Production on the third season of the critically acclaimed hit Showtime drama series “Penny Dreadful” is currently under way, and a wealth of new and returning stars is headed to the set in Dublin, Ireland, including one familiar face that will be playing a different character.

Tony Award-winning star Patti LuPone (pictured left; “American Horror Story: Coven”), who guest starred last season as the Cut-Wife, returns as a series regular in the new role of Dr. Seward, an American therapist who treats Vanessa (Eva Green) with an unconventional new approach. Also, this season will add Robert Louis Stevenson’s Dr. Henry Jekyll to the lineup of literary characters featured in the show, to be played by Shazad Latif (pictured right; The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, “Spooks”).

The third season’s nine episodes, premiering on Showtime in 2016 on-air, on demand, and over the internet, will feature several new guest stars, including Screen Actors Guild Award nominee Christian Camargo (“Dexter,” The Hurt Locker) as Dr. Alexander Sweet, a zoologist who strikes up an unlikely friendship with Vanessa; Sam Barnett (2012, Jupiter Ascending) as Dr. Seward’s mysterious young secretary; Wes Studi (“Hell on Wheels,” A Million Ways to Die in the West) as Kaetenay, an intense, enigmatic Native American with a deep connection to Ethan (Josh Hartnett) who also becomes an ally to Sir Malcolm (Timothy Dalton); and Jessica Barden (The Outcast, Far from the Madding Crowd) as Justine, a young acolyte to Lily (Billie Piper) and Dorian Gray (Reeve Carney).

“Penny Dreadful” is a frightening psychological thriller created, written, and executive produced by three-time Oscar nominee John Logan (Hugo, The Aviator, Gladiator) and executive produced by Logan’s Desert Wolf Productions, along with Oscar winner Sam Mendes (American Beauty, Skyfall) and Pippa Harris (Revolutionary Road, “Call the Midwife”), both of Neal Street Productions. The cast includes Josh Hartnett, Timothy Dalton, and Eva Green. Reeve Carney, Rory Kinnear, Billie Piper, Simon Russell Beale, and Harry Treadaway also star. “Penny Dreadful” is a co-production with Showtime and Sky.

For additional info visit “Penny Dreadful” on Showtime, “like” “Penny Dreadful” on Facebook, and follow @SHO_Penny on Twitter. Be sure to also visit the Penny-Dreadful.com website.

penny

The post Penny Dreadful Cast Expands in Season 3; Dr. Jekyll Added to the Monsters appeared first on Dread Central.

More casting news is here for Netflix’s new supernatural series “Stranger Things” (formerly known as “Montauk”) as Deadline is reporting that Cara Buono has landed a regular role.

Described as a love letter to the ’80s classics that captivated a generation, “Stranger Things” is set in 1980 Indiana, where a young boy vanishes into thin air. As friends, family, and local police search for answers, they are drawn into an extraordinary mystery involving top-secret experiments, terrifying supernatural forces, and one very strange little girl.

Buono (pictured) will play Karen, the mom of Mike and Nancy, two of the kids on the search for the missing boy. She joins the previously announced Winona Ryder, Ross Partridge, David Harbour, Finn Wolfhard, Millie Brown, Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin, Noah Schnapp, Natalia Dyer, and Charlie Heaton.

The Duffer Brothers (Matt and Ross) are writing, directing, and co-showrunning the series and will serve as executive producers along with co-showrunner Karl Gajdusek and Shawn Levy and Dan Cohen via their 21 Laps entertainment banner.

The series will debut in 2016.

The post Cara Buono Finds Stranger Things on Netflix appeared first on Dread Central.

You can put Zoe Bell in just about anything and we’ll watch it! She’s badass, beautiful, and can act her ass off! That being said, word’s just come in regarding her new flick, Camino.

From the Press Release:
XLrator Media (Jimi: All Is By My Side, The Machine) announces the U.S. release of the action-thriller CAMINO starring Zoë Bell (Quentin Tarantino’s The Hateful Eight, Death Proof) and Academy Award®-nominated filmmaker Nacho Vigalondo (Timecrimes, Open Windows) in a rare acting role. Fully financed and produced by Bleiberg Entertainment, the film will be released in early 2016 on XLrator’s “TURBO” action label.

CAMINO was directed by Josh C. Waller, who previously collaborated with Bell on Raze, written by Daniel Noah (Max Rose, McCanick) and produced by Waller, Noah, and Ehud Bleiberg (The Iceman). Nicholas Donnermeyer and Barry Gordon executive produce along with Bell and Vigalondo. Bleiberg Entertainment and Red Granite International subsidiary Blue Box International are handling international sales at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Set in 1985, war photographer Avery Taggert (Bell) has built a solid career with her stark and honest imagery, all the while remaining emotionally distant from her subjects. When she embeds in the jungles of Colombia with a squad of missionaries led by a beloved and charismatic Spaniard known as “El Guero” (Vigalondo), she finds herself in the middle of a conflict as violent as any she’s photographed.

One night she happens upon El Guero committing a heinous atrocity, capturing the vile act on film, an image with the potential to discredit and destroy El Guero. Knowing this brilliant psychopath will employ every tactic at his disposal to destroy that photograph – and the photographer who took it – Avery flees into the harsh jungle with nothing but the camera hanging around her neck to escape from missionaries twisted into violent guerrillas by the madman intent on destroying all enemies.

“It was important after Raze and McCanick and especially after the past few years of our work within SpectreVision for me to make a film that ‘came from the gut.’ Something that felt true to myself and to the artists we surround ourselves with. I think we did it. We’ve made our own little ‘Electro-Jungle-Western.’ Plus, to be able to piece together a film almost entirely with our friends, that’s what it’s all about. Thanks goodness the folks at XLrator Media share that vision as well,” said director Josh C. Waller.

“It was great working with Josh and Daniel again. The film is filled with tension, and there are so many great sequences. I can’t wait for people to see it,” said producer Ehud Bleiberg.

“Zoë Bell is a multitalented actress, martial artist, and stuntwoman, having shown her incredible physical skills in Kill Bill, Death Proof, Inglourious Basterds, Raze, Django Unchained, and her upcoming roles in Tarantino’s The Hateful Eight and our own film Paradox. Action fans will embrace her starring role in CAMINO where she gets to show her full range of talents,” said XLrator Media CEO Barry Gordon.

Best known as a writer-director, Nacho Vigalondo wrote and directed Timecrimes, Open Windows (produced by SpectreVision), segments for V/H/S: Viral and ABCs of Death, and will next helm Colossal starring Anne Hathaway.

The film co-stars Sheila Vand and Dominic Rains (A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night), Francisco Barreiro (We Are What We Are), Tenoch Huerta (Sin Nombre, Silver Ariel award-winner for Best Actor for Days of Grace), Nancy Gomez, Jason Canela, and Kevin Pollak (The Usual Suspects, A Few Good Men, Casino).

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I don’t specifically remember the first time I laid eyes on Freddy Krueger, heard him crack a joke, or watched him brutally kill a pretty-looking teenager, but to say that he was a small part of my childhood would be, well, a huge understatement. All kids have heroes, whether they’re sports players or astronauts. My hero, growing up, happened to be a burnt-faced serial killer.

My lifelong love affair with all things horror can be traced directly back to A Nightmare on Elm Street and its many sequels, which were a veritable feast for my developing imagination. Though my local video store had a massive wall of horror VHS tapes to choose from, I rarely left with the ones that didn’t have Freddy plastered on the cover. Because I knew, even at a very young age, that there was something special about the franchise, and the villain who called it home.

I would of course eventually realize that Wes Craven was the man responsible for creating Freddy Krueger, and once I finally allowed myself to watch something other than the Nightmare on Elm Street movies, I began delving into the rest of his work. The Last House on the Left, The Hills Have Eyes, The Serpent and the Rainbow, and The People Under the Stairs soon became favorites, and I found a brand new horror icon to dress up as when Craven revitalized the landscape of 1990s horror with Scream.

You could say that Wes Craven was an ever-present figure in my life, introducing me to the world of horror cinema as a child and continuing to remind me, throughout the last couple decades, why I became such a huge fan in the first place. While many filmmakers who get their start in horror eventually leave the genre behind, Craven is one of the few who always stayed true to himself, directing and producing horror movies well into his 70s with the same enthusiasm as he did in his 30s. And though 2011’s Scream 4 unfortunately ended up being his final film as a director, he never stopped doing right by us fans – producing the recent TV series “Scream” as well as two upcoming horror movies.

Whether the cameras were rolling or not, Craven’s love for the horror genre showed through on an almost daily basis. On both Twitter and Instagram, he kept in touch with his fans and was always happy to talk about the movies we hold so near and dear, sharing behind-the-scenes photos, telling stories, and even happily spreading around artwork inspired by those films. I can’t tell you how many friends of mine nearly exploded from excitement when Craven followed them on social media, which just goes to show how important he was to us all. And I always got the sense that we were as important to him as he was to us.

Horror wouldn’t be the same without Wes Craven. My life wouldn’t be the same without Wes Craven. And I’m reminded this week, as I sit here typing this, that you don’t need to have a personal relationship with someone to be completely heartbroken when they pass away. I never met Wes Craven; in fact I never even spoke directly to him, but his influence on my life will continue to be felt for as long as I live. I don’t honestly know that I’d be a horror fan today if it weren’t for Freddy Krueger holding my hand at a young age and showing me how much fun being scared could be, and what I’m really saying when I type that is I don’t know if I’d be who I am today if it weren’t for Wes Craven.

So thank you, Wes. Thank you so much for letting us hang around in your brain for so many years. I think I speak for everyone in the horror community when I say that we will continue deriving joy from doing so for many years to come. Your life’s work will never be forgotten, nor will it ever fail to inspire, entertain, and terrify.

— John Squires

With the tragic passing of Wes Craven, literally everyone in the industry has been reeling and expressing love for the man and his work. Several people have been writing in to Dread Central to ask if it would be cool to post their thoughts. So this Farewell to Wes feature will be their opportunity to share their feelings and their thoughts with you, the horror community.

Some will be long, some will be short, but all are important and will be featured with love and caring. It’s our honor to be able to do this for the man who gave us so very much.

The post Farewell to Wes – Dread Central Writer John Squires appeared first on Dread Central.

In yet another example of “indie directors score a hit and go on to reboot a classic genre flick,” Lost After Dark director Ian Kessner and co-writer Bo Ransdell are seriously kicking around the idea of a Waxwork remake/reboot. And while writer/director Anthony Hickox’s 1988 horror/comedy doesn’t get the same kind of attention from horror fans as its contemporaries, it’s still a solid endeavor in its own right. I apologize profusely for my inability to keep my frustration in check.

During their recent chat with Nerd Report, Ransdell and Kessner admitted that the project is still in the very early stages of development. However, they both seem very determined to make this thing happen, and they reportedly have Hickox’s blessing to bring this flick to life.

Kessner also explained their approach to the Waxwork remake.

It’s got a Something Wicked This Way Comes vibe where the waxwork appears in town overnight. It’s really fun. It’s also an opportunity for us to play in a whole bunch of horror genres, kind of an anthology where the characters keep falling into these different vignettes or the different worlds where they tackle different horror tropes, and they tackle the best parts of it, the climax. So it’s really fun for us if we get to make it because we get to explore all these different genres within the horror, sort of like Cabin in the Woods.

Lost After Dark is a solid and thoroughly enjoyable throwback to 80s slashers, so I’m interested to see what Kessner and Ransdell do next. And while I’m not overly excited about the idea of a Waxwork reboot/remake, I’m still curious to see their take on the project.

The post Waxwork Remake on the Horizon from Lost After Dark Team appeared first on Dread Central.

Full disclosure: I own every Godzilla movie on either DVD or Blu-ray. I’ve been a huge fan of the giant green troublemaker since I was a kid, so it was my lifelong goal to score as many of the flicks as I could for my own collection. Next thing I knew, I was swimming in Toho movies.

The fact that the studio is working on the first Japanese Godzilla movie in 12 years is beyond exciting, so when Anime News Network posted that Hideaki Anno and Shinji Higuchi’s installment in the franchise was filming this weekend in Tokyo, I squealed with delight. No offense to Gareth Edwards’ 2014 Godzilla, but the Japanese films will always hold a special place in my scaly heart.

“A notice posted at the Kamata bus station in Tokyo revealed that buses will not stop as usual at the station on Sunday morning, due to the filming of a movie titled ‘Shin Gojira’ (New Godzilla),” the website reported. In short: The next Godzilla flick is officially underway.

If everything goes according to plan, the new Godzilla movie will stomp all over theaters in Japan at some point next summer. As of this writing, it’s unknown when the flick will debut Stateside.

The post New Japanese Godzilla Movie Filming This Weekend in Tokyo appeared first on Dread Central.

If you haven’t read The Russian Sleep Experiment creepypasta, then click that link and treat yourself to a truly eerie story. Out of all the creepypastas currently available, it’s among my absolute favorite. It’s well-written, engaging, and delivers a spectacular ending. Again, if you haven’t read it, definitely give it a look. I’m trying not to build it up too much, but I’m struggling here.

Author Holly Ice has taken this unsettling story and stretched it into a very creepy novella. The aptly-titled Russian Sleep Experiment is now available in trade paperback and ebook, so you have plenty of options available depending on your preference. It’s like paper or plastic, but different.

From the Press Release:
The Russian Sleep Experiment is a new horror/psychological novella by Holly Ice, inspired by the Cold War. The Soviet Union is conducting unethical, secret experiments in the depths of Siberia. This particular experiment is conducted on political prisoners ahead of the scientific trial being approved for human experimentation. The Soviet Union wants the edge in any coming conflict and to do this, they test Gas 76-IA on four volunteers. These political prisoners are offered their freedom in exchange for thirty days without sleep, powered by this mysterious gas, but the side effects are more than they had bargained for.

The Russian Sleep Experiment is an extension to novella length of the original Creepypasta short story, with added content.

This extension of the tale has three parts:

Part 1: Told from the POV of one the prisoners, this part tells the story of how the political prisoners were recruited from their camp to take part in the experiment. (This was not explained in detail in the original short story.)

Part 2: Told from the POV of one of the experimentees and the lead scientist. This part fleshes out the major action of the original tale in real time. We see what happens from inside the mind of the prisoners and from inside the cage of the experiment, as well as from the logbooks of the very ambitious lead scientist.

Part 3: Told from the POV of one of the scientists involved in the experiment, after it has concluded. This final section shows the consequences of the experiment and is based in rural Siberia.

The Russian Sleep Experiment features artwork by award-winning graphic artist Daniel Tyka.

For more information about The Russian Sleep Experiment and author Holly Ice, then you should really consider swinging by the Almond Press website. All kinds of info there. Better yet, plan a relaxing trip to the official website for Ice’s novella. It’s pretty cool.

The post The Russian Sleep Experiment Creepypasta Becomes a Creepy Novella appeared first on Dread Central.

You may recall that last year The Miskatonic Institute of Horror Studies opened a London branch based at the heart of the city’s underground culture, the Horse Hospital, and it was such a rousing success that they’re back at it again this year!  Read on for the official details.

From the Press Release:
After a successful pilot season, The Miskatonic Institute of Horror Studies – London returns to the Horse Hospital for another semester of intensive film classes on a wide range of arcane topics by some of the horror world’s most renowned critical luminaries – and you can win a season pass courtesy of AV Geeks, one of the world’s foremost archives of 16mm educational film.

The BFI’s William Fowler launches the season in September with his lecture “Freaks, Hippies and Witches” on British filmmaker and William S. Burroughs collaborator Antony Balch, in association with Scalarama 2015. He will be followed in October by Kier-La Janisse, Gavin Baddeley and David Flint, who will be collectively addressing the Satanic hysteria of the 1980s, based on their new book Satanic Panic: Pop-Cultural Paranoia in the 1980s. In November, visiting lecturer Jim Harper will present “Shadows and Fog”, a look at Krimi films, the German Edgar Wallace adaptations of the 1960s. And we’ll be closing the season with a live reading of sci-fi/horror master Nigel Kneale’s lost drama The Road, followed by discussion with Jonathan Rigby, Kim Newman, Stephen Volk and other authors who contributed to the forthcoming book about Nigel Kneale from Spectral Press, We Are the Martians.

Named for the fictional university in H.P. Lovecraft’s literary mythos, The Miskatonic Institute of Horror Studies is a non-profit, community-based organization that started in Canada, founded by Kier-La Janisse in March of 2010. Miskatonic London operates under the co-direction of Kier-La Janisse and Virginie Sélavy.

Registration for the full fall semester is £35. Individual class tickets are £10 advance / £11 on the door / £8 concessions and will be available 30 days in advance of each class. To enter the drawing for a full season pass, just email miskatonic.london@gmail.com with “AV GEEKS CONTEST” in the subject line. The winner will be drawn and notified on Friday, September 4th.

See below for the full course descriptions.

Info:
The Miskatonic Institute of Horror Studies – London
Fall 2015 Semester: Monthly classes from September to December 2015
Dates: 10 September, 8 October, 12 November, 10 December
Time: 7-10pm
Venue: Horse Hospital, Colonnade, Bloomsbury, London WC1N 1JD

FREAKS, HIPPIES AND WITCHES: THE STRANGE, SALACIOUS CINEMA OF ANTONY BALCH
10 September, 2015 – 7-10pm
Instructor: William Fowler
Tickets available here
As part of Scalarama 2015, our first class of the fall semester features William Fowler talking about Antony Balch, an extraordinary figure of 1960s-70s British film, best known for directing Secrets of Sex (1970) and Horror Hospital (1973) and for his collaborations with William Burroughs. As a cinema manager and film distributor, he also released European exploitation films with new unusual titles (e.g., The Weird Weirdo) and secured the first ever UK release of Tod Browning’s Freaks. Selected short films by Antony Balch will be screened as part of the evening.

SATANIC PANIC: POP-CULTURAL PARANOIA IN THE 1980s
8 October, 2015 – 7-10pm
Instructors: Kier-La Janisse, Gavin Baddeley and David Flint
In 1980s North America, everywhere you turned there were warnings about a widespread evil conspiracy to indoctrinate the vulnerable through the media they consumed. This percolating cultural hysteria, now known as the “Satanic Panic,” was both illuminated and propagated through almost every pop culture pathway in the 1980s, from heavy metal music to Dungeons & Dragons role-playing games, Christian comics, direct-to-VHS scare films, pulp paperbacks, Saturday morning cartoons and TV talk shows —and created its own fascinating cultural legacy of Satan-battling VHS tapes, music and literature. As the hysteria moved overseas to the UK, Australia and South Africa, its life extended into the 1990s – and some say it never went away. From con artists to pranksters and moralists to martyrs, this lecture – based on the instructors’ book of the same name, which will be available at the screening – aims to capture the untold story of the how the Satanic Panic was fought on the pop culture frontlines and the serious consequences it had for many involved.

SHADOWS AND FOG: THE FORGOTTEN HISTORY OF THE GERMAN EDGAR WALLACE KRIMI
12 November, 2015- 7-10pm
Instructor: Jim Harper
Between 1959 and the early 1970s, German film companies released more than fifty low-budget crime thrillers inspired by the works of British writer Edgar Wallace. Featuring some of Europe’s most well-known cult and horror actors (including Christopher Lee, Klaus Kinski and Gert Fröbe) the Edgar Wallace krimi combined fast-paced action, surprising violence and zany humour. Sold en masse to US television and shown in an edited and badly dubbed form, these films have rarely received the attention they deserve. Jim Harper explores the background and history of the Wallace krimi, from their beginnings to their long-term influence in Germany and beyond, discussing the charm and appeal of these quintessential European cult favourites.

LIVE FROM MISKATONIC: NIGEL KNEALE’S ‘THE ROAD’
10 December, 2015 – 7-10pm
Instructors: Stephen Volk, Jonathan Rigby, Kim Newman, Neil Snowdon
In 1950 Thomas Nigel Kneale won the Somerset Maugham Award for his prose collection TOMATO CAIN & OTHER STORIES. In 1953 he changed the face of British Television with THE QUATERMASS EXPERIMENT. Public houses across the country emptied as each installment of this thrilling new story went out live to the nation. Never before had a television drama become a national event, and few enough have had such an impact since.

His adaptation of NINETEEN EIGHTY FOUR would raise questions in Parliament, such was its power, while original dramas like THE YEAR OF THE SEX OLYMPICS accurately predicted, and indicted, the sensationalism of ‘Reality TV’ and the passivity of the society that produced it. In the years that followed QUATERMASS & THE PIT, THE STONE TAPE, MURRAIN, BEASTS, THE WOMAN IN BLACK and more would influence successive generations of authors, filmmakers and screenwriters. From Russell T. Davies to The League of Gentlemen, John Carpenter to Stephen King, Chris Carter, Peter Strickland, Ramsey Campbell, China Mieville and more…

Jacques Derrida may have coined the term, but it is Kneale – in his style, themes, and the unique tone of his work – who provides a touchstone for the Hauntological movement which has pervaded our culture in recent years. To mark the launch of WE ARE THE MARTIANS, a new book of essays about Kneale and his work from Spectral Press, The Miskatonic Institute presents a unique celebration of the work of Nigel Kneale.

A rehearsed reading of Kneale’s lost drama THE ROAD (featuring Jonathan Rigby and others) will be followed by an in-depth discussion of Kneale’s work and influence by some of the book’s authors, including screenwriter Stephen Volk (GHOST WATCH, AFTERLIFE, THE AWAKENING), author and critic Kim Newman (ANNO DRACULA, NIGHTMARE MOVIES), editor Neil Snowdon and others to be confirmed.

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Activision’s Deadpool game will be remastered for current platforms. It will be released on November 17 for $50 and will include all DLC, including additional levels, costumes and maps

The game has also been re-released on Steam after being pulled due to the licensing contract between Activision and Marvel expiring.

We had a lot of love for the Deadpool game back in 2013, so a remaster is fine by us. And with the movie on the horizon, perhaps it’s finally time to revisit the Merc with the Mouth’s very own videogame one more time.

The post Deadpool Game Being Remastered for PS4 and Xbox One appeared first on Dread Central.

“Scream Queens” will be arriving via a special two-hour series premiere on Fox on September 22nd, and to further whet your appetites, we have a look at the show’s main title sequence along with some teasers of who’s behind the Red Devil mask courtesy of Emma Roberts, Lea Michele, and Abigail Breslin’s various social media outlets.

Skyler Samuels stars as Grace, a new student at Wallace University who hopes to join Kappa Sorority, led by Emma Roberts’ Chanel Oberlin. Keke Palmer plays Grace’s genius best friend. Their co-stars include Jamie Lee Curtis, Lea Michele, Oliver Hudson, Abigail Breslin, Billie Lourd, Diego Boneta, Lucien Laviscount, and Glen Powell. Ariana Grande, Charisma Carpenter, and Nick Jonas are among the guest stars.

Who’s behind the #RedDevil mask? I don’t trust Hester for a second @msleamichele ! Sept 22 the mystery begins #ScreamQueens

A photo posted by Emma Roberts (@emmaroberts) on Sep 1, 2015 at 11:10am PDT

Are you behind that #RedDevil mask Chanel?? @RobertsEmma We’ll see soon! September 22nd! #ScreamQueens pic.twitter.com/NA3fMhjO0N

— Lea Michele (@msleamichele) September 1, 2015

Is that you behind the Red Devil mask Chanel #3 @billielourd ? Guess we’ll find out September 22nd. @ScreamQueens pic.twitter.com/bhetfHGVDI

— Abigail Breslin (@yoabbaabba) September 1, 2015

The comedy-horror anthology series hails from 20th Century Fox TV and Ryan Murphy Television. Murphy exec produces with “Glee’s” Brad Falchuk, Ian Brennan, and Dante Di Loreto.

Synopsis:
The new anthology series “Scream Queens” revolves around a college campus which is rocked by a series of murders and is set in a sorority house.

Learn more by visiting:
The official “Scream Queens” site: http://fox.tv/ScreamQueens
“Scream Queens” on Facebook: http://fox.tv/ScreamQueensFB
“Scream Queens” on Twitter: http://fox.tv/ScreamQueensTW
“Scream Queens” on Instagram: http://fox.tv/ScreamQueensIG
“Scream Queens” on Tumblr: http://fox.tv/ScreamQueensTB

The post See the Scream Queens Super-Sized Main Title Sequence appeared first on Dread Central.

Warner Bros. will be bringing its summertime horror offering The Gallows to DVD, Blu-ray, and Digital this October; and right now we have all your details and artwork cold on the slab! Dig it!

From the Press Release:
Don’t say his name when The Gallows arrives onto Blu-ray Combo Pack, DVD, and Digital HD from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment. From New Line Cinema comes the horror film The Gallows, starring Reese Mishler, Pfeifer Brown, Ryan Shoos, and Cassidy Gifford. The film will be available on Blu-ray Combo Pack and DVD on October 13 and will be available early on Digital HD on September 29.

The Gallows was directed by Chris Lofing and Travis Cluff, who also wrote the film’s screenplay. Jason Blum, Guymon Casady, Dean Schnider, Benjamin Forkner, and Lofing and Cluff produced the film alongside executive producers Dave Neustadter, Walter Hamada, and Couper Samuelson.

The Gallows will be available on Blu-ray Combo Pack for $35.99, and includes the film in high definition on Blu-ray disc, a DVD, and a digital version of the movie in Digital HD with UltraViolet. The Blu-ray disc of The Gallows will feature a Dolby Atmos® soundtrack remixed specifically for the home theater environment to place and move audio anywhere in the room, including overhead. To experience Dolby Atmos at home, a Dolby Atmos enabled AV receiver and additional speakers are required. Dolby Atmos soundtracks are fully backward compatible with traditional audio configurations and legacy home entertainment equipment that aren’t Dolby Atmos compatible. Fans can also own The Gallows via purchase from digital retailers.

Lofing and Cluff’s original feature length cut of the film – the “director’s cut” that initially caught the attention of the film’s producers and led to The Gallows’ worldwide theatrical release – is included on the Blu-ray Combo Pack and Digital HD.

Synopsis:
Twenty years after an accident caused the death of the lead actor during a high school play, students at the same small town school resurrect the failed stage production in a misguided attempt to honor the anniversary of the tragedy – but ultimately find out that some things are better left alone.

Special Features:

• The Gallows: The Original Version (Blu-ray exclusive)
• The Gallows: Surviving the Noose (Blu-ray exclusive)
• Charlie: Every School Has Its Spirit
• Deleted Scenes
• Gag Reel
• Concept, Original Version, and Theatrical Trailers (Blu-ray exclusive)

The post Two Different Gallows Erected at Home in October appeared first on Dread Central.

More details are leaking out almost daily with regard to what’s ahead in “American Horror Story: Hotel,” and if you’re the type to avoid spoilers, then you may want to skip this story at it includes some new details about Lady Gaga’s character (as well as Matt Bomer’s and Finn Wittrock’s) along with this season’s Halloween episode.

Per EW, exec producer Ryan Murphy revealed that “Hotel’s” focus is, in a way, vampirism. “I prefer the term ‘ancient blood virus,’” Murphy said. “It’s not vampires; it’s really a form of hemophilia in a way. There’s no capes and fangs.”

Gaga’s character, The Countess, is afflicted with the virus as are her lovers, Donovan (Matt Bomer) and Tristan (Finn Wittrock), which causes the infected to crave human blood. “Around the middle of the season, we sort of explore the origins of all that and her character and where [the virus] comes from,” added Murphy. Since they don’t have fangs, The Countess and Donovan kill with their chainmail gloves; the nails are razor-sharp and handy when slitting throats.

“Ryan wanted the glove to look like armor,” explained costume designer Lou Eyrich, “so we started there, kind of Daphne Guinness-esque. But we wanted to make it our own and again timeless – Is it an old glove? Is it a new glove? We wanted it to look both rock ‘n roll but old at the same time. But then the nail that pops out with diamonds on the edge to slice you.”  (See the below teaser for an example.)

Now, as for the Halloween episode, EW again provided the goods: It’s entitled “Devil’s Night” and will be comprised of two parts.

The first hour will feature the return of “AHS” alum Lily Rabe, playing real-life serial killer Aileen Wuornos. The episode will be focused around a “dinner party from hell” at the Hotel Cortez involving guest and detective John Lowe (Wes Bentley).

As Murphy explained to the site, “The biggest serial killers of all time all come to the hotel. Gacey. Aileen. John Lowe’s invited to a devil’s night dinner. He thinks someone is pulling a huge prank on him. It’s the biggest serial killers of all time in a room with him, and he has to figure who is trying to make him lose his mind.” 

Part 2 finds Darren Criss playing a hipster who, along with his girlfriend, leaves the Silver Lake area of LA to avoid trick-or-treaters. Given the couple’s snotty attitude, their decision to check into the Hotel Cortez is not ideal. “They’re horrified they can’t get their artisanal cheese and they hate the sheets and they put Iris [Kathy Bates] through the wringer and she’s not happy,” said Murphy.

For more info visit the “American Horror Story” Facebook page, and follow @AHSFX on Twitter along with “American Horror Story” on FX.

The post Clues Revealed About American Horror Story: Hotel’s Vampirism and Two-Part Halloween Episode appeared first on Dread Central.

You would think growing up in Pittsburgh in the 70’s it was kinda all about zombies… right? And let’s face it… it sort of was. But being a horror fan then had its perks, and one huge perk was being drawn into the world of these passionate and highly imaginative filmmakers who rode the wave alongside The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, Night of the Living Dead, and Psycho… to name a scant few.

I had the immense pleasure of working alongside Wes Craven on most of the films he was responsible for starting in 1991 (thank you, Stuart Besser) with The People Under the Stairs and then onward for nearly two decades. I was in awe of the contrast of his kind nature and warm smile with that of the leering grin of Freddy Krueger or the faceless Ghost killer from Scream that he made real.

I was obsessed with A Nightmare on Elm Street and to this day still consider it one of the seminal movies in my youth… in actuality I saw it in the theaters while we were shooting Day of the Dead after studying every photo in Fangoria Magazine over and over again. No rules applied… a fitting comparison to what Wes so generously gave all of us.

It is difficult to put in words the impact Wes had on me as a horror fan, filmmaker and human being… but what I can say mostly is THANK YOU. He encouraged me as an artist and as a director when he sponsored me into the Director’s Guild of America. Last time I saw him was at my 50th birthday party (and damn if it wasn’t a dream from nerd heaven… Rodriguez, Darabont, Landis, Mark Hamill alongside the cast of “The Walking Dead”) when he and his wife walked in. He gave me a big hug, smiled shyly as he always did, and thanked me for inviting him. SERIOUSLY?

IT WAS ME WHO THANKED HIM FOR THAT NIGHT AND MANY OTHERS OF COUNTLESS INSPIRATION.

— Greg Nicotero

With the tragic passing of Wes Craven, literally everyone in the industry has been reeling and expressing love for the man and his work. Several people have been writing in to Dread Central to ask if it would be cool to post their thoughts. So this Farewell to Wes feature will be their opportunity to share their feelings and their thoughts with you, the horror community.

Some will be long, some will be short, but all are important and will be featured with love and caring. It’s our honor to be able to do this for the man who gave us so very much.

The post Farewell to Wes – Guest Blog: Greg Nicotero appeared first on Dread Central.

For a lot of fans, Jaws is the one movie that should never be used in the same sentence as “reboot” or “remake.” Unfortunately, it would seem that Steven Spielberg isn’t above tossing the beloved shark flick back into the money-hungry Hollywood machine. According to a recent report, the legendary director has his eye on the future, and that includes a new version of Jaws.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the success of Jurassic World has Universal and Spielberg digging through their catalog of previous successes. If the recent report is to be believed, then both Jaws and Back to the Future could return to the big screen at some point in the future.

Here’s what THR had to say about the matter:

Spielberg, 68, who was a hands-on executive producer on Universal’s Jurassic World, is essential to future dinosaur movies (the next already is dated for June 2018) as well as associated theme-park attractions. Sources say Spielberg commanded his rich director’s fee for Jurassic World — a percentage of profit worth tens of millions of dollars — from which he then paid helmer Colin Trevorrow. He also is key on potential reboots of other Universal franchises such as Jaws and Back to the Future. Universal declined to comment, as did DreamWorks.

In short: Don’t be too surprised if another version of Jaws pops out of the cinematic waters sometime soon. Should this happen, expect a huge backlash from the film’s legion of fans.

The post Is Steven Spielberg Eyeing a Possible Jaws Reboot? appeared first on Dread Central.

In case you haven’t heard, Toho’s first Godzilla film in 12 years is finally under way in Japan. According to reports, this monumental motion picture is presently slated to begin filming in Tokyo this weekend. And while details were originally few and far between, we have a handful of juicy tidbits to share with those who simply cannot get enough of that big, green kaiju.

Scified reports that the working title for the new Godzilla flick is Shin Gojira, which roughly translates to New Godzilla or True Godzilla in English. Since this is likely a working title, there’s a very strong possibility that will change before the big guy hits theaters once again.

The folks at Gomaru Island explain, “While film photography notices have finally kicked off, the notice of a first big mass-shooting session begins this weekend (Sunday)! Although if you’re living overseas in the West, then that means Saturday since Japan is usually a day ahead in terms of time zones. This session will close down streets, and all extras attending that day must go to the locations mapped out! Beyond that, extras can still volunteer, but there’s a set deadline in mid-September. So better hurry if you plan on going to Japan!”

Check out the notice that lets everyone know about the filming.

Hideaki Anno (Neon Genesis Evangelion) and Shinji Higuchi (Attack on Titan) are tasked with bringing New Godzilla (or whatever it’s called) to life.

Look for the film to attack Japanese theaters next summer. Hopefully a Stateside release will follow shortly thereafter.

The post Toho Reveals Japanese Godzilla’s Working Title appeared first on Dread Central.

Veteran special effects artist Sandy Collora has a lofty goal: He wants to break Kickstarter’s record for the largest amount of cash raised for a horror movie. Collora would like to amass $550,000 for his creature feature Shallow Water, a film inspired by his love of movies such as Predator and Alien. Considering he’s already raised over $20,000 in just a few days, he’s off to a fantastic start.

What’s Shallow Water about? Here’s the plot:

A fishing trip to a remote and mythical fishing hole goes awry and becomes a terrifying predicament that keeps getting worse. Nestled deep in the Sea of Cortez is a tiny island you won’t find on any map. Six fishermen scour the Baja peninsula to find this magical place, but when they finally reach their destination, they encounter some sea life that they did not expect. This puts them all at odds and it quickly becomes every man for himself. Which will prevail, Mother Nature or Human Nature?

If you’d like to contribute to Sandy Collora’s Shallow Water and help make Kickstarter history, take a stroll through the film’s official campaign page. Check out the pitch video below.

The post Shallow Water Launches Largest-Ever Kickstarter in Horror Category appeared first on Dread Central.

Jay Burleson (Anathema Arienette, The Nobodies) and writer Jamie Grefe (The Mondo Vixen Massacre) have joined forces for the horror/mystery Unfinished Business. To help bring this project to fruition, Burleson and Grefe has launched a Seed & Spark campaign to raise the $12,000 they need to tell their story. In fact, the campaign page details everything they need to make it happen.

What’s Unfinished Business about? I’m glad you asked.

After the death of her grandmother, 22-year-old Bailey Wallace is haunted by a ghost that lurks in her house. As she pieces together the tragic history of her home, she has no choice but to face the ghost head-on, and come to terms with the truth about a past she barely remembers.

As you may have guessed, Burleson is quite excited to make Unfinished Business, and he seems to have quite the fondness for the genre as a whole.

He explained, “When I was 12, I went to see The Blair Witch Project on opening weekend. I can recall the trip very vividly. My mom and I were both very excited about the film and had been eating up all the marketing surrounding it. I can still remember the energy in the theater from that night. As we took our seats, we encountered a woman who was preparing for her second viewing of the film, and she told us that it was the scariest film that she had seen since the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Even as a kid, I knew how big of a statement that was. It has long been a dream of mine to one day create a horror film that would inspire the same time of reaction from audiences, and with your help, I believe I can make that film with Unfinished Business.”

Grefe, meanwhile, is jazzed about teaming up with the filmmaker for Unfinished Business, saying, “Ever since I saw Jay’s Halloween: Harvest of Souls trailer, I knew I had to work with him. We started talking possibilities and he happened to have this project on the backburner. I went to work on it and we were both excited about how compelling it turned out. Jay put the finishing touches on the script and now we’re taking the next step to make this a horror-reality. It’s a layered horror movie with some very exciting turns and a strong lead. I think we can make this happen.

If you’d like to contribute to Unfinished Business, swing by the flick’s Seed & Spark page and toss some cash in their direction. And be sure to check out the awesome pitch video.

The post Jay Burleson’s Unfinished Business Launches Seed & Spark Campaign appeared first on Dread Central.

By now, you’ve probably heard that Cary Fukunaga is no longer a part of the big-screen adaptation of Stephen King’s classic novel It. During a recent chat with the folks at Variety, Fukunaga explained why he decided to leave the project behind. Judging from his comments, it sounds like the suits at New Line weren’t completely on board with the vision he had for the movie.

I was trying to make an unconventional horror film. It didn’t fit into the algorithm of what they knew they could spend and make money back on based on not offending their standard genre audience. Our budget was perfectly fine. We were always hovering at the $32 million mark, which was their budget. It was the creative that we were really battling. It was two movies. They didn’t care about that. In the first movie, what I was trying to do was an elevated horror film with actual characters. They didn’t want any characters. They wanted archetypes and scares. I wrote the script. They wanted me to make a much more inoffensive, conventional script. But I don’t think you can do proper Stephen King and make it inoffensive.

Fukunaga also explained what he had in mind for Pennywise.

The main difference was making Pennywise more than just the clown. After 30 years of villains that could read the emotional minds of characters and scare them, trying to find really sadistic and intelligent ways he scares children, and also the children had real lives prior to being scared. And all that character work takes time. It’s a slow build, but it’s worth it, especially by the second film. But definitely even in the first film, it pays off.

At this point, it doesn’t appear that Cary Fukunaga and New Line can work through their differences. What’s more, the studio apparently isn’t at all interested in delivering something unique, terrifying, and satisfying. If this adaptation ever gets off the ground — and right now, I hope it doesn’t — fans probably shouldn’t hold their breath that it will do Stephen King’s story justice.

The post Cary Fukunaga Opens Up About His Adaptation of Stephen King’s It appeared first on Dread Central.

File this under the “WTF” category. There’s a Fallout Monopoly board game. Not a joke or a fan-made product, but a real thing licensed by Bethesda. Because all the Fast-Dealing Property Trading Game needed was a touch of post-apocalyptic brutality.

But then again, if you think about it, we’ve had Star Wars, Marvel, and DC Monopoly, and crossovers with various other franchises, so a crossover with Fallout isn’t really that strange if you think about it.

The news came from the official Fallout Twitter account:

When #Fallout4 monopolizes family time, you can always bust this out (coming soon!) pic.twitter.com/BhTRZkKNVK

— Fallout (@Fallout) September 3, 2015

Shack News then confirmed a November release date. Fallout 4 will also launch on the 10th of that month. And if anyone declares me bankrupt, then I’m getting out the gatling laser.

The post Fallout Monopoly Board Game Announced appeared first on Dread Central.

After reading that headline, you’ve probably already decided if you want to a see a movie called Hairmetal Shotgun Zombie Massacre. I firmly believe there are two people on this planet: those who can’t wait to check it out and those who rolled their eyes dismissively and chose not to read this article. That’s my theory, anyway. I’m willing to accept grants to study it further.

If you desire a plot synopsis, then check this out (via Loudwire):

[A] hair metal band, while struggling to find its own identity, decides to record its first full-length album in a creepy cabin located in the middle of a notorious cemetery. Chock full of weed, coke, and booze, the band discovers a secret in the cellar and unwittingly open a gate that allows demons to possess the corpses in the surrounding cemetery. Forced to have to survive the night and with the odds getting slimmer, the band must battle hordes of the demonic undead and hope to get a record deal somewhere in the process.

Director Josh Vargas is also pretty excited about the soundtrack. If you like the music you hear in the clips embedded below, then the filmmaker has some pretty nifty news for you.

“[A]ll of the music in both the trailer and the documentary is new/original stuff from Tim ‘Ripper’ Owens (Judas Priest, Iced Earth) and Marzi Montazeri (guitarist for Philip H Anselmo and The Illegals.) They do all of the music for the band in the movie and we will release a soundtrack album featuring those songs as well as the score music at a later date.”

The trailer for Hairmetal Shotgun Zombie Massacre resides below. If you like what you see, take a look at the snazzy behind-the-scenes featurette as well. The guys behind this endeavor seem extremely cool, and I’m curious to see what kind of madness they’ve put together.

The post Hairmetal Shotgun Zombie Massacre Delivers Its First Teaser Trailer appeared first on Dread Central.