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When 28 Days Later hit theaters in 2002, it instantly became a favorite among horror fans, who were enthralled with the film's fast-paced action and zombies that attacked with break-neck speed. With its themes of infection and subversive political commentary, 28 Days Later has received praise from critics and fans alike as a film that shifted the paradigm and brought the zombie film back to life. However, long before 28 Days Later, Nightmare City, released in 1980 and directed by Umberto Lenzi, amped up the speed and savagery of the zombie film while also establishing a commentary on the escalation of the nuclear arms race.

The films of Umberto Lenzi exist in multiple subgenres. In Cannibal Ferox and Eaten Alive!, Lenzi took the savagery and brutality of the Amazon cannibal film to new heights, a subgenre he had helped start with Man from Deep River in 1972. His giallo films, Seven Bloodstained Orchids,...

Suppress your bitter aching loneliness this holiday by watching some very anti-Valentine’s Day cinematic relationships on Shudder! We here at Trailers From Hell have culled through all of the least romantic flicks currently showing on that spookiest of movie streaming platforms, and found some intriguing viewing fodder if you’re less-than-receptive to the typical amorous pablum.

Valentine (2001)

This hokey slasher, starring such staples of the early aughts as Denise Richards and David Boreanaz (plus a pre-Grey’s Anatomy Katherine Heigl). A serial killer wanders the streets of San Francisco (with a Los Angeles interlude) wearing a creepy marble Cupid mask, using a variety of slick household items, including an electric drill and a hot iron. Not the healthiest form of romantic self-expression for our Cupid.

White Zombie (1932)

The Haitian-set Bela Lugosi horror classic so memorable it inspired the name of a multiplatinum hard rock band five decades later! In White Zombie,...

The shadow of Alfred Hitchcock’s 1954 murder mystery Rear Window looms large over Chloe Okuno’s nail-biting Sundance U.S. Dramatic Competition entry, Watcher — but this debut feature is much more than homage. In fact, quite a few other suspense classics get the nod in the film’s trim 95-minute running time. Still, Watcher is very much its own creation, a sustained package that delivers on so many fronts — direction, cinematography, production design, music, performance — that what could have so easily been a formulaic slasher, genuinely pushes the boundaries of its genre, toying with an unusual bleakness that will keep audiences guessing until the end.

The premise is simple: Sometime movie actress Julia (Maika Monroe) has moved to Bucharest to be with her half-American, half-Romanian husband Francis (Karl Glusman), who has a high-pressure job with an advertising agency. It is clear from the beginning that this won’t be a smooth transition.

Maximiliano Contenti's giallo love letter The Last Matinee leads Arrow's December SVOD lineup and we have an exclusive clip just for Daily Dead readers! Debuting on Arrow on December 1st to subscribers in the US, Canada, the UK, and Ireland, The Last Matinee will kick off Arrow's December releases, which is packed with an eclectic mix of titles that will please any genre fan:

December 1 will see the arrival of The Last Matinee (UK/US/CA/Ire), Santa Sangre (US/CA), All the Colors of the Giallo (UK/US/CA/Ire), King Boxer (UK/US/CA/Ire), The Boxer from Shantung (UK/US/CA/Ire), Five Shaolin Masters (UK/US/CA/Ire), Shaolin Temple (UK/US/CA/Ire), Mighty Peking Man (UK/US/CA/Ire), Challenge of the Masters (UK/US/CA/Ire), Executioners of Shaolin (UK/US/CA/Ire), Dirty Ho (UK/US/CA/Ire), Heroes of...

Before Marvel Comics' "Spider-Man" made his debut in "Amazing Fantasy" #15 (1962), the first masked 'Spider' crime-fighter was 'The Spider', created in 1933 by Harry Steeger at Popular Publications now controlled by Steeger Properties, LLC amassing thousands of pulp magazine stories for licensing in all media, including film and TV adaptations:

Cover artists for "The Spider" magazine, publishing monthly from 1933 to 1943, included Walter M. Baumhofer for the debut issue, followed by John Newton Howitt and Rafael De Soto.

'The Spider' was millionaire playboy 'Richard Wentworth', a former 'Major' now living in New York City, as the last surviving member of a rich family.

His earliest costume was a black domino mask, black hat and cape. Later he added vampire-like makeup, followed by a face mask with grizzled hair and a 'hunchback' added to terrorize the criminal underworld with The Spider's brand of violent vigilante justice.

At times, Wentworth ventured into the underworld disguised...

Success is often fleeting in the cutthroat and very fickle world of Hollywood, but the majority of the most popular brands in the business have been around for a long time. If you look at the ten highest-grossing movie franchises in history, for instance, the Dceu is the new kid on the block having only launched in 2013 and currently occupies the tenth slot, while the Marvel Cinematic Universe is way out in front with a combined haul of over $22 billion but is nonetheless the second freshest having existed for just five years longer.

Taking a glance at the rest of the top ten, and next year marks the 20th anniversary of the Wizarding World, Peter Jackson’s Middle-Earth and the Fast and Furious series debuting in theaters, and 2022 will bring us the 20th anniversary of Spider-Man’s live-action debut. Meanwhile, Fox’s X-Men stuck around for two decades, Batman’s...

When it comes to releasing unique and collectible Blu-ray box sets (such as their Al Adamson: The Masterpiece Collection), Severin Films has done an amazing job preserving horror history, and this summer they'll continue to do so with The Complete Lenzi Baker Giallo Collection, featuring Umberto Lenzi's collaborations with Carroll Baker:

"On June 30th, Severin Films is bringing together the complete collaborative works of two cult film legends with The Complete Lenzi Baker Giallo Collection, which includes superlative editions of Orgasmo, So Sweet… So Perverse, A Quiet Place To Kill, and Knife Of Ice.

Italian writer/director Umberto Lenzi helmed popular peplums, created extreme poliziotteschi, and invented the Italian cannibal phenomenon. Hollywood actress Carroll Baker was the Golden Globe® winning/Academy Award® nominated star of Baby Doll, Giant and The Carpetbaggers. Together in the late ‘60s/early ‘70s, they made four landmark films that changed the erotic thriller and giallo genres forever.

Taking a cue from pulp magazine hero 'The Spider', Marvel Comics' "Spider-Man Noir" #1, available March 4, 2020, is written by Margaret Stohl and illustrated by Juan Ferreyra, with covers by Dave Rapoza and Ron Lim:

"...dateline 1939. As the specter of war looms on the horizon, 'Spider-Man: Noir' fights the good fight at home, stopping the injustices of a more friendly-neighborhood variety. 

"But after someone is murdered at 'The Black Cat' nightclub and all clues point overseas, 'Spidey' will have no choice but to board the next flight to Europe...

"...and kick off a globetrotting adventure through a 'yesteryear' in the 'Marvel Universe'..."

Click the images to enlarge...

Before "Spider-Man" debuted in Marvel Comics' "Amazing Fantasy" #15 (1962), pulp magazine crime-fighter "The Spider" was published in 1933, now controlled by Steeger Properties, LLC offering thousands of pulp magazine stories for licensing in all media, including film and TV:

Cover artists for "The Spider" magazine, publishing monthly from 1933 to 1943, included Walter M. Baumhofer for the debut issue, followed by John Newton Howitt and Rafael De Soto.

'The Spider' was millionaire playboy 'Richard Wentworth', a former 'Major' now living in New York City, as the last surviving member of a rich family.

His earliest costume was a black domino mask, black hat and cape. Later he added vampire-like makeup, followed by a face mask with grizzled hair and a 'hunchback' added to terrorize the criminal underworld with The Spider's brand of violent vigilante justice.

At times, Wentworth ventured into the underworld disguised as small-time hood 'Blinky McQuade' in order to gain needed information.