We reported last month that director Shahin Sean Solimon was working in a remake of Plan 9 from Outer Space. However, as the script progressed, the decision was made to drop the connection to Plan 9, and instead it became an original feature titled Attack from Alpha Centauri, which you can learn more about below:

From the Press Release:
Giant Flick Films LLC., announced today that writer/director/actor Shahin Sean Solimon who is best known for the title Sinbad: The Fifth Voyage (2014) PG-13 will be completely scrapping any movie sequels previously planned, and instead developing a fresh new Sci-Fi/Horror project.

“It’s simple, I originally wrote this project as a possible sequel to another classic film from the 50’s era. But after writing the script, and witnessing the story develop much further than I anticipated. Including all fresh ideas and characters, it dawned on me (and this is after much consideration and thought to the process), that this is not a sequel at all, of any kind, without any connection to any other films past or present.” Said Solimon. “It basically got written to a new concept, and I am actually proud and excited to see this happen so organically and true.

No reason to retread an old story with new skin. Therefore my team and I are proud and excited to announce our film will be a classic original Sci-Fi/Horror, titled; Attack from Alpha Centauri. According to Solimon, Attack from Alpha Centauri is very character driven, dramatic, will be very stylized, and set in a post-apocalyptic future America. The project is being developed independently, and is currently being pitched to movie distributors such as Netflix and others; there is also a possibility that the project may be developed into a full series after the initial film is created.

“Sometimes (very often in my case) you stumble on ideas, and stories that come to you in a dream or thought, and you have to create this world that may entertain and inspire others watching at home. That’s what it’s all about for me, the creativity process, and I hope to develop many more.” Said Solimon.

No release dates are set yet for Attack from Alpha Centauri. Since the project is in early stages of development. More info can be found by getting on Shahin Sean Solimon’s Official FB page: https://www.facebook.com/shahinsolimon

The post Plan 9 from Outer Space Remake Becomes Attack from Alpha Centauri appeared first on Dread Central.

Here at Dread Central we’re pretty excited that “Hellevator” is returning to the airwaves of GSN, and today we have two new 360° promo videos for the show to share. Meet the horrifying creatures of the “Hellevator” Inferno, and then be sure to tune in on Fridays in October at 9/8c.

Count. Your. Sins. The punishment begins in just a few more weeks!

About “Hellevator” Season 2:
GSN’s horror-themed game “HELLEVATOR” returns for Season 2 with a special four-week network event, just in time for the Halloween season, with all-new spine-chilling weekly episodes, beginning Friday, October 7, at 9:00 PM ET/PT. “HELLEVATOR” is produced by Matador and Blumhouse Productions, in association with Lionsgate.

Jason Blum, executive producer and master of the horror genre, whose company, Blumhouse Productions, brought the world the Purge, Insidious, Ouija, and Paranormal Activity franchises, now presents a terrifying, genre-bending series that dares a team of four friends to ride a haunted elevator into the depths of an abandoned slaughterhouse. With $50,000 at stake, contestants must conquer multiple floors of terrifying chaos and hair-raising challenges in order to move on to the final level — The Inferno.

Each specially-themed episode is inspired by a true crime story and will also emulate a grisly scene invoked by one of the “Seven Deadly Sins” (Pride, Envy, Gluttony, Lust, Wrath, Greed, and Sloth). In addition to the psychological terror players will face during their quest, they must also endure the wrath of the show’s masterminds, horror film icons Jen and Sylvia Soska, aka the “Twisted Twins,” who work in tandem from their secret lair to torment and trip-up players as they struggle to remain sane and keep in mind that “it’s just a game.”

“HELLEVATOR” is produced by Matador and Blumhouse Productions, in association with Lionsgate. Executive producers are Jason Blum, who won a 2014 Emmy Award for “The Normal Heart” and “The Jinx” in 2015 and was nominated for an Academy Award for Whiplash; Matador’s Jay Peterson and Todd Lubin (producers of “Lip Sync Battle”); Daniel Soiseth (“America’s Next Top Model”); and Jessica Rhoades.

The post Get a 360° View of Hellevator’s Inferno appeared first on Dread Central.

Starring Richard Speight, Jr., Cameron Richardson, Lindsey Ginter

Directed by Kathryn F. Taylor

Scientists work every day to firmly plant an analytical finger upon what causes maladies in the human psyche, such as what exactly makes people sometimes fly into an uncontrollable rage. Upbringing? Chemical imbalance? Whatever the cause might be, rest assured that there is a cure for such an affliction – now, how one deals with that issue is another set of circumstances entirely. Shall we enter this secret lab and discuss The Evil Gene?

Directed by Kathryn F. Taylor, this eerie presentation focuses on FBI agent Griff Crenshaw (Speight) and his investigation into the death of a doctor who was working at a correctional facility that documents and attempts to treat patients with a “rage disorder” – sounds like trouble already. The already uphill battle to solve the doc’s death quickly becomes compounded when a troublesome new inmate (Anthony Fernandez) arrives, and the warden (Ginter) is only too happy to let this mess roll off her back like nothing ever took place – trouble all around!

Soon afterwards, Griff begins to question his own sanity – is the stress of this case really taking a toll, or is there something much bigger at play behind these maximum security walls? Agent Crenshaw is no newcomer when it comes to personal tragedy, as you’ll get the info within the film itself, and it only adds a nice counterpunch to the already interesting series of events that unfold as this movie rolls along.

Speight works wonders with his role as the doggedly determined G-man, teetering back and forth between stoic professionalism and uncomfortable pedestrian to something seriously evil. Unfortunately the remainder of the performances are just inert and uninspiring, but please don’t let that throw you from what looks like a fun watch. Despite its low-budget appearance, Taylor’s direction is not in vain, and she makes the most out of what’s available to her and in the end pulls off a fairly decent psychological thriller.

Worth a watch if you’re wondering what internally pisses you off, but be careful… you might be surprised by what your trigger-point is.

The post Evil Gene, The (2016) appeared first on Dread Central.

There is a pretty even distribution between newer movies and classics this week, my friends. Our only discrepancy comes with the original The Hills Have Eyes Blu-ray, which has been pushed back to October 11^th.

Fans of the truly golden era of horror will be able to appreciate the Hollywood Legends of Horror Collection. We’re going all the way back to the 1930s with this one.

Also located in our Collections section this week are two double features from the 1940s, featuring the likes of Boris Karloff, Val Lewton and Tom Conway. Check out those titles below.

Following 1972’s Count Dracula’s Great Love, we get a good handful of 80s greats. This week sees Blu-rays from An American Werewolf In London to The Lady In White, or from Chopping Mall through 1988’s Slugs.

As an honorable mention, this week’s near-classic nod goes to The Mangler. This also comes to us by means of the Warner Archive Collection, and with a rather unholy trinity consisting of Stephen King, Tobe Hooper and Robert Englund it’s rather surprising this didn’t get a Blu-ray release as well.

Lastly, for all of you out there in TV land, this week sees the Blu-ray and DVD releases of TV’s “Grimm.” Dare I say that this is yet another TV show I thought was pretty good initially but just didn’t have an accommodating enough schedule to keep up with it.

Among all of this, there are a bunch of newer titles, so keep reading. We’ll see you next week and as always, pleasant viewing.

MOVIES

3: All Hallows Eve (2016)

Starring:

Various

Synopsis:

Three tales of terror to make your flesh creep and your heart pound. Deadly spirits, back from the grave with vengeance in mind, give fuel to these tales of supernatural horror. This awesome horror anthology includes a story adapted from the work of master horror writer Gary Brandner, author of ‘The Howling. Demons from beyond, souls seeking revenge and more for the scariest Halloween of all.

Purchase:

BUY IT HERE!

An American Werewolf in London (1981) (Restored Edition)

Starring:

David Naughton, Jenny Agutter, Griffin Dunne, John Woodvine

Synopsis:

Re-discover one of the most gripping horror films of all time with the cult classic An American Werewolf in London Restored Edition. Blending the macabre with a wicked sense of humor, director John Landis (National Lampoon’s Animal House) delivers a contemporary take on the classic werewolf tale in this story of two American tourists who, while traveling in London, find their lives changed forever when a vicious wolf attacks them during a full moon.

Purchase:

BUY IT HERE!

And Hell Awaits (2016)

Starring:

Various

Synopsis:

Life on Earth is an eternal mystery, and some say it’s beyond our grasp. While some are content to live an ordinary life, others cannot accept the notion of death and will do anything to prevent their demise. Retired Lt. Arland Frye is a man who has had terrifying experiences and seen life changing horrors that led him on a dark journey into the unknown. Experimenting with Brujo magic and the occult, Lt. Frye is now on his deathbed and crosses over into another realm where the dance between life and death is a hallucinatory experience not just for him, but for those he chooses to take with him.

Purchase:

BUY IT HERE!

Blood Diner (1987)

Starring:

Rick Burks, Carl Crew, Roger Dauer, LaNette La France, Lisa Elaina

Synopsis:

Two brothers running a diner collect body parts needed to bring an ancient goddess to life.

Purchase:

BUY IT HERE!

Cell (2016)

Starring:

John Cusack, Samuel Jackson, Stacy Keach, Isabelle Fuhrman

Synopsis:

When a strange signal pulsates through all cell phone networks worldwide, it starts a murderous epidemic of epic proportions when users become bloodthirsty creatures, and a group of people in New England are among the survivors to deal with the ensuing chaos after.

Purchase:

BUY IT HERE!

Chasing the Devil (2016)

Starring:

Tim Phillipps, Vivian Dugré, Chris Yule, Cory Knauf, Ary Katz

Synopsis:

The mysterious suicide of Patrick McCord’s sister prompts him to enlist paranormal investigators to look into her death, and unwittingly brings the wrath of an evil entity upon them, leaving their found footage as the only survivor.

Purchase:

BUY IT HERE!

Chopping Mall (1986)

Starring:

Kelli Maroney, Tony O’Dell, John Terlesky, Russell Todd, Karrie Emerson, Barbara Crampton

Synopsis:

Eight teens are trapped in a shopping mall with three security robots out of control.

Purchase:

BUY IT HERE!

Count Dracula’s Great Love (1972)

Starring:

Paul Naschy, Rosanna Yanni, Haydee Politoff, Mirta Miller, Ingrid Garbo

Synopsis:

After their carriage breaks down and their driver is killed in a freak accident, a group of young women are forced to spend the night in a strange and isolated former sanatorium, which has just been purchased by the secretive Dr. Marlow (Paul Naschy). Unbeknownst to the visitors, Dr. Marlow is actually Count Dracula, and stalking the sanatorium are his recently turned vampire slaves. Soon the guests begin to be attacked by the ravenous bloodsuckers, while Dracula sets his sights on the beautiful virgin Karen, deciding to offer her his hand in marriage…

One of Naschy’s most significant roles, Javier Aguirre’s Count Dracula’s Great Love is a sensitive, complex, and surprisingly subversive Dracula story featuring expert direction, effective gothic atmosphere, and gruesome violence. Presented here in its full strength ‘unclothed’ export version, Vinegar Syndrome brings this classic piece of Spanish horror cinema to Blu-ray for the first time anywhere in the world, fully restored from its uncut International negative and featuring a never released feature length audio commentary track with star Naschy and director Aguirre.

Purchase:

BUY IT HERE!

Dogman 2: The Wrath Of The Litter (2016)

Starring:

Larry Joe Campbell, Mariann Mayberry, Kimberly Guerrero

Synopsis:

Hank still enjoys the outdoors and loves to hunt. He and his wife, Dorothy, continue to live on their family farm in the rural Midwest. The picturesque autumn woodlands are a wonderful place to be. But things are not well. Unseen in the nearby forest, are a litter of grown Dogman pups, embarking on their terrifying destiny, and standing over seven feet tall. They are a bad batch. They have to be stopped.

Purchase:

BUY IT HERE!

Exorcist: The Fallen (2016)

Starring:

Tara Marie Kirk, Rollyn Stafford, Justin Hall, Todd A. Robinson, Petra Boyd

Synopsis:

A terrifying, realistic depiction of a family torn apart by demonic possession, and the lengths they will go to in order to save themselves. When their young daughter is possessed by insidious forces, a normal American family is caught in the middle of a battle between good and evil, fighting to keep their daughter’s soul, and their bonds as a family intact until the demon can be driven away.

Purchase:

BUY IT HERE!

First Man On Mars (2016)

Starring:

Marcelle Shaneyfelt, Gavin Ferrara, Benjamin Wood, Kirk Jordan, Sam Cobean

Synopsis:

A secret mission. A horrifying discovery. The countdown to terror has begun! Billionaire astronaut Eli Cologne became the first man on Mars, but something went horribly wrong. Infected by an alien organism on the red planet, he returned to Earth a crazed, savage monster with an unquenchable thirst for human flesh. For small town sheriff Dick Ruffman, it’s a race against time to find the man-turned-monster before he kills again in this horrifying and hilarious satire of low budget drive-in grindhouse creature features from the 1970’s directed by Mike T. Lyddon.

Purchase:

BUY IT HERE!

Francesca (2015)

Starring:

Raul Gederlini, Silvina Grippaldi, Luis Emilio Rodríguez, Gustavo D´alessandro

Synopsis:

It’s been 15 years since the disappearance of little Francesca, daughter of the renowned poet and playwright, Vittorio Visconti. The community is stalked by a psychopath bent on cleaning the city of impure and damned souls. Moretti and Succo are the detectives in charge of finding the killer of these Dantesque crimes. Francesca has returned, but she is not be the same girl they once knew.

Purchase:

BUY IT HERE!

Gut (2012)

Starring:

Jason Vail, Nicholas Wilder, Sarah Schoofs, Kirstianna Mueller, Kailtlyn Mueller

Synopsis:

Family man Tom has seen something he can’t forget, a mysterious video with an ugly secret that soon spreads into his daily life and threatens to dismantle everything around him.

Purchase:

BUY IT HERE!

A House Is Not A Home (2015)

Starring:

Richard Grieco, Bill Cobbs, Eddie Steeples, Aurora Perrineau, Gerald Webb

Synopsis:

Ben and Linda Williams move their family to a new town and into a dream home as a last ditch effort to save their troubled marriage. Despite the good intentions, none of the family members can shake the feeling that something isn’t quite right in their new home. Their unimaginable fears are realized when things inside the house take a supernatural and sinister turn. Ben and his family flee for their lives, but it’s too late. An ancient evil traps the family in the house’s ever-changing labyrinth. The Williams must come together as never before to fight for their family, their lives and to escape an evil more powerful and evil than they could ever imagine. Stellar performances by Richard Grieco (21 Jump Street), Bill Cobbs (A Night at the Museum), Aurora Perrineau (Jem and the Holograms, Equals), Eddie Steeples (My Name is Earl), Gerald Webb (Marvel’s Agent Carter, Battle of Los Angeles), Melvin Gregg (vine celebrity 3.7 million followers) and Emmy winner Diahnna Nicole Baxter (Scandal, Trueblood) anchor the audience to their seats making them feel the family’s terror.

Purchase:

BUY IT HERE!

Killersaurus (2016)

Starring:

Various

Synopsis:

When a scientist runs out of funding for his life-saving medical research, he accepts an investment from a shadowy military organization to finish his work. But in return, he is forced to use his new technology to create the ultimate battlefield weapon – a full size Tyrannosaures Rex, who is ready to break free and start the ultimate battle with the human race.

Purchase:

BUY IT HERE!

Lady In White (1988)

Starring:

Lukas Haas, Len Cariou, Alex Rocco

Synopsis:

A widower’s youngest son turns small-town sleuth to solve a series of spooky murders in the 1960s.

Purchase:

BUY IT HERE!

The Mangler (1995)

Starring:

Robert Englund, Ted Levine, Daniel Matmor, Jeremy Crutchley, Vanessa Pike

Synopsis:

Police and para-psychologists race against the clock to stop a demonic laundry presser that demands blood sacrifice. Starring Robert Englund (the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise, Urban Legend) and Ted Levine (The Silence of the Lambs, American Gangster). Based on a Stephen King short story from his collection, Night Shift (where two of the stories in Cat’s Eye are also from), and written and directed by horror master Tobe Hooper (Poltergeist,The Texas Chain Saw Massacre).

Purchase:

BUY IT HERE!

Motivational Growth (2013)

Starring:

Jeffery Combs

Synopsis:

Ian Folivor, a depressed and reclusive 30-something, finds himself taking advice from a growth in his bathroom after a failed suicide attempt. The Mold, a smooth talking fungus who was born of the filth collecting in a corner of Ian’s neglected bathroom, works to win Ian’s trust by helping him clean himself up and remodel his lifestyle. With The Mold’s help, Ian attracts the attention of a neighbor he’s been ogling through his peephole, Leah, and he manages to find a slice of happiness despite his unnatural circumstances. But Ian starts to receive strange messages from his old and broken down TV set that make him realize that The Mold may not be as helpful as it seems to be, and strange characters combined with stranger events cast Ian’s life in the shadow of an epic battle between good and evil that Ian is only partially aware of.

Purchase:

BUY IT HERE!

The Neon Demon (2016)

Starring:

Elle Fanning, Christina Hendricks

Synopsis:

When aspiring model Jesse moves to Los Angeles, her youth and vitality are devoured by a group of beauty-obsessed women who will take any means necessary to get what she has.

Purchase:

BUY IT HERE!

The Sacrifice (2016)

Starring:

Elizabeth Abraham, Kourtney Adams, Venice Averryheart, Armaan Bajpai, Liz Bancroft

Synopsis:

The Sacrifice starts in Northern India, with a pregnant woman being chased and killed. From that mysterious crime, we come to America, where we meet little brothers Samir and Pran. They have come from India to stay with their relatives in Chicago. During their stay in the States, the kids don’t feel safe. They are actually constantly afraid of something unseen. Something that seems to lurk in the dark around the house. Soon enough, death will visit the new family. Nobody is safe anymore, as they face a vicious unstoppable evil that will not rest until it has achieved its mission… But what is that mission? What does it want? And who is willing to make the ultimate sacrifice to stop it?

Purchase:

BUY IT HERE!

Slugs (1988) (Special Edition)

Starring:

Michael Garfield, Kim Terry, Phillip MacHale, Alicia Morrow, Santiago Alvarez

Synopsis:

THEY SLIME. THEY OOZE. THEY KILL.

From celebrated Spanish director Juan Piquer Simón, the man behind the truly demented slasher flick Pieces (1982), comes a terrifying tale of mutant slugs on the rampage in small-town America.

The townsfolk of a rural community are dying in strange and gruesome circumstances. Following the trail of horrifically mutilated cadavers, resident health inspector Mike Brady is on the case to piece together the mystery. He soon comes to a terrifying conclusion giant slugs are breeding in the sewers beneath the town, and they re making a meal of the locals!

Based on the novel by acclaimed British horror author Shaun Hutson, Slugs outdoes its creature feature peers by adding an extra dose of gross-out gore into the equation, culminating in one of the most squirm-inducing animal attack movies ever to slither its way across screens.

Purchase:

BUY IT HERE!

Spirit In The Woods (2014)

Starring:

Ashley Fast, Heidi Lewandowski, Kinsley Funari, Taylor Patterson, Adrian Denzel

Synopsis:

The fate of five local college students who went missing in the infamous Spiritual Woods is finally unraveled as previously unreleased footage is made public for the first time. Long thought to be dead, the truth turns out to be much worse.

Purchase:

BUY IT HERE!

TELEVISION

“Grimm” Season Five

Starring:

David Giuntoli, Russell Hornsby, Silas Weir Mitchell

Synopsis:

At the heels of his mother’s beheading and Juliette’s “death,” Nick’s life has taken a turn he never expected. Having lost so much, Nick must now come to grips with fathering a child with his once sworn enemy, Adalind. With even more dangerous Wesen coming out of the shadows, the Black Claw uprising Team Grimm has been dreading is approaching in full force. Own all 22 episodes of “Grimm” Season Five, the most chilling season of “Grimm” yet.

Purchase:

BUY IT HERE!

COLLECTIONS

The 7th Victim / Shadows in the Dark

Starring:

Tom Conway, Jean Brooks, Isabel Jewell, Kim Hunter, Evelyn Brent

Movies:

The 7^th Victim

Shadows In The Dark

Purchase:

BUY IT HERE!

Hollywood Legends of Horror Collection

Starring:

Various

Synopsis:

Classic tales of mad passions and madder deeds! Includes: Doctor X, The Return of Doctor X, Mark of the Vampire, The Mask of Fu Manchu, Mad Love, and The Devil-Doll.

Purchase:

https://amzn.com/B01L30SDMM

Isle of the Dead / Bedlam

Starring:

Various

Synopsis:

The most celebrated star in the history of screen horror headlines these two atmospheric works filled with producer Val Lewton’s trademark mix of mood, madness and premeditated dread. Boris Karloff shares a quarantined house with other strangers on a plague-infested – perhaps spirit-haunted – Isle of the Dead. St. Mary’s of Bethlehem Asylum in 1761 London is the setting for Bedlam. Karloff gives an uncanny performance as the doomed overseer who fawns on high-society benefactors, while ruling the mentally disturbed inmates with an iron fist. Mark Robson, who edited three films for Lewton and directed five, guides both films.

Purchase:

BUY IT HERE!

The post DVD and Blu-ray Releases: September 27, 2016 appeared first on Dread Central.

One of my favorite movie characters in recent years was the adorable Apple in the totally awesome Turbo Kid, played by show-stealing actress Laurence Leboeuf. If you also found yourself falling in love with the character, you are going to get a real kick out of this new music video, which sees Leboeuf reprise the role.

“No Tomorrow feat. Pawws” is a musical short film for the Le Matos (Jean-Nicolas Leupi and Jean-Philippe Bernier) track that was written and directed by RKSS (Anouk Whissell, Yoann-Karl Whissell, and François Simard), and it serves as a prequel to Turbo Kid. The 8-minute short follows Apple in her adventure from the other side of the Wasteland, right before her memorable encounter with the Kid.

Watch the unexpected Turbo Kid prequel below!

The post This Musical Short Film Is a Turbo Kid Prequel; Apple’s Origin Story! appeared first on Dread Central.

The new film from the director of The Strangers, Bryan Bertino, entitled The Monster will be available on DIRECTV on October 6th, and in theater this Fall, November 2016. Right now though we have a pair of exclusive images for you! Dig it!

The flick stars Zoe Kazan, Ella Ballentine, Scott Speedman. The Monster is billed as a chilling and tension-filled experience, The Monster pits two ferociously strong women against one of the scariest and most shocking monsters you’ll ever see. It will be a battle no one will forget.

Synopsis:
Acclaimed horror filmmaker Bryan Bertino (THE STRANGERS) directs this suspenseful and scary new film, in which a divorced mother (Zoe Kazan) and her headstrong daughter must make an emergency late night road trip to see the girl’s father. As they drive through deserted country roads on a stormy night, they suddenly have a startling collision that leaves them shaken but not seriously hurt. Their car, however, is dead, and as they try in vain to get help, they come to realize they are not alone on these desolate backroads – a terrifying evil is lurking in the surrounding woods, intent on never letting them leave…

Zoe Kazan
Credit: Photo by Albert Camicioli, courtesy of A24

Ella Ballentine
Credit: Photo by Albert Camicioli, courtesy of A24

The post Bryan Bertino’s The Monster Scares Up DIRECTV Premiere! appeared first on Dread Central.

A prequel to the original classic, Leatherface is soon headed our way courtesy of directors Julien Maury and Alexandre Bustillo (Inside), and though we don’t yet have a trailer or even a date, we can now at least confirm that the film will have an R rating attached to it. Of course, that was pretty much a given already.

The prequel has been Rated R “for strong bloody violence, disturbing images, language and some sexuality/nudity.”

Vanessa Grasse stars as Lizzy, a young nurse at a mental hospital who’s kidnapped by a group of violent teenagers and taken on a road trip from hell. Lili Taylor portrays Verna Sawyer; Sam Coleman, Sam Strike, and James Bloor star as the potential Leatherfaces; and Stephen Dorff stars as a lean, mean Texas Ranger who has a vendetta against the teen boy who grows up to become Leatherface.

The cast also includes Nicole Andrews, Julian Kostov, Jessica Madsen, and Lorina Kamburova. Leatherface was written by up-and-coming genre scribe Seth M. Sherwood.

Lionsgate has picked up distribution rights here in the States. No word on a release date yet, but we’ll keep an eye on things for you. Millennium Films, which was behind the 2013 Texas Chainsaw 3D, is once again producing with Christa Campbell, Lati Grobman, and Carl Mazzacone for Lionsgate.

Synopsis:
In this prequel to The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, a young nurse is kidnapped by a group of violent teens who escape from a mental hospital and take her on a road trip from hell. Pursued by an equally deranged lawman out for revenge, one of these teens is destined for tragedy and horrors that will destroy his mind, molding him into the monster we now call Leatherface.

The post Leatherface Rated R for Bloody Violence appeared first on Dread Central.

If you’ve seen The Taking of Deborah Logan then you know how exciting it is that director Adam Robitel is helming the upcoming Insidious: Chapter 4. His debut effort was one of the most terrifying horror films in recent memory, so we cannot wait to see what he does inside The Further.

Per @AdamRobitel on Twitter, filming on the fourth installment just wrapped this week!

Last day on @InsidiousMovies Chapter 4. Can’t believe it. So excited to take you Further! #Insidious @blumhouse @creepypuppet @LWhannell pic.twitter.com/rAkSS2Eeoz

— AdamRobitel (@AdamRobitel) September 26, 2016

Kirk Acevedo, Bruce Davison, Spencer Locke, and Caitlin Gerard star alongside Josh Stewart. Lin Shaye returns as parapsychologist Elise Rainier, along with franchise co-creator Leigh Whannell and Angus Sampson, who respectively play Specs and Tucker.

Producers include James Blum, Oren Peli, and James Wan. Steven Schneider, Brian Kavanaugh-Jones, and Charles Layton executive produced.

Insidious: Chapter 4 is slated to haunt theaters on October 20, 2017.

The post Adam Robitel Wraps Filming on Insidious: Chapter 4 appeared first on Dread Central.

Yesterday we gave you your first look at Syfy’s new film The Crooked Man, which is airing on October 1st, and now we’re back with a few more stills plus the movie’s poster and trailer.

The Crooked Man, starring Michael Jai White (Spawn), Amber Benson (“Buffy the Vampire Slayer”), and Dina Meyer (Starship Troopers, Saw), kicks off Syfy’s 31 Days of Halloween.

Synopsis:
While at a slumber party, twelve-year-old Olivia is blamed for the horrific and mysterious death of her friend after singing a song, created by a reclusive mastermind, Milo (White), which summons a demonic figure known as “The Crooked Man.” Returning to her hometown six years later, a string of unusual deaths lead Olivia (Angelique Rivera) to believe that she’s still being haunted by whatever she saw that fateful night. Once you sing the rhyme, everyone in the house is cursed to die by his hands.

The post Trailer, Poster, and More Stills Arrive for Syfy’s The Crooked Man appeared first on Dread Central.

No… not THAT kind of viral video. We’re talking a clip from Henry Joost & Ariel Schulman’s parasite shocker Viral, which hits UK DVD on Monday, October 17. Take a look through the peephole… and enjoy!

Straight from the stables of Blumhouse, Viral stars Sofia Black D’Elia (Project Almanac), Analeigh Tipton (Lucy), Travis Tope (Independence Day: Resurgence) and Michael Kelly (Everest).

Synopsis:
Following the outbreak of a parasitic virus that wipes out the majority of the human population, Emma and her sister Stacey find themselves separated from their parents as it reaches their neighbourhood. Quarantined with no connections to her family, Emma, with the help of her love interest Evan, fights to protect her infected sister and for her own survival.

The post There’s Something Outside in This Exclusive Viral Video appeared first on Dread Central.

We are just about one week away from the release of the hotly-anticipated sequel Phantasm: Ravager, and since we know you can’t wait, today we’re serving up a featurette video that takes you behind the scenes of the new film while also paying tribute to the late Angus Scrimm. Get your tissues ready for this nostalgic treat.

Phantasm: Ravager is an all-new film that brings one of cinema’s longest-running franchises (36 years!) without a reboot to a close, with Mike (A. Michael Baldwin) and Reggie (Reggie Banister) teaming up to confront the dimension-hopping Tall Man (Angus Scrimm, in his final role) once and for all.

Look for it on Digital HD on October 4th, in select theaters on October 7th, and on DVD and Blu-ray on December 6th.

Synopsis:
For 37 years, audiences have followed small town friends Reggie, Mike, and Jody in their quest to stop the evil, dimension-hopping schemes of The Tall Man (Angus Scrimm in his final performance) and his armada of killer Sentinel Spheres. Now, Don Coscarelli’s acclaimed horror/sci-fi Phantasm franchise comes to a close in a truly epic finale, a multi-dimensional battle across multiple timelines, alien planets, and altered realities, where no less than the fate of Earth is on the line.

The post Phantasm: Ravager Featurette Pays Tribute to Angus Scrimm appeared first on Dread Central.

According to website themighty.com: “After receiving a letter from John Leyerle, president of the Orange County branch of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, Knott’s Berry Farm changed the name of its attraction from FearVR:5150 – the California police code indicating a person with a mental illness may harm themselves or others – to just FearVR.”

Then things escalated, and a change.org petition was started.

500+ Signatures later,  The OC Register ran an article to let us know that the whole attraction has been taken away not only from Knott’s, but from three different haunts! A number of other news outlets have started to report on this today, and it is going to be VERY bad for those of us who love the haunt season and all of the wonderful things it brings to us.

These articles basically explain that some people whose lives have been affected by mental illness are offended that Knott’s Scary Farm is making fun of people afflicted with mental disorders and calling for a boycott. And while Knott’s has commented that “it wasn’t their intent to offend or make fun of anyone,” these people have scared the company enough to shut down the attractions completely.

The door is now being burst open by others who are chiming in about their disdain for all of Halloween. The people behind this are Kay Warren, a leading mental health spokesperson, and her husband, Pastor Rick Warren. They run one of the largest churches in the country with over 20,000 members and routinely use their large flock of followers to battle things they don’t approve of like gay marriage (and to sell books).

But here is the real problem: This is just the beginning. With Knott’s Scary Farm caving to their demands, where does this stop? If you look on Kay Warren’s Facebook page, hundreds of people have chimed in complaining about their neighbors’ “gruesome” home haunt yard displays, Halloween being “evil,” and calling the entire holiday “unconscionable and disgusting.” If these people are able to shut down a haunt, without ever seeing it firsthand, what comes next? “American Horror Story: Asylum?”

As readers of Dread Central, I assume you have a love and passion for all things horror and genre-related. I encourage you all in the horror community to chime in and use your voices, not to slam them or talk smack, but to express exactly why we love Halloween and horror. If you have ever been to a horror convention anywhere in the world, you have seen our thriving community dressing up and trading and selling “gruesome” works of art, along with people lining up just to get a photo with a celebrity that was in a random horror flick 20 years ago and showering them with adoration.

The people in OUR horror community are the ones paying to attend haunted houses, not these people who are trying to generate attention, NOT to further the cause of mental health awareness, but to flex their evangelical muscles and get places like Knott’s Scary Farm, Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights, and your local haunts to cave in to their PC demands. Please do not be silent; use your voice, and let them know we won’t let this go.

We won’t let their warped beliefs take away our beloved Halloween just so they can sell some more books.

The post Knott’s Scary Farm Targeted for Shut Down by Evangelicals! appeared first on Dread Central.

XLrator Media CEO Barry Gordon and Blue Fox Entertainment co-founders James Huntsman and Todd Slater just announced today that the two companies are joining forces to jointly distribute 15 genre films a year, kicking off with the Santa slasher Good Tidings. Read on for all the details!

From the Press Release:
XLrator Media and Blue Fox Entertainment announced a distribution agreement to jointly distribute 15 films a year across all North American platforms, including a number of co-acquisitions. In addition, Blue Fox Entertainment (BFE) will sell the international rights to these and other select XLrator Media films, starting at AFM this year.

The two companies began their relationship earlier this year when XLrator Media acquired the North American distribution rights from BFE to the international horror festival hit THE WINDMILL, which opens in theaters October 28th and debuts on VOD and iTunes October 25th.

The first film under the new XLrator Media-BFE distribution agreement will be the holiday-themed thriller GOOD TIDINGS, to be released on December 6th, followed in 2017 by the supernatural thrillers DARK SIGNAL and A DEMON WITHIN. All of the films will be released on XLrator Media’s acclaimed “MACABRE” genre label.

BFE plans to bring films of all different genres to the partnership, including several high-profile documentaries, which will be distributed on XLrator Media’s “LIFEFRAME” documentary label and other releasing labels.

“Our partnership with Blue Fox will allow us to expand our release schedule with highly curated films that will enhance our genre, action, multi-cultural and documentary content labels in both traditional and emerging distribution platforms. James, Todd and I all share the same enthusiasm for disrupting outdated business models that have crippled the independent film eco-system for both content creators and distributors,” said XLrator Media CEO Barry Gordon.

“We are excited to partner with the innovative and forward-thinking team at XLrator Media. Together, we plan to utilize new platforms of distribution with talented filmmakers while bringing fresh creative visions to the film and television market,” said James Huntsman and Todd Slater of Blue Fox Entertainment.

The post XLrator Media and Blue Fox Entertainment Partner for Genre Film Slate appeared first on Dread Central.

Saying hello to its eighth year raising hell, Celluloid Screams returns to Sheffield’s Showroom Cinema on Friday 21 – Sunday 23 October… and now you can take a gander at the festival’s fear-packed 2016 lineup. Step right up for the lowdown on the goodies to come!

FRIDAY 21 OCTOBER

7.00pm — OPENING GALA: THE VOID
Director: Steven Kostanski & Jeremy Gillespie | Canada | 2016 | 1hr 30 mins

When small town police officer Daniel Carter (Aaron Poole) encounters a bloodied man on the road in the middle of nowhere, he takes him to the nearest hospital for treatment. When they arrive, however, the hospital is strangely quiet and is soon surrounded by a group of mysterious cloaked figures, trapping the patients and staff inside as they begin to undergo a monstrous transformation…

The Void’s directors require very little introduction. As two fifths of Canadian genre heroes Astron-6, Steven Kostanski and Jeremy Gillespie have been jointly responsible for CS favourites Manborg, Father’s Day and The Editor, but their latest film is altogether more serious in tone, with subtle stylistic nods to early John Carpenter and phenomenal practical effects.
Screening with IMITATIONS + OVERTIME.

9:30pm — ANTIBIRTH
Director: Danny Perez | USA | 2016 | 94 mins

Trailer dweller Lou and her best friend Sadie spend most of their nights steeped in a murky haze of pot smoke and booze-filled TV-watching sessions, venturing out on occasion to party in a desolate community full of drug-addled ex-Marines and other miscreants of society. After an otherwise normal night of self-destructive behaviour, Lou awakens with symptoms of a bizarre illness and psychosomatic visions that she can’t seem to shake. Unfazed, she continues with her hard-living ways, but it becomes clear that something otherworldly has infected her body, and try as she might, it refuses to be ignored.

Drawing on his background in experimental film and video, director Danny Perez has created an unpredictable and hallucinatory nightmare that will take you on a demented journey into the unknown.
Screening with MADRE DE DIOS + MINDLESS.

Midnight — CAT SICK BLUES (UK PREMIERE)
Director: David Jackson | Australia | 2015 | 101 mins

If you saw the short film incarnation of Cat Sick Blues at Celluloid Screams 2013, you’d be forgiven for thinking that you’re mentally prepared for the feature version… think again. After the death of his cat, introverted loner Ted suffers a breakdown and convinces himself that in order to bring his beloved kitty back from the dead, he needs nine human lives to sacrifice. Equipped with a cat costume complete with a mask and razor-sharp claws, Ted embarks on a savage rampage across the city, whilst developing a doomed romance with Claire, a young woman he meets at a group for recently bereaved pet owners.

Though absolutely not for the faint hearted, Cat Sick Blues is a one-of-a-kind disturbing gem the likes of which you’ve never seen before.
Screening with GWILLIAM + DO YOU SEE WHAT I SEE?.

SATURDAY 22 OCTOBER

10.00am — WHAT WE BECOME
Director: Bo Mikkelsen | Denmark | 2015 | 85 mins

A viral outbreak hits the Danish suburbs in Bo Mikkelsen’s compelling slow-burner. The Johannson family’s idyllic summer is brought to a sudden halt when a particularly aggressive and virulent strain of flu takes hold. As the death toll rises, the authorities begin sealing off the neighborhood and the residents are soon forcibly sealed into their houses to contain the infection. Faced with an uncertain fate and convinced that they’re being lied to, teenager Gustav breaks out of their quarantine to discover the terrifying truth about the situation…

Laced with fear and paranoia, this tense pandemic thriller places an ordinary family in the middle of a dystopian nightmare where nothing is certain and no one can be trusted.
Screening with DAWN OF THE DEAF + KADDISH.

12.10pm — THE DEVIL’S CANDY
Director: Sean Byrne | USA | 2015 | 90 mins

When they snap up a spacious mansion in rural Texas at a bargain price, struggling artist Jesse (Cheap Thrills’ Ethan Embry) his wife Astrid (Shiri Appleby) and their daughter Zooey (Kiara Glasco) believe their domestic dreams have come true. Soon, however, the peace is shattered when evil forces begin to emerge from within the house influencing Jesse’s mental state as well as his artistic expression. As family relationships become strained, a mentally disturbed former resident returns to “reclaim” his home and will stop at nothing to do it.

Six years after exploding onto the international horror scene with his debut feature The Loved Ones, Director Sean Byrne returns with this heavy metal-infused tale that combines possession, haunted house shocks and serial killer chills.
Screening with ARCANA + DEATH METAL.

2.20pm — CREEPY
Director: Kiyoshi Kurosawa | Japan | 2016 | 130 mins

Returning to the genre that made him a cult favourite over the last two decades, director Kiyoshi Kurosawa (Pulse, Cure) is back with Creepy, a masterclass of slow-burn dread and psychological chills.

After sustaining a serious injury at the hands of a deranged killer, police detective Takakura quits the force, moves to a quiet country village and takes a job teaching criminal psychology in the altogether safer confines of the local university. The idyllic lifestyle that he craves is thrown into chaos, however, when Takakura begins to suspect that his new neighbour is a psychopath responsible for a series of unsolved murders and he is soon drawn into a paranoid nightmare that threatens to destroy his entire life.
Screening with STITCHED UP.

4.50pm — YOGA HOSERS
Director: Kevin Smith | USA | 2016 | 88 mins

In the second film in his planned True North trilogy, director Kevin Smith reunites with cast members from walrus shocker Tusk for a tale of teenage angst and a battle with sinister pork products.

15 year old store clerks Colleen and Colleen (Harley Quinn Smith & Lily-Rose Depp) spend their time dealing with difficult customers at the Eh-2-Zed convenience store and jamming with their band in the back room, but everything changes when they’re invited to a senior high school party. The excitement is shortlived, however, when an ancient evil emerges from deep within the earth unleashing an army of little monsters in the form of nazi bratwurst that threaten the world as we know it, not to mention the duo’s party plans… If you think this all sounds a little ridiculous, you’d be dead right, but you should expect nothing less from a film described by its director as “Clueless meets Critters.”
Screening with THE BABYSITTER MURDERS + MUNCHIES.

7.40pm — I AM NOT A SERIAL KILLER
Director: Billy O’Brien | Ireland/USA | 2016 | 105 minutes

A Midwestern town is plagued by a series of murders and a young amateur sleuth is determined to unmask the killer, in this adaptation of the cult novel by Dan Wells.

Sixteen year old John Cleaver (Max Records) is not your average teenager; obsessed with serial killers and monsters and wrangling with his own psychopathic feelings, John keeps his urges at bay through regular sessions with his therapist, his close friendship with elderly neighbour Mr Crowley (Christopher Lloyd) and lending his mother a hand at the family undertakers business. But when their community becomes gripped with a series of grisly, seemingly connected murders, John can’t help but be drawn into staging his own investigation, using his sociopathic tendencies to connect and come face to face with the monster that haunts their small town.

10.00pm — CELLULOID SCREAMS SECRET FILM
Once again, our annual mystery film takes its place, waiting to reveal itself to you, our unsuspecting audience. You’ll only find out what it is as it’s about to begin.
Screening with WHEN SUSURRUS STIRS.

Midnight — CELLULOID SCREAMS ‘VAMPIRES vs WEREWOLVES’ ALLNIGHTER

AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON
Director: John Landis | United Kingdom | 1981 | 97 mins

THE LOST BOYS
Director: Joel Schumacher | USA | 1987 | 97 mins

TEEN WOLF
Director: Rod Daniel | USA | 1985 | 92 mins

FROM DUSK TILL DAWN
Director: Robert Rodriguez | USA | 1996 | 108 mins
Screening from an original 35mm Print.

SUNDAY 23 OCTOBER

11.00am — WE GO ON
Director: Jesse Holland, Andy Mitton | USA | 2016 | 90 mins

Miles Grissom is plagued with a crippling fear of death, so much so that he is willing to pay $30,000 to anyone who can categorically prove the existence of the afterlife. Whether it’s a ghost, a near death experience or a proven past-life memory, Miles simply wants proof. His classified ad elicits thousands of responses, most of which are fakes, but Miles receives three replies that might just be the genuine article. The answer to his question, however, may be more than he bargained for.

Proof if it was ever needed that low-budget ingenuity beats bombastic jump scares and identikit plotting hands down, We Go On is a fascinating exploration of the supernatural that never fails to enthral and terrify from beginning to end.
Screening with KING RIPPLE + KOOKIE.

1.30pm — TRASH FIRE
Director: Richard Bates Jr. | USA | 2016 | 93 mins

Owen (Entourage’s Adrian Grenier) and Isabel (Angela Trimbur) are a couple in turmoil. Their relationship is characterised by barbed sarcasm and barely-contained contempt, mainly on the part of Owen, who suffers from severe intimacy and trust issues relating to a horrific family tragedy from his childhood. Their situation reaches breaking point when Isabel becomes pregnant and in a last-ditch attempt to encourage Owen to step up and become a family man, she suggests that they should visit his surviving relatives to bury the hatchet once and for all. However, this impromptu family reunion unearths dark family secrets that could destroy them all.
Screening with THE DISAPPEARANCE OF WILLIE BINGHAM + THE SUNKEN CONVENT.

4.00pm — DEAREST SISTER
Director: Mattie Do | Laos/Estonia/France | 2016 | 101 mins

A young village girl travels to the Lao capital, Vientiane, to care for her rich cousin who has lost her sight. Upon arrival, she is treated with hostility by the house’s servants and is entranced by the material wealth that is all around her. Most disturbing of all, her cousin’s blindness has given her an ability to commune with the dead, resulting in a series of mysterious and terrifying encounters that also pose a moral conundrum for those involved.

Director Mattie Do is Laos’ only female filmmaker, and is also the country’s only horror filmmaker. Add to this that Dearest Sister is only the 13th film to have ever been made in Laos, where film production infrastructure is non-existent, and a unique picture begins to emerge. Such accolades are already noteworthy, but the fact that Mattie’s unique cinematic voice is evident in all aspects of this, her second feature, cements her status as a significant filmmaking talent to watch.
Screening with THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WITCHING HOUR.

7.10pm — PET
Director: Carles Torrens | USA/Spain | 2016 | 90 mins

Security guard Seth (Dominic Monaghan) lives an isolated existence working in an animal shelter, and after a chance meeting with old flame Holly (Ksenia Solo) he thinks he’s found his ideal woman. As Seth becomes more obsessed with Holly and his attempts to woo her fail, he takes the extreme step to imprison her in a cage in the basement of the shelter in order to give their new relationship a chance. At this point, many other films would tread the all-too-familiar narrative path of victim vs captor, but Pet throws its audience into a series of twists and turns in a plot that is both a compelling exploration of loneliness and relationships as well being a darker-than-dark romantic comedy (of sorts) that sets it apart from your average psychological thriller.
Screening with INK, COCKS & ROCK’N’ROLL.

9.30pm — CLOSING GALA: RAW
Director: Julia Ducournau | France/Belgium | 2016 | 98 mins

Brace yourselves for a ferocious, gruesome coming-of-age tale and THE breakout horror film of the year. Everyone in Justine’s family is a vet, not to mention a staunch vegetarian. At 16, she’s a brilliant and promising student but when she enrols at veterinary school, she enters a decadent, merciless and dangerously seductive world. During the first week of hazing rituals, desperate to fit in whatever the cost, she strays from her family principles when she eats raw meat for the first time. Justine will soon face the terrible and unexpected consequences of her actions when her true self begins to emerge…
Screening with MERIDIANS.

Festival passes are priced at £95/£85 Concessions for the “Ultimate” edition — which includes the all-nighter — or £80/£70 Concessions for standard passes and are currently on sale from the Showroom Box Office or online at http://www.showroomworkstation.org.uk/cspass2016.

Standalone all-nighter and individual film tickets can be had from the main Showroom Workstation website.

The post UK’s Celluloid Screams Announces Full 2016 Programme appeared first on Dread Central.

Originally released in the summer of 1981, Italian grindhouse zombie flick Burial Ground is soon headed home to newly-restored Blu-ray courtesy of Severin Films, and on tap today are full release details along with a new piece of art that will adorn a limited edition slip cover. Read on for all the gory fun!

From the Press Release:
Hot on the heels of their acclaimed release of DOCTOR BUTCHER MD, on October 25th, 2016 Severin Films will unleash the definitive Blu-ray of psychosexual sleaze maestro Andrea Bianchi’s zombie gut n’ boob-chomper BURIAL GROUND. Severin is improbably proud to present this gorehound/sex-fiend favorite, now packed with all-new exclusive Extras, reversible sleeve art, and a Limited Edition (3000) O-Sleeve with new art by Wes Benscoter and featuring a 2k scan with new restoration and color correction from a negative element recently discovered beneath the floorboards of a Trastevere church rectory.

For his only foray into the zombie genre, celluloid grime guru Andrea Bianchi (MALABIMBA: THE MALICIOUS WHORE, STRIP NUDE FOR YOUR KILLER) unleashes enough flesh-ripping, innard-munching and depraved oedipal mayhem to set insane new standards in Italian horror. Mariangela Giordano (of SATAN’S BABY DOLL and MALABIMBA fame) stars in the splatter classic about a cursed country estate besieged by horny houseguests, undead Etruscans and the unusual relationship between a mother (Giordano) and her mega-creepy young son (disturbingly portrayed by diminutive adult actor Peter Bark) that will trigger perhaps the most jaw-dropping scenes in grindhouse history.

Special Features:

• New restored 2k scan with full shot by shot color correction
• English and Italian Language Audio Tracks
• Villa Parisi – Legacy of Terror: Featurette on the historic house location
• Peter Still Lives: Festival Q&A with actor Peter Bark
• Just for the Money: Interview with actor Simone Mattioli
• The Smell Of Death: Interviews with Producer Gabriele Crisanti and Actress Mariangela Giordano
• Deleted/ Extended Scenes/ Shots
• Theatrical Trailer

Limited Edition of 3000 with O-Sleeve feature exclusive new art by Wes Benscoter. Purchases through the Severin Films store will receive free 12 x 18 poster or a Special Bundle Package is being offered with Poster, enamel pin, ‘Smells Of Death’ t-shirt and a ‘Smells of Death Shot Glass’.

The post Severin Films Details Burial Ground Blu-ray Release; Check Out the New Art! appeared first on Dread Central.

Psycho in color? Yeah, why not? The folks over at the YouTube channel My Colorful Past have given us a look at how Marion Crane’s scream sequence would look were it not in B&W, which you can see below.

But to be clear… I’m not a fan of altering already released films, so I certainly would not want to see a colorized version of the whole movie.

And please don’t say that we’ve already seen Psycho in color in the form of Gus Van Sant’s shot-for shot, word-for-word remake, or I may lose the will to live.

The post Psycho’s Scream Sequence Gets Colorized appeared first on Dread Central.

Hello everyone! With this week’s The Devil’s Muse, we wanted to bring you something delicious. Yes, you did read that correctly!

Our featured artist this time around is Christine H. McConnell, an artist, photographer, stylist, model, and killer baker.

What in the world could a baker be doing that would get them spotlighted on a horror site you wonder? Well, we’re certainly glad to show you.

Christine’s art all has a macabre theme in some way, shape, or form. So take a look at her baked marvels below, as well as some of her other work. You can see more as well as follow her on Instagram, Twitter, Imgur, Facebook, Flickr, or her website!

Stay sweet dear readers, and we’ll see you again next week for The Devil’s Muse!

The post DC’s The Devil’s Muse: Artist Spotlight – Christine H. McConnell appeared first on Dread Central.

It’s been a long road, but The Chair is heading to theaters next month with its debut taking place in Burbank, California, on October 18th. We have additional details on that along with a look at the film’s new trailer, poster, and more!

Peter Simeti, publisher of Alterna Comics, where The Chair originated, tells us, “We’ve partnered with Tugg to provide this ‘on demand’ theatrical release with almost 30 cities showing one-night special screenings in the month of October and into the rest of 2016 and 2017. This will be the first Alterna film in theaters and is an important landmark for creator-owned comics at this level.”

For tickets and more info, visit tugg.com/titles/the-chair.  Cities currently in the mix to host a screening include Atlanta, Boston, Philadelphia, New York, Pittsburgh, Chicago, Phoenix, Las Vegas, Dallas, San Diego, Charlotte, and more. In addition, people can request showings and receive 5% of the ticket sales as a referral fee.

The film will also be playing at the Northeast Wisconsin Horrorfest on October 8th and at Rock and Shock in Worcester, Massachusetts, on October 15th with more on the way.

Directed by Chad Ferrin, The Chair stars Bill Oberst, Jr., Roddy Piper, Naomi Grossman, Zach Galligan, Noah Hathaway, Timothy Muskatell, and Ezra Buzzington alongside an electrifying ensemble cast.

Synopsis:
Richard Sullivan (Muskatell) is an innocent man struggling to escape his fate on Death Row. Witnessing the murders of his fellow inmates at the hands of the prison’s sadistic and psychotic Warden (Oberst) and his crew of guards, Sullivan decides that the only way to survive is to fight back. With the body count rising, the Warden and his guards close in on Sullivan. As he matches the brutality occurring in the prison, Sullivan starts to lose his grip on reality. Memories of the childhood abuse he suffered at the hands of his mother combine with vivid hallucinations which push him to the very edge, forcing him to question his sanity at every turn.

For more information and updates, visit the official The Chair website and follow the film on Twitter @theCHAIRhorror or on Facebook.

The post New Trailer, Poster, and Theatrical/Film Fest Plans Unveiled for The Chair appeared first on Dread Central.

Let it be known that we here at the Who Goes There Podcast are gluttons for punishment. So, what better way to follow up our Blair Witch episode than with a film from Rob “I Put My Wife in All My Movies” Zombie?

We’re joined by horror authors David Agranoff (Punk Rock Ghost Stories) and Anthony Trevino (King Space Void) to talk Rob Zombie’s 31 (reviews here and here), people eating, penis eating, pilot writing, Jamaican accents, facial close-ups, and really taking it there!

New York Matinee called it “a playful but mysterious little dish“… it’s the Who Goes There Podcast Episode 85! Seeeeee you next Wednesday… cunts.

The Who Goes There Podcast is available to subscribe to on iTunes right here. Not an iTunes user? You can listen on our Dread Central page. Can’t get enough of our terrible jokes? Why not creep on all of our social media? You’ll find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.

The post Who Goes There Podcast: Episode 85 – Rob Zombie’s 31 appeared first on Dread Central.

Developed by Splendy Games and Wales Interactive

Published by Green Man Gaming Publishing

Available on PC, Mac, PS4, and Xbox One

Suitable for ages 15+

Well now, here’s something you don’t see much of nowadays. For a while in the early to mid 90s full motion video (FMV) games were the new craze. It was at a time when a number of experimental disc consoles were hitting the market, and devs were scrambling to find ways to fill up all that extra space. Games once could only hold maybe a few minutes of video, but now they could hold a whole movie’s worth of information. In one of the industry’s more ill-fated decisions, they figured, “why not just make a whole game with video?” Looking at games like Night Trap and Phantasmagoria, it’s clear why the craze didn’t live past the mid 90s. Now here comes The Bunker, trying to bring the genre into the modern age.

There are a few hold outs. Last year’s Her Story is a prime example. Even Command and Conquer used FMV for its cutscenes up till Tiberian Twilight. These games are now the outlier, with enough novelty to forgive some poor design choices. The fundamental issue with these is still as relevant as ever, and isn’t solvable with the advancements in video game technology. Most FMV games suck because they are made by game developers, not filmmakers.

There’s a big difference between what it takes to make a good game and a good movie. Traditionally, FMV games have had problems attracting quality actors. As games become more of an accepted artistic medium, this becomes less and less the case. So let’s ignore the classic problem that the actors of games like Night Trap couldn’t convincingly portray something as simple as teens being frightened by stuff. Even with the best actors in the world, video game and film direction are very different. For example, dialogue exchanges in a video games are trigger based, prompted by something the player did. In a film, it’s based on the best timing and flow to make a scene come together. Trying to merge the two is almost impossible. Imagine if when Kyle Reese blasted Arnold Schwarzenegger with a shotgun and reached out to Sarah Connor, he scrolled through six various dialogue options for 30 seconds before landing on, “come with me if you want to live.” This is the kind of human interaction that isn’t well translated into a video game format.

Although I’d pay good money for a The Matrix game where I played Keanu Reeves and every dialogue option was, “woah.”

The visual language is also very different between games and film. With video games, there needs to be a visual continuity between actions. Walking into a room in Resident Evil, it’s up to me to inspect everything, figure out what is important, and do whatever action needs to be done. It’s what makes watching games so boring to someone who doesn’t play them; to an unfamiliar spectator, it’s just slow and dull. In a film, it’s not important to show every element of a room since it’s not up to the viewer to decide what’s important. The character walks into a room, camera focuses on a gun, character grabs the gun, character starts shooting, cut to bad guy falling over. Films are an inherently spectator medium, so applying this style to games would strip the explorative factor that makes them interesting to gamers.

Previous attempts to marry the two has generally resulted in a lot of visual clutter. I’m going to ignore Her Story, since it basically cheated by setting all of the FMV in one interview room. For most FMV games, there’s an over-explanation of action. Walk to a room, and there’s a video of the person walking there. Open a drawer, there’s a video of the guy walking to the drawer, opening it up, and looking intently at the contents. Turn to the left, and we’ll see the protagonist turn left and look around for a moment. Not a movement or action goes by that isn’t explained by some sort of cutscene. It’s not impossible to do well, but the line between showing action to immerse the player and making the game drag is razor thin.

The amount of time a character makes this exact face before something happens is the metric.

My overall point is that though games are often called “cinematic,” there’s a massive difference between what works for each. Game designers want to show the player the whole story as a game would, which is both boring and visually confusing. If you switch to the player’s face every time you turn, you disorient the player to their location in the room. It’s a version of the 180 degree rule taught in every film 101 class, but irrelevant in game design. With a better understanding of film, perhaps you could get more visual clarity with less mundane cutscenes.

This might be a new record for Ted, getting a whole page and a half into the review without talking about the game. I think it’s important to know exactly where I’m coming from when I talk about The Bunker. This is a game that can’t be judged by normal game stuff like level design or balance. I struggle even calling this a game. Interactive movie is a better term. Hell, in the credits they even list the director first.

So if my theory is that most FMV games are bad because they are developed by game designers, what happens if it’s designed by a filmmaker? As it turns out, it’s a mixed bag. I’ll start with the good. Right off the bat, The Bunker is a visually stunning title. Long gone are the days of pixelated compressed video files in FMV games, but this looks good even for a film. I’ve seen plenty of indie movies with far worse production values. The lighting was excellent, doing a good job of accentuating the important bits while still casting a decrepit pallor. It was filmed in a genuine old nuclear bunker in Essex, which contributes a lot to the authentic feel. Almost all of the game’s tension is due to this exceptional visual design.

Quality camerawork? IN MY FMV GAME? Preposterous!

Another key contributor is the soundtrack. It’s absolutely fantastic. It’s got a great 80s synth vibe, and contributed more than anything to my experience. This is the first soundtrack in a long time I’ve actually recommended buying. It perfectly accompanies the game’s dark and dingy feel, and ramps the tension in ways the gameplay just doesn’t.

As I said before, the gap between video game and screen actors is closing, and never has that been more apparent than in The Bunker. Each of the main characters does an excellent job, with Grahame Fox standing out as the Commissioner. Adam Brown was given a significant challenge in the role of John, but rose to the occasion admirably. Essentially a one-man show, all of his characterization had to be done through expression and internal monologue. It isn’t easy to portray such an array of nuanced emotion, but he got the job done. I was actually reeling when he was fixing his broken arm.

He effectively portrays a giant child constantly on the verge of tears. The way he calls for his mother is genuinely heartbreaking, far from the caricature he could have been.

The narrative in The Bunker is the point where my praise starts to turn. Overall, the story is decent if not a bit predictable. The fundamental premise is compelling, and easily my favorite part. Starting with the fictional events of an alternate 1986, nuclear war has wiped out life in Europe. 58 members of a select military team head down into a bunker, saving them from the initial blast. One of them is the main character’s mother. It’s on this fateful day that she gives birth to you, a boy named John. Raised in this environment for 30 years, you are now the only survivor. It’s 2016 and the bunker has begun to break down. It is up to you to get out alive.

John’s mother’s final words were, “stick to the schedule,” which he does every day without fail. Wake up, take his medicine, scan the radio frequencies, check for radiation, eat, and read a story to his mother. Being raised in a bunker, he does all of this without any real understanding of why. Long after his mother is dead, he still reads to her corpse every night. Though in his 30s, he’s essentially a child, playing with his handmade toys and still afraid of the dark.

And this is John’s life, going between three rooms and repeatedly completing these tasks. On day 11,111 of this, something goes wrong. The servers used to check the radiation are offline. For the first time since he was a boy, John will have to venture out of his cycle to try and fix the bunker. From here, things go south fast. I won’t spoil anything past this, but there are some decent revelations before the credits role. Nothing really surprised me, but it was satisfying and well explained. Nothing great, but serviceable.

This is one of those rare games where the supplementary documents are actually very insightful. All written over 20 years ago, they give you a glimpse into daily life in the bunker before the bad shit goes down.

My biggest issue with The Bunker comes from the length. From start to finish, the game is about two hours, most of which is watching John walk around. If you were to just glue together the important story bits, it could be done in just 30-40 minutes. It has enough time to set up the premise and pay it off, but not enough for me to really get invested in the nuance. Perhaps this was intentional, since when really analyzed the game doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. Little questions like “where was everyone sleeping” or “why weren’t they affected by the toxins” aren’t ever answered. It’s already hard enough to accept that this guy would stay in the same three rooms his whole life, so maybe I should just let my nitpicks go.

The game also isn’t really a game. You’ll click on things to make John go places, click repeatedly for him to struggle, click and drag to get him to move a lever, or click quickly to stay hidden. It’s incredibly boring and uncreative. What’s more, none of it happens very often. I think you click and drag to pull a lever maybe six times. Older FMV games might have had shitty visual design, but at least they had gameplay. I guess when you focus entirely on the film aspect, game design suffers. Go figure.

This is a video game that asks you to click a button to play with toys, which is less interactive than actually playing with said toys.

While playing The Bunker, I was almost all praise. The key elements were well enough highlighted, and the visual clutter was kept to a minimum. I liked how they changed up the visuals with the security cameras in the hallways, giving the descent into depths a more ominous feel. The acting was solid, plot fun, and I wanted to see where it went. But all of a sudden, it was just over.

The Bunker is a well made interactive film with more promise than delivery. This is an incredibly talented cast and crew who really get how to make a good movie. Apply that to a game, and we get a short point-and-click “adventure game” without any of the adventure. Given more focus on the gameplay, this could have been a slam dunk. It’s too short without anything really interesting to do. At $20, I can’t really recommend it. If it goes down to $10 on a sale, it would be worth the price of a movie ticket.

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