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The fantasy genre has paved the way for multiple popular shows like Supernatural and Game of Thrones, which have become huge staples in pop culture. As iconic and bingeworthy as those series are, they feel flawed in certain areas, specifically with their endings. Meanwhile, there is an expansive library of hidden fantasy TV gems that don't get the recognition they deserve.

Whether overshadowed by competition, didn't have enough promotion or were unjustly canceled after one or two seasons, these fantasy shows have largely fallen under the radar. Nevertheless, dedicated fandoms have acknowledged these shows for the aesthetically pleasing and wildly creative narratives they are. From short-lived series like Lovecraft Country to action epics like Into the Badlands, these fantasy TV entries are entertaining with each passing episode.

Updated on March 15, 2025, by Chen Drachman: With more news coming out about the new Game of Thrones spin-off, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms,...

In the ’70s and early ’80s, perhaps the only thing that Stephen King liked more than a child with a psychic gift/curse was an inanimate object that becomes possessed by evil. A car, HGVs and even a laundry press lurched into life to wreak destruction, and all of these mechanical menaces made their inexorable way from page to screen, directed by John Carpenter (Christine), King himself and Tobe Hooper (The Mangler).

The Monkey, first published by Gallery magazine in 1980 and revised to feature in King’s 1985 collection of short stories Skeleton Crew, located genuine revulsion and terror in a wind-up toy. Eyes shining with “idiot glee” and lips pulled back in a “carnivorous” grin, the hirsute curio shuddered to life to clap its cymbals… and Death danced. The monkey was, in short, evil incarnate.

The main sustenance is course after course of ketchup-covered set-pieces...

So who better to adapt...

Quick Links Jed Brophy Started With Small Roles in The Lord of the Rings Jed Brophy Was a Star of The Hobbit Trilogy Jed Brophy Returned to Middle-earth Almost a Decade Later

Though Prime Video's The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power has made some allusions to Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit films, it takes place in a separate continuity and is not officially connected to Jackson's version of Middle-earth. As such, it has not carried over any actors from the films, instead recasting characters like Galadriel, Elrond, and Isildur. That does not mean that no actors from Jackson's films were involved in The Rings of Power -- they simply played different roles. For example, the three Nmenrean workers who brawled with Halbrand in the episode "Adar" were portrayed by Jason Hood, Mana Hira Davis, and Winham Hammond, who served as...

The melt movie, a subcategory of body horror, is a specific flavor of genre film wherein the flesh melts, oozes, and dissolves into goo. These films are best viewed on an empty stomach.

On that note, this week brings the release of Ryan Kruger‘s Street Trash, a spiritual sequel to the 1987 melt movie cult classic that boasts no shortage of gruesome, practical effects-driven meltdowns. Flesh dissolves in vibrant but gooey fashion, inspiring this week’s streaming picks.

Brace your stomach for these five horror titles, all finding inventive new ways to explore this niche corner of body horror. As always, here’s where you can stream them this week.

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

The Blob – Tubi

Chuck Russell’s remake of the 1958 sci-fi horror film dials up the practical effects to eleven and delivers on the memorable, goopy horror moments. In keeping with tradition,...

With Fall in full swing, there's no better time to revisit some time-honored horror classics. Some enjoy slashers like Friday The 13th or Halloween, while others gravitate towards creature features like John Carpenter's The Thing. Recently, many have films like Get Out and Hereditary as socially conscious examples of elevated horror. These genre-defying works of fiction have left indelible marks on pop culture, creating cinematic icons in the process. However, there's an especially idiosyncratic gothic thriller that remains unknown amongst horror enthusiasts. Released to middling reviews, Tales From The Crypt: Demon Knight is a misunderstood gem in desperate need of revaluation.

Upon first glance, one could easily assume this film is nothing but a cheap cash grab. A feature-length episode of HBO's Tales From The Crypt, many believed Demon Knight would channel the show's worst impulses. Thankfully, director Ernest R. Dickerson was happy to prove the naysayers wrong. Providing B-movie thrills with gonzo creativity,...

It’s somewhat fitting that a show so adept at exploring the unknown would find itself facing the unknown more often than not, which was often the case with the Paramount Plus cult hit horror series “Evil.”

The show, which followed a small team of “assessors” working for the Catholic church investigating all types of supernatural mysteries ranging from possessions to miracles, premiered to healthy buzz on CBS in 2019 and rave reviews from horror fans. But ratings were more modest by the end of Season 1, so Paramount opted to make the series a streaming exclusive on its fledgling (at the time) streaming service Paramount Plus.

After initially jumping from broadcast to streaming to survive potential cancelation, “Evil” would manage to hang on for four seasons and a total of 50 episodes, before wrapping its run in August of 2024 just in time for a full Halloween season binge. Paramount chose to end...

Cate Blanchett gave quite a little shock to Andy Cohen this August when she revealed that her role in Peter Jacksons The Lord of the Rings did not garner her biggest paycheck. The brilliant Australian actress gave a near otherworldly performance as Galadriel in the epic trilogy, but she did not take on the role for fame and fortune, the latter of which being scant for most actors in those movies. Instead, Blanchett told Cohen that she wanted to work with the director of Braindead. It is, by now, fairly well known that Peter Jackson got his start directing splatter movies, and the most famous of these films is 1992s Braindead, better known as Dead Alive in the US. The film is gloriously over the top, and while it does not especially resemble Jacksons tone in The Lord of the Rings (to put it mildly!), one can easily see why Blanchett is a fan.

Alex Cross is back with Cross Season 1, and we’re incredibly excited about it!

Prime Video has picked up Cross, an adaptation of the prolific James Patterson series. It’s a star-studded affair onscreen and off.

As one of the year’s most highly-anticipated series, we’re here to share everything you need to know about Cross and what’s to come.

(Amazon MGM Studios) Is Cross Inspired by the James Patterson Book Series?

Cross is just another in many adaptations of James Patterson‘s popular bestselling crime mystery series about a D.C. detective, Alex Cross.

The series was first introduced in 1993 and has 32 novels that complete the entire series.

It also has two novellas and at least three spinoff books in which Alex’s son, Ali, takes center stage and solves mysteries of his own.

All American Casting Shakeup: Six Stars Exit as Michael Evans Behling, Greta Onieogou...

Exclusive: Eight years after the end of The Good Wife, Robert King and Michelle King are developing another legal drama for CBS. Tentatively titled Cupertino, after the city in California’s Silicon Valley known as the headquarters of Apple, the project is described as David vs. Goliath legal show set in Silicon Valley.

The Kings are writing the script for Cupertino, which the duo and Liz Glotzer are executive producing for King Size Productions. CBS Studios, where Robert and Michelle King have been based for the past 15 years, is producing with their King Size Productions.

Silicon Valley is proving to be a hot drama series setting this summer. A project about the rise of the tech industry starring Rosamund Pike from Scott Galloway and Scott Z. Burns is currently being shopped to streamers.

Robert and Michelle King created and executive produced The Good Wife, which aired on CBS for seven seasons and won five Emmys.

Movies stars aren't like us. They live in palatial mansions in the Los Angeles hills, they travel the world for business and pleasure, and they regularly get paid sums of money that would change the lives of most ordinary people. We all love our favorite actors. And there's nothing wrong with being successful and rich, but money leads to a change in perspective, and sometimes it can be jarring to realize how big that change is.

For instance, recently Cate Blanchett has been in the news for an appearance on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen where the host asked her to name the biggest paycheck she ever got for a film. She demurred, which is fine, but was quick to assure Cohen that her biggest paycheck wasn't from The Lord of the Rings, where she played elven queen Galadriel. "No one got paid anything to do that movie,...

David Cronenberg's influence has shaped the modern horror landscape, blending metaphysical and physical elements for provocative storytelling. Cronenberg's impact on body horror is evident in films like American Mary, Slither, and Kuso, pushing boundaries with grotesque transformations. Newer films like Censor and Possessor continue Cronenberg's legacy, exploring themes of anatomy, self-transformation, and the blurred lines between reality and fiction.

The modern horror landscape wouldnt look the same without the influence of body horror maestro David Cronenberg. Since his debut, Shivers, a sticky satire about an apartment complex infected with an erotic virus clearly meant to critique the sexual revolution, his work has provoked by combining metaphysical with the very-physical on screen, plumbing the depths of the human animals urges by testing its boundaries, usually proving them much too porous for comfort, from The Fly to The Brood, to Videodrome.

The once-polarizing Cronenberg has become an elder statesman in horror over the years.

“It’s a clean sweep,” Steven Spielberg said before presenting director Peter Jackson with the award for Best Picture at the 2004 Oscars. Collecting the 11th statue of the night for The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King, Jackson thanked the Academy for looking “past the trolls and...

After Peter Jackson redefined fantasy cinema with The Lord of the Rings trilogy, he returned to try and make lightning strike twice with The Hobbit. However, Jackson didn't always intend to direct the sequel trilogy, as Guillermo del Toro was once attached to the director's chair. Cate Blanchett, who appeared in both trilogies as the elf Galadriel, remembers when del Toro was in charge of the project and wonders what the unique director would have brought to the franchise. The horror auteur behind Pan's Labyrinth, The Devil's Backbone, Cronos, and Blade II would have brought his fantastical gothic vision to the Lord of the Rings franchise.

Cate Blanchett spoke to GQ to look back at her most iconic characters throughout her career. While discussing her vital role in The Lord of the Rings, the actress was asked about her time appearing in The Hobbit and if she ever worked with...

Cate Blanchett’s role as Galadriel in The Lord of The Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) was iconic for several reasons. The actress played the role of a royal elf with magical abilities and narrated the prologue scene. Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogy ended up becoming one of the most successful franchises.

The actress was a part of the later sequels of the 2001 movie, but she was not supposed to return for the prequel. This was because it was based on J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit prequel, which did not include Galadriel’s character. However, a playful email resulted in the movie version including the popular role, which pleasantly surprised fans.

Cate Blanchett’s unexpected return as Galadriel

Through her role in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Cate Blanchett immortalized the character of Galadriel. In an interview with GQ,...

Cate Blanchett landed a cameo role in 'The Hobbit' by sending a "jokey email" to director Peter Jackson.The 55-year-old actress played Galadriel in the 'Lord of the Rings' trilogy and she has confessed she got excited when she heard Jackson was returning to the same fantasy world to bring the prequel to the big screen but Cate told GQ she thought "there wasn’t a snowflake’s chance in Hell of me reprising my role."However, she decided to take a chance and send Jackson a message. She explained: "I sent kind of a jokey email to Pete, saying, ‘You know, if you want to put Galadriel in, I’m free. I’ll come over'."Cate was amazed when the director agreed and she was given a small role alongside Sir Ian McKellen - who returned as Gandalf the Grey - in 2012's 'The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey'.

Cate Blanchett set the record straight on her pay for filming The Lord of the Rings.

The star of the Peter Jackson-directed trilogy cleared up the misconception that it was a high-paying job.

While appearing on Bravo’s Watch What Happens Live, Blanchett played “Plead the Fifth,” in which host Andy Cohen asks his guest three hard questions and can only veto one of them.

Cohen asked Blanchett which one of her films gave her “the biggest paycheck.” The Borderlands star told Cohen to guess which film it was after he said he assumed it was Lord of the Rings.

“Are you kidding me?” Blanchett said. “No, no one got paid anything to do that movie.”

Cohen asked Blanchett if she got a cut of the film’s box office success, to which she said, “No, that was way before any of that.”

Blanchett said that she signed up...

Cate Blanchett made an unexpected revelation about what she got paid to star in the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

If you forgot, the 55-year-old Borderlands actress played the elf Galadriel in the original trio of movies, starting in 2001. She reprised the role in three movies from the spinoff series The Hobbit.

During an appearance on Watch What Happens Live, Cate was asked about her biggest payday, and Andy Cohen guessed it was with the franchise. Her answer will likely shock you.

Keep reading to find out more…

“Are you kidding me,” she exclaimed in surprise when Andy guessed the movies. “No. I didn’t get paid anything to do that movie.” She added that it was before the days where actors would get a bonus to their base salary for the movie’s performance at the box office.

Why did she take the role then? “I wanted to work...

Cate Blanchett may have two Oscars, but back in the day, she was glad just to get a free sandwich.

The actress revealed that her miniscule salary on “The Lord of the Rings” films only covered crafts services and her costumes. Blanchett played royal elf Galadriel in the film trilogy directed by Peter Jackson that began in 2001.

“I wanted to work with the guy who made ‘Braindead,'” Blanchett said during “Watch What Happens Live” in the below video. Jackson helmed the 1992 zombie comedy, which was released as “Dead Alive” in North America.

But “The Lord of the Rings” was far from Blanchett’s biggest paycheck.

“Are you kidding me?” Blanchett said when asked about her salary for the blockbuster series. “No, no one got paid anything to do that movie. […] I basically got free sandwiches, and I got to keep my [elf] ears.”

“Wwhl” host Andy Cohen later asked if...

Cate Blanchett reveals that she was paid very little for playing Galadriel in Lord of the Rings, including no backend pay based on box office. Blanchett took the role because she wanted to work with Peter Jackson. The Lord of the Rings cast featured mostly unknown actors at the time, meaning most didn't command high movie-star salaries.

Lord of the Rings star Cate Blanchett recalls her low salary for appearing in Peter Jackson's beloved trilogy. Based on the books by J.R.R. Tolkien, the first installment in Jackson's trilogy was released in 2001, introducing audiences to Elijah Wood's Frodo as he embarks on an epic quest to destroy the One Ring. The Lord of the Rings cast includes a host of talented actors, with Blanchett playing a memorable role as Elven queen Galadriel during The Fellowship of the Ring's Lothlrien sequence, a character she would revisit in the latter...

During her appearance on Watch What Happens Live alongside Borderlands co-star Gina Gershon, Cate Blanchett didn’t plead the fifth when host Andy Cohen brought up her Lord of the Rings pay.

When Cohen asked the Oscar winner during the late night show’s popular “Plead the Fifth” segment which film has gotten her the biggest paycheck, Blanchett wanted to hear the host’s guess before answering. “I think it’s probably Lord of the Rings,” said Cohen.

Blanchett, seemingly finding a way around having to plead the fifth, responded, “Are you kidding me?! No, I didn’t get paid anything to do that movie!”

Cohen was shocked and wondered what happened. “I wanted to work with the guy who made Braindead,” she replied, referencing Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson’s 1992 zombie flick. “I mean, I basically got free sandwiches, and I got to keep my ears — which is something they fed me,...

The Lord of the Rings trilogy is widely regarded as one of the most beloved and successful trilogies of all time. However, it turns out the salaries weren't as high as some would believe.

Two-time Academy Award-winning actress Cate Blanchett revealed in a new interview on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen that she didn't get much for her role in The Lord of the Rings. The actress played the royal Elf Lady Galadriel in the adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's novels and appeared in all three original films of the franchise. She later reprised her role in the prequel trilogy The Hobbit.

Related 'I Got Really Absorbed': Cate Blanchett Bought a PS5 to Prepare for Borderlands Role

Borderlands star Cate Blanchett opens up about what she did to prepare for her role as Lilith in the film adaptation of the beloved video game series.

During the segment "Plead the Fifth,...

“The Lord of the Rings” is one of the highest-grossing film series of all time, having grossed $2.9 billion worldwide. But, according to Cate Blanchett, that doesn’t necessarily mean the actors earned a handsome salary for their involvement in Peter Jackson’s film trilogy.

During “Watch What Happens Live” on Tuesday night, host Andy Cohen asked Blanchett what film she received the biggest paycheck for. “I think it’s probably ‘Lord of the Rings,'” Cohen guessed.

“Are you kidding me?” Blanchett replied. “No, no one got paid anything to do that movie.”

When Cohen asked her if she “got a piece of the backend,” Blanchett replied, “No! That was way before any of that. No, nothing.”

“I wanted to work with the guy who made ‘Braindead,'” she continued, referring to Jackson and his 1992 zombie comedy film, which was released as “Dead Alive” in North America.

Blanchett starred in...

The director of The Vourdalak, Adrien Beau recommends six horror favorites.

Family is the ultimate encapsulation of society. It offers us a taste of the whole world, but at a molecular level – and is very convenient if you want to destroy the world via your storytelling. The Greeks knew it with their tragedies, and we’re still using it to this day.

The tale of The Vourdalak is about how a monster can destroy their relatives from within, feeding one by one on those they love the most. In our case it’s a fatherly, patriarchal figure who has transformed into something inhuman… but the horrible threat can come from elsewhere in the family unit.

Here, I share my five favorite horror films about that very topic…

Horror Featuring… The Father And Mother

Stanley Kubrick‘s The Shining, of course, is my definitive pick when it comes to fear of one’s father.

Peter Jackson has a wide range of successful projects under his name, from blockbuster franchises like The Lord of the Rings to cult classics like Meet the Feebles and Dead Alive. And his journey to becoming one of the most proficient filmmakers in the industry began with the 1987 film Bad Taste, which paved the way for his illustrious career in the film industry.

Peter Jackson | Credit: Wikimedia Commons/foilman

The film has since become a cult classic known for its over-the-top gore and dark humor. However, it faced significant challenges during production, particularly due to limited resources. In order to realize his vision, Jackson found himself compelled to employ unconventional methods to secure funding.

Peter Jackson’s Sneaky Tactics to Fund His Debut Feature Film

Peter Jackson’s journey as the filmmaker began with the gory extravaganza of the 1987 sci-fi horror comedy Bad Taste. Based in a fictional town in New Zealand,...

Born on the 31st of October 1961, in Pukerua Bay, a small seaside suburb in the North Island of New Zealand, Sir Peter Jackson became a film lover during his early childhood. Overwhelmed by the striking black-and-white imagery of Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack's original 1933 creature feature, King Kong, an impressionable nine-year-old Jackson made it his life's goal to create movie magic. Kicking off what would become a world-renowned career in film-making, a small cult following would amass around Jackson's earliest works, a bizarre series of grotesque and often visually repulsive horror/comedies in the form of Bad Taste, Meet the Feebles and Braindead.

These days, Peter Jackson is best known for directing big budget spectacles. He took the Hobbits to Mordor, he cast Benedict Cumberbatch as a dragon, he brought us the sight of a motion-capture King Kong smacking around a bunch of dinosaurs. But when he was just getting his career started, he was making very different kinds of movies: horror comedies that were drenched in blood and pretty much every other bodily fluid you can think of. In 1992, he brought the world what may be the bloodiest film ever made: a zombie comedy he would call Braindead, but many fans know it as Dead Alive. And if you haven’t seen this one yet (you can watch it Here), it’s the Best Horror Movie You Never Saw.

Peter Jackson never had any formal film school training, and not just because they didn’t have such courses in his home country of New Zealand.

Fast zombies redefine horror genre by introducing relentless, terrifying undead threats in recent films. Classic horror comedies and action horrors showcase the evolution and danger of fast-moving zombies. Movies like "Train to Busan" and "28 Days Later" explore post-apocalyptic fast zombie scenarios in thrilling ways.

Fast zombies were terrifying creatures that have frightened filmgoers in plenty of nail-bitingly tense zombie movies in recent years. While the zombie horror movie genre dates as far back as White Zombie in 1932 and its modern incarnation can be traced to George A. Romero’s Night of the Living Dead in 1968, these earlier movies featured slow-moving, lethargic zombies that were easily outrun when compared to more sinister fast-moving zombies. While fast-moving zombies have their origins in 1980s horror, they truly came to the forefront in 21st-century horror movies that featured undead creatures.

From horror comedies like The Return of the Living Dead to truly tense...

Looking back on the horror genre throughout time, there’s always been a period where certain sub-genres have been most prominent. The 70s and 80s were all about the slasher flicks, with masked villains marauding around sleepy suburbs or high school kids having their heads chopped off, while remakes such as House of Wax and Ring dominated the early noughties. There’s another sub-genre, however, that had its roots in splatter films such as Peter Jackson’s superbly gross Bad Taste and Braindead, plus ‘video nasties’ like 1978’s I Spit on Your Grave. That’s right folk, we’re talking about ‘Torture Porn’, an exploitation horror subgenre known for its nasty, gory, and violent films. Do a quick Google search for the sub-genre, preferably with safe-search activated if you’re at work or Uni, just in case, and you’ll more than likely find several Top 10 lists of the best...

Peter Jackson has had a long and successful career that has earned him three Academy Awards, including Best Director in 2004 for The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. He's made 14 feature-length films and has directed several popular documentaries, including the highly praised The Beatles: Get Back. Many associate him with his big-budget studio projects like The Lord of the Rings, or King Kong, but it was his earlier career-making splatter comedies in New Zealand that started his career and gave reason to call him the king of gore.

These movies were made with passion, fun, and often homemade props and camera rigs. They may not have made the same level of money, or carry the same level of prestige, but these are the types of movies that Peter Jackson should return to someday. This is why Peter Jackson needs to return to the horror genre.

Update...

Every year, horror fans and aficionados attempt to take on the daunting task of watching a horror movie for each day in the month of October. Aptly named 31 Days of Horror, the challenge usually consists of viewers watching a mixture of their favorite classics, recent releases, and popular genre staples that may be new to them. In celebration of the spooky season, we at MovieWeb have curated our own suggestions for the month, providing a plethora of favorites from our contributing writers and editors. Check out our 31 Days of Horror posts every day this October, and embrace all the freaky found footage, vicious vampires, and stalking slashers you could ever hope for. Today, we kick off Day Five of MovieWeb's 31 Days of Horror with the lesser-known and massively underrated zombie movie, Dead Alive.

After the triumphant comeback of the Evil Dead franchise that debuted earlier this year, it's been proven...

Horror has long been a jumping-off point for big studio directors. Sam Raimi made the "Evil Dead" films before he got "Spider-Man." Peter Jackson made one of the bloodiest films ever filmed with "Braindead" (aka "Dead Alive" for us Americans) and then did "The Lord of the Rings." This is a trend that continues to this day. James Gunn is one of the most powerful directors and producers in the business right now and he got his start with Troma! 

Then we have James Wan, who transformed the horror cycle twice in the last 20 years. First with "Saw" in 2004, which kicked off a short-lived, but prolific movement of "torture porn" horror, and then with "Insidious" and "The Conjuring" in 2010 and 2013, respectively. We're still living in the ripples of those two movies which have spawned franchises in their own right as well as pulled supernatural horror back into the mainstream.

Wan...

Freddy vs. Jason underwent multiple script changes and had potential storylines that included Freddy molesting Jason as a child and Jason going to trial for his crimes. Filmmakers like Peter Jackson and Guillermo del Toro were offered the chance to direct the film but declined due to other commitments and negative experiences. The original ending featured a crossover with Pinhead from Hellraiser, but the idea was scrapped due to the difficulty of acquiring rights from a competing studio. Freddy vs. Jason vs. Ash was also planned as a sequel but never made it to the big screen.

Content Warning: This article contains references to child molestation.

Before Freddy vs. Jason finally made it to the screen, the producers were pitched a wide variety of bizarre, outlandish takes on the premise that would’ve been a lot wilder than the final product. Freddy vs. Jason sees Freddy Krueger of the A Nightmare on Elm Street...

Talk to Me has garnered nearly unanimous praise since its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year, even going on to win big at the Fantasia International Film Festival just this week. Now, Talk to Me has earned some major backing from yet another Oscar winner, with New Zealand native praising the Australian horror film.

Speaking with Ahi Films (via Newshub) – a distributor of the film – Peter Jackson said that Talk to Me is “relentlessly scary and disturbing – in the best possible way”, adding that it “isn’t just good – it’s very very good. The best, most intense, horror movie I’ve enjoyed in years.” That’s some high praise for a guy that started off his career with two of the most relentless horror movies of their era, Bad Taste and Braindead (aka Dead Alive). While Talk to Me leans more supernatural than, say, lawnmower bloodbath,...

Sure, many film fans might know Peter Jackson best from his time directing numerous ‘Lord of the Rings’ films. But if you’re a fan of his earlier work (such as “Braindead” and “Bad Taste“), you know Jackson got his start in the horror genre and knows a thing or two about creative scares. So, when the filmmaker is outspoken about a new horror film, fans should heed his words.

Continue reading ‘Talk To Me’: Peter Jackson Calls Breakout Horror Film “The Best, Most Intense Horror Movie” He’s Seen In Years at The Playlist.

Sir Peter Jackson, the award-winning filmmaker behind the Lord of the Rings trilogy, praises the horror film Talk to Me. Talk to Me is one of the best horror flicks Jackson has seen in years, according to his statement to the film's distributors. A24's Talk to Me has been a successful outing, and a sequel, Talk 2 Me, has already been announced.

We can add Sir Peter Jackson to the growing list of Talk to Me fans. The three time Academy-Award winning filmmaker, best known for his work on the Lord of the Rings trilogy and the Hobbit trilogy, had high praise for the A24 horror outing. In a statement to Ahi, one of the film's distributors, acquired by Newshub, Jackson said Talk to Me was "relentlessly scary and disturbing - in the best possible way." What's more, Jackson said that supernatural film was one of the best horror...

Peter Jackson praised A24's horror film Talk To Me as "relentlessly scary and disturbing - in the best possible way." Jackson, known for his earlier horror films like Bad Taste and Braindead, appreciates Talk To Me's gripping intensity and simplicity. The acclaim from Jackson and other notable directors solidifies Talk To Me's status as a high-quality horror film with potential for continued success.

Peter Jackson, the famous 61-year-old New Zealand director, recently revealed in a statement that he thoroughly enjoyed A24's latest horror movie Talk To Me. Directed by YouTube stars Danny and Michael Philippou (their directorial debut), Talk To Me stars fast-rising Australian actres Sophie Wilde, Alexandra Jensen, Joe Bird, among others, and it follows a group of Aussie teens who discover how to conjure spirits using a mysterious embalmed hand. The group becomes obsessed with this new thrill of communing with the dead, until...

A24’s newest horror thriller Talk to Me has received high praise from The Lord of the Rings trilogy director Peter Jackson.

In a statement to Ahi Films via Newshub, Jackson shared that he really enjoyed watching Talk to Me, which he described as "relentlessly scary and disturbing - in the best possible way." The New Zealand filmmaker is no stranger to the horror genre since one of his earliest directorial features was 1992’s zombie comedy splatter movie, Braindead. "Talk To Me isn't just good - it's very very good. The best, most intense, horror movie I've enjoyed in years," Jackson said.

Related: Interview: Talk To Me's Danny and Michael Philippou Discuss YouTube, Co-Directing, and Twin Telepathy

Since its Sundance premiere and theatrical release, Talk to Me has already set a major box office record for A24 with a worldwide gross of over $36 million at the box office against...

Ash have shared a brand-new single from their forthcoming album Race The Night. ‘Like A God’ is the follow-up to last month’s lead single and album title-track ‘Race The Night’, which heralded anticipation for a record that promises to be super-charged, widescreen and with melodies to spare. It won instant support across BBC 6 Music, BBC Radio 2 and Absolute Radio, bringing with it what lead singer and guitarist Tim Wheeler described as “the sound of the band revelling in the sheer joy of being a band after being separated by time and distance through the insanity of the early 2020s.”

‘Like A God’ comes on fast as muscular riffing beats a path to its wild and raucous end. Wheeler comments: “Like A God pushes the rock aspect of the album to its furtherest limits. An ode to sexual apotheosis it revels in a carnal riff played with mantra like...

Peter Jackson – chances are that, when you hear his name, your mind conjures images of grandiose fantasy worlds, incredible documentaries, and an unparalleled level of detail when it comes to set and costume designs. He directed the legendary Lord of the Rings trilogy, after all. But before They Shall Not Grow Old, before The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings, even before King Kong of all things, Jackson made his mark on the genre you'd least expect: horror.

Combining incredible amounts of slapstick with endlessly grotesque practical effects, Jackson made his filmmaking debut with a handful of horror comedy films. Some horror fans may already be familiar with Braindead, his hilariously horrifying zombie film with karate-kicking priests and an ocean's worth of fake blood. Or, maybe you've heard of Meet the Feebles, Jackson's crudely-twisted take on The Muppets. But, it would be Jackson's first film, Bad Taste, that cemented this...

Stars: Sam Bangs, Leonard Hoge, Steve Larkin, Stephanie Leet, Calvin Morie McCarthy | Written and Directed by Erik Skybak

While watching TV late one night, Peter O’Neill (Leonard Hoge) notices a curious sight from his bedroom window. A green light outside alerts him to strange occurrences in the house next-door, owned by the strictly religious Johnson family. What Peter witnesses leaves him scared, and his attempts to inform his family are met with disbelief.

Writer/director Erik Skybak then takes viewers into the Johnsons’ house, as they invite fellow churchgoer Herma (Sam Bangs) to housesit while they are on vacation. Later while she is alone, the guest ventures into the cellar where she discovers mysterious items, including a ring she tries on. The jewellery has a nasty effect on Herma, as a possession transforms her body and deteriorates her mind, threatening the guest and her unborn baby.

As unseen forces within...

The new ten-episode Disney+ series"The Muppets Mayhem" sees the return of the psychedelic Muppet band The Electric Mayhem as they embark on a rip-roaring adventure to record their debut album. Their fearless bandleader Dr. Teeth is still behind the keys and Animal is still beating his drum kit into submission, with all the rest of the band getting back together to make magic happen once again. The long history of Muppets movies has always been filled with pop culture references and glorified celebrity cameos, but aside from "Muppets Haunted Mansion," they've largely avoided any direct nods to the horror genre. 

That all changed with the seventh episode of the series "Track 7: Eight Days a Week," where an uncredited appearance from director Peter Jackson confirmed one of the most unlikely puppet crossovers in film history. For the sake of your own sanity and to keep wholesome childhood memories intact,...

All ten episodes of “The Muppets Mayhem“ dropped on Disney+ earlier this week, sending beloved Muppet band, The Electric Mayhem, on a musical journey to record their first album. In true Muppet style, the journey comes with a slew of notable cameos, including a shocking horror crossover we never would’ve anticipated in a million years.

A surprising uncredited cameo by director Peter Jackson confirms that the characters from his raunchy spluppet feature (splatter + puppet), Meet the Feebles, exist within the same world as the Muppets, making for one of horror’s most surprising crossovers.

“Track 7: Eight Days a Week” is the seventh episode of the season, which sees the Muppets’ music exec Nora (Lilly Singh) attempt to create a documentary about the band. Enter director Peter Jackson, playing himself. The Award-winning director is there with a crew, and the band recognizes him instantly.

In a bizarre exchange, Muppet...

Not every great movie is recognized upon its initial release, as proven by these 10 great horror movies that bombed at the box office. Sometimes, it takes time for a classic movie to win over its audience. When director Stanley Kubrick’s take on Stephen King’s The Shining was released in 1980, it was seen as a middling effort by critics. Decades later, The Shining is viewed as one of the most important and influential pieces of horror filmmaking in cinema history. However, The Shining at least made back its budget (and a tidy profit) when the adaptation arrived in cinemas.

Unfortunately, much like some great sci-fi movies bomb at the box office, some horror classics lost a lot of money when they were first released. The mixed reviews of Beau Is Afraid mean that it will be a while before critics can decide whether director Ari Aster’s latest effort fits in this camp.

Before Peter Jackson became The Lord of the Rings Peter Jackson, he was still honing his craft in his home country of New Zealand and dabbling with a variety of genres. One of his works from this period is the gory romantic comedy called Dead Alive (Braindead). In 1992, Jackson directed this tiny film based in New Zealand that is so incredibly different from the Middle-Earth trilogy. In fact, if you didn't see the Kiwi-born and bred director's name during the opening credits, you wouldn't believe that the fun and light-hearted Dead Alive and the fantasy epic The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit franchises were made by the same man. And Jackson, who grew up making video nasties on Super 8, has loads of fun intermingling elements of rom-com, horror, and comedy into one beautifully raw and cheaply-produced independent film that has probably flown under your movie radar for decades.

A new creature feature from New Zealand filmmaker Scott Walker (The Frozen Ground), The Tank is coming to select theaters April 21, followed by Digital on April 25.

Set in the 1970s, The Tank is about a young family who unwittingly awakens creatures at their recently inherited coastal property. Academy Award-winning special effects supervisor and creative director Richard Taylor (The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Krampus, Braindead) and his team at SFX studio Wētā Workshop are behind the film’s practical creature effects.

Ahead of the film’s release, Bloody Disgusting spoke with Walker and Taylor about bringing these creatures to life.

Walker explains where his throwback creature feature began, “It was during Covid when I wrote this, and I wanted it set in 1978 as a nod to a simpler time. That was about a year into Covid, and nobody knew what was going to happen. We had been displaced around the world,...

Nikki M. James is the latest reported addition to the cast of Disney+’s Daredevil: Born Again — though, as is typical, Marvel is confirming nothing and no details on her role are available.

James’ previous TV credits include Severance (as Devon’s midwife), The Good Wife/Fight (as lawyer Monica Timmons) and BrainDead; our sister site Deadline first reported on the casting.

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A very strange and welcome thing has happened this TV season: The broadcast networks are trying again.

You remember the broadcast networks, don’t you? They were mighty beasts that once dominated the earth, with impressive names like National Broadcasting Company or Columbia Broadcasting System (NBC or CBS to their friends). For more than 50 years, they were television, for all intents and purposes, representing everything good, bad, and in-between about the medium. More often than not, they opted for programming that would offend and/or confuse the fewest number of potential viewers.

From co-creators Robert and Michelle King, the CBS psychological drama series Evil follows Kristen Bouchard (Katja Herbers), a skeptical psychologist who is asked by priest-in-training David Acosta (Mike Colter) to help investigate the Church’s backlog of unexplained mysteries and determine whether they involve miracles, demonic possessions, hauntings, or just the mundane and everyday. While they look at whether something could be explained in a logical way or if something truly supernatural is at work, they learn that something more sinister could be at play. During this 1-on-1 …...

From co-creators Robert and Michelle King, the new CBS drama series Evil follows Kristen Bouchard (Katja Herbers), a skeptical psychologist who is asked by priest-in-training David Acosta (Mike Colter) to help investigate the Church’s backlog of unexplained mysteries and determine whether they involve miracles, demonic possessions, hauntings, or just the mundane and everyday. While they look at whether something could be explained in a logical way or if something truly supernatural is at work, they learn that something more sinister could be at play. While at the CBS portion …...

Everyone remembers when New Zealand’s Peter Jackson came barreling onto the scene and in quick order brought us Bad Taste (1987), Meet the Feebles (1989), and Braindead (1992) before eventually settling down into Academy Award-winning fantasy films. (I forget their names. Just Google them.) But he wasn’t the first to introduce the world to his country’s nascent splattery talent: that honor goes to Death Warmed Up (1984), a loopy mash-up of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, The Hills Have Eye, Mad Max, and Looney Tunes, all spit-shined to grimy perfection in a great new Blu-ray from Severin Films.

Remastered by director David Blyth (Red Blooded American Girl) from the only existing materials, this new disc of Death Warmed Up has a ton of gooey goodies that we’ll get to, but first let’s tackle the story:

Dr. Archer Howell (Gary Day – Death Wave) plans on taking his mind control experiments to the next,...