News

With the announcement of its animated adaptation, Uzumaki was all the rage. For horror fans, the series was a much-awaited release. This is especially true since the manga is Junji Ito’s magnum opus. Among his other works, the series outclasses the depiction of grotesque elements. While fans got their anime, it’s nothing short of disappointing.

Azami Kurotani in a still from the animated series | Credit: Adult Swim

From botched pacing to horrid animation, the series is a complete disaster. This is especially true with the second episode and its visuals. Most fans pointed to the drop in animation quality. This further proves that the studio betrayed the mangaka’s vision and art. It also could be the doings of Ito’s curse.

Uzumaki anime hits a downgrade with its recent episode

Uzumaki is one of the most notable works in the horror manga genre. From body horror to insanity,...

Kimo Stamboels influence on Indonesias 2000s-and-beyond horror boom cannot be understated, but Dancing Village: The Curse Begins hardly reflects his talents seen in everything from Macabre to The Queen of Black Magic. Those movies Stamboel co-created alongside Timo Tjahjanto as the Mo Brothers pushed boundaries, whereas Dancing Village: The Curse Begins feels mechanical and studio-safe. That tracks, since Stamboels latest is an adaptation of the novel Kkn di Desa Penari written by SimpleMan (based on a viral tweet thread) that also serves as a prequel to 2022s feature film Kkn di Desa Penari: the highest-grossing film in Indonesian history. Dancing Village: The Curse Begins feels like Stamboel is sleepwalking through studio mandates, a shell of the maverick horror filmmaker responsible for ruthless flicks like Killers or 2019s video game adaptation DreadOut (yet to see US distribution).

Shout! TV presents a 24-hour werewolf movie marathon called the Wolf Bowl as an alternative to Super Bowl Lviii. The marathon begins at 12 a.m. Pst on Sunday, February 11. The Wolf Bowl will be available to stream on various platforms, including Shout! TV, Scream Factory TV, Amazon Prime Channels and Tubi.

There’s a full moon rising! Okay, technically, the next full moon won’t be visible until Saturday, February 24, at 7:30 a.m. Est. But that’s not stopping Shout! TV from programming a howling good alternative to Super Bowl Lviii, which is guaranteed to be Taylor Swift-free. For those who aren’t exactly followers of the NFL, or even fans of the old pigskin, Shout! TV is offering the Wolf Bowl as an alternative. Check out the official promo below:

Shout! TV's 24-hour werewolf movie marathon begins at midnight Pst on February 11. And while classics like Universal...

It’s not even September, but Duran Duran are already gearing up for spooky season. The band is back with a new song, “Danse Macabre,” the title-track from their upcoming 16th studio album, which will arrive Oct. 27, just in time for Halloween.

Danse Macabre was inspired by a special Halloween show Duran Duran played in Las Vegas last year. The album boasts 13 songs, comprising three new tracks, a few theme-appropriate covers, and reimagined versions of some of Duran Duran’s own songs.

The title-track is one of the new songs,...

It’s hard to know where to begin when discussing William Castle. Master of the gimmick and shunner of finesse, his combination of marketing prowess and Giallo-like horror would become synonymous with his name. Castle’s first film, Macabre (1958) saw a father’s frantic search for his daughter play out in front of patrons who were provided life insurance certificates from Lloyds of London, covering against heart attacks during the screening. House On Haunted Hill (1959) has Vincent Price offer five people 10,000 to spend the night with him and his wife in a haunted house, while Castle added value to the proceedings by flying a red-eyed skeleton (Emergo) through the cinema at the opportune moment. The same year The Tingler reached campy cult status by attaching buzzers to the cinema seats for that extra dose of immersive realism. In case unsolicited electrocution wasn’t memorable enough, actors were hired to patrol foyers dressed as nurses,...

Buenos Aires-based FilmSharks Int’l has picked up worldwide rights to sci-fi-horror film “Virtual Reality” by Argentine terror meister Hernan Findling who has directed and produced a slew of genre films.

“We’d been chasing this title ever since we saw it at the 2020 Sitges Film Festival’s Coming Soon section, a preview of upcoming genre films, and were up against tough competition,” said FilmSharks CEO, Guido Rud. “It was one of the best high-concept horror gems we have seen recently,” added Rud who expects brisk international sales before the film’s premiere later this year.

Rud has also acquired the remake rights to the sci-fi-horror hybrid pic for his FilmSharks subsidiary, The Remake Company.

In “Virtual Reality,” a team of actors and crew are invited to their director’s house to see a first cut of the film they just worked on. Unbeknownst to them, the director has struck...

Hello again, everyone! We only have a few titles on the docket for this week’s home media releases, but there’s still some fun stuff to keep an eye out for, especially if you're a fan of classic genre films. Mondo Macabro is keeping busy with several Blu-ray releases, including Panic Beats, Blood Ceremony, and Queens of Evil, Code Red is showing some love to an often overlooked ’80s slasher—The Forest—and Bless the Child is getting re-released on DVD for the first time in decades, too. Also being released on March 9th is Rent-a-Pal from Scream Factory.

Blood Ceremony

In 19th century Europe, the people are in the grip of ancient superstitions and the fear of vampires runs riot through the land. Strange rituals are enacted to seek out the resting places of the undead and macabre trials are held over disinterred corpses. The Countess barely notices what is going on.

Nicolas Herzog’s completed film The Shadow Of The Rooster also on slate.

As it launches sales at EFM on horror thriller Macabro from the producers of Elite Squad, FilmSharks has boarded world sales on crime thriller The Shadow Of The Rooster and Big Bad Wolves remake Ferocious Wolf.

Nicolas Herzog’s completed film The Shadow Of The Rooster (La Sombra del Gallo) from Rumba Cine stars Lautaro Delgado and Claudio Rissi, whose credits include HBO Latin America Originals’ Berlinale Series selection Entre Hombres, and Netflix’s hit Argentinian crime mystery El Marginal.

The Argentinian feature centres on Maidana, a...

Marcos Prado's second feature film, the Brazilian horror flick Macabro, from the producers of Tropa de Elite (Elite Squad), Zazen Produções and Querosene Filmes is headed to EFM, under the care of our friends in the Argentine sales group Filmsharks. We are such good friends with Filmsharks that they have graced us with the task of hosting the international premiere of the trailer for Macabro. As well, they sent over a plethora of stills from the production. I have built a gallery that showcases some of the impressive visuals that Prado and his team achieved for this film, and a number of stills highlighting the horror. During the 1990s, two brothers were accused of murdering eight women, a man and a child in “Sierra...

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

Marcos Prado directed story based on Necrophil Brothers.

Buenos Aires-based FilmSharks kicks off sales at the virtual EFM next week on Brazilian horror Macabro from the producers of Elite Squad.

Marcos Prado directed the story based on real events surrounding the Necrophil Brothers, who were accused of a string of grisly murders in Brazil in the 1990s.

Macabro centres on a detective who begins to believe that racism has played a part in the conviction of one of two brothers accused of murdering eight women, a man and a child.

Renato Góes, Amanda Grimaldi, Guilherme Ferraz, Diego Francisco, Eduardo Tomaz,...

Kimo Stamboel’s ‘The Queen Of Black Magic, a chilling retelling of the cult classic Indonesian horror written by award-winning filmmaker Joko Anwar, is coming exclusively to Shudder January 28th. This trailer is terrifying!

The sins of the past come back with a vengeance in this new film from two of Indonesia’s modern masters of horror, director Kimo Stamboel (Headshot) and writer Joko Anwar.

A family travels to the distant, rural orphanage where the father was raised to pay their respects to the facility’s gravely ill director. But his and his best friends’ homecoming turns into a terrifying supernatural ordeal that threatens their and their families’ lives: someone is using dark magic to avenge evil deeds, long-buried but not forgotten. Stamboel’s film is a reimagining of the 1981 Indonesian horror classic of the same name.

he film marks the sophomore solo feature for Kimo Stamboel following his 2019 celebrated video game adaptation film Dreadout,...

London-based specialty title outfit Jinga Films has launched a new distribution arm, Danse Macabre. Operating under the Jinga umbrella, Danse Macabre will focus on the distribution of horror films in Anglophone territories, including the U.K., Ireland, the U.S., Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

Danse Macabre will also act as a horror sales sub-label within Jinga Films while the parent company Jinga itself expands to include a wider range of genres, including arthouse. The label is co-owned by Jinga’s Julian Richards and Rosana Coutinho.

The 2020 slate for Danse Macabre includes “Antrum” and “The Ringmaster” that will have theatrical releases alongside their home entertainment release on Oct. 26 and Nov. 16 respectively. “Gags the Clown” (Oct. 5), “Purgatory Road” (Nov. 2) and “All the Creatures Were Stirring” (Nov. 23) will be released across DVD and digital.

Marketing and communications agency Strike Media will be working with Danse Macabre across their titles.

“Danse Macabre will be the home for horror,...

We love Cassandra Peterson, a smart woman who made a go of horror host work in the tough Los Angeles TV market, long after the short-lived Vampira and just a few years after the passing of Sinister Seymour. After Elvira’s Movie Macabre she got to make this lively comedy feature, and thus planted her stake in the cinema firmament while at the top of her game. I’d give it an A+ for nostalgic sentiment, a B for quality and a B+ for wit, even if the adult humor does skew a bit infantile. Well, that was part of the Elvira personality too!

Elvira, Mistress of the Dark

Blu-ray

Arrow Video

1988 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 96 min. / Street Date April 28, 2020 / 39.95

Starring: Cassandra Peterson, William Morgan Sheppard, Daniel Greene, Susan Kellerman, Jeff Conaway, Edie McClurg, William Duell.

Cinematography: Hanania Baer

Film Editor: Battle Davis

Original Music: James B. Campbell

Written by Sam Egan,...

Although Alfred Hitchcock’s “Psycho” was the biggest hit of his career with an adjusted gross of $400 million, it didn’t set records.. It ranks #164 among domestic sound films, and was #2 among 1960 releases (second to “Spartacus”). Among black-and-white films, it ranks #5.

However, there are few films that have had the impact of this one. Written by B-movie horror writers and made for a Blumhouse budget, it was more than a financial success; it changed the kinds of films that filmmakers and actors would make, and informed the language of cinema around the world. Not bad for a film largely panned by stuffy and confused reviewers.

In 1960, Hitchcock was the rare director as brand, a status enhanced by his long-running TV series “Alfred Hitchcock Presents.” As creator, host, and occasional director, his humorous, sardonic appearances made him a celebrity. In the meantime he made a film each year, including “Vertigo” and...

While his father Mario probably cast a longer shadow than anyone else in Italian horror cinema, Lamberto Bava has managed to leave a prominent mark on the genre through popular works such as Demons (1985) and Demons 2 (‘86). Today we’re going to rewind the clock to his official directorial debut, Macabre (1980), a truly ludicrous and bizarre film “inspired” by true events. I bet they never happened like this.

Bava Jr. certainly spent his time in the trenches, working for Dario Argento and helping his dad finish Shock (1977); while he wrote the script with friends Roberto Gandus, and Pupi and Antonio Avati as a lark after reading a newspaper story from the U.S., he was given the reins to bring this lurid story to the screen as his official calling card. And bring it he does.

Released three years later Stateside as Frozen Terror, Macabre (aka Macabro) did little business...

Featuring new takes on classic tales from both the Master of Macabre and other renowned literary figures, Edgar Allan Poe's Snifter of Terror wraps up its second season at Ahoy Comics on March 25th, and ahead of the new issue's release, we've been provided with exclusive preview pages as a special treat for Daily Dead readers!

Written by Paul Cornell (Doctor Who) and featuring artwork by Steve Yeowell (2000 Ad), our exclusive preview pages come from a humorous reimagining of Robert Louis Stevenson's Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.

You can view the preview pages and cover art by the legendary Richard Williams below, be sure to visit Ahoy Comics' website for additional details, and keep an eye out for Edgar Allan Poe's Snifter of Terror Season Two #6 when it's released on Wednesday, March 25th.

"Edgar Allan Poe’S Snifter Of Terror Season Two #6

(W) Paul Cornell,...

“Winnipeg, Seeds of Hope,” “Bffs! Best Friends Forever Stranded!” and “Sex Symbols” are among five new finalists selected to participate in La Liga, the animation umbrella created to promote the Ibero-American animation sector worldwide between Spain’s Quirino Awards, Argentina’s Animation! and Mexico’s Pixelatl Festival.

The eventual winning project will be chosen at the upcoming edition of the Quirino Awards in April and given the opportunity to pitch at La Liga in Focus at Annecy Intl. Animation Film Festival’s Mifa market.

“Winnipeg, Seeds of Hope” is co-produced by Toni Marín at La Ballesta (Spain) and Marianne Mayer-Beckh at El Otro Film (Chile). Based on Laura Martel’s script from her graphic novel, “Winnipeg, Neruda’s Ship,” it tells the story of the ship that Chilean poet Pablo Neruda chartered to save more than 2,000 Spanish refugees in France after the Spanish Civil War. It’s directed by Elio Quiroga (“The Cold Hour”).

“Bffs!

At the end of November, Rio de Janeiro is going to be rocking with horror films from around the world. The festival kicks off on November 29th. Continue reading for more in-depth details. Also in today's Horror Highlights: Haunter Season 2 release details, a look at The Red Mother #1 from Boom! Studios, Megazoic 4-part book series release details, and casting news for The Initiation, featuring Naomi Grossman from the American Horror Story franchise.

Rock Horror in Rio Film Festival 2019 Announced: "The Rock Horror in Rio Film Festival announces the dates and venues of the 2019 edition that brings an electrifying selection of 53 films from 12 countries in the genres horror, suspense, fantasy, sci-fi, and animation. It will be 10 days of fun, cinema, rock, and a lot of screaming between November 29th and December 8th in three cinemas in Rio de Janeiro, the CineStar in the Casa da Cultura Laura Alvim in Ipanema, the...

Well, hello there, Asian horror fans, have we got a little something for you ... If a film titled The Queen Of Black Magic isn't enough to get your attention on it's own, how about this: Kimo Stamboel - who first arrived on the scene as one half of Indonesian directing duo The Mo Brothers (Macabre) - has teamed up with Satan's Slaves writer-director Joko Anwar - here working purely in a writing capacity - to remake the Indonesian classic. That get your attention a little bit more? Well, good, because we've got the English subtitled trailer below and it's a dandy. Check it out....

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

[This Halloween season, we're paying tribute to classic horror cinema by celebrating films released before 1970! Check back on Daily Dead this month for more retrospectives on classic horror films, and visit our online hub to catch up on all of our Halloween 2019 special features!]

“Only the ghosts in this house are glad we’re here.” While William Castle didn’t invent the “strangers meeting in a singular location under sinister circumstances” motif that was at the heart of House on Haunted Hill back in 1959, it was Castle’s late ’50s shocker that repopularized it amongst movie fans in America, with the help of his “Emergo” gimmicks, and building on the grand success of Macabre just a year prior.

Castle put out a lot of memorable horror jaunts during his career, and even 60 years since House on Haunted Hill first thrilled audiences with its supernaturally charged mystery, its influence looms over the realm of genre storytelling and is still being felt today. Like many of Castle’s genre efforts, it delivered up immersive thrills and chills, and House became yet another major turning point in Castle’s career as well, cementing his legacy as the...

The duo that gave us films like “Macabre“, “Killers” and “Headshot” has split up during the last years, with the former already having “May the Devil Take You” and “The Night Comes for Us” under his belt with considerable success. Thus, it was about time for Kimo Stamboel to present a solo movie, with “Dreadout”, a production that is based on the homonymous Indonesian, survival horror video game.

“Dreadout” is screening at Fantasia 2019

Linda is a high school girl, who has been tormented by the memory of an incident that took place ten years ago in an apartment room, where a cult leader forced a mother to read a blank parchment, which opened the portal to hell and ended up with her dead. Ten years later, Linda is poor and has to work part-time in a convenience store, but is quite popular on social media, due to her looks. When...

As one half of the hot Indonesian filmmaking duo, the Mo Brothers, along with Timo Tjahjanto, Kimo Stamboel has credits including the Bloody Disgusting release, Macabre, as well as Killers, co-produced by Nikkatsu, and Headshot, which premiered in Toronto 2016. Next up is the sci-fi horror Dreadout: Tower of Hell, based on an Indonesian smash hit indie video game that arrives in FrightFest UK […]...

If your dad was Mario Bava, master of light and originator of the giallo film as we know it, you’d have a hard time following in his footsteps too; yet that is precisely what Lamberto Bava chose to do. He made some good ones right out of the gate: Macabre (1980) and A Blade in the Dark (’83) have their fans, but it was the fantastic Demons (’85) that brought him international attention. One lackluster sequel later and he was more or less relegated to the sidelines, where he found solace in Italian TV; he signed a four picture deal for a series of films under the umbrella High Tension, and the first one out of the gate was The Prince of Terror (’88), which was deemed too gruesome and shelved until 1999. I can understand why, because it does contain several gory set pieces, implied rape, and strong language. Oh, and it’s also insane and entertainingly weird.

Movies are so rarely great art that if we cannot appreciate great trash we have very little reason to be interested in them. – Pauline Kael.

The above quote from the late, legendary American film critic Kael was most certainly not referring to Lamberto Bava’s Demons (1985), but a lot of films in our beloved genre bow to this description. Demons is great trash – it wants nothing more to assault your senses with a barrage of images and sound for 88 minutes before you even know what hit you, and does so while breathing that rarified Italian air.

But I’m sure she was referring to a film like Demons – one made with a ton of style, by a filmmaker impassioned with his chosen topic, as ridiculous as that plays on the screen. And make no mistake, Demons is ridiculous; as a matter of fact, it starts there before rapidly ascending to the sublime.

Shock riffs on the 1980 Lamberto Bava head-trip MacAbre. As the 1970s became the 1980s, the Italians – led by gutslingers like Fulci, Deodato, Lenzi, D’Amato and the like – were pushing the limits of on-screen violence, offering up an endless spate of disgusting, over-the-top spectacle shockers that used graphic gore as a character, not…

The post Gruesome Galleries: Lamberto Bava’s MacAbre appeared first on Shock Till You Drop.

We return with another edition of the Indie Spotlight, highlighting the recent independent horror news sent our way. Today’s feature includes a trailer for Bloodsucking Bastards, Phantasmagoria, and The Scarehouse, The Boston Horror Show lineup for 2015, Zombie with a Shotgun episode details, a Q&A with Ninjas vs Monsters director, Justin Timpane, and much more:

Bloodsucking Bastards Trailer and Premiere Details: “An Office Space meets Shaun of the Dead action-packed vampire comedy, Bloodsucking Bastards stars Fran Kranz as Evan Sanders, a dutiful and overworked employee stuck at a soul-killing corporation with his beautiful co-worker and girlfriend Amanda (Emma Fitzpatrick) and his slacker best friend Tim (Joey Kern). Evan’s world begins to crumble when Amanda dumps him and his boss Ted (Joel Murray) hands his coveted promotion to his nemesis Max (Pedro Pascal). When his officemates start going through disturbing changes and bodies begin to pile up, Evan must...

UK residents have been enjoying Arrow Video Blu-ray releases of cult films like Maniac Cop and The Funhouse for years, and soon horror hounds living stateside can enjoy the diligent distributor’s offerings now that Arrow Video is expanding to the Us. To commemorate their growth, Arrow Video has announced upcoming North American Blu-ray releases of Mark of the Devil, Blind Woman’s Curse, and more.

Making their Blu-ray debuts in the Us, 1970’s Mark of the Devil will come out on March 17th and 1971’s Blind Woman’s Curse (aka Black Cat’s Revenge on March 24th. Arrow Video will also release the Blu-ray of Blood and Black Lace on April 14th and The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Miss Osbourne to Blu-ray on April 21st. All four releases will include a DVD copy, as well. We have the official press release with full details, as well as...

We return with another edition of the Indie Spotlight, highlighting the recent independent horror news sent our way. Today’s feature includes release details on Amnesiac, The Atticus Institute, and Alien Outpost, multiple trailers, premiere details for Head, and a Q&A with the founder of The Philip K. Dick Film Festival:

Amnesiac Distribution and Release Details: “Amnesiac tells the story of a man (Wes Bentley) who wakes up in bed suffering from memory loss after being in an accident, only to begin to suspect that his wife (Kate Bosworth) may not be his real wife. The web of lies and deceit deepen inside the house where he soon finds himself a prisoner.

XLrator Media has acquired North American distribution rights to the psychological thriller Amnesiac starring Kate Bosworth (Still Alice, Superman Returns) and Wes Bentley (The Hunger Games series, Interstellar). XLrator Media will release the film in Summer 2015 on its acclaimed “Macabre” genre label.

We return with another edition of the Indie Spotlight, highlighting recent independent horror news sent our way. Today’s feature includes details on The Book, which brings together some of the biggest names in Italian horror, a trailer for Dead of the Nite, new releases from Cavity Colors, and much more:

First Details on The Book: “The Book sees the ultimate collaborative Italian horror film unfold before your very eyes. A one off project of unprecedented scale, The Book brings together, for the very first time, the writers, directors, actors, composers and artists behind the finest Italian genre cinema of the past sixty years. This includes the creative forces behind the Giallo movement, Spaghetti Westerns, Eurocrime and more. Each director will be given the opportunity to showcase their own personal vision of Rome, spread across a dozen episodes. Each segment in this feature film will contain a unique blend of macabre thriller,...

If you're a fan of Italian horror films and your list of favorite filmmakers includes names like Ruggero Deodato and Lamberto Bava, then boy, are you in for a treat. Read on for all the details about an exciting upcoming horror anthology called The Book, which will only get funded with Your help!

From the Press Release

The Book sees the ultimate collaborative Italian horror film unfold before your very eyes.

A one-off project of unprecedented scale, The Book brings together, for the very first time, the writers, directors, actors, composers, and artists behind the finest Italian genre cinema of the past sixty years. This includes the creative forces behind the Giallo movement, Spaghetti Westerns, Eurocrime, and more. Each director will be given the opportunity to showcase his own personal vision of Rome, spread across a dozen episodes. Each segment in this feature film will contain a unique blend of macabre thriller,...

This is the second and final piece about my encounter with legendary Italian filmmakers Lamberto Bava and Luigi Cozzi at Macabro 2013. It's actually just about Cozzi, since Bava wasn't a participant of the conference, celebrated at Mexico City's Cineteca Nacional. Bava was simply another member of the public. The festival asked Cozzi to do a conference/master class about giallo, and well, he ended up saying pretty much everything you need to know about it, and then some. Going from the history of the term "giallo" to personal stories about his relationship with Dario Argento, Cozzi's master class was something to smile at. Without any more prelude, I leave you the gallery with the most memorable quotes from the talk (and from the little Q&A that followed)! Note:...

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

Friday, August 30. I'm standing in line at Mexico City's Cineteca Nacional (the Cinematheque) for the definitive highlight of this year's Macabro Film Festival: the homage to legendary Italian filmmakers Luigi Cozzi and Lamberto Bava. It's going to be one unbelievable evening, I mean, aside from Cozzi's conference about giallo there's the screening of his 1980 film Contamination, and of Bava's Macabre. I have already seen one Cozzi film during the festival: Paganini Horror. Real fun. I'm still laughing thanks to its silly dialog. On the contrary, I missed the two Bava movies so far screened (A Blade in the Dark and Demons). Though I don't miss the chance to shake hands with him, once he makes his appearance near the line. He arrived a bit earlier...

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

The 12th edition of the Mexico City International Horror Film Festival, simply known as Macabro (Spanish for macabre), will be celebrated from August 23 to September 1, in seven venues around the city: Cineteca Nacional (the Cinematheque), Centro Cultural Universitario, Cinematógrafo del Chopo, Centro Cultural Carranza, Cine Lido, Museo Laboratorio Arte Alameda, and the Museo Panteón de San Fernando. Macabro 2013 is paying homage to "horror divas". There are films with female characters (Eyes Without a Face, The Innocents) and by directors like Elisabeth Fies (The Commune) and Antonia Bird (Ravenous), as well as a short film retrospective of Sharon Toribio and a Viscera Film Festival selection. The festival's definitive highlight is a "giallo retrospective", dedicated to Luigi Cozzi and Lamberto Bava (Mario Bava's son). Both Italian directors...

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

We're back with another installment in our Italian thriller feature series, this time with an often overlooked little 1983 gem from Lamberto Bava. If that name sounds familiar, it should: Lamberto is not only the son of horror icon Mario Bava, who arguably kicked the giallo genre into high gear with his incredibly stylish Blood and Black Lace, but since then he's developed his own cult following thanks mainly to the success of the Demons trilogy, produced by Dario Argento and featuring some of Italian horror's most surreal set-pieces and gruesome makeup effects. Before Demons, Lamberto was honing his craft on giallo fare, including uncredited work on his father's final film Shock in 1980. Shortly following Mario's passing, Lamberto helmed his first film Macabre, an oddball psychodrama inspired by Roman Polanski's Repulsion. That one has its fans, but it was really more of a practice run. In my view, he entered...

Interviewed by Michael Juvinall, MoreHorror.com

I recently had the immense pleasure of sitting down face-to-face with the famed Italian horror director, Lamberto Bava. Bava’s films are primarily in the horror, giallo, and fantasy genres.

Bava is the son of the legendary Italian director, Mario Bava and grandson of Eugenio Bava, a special effects artist and director from the silent days of Italian cinema. He grew up on the sets of his father’s films, learning all that he could about the business. He worked for 15 years under his father as his personal assistant, assistant director, and screenwriter on such films beginning with Planet of the Vampires (1965), Kill Baby, Kill (1966), Danger: Diabolik (1968), Hatchet for the Honeymoon (1970), Twitch of the Death Nerve (1971), Baron Blood (1972), and Lisa and the Devil (1974).

Bava then began working with Ruggero Deodato on his infamous Jungle Holocaust (1977) and Cannibal Holocaust (1980) films, then with Dario Argento as...

So after my kind words before about Lamberto Bava not being properly recognized as a director, I may have to retract. Not really, but his movie Macabre his directorial debut is less than thrilling to say the least. Dont get me wrong, the movie itself is odd and deals with a very weird, somewhat true if the credits are correct, story of a woman who experiences some major traumas in her life that lead her to be less than stable in the mental…...

If there's one company we've had a love affair with forever, it's Blue Underground. Why? Because they always deliver the goods, and this time they've got two hellish triple feature DVD's on tap! Dig it!

On July 31st they're releasing a 'Thriller' DVD set that consists of:

Bloodstained Shadow:

When a young college professor (Lino Capolicchio of The House With Laughing Windows) returns home to visit his Catholic priest brother (Craig Hill of Dracula Vs Frankenstein), prominent members of the community begin to be stalked and slaughtered by an unknown killer. Can the brothers uncover the identity of this deranged fiend, even while they are being tortured by their own nightmares of an unspeakable childhood trauma?

Short Night Of Glass Dolls:

The corpse of reporter Gregory Moore (Jean Sorel of Lizard In A Woman’S Skin) is found in a Prague plaza and brought to the local morgue.

It’s time for another update from our friends at Arrow Video, this time previewing their April 2012 releases which include the long-awaited release of the two Demons movies and the ArrowDrome release of Maniac Cop.

Demons (Arrow Video) Limited Edition Blu-ray

Live and direct, straight from Hell! Lamberto Bava and Dario Argento bring you The Gonzo Horror movie of the 1980s with Demons, a frenzied slice of gore heavy shock cinema that gives up on logic and instead assaults the screen with a riot of X-Rated violence, face chewing Zombies and pounding Heavy Metal. In a mysterious cinema, an audience are watching a brutal horror flick when the horror rips out of the screen, unleashing a swarm of slathering Demons who are intent on spreading their evil plague across the globe.

Time to tool up and take no prisoners… The Demons are coming!

This Amazing Edition Includes:

Four option reversible...

In only one year, RaroVideo USA have proven to be one of the finer independent distributors in the country.  Their focus on obscure classic and contemporary Italian films of all genres is second to none, and their DVDs are all of excellent quality.  I haven't had much of a chance to review them lately, but I just got this batch in and I plan on putting up at least a couple of them as soon as I get the chance!  December 6th RaroVideo USA dropped three very different titles on retailers shelves. First up is Lamberto Bava's (Demons, Macabre) Body Puzzle:Body Puzzle tells the tragic and increasingly morbid story of the lovely widow, Tracy (Gorky Park's Joanna Pacula). Not only has her famous pianist husband...

Matt’s Halloween was disappointingly uneventful, despite his horror cinema-inspired attempts to liven things up a bit...

Halloween is a special time for horror nerds. It’s a time to ignore the constantly ringing doorbell and watch the exact same films we always watch, but on a specific date. That’s why, when the missus told me she’d made non-Halloween related plans on October 31st, I sulked like a teenager who can’t work out how to remove the parental block from their Internet browser.

Still, just because I was being boring and middle-aged doesn’t mean I couldn’t have the grim horror-themed Halloween I was hoping for. I would just have to put a bit of work in and hope for the best.

I started out by holding a one man séance before we left. Then I cracked out the Ouija board and the Hellraiser puzzle box (a real one which,...

The term “giallo” initially referred to cheap yellow paperbacks (printed American mysteries from writers such as Agatha Christie), that were distributed in post-fascist Italy. Applied to cinema, the genre is comprised of equal parts early pulp thrillers, mystery novels, with a willingness to gleefully explore onscreen sex and violence in provocative, innovative ways. Giallos are strikingly different from American crime films: they value style and plot over characterization, and tend towards unapologetic displays of violence, sexual content, and taboo exploration. The genre is known for stylistic excess, characterized by unnatural yet intriguing lighting techniques, convoluted plots, red herrings, extended murder sequences, excessive bloodletting, stylish camerawork and unusual musical arrangements. Amidst the ‘creative kill’ set-pieces are thematic undercurrents along with a whodunit element, usually some sort of twist ending. Here is my list of the best giallo films – made strictly by Italian directors, so don’t expect Black Swan, Amer or...

It's that time of year when the vaults are prised open, the cinematic nightmares of the world are unleashed, and movie houses across the land compete to present the scariest horror-themed festival with the corniest name. Halloween festivals have been steadily multiplying, like marauding zombies or Tesco Metros, so here's a handy breakdown …

The cheesiest name award has to go to Derby's Dead And Breakfast (Quad, 30 Oct), although the title does at least make sense as it's an all-nighter. And after sitting through the likes of Evil Dead II, Halloween, Night Of The Demon and Bubba Ho-tep, who wouldn't fancy a bacon butty, if not some black pudding? The other hot all-nighter tickets are the Electric's Vintage 80s Horror All-Nighter (31 Oct, Electric Cinema, W11) which has The Thing, Evil Dead II, Re-Animator and Poltergeist, washed down with Michael Jackson's Thriller. The BFI IMAX Scary 3D Halloween all-nighter (30 Oct, BFI IMAX,...

[A quick reminder: all of Arrow Video's releases so far are Pal Region 0 on DVD and Region ABC (universal) on Blu-ray, so if you enter, please be sure you are able to play Pal discs on your home system!]

...and the winner of the kick-ass Argento prize pack is...

Rebecca Baumann!! 

Take a bow!  You're in for a treat!

The time has come to start the next round of giveaways!  Arrow Video have gracefully gifted us with their entire current collection of DVDs and Blu-ray discs.  My only job is to give them away.  Let me assure you that they look wonderful on my shelf, and I'll be sad to see them go, but I must, and my loss is your gain! 

Today's giveaway if going to be a little bit different than the last one.  This time around we'll have three winners and three prizes.  So far, Arrow Video have released Lamberto Bava's Macabre DVD, and Lucio Fulci's City of the Living Dead Blu-ray and House by the Cemetery DVD.  I have all three to give away.  All you have to do is tell me that you want one!

Arrow Video's commitment to gruesome Italian horror doesn't end with Dario Argento.  They are proving that they are pretty darned committed to releasing the works of other Italian masters.  So far, they've tackled a couple of Lucio Fulci titles with one more in the pipe, one Lamberto Bava feature again with a couple in the pipe, and the Grandaddy of Italian horror, Mario Bava is about to make his debut on English friendly Blu-ray thanks to them. 

Two of the films on this list are being released uncut for the first time ever in the UK, another case of Arrow Video fighting for their properties and making sure that the viewer gets what they expect!  The first is Lucio Fulci's House By The Cemetery, which was finally passed uncut in the UK for the first time ever last year   The second film is Mario Bava's seminal slasher, A Bay of Blood...

We thought we were finished, but everybody wants to come to our scary shindig next week! Legendary Skinny Puppy singer Nivek Ogre (a.k.a. Oghr) and a few more notable genre folks have joined the lineup of the fast approaching West Coast edition of Fangoria’s Weekend of Horrors convention, to be held April 17-19 at the Los Angeles Convention Center (1201 South Figueroa).

Ogre will appear with his Repo! The Genetic Opera cast and crew on Sunday. The singer played Pavi Largo in the cult horror/rock musical. The latest bonus guests (hey, we are running out of room!) include:

• Greydon Clark: cult director of Without Warning, Satan’S Cheerleaders, Wacko, Black Shampoo and Dance MacAbre (signing at Hollywood Book & Poster table)

• Tim Thomerson: fan favorite from Near Dark, Trancers, Dollman, Nemesis and new War Wolves and Live Evil (the latter screening at the con; Thomerson will...

The Los Angeles Weekend of Horrors just keeps getting better, with so many guests being added (and some day-of surprises in-store!) that we can barely keep up here at Fango HQ! The latest addition to the West Coast edition of Fangoria’s Weekend of Horrors convention, to be held April 17-19 at the Los Angeles Convention Center (1201 South Figueroa) is G Tom Mac, the writer and voice of "Cry Little Sister" from The Lost Boys. He'll be joined with star Corey Haim at the event on Sunday, April 19th!

The most recent announcement of Fango terror talent includes:

• Roddy Piper Wrestler/They Live star previews new film A Gothic Tale; also appearing: Piper’s daughter, actress Ariel Teal Toombs of Creeper (Sunday)

• Terrance Zdunich, Repo! The Genetic Opera star and co-creator (appearing Sunday)

• Last House On The Left reunion: with original baddies David Hess, Fred Lincoln, Jeramie Rain and Marc Sheffler...

Wrestler/They Live star Roddy Piper and a ton more genre stars have joined the lineup of the fast approaching West Coast edition of Fangoria’s Weekend of Horrors convention, to be held April 17-19 at the Los Angeles Convention Center (1201 South Figueroa). Piper will appear with his daughter, actress Ariel Teal Toombs of Creeper (formerly Little F*Cker), on Sunday to discuss their respective new fright films (also screening at the con), including Piper’s new anthology A Gothic Tale (pictured).

The additional, perhaps final, windfall of Fango terror talent includes:

• Terrance Zdunich, Repo! The Genetic Opera star and co-creator (appearing Sunday)

• Last House On The Left reunion: with original baddies David Hess, Fred Lincoln, Jeramie Rain and Marc Sheffler (panel on Sunday; signing all three days at Hollywood Book & Poster tables)

• Christa Campbell: star of 2001 Maniacs and Day Of The Dead, signing free posters from her new...

Drag Me To Hell actors Justin Long and Lorna Raver (Fango #283’s cover girl!) have joined the lineup of the upcoming West Coast edition of Fangoria’s Weekend of Horrors convention, to be held April 17-19 at the Los Angeles Convention Center (1201 South Figueroa). Long (of the Jeepers Creepers films and Live Free Or Die Hard) and Raver (a TV actress who has logged time on Star Trek: Voyager, Charmed and Weeds) will join director Sam Raimi on Friday at the show.

Other exciting guests/programs set for Fango’s Southern California blowout include:

• Sam Raimi: director of the Evil Dead and Spider-man trilogies, Darkman, Crimewave, The Quick And The Dead and many more will preview Drag Me To Hell (Friday)

• Clive Barker: creator of Hellraiser, Candyman, Nightbreed, Midnight Meat Train and Lord Of Illusions will preview his new movies Dread and Book Of Blood, plus the novel...

Prong mainman Tommy Victor, who was recently interviewed by Fangoria (read it here) will be appearing at Fangoria's Weekend Of Horrors in Los Angeles, April 17-19, 2009. Victor, who recently toured with both Ministry and Danzig, will see the release of Prong's Power Of The Damn Mixxxer (read our review) on May 12th, 2009 via 13th Planet Records.

Tommy will be appearing at the Schecter Guitar Research booth for signing sessions throughout the weekend, along with Skumlove, who's new album The Church Of The New Perversion was recently recorded and co-written with Victor.

Music from Skumlove's past album Songs Of Lust And Corrosion were featured on the Award winning Horror-Porn DVD "Grub Girl" and the B-style horror movie Intermedio starring Edward Furlong (Terminator 2) and Amber Benson (Buffy: The Vampire Slayer).

Other exciting guests/programs set for Fango’s Southern California blowout include: • Sam Raimi: director of the Evil Dead and Spider-man trilogies,...

House Of Wax remake director Jaume Collet-Serra (pictured below) has joined the line-up of the upcoming West Coast edition of Fangoria’s Weekend of Horrors convention, to be held April 17-19 at the Los Angeles Convention Center (1201 South Figueroa). Attending Sunday, the Barcelona-born Collet-Serra will be previewing his new chiller Orphan at the show. The Warner Bros./Dark Castle picture, about an evil child, opens July 24.

Other exciting guests/programs set for Fango’s Southern California blowout include:

• Sam Raimi: director of the Evil Dead and Spider-man trilogies, Darkman, Crimewave, The Quick And The Dead and many more will preview Drag Me To Hell (Friday)

• Clive Barker: creator of Hellraiser, Candyman, Nightbreed, Midnight Meat Train and Lord Of Illusions will preview his new movies Dread and Book Of Blood, plus the novel The Scarlet Gospels

• Tobe Hooper: director of Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Poltergeist, Eaten Alive ’Salem’S Lot,...