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Roger Ebert was unquestionably the most celebrated voice in film criticism, even though some films that found their way onto his "most hated" list have achieved acclaim as cult classics. The Devil's Rain, released in 1975 and featuring a cast that included Ernest Borgnine, William Shatner, and John Travolta in one of his earliest roles, was one of many that Ebert harbored disdain for. The Devil's Rain boasts a remarkable cast in front of the camera and also had a notable figure operating behind it, as Anton Lavey, founder of The Church of Satan, served as a technical advisor.

The Devil's Rain, while being bombastic and somewhat ham-fisted in its presentation, is almost prophetic regarding the events that would occur in the decade following its release. The era of Satanic panic and the ritual abuse conspiracy theories were a staple of talk shows and supermarket tabloids. All through Middle America, the...

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,...

Canadian actor William Shatner began his professional career in the early 1950s, appearing in an obscure film called "The Butler's Night Off." He worked in theaters, both as a manager and as an actor, in Montreal and Ottawa, and acted in the Stratford Shakespeare Festival in the mid-1950s. He moved to the United States shortly thereafter to pursue a Broadway career, and made ends meet by appearing on an episode of the Canadian version of "The Howdy Doody Show." Shatner racked up dozens of credits in film and on TV throughout the '50s and '60s, appearing in adaptations of "The Brother Karamazov" and "Judgment at Nuremberg" and on notable programs like "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" and "The Twilight Zone." In 1965, Shatner starred in "Incubus," the only feature film ever made in Esperanto. 

Then, in 1966, Shatner landed the lead role in a new science fiction series called "Star Trek.

Ebert had no mercy for low-budget horror films, giving scathing reviews to like "The Guardian" and "Halloween III." He criticized the lack of originality and poor production in horror sequels like "Critters 2" and "Resident Evil: Apocalypse." Obscure horror films like "The Devil's Rain" and "Hellbound: Hellraiser II" fell short of Ebert's expectations, receiving low ratings.

Famed film critic Roger Ebert knew how to give a film that failed to live up to expectations its just desserts, especially when it came to horror. One of the most famous and beloved movie reviewers of all time, Roger Ebert clearly didn't have an equal love for all genres, with horror being particularly low on his list of favorites. In particular, he famously disregarded the slasher genre, which he derogatorily referred to as "dead teenager films." Thus, it's no surprise that horror movies feature heavily on Ebert's list of most hated films.

Roger...

Synopsis: As an intimate portrait of William Shatner’s personal journey across nine decades of a boldly lived and fully realized life, William Shatner: You Can Call Me Bill strips away all the masks he has worn during his storied career to reveal the man behind it all.

Review: William Shatner is a legendary actor better known for his iconic performance as Captain James T. Kirk in the original Star Trek television series and films. He holds a unique place in Hollywood history. A fan favorite for over sixty years with a career on stage and screen as a writer and singer, and having traveled to space, Shatner’s legacy has built him a dedicated fanbase worldwide. Having written memoirs and shared his life story in many forms of media, You Can Call Me Bill is a unique documentary that does not follow the conventional format we have come to...

Watch the Trailer for Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire: "The epic battle continues! Legendary Pictures’ cinematic Monsterverse follows up the explosive showdown of “Godzilla vs. Kong” with an all-new adventure that pits the almighty Kong and the fearsome Godzilla against a colossal undiscovered threat hidden within our world, challenging their very existence—and our own. “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire” delves further into the histories of these Titans and their origins, as well as the mysteries of Skull Island and beyond, while uncovering the mythic battle that helped forge these extraordinary beings and tied them to humankind forever.

Once again at the helm is director Adam Wingard. The film stars Rebecca Hall, Brian Tyree Henry, Dan Stevens, Kaylee Hottle (“Godzilla vs. Kong”), Alex Ferns and Fala Chen.

The screenplay is by Terry Rossio (“Godzilla vs. Kong” the “Pirates of the Caribbean” series) and Simon Barrett (“You’re Next...

Stars: Pedro Casablanc, Víctor Clavijo, Ruth Díaz, Moisés Ruiz, Manuel Morón | Written and Directed by F. Javier Gutiérrez

Writer/director F. Javier Gutiérrez returned to his native Spain to make his third film La Espera, or, in English, The Wait. It’s a title that refers not just to the passage of time but to the ten hunting stands on the estate of Don Francisco. They are watched over by Eladio, who lives on the remote property with his wife Marcia, and their son, Floren (Moisés Ruiz).

At the start of the 1973 hunting season, he’s told by Don Carlos, Don Francisco’s right-hand man, to surreptitiously add three more. At first, he refuses, saying that would crowd the hunting parties and be unsafe due to the risk of crossfires. Eventually, he relents, a decision he soon regrets when Floren is killed in a freak accident leading to Marcia’s suicide.

Click here to read the full article.

The world premiere of Halloween Ends will close out the 2022 edition of Beyond Fest, the Los Angeles-based genre film festival that is celebrating its 10th anniversary.

My Best Friend’s Exorcism, based on the Grady Hendrix best-seller, Christmas Bloody Christmas, and Nocebo, starring Eva Green and Mark Strong, are other horror movies among the 10 premieres the festival will unveil during its run Sept. 27 to Oct. 11.

Weird: The Al Yankovic Story, fresh from its debut at the Toronto Film Festival, will have its U.S. premiere at Beyond Fest, with other festival circuit darlings, Martin McDonagh’s The Banshees of Inisherin, Mark Mylod’s The Menu, and Triangle of Sadness also on the bill.

The remake of Hellraiser, starring Jamie Clayton and Goran Visnjic, will receive a special screening with director David Bruckner and the cast on hand for a Q&a, while slasher pic,...

Beyond Fest, the highest attended genre festival in the United States, is returning to Los Angeles for its tenth anniversary edition, which will be held from September 27th through October 11th. Beyond Fest screenings will be taking place at Hollywood Legion Theatre, Aero Theatre, Los Feliz 3, the legendary IMAX at the Tcl Chinese, and IMAX headquarters. All ticket sales will be going to the 501c3 non-profit film institution.

The full line-up for Beyond Fest 2022 has now been announced, including ten world premieres, three US premieres, and twenty-five west coast premieres. There will be two free screenings of Smile (which is getting a theatrical release on September 30th), a free screening of the Amazon release My Best Friend’s Exorcism, two screenings of Hulu’s Hellraiser reboot, 35mm screenings of The Devil’s Rain and Kingdom of the Spiders, the west coast premiere of V/H/S/99, and – on the closing night – the world premiere of Halloween Ends!

This fall marks the 10th anniversary of Beyond Fest, and the festival is brimming with special screenings and must-see appearances for fans to look forward to, including Hellraiser (2022), V/H/S/99, A Wounded Fawn, Sick, the world premiere of Halloween Ends, and a screening of Impulse (1974) with William Shatner in attendance.

We have the official press release with full details below, and to learn more about Beyond Fest, visit the festival's official website!

Press Release: Los Angeles, CA – Tuesday, September 13th, 2022 - Beyond Fest, the highest-attended genre film festival in the US, is excited to announce its complete slate of 2022 programming comprising 63 features, including 10 world premieres, 3 US premieres, and 25 West Coast Premieres. Following a sold-out festival in 2021, Beyond Fest returns to Los Angeles for its tenth anniversary edition with 15 days of cinematic excess from September 27th - October 11th. Built in partnership with the American Cinematheque, Beyond Fest will screen...

Beyond Fest announced today its absolutely insane slate of 2022 programming comprising 63 features, including 10 world premieres, 3 US premieres, and 25 West Coast Premieres.

The fest returns to Los Angeles for its tenth-anniversary edition with 15 days of cinematic excess from September 27th – October 11th, and will screen at the legendary IMAX at the Tcl Chinese, Hollywood Legion Theatre, Aero Theatre, Los Feliz 3, and IMAX headquarters with all ticket sales going to the 501c3 non-profit film institution.

The press release went out this morning and revealed several high-profile events, with the highlight being a theatrical screening of David Bruckner’s brand new Hellraiser, not to mention the World Premieres of Joe Begos‘s hotly anticipated Christmas Bloody Christmas, pictured below, and David Gordon Green’s slasher sequel Halloween Ends!

Here’s the release:

“With a diverse slate celebrating the most inspired and eclectic cinema from across the globe, Beyond Fest opens with two...

Hello, everyone! We’re back with another rundown of this week’s horror and sci-fi home media releases. If you haven’t had a chance to check out Don Mancini’s Chucky TV series, you can finally catch up with it as of this Tuesday. Arrow Video is giving Kenneth Branagh’s Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein the 4K treatment, and Kino Lorber is keeping busy with an assortment of releases on the 12th as well, including New Year’s Evil, Tentacles, and a Dr. Phibes Double Feature. IFC Films is also set to release their psychological thriller The Novice on Tuesday, too (and it’s great).

Chucky: Season One

The notorious Chucky slashes his way to television in a killer new series written and executive produced by creator Don Mancini, who penned the iconic film franchise. After teenage loner Jake Wheeler (Zackary Arthur) discovers a vintage 'Good Guy' doll at a suburban yard sale,...

Hello, everyone! Now that September is nearly upon us (which means we’re getting closer and closer to our favorite season), we have one last round of home entertainment releases ahead of us before we can finally bid August a fond farewell - and there are a lot of different titles making their way home tomorrow. Arrow Video is keeping busy this week with their 4K release of Dune as well as the special edition release of The Brotherhood of Satan, and Kino Lorber is resurrecting several classics on Blu-ray this Tuesday, including The Raven, The Last Man on Earth, and The Comedy of Terrors.

If you have younger genre fans at home, you’ll definitely want to pick up the new editions of Coraline and The Boxtrolls from Scream Factory, and for you cult film fans, Vinegar Syndrome has you covered with their new Blu-rays for Killer’s Delight, The Lamp...

Arrow Video’s August films include a brilliantly original American indie comedy, a pair of out-there arthouse masterworks, a rediscovered 70s horror creepfest, a terrifying Korean ghost story, and definitive, collectable editions of an awe-inspiring science fiction blockbuster.

The releases will come in limited edition packaging, with beautiful new artwork, pristine restorations giving the films a new lease of life, brand new expert commentaries and feature-length documentaries,reversible sleeves, as well as goodies including fold-out posters, art cards, books and illustrated booklets.

First in August, Arrow Video presents the mind-blowing ‘acid-western’ El Topo, which shocked and bedazzled audiences upon its controversial original release, single-handedly inventing the American midnight movie phenomenon. A countercultural masterpiece which ingeniously combines iconic Americana symbolism with director Alejandro Jodorowsky’s own idiosyncratic surrealist aesthetic, El Topo is an incredible journey through nightmarish violence, mind-bending mysticism and awe-inspiring imagery. This era-defining film is now presented in a...

Welcome to Hell! Today, we have a first look at the horror thriller Devil's Revenge, which dusts off Star Trek icon William Shatner for a Halloween treat that will leave you howling. Shatner is teaming up with genre favorite and Star Trek alum Jeri Ryan along with Jason Brooks. The movie hits theaters in limited release later this fall just in time for the Halloween season.

From Cleopatra Entertainment, Devil's Revenge is about a down-on-his-luck archaeologist on a routine cave expedition who is cursed by a relic that turns out to be a portal to Hell. He then discovers that he must destroy the relic in order to reverse the curse on his family.

Cleopatra Entertainment has set a release date for their production Devil's Revenge, a new horror film directed by Jared Cohn that was executive produced by Brian Perera, Yvonne Perera, and co-produced by Tim Yasui and Cohn.

After appearing in the satanic horror movie The Devil's Rain, William Shatner squared off against terrifying tarantulas in Kingdom of the Spiders. While Code Red previously released a limited edition Blu-ray of the 1977 horror movie, Kino Lorber is teaming up with Code Red to distribute another release of their Kingdom of the Spiders Blu-ray (with different cover art) this March.

You can view the cover art and official announcement from Kino Lorber below, and in case you missed it, read Scott Drebit's Drive-In Dust Offs column on Kingdom of the Spiders.

From Kino Lorber: "Coming March 26th From Code Red DVD!

Kingdom of the Spiders (1977)

• Audio commentary with director John 'Bud' Cardos, producer Igo Kantor and star Tiffany Bolling

• Interview with Tiffany Bolling

• Theatrical Trailer

(1977) Color 97 Minutes 1.85:1 Rated PG

Television legend William Shatner stars as vet "Rack" Hansen in this cult classic about an Arizona town infested with a...

The new Halloween movie will be hitting theaters soon and producer Malek Akkad has hinted at the possibility of a William Shatner cameo in the future. Blumhouse is behind the new entry into the franchise that is being billed as a direct sequel to the first film under the direction of David Gordon Green. While the new installment is ignoring much of the last handful of movies, it definitely is not ignoring the look of The Shape, which means that the old William Shatner mask is back, and Akkad wants to see the real-life Shatner come face to face with his likeness on the big screen.

Malek Akkad recently revealed in an interview that he has wanted to get a William Shatner cameo for quite some time now, even noting that he has reached out to the Star Trek icon. When asked if Shatner had ever contacted him about the...

Happy (almost) Halloween readers! With October 31st falling on the weekly home entertainment release day, that means we have extra reasons to get excited this Tuesday. Scream Factory has put together two absolutely incredible collector’s edition Blu-rays for George A. Romero’s underrated modern classic Land of the Dead as well as Zack Snyder’s Dawn of the Dead remake, which fans are going to want to add to their own personal collections.

For those of you who may have missed it in theaters, The Dark Tower comes home on Halloween, and Lionsgate has given the cult classic Slaughter High the Vestron Video treatment for their brand new Blu. Blue Underground is also keeping busy this week with a pair of Collector’s Edition sets, too—The Lift and Down—and the complete series of Orphan Black makes its home release bow on Halloween, too.

Other notable Halloween...

It's long been one of Doctor Gash's favorite film festivals, and it's rearing its ugly head again. The Hudson Horror Show has just announced the official lineup for the next event, Hudson Horror Show 666, on December 1st in Poughkeepsie, NY. Fans of classic films are going to love this!

With a great lineup of films, vendors, special guests, giveaways and surprises, Hudson Horror Show 666 promises to be killer. For more visit the official Hudson Horror Show website, "like" Hudson Horror Show on Facebook and follow Hudson Horror Show on Twitter (@HudsonHorror).

From the Press Release

On Saturday, December 1st, 2012, Hudson Horror Show 666 will present a whopping six movies (for the price of five) along with shorts and vintage trailers, all off rare 35mm films. It’s a massive, sweaty 12-hour explosion of horror and exploitation!

This is by the far the biggest and most diverse lineup of movies we have ever presented.

Not all great cinema stars have the most auspicious beginnings to their lives in celluloid. Some start in commercials, TV, bit parts, background work. Hell, a few even dabble in porn (we're looking at you, Sylvester Stallone).

Ground zero for acting talent, more often than not, is the horror genre. This being Halloween season, we decided to highlight a few mega-talents who jumpstarted their careers in much the same way they entered the world: naked, screaming and covered in blood.

George Clooney, 'Return to Horror High' (1987)

It took the "Ides of March" actor-director a solid decade in show business before he launched into superstardom as Dr. Doug Ross on "ER." Good ol' Gorgeous George may have paid his dues at the school of hard knocks, but he earned his diploma from "Horror High" playing an actor who gets killed by a serial killer while filming a movie about that killer.

"Mutants, Ghosts & Devils!" week concludes at Trailers from Hell with director David DeCoteau introducing Brit director Robert Fuest's "The Devil's Rain," a critical turkey with a "protracted liquid climax." Talented British director Robert Fuest's promising career took a downturn with the overwhelmingly negative critical response to this low-budget but well-cast Us horror film ("...as horrible as watching an egg fry"-- NY Times). The climax is an endless montage of gooey, drippy make-ups that presages the similarly protracted liquid climax of Gremlins 2 fifteen years later.

Quietly becoming one of New York's most impressive and unique classic horror film festivals, the Hudson Horror Show has announced the lineup and date for the sixth installment of the fest. Read on and dig the impressive roster of movies.

Anchored by Chris Alo and Tad Leger, the Hudson Horror Show team have been consistently offering extremely entertaining 12-hour film fests for the past three years, and their sixth offering looks to be no different. Headlined (or be-headlined…Baa-hahaha!) by Re-Animator, the currently lineup also includes Conan: The Barbarian (which is celebrating its 30th anniversary), Phantasm II, The Devil's Rain and Switchblade Sisters as well as a mystery sixth film. Now that's a gritty line-up if I've ever seen one!

Tickets for the show are on sale now, and they've been consistently selling out. So even though Hudson Horror Show 666 isn't being held until December, if you're interested in attending,...

Academy Award winner Ernest Borgnine is one of those actors whom you have seen a million times in a million different films. He was the quintessential character actor, and we can honestly say we'll never have another like him. Playful, smart, and unforgettable, the man has passed on at age 95.

Borgnine brought a great deal of honesty and believability to each of his characters. No matter what the role, he breathed life into it like no one else could. Whether it be as Cabbie from Escape from New York or the malevolent Jonathan Corbis in The Devil's Rain, he was there giving it 110%, and Hollywood is all the better for it. Borgnine's other genre appearances include Willard, Deadly Blessing. Gattaca, and much more.

It's hard to say goodbye, but wow, has he left behind a legacy. We here at Dread Central would like to take this moment to offer our...

Ernest Borgnine had a career in Hollywood that spanned six decades, starting in 1951 and leading right up to the 2010s. Throughout those years his stocky, solid frame filled the television box and on the big screen where the Italian actor commanded your attention in whatever part he played. He seemed to remake himself every 15 or so years, finding a second, then a third and a fourth career to a new generation of watchers.

His Oscar win for playing a unloved butcher in 1955's Marty was well before my time, so my memories of the big man are skewed through younger eyes. When I was a kid growing up in the 1970s, Ernest Borgnine was one of those guys I saw in war movies and TV shows. On Saturday afternoons I would see him and guys like Lee Marvin fighting Nazis in The Dirty Dozen or with William Holden taking on...

Director who blended sophistication and sickness in the horror film The Abominable Dr Phibes

With its mix of pop art, sophisticated humour, pulp science fiction and English eccentricity, the television series The Avengers was among the most influential and significant products of "swinging London" in the 1960s. Robert Fuest, who has died aged 84, cut his teeth on the series under the aegis of the writer-producer Brian Clemens, initially as a production designer when the show was produced "as live" in the studio in black and white and co-starred Honor Blackman with Patrick MacNee, then as director when the series had moved on to colour, film and Linda Thorson.

As designer and director, Fuest learned how to achieve style on a budget – making a great deal of the show's famously minimalist aesthetic – and he carried this over into his best-known works as a film director, the two Dr Phibes horror movies of the early 1970s,...

The film world has lost another one of their own today with the passing of classic horror film director Robert Fuest. You may not know the name, but we guarantee you know his work.

Fuest was best known for bringing the world The Abominable Dr. Phibes and Dr. Phibes Rises Again, along with lesser known classics such as The Devil's Rain, And Soon the Darkness, and Revenge of the Stepford Wives. He has passed on at age 84.

We here at Dread Central would like to take this time to offer our sincerest of condolences to Robert's friends, family, and constituents. Thanks for all the macabre memories, sir! Try not to raise too much hell with Mr. Price while you're up there.

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Celebrate the man's legacy in the comments section below!

Iconic horror-punks the Misfits, whose landmark album Walk Among Us recently made FEARnet's list of the greatest classic horror rock albums of all time, have just announced the forthcoming arrival of their next record, The Devil's Rain. It should come as no surprise to Misfits fans that the band would borrow the new album title from the 1975 cult horror classic – you know, the one where William Shatner loses his shit, John Travolta plays a pasty faced zombie and everybody melts? But hey, back to the album: we've got the supremely excellent cover art, the complete track list and loads of other details below, so take a dive and check this out! Based as always on the band's favorite horror, sci-fi and comic...

Knight and Day; Salt; The Last Exorcism; Scott Pilgrim vs the World

How far can Tom Cruise go on the strength of a smile and a pair of sunglasses? Back in the days of Risky Business, a poster image of Cruise beaming his best "Wtf?" grin over the top of a pair of Wayfarers helped sell not only the movie but also the shades.

That image is recreated almost exactly in a signature shot from Knight and Day, a slipshod action-comedy caper that casts Cruise as a possibly paranoid super-spy on the run from his federal employers. It should have been the perfect vehicle for the star's peculiar charms – an allegedly character-driven smash-'em-up in which glamorous "nobody" Cameron Diaz falls for Cruise's eerily ageless hunk, thence to be thrown into a world of deadly danger from which only his killer smile can save her. The presence of director James Mangold,...

I was always going to have a soft spot for the retro horror pastiche The House of the Devil. After all, the schlocky slashers that it references and mimics with casual flair are the films I grew up on; tales of feisty babysitters cast adrift amid suburban satanic cults, involving long, slow build-ups interspersed with brief bouts of insane blood-spattering violence. It helps that director Ti West appears to be both a fan and a film-maker – which is more than can be said of the dunderheads behind the string of 70s and 80s slasher reboots that have recently troubled our multiplexes. While the (re)makers of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre and its ilk have churned out lobotomised jittery trash for the Twitter generation, The House of the Devil is so lovingly old-fashioned in its pacing that viewers under 40 may well start to wonder when the hell anything is going to happen.

I have seen some bad movies. I've seen The Devil's Rain. I've watched Don't Answer the Phone. I even survived the Star Wars Holiday Special. Nothing could prepare me for The Caretaker. The film was completed in 2008 and has not been released until now. That was a big hint. It stars Andrew St. John and Kira Verrastro. Despite this fact, Judd Nelson (John "eat my shorts" Bender) and Jennifer Tilly (Bride of Chucky) recieve top billing on the dvd cover to get you in the door, even though they are collectively in this movie for less than thirty minutes.