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The latest Hulu Original horror flick, Control Freak, has gotten a poster or trailer, but be forewarned – if you suffer from arachnophobia you might not want to look at the poster I’ve included below. It’s a little gross! Control Freak, comes from director Shal Ngo, who expands his own horror short, Control, to feature length with this. The short was originally featured on Hulu’s Bite Sized Halloween. Ngo also recently directed The Park, which was like Lord of the Flies set in an amusement park, but this seems to be his biggest movie to date.

It stars Kelly Marie Tran (of Star Wars: The Last Jedi) as “a motivational speaker is tormented by an unrelenting itch on the back of her head.” The trailer actually reminds me a bit of a fun old schlocky horror movie from the seventies called The Manitou, where a woman was similarly infected by a parasite,...

On Friday nights, IndieWire After Dark takes a feature-length beat to honor fringe cinema in the streaming age.

First, the spoiler-free pitch for one editor’s midnight movie pick — something weird and wonderful from any age of film that deserves our memorializing.

Then, the spoiler-filled aftermath as experienced by the unwitting editor attacked by this week’s recommendation.

The Pitch: Scared of a Spider Bite Birthing a Thousand Spiders on Your Face? In ‘The Manitou,’ It’s Worse.

At a certain point in time, we lived in a world where we could wander into a movie playing on some random network (Rip Upn) and get sucked in with no knowledge of what it was, the behind-the-scenes stories it held, or even a whiff of IMDb trivia. It was a sad, bleak era. That is how I happened upon “The Manitou” one lazy summer Sunday. Everything about this oddball horror movie...

With Now Showing, your Halloweenies gather each month for a review on something new and something old in horror. This month, co-hosts Rachel Reeves, Dan Caffrey, and McKenzie Gerber shoot the shit about all kinds of spooky stuff, specifically Lisa Frankenstein, Out of Darkness, I Am Chanel, Rope, The Manitou, and A Stranger Is Watching.

Stream the episode below or subscribe via Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, RadioPublic, Acast, Google Podcasts, and RSS. New to the Halloweenies? Catch up with the gang by revisiting their essential episodes on past franchises such as Halloween, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13th, Scream, and The Evil Dead. This year? It’s Chucky!

You can also become a member of their Patreon, The Rewind, for hilariously irreverent commentaries, one-off deep dives on your favorite rentals, and even topical spinoffs like this past summer’s greatest adventure Fortune & Glory: An Indiana Jones Podcast.

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If there's a basic, no-frills definition for movies, it's that they're made to be seen. Cinema is a populist medium, attempting to reach as wide an audience as possible for as long as possible.

Perhaps that's why the feeling of "discovering" a movie can be so powerfully enjoyable. It gives you the sense, however false, that you're stumbling upon a secret piece of entertainment made just for you. If you happen to discover such a movie in the wee hours of the morning, so much the better — the surreal setting only serves to make what you're watching seem that much more unreal, richer, and special.

It's that sensation that the programming block on Turner Classic Movies known as "TCM Underground" sought to capture every Friday night-turned-Saturday morning. Begun by Eric Weber in 2006 and continued by programmer Millie De Chirico starting in 2007, TCM Underground made it its business to curate some of the most obscure,...

I know February is a short month and all, but... it's only the tenth! Do we need to talk about March already? I suppose with the promise of Spring looming ahead of us it's best now to note dates and reserve time for catching up with new and old horror faves between the shedding of winter coats and the impending doom of allergy season. The horror!   Mercedes Bryce Morgan's Spoonful of Sugar kicks off the month with a slice of hallcinogenic horror. There is a previously unannounced acquistion coming next month, Alex Herron's Leave. The month will conclude with Jeff A. Brown's The Unheard.    Herladed classics The Manitou, The Fog and The Wicker Man bolster the Shudder Resurrected lineup next month. They are joined...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

Stars: Julian Black-Antelope, Samuel Marty, Sera-Lys McArthur, Madison Walsh | Written by Rueben Martell, Gerald Wexler | Directed by Rueben Martell

Don’t Say Its Name begins in a familiar enough manner. Kharis (Sheena Kaine) walks home alone on a dark woodland road when something starts following her. Only this creature is metal, a heavy-duty pickup, its engine roaring as it charges at her. Her body will be found the next day, struck down, dragged and left to die. Not long after, a surveyor is attacked and killed in the woods. They won’t be the last to die.

Coal company Wec has closed a deal to strip mine tribal land. Kharis was an outspoken opponent of their plans and her death is believed to be their doing. Was the death of their surveyor retribution for hers? Or is something more primal turning the snow red? That’s what local sheriff Mary...

Peacock has a revival of The Exorcist trilogy on the way, with the first film set for an October 2023 release. Fans have expressed mixed reviews over the classic being touched, and understandably so. William Friedkin created a lasting horror masterpiece with the 1973 film The Exorcist, which many still regard as the scariest film ever made.

On a positive note, Ellen Burstyn will return as Reagan's mother for the first revamp. On another arguably positive one, The Exorcist II: The Heretic, widely regarded as one of the worst sequels ever made, is probably due for a new and improved revision. No matter where you sit on the concept of the classic series being redone, discussions regarding The Exorcist urge audiences to revisit the legendary haunt and its sequels. Every great, groundbreaking horror spurred brazen knock-off films which attempted to cash in on those pioneering flicks' popularity. The Thing, Halloween, Alien, and...

From the ‘70s on calendar horror was all the rage with the slasher crowd; Black Christmas begat Halloween which gave us Friday the 13th and on and on, a red ‘X’ flooding the dates throughout the year. Of course we can’t forget birthdays either, so after Happy Birthday to Me we were offered Sweet Sixteen (1983), an interesting, sometimes icky film that leans closer to murder mystery than it does slasher.

Released in mid September by Century International, Sweet Sixteen got lost amid the masked mutilators and supernatural shenanigans of the day, but that shouldn’t deter any ardent fan of the era and those seeking a horror film grounded in story more than exploitation – depending on how it’s viewed.

The story of Sweet Sixteen has an air of Choose Your Own Adventure about it depending on which version you watch – the theatrical cut or the director’s cut.

After the massive success of Airplane! (1980), the horror world decided to try spoofing the hand that feeds; in short order we were dealt Saturday the 14th, Student Bodies, National Lampoon’s Class Reunion, and Pandemonium (all from ’81 to ’82). Mileage may vary of course; comedy is completely subjective—you either laugh or you don’t. Needless to say, there are moments from each of these films that I find entertaining; from smiles to chuckles and sometimes even a laugh or two. But there is another film that no one seems to talk up much, and that’s Greydon Clark’s Wacko (1982). As uneven as the rest, it nevertheless boasts an impressive cast and an energy that wins you over; and now that Vinegar Syndrome has released it on a solid Blu-ray, you can enjoy every groan, titter, eye roll, and yes, laugh, in the privacy of your own home.

The story of Wacko is quite simple,...

Scream Factory, the horror distribution arm of Shout! Factory, is a primo source for classic reissues and today’s newest horror movies alike. They’ve got some great films coming down the pike, including a couple arriving on April 16th. Get ready for The Manitou and Superstition! Check out the details on both films below. The MANITOUWhat […]

The post Scream Factory’s April Slate Includes The Manitou and Superstition appeared first on Dread Central.

April 16th will see the release of both The Manitou and Superstition on Blu-ray and we have new details on both titles straight from Scream Factory:

"Horror enthusiasts and classic movie collectors rejoice! On April 16, Scream Factory™ is proud to present the 1978 supernatural cult classic The Manitou Blu-ray and horror classic Superstition Blu-ray. Produced and directed by William Girdler and based on the best-selling novel by Graham Masterton, The Manitou stars Tony Curtis (Spartacus), Michael Ansara (I Dream of Jeannie), Susan Strasberg (Scream of Fear), Stella Stevens (The Silencers), Burgess Meredith (Rocky), Jon Cedar (Death Hunt), and Ann Sothern (The Whale of August). Directed by James Roberson (The Giant of Thunder Mountain) and produced by Ed Carlin (Battle Beyond the Stars), Superstition stars James Houghton (The Colbys), Albert Salmi (Caddyshack), Lynn Carlin (Faces), and Larry Pennell (Bubba Ho-Tep).

A must-have for collectors, The Manitou Blu-ray boasts new 4K scan from...

The final film of director William Girdler, The Manitou (based on the Graham Masterton novel of the same name) will make its Blu-ray debut this April courtesy of Scream Factory.

On Facebook, Scream Factory announced that they'll release The Manitou on Blu-ray on April 16th. Special features have yet to be revealed, but we'll keep Daily Dead readers updated as more details are announced. In the meantime, be sure to check out Scott Drebit's Drive-In Dust Offs column on The Manitou.

And if you're keeping track of upcoming releases, Scream Factory recently announced April Blu-ray releases of The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires and Superstition.

From Scream Factory: "We have yet another horror hocus-pocus offering to set loose this year. The 1978 infamous shocker The Manitou arrives on Blu-ray for the first time with a planned date of April 16th! Producer and directed by William Girdler from the best-selling novel by Graham Masterton.

How much do I love director William Girdler? Let me count the ways: his sense of grandeur in the face of modest budgets, his good naturedly humorous takes on the genre, his willingness to pay “homage” even when it costs him lawsuits, and the stone-cold truth that he got better at his craft with each and every film he made. Case in point: Day of the Animals (1977), the follow up to his smash hit Grizzly (’76) that quintuples down on the attacks in a righteous mélange of Disaster and Animals Gone Wild flicks.

Produced and released by Film Ventures International in May, Day of the Animals (Aka Something Is Out There) had a budget of $1.2 million and brought in only less than triple the cost. Critics were unkind as well, calling the film derivative and goofy. Well, yes, thank you, it is those things; but it’s also a Girdler, which...

The matriarchal psychodramas of the ’60s bled into the ’70s with alliteration-laden (and questioning) efforts such as Whoever Slew Auntie Roo?, What’s the Matter With Helen?, and the sole directorial effort from noted horror author John Farris, Dear Dead Delilah (1972). Vinegar Syndrome has brought this entertaining Southern Gothic back from the grave with a solid new Blu-ray release that's sure to please fans of ripe, pithy dialogue and surprising splatter.

Dear Dead Delilah starts out with the reveal that teenaged Luddy has murdered her mom because she didn’t want her heading out to see any fellas; we then flash forward 25 years and a now middle-aged Luddy (Patricia Carmichael – Petticoat Junction) has been released from the sanitarium; walking around, she is hit by a stray football in a park belonging to a member of the wealthy Charles clan, and whisked back to their estate. There Luddy is introduced to the family,...

February 6th is shaping up to be a busy day for horror and sci-fi fans, as there are a bunch of great films heading home on Tuesday. The highly anticipated Hatchet sequel, Victor Crowley, arrives on Blu-ray and DVD this week courtesy of Dark Sky Films, and Scream Factory and IFC Midnight have the slasher comedy Welcome to Willits on their release slate.

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment is keeping busy this week with a slew of titles, including House of Demons, Keep Watching, and Family Possessions, and cult film fans will definitely want to pick up the brand new Blu-rays for Grizzly and The Gruesome Twosome.

Other notable releases for February 6th include Day of the Dead: Bloodline, Inoperable, the Friday the 13th: 8-Movie Collection, The Diabolical Dr. Z, and the Stephen King 6-Movie Collection.

Day of the Dead: Bloodline (Lionsgate, Blu-ray & DVD)

In this terrifying retelling of George A. Romero's zombie horror classic,...

With a hiss of brakes, and a rush of steam, the next phase of SFW9’s launch is engaged. We have lots and lots to tell you, so settle down, grab your beverage of choice, put your feet up, and let’s go!

That’s right folks… Its time to start planning for SFW9, coming to you next March in Wales and we have a little bit of bad news but a massive whole bunch of good news to soften that blow. First things first though: there are only 18, yes 18 rooms left on site for the weekend so if you don’t have your tickets then you better get on that now. So first off here is a little comment from Sfw themselves with a little bad news…

First off, the bad news … As regular SFWers know, sometimes guests have to drop out, and since the last announcement, both Colin Baker...

[To get you into the spooky spirit, the Daily Dead team is spotlighting double features that we think would be fun to watch this Halloween season. Keep an eye on Daily Dead for more double feature recommendations, and check here for our previous Halloween 2017 coverage.]

It’s always been my dream to own a movie theater and program just my favorite genre fare. Of course, showing nothing but the oeuvre of William Girdler would leave me destitute within a month (okay, a week), so naturally I’d have to expand my programming. I’ve always found that double features are a great tool (and if anyone knows what it’s like to be a great tool, it’s me) for finding the connective tissue between films that may appear to be dissimilar upon a quick pass, or to highlight and illuminate similarities that create an entirely new experience.

First up in my double feature entitled "Why Am I Always The Last To Know?" is Herk Harvey’s Carnival of Souls (1962), a Twilight Zone-ish tale of a young woman who finds herself in a state of disconnect following a car accident, constantly followed by ghoulish visions at every turn.

With Halloween only two weeks away now, that means we have another killer batch of home entertainment releases arriving this Tuesday, primed to get everyone in the mood for the macabre. Cult film lovers should get those wallets ready, as Kino Lorber is keeping busy with The Terror Within II, Revenge of the Dead, and a 4K special edition of RawHead Rex, too.

For those who still venture out into the real world to make their media purchases, Target has the exclusive on season one of Stranger Things that comes in nifty retro packaging, and Criterion has put together a stellar Blu for Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me.

Other notable releases for October 17th include American Gods: Season One, Wes Craven’s Summer of Fear, Red Christmas, Spider-Man: Homecoming, The Honor Farm, and Alfred Hitchcock: The Ultimate Collection.

American Gods: Season One (Lionsgate, Blu-ray & DVD)

When...

When I think of some of my favorite B films of the 1970s, my mind tends to drift towards the works of the late filmmaker William Girdler. This man made nine movies in six years before his tragic death in ’78 at the age of thirty; chief among them Abby (’74), Grizzly (’76), and Day of the Animals (’77). Now, quantity obviously doesn’t equal quality, and he made a few outright stinkers. But he was exciting to me because he became a better, more confident filmmaker with each film; this is especially evident with his final release, The Manitou (1978), your typical ancient Native American little person demon growing out of the back of a woman’s neck who fights the heroes in space with laser beams kind of flick. You know the type.

Independently produced, The Manitou was released by Avco Embassy in late April, with a June rollout across North America, and worldwide the following year.

Blame The Bad Seed (1956) for every murderous moppet that has skipped across the screen in subsequent years. Village of the Damned, The Omen, The Good Son, The Children, and many more have explored the taboo of killer kiddies. One of the oddest of the bunch is Ed Hunt’s Bloody Birthday (1981), a ridiculously fun turn with not just one, but three mini-Mansons on hand to clean up the schoolyard.

Well, that’s a bit of a misnomer, as our rascally trio tends to focus on grown ups, what with their stupid rules against homicide and premature burial. (Don’t worry – one of the protagonists is a classmate who is put in mortal danger. All’s fair.) Bloody Birthday was rolled out twice; first in limited release in April of ’81, and then in ’86 (also limited release). The film made its money back but didn’t earn any good grace from critics...

Following the massive success of Jaws (1975), producers were chomping at the bit to replicate its grosses. Far too many movies to mention here, but suffice it to say that most were stinkers, and none could put a dent box office – wise in the hull of the Orca. However, one little film somehow managed to not only rake in big bucks in its wake, but paid, ahem, ‘homage’ to the soon to be Universal classic. William Girdler’s Bad Bear Bonanza Grizzly (1976) follows it so closely I’m amazed Jaws doesn’t have a big black snout rammed up its grey finned keister. Regardless of its inspiration, Grizzly is a B movie blast.

Released domestically in May of 1976 by Film Ventures International (and internationally by Columbia Pictures), Grizzly brought in a whopping $39,000,000 Us against a $750,000 budget. An amazing performance at the box office, with no help whatsoever from critics who derided the film as derivative,...

“If a movie makes you happy, for whatever reason, then it’s a good movie.”

—Big E

*******Warning: Review Contains Spoilers*******

By Ernie Magnotta

If there’s one thing I love, it’s 1970s made-for-tv horror films. I remember sitting in front of the television as a kid and watching a plethora of films such as Gargoyles, Bad Ronald, Satan’s School for Girls, Horror at 37,000 Feet, Devil Dog: Hound of Hell, Scream Pretty Peggy, Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark, Moon of the Wolf and The Initiation of Sarah just to name a few. Some of those are better than others, but all were fun.

When I think back, there have been some legendary names associated with small screen horrors. Genre masters John Carpenter (Halloween), Steven Spielberg (Jaws), Wes Craven (Nightmare on Elm Street), Tobe Hooper (Texas Chainsaw Massacre) and Joseph Stefano (Psycho) all took shots at television...

The tough guy starred in the sci-fi classic "Robinson Crusoe on Mars" and played Det. Al Corassa on TV's "Cagney & Lacey."

Paul Mantee, a burly, tough-guy actor who starred in the 1964 sci-fi cult classic Robinson Crusoe on Mars and on TV's Cagney & Lacey as Det. Al Corassa, has died. He was 82.

A longtime resident of Malibu who wrote columns for the local newspaper, Mantee played the health inspector on a 1994 episode of Seinfeld, "The Pie;" had a recurring role as Commander Clayton on Hunter, the police drama that starred Fred Dryer; and appeared as Cornell, a henchman for Catwoman who disguises himself as Batman to frame the Caped Crusader for a robbery in a 1967 storyline that saw the villainess go back to college.

Mantee died Nov. 7, The Malibu Times reported.

In Paramount's Robinson Crusoe on Mars, Byron Haskin’s adaptation of the Daniel Defoe novel, Mantee has top billing, playing the shipwrecked Cmdr.

Writer Lee Gambin calls them Natural Horror films, other writers call them Revenge of Nature or Nature Run Amok films and writer Charles Derry considers them a type of Apocalyptic Cinema.

Of course we’re speaking of one of the great horror subgenres for which we’ll employ writer Kim Newman’s tag: The Revolt of Nature.

Since the end of the 1990s, lovers of animal attack films have been subjected to copious amounts of uninspired Nu Image, Syfy Channel and Syfy Channel-like dreck like Silent Predators (1999), Maneater (2007) Croc (2007), Grizzly Rage (2007) and a stunning amount of terrible shark attack films to name a few that barely scratch the surface of a massive list.

These movies fail miserably to capture the intensity of the unforgettable films they are imitating and the recent wave seems to carry with it the intent of giving the Revolt of Nature horror film a bad name.

In the world of horror cinema, the best way to fight a monster–be it supernatural, human, or natural one–is with a character that possesses special knowledge and skills. These experts, recruited into battle by other characters or colliding with the conflict intentionally, are the savants of the horror world.

Examples of savant characters include David Warner’s bat expert Phillip Payne in Nightwing, Zelda Rubinstein’s spiritual medium Tangina in Poltergeist, Matthew McConaughey’s dragon slayer Denton Van Zan in Reign of Fire, Lin Shaye’s paranormal investigator Elise Rainier in Insidious, and Otto Jespersen’s monster killer Hans in Trollhunter.

This article, divided into three sections based on what type of monstrous force is being fought, focuses on the greatest savant characters the horror genre has to offer.

****

Vs. The Supernatural

Peter Cushing as Doctor Van Helsing in Horror of Dracula and The Brides of Dracula: In these two Hammer films,...

The Manitou (1978) Director: William Girdler Stars: Tony Curtis, Susan Strasberg, Michael Ansara A woman discovers she has an ancient Indian man growing on her neck. Hilarity ensues! Every movie requires multiple levels of approval. A studio commissions a script. Actors and crew are hired. Investors agree to pay for it. And after a period of time and thought, someone finally greenlights it into production. That's what's most amazing about The Manitou. So many...

We’re back with another Q&A feature, this time talking with Saturday Morning Mystery director Spencer Parsons, who tells us about growing up with Scooby-Doo, balancing horror and comedy, and his time on the set of the movie:

With this movie being Scooby-Doo influenced, can you tell me about your experience with Scooby-Doo as a child? What’s one of your favorite episodes?

Spencer Parsons: Oh yeah, when I was little, it was huge to me. My little brother and I would stay over at my grandmother’s house and wake up early to watch it with my older cousins while snarfing down sugary breakfast cereals my mom never let us have. By the time Jason of Star Command came on, I’d be flying high on Count Chocula, trying to get pony rides from the cocker spaniel. So I’d call it formative.

But Scooby and any...

Graham Masterton is an Edgar Award-winning writer of horror, mystery and non-fiction. Several of his books, including his first, The Manitou, have been adapted for film. He's known for intense, disturbing fiction, and emphasizes character and emotional connection in storytelling. Mr. Masterton took some time out to talk exclusively to FEARnet about his upcoming work and his thoughts on writing.

You have several new works debuting, one of which is Community. What is that novel about?

Community tells the story of a young man who is returning home to San Francisco with his girlfriend when they are involved in a crash on the freeway which appears to have been caused deliberately. He wakes up in a clinic in a small town in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains, but he has completely lost his memory. He has no idea who he is or what happened to him. He doesn't even...

Cemetery Dance is offering a terrifying treat for lovers of literature, with a series of Halloween-centric e-book Singles for every weekday leading up to October 31 at an affordable 99 cents per short story. Contributors to this series include scare scribes Joe R. Lansdale (Bubba Ho-tep), Simon Clark (The Night Of The Triffids), Stewart O’Nan (Snow Angels), Graham Masterton (The Manitou) and many more. And for those without an e-reader, the Cemetery Dance website has links to free applications for mobile devices and computers that make reading these digital tales shockingly easy.

Editor and contributor Brian Freeman tells Fango, “We’re big fans of Halloween, and so are most of our readers, and we’ve finally started getting into e-book publishing in a big way, so it seemed like the perfect fit.” Freeman adds that the stories range from traditional Halloween tales to modern takes on the wicked holiday, and since...

Cemetery Dance is offering a terrifying treat for lovers of literature, with a series of Halloween-centric e-book Singles for every weekday leading up to October 31 at an affordable 99 cents per short story. Contributors to this series include scare scribes Joe R. Lansdale (Bubba Ho-tep), Simon Clark (The Night Of The Triffids), Stewart O’Nan (Snow Angels), Graham Masterton (The Manitou) and many more. And for those without an e-reader, the Cemetery Dance website has links to free applications for mobile devices and computers that make reading these digital tales shockingly easy.

Editor and contributor Brian Freeman tells Fango, “We’re big fans of Halloween, and so are most of our readers, and we’ve finally started getting into e-book publishing in a big way, so it seemed like the perfect fit.” Freeman adds that the stories range from traditional Halloween tales to modern takes on the wicked holiday, and since...

Cemetery Dance is offering a terrifying treat for lovers of literature, with a series of Halloween-centric e-book Singles for every weekday leading up to October 31 at an affordable 99 cents per short story. Contributors to this series include scare scribes Joe R. Lansdale (Bubba Ho-tep), Simon Clark (The Night Of The Triffids), Stewart O’Nan (Snow Angels), Graham Masterton (The Manitou) and many more. And for those without an e-reader, the Cemetery Dance website has links to free applications for mobile devices and computers that make reading these digital tales shockingly easy.

Editor and contributor Brian Freeman tells Fango, “We’re big fans of Halloween, and so are most of our readers, and we’ve finally started getting into e-book publishing in a big way, so it seemed like the perfect fit.” Freeman adds that the stories range from traditional Halloween tales to modern takes on the wicked holiday, and since...

Tremors? Nightbreed? Sundown: The Vampire in Retreat? 976-evil? Are all on the list this year. And though there were not huge horror wins in sound editing through screenplays, the Technical Awards never cease to bring out the horror veterans. Notably Tim Drnec who contributed to such VHS classics as Alien Seed, Destroyer, and Prison won for his work on “Spydercam 3D volumetric suspended cable camera technologies.” An award also shared with Ben Britten Smith and Matt Davis who both also worked on Constantine.

But among all the winners, the Academy also honored some great loses in 2010. And though they mentioned some of our heroes, Dennis Hooper (Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2), Kevin McCarthy (Invasion of the Body Snatchers) and Dino de Laurentiis (King Kong), they did not mention Zelda Rubinstein or Corey Haim. But we will in this last section and the others lost to us last year.

So farewell fight fans and remember,...

Of course I’m talking about the 1974 The Exorcist rip-off and cult favorite Abby or as the poster tag line for the movie said: “Abby doesn’t need a man anymore. The Devil is her lover now!” O.K. so maybe I exaggerated…just a little. So it may not be one of the greatest black films ever made, but it’s sure as hell one of the most fun watching.

Written and directed by Louisville native William Girdler, (who went on to have a very busy career as a filmmaker during the 70′s directing several films including the Jaws rip off Grizzly and the unbelievable and truly weird The Manitou which was released after his sudden death in a plane crash in 1978) Abby with Carol Speed and Blacula himself William Marshall as the exorcist is about about a woman who like Linda Blair is possessed by the Devil. But...

At the height of his career in show business he was one of Hollywood's most recognized faces. He also became a sex symbol to millions of women. Actor Tony Curtis, who appeared in over 120 movies during the course of his seven decades on the screen, died yesterday from a heart attack at the age of 85.

Curtis' most well-known role was as a 1920s jazz musician on the lam from gangsters in Billy Wilder's 1959 comedy Some Like It Hot. Paired opposite Jack Lemmon, the two dressed up as women and joined an all-female band to hide from the bad guys. Curtis' character had a romantic attraction to Marilyn Monroe in the film. Off-screen, the actor also enjoyed an affair with the blonde starlet. In fact, Curtis began to cultivate a reputation as a ladies man and lothario, a fact that destroyed several of his six marriages throughout the course of...

Director William Girdler.s 1974 film Abby was a clone of The Exorcist with an all-black cast starring William Marshall, fresh off his triumph as Blacula, in the Max Von Sydow role. Shot for a meager $200k, Abby was an urban hit, grossing four million dollars in its first month of release. Apparently the powers-that-be at Warner Brothers, who had produced The Exorcist, thought Abby.s plot was too similar to that of their cash cow so successfully sued Girdler and the films distributor, American International. Aip was ordered to destroy all of their theatrical prints, and the film has never officially been licensed for home viewing. The Exorcist was the top grossing film of 1973 and spawned a virtual cottage industry of knock-off imitators, mostly from Europe, that flourished for the rest of the decade, so it seems an odd fate that Abby was singled out for legal punishment and remains...

A long, long time ago someone proposed this idea to a committee: “Hey, wouldn’t it be totally rad if we made a movie about a young woman who discovered that the tumor on her back was not a tumor at all, but instead it was a Native American medicine man waiting to be reincarnated? And we can totally put this tumor/shaman on her back, and it can burst forth from her. This could be the best movie of the year.” And when the idea was proposed, the committee fell under its spell. (Please, reserve your judgments until later.)

It is because this conversation went so well that I am able to tell you without a single bit of shame that I absolutely obsessively loved The Manitou (1978). Before we get down to business and specifics, I should just tell you that this movie rocked my world. It changed my...