The new trailer for director Andy Palmer’s horror/comedy The Funhouse Massacre has arrived, and the flick looks like a metric ton of Halloween-oriented fun. Instead of taking the concept and attempting to do something dead serious with it, Palmer and writers Ben Begley and Renee Dorian have seemingly put together a blood-soaked flick that injects a little humor into the mayhem. The trailer’s a riot, so here’s hoping it’s an accurate reflection of the finished product.

The official synopsis sets up the story perfectly:

Six of the world’s scariest psychopaths escape from a local Asylum and proceed to unleash terror on the unsuspecting crowd of a Halloween Funhouse whose themed mazes are inspired by their various reigns of terror.

The Funhouse Massacre features a handful of utterly fantastic character actors, including Jere Burns, Clint Howard, Courtney Gains, and Freddy Krueger himself, Robert Englund. Sounds like an insanely good time to me. When you’re ready, you can have some fun with the trailer below. The movie is presently scheduled to hit select AMC theaters on November 13.

The post The Funhouse Massacre Trailer Proves That Psychos Have All the Fun appeared first on Dread Central.

If you’ve ever wanted to see an updated version of the Brothers Grimm fairytale Little Red Riding Hood starring Eric Balfour and Lil’ Romeo, then you’re in the luck. The folks over at Cinedigm and The Asylum are bringing together these talents for the upcoming horror flick Little Dead Rotting Hood, which should arrive on DVD and Digital HD early next year. Balfour and Romeo, together at last!

From the Press Release:
A sinister take on the classic Brothers Grimm fairytale, the deadly thriller LITTLE DEAD ROTTING HOOD arrives on DVD and Digital HD January 5 from Cinedigm (NASDAQ: CIDM) and The Asylum. Starring Bianca A. Santos (Ouija, The DUFF), Eric Balfour (“Haven,” The Texas Chainsaw Massacre), and Romeo Miller aka Lil’ Romeo (Tyler Perry’s Madea’s Witness Protection), the terrifying tale also features Patrick Muldoon (Starship Troopers), Heather Tom (“The Bold and the Beautiful”), and Marina Sirtis (“Star Trek: The Next Generation”).

The latest collaboration between screenwriter and co-producer Gabriel Campisi and director Jared Cohn (Jailbait, The Horde), LITTLE DEAD ROTTING HOOD was produced by David Michael Latt.

Something sinister is lurking in the woods, and the residents of the small town nearby are falling victim to its bloodlust. When the town sheriff (Balfour) discovers that the wolves inhabiting the nearby forest are getting more aggressive and even deadly, he soon uncovers a danger beyond his imagination.

For years, the old woman in the woods has secretly kept the wolves of the forest at bay. But when the woman dies, the creatures suddenly attack the residents of a nearby small town. As more and more people turn up dead, the townsfolk discover something far more sinister than wolves lurking in the backwoods and fight to save their home from evil by waging a bloody battle against the ruthless creatures. But as the wolves begin to overpower the town, only the woman’s granddaughter may have the key to stopping the bloodbath before it’s too late.

Check out some promotional artwork for Little Dead Rotting Hood below.

The post Little Dead Rotting Hood Puts a New Spin on a Classic Fairytale appeared first on Dread Central.

Whenever someone sets out to find a huge batch of marijuana in a horror movie, you know things are going to get extremely nasty. It’s never a good time for stoners in genre movies, especially when the plant in question may have arrived on this planet from the far reaches of outer space. Intergalactic weed may sound ridiculously tempting, but you know it’s only a matter of time before several people die horrible deaths. It’s just the way the world works, I’m afraid. Welcome to reality.

Director Richard Cranor’s indie horror flick Star Leaf tackles such a heady concept. And as you can tell from the trailer embedded below, the characters in this tale are about to have a very nasty trip.

The official synopsis for the flick reads as follows:

A group of friends set off to find a secret forest of marijuana hidden deep in the Olympic Mountains. Legend has it the plants are of extra-terrestrial origin, and two ex-Marines among the group hope it will cure their PTSD born from hard combat in Afghanistan.

You can roll up a copy of Star Leaf when it sprouts on November 24. In the meantime, dive into a nifty stash of promotional material — including a pretty awesome trailer — below.

The post Richard Cranor’s Star Leaf Wants to Get You High This November appeared first on Dread Central.

Sounding a bit like a cross between a movie and a video game, the immersive film Catatonic is now available to buy from the Vrse App Store for iPhone and iOS. It’s been available on other platforms, but now the Apple crowd can join in.

From the Press Release:
Creator Guy Shelmerdine’s virtual reality experience Catatonic is now available to download on the Vrse app for iPhone iOS. Catatonic is an immersive journey through an insane asylum in which the audience, bound to a wheelchair, undergoes a sensory-shocking horror experience. In addition to being available to download/stream on the Vrse app on Android, Samsung Gear, and 360 Desktop, Catatonic will be accessible for the first time on Vrse’s iPhone app where users can watch through the 360 Magic Window feature or full immersion through headsets like Google Cardboard. The release on iOS comes just in time for horror enthusiasts looking for a good scare on Halloween.

Catatonic was directed by Guy Shelmerdine, who for 20 years has been a force in advertising, music videos, commercials, and short films. The experience was captured on location at a derelict mental hospital in Pasadena, CA, with Vrse.works’ proprietary VR camera systems. Catatonic’s production value and cinematography bridge the stark terror of a horror film with the inescapable immersion of virtual reality. In the virtual world of Catatonic, audience members become mental patients.

“I wanted people to feel like they were climbing aboard a roller coaster headed straight into hell —a ride that they cannot escape from,” says Vrse.works creator Guy Shelmerdine. “Catatonic offers a glimpse of the overwhelming power of experiencing movies in VR. You are not a spectator. You are IN the film.  I built the tension slowly, letting a deep sense of foreboding fill the viewer with dread before anything even happens. The film is a journey towards our darkest fears.”

The experience premiered at SXSW earlier this year as a full immersion sensory experience where the audience was ushered into a custom-built wheelchair by nurses in 1940s uniforms. The design of the chair resembles a padded cell: a unique blend of comfort and paralysis. In the virtual environment, the patient/audience is wheeled through a psychiatric wing, experiencing the full brunt of madness within. Along with the 360º 3D immersion of VR, the patient also experience vibrations emanating from a Buttkicker, built into the base of the wheelchair. The many moving parts of Catatonic build to a cacophony of terror and depravity one has to experience to believe.

Catatonic was written by Guy Shelmerdine and Edward Robles. It was produced by Patrick Milling Smith and Chris Milk of Vrse.works with cinematography by Sebastian Pfaffenbichler, editing by Cass Vanini of Work Editorial, and music by Drazen Bosnjak of Q Department. Stitching and post effects were achieved by MPC VR, and Animatronics were provided by Legacy FX.

For best experience, please be seated.

Catatonic is available to watch on the Vrse app (Apple iTunes, Google Play store, and Oculus Gear VR store). Catatonic can be viewed on iOS and Android Mobile Platforms with or without Google cardboard by downloading the Vrse app, or on Samsung phones with the Samsung Gear VR. It can also be viewed through the Vrse 360-degree desktop player.

The post Immersive Film Catatonic Available Now on iOS appeared first on Dread Central.

Another new promo and poster for “The X-Files,” has arrived and it will be familiar territory to those who have long wondered what happened at Area 51!  Dig it!

“The X-Files” returns to Fox with a special two-night event beginning Sunday, January 24, 2016 (10:00-11:00 PM ET/7:00-8:00 PM PT), following the NFC Championship Game, and continuing with its time period premiere on Monday, January 25 (8:00-9:00 PM ET/PT).

David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson reprise their iconic roles as Agent Fox Mulder and Agent Dana Scully in a mixture of stand-alone investigative episodes and those that further the original show’s seminal mythology. In the opening episode, Mulder and Scully take on a case of a possible alien abductee.

They’re coming… are you ready?

The all-new episodes will feature appearances by guest stars including Joel McHale (“Community”), Robbie Amell (“The Flash”), Lauren Ambrose (“Dig,” “Six Feet Under”), Annabeth Gish (“The Bridge”), Annet Mahendru (“The Americans”), Rhys Darby (“Flight of the Conchords”), Kumail Nanjiani (“Silicon Valley”), and William B. Davis, who reprises his role as “Cigarette Smoking Man.” Three of the episodes are written and directed by Chris Carter, with the remaining new episodes written and directed by original series veterans Glen Morgan, Darin Morgan, and James Wong.

“The X-Files” originally premiered in September 1993. Over the course of its nine-season run, the influential series went from breakout sci-fi favorite to massive global hit and became one of the most successful television dramas of all time. The show, which earned sixteen Emmy Awards, five Golden Globes, and a Peabody Award, follows FBI special agents Scully (Anderson) and Mulder (Duchovny) as they investigate unexplained cases – “X-Files” – for which the only answers involve paranormal phenomena. “The X-Files” is a production of 20th Century Fox Television in association with Ten Thirteen Productions. Carter is executive producer and creator of the series. Glen Morgan also serves as an executive producer.

The post The X-Files – New Poster and Teaser Straight From Roswell appeared first on Dread Central.

Fans of a proper Xenomorph filled new Alien film will have to wait a little longer than anticipated as director Neill Blomkamp took to Twitter to tell fans to sit tight because Prometheus 2 must come first. I mean you can’t have the chicken without the egg, right? Or is it the other way around? We’ve never been good at that game.

alien is kinda holding/ pending prometheus 2. So I shall be working on other things… as much as I love the xeno- and Lt ripley

— Иeill BlomkΛmp (@NeillBlomkamp) October 30, 2015

Regarding the sequel to Prometheus, Ridley Scott stated in an earlier interview that the film’s title will be Alien: Paradise Lost. Scott is prepping a whopping three (potential) sequels to pseudo-prequel Prometheus, the last of which will tie directly into the Alien universe.

The post Alien 5 On Hold; Awaiting Prometheus 2 appeared first on Dread Central.

Here at Dread Central we cannot think of a better way to wish you a happy Halloween than by opening up our bag of treats and offering you something cool that you’ll see HERE first. We pretty much guarantee this will be viral by the crack of dawn.

Below you’ll find a screen test shot over the summer for Halloween Returns. It’s been floating around on people’s phones in the L.A. horror community for a bit, but now we’re pulling back the curtain for you.

Related Story: Marcus Dunstan Talks Halloween Returns

The screen test is directed by John Michael Elfers (Finale), and it stars Kristina Klebe from Rob Zombie’s Halloween and none other than Dread Central writer and screenwriter of Yummy Meat: A Halloween Carol Sean Decker as Myers.

Enjoy!

The post Halloween Returns Screen Test – See it HERE First! appeared first on Dread Central.

Just a quick reminder, kids! XLrator’s episodic web series “24 Hour Rental” has hit Hulu and can be watched right now! Go ahead and binge some!

From the Press Release:
XLrator Media has acquired U.S. distribution rights to the edgy Canadian T.V. series 24 HOUR RENTAL from Reel One Entertainment. The 13 half-hour episodes will premiere October 30, 2015 exclusively on XLrator Media’s MACABRE Collection on Hulu before going to other platforms in 2016.

“It’s The Sopranos meets Clerks in this over-the-top gangster satire that pushes the boundaries of mainstream television and is tailor-made for binge watching” said XLrator Media CEO Barry Gordon. “We are making 24 HOUR RENTAL available exclusively for digital distribution starting with Hulu, and will aggressively market the series to build a national audience of discerning fans who readily seek edgy smart programming on the top digital platforms.”

24 HOUR RENTAL was created by Frank Massa, directed by George Mihalka (My Bloody Valentine), co-written by Al Kratina and Mihalka, and stars Romano Orzari (Turbo Kid), Adam Kenneth Wilson, Aaron Berg, Vlasta Vrana, Mike Smith (Trailer Park Boys) and Michael Biehn (The Terminator). It was produced by Reel One Entertainment, Kim Yu and Neil Bregman and executive produced by Tom Berry, George Mihalka and Eris Salvatori.

“Reel One Entertainment is extremely excited to partner with XLrator Media to introduce 24 HOUR RENTAL to the U.S. market. The show’s unique mix of crime story and comedy should attract two diverse but strong fan bases,” said Tom Berry, CEO of Reel One Entertainment.

24 HOUR RENTAL follows former Mafia boss Tracker (Romano Orzari), who having barely avoided early retirement in a shallow grave, now operates a seedy video store. Struggling to stay afloat in the Internet age, Tracker runs his shop as a front for a host of petty crimes, from fencing jewelry to peddling dope cut with Drano and desperation, all in hopes of returning to power.

In addition to 24 HOUR RENTAL, the XLrator Media’s MACABRE collection on Hulu will add three new genre films in October: Poker Night starring Ron Perlman, Giancarlo Esposito, Titus Welliver and Beau Mirchoff, Feed the Gods and Strange Blood.

With all the talent behind “24 Hour Rental,” it’s definitely worth a look.

The post Episodic Web Series 24 Hour Rental Available NOW on Hulu appeared first on Dread Central.

From October 23-25, we spent three days in the comfy environs of Sheffield’s Showroom Cinema for the city’s annual fear fest, Celluloid Screams. On tap for you right now is a selection of reviews, images and videos straight from the fest – including a look at the utterly fantastic closing performance by Italian legends Goblin – for your ocular enjoyment. Get stuck in!

A number of the films screened at this year’s fest have already been covered by us throughout the year. You can find links to those reviews below. For the others, check out the capsule reviews that follow.

The Invitation review
Goodnight Mommy review
He Never Died review
These Final Hours review
Emelie review
Deathgasm review

YAKUZA APOCALYPSE (2015)
Directed by Takashi Miike
Starring Yayan Ruhian, Rirî Furankî, Hayato Ichihara, Mio Yûki

Takashi Miike’s yakuza vampire horror/action flick is, as expected, utterly bonkers. When his boss, the good-natured head of the local yakuza gang (who also happens to be a vampire), is double-crossed and murdered, an up-and-coming enforcer is given the gift of vampirism and decides to use it to exact revenge.

Things get more complicated, however, when the stakes (no pun intended) are revealed to be much higher than expected – including the appearance of a coffin-bearing vampire hunter, a part-turtle Kappa demon and the most dangerous entity that the world has ever known… a terrorist dressed in a full-body frog costume.

Yakuza Apocalypse defies description – but it’s packed full of enough martial arts action, violence, comedy and outright bizarre behaviour to make it worth a spin despite a dragging second act. You’ve never seen anything like it.

3 out of 5

EXCESS FLESH (2015)
Directed by Patrick Kennelly
Starring Bethany Orr, Mary Loveless, Wes McGee

Frumpy, jobless Jill is a young woman with an eating problem. Between binging and purging on a regular basis, she’s also enviously obsessed with her alluring fashion hotshot roommate, Jennifer. Jill clearly has issues far beyond this dysfunctional relationship, and Jennifer soon bears the brunt of them when she’s imprisoned in the apartment and brutalised by her unhinged friend.

Whilst at the core a respectable attempt at deconstructing self-hatred (one particular scene involving swathes of macaroni cheese is a powerful highlight), Excess Flesh as a whole is unfortunately devoid of empathy, slovenly paced and far too reliant on the hope that displays of slow-mo gluttony will make you queasy. It simply doesn’t have quite as much of worth to say as it appears to think it does.

2 out of 5

THE WITCH (2015)
Directed by Robert Eggers
Starring Anya Taylor-Joy, Ralph Ineson, Kate Dickie

In 1600s New England, puritanical patriarch William and his family are banished from their community due to William’s highly vocal condemnation of what he believes to be a lacklustre approach to the word of scripture amongst the townsfolk.

Building a new homestead in a clearing on the outskirts of a forest, the family raise livestock and farm their own crops. Life seems good, but when their baby son disappears – apparently abducted and murdered by a witch living in the woods – and their corn crops wither, they soon turn against each other in a superstitious frenzy.

Beautiful to look at, with a remarkable sense of place and steeped in inescapable dread, The Witch delivers hopelessness with searing authenticity. Whether through supernatural influence, willing religious sacrifice or simple personality conflict, the fates of this family are lifted completely out of their own individual hands on a trip down a path that can only end in damnation.

Central performances are excellent across the board, with an especially powerful turn by Ralph Ineson as William and Anya Taylor-Joy as daughter Thomasin, who is forced to take the lion’s share of grief-stricken backlash after an innocent joke regarding witchcraft comes back to bite her in the worst possible manner.

The supernatural and the real are juggled and blended with aplomb by director Robert Eggers throughout what is a mesmerising cinematic feast. The finale falls somewhat flat, but it’s a tiny sliver of complaint for what is sure to be regarded as one of the best true horror films of the decade. It’s a bleak, darkly magical experience that shouldn’t be missed.

4-1/2  out of 5

DARLING (2015)
Directed by Mickey Keating
Starring Lauren Ashley Carter, Sean Young, Larry Fessenden

Hired to housesit an imposing, grand property by its wealthy owner, the eponymous protagonist of Darling finds herself descending into a very personal hell following the discovery of the building’s chequered history of suicide, a locked door at the end of hall that she is forbidden to open and esoteric scrawling on her bedside table that appears to be related to demon worship.

Director Mickey Keating’s elegant black and white visuals fuel a compelling opening – graceful lighting, strong composition and measured movement working in tandem to create a promising atmosphere that grips with indisputable foreboding.

It’s all undeniably Polanski, and pleasingly so… but very quickly, Darling takes a straight dive off the balcony as its true construction comes to the fore. A mishmash of art-house experimentation by way of Polanski and Lynch – but lacking the grace of either – and any number of ill-considered film school student projects, sound and visuals soon become too shrill, overwrought and obnoxious to have any solid effect other than to annoy.

An array of sudden musical stingers attempt to jolt through an overbearing score that is doggedly determined to convince you to be afraid, but fails in much the same way that the chainsaw frenzy editing fails in obvious, cynical attempts to shock.

Much too forthright (and forced) in its attempts to conjure a chilling sensory experience, Darling is, instead, a snooze-inducing discordant mess which against all of the wishes of its over-eager score and constant smash cut visual segues makes a prime antidote for insomnia – the sole redeeming quality being a enthralling turn by lead actress Lauren Ashley Carter, whose captivating gravitas deserves a much better platform than this.

1 out of 5

THE CORPSE OF ANNA FRITZ (2015)
Directed by Hèctor Hernández Vicens
Starring Albert Carbó, Alba Ribas, Bernat Saumell

Following the sudden death of superstar actress Anna Fritz, her body is secreted away to a hospital morgue, hidden from the prying eyes of the public. There, the worker in charge of the corpse decides to snap a picture with his phone and send it to a couple of his friends.

Unable to resist the opportunity to take a peek in the flesh, said friends turn up for their chance to get face-to-face with an (albeit deceased) celebrity. Things quickly turn dark, however, when simply looking isn’t enough for these coked-up chaps. After all, who is it hurting when she’s dead?

With its critical observations of celebrity worship being surface level at best, The Corpse of Anna Fritz struggles to rise beyond a serviceable thriller. Featuring a perverse and topical setup and enough tense sequences to get by, it nevertheless routinely misses chances at more twisted opportunities – opting to play it safe despite an initially ballsy, promisingly unpalatable direction.

2-1/2 out of 5

Alongside the features on show, Celluloid Screams also included a hefty bunch of short films and its annual bookend shorts — this year’s theme being “60 Second Remakes.” Here’s a peek at one of the funniest bookend entries, and you can check out the rest at the Celluloid Screams YouTube channel.

Shorts to look out for include Kevin McTurk’s fabulous puppet show The Mill at Calder’s End, a chilling tale of esoteric horror rendered almost entirely in miniature; Jason Kupfer’s hilarious Invaders — in which an attempted home invasion goes incredibly wrong for two indecisive, bumbling criminals; and Nick DenBoer & Dave Foss’ utterly indescribable The Chickening, which takes footage from Stanley Kubrick’s classic The Shining and applies a level of digital manipulation that sees it transformed into a chicken-filled 5-minute slice of total insanity that has to be seen to be believed.

Winner of the Sheffield Hallam Award for Best Short Film at Celluloid Screams 2015 is director Melanie Light’s The Herd. Making an impactful point through its transplantation of dairy cows for human women, this is a grim and shocking piece of work that refuses to beat around the bush regarding its animal cruelty message.

It’s a pity, however, that the film’s determination to see itself felt results in a thoroughly shot foot when it labours the point beyond all reason throughout two separate credit reels — finally ending with an overly emotive, on-the-noise vegan diatribe splashed across the screen. Just in case you didn’t get it.

So, despite the film itself being well made and brutally uncompromising, the laboured agenda — much like rotten milk — leaves a sour taste in the mouth.

Also on offer throughout the weekend were a couple of Oculus Rift-based horror experiences, a Celluloid Screams horror quiz (which, surprisingly, focused on the festival itself rather than genre trivia — something which places non-regular attendees at a disappointing disadvantage) and, of course, the amazing closing gala which saw composer Claudio Simonetti’s group Goblin take to the stage to perform a live score accompaniment to Dario Argento’s Profondo Rosso (Deep Red).

Following the screening, the band remained on stage for renditions of some of their greatest soundtracks, including Demons, Suspiria, Zombi/Dawn of the Dead and the absolutely rocking Tenebre. Catch some of the sights in our gallery below.

Goblin made for a superlative end to a strong year for Celluloid Screams. If festival organiser Robert Nevitt and co. can keep up this kind of exclusive treat for their audiences, the future of support for horror in Yorkshire looks very bright indeed. Bring on 2016.

The post Celluloid Screams 2015 Roundup: Reviews, Pics, Videos and More! appeared first on Dread Central.

Today marks the end of our “Seasonal Treats” series, which we hope you’ve been enjoying as we gear up for Halloween.  To close things out, we have the two-minute Halloween-inspired short film Death Master’s House from brothers Joe and Lloyd Stas.

Written, directed, and edited by the Stas brothers, the film stars Rowan Stas, Bob Stas, Beat Billson, Tom Stas, Simon Curd, Lloyd Stas, and Tom Crabb. Makeup is by Jade Louise.

Lloyd told us, “The film was shot in what is referred to locally as ‘The Haunted Forest.’ Most people know it as Sherwood Forest, home of Robin Hood.  My brother Joe and I love Halloween so we decided to film a short about a kid obsessed with the holiday.”

Joe adds, “The short is based on a true story from our childhood. We did change the ending, though, as it wasn’t quite so absurd in real life. We grew up in a small place called Ramsey on the Isle of Man (between England and Ireland). We both believed that we would ‘win’ Halloween by trick or treating every house in our town; there was one house that we were always too scared to visit, however, as there was a rumor that the owner would shoot kids.”

For more info and a peek behind the scenes, visit the Holomax production blog.

Synopsis:
Whitby dreams of becoming the Halloween King. However, in order to trick or treat his way to the crown, he needs to knock on DEATH MASTER’S HOUSE…

The post Seasonal Treats Day 5: Watch Joe and Lloyd Stas’ Death Master’s House appeared first on Dread Central.

Starring Tye Sheridan, Logan Miller, Patrick Schwarzenegger, Joey Morgan, Sarah Dumont, David Koechner

Directed by Christopher Landon

Don’t be fooled by the title, fiends. Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse is anything but a kids’ film. In fact, unless they’re cool and not whiney little scaredy-cats, we’d advise that you keep your kids far, far away from it. What we have here is a celebration of the crass that plays like one of the funniest and longest dirty jokes you’ll ever enjoy! The perfect treat for adults looking to indulge in some tricks this Halloween.

Scouts Guide is the tale of three best friends, Ben (Sheridan), Carter (Miller), and Augie (Morgan), who find themselves in the midst of a zombie outbreak in their small town and have more than just a little in common with the characters in Dan O’Bannon’s The Return of the Living Dead. Our trio, along with Denise (Dumont), the local strip-club’s cocktail waitress, are taxed with saving mankind from the undead scourge that looks to obliterate the living… one bite at a time.

Though it takes a little while to find its footing and get cooking, Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse is guaranteed one of the best times you’ll have this Halloween. We’re talking wall-to-wall laughs, thrills, and chills that are nothing short of being gloriously naughty and bat-shit crazy! Director Christopher Landon (Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones) delivers an expertly crafted horror comedy that delivers on every level and then some.

The characters are fully fleshed out and likable, the zombies are of the slow-moving and rotting variety, and some of the gore gags are surprisingly fresh and original. That’s not an easy task considering we live in a time in which AMC’s “The Walking Dead” delivers some of the best undead content ever put to the screen. For you older gamers out there, there’s even a neat little homage to the video game Zombies Ate My Neighbors that had me literally in tears and laughing out loud.

Yeah, more of this please! Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse earns a merit badge for being one hell of a bloody good time! When you’re done trick or treating, get your ass to the theater and enjoy every raunchy second of it!

The post Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse (2015) appeared first on Dread Central.

This is it… our very last “just in time for Halloween” story for 2015!  And if you’re a fan of cult horror, sci-fi, and exploitation, it’s specifically for you…

MidnightPix On Demand, offering the very best of the aforementioned sub-genres, is now available, featuring world premiere widescreen and enhanced high-definition versions of many of your favorite films from the 1950s and 1960s.

You want vintage? They’ve got vintage!

All movies on MidnightPix On Demand are presented in their original intended release format. All films have been lovingly reframed in the widescreen format by MidnightPix.

See cult favorites Plan 9 from Outer Space and Carnival of Souls in widescreen for the first time since their original releases in 1959 and 1962. Watch exclusives like the complete R-rated widescreen version of The Beast of Yucca Flats, starring Tor Johnson, a film genre expert Bill Warren called “…the worst non-porno science fiction movie ever made.”

Plus you’ll find free new bonus videos featuring movie introductions by actor Daniel Roebuck; The Cryptkeeper himself, John Kassir; filmmakers Elle Schneider and Elijah Drenner; and more. There are also original trailers created exclusively for MidnightPix On Demand.

Weekly rentals are as low as $0.99, or stream and download to own from $2.99 to $9.99. Stream anytime on any device in high-definition. New widescreen movies will be added very week.

Want to check it out?  Watch the first five minutes of the new Widescreen Edition of Carnival of Souls in 1080p HD for free below, and visit MidnightPix On Demand on Vimeo for more information.

The post MidnightPix On Demand Premieres Just in Time for Halloween! appeared first on Dread Central.

The equally stomach-churning sequel to the gag-inducing Contracted, Contracted: Phase II is out now on UK DVD (and in a twin-pack with the original flick should you be wanting a double dose of grue) so to celebrate, we have an exclusive clip that’s guaranteed to make you cringe.

Would you call that a trick or a treat?  In either event, enjoy!

Synopsis:
Picking up immediately after the events of the first film, Phase II follows Riley (Matt Mercer), now infected and running out of time, as he attempts to find out more about the virus and its mysterious host.

As he digs deeper into its origins, Riley attracts the attention of a detective (Marianna Palka) who doubts his innocence, and BJ (Morgan Peter Brown) himself, who holds the key to the virus – and perhaps the destruction of mankind as we know it, leading to a blood-soaked finale you have to see to believe.

The post Exclusive UK Contracted: Phase II Clip Scratches That Gory Itch appeared first on Dread Central.

When we posted yesterday’s announcement from Scream Factory about Manhunter, Lady in White, three of the Species films, and a few other classics heading our way next year, we mentioned they’d be making an even bigger announcement today, in honor of Halloween.  Well, the news has arrived, and if you’re a Chainsaw-loving horror fan, your day has just been made!

From the Scream Factory Facebook Page:
Happy Halloween, Everyone! We start off the best holiday ever on an exciting note by announcing that we have plans to release Tobe Hooper’s wild Cannon-produced sequel THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE 2 sometime before summer of 2016!

Although we have no details to report at this early stage, we can assure you that it will most definitely be a “Collector’s Edition.” More specifics will be revealed during the early part of the new year.

Now get back to watching horror films today, and be safe tonight!

The 1986 film, a favorite among DC staffers, stars Dennis Hopper, Caroline Williams, Jim Siedow, Bill Moseley, and Bill Johnson as Leatherface. You can be sure we’ll keep you posted on this one as more details are revealed in the coming months.

The post Scream Factory Announces The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 for Summer 2016! appeared first on Dread Central.

Jennifer Help Us is the very definition of guerrilla filmmaking as it was shot entirely on an iPhone with practically no money or resources at hand. While many in that position would have given up and gone home, director Juan Ortiz stood his ground and saw it through to the end.

We first brought you word of the flick back in November 2014, and we’re glad that it’s now seen the light of day. It’s been completed and can be viewed by clicking over to Vimeo at the below link, and they also have quite a nifty website which you can visit (and they could probably do with the clicks).

Chris Azmeh, Courtney Bandeko, Alaina Dawn Sharp, and Kelsi Simpson star.

Director Ortiz says, “With a small band of friends, a whole town to pull resources from, two dresses sewn together by my mom, an upgrade from an iPod to an iPhone 4s, we made Jennifer Help Us. Like many ideas, this one struck like lightning… I hope you enjoy our little movie. It was hard to piece together. Damn hard. But we loved making it.”

What better way to celebrate Halloween than with a free horror movie?!

Synopsis:
A vengeful high school senior’s violent kidnapping of a fellow student collides with her town’s “haunted” house and its brutal past.

The post Horror Feature Jennifer Help Us Released Online! Watch Now! appeared first on Dread Central.

If you never got the chance to play the classic 2005 horror game Pathologic, now’s your chance as the remaster was just released on Steam. And it’s 25% off until November 2nd.

To top it off, a bizarre launch trailer has arrived that will quite literally make you feel as though you are tripping balls. Have a look at this mind trip below.

Synopsis:
Pathologic Classic HD is the Definitive Edition of the original cult classic psychological first-person survival game. In this unforgettable experience, players control one of three unique characters as they try to save a mysterious town from a deadly plague that cannot be stopped.

The post Pathologic HD Gets a Crazy Launch Trailer appeared first on Dread Central.

If you were a fan of the post-apocalyptic MMO horror game Nether and were disappointed after it was taken offline, fret no more as it’s been resurrected by developer Phosphor Games in the form of Nether: Resurrected, which is available for just $2.99 during the Steam Halloween sale.

New features include an advanced single-player mode and (pretty much every developer and publisher could learn from this) the removal of micro-transactions so that you can enjoy the game without being charged at every available opportunity. Yay.

Chip Sineni, director of Phosphor Games, hopes that the new and improved version of Nether will appeal to fans eager to revisit the game: “When we first launched Nether, we received an enormous amount of support from the community; and when the game met an untimely stop, we felt that it was our duty to try and bring it back for the fans. We look forward to giving Nether fans the game they enjoyed while also providing them and new players with improved gameplay and a slew of upcoming features, like modding support, for an even richer game.”

You can jump right into the world of Nether: Resurrected on Steam.

Synopsis:
Nether is a unique, first-person, multiplayer urban survival experience. Set in a post-apocalyptic world, Nether forces players to make life-saving decisions in a fast-paced struggle against players and the environment. Join tribes, hold territory, scavenge, craft, trade, and loot your way to stay alive.

The post Nether: Resurrected Rising on Steam; Get It for 70% Off! appeared first on Dread Central.

With the game being released for Xbox consoles on November 10 (and on other systems next year), the launch trailer for Rise of the Tomb Raider has found its way online. There’s all the usual action and adventure that you would expect and, intriguingly, a new song by Oscar-nominated singer Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs called “I Shall Rise.”

This trailer also offers the deepest look at the plot that we’ve had so far, with Lara searching for the mythical city of Kitezh whilst evading the sinister organization Trinity. The series has always been praised for its cinematic quality, and that is clearly on display here.

Guess we’ll have to wait until November 10 to see if the game really does rise (sorry) above its predecessor.

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Those of you older readers may remember a game from 1989 called Shadow of the Beast. Yup, I’m talking all the way back to the ancient days of 1989. Well, it’s before I was born anyway. If you have fond memories of the game and feel like revisiting your gory days (sorry), then you’re in luck as a remake is in development for the PS4.

For those of us not old enough to remember, the original game followed a man called Aarbron, who was transformed into a hideous monster to serve the dark lord Maletoth, but naturally, he grows tired of being a servant and seeks vengeance on those who took away his humanity.

A new trailer was shown at the Paris Games Week, and man, when it comes to finishing off his enemies, Aarbron really doesn’t hold back. Talk about tearing them a new asshole.

There’s no release date yet, but the devs did talk a bit about how the game is coming along over on the PlayStation Blog.

The post Shadow of the Beast Remake Brings Out the Beast in You appeared first on Dread Central.

Serving as a prequel to Slasher House (review) and coming from the same studio, Mycho Entertainment, the trailer for Cleaver: Rise of the Killer Clown has found its way online, and let’s just say this is one clown that you wouldn’t want to invite to a birthday party.

Cleaver is directed by MJ Dixon from a screenplay by Jason Harlow and Dixon, who also produces with Anna McCarthy. It stars Andrew M Greenwood, Stephanie Price, Kate Marie Davies, and Rachel Malone.

The flick will premiere at the Horror on Sea Film Festival in January. Head over to Facebook for more info.

Synopsis:
1990 Oklahoma: When Carlton Layton arrived home to find his wife in the arms of another man, he went out to his van and donned the clown suit that he used as a children’s entertainer and proceeded to slaughter his wife and her lover. That night Carlton Layton escaped.

5 Years Later: Halloween Night and Carley, a young college student, is hired to take care of a little girl as her parents head out to a Halloween party, but someone one is waiting, someone wants the girl, someone whom we know as “The Cleaver.”

The post Cleaver: Rise of the Killer Clown Trailer Does Not Clown Around appeared first on Dread Central.