Horror Squad, Horror Movies, News, Trailers, and More

I've been a Stephen King fan since the days of my early childhood. If you loved horror and came of age in the late 1970s/early 1980s, then you were likely the same. It started before I could even read his books -- I have a mother who devoured each new King novel as soon as it hit the library and I was always fascinated by the lurid covers and titles.

By the time I was in sixth grade, I was reading King on my own -- and while I think a lot of his recent work pales in comparison to the early years (I think everything after It has been part of the downward slide -- there are some good books in there, but nothing quite like the classics), I still get excited for each new novel or collection the author releases.

I've read almost everything King's ever written (there are a few really rare odds and ends I've missed over the years), but The Crate was not one of them. This long lost King novella should be familiar to anyone who saw Creepshow because it was adapted for the film. However, outside of a 1979 appearance in the adult magazine Gallery, the original story has never been in publication.

That changes when Cemetery Dance's Shivers VI collection hits retailers sometime in the near future. The lastest installment in the popular anthology will come in a limited and lettered edition as well as a trade paperback version for the non-collector who simply enjoys a good spooky tale. Featuring tales by Brian Keene, Peter Straub, Brian Hodge and other horror luminaries, this would have been a good purchase. Getting a rarely seen King story makes it a must have.

Pre-order your copy at the Cemetery Dance site. They're going fast.

The neo-giallo film Amer will be heading to American theaters in the fall, now that Olive Films has picked up US rights (I'm desperate to see it, since I missed the festival screenings ... ). The film just screened at London's Film4 FrightFest this past week (UK theaters will be getting it soon as well), and now directors Helene Cattet and Bruno Forzani announced that they will be forging ahead with another feature, which has a perfect giallo-esque title -- The Strange Colour of Your Body's Tears.

Alan Jones (FrightFest director) revealed the news on his Twitter page:

"Just learned AMER to get a UK theatrical release after fabulous success at FrightFest." He continued: "Delighted, and can't wait for their next giallo...THE STRANGE COLOUR OF YOUR BODY'S TEARS. That's the title of Helene Cattet and Bruno Forzani's new movie and I cannot wait." [sic]

Judging from a recent interview on Fangoria with the directors, it sounds like Cattet and Forzani will be holding back slightly on the subgenre's themes of sexuality, and will be finding inspiration from gialli's hard-nosed detectives. "We are working at the moment on a giallo set in Brussels," Forzani told Fango. "We want to use the art nouveau style, so it would be a bit in a point of view reminiscent of Amer, but this time we'll try to explore the detective aspect of gialli." Yes please!

Since Amer's festival success, the directing team have had many offers coming their way, including an adaptation of Charles Burns' mutant tale, Black Hole (a must read!). I'd love to see them explore other avenues like this, but I'm really excited to hear that there are people who are passionate enough about the Italian subgenre to continue its tradition in a modern style. You'll definitely be hearing more about this one from me as we learn more info.

[via Fangoria]

Warning: Contains some spoiler-ish moments.

I finally saw Piranha 3D.

This was after everyone I know saw it at sold-out midnight screenings, at theaters filled to the brim with screaming, laughing horror fans. I kept hearing the same thing from everyone: "Seeing Piranha 3D in a theater was one of the most enjoyable moviegoing experiences in recent memory."

I could only grumble a response and curse my hectic life schedule.

So, I finally saw Piranha 3D. I saw it on a Monday afternoon in a completely empty theater. 89 minutes later, I stepped out of the darkened theater and into the bright sunlight and I got in my car and I thought long and hard about the movie I had just seen. I remain shocked by how long and how hard I thought about a movie called Piranha 3D, which is entirely about prehistoric man-eating fish biting the boobs off pornstars and the penis off Jerry O'Connell.

Admittedly, it's been ages since I've watched an episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000, but that has nothing to do with my love of Joel, Mike and their robot pals Gypsy, Tom Servo and Crow T. Robot. If you're like me and have missed out on this cult TV series, then you're in luck because our good friends at Shout! Factory had the noggin to create a limited edition 4-DVD box set with Best Brains, Inc. -- set to release on November 9th.

If you're unfamiliar with the series, then let me explain: a guy and a bunch of robots are stuck on a space station at the hands of an evil scientist and forced to watch bad movies all day. The show features the gang making snarky comments about the films -- which mainly consist of low budget, b-horror and sci fi. It's pretty amusing and even though you may really dig some of the films they're watching, let's be honest -- these aren't "good" movies so a sense of humor is integral for viewing.

Hit the jump to find out what this special DVD set includes ...

Night of the Living Dead, Dir George Romero 1968

A young couple drives way out into the sticks to place flowers on the grave the girl's father. As she is praying, and he is complaining, they notice a man wandering between the headstones who doesn't appear to be playing with a full deck. The stranger grabs for the girl and ends up killing the young man as he tries to defend her. The girl drives away and ends up at an abandoned house with another young man who tells her of the nightmare he has already survived. As they board themselves into the home they are beset by, and see if you can follow me here, the reanimated corpses of the deceased that have spontaneously risen from their graves and are eating the flesh of the living.

I joke, but of course Night of the Living Dead is about as seminal a horror film as you can find. Romero took a fledgling subgenre and turned it into basic horror cannon. I am always impressed with this film. It is an indie horror production that had to cost somewhere in the neighborhood of eighteen dollars to produce and yet it really is a landmark feat of filmmaking and must have scared the holy beJesus out of audiences just discovering zombie cinema (though if you watch the film, the word zombie is never used). I do ultimately find the film a bit dull, but I like the fact that you can see Romero being influenced by the sci-fi horror that had dominated the genre for so long; in its twilight by the time of NotLD's release. The music and the performances seem plucked from a giant bug movie. I do enjoy the ending and it's fun to work out how the events in this film set in motion Romero's ultimate zombie apocalypse saga.

If I told you that Tim Burton, John Carpenter, Wes Craven, Neil Gaiman, Damon Lindelof, Eli Roth, Quentin Tarantino, and Joss Whedon were just a few of the genre names behind picking the nominees for this year's Spike TV Scream Awards, would you get excited? Well you should be, because you get to have a say in who will be the big winners at this year's shindig in categories that include "Best Horror Movie" and "The Ultimate Scream".

The awards will be taped Saturday, October 16th at the Greek Theater in L.A. and will be airing on Spike TV on Tuesday, October 19th (9:00 - 11:00 PM ET/PT). The Advisory Board of Hollywood and Genre Leaders (who include the fancy pants names I mentioned above, and more) have spoken, and now it's up to you to help claim victory for the winners. Since we're a horror website and all that, here are the nominees for "Best Horror Movie": The Crazies, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Paranormal Activity, Shutter Island, Thirst, and Zombieland. There are genre names and titles sprinkled throughout, side by side with Sci-Fi and Fantasy nominees.

Voting is now open, so head on over to Spike's website and let 'em know what you think. I hate to say it but none of the "Best Horror Movie" titles truly blew me away, even though I enjoyed several of them. Tell me which way you're leaning in the comments section.

I never saw the adaptation of Jack Ketchum's Offspring (our own Scott Weinberg had a few things to say about it here ... ), but I'm pretty much sold on checking out the sequel since indie favorite Lucky McKee will be directing. His film May remains one of my favorite horror films, and Roman (a film McKee stars in and wrote; May actress Angela Bettis directed) doesn't get talked about nearly enough for my liking. Now McKee brings us Offspring: The Woman, and Dread Central featured the movie's title character (pictured above).

The Woman stars McKee familiar Angela Bettis, Pollyanna McIntosh who returns from the first film, and Sean Bridgers. The aforementioned Woman is the last surviving member of a feral clan that has roamed the Northeast Coast (and I'm not talking about Snooki ... ). When her family is killed by the police, she finds herself alone, wounded, and vulnerable. A local hunter, successful country lawyer, and an unstable man named Christopher Cleek all have morbid plans in store. Cleek, in particular, plans to capture and "break" The Woman, but will soon find out he's gotten himself and his family in a big messasomthin'.

McKee's work is strange, quiet, beautiful, and disturbing. Bettis is a wonderful and refreshing performer. I'll be keeping an eye out for this one definitely. Agree or disagree in the comments below. Visit the film's official website to keep up to date, and check back with us here for more as we get it.

I love picking two titles and then using the words "and more" at the end of my headlines. It makes it seem as if maybe, just maybe, this week will reveal a slew of new horror releases. Instead, it's pretty much just those two and a few direct-to-video titles. Though I suppose we should count our horror blessings since sometimes it's a struggle just to find two new horror releases worth putting in the headline.

Up first is Anchor Bay's fantastic release of Sam Raimi's classic The Evil Dead on Blu-ray disc. Be sure to check out Brian's awesome in-depth review of the Blu-ray here. Needless to say, Anchor Bay did a great job in bringing an iconic horror film to high def. This was no small feat considering the age and low-budget origins of the film that launched the careers of both writer/director Sam Raimi as well as star Bruce Campbell.

Ahhh the wonders of Twitter. Twitter is probably chief among my favorite time-wasters and I'd rather not talk about how often I check it on my laptop, desktop, iPhone, Lite Brite, etc. Yes, there's now a Twitter app for the Lite Brite, stop interrupting me! I'm aware that I have a problem with this Twitter situation and I assure you I'll get it looked into just as soon as I can figure out where to put the direct messages in this Easy Bake Oven.

As I was working on a few other pieces, I decided to hop on over to the land of what-the-hell-are-my-friends-up-to and what did I find? A super cool exorcism movie flowchart that's what!

Back in April, I brought you news about a new project starring Donnie Darko actor, James Duval. Ramzi Abed's official movie teaser for the "darkly romantic horror ensemble mystery" Noirland is now available. If you've been waiting to see Duval deliver another disturbing performance then this should quench your thirst.

Duval plays a catatonic serial killer who is put under deep hypnosis in order to free his last victim, and help him come to terms with the sadistic sexual acts he is responsible for. Meanwhile, an amnesiac detective searching for a serial killer, finds out he is the prime suspect. Mysteries unfold. The cast for the film is pretty interesting: Rena Riffel (Showgirls, Dark Reel), Twink Caplan (Clueless, In Search of a Midnight Kiss), Jesse Hlubik (May, Violent Blue), Elissa Dowling (Dread), Ford Austin (Dahmer Vs. Gacy), Wendy McColm (Suzie Heartless), Eric Fleming (In A Spiral State), Lenora Claire (The Devil's Muse), Clint Catalyst (Portland), Victor Fischbarg (The Mod F*ck Explosion, Scumrock), Hollie Stevens (Enter The Peepshow), Lloyd Kaufman (The Toxic Avenger), Adam Meir (In A Spiral State), Lorielle New (The Pit and the Pendulum, Postal), and Silvia Suvadova (Violent Blue, Kolya) among others.

You can check out the trailer after the jump, which reminds me of a cross between David Lynch and Tarsem Singh's The Cell. Let me know if you find the surreal, dark imagery in the trailer as curious as I do. And be sure to check out some of Abed's other work, including Telephone World.