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A gay couple are trapped in a haunted Airbnb with their parents in an initially amusing but progressively exasperating genre mishmash

Writer-director Craig Johnson broke out with 2014’s spiky comedy drama The Skeleton Twins, a film that hit familiar Sundance indie beats but hit them better than most. He has struggled a little since, from annoying Woody Harrelson-led comedy Wilson to ho-hum gay high school romance Alex Strangelove, and so one can understand why Johnson might feel like a big swing in a different direction might make most sense.

It has led him to a script by Saturday Night Live writer Kent Sublette called The Parenting, a throwback supernatural comedy horror that tries to remind us of a time when these rambunctious concoctions were far more common. Think Beetlejuice in the 80s or The Frighteners in the 90s or the deeply underrated Housebound more recently, a high-energy rush of...

There are many cult classics that fans have clamored to have a sequel made of, and there might be none bigger in recent memory than 2009's Jennifer's Body. The film was stifled by a poor marketing campaign that stalled its box office, but it did go on to become a cult hit in the years since its release as fans began to see writer Diablo Cody's true intentions for the movie. As the cult status of Jennifer's Body has grown, sequel news has continued to surface every so often, but fans might have just gotten the biggest hint yet that the follow-up is in the works from one of the film's stars, Amanda Seyfried.

During a Toronto screening of her film Seven Veils, via Bloody Disgusting, Seyfried was asked about a sequel to Jennifer's Body, and the actress gave a confident answer before essentially downplaying the confirmation. Seyfried said,...

Jake Busey has taken on aliens in the likes of The Predator and Starship Troopers, vampires in From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series, and was even a rampaging ghost himself in The Frighteners. With credits like The Reckoning, The Lair, and Duchess, we’ve also seen Charlotte Kirk face off with a variety of threats. But Busey and Kirk are set to take on their biggest challenge yet in the upcoming horror comedy CATnip: feral killer cats.

Coming Soon reports that CATnip is scheduled to begin filming in Los Angeles next month. Written and directed by Nyle Cavazos Garcia, who is also producing the film with Rob Margolies and Keli Price, CATnip is described as “Gremlins for grown-ups.”

Here’s the synopsis: The Betancourt family has just moved from the projects of New York City to an up-and-coming neighborhood in San Pedro, CA, hoping for a fresh start and better life.

Any story about how an actor was cast in their role for a film or TV show is interesting. Understanding the person beneath the surface of a character and what it took for them to be cast adds to the depth of a project, especially when it's an epic trilogy like The Lord of the Rings. With so much detail in the narrative and such realism placed on the surreal, it can be easy to get lost in J.R.R. Tolkien's creation and not consider how it all came together. Before viewers got to enjoy the events of Middle-earth, there were a lot of actors doing their utmost to appear in the trilogy.

Elijah Wood has explained an unusual process for his role as Frodo. Seemingly, Wood had realized the enormity of the project, and recognized he needed to stand out from the crowd to get noticed. Making his own...

Peter Jackson is a celebrated director today, with most fans knowing him from his Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies. While adapting Tolkien's work is what brought the director mass acclaim, he was already a successful director before The Lord of the Rings, with several hits to his name. Undoubtedly, his best movie from this period is the based-on-a-true-story psychological thriller, Heavenly Creatures. A break both from his earlier work and different from what would come later, the film would win praise from critics, help establish Jackson as a director and launch the careers of the young actresses who played the starring roles.

Filmed in Jackson's native New Zealand and based on a famous murder case that took place there, the film won countless awards and an Academy Award nomination for Best Screenplay. Featuring Lynskey and Winslet as two young girls who plot and carry out a terrible crime,...

Amazon has launched its Cyber Monday sales, including plenty of horror and genre-adjacent 4K Ultra HDs, Blu-rays, DVDs, e-books, and toys.

These discounts aren’t guaranteed to last, so act fast!

Here are the horror highlights of Cyber Monday 2024 from Amazon…

4K Uhd Collections:

Heavy Metal / Heavy Metal 2000 [Steelbook] – $19.99 The Sandman: Season 1 – $19.99 Dune / Dune: Part Two – $29.99 The Dark Knight Trilogy – $29.99 Batman: 4-Film Collection – $39.99 Paramount Scares: Rosemary’s Baby / Pet Sematary / Crawl / Smile / Sweeney Todd – $39.99 Paramount Scares: Friday the 13th Part 2 / Breakdown / World War Z / Orphan: First Kill – $47.39 Jaws 2 / Jaws 3 / Jaws: The Revenge – $44.99 Jurassic World: 6-Movie Collection – $49.99 The Lord of the Rings: The Motion Picture Trilogy – $54.99 The Ring Collection – $59.29 Mad Max: 5-Film Collection – $69.99 Universal Classic Monsters: 8-Film Collection – $69.99 Hellraiser: Quartet of Torment – $76.45

4K Uhd Movies:

Escape From L.A. – $8.99 Brawl In Cell Block 99 – $9.96 The Expendables – $9.98 Talk To Me – $9.99 John Wick – $9.99 Ghost in the Shell (1995) – $10.49 Mortal Kombat (2021) – $10.89 King Kong (2005) – $10.98 Godzilla (2014) – $10.99 Kong: Skull Island...

Peter Jackson is a three-time Academy Award-winning filmmaker thanks to his contribution to the complex The Lord of the Rings universe, but not all his projects were major successes. In 2009, he directed a supernatural drama that brought him his first "rotten" score.

Jackson gathered a star-studded cast to adapt Alice Sebold's 2002 novel The Lovely Bones, a supernatural drama that didn't impress the critics or the audience. The Lovely Bones is heading to streaming on Paramount+ starting Dec. 1. Despite its substantial budget, the film didn't manage to win it back.

Related An Iconic David Fincher Thriller With 90% on Rotten Tomatoes Hits Paramount+ Next Month

One iconic thriller from David Fincher gets a new streaming home.

The Lovely Bones is a heartbreaking story about a 14-year-old girl who her neighbor murders. She watches over her family, hoping to get vengeance on her killer. The film stars four-time Academy Award-nominee Saoirse Ronan...

As much as we still see Michael J. Fox at various events – whether to bring awareness to Parkinson’s or partake in Back to the Future reunions – we still miss him. That is, we miss seeing him perform. While Fox hasn’t had a substantial role on the big screen since 1996’s The Frighteners – made a few years after his Parkinson’s diagnosis and two years before he even announced it – he has leaned into television with recurring roles on shows like Boston Legal, Rescue Me and The Good Wife, all of which earned him acclaim. And just like we miss seeing him on screens both big and small, Fox himself misses certain aspects of the art.

Speaking with Entertainment Tonight, Michael J. Fox said what really misses about acting is the collaborative process that a set brings, saying, “You go into something and you say, ‘I know what to do here,...

The After Dark Horrorfest was a game-changer back when it premiered in 2006. Not only was this film festival devoted to the horror genre, it was accessible. Founder Courtney Solomon (An American Haunting) chose the best possible venue for this “ultimate celebration of horror”: the big screen. So from November 17 to 21, these hand-picked titles were shown at select theaters across the U.S.

There have been four “sequels” to the After Dark Horrorfest since then, but for many horror hounds like myself, the original one is a bit more meaningful. It was an exciting time for discovery, developing one’s own taste, and for learning what the genre had to offer in the non-mainstream sector.

So in honor of this momentous film fest, we look back at the first “8 Films to Die For”.

The Abandoned (Nacho Cerdà)

Pictured: Anastasia Hille in The Abandoned.

That February following the first After Dark Horrorfest,...

Quick Links The Story of The Frighteners The Frighteners Features One of Michael J. Fox's Funniest & Most Underrated Roles The Frighteners Gave an Early Display of Peter Jackson's Talents to a Wider Audience

From 2001 to 2003, director Peter Jackson forever changed the face of cinema when he pulled off what was thought to be the impossible task of bringing J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings trilogy to life on the big screen. Many people may not be aware of the humble beginnings of Jackson's career, having started by making independent films in New Zealand, but it was The Frighteners that marked one of his first experiences of making a major studio film, one that unfortunately didn't reach the same level of admiration as his later works. The truth is, however, had it not been for the making that he achieved in making that one specific film,...

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When you're young, your favorite movies can leave quite an impression on you. For a nine-year-old boy in New Zealand, it set him on the path towards becoming a filmmaker. Indeed, Peter Jackson's first viewing of Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack's 1933 epic "King Kong" on a tiny television screen inspired him to make movies. In a 2005 interview with NBC News, Jackson said the film had a "profound effect" on him and described its titular ape as "a very special little chap" who captured his heart. When he was 12, he even made a rubber Kong and cardboard model of the Empire State Building and tried to animate it using his parents' Super-8 camera.

What was it about "King Kong" that Peter Jackson loved so much? In an interview with Chud, he once described the film as "a wonderful piece of escapist entertainment.

David Fincher's Fight Club has become a defining piece of '90s cinema and an all-time greatest hit. Yet, Chuck Palahniuk's original novel offers a distinctly different take on the narrator's story. While both versions masterfully explore themes of masculinity, consumerism, and identity, they diverge in several significant ways. From altered character dynamics to completely different endings.

The journey from page to screen resulted in numerous creative decisions that reshaped Palahniuk's work, with the Fight Club creator even revealing some problems he had with the iconic Brad Pitt movie. Some changes were necessary adaptations for the visual medium, despite initial box-office struggles, while others represented more deliberate choices in how to tell this complex story in ways only David Fincher can.

How Fight Club's Narrator Meets Tyler Durden A Chance Meeting on a Nudist Beach

The first significant divergence between the book and the film occurs when...

As the prophets of De La Soul once proclaimed, "Three, that's the magic number!" Yes folks, that's right — for the second week on the bounce we have a terrific trio of guests joining us on the Empire Podcast. First up, our features editor Alex Godfrey speaks no evil — and speaks Speak No Evil — with the psychological thriller remake's star (and podcast regular) James McAvoy [19:49 — 34:40 approx]. Then, Amon Warmann sits down for a chat with Kate Winslet, star of wartime biopic Lee [56:50 - 1:12:15 approx]. And last but most certainly not least, we have for your listening delectation the interview that the entire podteam did with Reawakening star and all-round acting legend Juliet Stevenson during last week's live show at the London Podcast Festival [1:41:33 — 1:57:42 approx].

Either side of those, Chris is back in the pod booth after a rare holiday and hosts Helen, James and Alex Godfrey as they discuss films from 1996 that deserve sequels — and...

Throughout the last two decades, Peter Jackson has become one of modern cinema's most celebrated directors. With his directorial work on The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit franchises, along with his most recent project, a five-Emmy-winning Disney+ original docuseries on The Beatles titled Get Back, it's almost hard to believe that Jackson cut his teeth in the B-horror genre. Starting his career with cheesy horror films like Bad Taste and Dead Alive, no one safive-Emmy-winningw his transition from gore-filled slaughterfests to Academy Award-winning fantasy films coming.

A few years before his foray into Middle-earth with The Fellowship of the Ring, Jackson teamed with '80s megastar, Michael J. Fox, and the two created possibly the most underrated film of both their careers, with The Frighteners. While the film was seen as a financial failure, not quite making back its budget, it was decently lauded among critics, specifically for its fun performances from Fox,...

Steven Spielberg never had any qualms about the industry he adopted as his own. Hollywood, known for its brutal behind-the-scenes studio politics and overarching artistic ambitions, has instead been a reservoir of Spielbergian dreams. Action, adventure, science-fiction, drama, tragedy, romance, and musical – the director has seen it all and done it all.

Steven Spielberg on the sets of Saving Private Ryan with Tom Hanks [Credit: DreamWorks Pictures, Paramount Pictures]

Meanwhile, the industry has progressed at a steady pace to produce avant-garde cinema. Visions of the scale of Star Wars and Blade Runner were a far cry from the Hitchcock-era thrillers just as Lord of the Rings and Game of Thrones were incomparable to George Lucas’ creations. Spielberg, born between the old and the new, witnessed the changes and contributed to the evolution of Hollywood, helping mold it into a postmodern model of ideas.

Steven Spielberg Remembers Peter Jackson’s Lesson

For Steven Spielberg,...

Peter Jackson's classic Michael J. Fox-led horror film The Frighteners has a brand-new streaming home.

As of September 1, fans can officially catch Michael J. Fox take on the undead forces of evil in Peter Jackson's 1996 classic, The Frighteners, totally free on streaming site Tubi. Written by Fan Walsh and Peter Jackson, the latter of whom also directed, The Frighteners is among the many films in the director's catalog that have gone on to achieve cult status since their original release.

Related Disney's Steamboat Willie Gets the Horror Parody Treatment in Screamboat Trailer

The first trailer for Steve Lamorte's Mickey Mouse inspired horror film, Screamboat, showcases a whole new world of terror.

The Frighteners stars Fox as Frank Bannister, an architect with little concern for anything other than his own interests. After suffering a near-death experience, Bannister finds himself able to both see and communicate with the spirit world.

Michael J. Fox's role in Tim Burton's Mars Attacks! is often overlooked, despite his energetic and sleazy performance as Jason Stone. Mars Attacks! featured a star-studded cast, including Jack Nicholson, Danny DeVito, and Pierce Brosnan, showcasing Burton's influence in the 1990s. Fox's performance in Mars Attacks! is worth remembering, as he found success in experimental films during this era of his career.

Though I and many know Michael J. Fox for his most iconic performance in Back to the Future, we should never forget his role in a famous Tim Burton movie. He gained acclaim as Marty McFly in the Back to the Future franchise, though Fox now has mixed feelings on reboot attempts. After the series ended in 1990, Fox had enough power to collaborate and experiment with his films. He has since retired, but Fox's career might resume post-retirement, as Fox has said that he would...

Peacock has announced the lineup of movies, TV shows, and live sports that will be available on the streaming service in September. The Peacock September 2024 schedule includes Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist, which tells the infamous story of how an armed robbery on the night of Muhammad Ali’s historic 1970 comeback fight transformed Atlanta into the “Black Mecca”).

Celebrate the 50th anniversary of Little House on the Prairie on September 11 (all nine seasons are currently streaming on Peacock). Plus, get a double dose of housewife realness with the two-part reunion of The Real Housewives of Dubai Season 2 uncensored on September 11 and 18, and the season five premiere of The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City on September 19.

Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist

September also brings the spooks! Peacock’s “Face Your Fears” horror collection starts to roll out on the 1st, with more than 75+ Halloween titles arriving in September alone,...

Terrifier actor Michael Leavy speaks about his new horror film, fandom in indie film promotion, and assembling the "Avengers of horror." His new movie, Stream, features a cast including Tim Curry, Jeffrey Combs, Danielle Harris, David Howard Thornton, Dee Wallace, Tony Todd and Bill Moseley, and more.

Leavy's new film follows a family of four on a vacation meant to iron out tensions that goes horribly wrong when they find they can't leave their hotel and have been roped into a game of cat and mouse being broadcast to the world. The film faced hardship due to Covid, but Leavy banked on his fans to back him up. As he told Variety, Covid hit us right in the middle of production and we had used all of our funds for PPE and the Hepa filters [...] So we ended up saying, Lets bring this to the horror community. And we offered...

Spooky season is nearly here.

And Peacock, Universal’s direct-to-consumer streaming platform, has just unveiled its Halloween programming line-up, full of tricks and treats from the studio’s back catalog, as well as two new series (“Teacup” and “Hysteria!”) for some fresh scares.

In 2022 and ’23, there was at least one big Blumhouse movie that simultaneously debuted on Peacock — in ’22, it was David Gordon Green’s trilogy-capping “Halloween Ends” and last year, it was the video game adaptation “Five Nights at Freddy’s”. This year doesn’t have anything quite like that, but it’s still a powerful collection of titles for every viewer.

The Sept. 1 batch includes classics like “Bride of Frankenstein,” “It Came From Outer Space” and “Werewolf of London;” 1980s favorites like “Halloween III: Season of the Witch,” “The Funhouse” and “The Thing;” along with more modern hits like the original “Candyman,” Jordan Peele’s “Us” and several entries in the “Saw” franchise.

Watch the Trailer for Y2K: "On the last night of 1999, two high school juniors crash a New Years Eve party, only to find themselves fighting for their lives in this dial-up disaster comedy."

Directed by Kyle Mooney Written by Kyle Mooney & Evan Winter Produced by Evan Winter, Jonah Hill, Matt Dines, Alison Goodwin, Chris Storer, Cooper Wehde

Y2K - In Theaters on December 6, 2024

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Prime Video Orders Frightening Two-Part Competition Baking Special Killer Cakes from Blumhouse Television and High Noon Entertainment: "Prime Video announced it has ordered the new deliciously-gory, competition baking show, Killer Cakes. The Thursday, October 8, premiere date was also revealed and first-look images. The entire two-part special is set to debut exclusively on Prime Video in more than 240 countries and territories worldwide.

From horror visionaries Blumhouse Television, and Cake Boss creators High Noon Entertainment, Killer Cakes is a one-of-a-kind competition show where bakers with...

This year, Peacock is bringing everything you need to face your fears, with more than 150 new Halloween titles heading to the service through October.

From Universal classics like Frankenstein, The Raven, and Phantom of the Opera to nostalgic favorites like Child’s Play, The Craft, and Candyman to frightening franchises like Saw, The Purge, and Leprechaun, and the best of Blumhouse like Get Out, Halloween Kills, and Happy Death Day, Peacock has all the titles to get you into the Halloween spirit.

Two new originals – James Wan’s horror series Teacup and the satanic panic thriller Hysteria! – and The Mouse Trap‘s streaming debut will also be available.

Peacock Halloween 2024 Lineup

Peacock Originals

October 10: Teacup (Peacock Original)

New Episodes: October 17, October 24; Finale: October 31

Teacup follows a disparate group of people in rural Georgia who must come together in the face of a mysterious threat in order to survive. Inspired by...

Peacock invites you to face your fears this Halloween with more than 150 new horror titles headed to the streaming service from September 1 straight through All Hallow’s Eve.

From Universal classics, like Frankenstein, The Raven and Phantom Of The Opera, and nostalgic favorites, like Child’S Play, The Craft and Candyman, to frightening franchises, like Saw, The Purge and Leprechaun, and the best of Blumhouse, like Get Out, Halloween Kills and Happy Death Day, Peacock aims to be “your Halloween HQ with a full spectrum of scares to enjoy.”

Not to mention, two new originals – James Wan’s horror series, Teacup, and satanic panic thriller, Hysteria! – as well as the streaming debut of The Mouse Trap.

Here’s the full Halloween 2024 lineup from Peacock…

September 1

30 Days Of Night (2007)

Amityville II: The Possession

Amityville 3-D

The Amityville Harvest

Amityville Moon

The Amityville Uprising

Bride Of Frankenstein

Candyman (1992)

Child’s Play (1988)

The Creature Walks Among Us...

Peacock was the underdog streaming service of the summer with the broadcast of the 2024 Summer Olympics. Now, NBCUniversal’s little streamer that could is gearing up to be the primo destination for spooky season. On Tuesday, Peacock declared its intent to “be your Halloween HQ” this year with the addition...

Tubi, Fox’s free streaming service, has announced its list of September titles. The Tubi September 2024 slate features new Tubi Originals and numerous action, art house, Black cinema, comedy, documentary, drama, horror, kids and family, romance, sci-fi and fantasy, thriller, and Western titles.

As a leading ad-supported video-on-demand service, the company engages diverse audiences through a personalized experience and the world’s largest content library: over 200,000 movies and TV episodes, a growing collection of Tubi Originals, and nearly 250 Fast channels.

You can watch the Tubi September 2024 lineup for free on Android and iOS mobile devices, Amazon Echo Show, Google Nest Hub Max, Comcast Xfinity X1, and Cox Contour.

You can also watch the service on connected television devices such as Amazon Fire TV, Vizio TVs, Sony TVs, Samsung TVs, Roku, Apple TV, Chromecast, Android TV, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and on the Tubi site.

Tubi Originals

Action

Hazard – 9/6

Noah really loves his girlfriend,...

Producer Robert Meyer Burnett and marketing executive Mike Bawden have launched Imagination Connoisseur Media Unlimited, a production company for original genre content for dedicated fandoms.

The company’s debut project is “True Noir: The Assassination of Anton Cermak,” a six-and-a-half-hour audio drama based on the Max Allan Collins novel “True Detective.” The ten-episode series is set in Chicago in 1932 and follows the murder of the city’s mayor while attending a Franklin Roosevelt campaign rally in Miami, Fla.

Burnett, who directs and produces “True Noir,” describes it as “a cinematic audio drama, combining traditional storytelling with modern production techniques.” The cast features more than 25 voice actors, including Jeffrey Combs (“The Frighteners”), Pj Byrne (“The Wolf of Wall Street”), Jesse Spencer (“House”), Anthony Lapaglia (“Without a Trace”) and Katee Sackhoff (“Battlestar Galactica”).

Alexander Bornstein composed an original score for the series. Michael McDonald oversaw the sound design.

“We’re focused on...

It doesn’t happen often, but when it does, it’s memorable — a supporting character in a TV series breaks out to such a degree that he changes the entire direction of the series. Fonzie on “Happy Days” is one example; “J.J.” on “Good Times” another. But few have had the cultural impact of cocky conservative teen Alex P. Keaton whose dynamism completely upended the direction of the 1980s NBC sitcom “Family Ties.” Designed as a “hip parents/square kids” show with an emphasis on the parents, Alex wound up becoming the character who popped with audiences, largely thanks to sharp writing by series creator Gary David Goldberg and the comic skill of young Canadian actor Michael J. Fox. Critics, audiences and the Television Academy responded strongly to Fox’s work, rewarding the actor with five Emmy nominations for the role in the 1980s, including three consecutive wins as Best Comedy Actor.

It doesn’t happen often, but when it does, it’s memorable — a supporting character in a TV series breaks out to such a degree that he changes the entire direction of the series. Fonzie on “Happy Days” is one example; “J.J.” on “Good Times” another. But few have had the cultural impact of cocky conservative teen Alex P. Keaton whose dynamism completely upended the direction of the 1980s NBC sitcom “Family Ties.” Designed as a “hip parents/square kids” show with an emphasis on the parents, Alex wound up becoming the character who popped with audiences, largely thanks to sharp writing by series creator Gary David Goldberg and the comic skill of young Canadian actor Michael J. Fox. Critics, audiences and the Television Academy responded strongly to Fox’s work, rewarding the actor with five Emmy nominations for the role in the 1980s, including three consecutive wins as Best Comedy Actor.

The legendary Colonial Theatre in Phoenixville, Pa, as seen in the original horror classic The Blob, is playing host to Beyond Re-Animator: A Jeffrey Combs Retrospective on Friday, June 21 and Saturday, June 22, with Jeffrey Combs himself appearing live!

The special event is presented by Exhumed Films, and it will feature Nine Jeffrey Combs films across the two days, along with trailers, shorts, limited merch, live intros, and Q&As.

From the official press release, “Exhumed Films and The Colonial Theatre are proud to present a weekend-long celebration of one of genre cinema’s most iconic actors. For over forty years, Jeffrey Combs has been a cult movie mainstay and one of the most beloved character actors of his generation. From his breakout role as the deranged scientist Herbert West in Stuart Gordon’s cult classic Re-Animator to his unforgettable appearances in various iterations of the “Star Trek ” franchise, Combs...

The hit and miss nature of both early 2000s horror and the premise are quite obvious in today’s selection. While the original Willard and its sequel Ben are known entities, it’s not like they are the heaviest of hitters in terms of horror property. In fact, Willard is Exactly the type of property that I will always argue needs a remake. Well, needs is a strong word, but it lends itself better to a remake than something as perfect as the first Halloween or Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Willard is a solid movie but underseen by today’s audience and would have maybe been more attractive to the audiences of 21 years ago who maybe grew up with the original. Sadly, that didn’t happen as it was arguably one of 2003’s biggest flops and that’s a huge bummer because not only is the movie fun with great, mostly practical effects,...

Peter Jackson once contemplated erasing his memory about The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Being an avid fan of J. R. R. Tolkien’s novels, the filmmaker crafted a cinematic world that captivated audiences globally and has since become one of the most influential franchises.

The Fellowship of the Ring | Credit: YouTube/Warner Bros. Entertainment

While his films have been a source of joy for fans worldwide, the filmmaker himself never had the opportunity to enjoy the trilogy like an ordinary viewer. And his desire for an unspoiled viewing experience for the film prompted Jackson to consider hypnosis to forget everything about Middle Earth.

Peter Jackson Wanted to Forget The Lord of the Rings Trilogy

In a conversation with The Hollywood Reporter’s Awards Chatter podcast, the Oscar-winning filmmaker Peter Jackson revealed the one reason he regrets being the director of The Lord of the Rings films. He felt like...

Tubi, Fox’s free streaming service, has announced its list of May titles. The May 2024 slate features new Tubi Originals as well as numerous action, art house, Black cinema, comedy, documentary, drama, horror, kids and family, romance, sci-fi and fantasy, thriller, and Western titles.

As a leading ad-supported video-on-demand service, Tubi engages diverse audiences through a personalized experience and the world’s largest content library, which includes over 200,000 movies and TV episodes, a growing collection of Tubi Originals, and nearly 250 Fast channels.

You can watch the Tubi May 2024 lineup for free on Android and iOS mobile devices, Amazon Echo Show, Google Nest Hub Max, Comcast Xfinity X1, and Cox Contour.

You can also watch the service on connected television devices such as Amazon Fire TV, Vizio TVs, Sony TVs, Samsung TVs, Roku, Apple TV, Chromecast, Android TV, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and on the Tubi site.

Tubi Originals

Action...

Michael J. Fox was once one of Hollywood’s brightest young stars. However, after his breakout on the TV show Family Ties and the Back to the Future trilogy, his career ground to a halt. While starring in Spin City as the lead, he revealed to the world he had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease. Doctors told him he had about 10 years left of being functional.

Over 25 years later, Michael J. Fox is talking about beating the odds.

Michael J. Fox Defied Odds After Parkinson’s Diagnosis

Michael J. Fox was only 30 when doctors delivered the news he had Parkinson’s Disease. The diagnosis came in 1991, the year after he concluded the Back to the Future trilogy. He still had a few starring roles coming after that. including Doc Hollywood (1991) and The Frighteners (1996). He also had the starring role in Spin City, which he started in 1996.

However, Fox had...

The Lord Of The Rings trilogy films of the 2000s won fans’ hearts across the globe. While the story was already popular among readers of J.R.R. Tolkien’s fantasy adventure books, the films introduced the epic Middle Earth saga to millions more.

They also made director Peter Jackson and lead actor Elijah Wood, household names. However, many are unaware that at a point, the trilogy’s visionary director had almost been cut out of the project. The Lord Of The Rings trilogy was almost doomed when Harvey Weinstein’s Miramax held its film rights.

Screenshot from The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, Production Diary | Peter Jackson – YouTube Harvey Weinstein Continually Threatened to Fire The Lord Of The Rings Director

The Lord Of The Rings’ Oscar-winning director Peter Jackson and disgraced film producer Harvey Weinstein’s vision for the epic fantasy saga’s big-screen adaptation could not be more different. The...

Ah, "The Addams Family." They're creepy and they're kooky. Mysterious and spooky. They're all together ooky. And so on. The ghoulish Addamses were created by cartoonist Charles Addams in the pages of The New Yorker before Hollywood came calling, adapting Addams' comics into a TV series in 1964. The series followed a family of weirdos who live every day like it's Halloween, much to the confusion of the normal folks all around them. The original "The Addams Family" series lasted only two seasons, running between 1964 and 1966, but its impact and influence continued for decades. 

Sadly, the majority of the original cast of "The Addams Family" are no longer with us. But there's one main player who is still around. 

Read more: Actors Who Damaged Their Bodies Forever For A Movie Role

John Astin (Gomez Addams)

John Astin played Gomez Addams on the show. A former lawyer and frequent cigar smoker, Gomez...

It's hard to imagine anyone besides Alyson Hannigan as the unforgettable sidekick-turned-superpowered Willow Rosenberg in the hit series "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," but the casting directors almost went in a completely different direction. Indeed, the role nearly went to another accomplished television actor — Melanie Lynskey, the Emmy-nominated star of the acclaimed Showtime series "Yellowjackets."

The New Zealand actor kicked off her career with a leading role in Peter Jackson's 1994 film "Heavenly Creatures" opposite "Titanic" star Kate Winslet. She had also appeared in Jackson's 1996 horror-comedy "The Frighteners" -- which, like "Heavenly Creatures," was filmed in New Zealand — when she got the opportunity to audition for "Buffy the Vampire Slayer."

"It was kind of a visa issue, but not really," she told The Hollywood Reporter in 2023. "I also was not sure about doing television at that time. It was very early in my career. I had a very old-school agent who was like,...

“We’re in the mood for a little vivisection.”

We’ve all heard the saying “less is more.” Marie Kondo championed this minimalist sentiment when convincing us to rid our homes of unwanted items and Coco Chanel lived by the rule of taking one accessory off before leaving the house. We’re not sure Peter Jackson has ever heard this saying as his films tend to be extravaganzas filled with lavish plotting, eccentric characters, and over-the-top effects. And we’re not mad about it. Years before he wowed the world with expansive adaptations of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings and a mammoth remake of the 1933 classic King Kong, Jackson honed his delightful excesses in the horror genre culminating in the 1996 splatstick comedy The Frighteners.

Michael J. Fox stars as Frank Bannister, a widower blessed – or cursed – with the ability to see the dead. When he runs afoul...

(Welcome to Tales from the Box Office, our column that examines box office miracles, disasters, and everything in between, as well as what we can learn from them.)

At this point, Peter Jackson's "Lord of the Rings" trilogy is the stuff of pure legend. What the filmmaker accomplished -- filming three of the most sprawling fantasy epics all at once, with all three films turning into monster success stories both critically and commercially -- is made all the more impressive when we consider that before filming J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth saga, Jackson was best known for making smaller-scale horror movies like "The Frighteners." 20 years ago, that success story took its most impressive victory lap when "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" hit theaters.

For all of the financial success (unexpected though it may have been) that both "The Fellowship of the Ring" and "The Two Towers" had achieved,...

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, Peter Jackson was primarily known for very gory, funny horror movies and a surprising drama or two. Then he made an extremely expensive special effects extravaganza aimed at mainstream audiences, which flopped, overshadowed that summer of 1996 by the huge flying saucers of Independence day. That didn't mean the film, called The Frighteners, was bad. On the contrary, for many people it was a fantasy highlight of the nineties, melding Peter Jackson's preferences with impressive technical leaps forward. And it did pave the way for his Lord of the Rings films, proving to many industry insiders he had the producing skills and effects know-how necessary. The Frighteners has had several very decent releases over the...

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

Get your holiday shopping done early with Black Friday sales on horror 4K UHDs, Blu-rays, apparel, and more. These discounts are live as of this posting, except where noted, so act now!

Amazon 4K Uhd Deals:

Assassin’s Creed – $5.99 Knives Out – $7.99 Terminator 2 – $7.99 Interstellar – $7.99 Maleficent – $8.07 Reservoir Dogs – $9.33 Get Out – $9.99 Nope – $9.99 The Blackening – $9.99 The Batman – $9.99 Zack Snyder’s Justice League – $9.99 The Suicide Squad – $9.99 Knock at the Cabin – $9.99 Dune – $9.99 Blade Runner – $9.99 Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves – $9.99 The Shawshank Redemption – $9.99 Jurassic Park – $9.99 Jaws 2 – $9.99 Godzilla vs. Kong – $9.99 Transformers: Rise of the Beasts – $9.99 Everything Everywhere All At Once – $9.99 Edge of Tomorrow – $9.99 Highlander – $9.99 Battlestar Galactica – $9.99 John Wick – $9.99 John Wick: Chapter 2 – $9.33 Ip Man – $10.99 The Invisible Man – $10.99 Train to Busan – $11.21 Looper – $11.49 The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent – $11.49 Us – $11.99 Bram Stoker’s Dracula – $11.99 The Fifth Element – $11.99 Halloween Kills – $11.99 Halloween Ends – $11.99 Terrifier 2 – $13.99 The Green Knight – $13.49 65 – $15.99 M3GAN – $17.85 Carrie [Steelbook] – $19.96 Army of Darkness [Steelbook] – $19.96 Game of Thrones: The Complete Collection – $99.99

Amazon Blu-ray Deals:...

Earlier this month, a serial killer thriller called Squealer was given a theatrical and digital release. You can watch the trailer for that one Here. Squealer drew inspiration from the story of Robert Pickton, a Canadian pig farmer who was charged with killing 26 women (but claimed to have killed 49). He would feed the bodies of his victims to the pigs. Just a couple weeks after Squealer made its way out into the world, another serial killer thriller inspired by the Pickton case has arrived in theatres, and you can watch the trailer for this one, which is called Pig Killer, in the embed above.

Pig Killer is currently playing in the following theatres:

Laemmle LA

Film Noir Brooklyn

Reeding Berkeley

Vancouver – Van City Oaks Cinema Center

It will be receiving a VOD and Blu-ray release next week, on November 21st. Copies are available for pre-order on Amazon.

Directed by Chad Ferrin,...

Not many directors are responsible for a single massive horror franchise. James Wan has three under his belt. Since his 2004 feature debut “Saw,” the Australian filmmaker and founder of the Atomic Monster production company has had a hand in creating some of the most influential horror movies of the 21st century. He’s shown no signs of stopping anytime soon.

Born in Malaysia and raised in Australia since age 7, Wan graduated with a degree in Media from Rmit University in 1999. In 2004, he headed to Hollywood with his friend Leigh Whannell, directing Whannell’s nasty script about a killer who uses deadly games to torment those he deems necessary to punish. Released by Lionsgate, the first “Saw” movie was a ridiculously profitable success, grossing over $103 million on a $1 million budget. It spawned a franchise with a truly intense, labyrinthine mythology and a dedicated fanbase. Although he’s never directed or written a followup,...

Horror remains an extremely versatile genre that terrifies and delights its audience through diverse stories. Ghost stories are one of horror’s oldest subgenres and the concept of supernatural communication with the dead is a very old-fashioned idea that continues to endure. Horror movies that deal with ghosts can be moody tone poems or harrowing encounters with vengeful spirits.

Ghosts are a classical concept, but one that’s still open to creative reinterpretation that some skilled filmmakers push to exciting places. Ghost stories are usually some of the most reliable horror movies and certain films go above and beyond when it comes to the paranormal.

The Frighteners Release Date: July 19, 1996

10 Most Iconic Movie Ghosts

Before Peter Jackson was bringing J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings to the screen and winning Academy Awards, the New Zealand filmmaker was a master of horror. The Frighteners was initially developed as a Tales...

Haunted Mansion is a fantasy horror film directed by Justin Simien, from a screenplay by Katie Dippold. Based on Disney’s theme park of the same name, the film revolves around a mother and a son who hire a motley crew to get rid of the supernatural entities living in their house. Haunted Mansion stars Lakeith Stanfield, Rosario Dawson, Tiffany Haddish, Owen Wilson, Danny DeVito, Chase Dillon, Jamie Lee Curtis, Winona Ryder, and Jared Leto. So, if you loved the Disney film here are some similar movies you could watch next.

Ghostbusters (Peacock & Rent on Prime Video) Credit – Sony Pictures

Synopsis: Suit up for classic comedy! Peter Venkman (Bill Murray), Ray Stantz (Dan Aykroyd), Egon Spengler (Harold Ramis) and Winston Zeddemore (Ernie Hudson) take a chance on going freelance, de-haunting houses in a new ghost removal service. As soon as they open their doors, their first order of business becomes...

Peter Jackson truly hit the public consciousness with the release of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring in 2001. Yet before that, he was creating very different films. Along with his strange puppet-based Bad Taste (1987) and Meet the Feebles (1989), he found his way into other, more high-concept films.

One of these, The Frighteners, was released in 1996, five years before The Lord of the Rings. It contained two elements that Jackson loved in his movies to that point: Horror and comedy. Here's why the film is perfect for a Halloween movie night.

What Is The Frighteners?

In The Frighteners we are introduced to Frank Bannister, played by the always-delightful Michael J. Fox. He is a man who, after the death of his wife, can see ghosts. With this talent, he makes friends with three ghosts from very different time periods. Each one looks the way they did when they died.

All titles below begin streaming for free on October 1 unless otherwise noted:

Originals

Documentary

TMZ Presents:

Tragically Viral

– 10/11-

What happens when the quest for clicks goes too far? TMZ examines the dark & sometimes deadly side of social media in Tragically Viral.

Scariest Monsters In The World

-10/18-

Join us as we embark on this international countdown of the scariest monsters in the world – who will be on your list as the most creepy?

TMZ No Bs: Rich, Famous & Terrified Stars

-10/25-

TMZ examines some of the most downright terrifying experiences celebs have faced that prove being a celebrity isn’t all glitz & glamor.

Horror

Dante’S Hotel

-10/13-

When an unknown assailant preys on a haunted hotel’s patrons, an event planner teams up with a mysterious tenant who’s dark past is the key to freeing the cursed hotel

The Devil Comes To Kansas City

-...

Sitcom actors have often transitioned to successful movie careers, with many becoming household names due to notable film roles. Young and old audiences may be surprised to learn that some of their favorite Hollywood stars began their careers in sitcoms. Prominent actors such as Helen Hunt, Michael J. Fox, Ryan Reynolds, Aubrey Plaza, Jennifer Aniston, Will Smith, Danny DeVito, Steve Carell, Jennifer Lawrence, and Zendaya have all made successful transitions from sitcoms to movies.

There have been a lot of sitcom actors who went on to huge movie careers. It's actually a common career trajectory that has remained mostly unchanged throughout the turn of the century. Even in the age of streaming where movie stars cross over into series as much as the other way around, sitcoms remain potential breeding grounds for the next biggest names in film.

Today, actors who went from sitcoms to movies include both prominent 20th and 21st-century A-listers.

With the Halloween season finally on the horizon, streaming services are pulling out their best content for horror fans, though one platform is boasting a particularly massive lineup.

Peacock, the premiere streaming service of NBC Universal, recently revealed their list of incoming films and television shows for September, with various horror franchises taking the spotlight. From classic monster movies to iconic slashers, the streamer is gearing audiences up for spooky fall viewing. Starting on Sept. 1, Peacock is rolling out dozens of horror films, many of which are brand new to the platform and some of which are completing its collection of entries to entire franchises.

Related: Peacock Premium Prices to Rise in August

For fans of 80s-era slasher movies, the many sequels to Child's Play are headed to the streamer, including the more comedic entries, Bride of Chucky and Seed of Chucky, as well as the second season of the...

The most wonderful time of year is nearly upon us! With Halloween season just around the corner, Peacock unveiled an impressive lineup today of more than 100 Halloween, horror, thriller, and spooky season titles hitting the platform this September.

Get ready, the list is massive…

Whether you’re looking for recent releases like Hypnotic, or cult gems like Slither, Peacock invites you to face your fears in September. Binge complete freakish franchises like Chucky, Saw, and Amityville, or tune-in for fun family fare that includes Ghostbusters and Casper. Look for a variety of classic horror to arrive on the streaming service mid-September.

Speaking of “Chucky,” if you’re looking to catch up on the series ahead of season three, Peacock brings “Chucky” season two to their Halloween HQ on September 4. That gives you a whole month to catch up before the October 4 premiere of “Chucky” season three.

Full Peacock Halloween horror highlights below.

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

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