News

Earth vs. The Spider reimagined Spider-Man’s origins as a horror movie long before his modern film outings. Earth vs. The Spider predates Madame Web, Morbius, and even 2002’s Spider-Man, yet captures many elements present in those movies. Madame Web has promising potential to weave a new legacy of horror and rekindle a terror born in Earth vs. The Spider.

As Madame Web swings into theaters, it comes with the realization that Earth vs. The Spider already put a horrific spin on Spider-Man's legacy. A curious choice for a movie and just one of many Spider-Man spinoffs produced by Sony, Madame Web promises a different kind of superhero film as it attempts to expand the ever-growing Spider-Verse. Undoubtedly one of the inspirational and beloved heroes of all time, Spider-Man comes with plenty of dark implications, and they tend to manifest in cinema under unusual circumstances.

In 1980, Marvel Comics unveiled the mysterious Madame Web,...

When cinephiles of a certain sensibility talk about the best decades for horror, they’ll probably point to the 1980s with its explosion of cutting-edge special effects and home video-induced demand for material. Or they might point to the era of Universal Pictures’ domination in the 1930s, followed up then by the moody Val Lewton thrillers of the 1940s. Maybe even a very unpopular kid will try to make an argument for the 2010s, at least until everyone pulls the A24 hat over his eyes and kicks him out.

But moviegoers would be foolish to overlook the 1960s. The decade saw not only two amazing horror flicks from Alfred Hitchcock but also caught the genre in an interesting time of transition. Filmmakers built on the Gothic approach of previous decades by adding a psychological dimension, finding new chills in an established model. Furthermore, the decade saw the first steps toward the ho,...

The Wraiths of War hits shelves from Titan Books tomorrow, October 11th, so we encourage our readers to continue reading today's Highlights for an exclusive excerpt from Mark Morris' new novel. Also: a new trailer for The Shelter, IFC's "Wake Up and Smell the Evil" Marathon, 360 Degrees of Hell Vr experience, and photos / release details for the Slimer and Sloth pins.

Exclusive Excerpt from The Wraiths of War: Synopsis: "Alex Locke is desperately trying to hold onto the disparate threads of the complex web of time he has created. He travels to the First World War, living through the horrors of trench warfare in order to befriend a young soldier crucial to his story; then to the 1930s to uncover the secrets of a mysterious stage magician. He moves back and forth in time, always with the strange and terrifying Dark Man on his heels, gradually getting closer to...

Exclusive: Roman Kopelevich’s La-based sales company has come on to handle international sales on a reboot slate of ten American International Pictures genre classics from the 1950s.

Cinedigm will distribute the films in the Us and producers Lou Arkoff and Hal Sadoff have lined up a September start on back-to-back shoots for the entire roster.

Cast and directors are expected to be announced shortly on the slate, which the producers aim to turn into an R-rated comic book-style cinematic universe with interconnecting characters.

The roster includes Girls In Prison, Viking Women & The Sea Serpent, The Brain Eaters (pictured); She-Creature and Teenage Caveman.

Rounding out the slate are Reform School Girl, The Undead, How To Make A Monster, The Cool & The Crazy and Day The World Ended.

Former New Line and Fox executive Jeff Katz wrote each script and the ten individual stories will feed into one overarching narrative. Sadoff is the former head of international and media...

Roger Corman fans are familiar with at least a few of them, movie memorabilia collectors have hung posters of them on their walls for decades, and some first saw them at double bill matinees on Saturdays or summer nights at the drive-in. If you have fond memories of watching the pulpy onscreen offerings of American International Pictures from the bucket seat of a Buick or the comfortable cushions of your own couch, then you might be pleased to know that ten of the company’s titles have been acquired by Cinedigm and will be remade as individual films linked together by one massive story arc.

Girls in Prison, Viking Women and The Sea Serpent, The Brain Eaters, The She-Creature, Teenage Caveman, Reform School Girl, The Undead, War of the Colossal Beast, The Cool and The Crazy, and Day the World Ended will all be reimagined, with filming slated to start...

Cinedigm has signed a 10-film deal with Lou Arkoff, Jeff Katz and Hal Sadoff to reinvent a series of American International Pictures (Aip) classics from the 1950s including The Brain Eaters and Girls In Prison.

The trio first introduced the Aip remake slate in Cannes 2013 and have earmarked a September start, planning to shoot all ten titles back-to-back.

Katz has written every screenplay and the stories will feed into an over-arching arc. Cast and directors are expected to be announced shortly.

Cinedigm will release the films theatrically and via DVD, digital, TV and non-theatrical formats. The films will also featured on Cinedigm’s nascent digital network CONtv.

The ten titles are: Girls In Prison; Viking Women & The Sea Serpent; The Brain Eaters; She-Creature; Teenage Caveman; Reform School Girl; The Undead; War Of The Colossal Beast; The Cool & The Crazy; and Day The World Ended.

“In a unique twist on the current film-making model, all ten films...

Don’t call John Fallon a critic.

“I hate that word,” he says, whilst drinking a Guinness. “I’m just a guy who throws his opinions out there and that’s it.”

Just a guy who just directed his first full-length feature, The Shelter, in January. I first met Fallon on the set of his last scripted work, director Christian Veil’s yet-to-be released Billy Trigger, starring Fallon and Fred “The Hammer” Williamson. Fallon plays hard-boiled mob enforcer to Williamson’s thug. His head is shaved and he has a brutish, muscle-laden physique. He is compulsively clad in a leather jacket and jeans. He is, Jack Daniels in hand, quintessentially the guy who just wants a good brew, a broad, and a flick.

Fallon and “The Hammer” Williamson

Hence, why his ratings system includes sections for nudity and gore.

It would be easy for one to mistake his bravado persona...

Producers Jeff Katz, Lou Arkoff, and Hal Sadoff are planning to remake ten drive-in classic titles originally made at American International Pictures in the 1950s.

The list is said to include: "Girls In Prison," "Viking Women & The Sea Serpent," "The Brain Eaters," "She-Creature," "Teenage Caveman," "Runaway Daughters," "The Undead," "War of The Colossal Beast," "Cool & The Crazy" and "Day The World Ended".

All the projects will be shot back to back beginning this fall.

Source: Deadline...

Jeff Katz, Lou Arkoff, and Hal Sadoff are going to remake a bunch of American International Pictures’ (Aip) flicks from the 50s. The plan is to remake 10 movies, with the first group being Girls In Prison, Viking Women & The Sea Serpent, The Brain Eaters, She-Creature, Teenage Caveman, Runaway Daughters, The Undead, War of The Colossal Beast, Cool & The Crazy and Day The World Ended.

“The Aip spirit was all about innovation and giving new young talent a place to create,” said Arkoff. “We are now using that independent spirit and our library of classic titles to create something brand-new for the modern media model, with a coordinated social effort to accelerate interest in these properties. Our goal is to engage young audiences and drive the spirit of the times with the same excitement that fueled these titles decades ago”

Here’s Katz on why he wanted to embark on this...

They might not be quite as strong a part of cinematic tradition over here than in the car-happy Us, but drive-in movie chains and the B-movies they spawned are still a glorious sight to behold. Now a group of producers are planning to remake a batch of classic titles from the 1950s, raiding the library of American International Pictures to bring The Brain Eaters, Teenage Caveman, She-Creature and more back to the world.The team includes Lou Arkoff, son of Samuel Z. Arkoff, who founded Aip in 1954 with James H. Nicholson to churn out such low-budget efforts as The Undead and Viking Women And The Sea Serpent. They intend to remake 10 of the bigger Aip titles, building on their efforts to redo the movies for the Us cable network Showtime in the 1990s. This time, however, their aim is the big screen.“The Aip spirit was all about innovation and...

Viking Women & The Sea Serpent, The Brain Eaters, She-Creature, Teenage Caveman, The Undead, War of the Colossal Beast, and The Day the World Ended. These are a few of my favorite things, and they're now getting remade and more!

According to Deadline, Jeff Katz, Lou Arkoff, and Hal Sadoff plan to remake 10 titles in the Arkoff/Nicholson library of American International Pictures-produced 1950’s classics. Usually the mere idea of remakes sends shivers of woe down our spines, but given the talent involved and the love that I know they have for these projects, we couldn't be happier.

Getting the redux treatment are the following 1950's drive-in classics: Girls in Prison, Viking Women & The Sea Serpent, The Brain Eaters, She-Creature, Teenage Caveman, Runaway Daughters, The Undead, Cool & The Crazy, The Day the World Ended, and my personal favorite, The War of the Colossal Beast. Please.... please... Please... keep the same make-up design for that one!

Signifying our society’s maturing from the sarcastic negativity that defined the ’90s, into the cheerily positive attitude toward brand exploitation that is the more modern form of cynicism, remakes are now in the works for 10 titles from American International Pictures—the B-movie studio perhaps best known as one of the top suppliers of terrible films to Mystery Science Theater 3000. Among the first MST3K-mocked Aip movies being readied for updates are The She-Creature, Teenage Caveman, Viking Women And The Sea Serpent, The Undead, and War Of The Colossal Beast, all of which were churned out on the ...

It has been announced that Jeff Katz, Lou Arkoff, and Hal Sadoff plan to remake 10 Aip horror titles from the 1950′s. If you’re a fan of classic horror films from the 50′s – 70′s, American International Pictures needs no real introduction. They were responsible for dozens of horror cult classics, including Roger Corman’s popular Poe adaptations starring Vincent Price.

The titles being remade are said to include: Girls In Prison, Viking Women & The Sea Serpent, The Brain Eaters, She-Creature, Teenage Caveman, Runaway Daughters, The Undead, War of The Colossal Beast, Cool & The Crazy and Day The World Ended.

The announcement lacked details on the cast and crew involved on these projects, but it’s said that all of them will be filmed back-t0-back with the first movie filming this fall. Most likely, these movies will be similar in quality and scope to what Roger Corman has been doing...

Select titles from American International Pictures' library are being remade, says The Hollywood Reporter.

Those on the roster: Girls in Prison, Viking Women & The Sea Serpent, The Brain Eaters, She-Creature, Teenage Caveman, Runaway Daughters, The Undead, War of The Colossal Beast, Cool & The Crazy and Day The World Ended.

Some of those titles were already remade in the early-'00s.

Read more...

Jeff Katz, Lou Arkoff, and Hal Sadoff plan to remake 10 titles in the Arkoff/Nicholson library of American International Pictures-produced 1950’s classics. That means a steady diet of antiheroes, monsters and naughty girls is back on the menu. They will start with these 1950’s drive-in classics: Girls In Prison, Viking Women & The Sea Serpent, The Brain Eaters, She-Creature, Teenage Caveman, Runaway Daughters, The Undead, War of The Colossal Beast, Cool & The Crazy and Day The World Ended. The plan is to shoot them all back to back, beginning this fall. The question will be how these films, distinguished more than anything by their titles, will play in the modern age. Aip was founded in 1954 by Samuel Z. Arkoff and James H. Nicholson, and churned out 500 low-budget, indies for teens that included the Beach Party series with Frankie Avalon and the late Annette Funicello, as well as the early films of director Roger Corman.

Movies that put the "story" in prehistory!

For the first time since 2008's 10,000 B.C., a caveman movie was the number one movie at the box office this weekend, with DreamWorks Animation's The Croods raking in $44 million domestically and another $62 million in international ticket sales. The Croods takes place during the "Croodaceous Era," a time when modern animals had yet to fully evolve and a neanderthal girl like Eep (voiced by Emma Stone) could fall for a homo sapien boy like Guy (Ryan Reynolds).

Our prehistoric past has long been a source of entertainment on the big screen, inspiring movies of all different genres, from goofy comedies like Encino Man to gritty dramas like Quest for Fire. However they are depicted, cavemen are infinitely fascinating because, quite simply, they are us, but without cars, microwaves, cell phones or personal hygiene. Put on your wooly britches and bone jewelry and help...

Teenage Caveman (2002) "The future sucks." Directed by notorious teen exploitation master Larry Clark, this is a movie that many people hate with a passion. For me it is just a ridiculous attempt at social commentary, with an overwhelming amount of nudity thrown in. Plot Synopsis: In a post apocalyptic future a group of outcast teenagers find two people who have figured out a way to live forever. The DVD is easy to find and it is currently…...

It takes a twisted creative genius to produce a compellingly bad film. It doesn't sound like Madonna's W.E. makes the cut

Like the vast majority of you, I presume, I'll probably give W.E. a miss. I did have momentary hopes for Madonna's biopic of Wallis Simpson; by the time the house lights had risen on the Venice film festival, the vultures of Twitter were already circling. This looked like it could be special. Then came Xan Brooks's review offering tantalising promises of something "jaw-dropping" and "risible", including a scene where Wallis dances with a Masai tribesman to the strains of the Sex Pistols' Pretty Vacant. Hello, is that the ticket office?

Then came the crushing disappointment. Further exploration unearthed critics on the Telegraph, the Mail, the Independent, the Hollywood Reporter and beyond using dreaded phrases like "redeeming features"; "breath of fresh air" and "lovely frocks". The critics, alas,...

Since the earliest days of American cinema there has been a shadowy counterpart to the commercial mainstream: exploitation movies — pictures whose appeal lies in their sensational treatment and leering promotion of often lurid and prurient material. Pre-1960, when mainstream Hollywood worked within severe restrictions on content, exploitation movies offered audiences titillating glimpses of the deliciously taboo, usually under the guise of being some sort of instructional cautionary against the very subject matter being exploited i.e. sex in “hygiene” movies like The Road to Ruin (1934), drugs in anti-drug movies like Tell Your Children (1936, re-released in the 1960s/70s as camp classic Reefer Madness), and gambling in the anti-vice Gambling with Souls (1936).

By the 1950s, as the studios entered their long post-war decline, downscale producers launched a new vein of exploitation moviemaking, churning out low-budget thrillers (mostly sci fi and horror) aimed squarely at the burgeoning youth audience. Again, the movies were cheap,...

Albuquerque – This sleepy town is getting rocked awake by a mad bomber in Deadly Impact. Thomas Armstrong (Boondock Saints’s Sean Patrick Flanery) is a cop that is forced to shoot his wife in order to save 10 people that are being held hostage by The Lion (The Matrix’s Joe Pantoliano). The ugliness of the moment cause Armstrong to quit the force and devote himself to booze. Eight years later The Lion reappears. The FBI wants Armstrong’s help in identifying him, but can he tangle with the diabolical madman who has promised to blow up the city?

Deadly Impact is an action rush with Pantoliano using the power of Bluetooth for evil. Here’s the trailer for the film:

The movie is out on DVD this week. I had a chance to swap email with Director Robert Kurtzman and Producer David S. Greathouse. The duo had previously made Buried Alive.

Fangoria is hosting the West Coast premiere of Pig Hunt, Jason X director Jim Isaac’s action-packed horror-thriller, at the American Cinematheque’s Egyptian Theater in Los Angeles (6712 Hollywood Boulevard) tomorrow night, Tuesday, May 5 at 7:30 p.m. Isaac and his cast and crew will be attending, as well as many other special guests (see below). The event will also feature free giveaways, live performances and a few crazy stunts guaranteed to make for a memorable night.

Pig Hunt follows a bunch of macho city friends as they head into the backwoods of Northern California to hunt wild porkers, only to encounter crazed rednecks, half-nude cult girls, assorted other human miscreants and a savage, 3,000-pound flesheating boar right out of Razorback. Critic Zack Smith of Indyweek.com calls Pig Hunt “Damn fun from start to finish,” while Mitch Davis of Montreal’s Fantasia film festival says, “The wildest American horror film of the year…...