Buffy the Vampire Slayer

With the announcement of Carrie making a return to the Broadway circuit after a short-lived disastrous first go-round, I'm left holding my head and wondering, "Why?" Horror musicals are like your socially awkward cousin. You know, the one who talks too much and quite possibly bears an uncanny resemblance to Franklin from Texas Chain Saw Massacre.

Is it fair to hold the horror musical to the same standards as the dastardly horror film remakes that seem to be happening in droves? I don't think I can help it. Few horror musicals have been born from an original idea which leaves me with the same funny feeling. I'm well aware that remakes have been happening since the dawn of time but this kind of remake is worse. When you add the word 'musical' to anything it evokes a horrible visceral reaction within many people. Adding it to the word horror just seems like a bastardized and shrieking kind of wrong.

Isn't the comical genius of Young Frankenstein and Evil Dead perfect as is? Young Frankenstein was a parody. So, is a mugging Dr. Frankenstein belting out a song called Transylvania Mania anything other than pointless and silly? The film Cannibal! The Musical, another intentional parody by beloved low-budget Troma Entertainment, has more class by comparison. Even Cronenberg's The Fly has been made into an opera, but they don't have me fooled. Adding the smooth vowel-ridden word to the title doesn't soften the blow. In fact, it's almost more cruel. However, Repo! The Genetic Opera would probably disagree with me.

Whedonites have been having a rough time of it lately with the cancellation of Dollhouse and Cabin in the Woods delayed until 2011. However, the good word came yesterday from Dread Central that a series of motion-comic webisodes based off of Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight has been put into motion.

Buffy's TV reign sadly ended with Season Seven in 2003 but Dark Horse Comics has been continuing the Buffy canon since 2007 with Buffy Season Eight. The comic series follows the events of the TV show's final season and is produced by Joss who wrote the first story, The Long Way Home. Originally only supposed to contain 25 issues, Whedon announced in September that the series would continue into Season Nine. Georges Jeanty has been the lead penciller for Season Eight but other artists have contributed to the series, including Jo Chen who has turned out some stunning work.

Casting directors are currently looking for voice actors to play all the usual suspects as well as the characters Twilight (the Big Bad) and Lady Genevieve Savidge, a British socialite slayer with an evil plan. If you're a voice actor or just plain curious--check out the casting call info after the jump. Let us know if you audition!