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Death Becomes Her is headed to the stage.

Universal Theatrical Group is developing a new musical comedy adaptation of Robert Zemeckis' 1992 film, starring Emmy and Tony winner Kristin Chenoweth as Madeline Ashton.

Written by Martin Donovan and David Koepp, the film Death Becomes Her starred Meryl Streep as Madeline Ashton, a woman who gets her hands on an immortality potion and tries to outdo her longtime rival, played by Goldie Hawn. Also featuring Bruce Willis and Isabella Rossellini in its cast, the Universal horror-comedy won the Oscar for best visual effects and grossed $149 million worldwide.

No word yet on whether the...

The last film by James Whale (Frankenstein, The Old Dark House) is a forty-minute short based on a one-act play by William Saroyan. Whale had directed the play in 1942 as part of a show to entertain Us troops passing through La. The opportunity to film it arrived through strange circumstances.Millionaire Huntington Hartford loved his wife, Marjorie Steele, who was an actress. He decided to bankroll a series of short films showcasing her talents. Somehow Whale, who was thoroughly retired from film direction, was approached, and he welcomed the idea of adapting Saroyan's lonely parable to the screen. Harry Morgan was recruited as male lead.Like a lot of late works, this one needs approaching with a sympathetic attitude. The play is built around its title, a line shouted like a refrain throughout the piece. For some reason, Harry Morgan shouts every other line too. This was far from Morgan's debut,...

It’s a genuine Universal horror classic that to my knowledge has never been available in a decent presentation — but The Cohen Group has come through with a nigh-perfect Blu-ray, both image and sound. Karloff is creepy, Gloria Stuart lovely and Ernest Thesiger is at his most delightfully fruity. And the potato lobby should be pleased, too.

The Old Dark House (1932)

Blu-ray

The Cohen Group

1932 / B&W / 1:37 flat full frame / 72 min. / Street Date October 24, 2017 / 25.99

Starring: Boris Karloff, Melvyn Douglas, Charles Laughton, Lilian Bond, Ernest Thesiger, Rebecca Femm, Raymond Massey, Gloria Stuart, John (actually Elspeth) Dudgeon, Brember Wills.

Cinematography: Arthur Edeson

Film Editor: Clarence Kolster

Special Makeup: Jack Pierce

Written by Benn W. Levy, from the novel by J. B. Priestley

Produced by Carl Laemmle Jr.

Directed by James Whale

I suppose fans of horror films will forever hope that some pristine copy of the lost 1927 London After Midnight will someday appear.

2017-10-13T11:48:56-07:00'Happy Death Day' Gets Off to a Solid Start

Happy Death Day, a new horror movie that borrows its premise from Groundhog Day, took in $1 million during Thursday-night previews. That's a decent, if not ourstanding, start, and it shows that the film is likely to take the number-one spot for the weekend. It's not going to be a hit on anything like the scale of Stephen King's It, however, and it won't even match the disappointing opening of last week's Blade Runner 2049.

Via The Hollywood Reporter.

Happy Death Day took in $1 million in Thursday-night previews at 2,450 theaters at the North American box office.

The Universal horror pic, produced by Jason Blum's Blumhouse, stars Jessica Rothe as a college student who relives the day of her murder over and over until she discovers her killer's identity. Directed by Christopher Landon...

“We belong…Dead!”

Please join Washington University’s Film and Media Studies and the Center for the Humanities as they celebrate the 200th anniversary of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein with a free screening of Bride of Frankenstein (1935) and Young Frankenstein (1974). The event takes place at Brown Hall, Room 100, Washington University in St. Louis Friday October 20th, 2017 at 7.00 pm. This is a Free event and there will be free popcorn and soda there as well.

Two hundred years have passed since Mary Shelley, the British novelist and dramatist, published her novel Frankenstein. Since that moment, her creation has not only caused a big impact in the literary world, but also in cinema, an art that was not even alive when the monster was born. In celebration of Frankenstein’s upcoming birthday, Film and Media Studies and the Center for the Humanities at Washington University in St. Louis is organizing a free...

In the mid ’40s, the Universal Monsters were in a tough spot. Up until then, the ’40s had been a nonstop flow of sequels and one-offs, with an avalanche of Invisible Men, Draculas (Draculi?), and the odd Frozen Ghost here and there releasing at a steady clip. But this high release rate had made them stale, and by the time 1946 came around, the studio was in desperate need of a new, recognizable monster.

Enter Rondo Hatton. A journalist-turned-b-movie-bit-player, Hatton had been afflicted with acromegaly for most of his adult life, which enlarged his jaw and pronounced his forehead over the years. This distinctive appearance led to him being cast as nameless goons up until the ’40s, when he got his big, career-defining role as The Creeper.

Curiously, The Creeper’s first appearance wasn’t in a horror film at all. It was in The Pearl of Death (1944), one of the...

“It” is the much-anticipated and much-needed Stephen King adaptation. In addition to opening Friday with high box-office expectations, “It” also represents the fervent wish of every exhibitor that the dreadful summer of 2017 will recede like a bad dream.

Advance estimates suggest “It” could reach $70 million for its opening weekend. Anything over $62.5 million would top “Rush Hour,” the September record holder (in adjusted figures). Even if it did as little as $50 million, it should propel the weekend to a height it hasn’t seen in three months: More people would go to theaters than the same weekend in 2016.

Read More:It’s the Worst Labor Day Box Office Ever, as ‘Hitman’s Bodyguard’ is #1 by Default

The year-to-date total for North America is just under $7.6 billion, about $500 million less than the 2016 post-Labor Day box office. However, there’s still four months left — a full third of the year — to make up the gap.

Both Halloween Horror Nights Hollywood and Orlando are only a couple of weeks away from opening their doors, and they’re still announcing new additions to their events! Today they’ve revealed that both locations will be getting a hefty dose of… Continue Reading →

The post Universal Horror Nights Announces The Horrors of Blumhouse appeared first on Dread Central.

Even lesser Abbott & Costello movies are still comedy gravy to the avid fans of the fast-talking duo. Their first film deal away from Universal yields a so-so production graced with a string of their patented old-time comedy routines. And the transfer beats anything we’ve yet seen.

The Noose Hangs High

Blu-ray

ClassicFlix

1948 / B&W / 1:37 Academy / 77 min. / Street Date August 15, 2017 / available through ClassicFlix / 24.99

Starring: Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Joseph Calleia, Leon Errol, Cathy Downs, Mike Mazurki, Fritz Feld, Murray Leonard, Ellen Corby, Russell Hicks, James Flavin, Minerva Urecal, Fred Kelsey.

Cinematography: Charles Van Enger

Film Editor: Harry Reynolds

Assistant Director: Howard W. Koch

Original Music: Walter Schumann

Written by John Grant, Howard Harris from an earlier screenplay by Charles Grayson, Arthur T. Horman story by Julian Blaustein, Daniel Taradash, Bernard Feins

Produced and Directed by Charles Barton

A few famous movie comedy teams prospered with good will and parted with hugs,...

On paper it’s a western with everything — a major star, decent supporting players, a cult director and sideways references to the blacklisting years. But even with its ya-gotta-see-it-to-believe-it high noon showdown scene, Joseph H. Lewis’s last feature film is still a lower-tier United Artists effort. Sterling Hayden goes up against Sebastian Cabot and Nedrick Young, armed with a, with a . . . aw, you probably know already.

Terror in a Texas Town

Blu-ray

Arrow Academy

1958 / B&W / 1:85 widescreen / 80 min. / Street Date July 11, 2017 / Available from Arrow Video / 39.95

Starring: Sterling Hayden, Sebastian Cabot, Carol Kelly, Eugene Martin, Nedrick Young, Victor Millan, Frank Ferguson, Marilee Earle, Byron Foulger, Glenn Strange.

Cinematography: Ray Rennahan

Original Music: Gerald Fried

Written by Dalton Trumbo, fronted by Ben Perry

Produced by Frank N. Seltzer

Directed by Joseph H. Lewis

Auteurists in the early 1970s championed directors like Phil Karlson, Budd Boetticher and Anthony Mann. These stylists...

Matt Reeves has a lot to live up to as director of The Batman. As well as helming the first solo movie for the iconic hero since Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy, Reeves has also taken over from Ben Affleck, who fans were excited to see direct the film. Fortunately, it seems that he has a strong vision for what he wants to do with the character and has set himself some lofty inspirations to reach.

While talking with CNET to promote his latest movie, War of the Planet of the Apes, Reeves spoke about how he really wants to focus on a sense of perspective for the film, and how he’s being influenced by one of the greatest directors of all-time.

“For me, point of view is really important. I want to make sure you are experiencing something from the perspective of the main character in the story. I’m a huge Hitchcock fan – I like the idea of being immersed in that perspective.”

Invoking Hitchcock’s name is a bold move by Reeves, but the directors of Batman movies have always looked to classic cinema for inspiration. Tim Burton’s entries are a strange mix of film noir and old Universal horror movies, while Nolan’s love for James Bond and Michael Mann’s work can be seen throughout his series.

Still, this doesn’t mean that Reeves envisions The Batman as a thriller, like most of Hitchcock’s movies. Instead, he wants to employ Hitch’s use of perspective to ensure the audience can empathize with Batman.

“Movies for me are about empathy. The idea is to make you, the audience, feel what the character feels.”

If Reeves can evoke Hitchcock’s celebrated command of suspense and tone, and then combine it with a lot of emotion and a sympathetic portrayal of the Dark Knight, we should be in for a real treat with The Batman, which will hopefully arrive sooner rather than later.

Summer allegedly belongs to the blockbusters, but this June's offering up some spotty pickings in the franchise world, beyond the rise of a long-deserving female superhero and the remounting of a Universal horror landmark. So feel free to ditch Cars 3, Despicable Me 3, and Transformers: Dear God How Many Has It Been Now and give something a little off the beaten path a look. Like, maybe, a boundary-busting romcom, or a musical thrill ride forged from vinyl, or an enigmatic slow-burn horror oddity. Here's what you need to check...

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This week sees the 40th anniversary of Woody Allen’s Annie Hall so a career overview for the brilliant humorist/director seems in order.

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Take the Money and Run originally had a different ending that was cut by editor Ralph Rosenblum. What was it?

Woody is killed in a bloody gun ambush. Woody becomes president. Woody appears to tear a hole in the movie screen and “escapes” into the theater.

Last week, I had the opportunity to sit down filmmaker Bill Condon to talk about his live-action adaptation of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast. We discussed the changes he made to the Disney classic, hiding Universal horror homages in his work, the film’s incredible production design, and a taste of the deleted scenes fans can expect […]

The post ‘Beauty and the Beast’ Director Bill Condon on the Changes He Made to Disney’s Classic, Deleted Scenes & More [Interview] appeared first on /Film.

Universal is shooting for the moon.

The studio on Tuesday announced that its Neil Armstrong biopic will be titled First Man. The drama, which reteams La La Land director Damien Chazelle with Ryan Gosling, is set to land in theaters on Oct. 12, 2018.

First Man is currently the only studio movie slated to open on that date. It is sandwiched between two Warner Bros. titles — superhero pic Aquaman bows the weekend before and Jungle Book: Origins is scheduled for the weekend after. A Universal horror film is also set to bow the weekend after First Man.

Written by Josh...

To celebrate the release of Tower of London – out Dual Format 13th Feb. 2017 – we are giving away a copy courtesy of Arrow Video!

Having made their mark on American horror cinema with three colourful adaptations of Edgar Allan Poe – The Fall of the House of Usher, Pit and the Pendulum and Tales of Terror – Vincent Price and director Roger Corman enjoyed a brief hiatus from the macabre author with Tower of London. Shot in black and white, the film was loosely based on the Universal horror picture of the same name as well as two Shakespeare plays: a dash of Macbeth and a dollop of Richard III.

Price plays Richard of Gloucester, brother to a dying king and eager to take his place on the throne. When he is overlooked in favour of their sibling, the Duke of Clarence, things take a murderous turn. Richard goes on a murderous rage,...

Fox’s first official monster movie is a terrific-looking but mostly flat mystery that tries its utmost not to be a horror film at all. It’s a head scratcher that will interest fans of the expressive John Brahm, and help completists scratch another werewolf film off their gotta-see lists.

The Undying Monster

Blu-ray

Kl Studio Classics

1942 / B&W / 1:37 flat Academy / 62 min. / Street Date December 13, 2016 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95

Starring James Ellison, Heather Angel, John Howard, Bramwell Fletcher, Heather Thatcher, Aubrey Mather, Halliwell Hobbes, Alec Craig, Holmes Herbert, Eily Malyon, Charles McGraw.

Cinematography Lucien Ballard

<Film Editor Harry Reynolds

Original Music Emil Newman, David Raksin

Written byLillie Hayward, Michel Jacoby from a novel by Jessie Douglas Kerrruish

Produced by Bryan Foy

Directed by John Brahm

Reviewed by Glenn Erickson

After the heyday of Universal horror in the first half of the 1930s, horror pictures went on the decline for over twenty years.

Released 40 years ago today, Brian De Palma’s 1976 adaptation of Stephen King’s debut novel Carrie remains a masterpiece of modern horror. It is a teenage pop nightmare of a film, a dreamy exploration of horrors both real and supernatural. Expertly directed, gorgeously photographed and acted with total sincerity by a cast of then-newcomers, it remains one of the very best King adaptations despite being first out of the gate.

Know how I know De Palma’s Carrie is a brilliant adaptation and one of the best horror movies ever made? Because other filmmakers have tried adapting it three other times across three other decades: Katt Shea in 1999 (with The Rage: Carrie 2, basically a Carrie remake and the best of the lot), David Carson for SyFy in 2002 and, most recently, Kimberly Pierce in 2013. None of them come close to touching the 1976 original.

From its famous opening sequence, in which...

Yesterday, amid a crush of sweaty people desperate for last-minute props, I visited a local Halloween superstore with my daughter, looking for a Pikachu mask. Well, there wasn’t much to choose from in the Cute Kid Division. But this particular hall of Halloween hell definitely had the adult sensibility covered. Of course there were the usual skimpy or otherwise outrageous costumes for purchase —ladies, you can dress up like a sexy Kim Kardashian-esque vampire out for a night of Hollywood clubbing, and gents, how about impressing all the sexy Kim Kardashian vampires at your party by dressing up like a walking, talking matched set of cock and balls! It’s been a while since I’ve shopped for fake tools of terror, but it seems there’s been a real advance in sophistication in the market for “Leatherface-approved” (I swear) chainsaws with moving parts and authentic revving noises,...

John Zacherle, one of the earliest and best known in the wave of horror-show hosts who haunted local TV markets in the 1950s and ’60s, died Thursday at his home in New York City. He was 98. Known primarily as the Cool Ghoul, Zacherle, who sometimes spelled his name Zacherley, debuted his popular, crypt-dwelling undertaker character in Philadelphia before moving to New York City in 1958. As classic Universal horror pictures were re-aired countless times on local TV…...

Tim here. Today is the 100th anniversary of the birth of director Jack Arnold, and if your response to hearing that name is a polite look of blank incomprehension, I wouldn't feel bad. Arnold's not exactly a household name and never has been, but you wouldn't want to imagine what classic sci-fi would look like without him. For a short time in the 1950s, Arnold was possibly the most admirable genre film director in Hollywood. I can't think of any better way to demonstrate how singularly iconic his work has been than to point out that he's the only filmmaker to have two different films named dropped in "Science Fiction/Double Feature", the opening number from The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

Undoubtedly the film for which Arnold remains best-known is the 1954 Creature from the Black Lagoon (and it's dimwitted first sequel, Revenge of the Creature, but it wouldn't be sporting...

The King Baggot Tribute will take place Wednesday September 28th at 7pm at Lee Auditorium inside the Missouri History Museum (Lindell and DeBaliviere in Forest Park, St. Louis, Missouri). The 1913 silent film Ivanhoe will be accompanied by The Rats and People Motion Picture Orchestra and there will be a 40-minute illustrated lecture on the life and career of King Baggot by We Are Movie Geeks’ Tom Stockman. A Facebook invite for the event can be found Here

Here’s a comprehensive look at the life and career of King Baggot

Article by Tom Stockman

They gathered to see the stars at St. Louis Union Station on Saturday March 25th 1910. President Taft had made a stop near the Twentieth Street entrance ten days earlier, but the crowd this day was much larger. Thousands, mostly excited women wearing ankle-length dresses and waving felt pennants lined up hoping for a glimpse, or perhaps...

Comedy is very subjective but a great comedy will stand the test of time and continue to make generation after generation laugh. Some people like their humor dry, while some like it shocking and offensive. Whatever your taste, good humor will always be out there. Here are 20 great comedies that will no doubt continue to be appreciated in the future.

20. Fargo: The Cohen Brothers funniest black comedy may not be for everyone's taste, because it is quite violent. However, underneath all that is a droll observation on the human condition, highlighted by a winning performance from Frances McDormand as a very likeable and very pregnant police chief. Her character police chief Marge Gunderson is kind, clever and compassionate. She’s a much more admirable role model than all the recent ‘badass female’ clichés we’ve been inundated with lately. Another standout here is William H. Macy as a two-bit schemer who's plan utterly backfires.

The King Baggot Tribute will take place Wednesday September 28th at 7pm at Lee Auditorium inside the Missouri History Museum (Lindell and DeBaliviere in Forest Park, St. Louis, Missouri). The 1913 silent film Ivanhoe will be accompanied by The Rats and People Motion Picture Orchestra and there will be a 40-minute illustrated lecture on the life and career of King Baggot by We Are Movie Geeks’ Tom Stockman. A Facebook invite for the event can be found Here

Here’s a look at the final phase of King Baggot’s career.

King Baggot, the first ‘King of the Movies’ died July 11th, 1948 penniless and mostly forgotten at age 68. A St. Louis native, Baggot was at one time Hollywood’s most popular star, known is his heyday as “The Most Photographed Man in the World” and “More Famous Than the Man in the Moon”. Yet even in his hometown, Baggot had faded into obscurity.

Comedy legend Gene Wilder has passed away, after complications with Alzheimer's disease. He served as Mel Brooks's leading player, producing such classics as Blazing Saddles, The Producers and Young Frankenstein. After those films, he also frequently starred opposite Richard Pryor. But to many he will always be remembered for the hilarious sly cruelty of his Willy Wonka, a performance that seen from a childhood gaze is awe-inspiring and warm only to become more delectably rotten in adulthood.

After the passing of his wife Gilda Radner (Wilder also had his own battle with cancer), he mostly stepped out of the spotlight, leaving those mentioned behemoths to speak for his legacy. For me, his Frederic Frankensteen is the one that sticks - all barking neuroses and feigned composure while lampooning the heightened acting styles of Universal horror classics. The performance is so physical and modulated to extremes that his comedy becomes like a set piece,...

Two of the most iconic Universal movie monsters will be celebrated in Complete Legacy Collection Blu-rays due out on September 13th from Universal Studios Home Entertainment.

Containing several discs and packed with multiple films and plenty of bonus features, both The Wolf Man: Complete Legacy Collection Blu-ray and Frankenstein: Complete Legacy Collection Blu-rays are priced at $29.72 apiece. We have each release’s bonus features and a look at their cover art:

The Wolf Man: Complete Legacy Collection Blu-ray details (via Amazon): “The original Wolf Man is one of the silver screen’s most unforgettable characters and, along with the other Universal Classic Monsters, defined the Hollywood horror genre. The Wolf Man: Complete Legacy Collection includes all 7 films from the original legacy including the eerie classic starring Lon Chaney Jr. and the timeless films that followed. These landmark motion pictures defined the iconic look of the...

The King Baggot Tribute will take place Wednesday September 28th at 7pm at Lee Auditorium inside the Missouri History Museum (Lindell and DeBaliviere in Forest Park, St. Louis, Missouri). The 1913 silent film Ivanhoe will be accompanied by The Rats and People Motion Picture Orchestra and there will be a 40-minute illustrated lecture on the life and career of King Baggot by We Are Movie Geeks’ Tom Stockman.

By 1913, the American film industry had been around for over twenty years. In 1909 Carl Laemmle, a renegade and maverick movie mogul and film distributor, founded his own company in New York — the Yankee Film Company. Laemmle also started producing movies in Fort Lee, New Jersey that same year. His first company was called the Independent Motion Pictures (Imp) Company, aka Imp Studios. Soon however, Laemmle would be making plans to journey West where he would expand his film production and in 1912 co-founded the Universal Film Manufacturing Co.

Shock takes a brief, critical look at Hammer’s original 9-picture Dracula film series. When England’s Hammer Studios invested some of their capital and produced 1957’s full-color, full-blooded, adult-geared riff on the classic Universal horror film with Terrence Fisher’s The Curse Of Frankenstein, they changed the way we watch horror movies. Filled with sadism, cruelty, sexuality…

The post Hammer’s Dracula Cycle: A Critical Look appeared first on Shock Till You Drop.

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Penny Dreadful delivers more sexy, Gothic melodrama in its latest episode, No Beast So Fierce...

This review contains spoilers.

3.6 No Beast So Fierce

Now that they have the first recruit to their cause, Dorian and Lily begin gathering more fallen women to battle against the men who abused them at Dorian’s home. He’s starting to feel a little outnumbered, however, and Justine is vying for his place in Lily’s affections as well as becoming a little too bloodthirsty where he is concerned. John Clare manages to visit his son, but in doing so, scares the poor child into hysterics as he watches what was once his father flee into the night.

Ethan continues to battle against his father as Hecate’s power over him grows. Sir Malcolm’s concern deepens in tandem as he battles to save his wayward sort-of adopted son from his actual father,...

One of the darkest of dark comedies to be released by a major studio in the early ’90s, Death Becomes Her is something of a minor miracle. It casts three A-list actors in a special effects comedy about nasty people doing nasty things to one another. It wreaks havoc on the human body to score macabre laughs. Hollywood comedies are rarely this weird.

While I will forever love him for making some of my favorite movies of all-time, director Robert Zemeckis has a tendency to fall in love with special effects to the point that some of his movies exist to service the FX and not the other way around. My memory of Death Becomes Her was that it was one such movie—a thin premise built around Zemeckis’ desire to showcase advances in the possibilities of computer-assisted effects, which were state of the art at the time. Revisiting it after many years,...

By 1934 Boris Karloff was certainly no stranger to great movie entrances. In 1931, under the direction of James Whale, he seared his image, and that of the monstrous creation of Dr. Henry Frankenstein, into the collective consciousness by shuffling on screen and staring down his creator, and of course the terrified audience, embodying and fulfilling unspeakable nightmares. Frankenstein, an instant phenomenon, was one of 16 pictures Karloff made that were released in 1931.

And in the following year, 1932, in addition of Howard Hawks’ Scarface, Whale’s The Old Dark House and Charles Brabin’s The Mask of Fu Manchu, Karloff had another terrifying entrance in cinematographer-turned-director Karl Freund’s horror landmark The Mummy. As the title fiend, Imhotep, Karloff is first glimpsed in full bandage, sarcophagus laid open behind an unfortunate archaeologist who, engrossed in the parchments he’s discovered, doesn’t notice the mummy’s arm slide down from its bound position.

DC

There was a time when you could count great movie sequels on one, maybe two hands. Certainly those that seemed to surpass the original – Aliens, Terminator 2: Judgement Day, Spider-Man 2, these weren’t just great films, but continuations of what became massive movie franchises. In today’s era, said franchises are everywhere, from the uber-successful Marvel Cinematic Universe to upcoming (and sometime questionable) franchises like Universal horror or… well… Robin Hood. It doesn’t matter what the question is, a stand-alone Friar Tuck movie isn’t the answer.

But that’s the thing about franchises; they’re unpredictable, and seldom work out the way the studios expect. Even the most bankable names and faces can come to a crashing halt – failures like Batman & Robin and Police Academy 7: Mission To Moscow proving so bad that they killed off their entire institutions. Of course, before a time of death is officially announced,...

Close-Up is a column that spotlights films now playing on Mubi. Possession is playing March 12 - April 11, 2016 in the United States.In and out, my mind goesIn and out, he goesTo show me it’s cruelMy trust in youBerlin is drowning me— “Drowning in Berlin,” MobilesIt begins on foot, and ends in the heavens. On 13 February 2014, I took a night off from watching films at the Berlin Film Festival and rode the U-Bahn to Moritzplatz. Between 1961 and 1990, when the German capital was divided, Moritzplatz was one of several stations known as the last in West Berlin: after passing through it, trains proceeded through a succession of ‘ghost stations’ located within (and under) Gdr terrain, not stopping again until the line re-emerged on the ‘more democratic’ side of the Berlin Wall.Above ground, it’s less than 300 feet from Moritzplatz to the corner of Sebastianstrasse and Luckauer Strasse: location of...

Our series on remakes continues and since Universal Studios has announced a new version of the Mummy, set for a 2017 release, it seemed like a good time to dissect the previous attempt to redo this story. This week, Cinelinx looks at The Mummy (1999).

It’s hard to really compare the original Universal Studios version of the Mummy (1932) to the more whimsical remake (1999) because the two are so immensely different. The new version takes the seed of the first film and transforms it into something almost unrecognizable. The 1999 version meets one of the two criteria of making a good remake…Keep the spirit of the original but make it into something new and special. Well, this remake does successfully make the concept of the Mummy into something quite different, but it totally loses the spirit of the 1932 original.

The original is one of the seminal horror classics, creating one of the...

The six-episode return of The X-Files is four shows deep now, with the “event series” adopting more of a “Monster of the Week” format than the solidly connective storyline that many fans had anticipated. Still, this week’s episode, “Home Again,” written and directed by longtime X-Files writer/producer Glen Morgan, made a concerted effort to balance a brand-new monster with Scully and Mulder’s (Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny) emotional “abandoned child” storyline.

Morgan, a longtime fan of Famous Monsters going back to his childhood, took time to break down “Home Again,” discuss some of his favorite X-Files episodes, and recall his Monster Kid roots in our latest FM Podcast. Listen Here!

“This series, maybe more than others, has a very varied fan base,” Morgan tells FM of the challenges to cater to demand. “You have the mythology fans, you have the monster-of-the-week fans, you have the weird science fans,...

We’re back with another look at the best and worst of Hollywood’s remakes. This article will be dissecting a failed attempt to recreate a Universal horror film starring Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi. This week, Cinelinx, looks at The Raven (2012).

In the 1930s, Universal Studios, which specialized in horror and monster movies, teamed up their two cinematic titans of terror Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi in a series of films. The Raven (1935) was their second pairing. While the project was inspired by the Edgar Allan Poe poem “The Raven”, the plot is actually original, designed for the two leading men. The combination of the stars of Frankenstein (Karloff) and Dracula (Lugosi) could elevate even a mediocre film into something memorable. Sadly, the 2012 remake is totally not memorable.

On the plus side, John Cusack is ideally cast in the remake as literary legend Poe, alternately capturing Poe's egotism,...

The new "X-Files" mini-season is almost here -- and with anticipation building, Fox has released a 21-minute sneak peek at the forthcoming episodes that covers Mulder and Scully's reunion, new cast members, creepy crawlies and big twists on the old mythology. Too busy to watch the whole thing? Here are 9 things we learned from the new clip. 1. The first and last episodes are "mythology" episodes, while the rest are standalone (a.k.a. "Monster of the Week") episodes. "I knew that there was a big interest from the fans to see more monster stuff," says Anderson. "But also, we have a big fandom based around the mythology." 2. One of the standalone episodes will be in more of a comedic vein than the others. "There's gonna be standalones, and of those standalones there's gonna be one that's funnier than the others," says Duchovny. 3. Mulder and Scully will be broken up at the beginning of the series.

Universal Pictures

Taking inspiration from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Universal plans on bringing back its monsters for a series of interconnected films that will ultimately bring them together in a single picture not unlike the classic House Of Frankenstein (1944). A reboot of The Mummy, due in 2017, will jettison those plans, which also include remakes of Dracula, Bride Of Frankenstein and The Wolf Man.

Similar things were promised in 2014 when Dracula Untold reached cinemas, but that film’s indifferent reception appears to have caused a rethink. Chris Morgan (Furious 7) and Alex Kurtzman (Transformers) have been brought in as producers, apparently with a remit to reimagine the old films as action spectacles for the comic book crowd, and to say they face an uphill struggle is putting it mildly.

In 2010, Universal’s The Wolf Man remake ended up costing a whopping $150 million after a troubled production that included the usual delays,...

Last year, Universal announced that the studio had green lit a live-action feature film adaptation of the insanely popular Mattel Monster High toy doll series. The film is hotly anticipated and is expected to be Universal.s newest franchise sensation - joining the Jurassic Park, Fast & Furious, and Back To The Future series in the studio's vault - and they have been meticulously developing the project, due out next year. And it now finally has a director. Deadline reports that Ari Sandel, director of the Academy Award-winning short West Bank Story, will assume the helm of the film which Universal presumably hopes will help resuscitate interest in the classic Universal horror monsters like Frankenstein, Dracula, and Wolfman. It was previously announced that the producing team includes Josh Schwartz of Gossip Girls and The Carrie Diaries and Stephanie Savage of The O.C. and Endless Love - she wrote the script ...

HitFix's Ultimate Horror Movie Poll, which highlights the 100 greatest horror films of all time as voted on by over 100 genre filmmakers and experts, not only showcased the enduring power of No. 1 finisher "The Exorcist," it also cemented the status of the '70s and '80s as a Golden Age of horror (films released during those decades took up nearly half of available slots). The '70s and '80s, incidentally, saw the artistic rise and mainstream breakthroughs of both Wes Craven and David Cronenberg, horror icons who placed more films in the Top 100 than any other director (four titles each). Meanwhile, the list revealed one undeniably bleak statistic: only one movie in the Top 100 was directed by a woman.  For me, the most gratifying moment of our Ultimate Horror Poll came when compiling the data was finally over, and I could take a step back and fully appreciate, as a reader,...

Special Mention: Clean, Shaven

Directed by Lodge H. Kerrigan

Screenplay by Lodge H. Kerrigan

1993, USA

Genre: Crime / Psychological Thriller

Lodge H. Kerrigan’s Clean, Shaven is not an easy film to watch. Kerrigan, who wrote, produced and directed this unsettling psychological thriller, traps us inside the mind of a madman for the entire viewing experience. Peter Winter (Peter Greene) appears to be a killer–even worse, a child killer–but not much about him is objectively clear, and we are never sure if what we are seeing is real or a product of his tormented imagination. The film heightens the tension by restricting its focus to Peter’s unsettling, confused, and angry view of the world. The most gruesome violence inflicted on Peter comes by his own hand. In the most unforgettable scene, Peter slowly mutilates his body in order to remove what he believes are a receiver in his...

Summer is the time for superhero films but October is for ghosts and ghouls. Monsters were box-office gold long before superheroes thrived on screen and film buffs know it was the Universal Studios monsters that originated the concept of the shared universe.

Everybody’s doing it. Shared universes, I mean. It’s the ‘In’ thing to do these days. Disney, Fox and Warner Bros are doing it with their comic book characters. Transformers, Ghostbusters and Robin Hood are planning to do it with their franchises. And so are the revamped Universal Monsters. It already started with Dracula Untold, and others are to follow. Of course, it’s not the first time the Universal Monsters shared the screen together.

And that brings us to the point of this article. Since it’s Halloween time, we get into the spooky spirit of the season as Cinelinx looks back at the one that started it all…...

Special Mention: The Bird with the Crystal Plumage

Directed by Dario Argento

Screenplay by Dario Argento

1970, Italy

Genre: Giallo

One of the most self-assured directorial debuts of the 70’s was Dario Argento’s The Bird with the Crystal Plumage. Not only was it a breakthrough film for the master of Giallo, but it was also a box office hit and had critics buzzing, regardless if they liked it or not. Although Argento would go on to perfect his craft in later films, The Bird With The Crystal Plumage went a long way in popularizing the Giallo genre and laid the groundwork for later classics like Deep Red. A difficult film to discuss without spoiling many of its most impressive and famous scenes, The Bird with the Crystal Plumage is a fairly straightforward murder mystery, albeit with many twists, turns and one of the best surprise endings of all time. But...

Director M. Night Shyamalan is known for twist endings in his movies, and his horror film “The Visit” came close but couldn’t pull one off at the box office Monday. The counting went well into the morning, but final figures confirmed the narrow victory projected on Sunday for Sony’s “The Perfect Guy.” The Sony thriller brought in $25.9 million for the three days on 848 fewer screens, with the Universal horror film just behind with $25.4 million, final figures show. Sunday’s estimates had “The Perfect Guy” at $26.7 million and “The Visit” at $25.6 million. Also Read: Why Movies With Black Casts Are.

Review by Sam Moffitt

Being the first is not always a good thing. Many ground breaking artists who introduce something new into the cultural mix do not always fare well after they have changed the rules and the game. Take, just as one example, Orson Welles who changed forever how movies were made as well as radio drama and stage productions. Although Welles made out better than Maila Nurmi, also known as Vampira, the subject of the incredible and unforgettable documentary Vampira and Me.

H Greene first got to know Maila Nurmi when he interviewed her for a documentary called Schlock! The Secret History of Hollywood, (a good documentary in its own right.) Nurmi had grown distrustful of just about everyone, and with good reason. Yet for reasons Greene doesn’t even speculate on she trusted Greene and gave him almost two hours of interview time and discussed every last moment of her bizarre,...

Our partners over at CryptTV are always looking for new and innovative ways to bring you guys the best and most original ways to dole out the horror goodies. This is no exception. Read on for the skinny on an… Continue Reading →

The post CryptTV and Universal Horror Taking You on a Visit Via Snapchat appeared first on Dread Central.

Who would have thought that an 18th century novel would be the inspiration behind Super Saturday’s most hilarious panel at Comic-Con? Victor Frankenstein, the upcoming tale based on Mary Shelley’s classic novel stars James McAvoy as Dr. Frankenstein and Daniel Radcliffe as his trusty assistant Igor. The pair of actors who look like they got along famously on set brought their sense of humour and sexual innuendo to the Hall H stage.

Between the uproarious laughter from the crowd and jokes from the two stars, we still managed to learn a thing of two about Victor Frankenstein. While we cross our fingers and hope that some genius casting agent puts these two in a comedy Asap, here are a few things we learned about the decidedly unfunny Victor Frankenstein:

When you hear the word “Frankenstein,” most of us picture the classic Universal horror monster with green skin and bolts in his neck.

Read More: Attention, Filmmakers: Apply to This Horror Screenplay Contest If you're a fan of the horror genre, pay close attention to what the 2015 Stanley Film Festival has in store. Sff, sponsored by NBC Universal horror network Chiller, is a showcase of classic horror films and a celebration of the genre taking place at the historic Stanley Hotel, the inspiration for "The Shining." The full line up is to be announced on April 2, but the fest has announced its special, interactive events, which are sure to entice any horror aficionado.  The festival takes place April 30-May 3. Tickets are on sale now and include all access packages to stay at the hotel for all three nights of the festival. For more information regarding tickets and the festival, go here. All events, which descriptions provided by the festival, are listed below. 2015 Special EVENTSImmersive Horror Game, bleeding seamlessly into the atmosphere of fear...

For decades, Estes Park, Colorado has been a destination for road-tripping horror hounds, as Stephen King was struck with the idea for The Shining while staying at the Stanley Hotel. But since 2013, fright fans have had another big reason to pay the famous hotel a visit: the Stanley Film Festival.

After screening feature films both old and new and hosting special guests galore in their first two years, the third annual Stanley Film Festival is quickly approaching, and we're teaming up with the festival for live coverage and special opportunities for Daily Dead readers.

Today, we have the first details on the special experiences and events that will be taking place during all four days of the festival, including musical acts, scare zones, trivia, and a special screening of The Rocky Horror Picture Show:

"March 31, 2015 (Denver, Co) - Set at the historic Stanley Hotel, inspiration for Stephen King's The Shining,...

Kate or Die “Little Ghost” (2014-present; updates whenever)

Written and drawn by Kate Leth

In November 2014, Kate Leth decided to switch over the format of her Kate or Die! from autobiographical to a young adult story starring various ghosts, monsters, and beasties. The story was later titled “Little Ghost” and currently has eleven chapters. The last update ends on a cliffhanger, and Leth posted on her website that it will be continued in 2015 with updates coming between her various projects, like Bravest Warriors and Edward Scissorhands. For now, “Little Ghost” is an adorable teen monster mystery with a diverse cast of characters and lush coloring that you’ll wish had more installments.

The basic premise of “Little Ghost” is that a bunch of Universal horror-type monsters (who happen to be cute teenagers) are going to a big house party thrown by Lucy, a happy girl with a veiny, heart shaped head.