners. Hampton and Michael, with Ridley Scott,...

Bathed in fluorescent lights, the telemarketing office where Evan (Fran Kranz of The Cabin in the Woods) works seems to be sucking the life out of his soul, but he’ll have to worry about the same thing happening to his lifeblood when a vampire takes his sought-after promotion. Such is the horror-comedy setup in Bloodsucking Bastards, a recent Slamdance screening that Shout! Factory just picked up:

Press Release - “Los Angeles / New York / Park City (January 29, 2015) – Shout! Factory, a leading multi- platform entertainment company, has acquired the North American rights to Bloodsucking Bastards, a vampire comedy-horror feature directed by Brian James O’Connell and penned by the comedy troupe Dr. God from an original script by Ryan Mitts. The announcement was made today by Shout! Factory’s founder Richard Foos, Bob Emmer and Garson Foos, and the producers of the film.

In this picture deal, Shout! Factory secured exclusive...

Reviewed by Kevin Scott

MoreHorror.com

The Horror Show (1989)

Written by: Alan Smithee, Allyn Warner, Leslie Bohem

Directed by: James Isaac, David Blyth

Cast: Lance Henriksen (Detective Lucas McCarthy), Brion James (Max Jenke), Rita Taggart (Donna McCarthy), Dedee Pfeiffer (Bonnie McCarthy), Aron Eisenberg (Scott McCarthy), Thom Bray (Peter Campbell), Matt Clark (Dr. Tower), Terry Alexander (Casey)

Some films aren’t served very well by their titles. A name is just a name, but then again, first impressions can seal the deal. I didn’t see The Horror Show until about a week ago. My cursor has been looming over it in my Netfix queue for quite some time. The title is so ambiguous, that it could be anything. The key word is anything, and I will see anything with Lance Henriksen in it. He’s become the stuff of legends. He’s one of the few character actors that have...

Blu-ray & DVD Release Date: Sept. 16, 2014

Price: DVD $19.95, Blu-ray $29.95

Studio: Kino Lorber

Rutger Hauer (ctr.) goes medieval in Flesh + Blood

The 1985 film Flesh + Blood is a dark and brutal action-filled medieval adventure drama from filmmaker Paul Verhoeven (Showgirls).

The movie follows Martin, a mercenary leader (Rutger Hauer, The Rite) as he and his gaggle of marauders plot revenge against the tyrannical lord who refuses to pay him the reward he’s owed. Along the way, Martin abducts a beautiful woman (Jennifer Jason Leigh) who’s betrothed to the nobleman’s son, but quickly discovers that his comely and conniving young captive is hardly a damsel in distress.

Also starring Brion James (Blade Runner) and Bruno Kirby (Good Morning Vietnam), the DVD and Blu-ray of Flesh + Blood contain the following bonus features:

- Audio Commentary by Director Paul Verhoeven

-Composing Flesh + Blood featurette

-Original theatrical trailer

Buy or Rent Flesh + Blood

DVD...

As big of a fan of Walter Hill as I am, it is shocking to me that I made it to the age of 36 without seeing Southern Comfort along the way. In fact, I’m not even certain I knew of its existence until I saw that Shout! Factory was releasing it to Blu-ray. This is the service that Shout! Factory provides. With their Scream Factory banner, they are providing the new generation of horror fans with an expert education in the genre, by establishing a brand that they trust, and then introducing them to titles that they probably wouldn’t have been exposed to otherwise. Apparently, even a genre veteran such as myself can be taught a thing or two by the label as well, and have pointed out for me that such a great “lost-in-the-woods” film exists. With a genre legend like Hill behind the camera, and acting legends such as Peter Coyote,...

On tap right now to help you get through your Tuesday are three clips from Walter Hill's backwoods masterpiece Southern Comfort, which is on its way to Blu-ray and DVD from the lovable sickos from at the Shout! Factory. Check them out!

Southern Comfort Release Details

Shout! Factory brings you the 1981 thriller Southern Comfort on Blu-ray for the first time, featuring a new high definition transfer, with bonus features including a theatrical trailer, stills gallery, and ‘The Making of Southern Comfort.’

From Walter Hill, the director of The Warriors and 48 Hrs., comes this gut-wrenching tale of backwoods terror that "draws you into the eerily beautiful Louisiana bayou...then has you running for your life" (Pauline Kael, New Yorker)! Keith Carradine (The Duellists) and Powers Boothe (Sin City, The Avengers) lead a "first-rate ensemble" (Newsweek) in this "exciting, arresting, and tautly told suspenser" (Variety).

Nine National Guardsmen enter the Louisiana swamp for routine training,...

Warner Bros. based Alcon Entertainment (Prisoners, The Blind Side, The Book of Eli) has an offer out to Harrison Ford to reprise his celebrated role of Rick Deckard in its Ridley Scott-directed sequel to Blade Runner, it was announced by Alcon co-founders and co-CEOs Andrew Kosove and Broderick Johnson.

Hampton Fancher (co-writer of the 1982 adaptation) and Michael Green are the screenwriters.

While the story is being kept under wraps, it takes place several decades after the conclusion of the 1982 original.

Andrew Kosove and Broderick Johnson had this to say in a statement.

"We believe that Hampton Fancher and Michael Green have crafted with Ridley Scott an extraordinary sequel to one of the greatest films of all time. We would be honored, and we are hopeful, that Harrison will be part of our project."

Alcon Entertainment acquired the film, television and ancillary franchise rights in 2011 from producer Bud Yorkin to...

Here's the thing... if you make the wrong decision at the wrong place at the wrong time, you can bring down the possibility of ending up on the cold side of the slab. Never has that fact been better illustrated than in Walter Hill's backwoods masterpiece Southern Comfort.

From the Press Release

Shout! Factory brings you the 1981 thriller Southern Comfort on Blu-ray for the first time, featuring a new high definition transfer, with bonus features including a theatrical trailer, still gallery, and ‘The Making of Southern Comfort’ featuring new interviews with director/writer Walter Hill, producer/writer David Giler and actors Keith Carradine, Powers Boothe, Peter Coyote and Lewis Smith.

From Walter Hill, the director of The Warriors and 48 Hrs., comes this gut-wrenching tale of backwoods terror that "draws you into the eerily beautiful Louisiana bayou...then has you running for your life" (Pauline Kael, New Yorker)! Keith Carradine...

Top 10 Ryan Lambie 4 Apr 2014 - 06:26

From Francis Ford Coppola to George Miller, we take a look at 10 directors who made belated returns to the franchises they created...

There's nothing new about directors returning to the stories and characters they first brought to the screen years before. Director Fritz Lang directed his first film featuring the mesmeric master of disguises Doctor Mabuse in 1922; he then returned to make The Testament Of Dr Mabuse in 1933, before heading back one final time for The Thousand Eyes Of Dr Mabuse in 1960 - the director's last film.

In recent years, however, it's become increasingly common for directors to return to the film series they began years earlier. It's an attempt, perhaps, to return to themes that still interest them, or to tell a new story in the same landscape as before, or maybe because of a Hollywood deal too lucrative to turn down. As the selection below proves,...

The movies are filled with familiar faces with seemingly forgettable names. They’ll never see themselves on a marquee or win an Oscar, but people like Bob Gunton, Paul Gleason, and Brion James always make their brief moments onscreen count. Their presence often raises the level of a film, if even for a few minutes, but while most viewers would agree with the sentiment the actors go unsung in the general consciousness. Dick Miller is another one of those guys. He’s been in over 200 films, and while a couple of them saw him in a major or even leading role the vast majority found him simply as the clerk, the man behind the counter, the cop, the [insert generic occupation here] guy. If you’ve seen a Joe Dante movie then you’ve seen Miller in action, and the odds are almost as good if you’ve ever seen a Roger Corman film. Miller...

Stars: Lance Henriksen, Brion James, Rita Taggart, Dedee Pfeiffer, Aron Eisenberg, Thom Bray, Lawrence Tierney | Written by Allyn Warner, Leslie Bohem | Directed by James Isaac

If there was one genre that spawned countless knock-offs (some better than the films they were imitating, others not so much) it was the slasher film. Even some films that were touted as the greats amongst the sub-genre would be still hidden in the shadows of the films they were emulating. There’s a waterfall effect to these films that start with Psycho and fall through Black Christmas onto Friday the 13th. But within the sub-genre, a splintering could be found as well, creating a mutated family hierarchy of slasherdom. Every slasher film had to find some sort of way of setting itself apart from the other, by creating some sort of different villain who was unstoppable and creative in ways that kept bodies in seats.

The Horror Show aka House III (1989)

Starring: Lance Henriksen, Brion James, Rita Taggart

Writers: Leslie Bohem, Alan Smithee (really Allyn Warner)

Directors: James Isaac, David Blyth (released from duty)

Synopsis (Scream Factory):

116 people are dead at the hands of Max Jenke and his trusty meat cleaver. Now, justice is about to be served as Jenke is sentenced to the electric chair. But from the first high-voltage blast, it becomes clear that Max is no ordinary serial killer. With a blood-chilling laugh from the depths of hell, Max enters our world, transformed into a supernatural force by the high-voltage blast of electricity. Max vows revenge on the cop who captured him. Well-aware of the maniacal killer’s passion to destroy, Detective Lucas McCarthy can only begin to imagine the horror that awaits him and his family.

Review:

I wasn’t planning on starting this review out as a Shocker Vs The Horror Show commentary,...

Scream Factory will be releasing 1989′s The Horror Show to Blu-ray/DVD later this month and they’ve give us a look at the original theatrical trailer:

“Detective Lucas McCarthy finally apprehends “Meat Cleaver Max” and watches the electric chair execution from the audience. But killing Max Jenke only elevated him to another level of reality. Now Lucas’ family is under attack, his sanity in question, and his house haunted. Aided by a disreputable college professor, can Lucas reclaim his mind, house, and family? Starring Lance Henriksen, Brion James, Dedee Pfeiffer, Aron Eisenberg, Lawrence Tierney and Terry Alexander ”

The Horror Show will be released as a DVD/Blu-ray combo pack on November 26th. Here are the bonus features that will be included:

New Commentary with producer Sean S. Cunningham New Interview with Stunt Coordinator Kane Hodder and actress Rita Taggart Theatrical trailer

The post Watch the Original Trailer for The Horror Show...

Odd List Ryan Lambie 6 Nov 2013 - 06:50

From random films with altered names to unrelated storylines, we take a look at 15 incredibly tenuous horror and sci-fi film sequels...

The profit-driven nature of filmmaking usually means that, if a movie's a hit, sequels follow. And it's sometimes the case that, particularly in the realm of low-budget sci-fi and horror, those sequels are trotted out in a rush, or don't have anything to do with the film they're following.

This isn't to say that the sequels on this list are necessarily bad - it's a proper mixed bag of the great, the mediocre and the downright awful - but in each instance, these sequels have only vague links to their predecessors, or worse still, they're entirely different films rebranded to fit an existing franchise.  

Our list is by no means definitive - rather, we've chosen a collection of films that we find the most memorable.

Scream Factory announced a few months ago that The Beast Within and Crawlspace will be coming to Blu-ray sometime this year. The Horror Show is also set to join them, and we have all the details on the special features included and those all-important release dates.

The Horror Show (1989)

“Detective Lucas McCarthy finally apprehends “Meat Cleaver Max” and watches the electric chair execution from the audience. But killing Max Jenke only elevated him to another level of reality. Now Lucas’ family is under attack, his sanity in question, and his house haunted. Aided by a disreputable college professor, can Lucas reclaim his mind, house, and family? Starring Lance Henriksen, Brion James, Dedee Pfeiffer, Aron Eisenberg, Lawrence Tierney and Terry Alexander ”

New Commentary with producer Sean S. Cunningham New Interview with Stunt Coordinator Kane Hodder and actress Rita Taggart Theatrical trailer

The Horror Show will be released as a DVD/Blu-ray combo pack on November 26th.

Over the past few years, we've heard a number of conflicting reports regarding Harrison Ford's involvement in the Blade Runner Sequel.

Back in October 2012, it was rumored that the actor was in talks to return as Rick Deckard from the original 1982 classic Blade Runner. Producer Andrew A. Kosove shot down those rumors just a few days later. But then, director Ridley Scott turned right around and revealed he was quite open to the actor returning.

While promoting his upcoming sci-fi thriller Ender's Game, Harrison Ford himself has now revealed that he has been talking with Ridley Scott about coming back as Rick Deckard.

"Yeah, we've been chatting about it."

Despite being considered one of the great classics in the sci-fi genre, its long been known that the original Blade Runner was a very troubled production. Harrison Ford and Ridley Scott didn't see eye to eye on what the movie was supposed to be,...

The Fifth Element

Directed by Luc Besson

Written by Luc Besson & Robert Mark Kamen

USA/France, 1997

Quick question; does a flamboyantly camp and knowingly ridiculous science-fiction adventure costumed by Jean-Paul Gaultier and written by a teenager obsessed with 50’s and 60’s Belgian/French futuristic pulp comics sound like a good idea? The idea that any cynically minded executive would immediately stab his thumb in the air at the pitch of The Fifth Element is as fanciful as the bizarrely hypnotic and anachronistically beautiful world (or worlds) in which it is set. For all intents and purposes, it is a film that never should have been made, and certainly wouldn’t be now, some 15 years later. It seems a piece that suggests that love is the final piece in the puzzle of our survival was allowed to exist through the affection of fans, romantic curiosity of producers, and the undying devotion of its smitten creator.

Feature Ryan Lambie Jan 23, 2013

Jack Palance kisses mice. Teri Hatcher plays drums. Just two of the many remarkable things we've discovered in Tango & Cash...

In this occasional series of 'remarkable things' articles, we've mostly focused exclusively on movies that were critical or financial flops. Previous entries have included Jaws: The Revenge, Battlefield Earth and RoboCop 3, which all suffered in both critics' reviews and at the box office.

This time, our choice isn't a notorious flop at all - it's Tango & Cash, a film which actually made a few million dollars more than it cost to make. At this stage in Sylvester Stallone's career, which featured the critical and financial nightmares Rocky V, Oscar and Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot, Tango & Cash was a comparative blockbuster.

In terms of critical reception, though, Tango & Cash fared less well. It was nominated for three Razzies (though won precisely none) and reviews...

Southern Comfort

Stars: Keith Carradine, Powers Boothe, Fred Ward, Franklyn Seales, T.K. Carter, Lewis Smith, Peter Coyote, Alan Autry, Brion James, Sonny Landham | Written by Michael Kane, Walter Hill, David Giler | Directed by Walter Hill

There is something about Walter Hill’s style of storytelling that just gets me. I’m a big fan of The Warriors, even though it took me long enough to finally see the film. Once I finally got to see it though it turned into one of my favourite films. Southern Comfort is a film very much like The Warriors, written and directed by Hill it very much mirrors the style with a group of men out of their element and fighting for survival, though the city and the bayou are two very different “jungles”.

When out on a training exercise in the Louisiana swamp a squad of National Guard soldiers arrogantly decide to steal...

Another Friday has passed and that means two titles never before released on DVD have been announced by the Scream Factory. You may not remember The Vagrant but odds are you remember The Horror Show and have been wondering if it would ever see the light of day again.

The big title of this week’s Scream Factory announcement is unquestionably The Horror Show, or as it is known in some foreign circles, House III. I never understood how anyone came to the conclusion that film could be released as a third installment of the House franchise, but then I also have never understood how a movie about killer radioactive tree roots could be marketed as Troll 3.

In much the same way Hollywood gave us dueling volcano films (Volcano and Dante’s Peak) and dueling celestial doomsday flicks (Armageddon and Deep Impact), 1989 saw the release of dueling fright flicks about...

Warner Home Video has released a trailer for the Blade Runner 30th Anniversary Collector's Edition Blu-ray, arriving in a four-disc Blu-ray and a three-disc Blu-ray October 23. Take a look at this trailer for the ultimate edition of director Ridley Scott's sci-fi masterpiece, along with the cover art and details on all the special features and other collectible items

Blade Runner - Trailer

In celebration of its 30th anniversary, Warner Home Video (Whv) will end Blade Runner's moratorium with the debut of a beautiful new commemorative four-disc Blu-ray/DVD combo pack which also includes an Ultra Violet (Uv) copy of The Final Cut feature. This comprehensive gift set edition includes The Final Cut version of the feature presented on both Blu-ray and DVD, as well as the other four versions: 1992 Director's Cut, Domestic and International Theatrical versions, and the rare Workprint feature version previously only available in the 25th Anniversary Ultimate Collector's Edition.

Last time on..."There's that guy"... 1. Robert Z'Dar 2. Brian Thompson 3. Philip Baker Hall 4. Andrew Robinson 5. Brion James and for the fifth and final installment of "There's that guy", we take a look at... 1. Bruce McGill Who the hell is Bruce McGill? Well, he has a very familiar face that has appeared on numerous television and film showings since 1977. He has played good guys, bad guys, hell, he's played a slew of characters. They…...