Joe Dante

When six Howling movies just aren't enough there's always room for one more and we told you back in November about a new addition to the werewolf franchise that promised to be a "Twilight/Gossip Girl wannabe with some Lost Boys thrown in for good measure." Well, it looks like former studio marketing exec Joe Nimziki who is helming The Howling: Reborn is keeping good on that promise, according to the guys at BD. They have just released the first plot details for the seventh film in the series, which will begin shooting in Montreal, Canada this May.

In The Howling: Reborn "a teenager graduating from high school finally gets the girl he's been pining over for years, but unfortunately for him once he's landed the love of his life he discovers that he's cursed and will transform into a werewolf. Even worse, not only does he have his own internal conflict to contend with, he must also battle an entire pack of werewolves who are hellbent on killing both he and his new girlfriend."

Did I lose you at "teenager" and "pining"?

Joe Dante's original film has a special place in my heart and while I've peeked at a sequel or two, I never got into them the same as the first flick. Even though Dante's is a classic, does it really matter that we have another cruddy sounding sequel after having 5 bad flicks before it? Or do you totally disagree and think this sounds like the makeover the franchise needed?

A third Gremlins film could be on the horizon, according to MarketSaw at least. The blog, which focuses on all things cinematic 3D, recently reported that the Ivan Reitman directed Ghostbusters 3 would be arriving in 3D; now they have another insider that tells them Gremlins 3 will be in 3D as well.

Didn't know they were making a Gremlins 3? Yeah, neither does Joe Dante. Sure, it's been over twenty years since Dante gave the world the gift of the mogwai, but one would at least think the director of the first two films might know about official word on a third film in his franchise; not the case here. MTV caught up with Dante to get his take on MarketSaw's report and his response isn't too encouraging for anyone hoping to see Gremlins 3(D?) anytime soon "These things come up from time to time. I don't know of anything officially that's going on."

Is that conclusive proof that Warner Brothers isn't cooking up a new set of fuzzballs that become maniacal pests when they get wet/fed after midnight? No, it is possible that Dante is just out of the loop on this one, but that's unlikely considering the director and original Gremlins screenwriter Chris Columbus were both in the loop the last time WB mused over a Gremlins 3.

[Art by NargyNargy.]

Joe Dante's The Howling is being remade and former studio marketing executive, Joe Nimziki, will be making his feature debut with The Howling: Reborn. Could there be a worse title? Probably.

There aren't many details being released yet but Variety reports that the studio is aiming to start production in February for a Halloween release. Arrow in the Head reported that the reboot is a "Twilight/Gossip Girl wannabe with some Lost Boys thrown in for good measure." That doesn't sound too promising. Horror Squad's Peter Hall talks more about the plot development over here.

In the 1981 film, Dee Wallace plays Karen White, a news reporter that is being stalked by a serial killer who turns out to be a werewolf. An investigation into the killer's background leads her to a colony of strange characters who have deadly intentions. Part of what makes the original so great (I'm just going to ignore the terrible sequels for now) is that it's actually a really dark film that has a nice balance of humor and gore. The effects aren't top notch but they really work and Dante's quirky humor saves the film from being written off as schlock. He also establishes a great sense of atmosphere; most of what I remember about the film is the gritty feel to the porn shop, the eerie colony and the dusty bookstore. I suppose this remake will spawn a new series of films but is Joe Nimziki the right person for the job considering the rumors on where he's heading with it?

It's times like this that indifference to certain horror movie gems from the past pays off. I've seen Joe Dante's original The Howling, and I recall getting a kick out of its special effects and unique take on werewolf culture, but I haven't thought much about it since first popping it in years ago. Which is why I'm only shaking my head at this plot description for the proposed remake of the film, retitled The Howling Reborn, out of principal and not seething fan hatred.

Arrow in the Head scored the summary from an undisclosed source, and, well, it's clear why they're not saying who spilled these smelly beans:

"The REBORN screenplay opens in a similar manner to the 1981 Dante film, with a young reporter - named Karen White - meeting up with a serial killer who is stalking her. In this version, however, there are no cops who burst in on the scene: she's confronted and murdered by the killer, who of course turns out to be a werewolf. Only hook is, she was pregnant, and the baby lives... Cut to years later, and Karen's son - Will - is attending a high-profile prep school, where he's having weird dreams and the like. Naturally, he's got wolfy tendencies, and - shock! - so do his friends. Does Will join the dark side (naturally, his friends turn out to be bad news), or fight against his urges and battle his hairy classmates?"

Yikes. AITH likens it to a Twilight-ization of the original Howling premise - and I'm sure PG-13 demographic werewolves will sell - but I'd say it's more along the lines of Renny Harlin's teenage warlocks flick The Covenant; which is obviously not a favorable comparison. What say you? Are they desecrating the good name of a classic or giving the werewolf story a makeover not unlike Dante did in '81?

If your business is known exclusively for renting out content other entities have created how do you go about telling customers that you're now going to start creating original content of your own for distribution? Well if you're NetFlix, you hire Roger Corman to produce and Joe Dante to direct a streaming web series called "Splatter" starring Corey Feldman. Bet ya' didn't see that coming.

There are no concrete details about the series yet, only that which Feldman has posted on his personal blog (via Hacking NetFlix) "This will be their first ever live streaming web series. Splatter will be a multi episode web series that will go live on the web on Halloween weekend. My characters name is Jonny Splatter. That is pretty much all I am allowed to say for now."

The very Not-Safe-For-Work teaser he then points to does reveal a bit more, however, as well as maybe satisfying a wish Corey Feldman haters have had for a long time. Judging from its mere 30 seconds, Feldman is going to be playing some kind of eye-liner wearing shaman who either is only in the series to kill himself or, and this is my guess, he can't actually die.

NetFlix hasn't enabled embedding for the clip, which I think is a shame considering the viral approach they're going for, so you're going to have to click over to the official "Splatter" promo page to catch a brief glimpse of Corey Feldman's fearless last moments.

HorrorSquad papabear Scott Weinberg is currently at the Toronto International Film Festival getting an early perusal of all kinds of films the rest will have to wait months to see. And to make the wait even worse, it seemed best to bring over a few excerpts from Weinberg's FEARnet reviews of three highly anticipated genre films.

The Hole, Directed by Joe Dante
How strongly the hardcore horror fans will be able to embrace such a low-key, gore-free, and ardently nostalgic little thriller remains to be seen, but those of us old enough (or young enough) to remember The Gate, Something Wicked This Way Comes, and (yes) Gremlins will probably find something to enjoy in The Hole. Aside from some minor pacing issues in the mid-section, the flick breezes by at a quick clip, it's really quite pretty to look at (well done, cinematographer Theo van de Sande), and the scary bits are delivered quite playfully. The screening I witnessed was presented in 3-D, which I found virtually unnecessary, as the flick is fun enough without the gimmick, but hey, if that's what it takes to get today's youthful movie geeks in touch with Joe Dante, then I'll make that sacrifice.

Read his full thoughts here.