Developed by Dead Drop Studios LLC

Available on PC through Steam

Rated T for Teen

Here’s a fun experiment: show of hands, who remembers Resident Evil Outbreak? For all seven of you that do, kudos. For the rest of you, Resident Evil Outbreak is the often forgotten original multiplayer Resident Evil game. Four years before Left 4 Dead popularized co-op survival horror and five years before Resident Evil 5 brought multiplayer into the main franchise, Resident Evil Outbreak had four players coming together to murder zombies across five different levels. Oh, and it was a PS2 exclusive. Because when you think multiplayer, you think of the PS2 network adapter.

Despite the questionable platform exclusivity, there was a considerable fan following for Resident Evil Outbreak. Enough to garner a sequel even, File #2. Which is hilarious, because not even Capcom thought this game would do well. It’s budget was cut so hard and release delayed so far, that the second game was actually mostly just levels cut from the first. Well I guess buy one, get one free is a nice way to develop games as well.

As a side note, this has got to be one of the best box arts of all time

It’s been 11 years since the last Resident Evil Outbreak release, so it’s pretty fair to say that the series is dead. It’s sad, but not unexpected. Resident Evil has long since moved away from tank controls and fixed cameras. Though ahead of its time in many ways, REO was unfortunately rooted in mechanics that would spell its doom. It came right before Resident Evil 4 was hotter than Natalie Dormer covered in magma, and the next 10 years of survival horror were locked into replicating that. The most recent multiplayer Resident Evil game was Umbrella Corps, to which the kindest thing to do is quietly pretend it never happened.

I’m mentioning all of this because Outbreak is a spiritual successor to Resident Evil: Outbreak. It would be pointless reviewing the mechanics and gameplay without this background. This is a game meant to appeal to a very specific crowd. There are horror fans that long for the old school days of survival horror. Those that long for the year and a half when REO brought that online is a much smaller subsection.

It’s a familiar story, and a very familiar voice even says “Outbreak” when you push start.

Let me be clear when I say that Outbreak is definitively old school. The perspective is constrained by the top down view, but everything else is classic Resident Evil. Tank controls are back, meaning you can only move forward and backward without slowly turning. Inventory slots are limited to four, meaning working together is imperative to reaching the end. If this sounds like the kind of game that you’ve been waiting years for but no one has bothered to make, then Outbreak might just be for you.

If these locked doors require different animal theme keys to open, then you can have me any way you want.

There are a few other things that you should keep in mind before buying in. First off, the game is basically unplayable without a group of friends. There’s too much complexity to the item trading and working together that if you don’t have voice chat it all becomes too cumbersome. That’s assuming you could find a group of random people available to play with anyway. At time of review, I found exactly zero live sessions during regular daytime hours.

Which is a very bad thing considering that the game is almost impossible to play single player. Due to the four item limit, you can carry a gun, ammo, and healing item with just one slot left for keys. It’s not impossible, but close to it. Given that a lot of the best items are found through exploration, this limitation removes a huge part of what makes the game enjoyable. If you have a group to play with, I’m sure the experience is far more fun. As a solo experience, it’s a chore.

Even for the most masochistic of item management fans, four slots is way too restrictive.

Even if you have a group, I’m not sure that this is the game that you want to play. The objective of every map is to get to a landing zone, while infinitely spawning zombies assail you from all sides. It’s a very Left 4 Dead style without the same fluidity of gameplay. Outbreak’s controls feel like they’re actively trying to shit in your cornflakes. I get tank controls, but by god does this game feel like ass. It recommends you play with an Xbox controller, but even then it feels like you’re trying to teach a brick to figure skate. Scouring rooms for secrets and items, aiming at zombies, and even running through hallways is a constant struggle against the mechanics to squeeze some fun out of the experience.

I know that struggling with the controls is one of Resident Evil‘s charms, but that game didn’t have wide open environments and limitless undead.

I feel bad shitting on the little guy. This is clearly an indie dev with no funding just trying to revive their favorite unique gaming experience. There’s absolutely nothing cynical about this game, no market they are trying to exploit for a quick dime. This is a game that the devs made because they wished that more games like this existed. For that alone am I giving this some leeway.

I want to say that my experience was just skewed due to playing alone, but that would be lying. Playing with friends, I struggled to keep the group interested long enough to finish a single level. Maybe this would be remedied if they made a solid solo mode with an expanded inventory and set spawns. At the price of $15, I can’t recommend Outbreak. If you are absolutely dying to relive Resident Evil Outbreak, I guess this game might work. It won’t introduce anyone new to this style of gameplay, and it probably won’t even satisfy diehard fans.

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Personal Shopper star Kristen Stewart hosted last night’s “SNL” and acquitted herself pretty well, although she was definitely better in the pre-recorded segments versus the live skits.  Which bodes well for her new film… although it has been the subject of some controversy.

How will it fare following its March 10th release by IFC Films? Only time will tell, but in the meantime we have a new trailer to give us a few clues.

Along with Stewart, Personal Shopper stars Lars Eidinger and Sigrid Bouaziz. It’s  directed by acclaimed independent filmmaker Olivier Assayas.

Synopsis:
A high-fashion personal shopper to the stars (Stewart) is also a spiritual medium. Grieving the recent death of her twin brother, she haunts his Paris home, determined to make contact with him.

The post Meet Your Personal Shopper in this New Trailer appeared first on Dread Central.

Tonight Showtime begins airing Season 1 and 2 of “Twin Peaks” with back-to-back episodes on SHOWTIME 2 every Sunday at 7PM ET/PT, and to make sure you haven’t forgotten about it, the network has released a promo that highlights the “damn good coffee” to be had in the town.

It’s also available for streaming so if you’re not caught up, what the heck are you waiting for?

“Twin Peaks” Episode 1.01 – “Pilot” (Original Air Date: April 8, 1990
The small northwest town of Twin Peaks, Washington, is shaken up when the body of the Homecoming Queen, Laura Palmer, is discovered washed up on a riverbank, wrapped in plastic.

The 18-part limited event series “Twin Peaks” will debut with a two-part premiere on Sunday, May 21st, at 9PM ET/PT. Immediately following the premiere, Showtime subscribers will have access to the third and fourth parts, exclusively across the network’s streaming service, SHOWTIME ANYTIME, and SHOWTIME ON DEMAND. In its second week, “Twin Peaks” will air the third and fourth parts back-to-back on the linear network, starting at 9 p.m. ET/PT, followed by one-hour parts in subsequent weeks.

About “Twin Peaks”:
The critically-acclaimed television phenomenon “TWIN PEAKS” returns as a limited series to Showtime in 2017. “TWIN PEAKS” is written and produced by series creators and executive producers David Lynch and Mark Frost and is directed entirely by David Lynch.

While the full mystery awaits, fans can expect many familiar faces, including Golden Globe winner and Emmy Award nominee Kyle MacLachlan, who reprises his role as FBI Agent Dale Cooper, plus Lynch as FBI Regional Bureau Chief Gordon Cole.

Widely considered one of the most groundbreaking and influential broadcast series of all time, “TWIN PEAKS” followed the inhabitants of a quaint Northwestern town who were stunned after their homecoming queen, Laura Palmer, was shockingly murdered. The town’s sheriff welcomed the help of FBI agent Dale Cooper, who came to town to investigate the case. As Cooper conducted his search for Laura’s killer, the town’s secrets were gradually exposed. The mystery that ensued set off an eerie chain of events that plunged the inhabitants of Twin Peaks into a darker examination of their very existence. Twenty-five years later, the story continues…

The post Showtime Kicks Off Twin Peaks Seasons 1 & 2 Replay with a New Promo appeared first on Dread Central.

The guy who unleashed Hellboy upon the world has started an all-new story arc featuring another of his famous horror stars. Yep, Mike Mignola created Lord Baltimore alongside horror writer Christopher Golden for the book Baltimore, or, The Steadfast Tin Soldier and the Vampire, with the character later appearing in subsequent comics.

Lord Baltimore’s latest outing is called The Red Kingdom and finds him facing his greatest challenge yet as he goes up against a great evil that threatens to consume the entire world. Mignola and Golden returned to script the new series, with Peter Bergting providing artwork.

Issue #1 is available now, and Dark Horse has created a pretty badass animated trailer which shows off the vampire-infested apocalypse.

Synopsis:
Lord Baltimore is missing. The Red King—evil incarnate—is taking over the world. Baltimore’s team has been driven apart, with some of them dying on the frontlines while others are in hiding.

Since the day he set out for revenge on the vampire who killed his family, Baltimore’s fight has gotten bigger than he’d ever imagined, but what role will he take as evil finally threatens to consume the world?

The post Vampires Start the Apocalypse in Mike Mignola’s Baltimore: The Red Kingdom appeared first on Dread Central.

Not content to supply sci-fi/horror fans with just a new “Big Game” TV spot for the upcoming film Life, Sony also released a new trailer today plus an assortment of stills. So put down the remote for a second (you can keep your beer or other imbibable of choice of course), and check ’em out!

Jake Gyllenhaal, Rebecca Ferguson, Olga Dihovichnaya, Ariyon Bakare, Hiroyuki Sanada, and Ryan Reynolds star in this new film from Daniel Espinosa (Safe House, Child 44).

Synopsis:
Life is a terrifying sci-fi thriller about a team of scientists aboard the International Space Station whose mission of discovery turns to one of primal fear when they find a rapidly evolving life form that caused extinction on Mars and now threatens the crew and all life on Earth.

The post Sony’s Life Gets a Big Game Trailer Too; New Stills Released! appeared first on Dread Central.

Who here owns Lights Out on Blu-ray? Show of hands? For those of you in the class who have raised your hands, please keep your hands raised if you felt unsatisfied with the special features offered. I.e. the single special feature offered: the deleted scenes from the film. For those of you still reaching for the sky, we’ve got some great news for you!

David Sandberg’s Twitter had some late night action yesterday on February 4th. At 7:43 p.m. PT a Lights Out fan tweeted the director suggesting that an MP3 commentary track would be well received. At 9:03 p.m. David tweeted back two characters, “Ok.”

Minutes later the simple message was understood, as David Sandberg tweeted an unofficial commentary for Lights Out. He created it in a manner of hours with his wife (and actor in the film) Lotta Losten.

.@lottalosten and I just recorded a commentary track for Lights Out that you can play while watching the film.https://t.co/HqjJF6teXP pic.twitter.com/7j3y1yLfhY

— David F. Sandberg (@ponysmasher) February 5, 2017

It didn’t take long for fans to realize that the director and his wife had created the commentary simply at the behest of the fans. Sandberg’s response was understated, yet telling.

https://t.co/HBWcrSISl8

— David F. Sandberg (@ponysmasher) February 5, 2017

You can listen to the commentary directly from David Sandberg’s SoundCloud account, or download it to any device. If you’d like, you can listen to it right here on Dread Central! Sandberg starts the commentary with an explanation of how to sync it to the film, so you don’t have to worry about timing too much. Enjoy!

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With the 2017 Super Bowl LI upon us, we’re here watching all the commercials (and of course the Puppy Bowl) so that we can bring the newest movie and TV trailers to you as they come. On deck: A Cure For Wellness.

Dane DeHaan, Jason Isaacs, and Mia Goth star. The screenplay is by Justin Haythe; story by Justin Haythe and Gore Verbinski, who directed.

Look for A Cure for Wellness in theaters on February 17, 2017.

Synopsis:
An ambitious young executive is sent to retrieve his company’s CEO from an idyllic but mysterious “wellness center” at a remote location in the Swiss Alps. He soon suspects that the spa’s miraculous treatments are not what they seem. When he begins to unravel its terrifying secrets, his sanity is tested, as he finds himself diagnosed with the same curious illness that keeps all the guests here longing for the cure.

The post Super Bowl 2017 – A Cure For Wellness Big Game Spot appeared first on Dread Central.

With the 2017 Super Bowl LI upon us, we’re here watching all the commercials (and of course the Puppy Bowl) so that we can bring the newest movie and TV trailers to you as they come. On deck: “Stranger Things.”

Season 2 takes place in 1984, one year after the events of the first season. Sean Astin, Paul Reiser, Brett Gelman, Linnea Berthelsen, Dacre Montgomery, Rob Morgan, and Sadie Sink all join the returning Finn Wolfhard, Millie Bobby Brown, Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin, Natalia Dyer, Winona Ryder, David Harbour, and Charlie Heaton. Look for it to return Halloween 2017.

About Stranger Things Season 2: A year after Will’s return, everything seems back to normal… but a darkness lurks just beneath the surface, threatening all of Hawkins. Stay tuned for everything “Stranger” as we get it!

The post Super Bowl 2017 – Stranger Things Season 2 Big Game Spot appeared first on Dread Central.

With the 2017 Super Bowl LI upon us, we’re here watching all the commercials (and of course the Puppy Bowl) so that we can bring the newest movie and TV trailers to you as they come. On deck: “The Walking Dead.”

About “The Walking Dead” Season 7B:
The highly anticipated mid-season premiere of the #1 show in all of television among adults 18-49, AMC’s “The Walking Dead,” launches Sunday, February 12th, at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT. In the debut episode, #7.09, “Rock in the Road,” Rick and the group are led to a new community where they are introduced to its inhabitants and ruler. A familiar face resurfaces.

The first half of Season 7 saw Rick (Andrew Lincoln) and the group broken by Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), forced to fall under his will and brutally convinced to live under his rules. The second half of the season will focus on preparing for war and gathering the supplies and numbers to take Negan down once and for all.

Rick’s group will find out yet again that the world isn’t what they thought it was. It’s much bigger than anything they’ve seen so far. While they have a singular purpose – to defeat Negan – it won’t come easy. More importantly, victory will require more than Alexandria. They need the numbers of the Kingdom and the Hilltop, but, similar to how Rick felt, Ezekiel (Khary Payton) and Gregory (Xander Berkeley) do not want bloodshed. To convince them otherwise will take more than speeches. The lengths Rick and the group will have to go to in order to find weapons, food, and new fighters is nothing short of remarkable.

We’ll meet new survivors in incredible places. We’ll see Rick and the group tested in ways we’ve never seen before. We’ll see treachery from people we trust. Rick is confident as he will see his group and many others band together with the common goal of taking down Negan. But no amount of planning will prepare the group for all-out war with Negan and his army.

Based on the comic book series written by Robert Kirkman and published by Image Comics, “The Walking Dead” reigns as television’s most watched drama for Adults 18-49. “The Walking Dead” tells the story of the months and years that follow after a zombie apocalypse and follows a group of survivors, led by police officer Rick Grimes, who travel in search of a safe and secure home. The series is executive produced by showrunner Scott M. Gimple, Robert Kirkman, Gale Anne Hurd, David Alpert, Greg Nicotero, and Tom Luse.

Following the mid-season premiere, viewers can catch an all-new episode of the live after-show “Talking Dead,” featuring series star Khary Payton and executive producer Greg Nicotero at 10:13 p.m. ET/PT.

The post Super Bowl 2017 – The Walking Dead Season 7B Big Game Spot appeared first on Dread Central.

For a trailer that clocked in well under a minute, the Super Bowl TV spot for what’s being called “Stranger Things 2” sure told us a lot. The first season felt like the best movie an in his prime Steven Spielberg never made, and what’s next looked to have more than just a little in common with the Spielberg classic Close Encounters of the Third Kind.

Are aliens descending upon Hawkins, Indiana? Let’s look at some screencaps from the trailer that point to that being the case.

A normal night in 1984 outside the local arcade.

Suddenly lights begin to appear in the sky.

A few frames later the lights are MUCH closer.

Akin to sculpting the Devil’s Tower in Close Encounters of the Third Kind from mashed potatoes? Sure seems feasible to us.

Someone or something at Mike Wheeler’s (Finn Wolfhard) door?

Leading to this stunning reveal…

Tell us what YOU think below!

Season 2 takes place in 1984, one year after the events of the first season. Sean Astin, Paul Reiser, Brett Gelman, Linnea Berthelsen, Dacre Montgomery, Rob Morgan, and Sadie Sink all join the returning Finn Wolfhard, Millie Bobby Brown, Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin, Natalia Dyer, Winona Ryder, David Harbour, and Charlie Heaton. Look for it to return Halloween 2017.

About Stranger Things 2: A year after Will’s return, everything seems back to normal… but a darkness lurks just beneath the surface, threatening all of Hawkins. Stay tuned for everything “Stranger” as we get it!

The post Examining Stranger Things 2’s Super Bowl TV Spot; Close Encounters Coming? appeared first on Dread Central.

Starring Natasha Henstridge, Ice Cube, Jason Statham, Clea DuVall

Directed by John Carpenter

Distributed by Powerhouse Films

Any list of John Carpenter’s “worst” films just wouldn’t be complete without Ghosts of Mars; it’ll probably even be at the top. It was a box-office bomb that sent a dispirited Carpenter into semi-retirement, Ice Cube has repeatedly dubbed it the worst film he’s ever made – don’t forget, this is the star of Are We Done Yet? – and it’s pretty much a punch line among fans; so why do I kind of dig it?

Ghosts of Mars allegedly started life as a third Snake Plissken adventure dubbed Escape from Mars, but the failure of Escape from L.A. put paid to those plans. The story follows a group of elite cops on Mars, who enter a mining town to collect an infamous criminal (Ice Cube) from jail, only to find the place abandoned. After some investigation, it turns out the long dormant spirits of Mars’ previous inhabitants have been unleashed, possessing most of the town and killing any humans they encounter. The cops have to team with the prisoners to survive, and it’s going to be a long night indeed.

It’s been noted elsewhere that Ghosts of Mars feels like a mixtape of Carpenter’s greatest hits; namely, Assault on Precinct 13 and The Thing. There’s something charmingly out of date about the film’s sensibility, which made it stick out like a sore thumb back in 2001. The dialogue is pure b-movie cheese, the sets feel chintzy and the action is often stilted; a franchise starter it most certainly wasn’t.

Ghosts of Mars also has a needlessly complex structure, since the plot is being relayed in a post-mission briefing by lead cop Natasha Henstridge. So the story is being told in flashback, but characters within the plot tell her about events she wasn’t present for, so we get flashbacks within her flashback to those events; it even goes for the hat trick, with a flashback within a flashback within another flashback. It never fails to raise a smile when a character starts recounting where they’ve been, and a cheesy edit takes us into another unnecessary flashback.

The film also speeds past plot holes, like the fact that if you kill a possessed person, a ghost immediately exits the body, seeking the next vessel to possess. This creates the perfect enemy in a way, since if you kill them you just create a bigger problem. Carpenter mostly ignores this for the sake of a few action scenes, where entire waves of the possessed are wiped out without consequence. This awesome setup could have been milked for more tension, but it’s mostly squandered. The action is enjoyable, but the editing needed tightening since the choreography isn’t exactly graceful.

Ghosts of Mars feels like Carpenter was actively trying to sex up his style, featuring strange screen wipes and dissolves within shots, but they mostly come off as distracting. He also teamed up with some heavy metal folk for the soundtrack, which is a good deal rockier than his regular work, but still comes with that unique Carpenter edge. The ghosts themselves are a sorry bunch, with their leader Big Daddy Mars looking like a body building goth. The rest look like extras from an Italian rip-off of a Carpenter movie, and they never evoke any genuine menace.

The film also features Jason Statham’s first action role – he was up for the lead, but the studio insisted on a bigger name – and while his character is annoyingly sleazy, his performance is the most entertaining. Henstridge does well in the lead as a tough cop with a drug problem, but Cube just doesn’t convince at all, looking more bored than tough. The supporting cast is a mixed bag, with the normally great Clea DuVall looking utterly confused throughout, but Joanna Cassidy is fun as the doctor who accidentally unleashed the spirits among the planet. Sadly for her, she takes part in the worst scene, where her character is seen flying a balloon during a flashback, and the effects are so eye-wateringly poor the sequence should have been scrapped entirely.

So why, with so many glaring issues, do I still have a soft spot for this silly b-movie? Maybe because it was the first Carpenter movie I saw in cinemas, but also the fact it’s recognisably his. If Assault on Precinct 13 was his Rio Bravo, Ghosts of Mars is his Rio Lobo; a great director returning to a formula he knows best, and while the result isn’t nearly as fresh or creative, it’s still a good time for fans. It’s got all his recognisable tropes; a badass anti-hero, a siege, distrust of authority and it’s a Western dressed as a sci-fi movie. From a cold, hard critical standpoint it’s really not that good, but if it comes on television, odds are I’ll watch the whole thing and never once get bored.

Powerhouse Films did a nice job with the picture quality of Ghosts of Mars, though the high-def look has the downside of exposing how cheap some of the sets are. The old DVD extras are ported, including a charming commentary with Carpenter and Henstridge, plus featurettes looking at the shoot, the effects and the score. The disc also comes with a booklet containing an interview with Carpenter from 2001. The second part of his 1994 Guardian interview is also packaged – the first part can be found on Powerhouse’s Vampires Blu-ray – covering his career up to In the Mouth of Madness.

Special Features:
• Commentary by John Carpenter and Natasha Henstridge
• 1994 John Carpenter video interview with The Guardian
• Scoring Ghosts of Mars featurette
• Special Effects Deconstruction
• Video Diary: Red Desert Nights featurette
• Theatrical trailer
• Booklet with new essay by Nick Pinkerton and archive Carpenter interview
• Concept art gallery

Buy Now!

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The future of independent horror looks bright, with so many DIY filmmakers pursuing their demented dreams on their own accord. One such filmmaker is Canadian sprite Sebastian Godin, a 21-year-old rising talent whose short film Out of the Box (2015) solidified his status as a name to keep a watchful eye on.  With previous collaborations including a project with genre legend and Troma head honcho Lloyd Kaufman, he’s certainly built enough esteem at an early stage in his career to warrant some intrigue. Now, with his first feature-length project on the horizon, we’ll finally get to see what he’s made of.

Lycanimator is a creature feature with splatter and slime on its mind, and with an Indiegogo campaign raising funds to make it as disgusting as can possibly be, at least we know our donations are going towards a worthy cause. The creature effects are being provided by Dustin Mills, whose monstrosities in his own features have made him one of the hottest names in indier-than-indie horror at the moment.

The cast is also impressive, including Nicole Fiore from last year’s phenomenal Night of Something Strange and Joel D. Wynkoop, star of Tim Ritter’s cult crime comedy Dirty Cop, No Donut (1999).  Lycanimator might not break the mainstream, but the names involved are sure to go down a treat with fans of no budget horror fare.

You can follow updates via the Facebook page.

Synopsis:
Melting Man Films & C Word Productions is proud to bring you the first collaboration of filmmaker Sebastien Godin and producer Dustin Hubbard. Beware the “Lycanimator”, a monstrous subject of mad science gone horribly wrong! Can a group of college kids, with the aid of a wily stranger, best this beast in what’s sure to be the most over-the-top, slimy and madcap creature feature of the year?

Lycanimator concept art by Toby Johansen

The post Crowdfunding Campaign Launches for Slimy New Creature Feature appeared first on Dread Central.

In 2010 Warm Bodies, a book with a new kind of zombie, hit store shelves. It quickly became a bestseller and a major motion picture. Many years later the much anticipated sequel, The Burning World, will finally be released on February 7, 2017, kicking off with a multi-city tour.

In advance of that, New York Times bestselling author Isaac Marion found time to sit down to talk with us about the new book.

Dread Central: What’s the order of books in the Warm Bodies series?

Isaac Marion: Warm Bodies – An existentially troubled zombie fights to resurrect himself with the help of a fiery living girl. They accidentally change the world.

The New Hunger – A glimpse into the early lives of some characters and the early deaths of others and the crucial moment they intersect. A prequel that sets the stage for what’s coming.

The Burning World – The zombie population is in limbo. R is alive but doesn’t know who he is and isn’t sure he wants to. Then a militant relic of the old world shows up to “restore order,” and R has to take his journey of self-discovery on the road into the unexplored ruins of America.

DC: Are you nervous about expectations faithful readers have with The Burning World (review) being so highly anticipated?

IM: Very nervous, thanks for the reminder! I’m just hoping my readers aren’t expecting a simple rehash of Warm Bodies because the only reason I got excited about continuing the story was knowing how much bigger and weirder it would get. I couldn’t just keep writing about zombies falling in love. I wanted to take the concept all the way and really explore a world where corpses come to life and thoughts have power and how these characters fit into that world. I’m just crossing my fingers that readers are willing to take the leap with me.

DC: Warm Bodies was adapted for screen. Was that a good experience for you, and would you be open to having the rest of the series adapted?

IM: There were some drawbacks. The movie kind of overwrote the book with its own version of characters and events so now people will always think of Warm Bodies as a sweet romantic comedy, and R will always be a teenager in jeans and a hoodie. It changes my feelings toward my work somewhat when I know that the vast majority of “Warm Bodies fans” are there for the movie and might not even know about the book. There are times when I wish the story was still “mine.”

On the other hand, there probably wouldn’t BE any Warm Bodies fans if not for the movie. The movie gave me an audience. Not necessarily the audience I expected for my writing, but an audience. And watching the movie get made was probably the peak moment of my life. So yeah, I’d be ecstatic if another movie happened. Even if they butchered it, it would still bring people to the books, and that’s all I really care about.

DC: Warm Bodies was described as a “zom-rom-com.” That’s not how I would describe The Burning World. How would you describe the tone of the new book, and what made you decide to go in a different direction?

IM: I never thought that was a fair description of Warm Bodies. I think a lot of the labels applied to the book–rom-com, Young Adult, etc.–were really meant for the movie, which was younger and lighter in tone. But even so, the first book was lighter than this one. Things get pretty real here. It wasn’t so much a decision to “go dark” as it was just the natural way to tell this part of the story.

Warm Bodies was amused with its premise. It had to spend most of its time just getting the reader acclimated to a world where zombies are people, and it did a lot of that with humor. There wasn’t a lot of room to explore the implications of that strange world or the lives of the characters. I had to keep things relatively surface-level. Now I’m really diving into it, digging up their pasts and showing a wider view of this ruined world, how it got ruined and how it might be restored. So the tone changed to match the content, which is pretty intense stuff.

DC: The Burning World is a set-up for the final book in the series. What will that be titled, and what can we expect for R, Julie, and the rest of the gang?

IM: The final book is called The Living, and I wrote it back-to-back with The Burning World so it’s actually almost finished now. I’m hoping it can be released later this year so people can read the conclusion while everything’s still fresh. It’s hard to say much about the story without spoiling The Burning World because it picks up right where that one leaves off, but basically, it’s the journey home, the final confrontation with inner and outer demons. It’s less urban, weirder, and more primal, even cosmic. It goes to some very surreal, psychedelic places and has a lot of emotional release. It’s my favorite piece of the story for sure.

DC: On your website you mention that you were once almost decapitated. I think that’s a story we need to hear.

IM: When I was around 8, we lived on a hill with a very steep driveway, and I would ride my bike down it as fast as I could just for the speed rush. We had horses, and one day my mom put a rope across the driveway so they could graze in the yard… You can probably see where this is going. The rope burn on my throat was so bad it would lock my head in place every time it scabbed over. I had to take regular baths to soften the scab so I could move my jaw enough to eat.

DC: You self-published three novels prior to the Warm Bodies series. Are those novels still available for readers, and where would they find them?

IM: I always tell people it’s a stretch to call what I did “self-publishing.” I just printed a couple hundred copies and sold them on my blog. It was mostly a way to share the books while I worked toward getting a publisher. Without that tangible reward to work towards, it would have been hard to stay motivated since actual publication was always such a longshot.

But no, those books definitely aren’t available anymore. The first two were the beginning of an epic fantasy series that I started when I was 14, and they are… not readable. The third was a story that still excites me and I might actually come back to it for my next book, but that particular telling of it is dead to me. It does pop up on eBay sometimes though!

DC: It seems as though you’ve had a long and varied employment history, including working with foster children. How have these experiences colored your writing?

IM: The last couple jobs I had involved a lot of close contact with death and human misery. The foster care job in particular really impacted me because I was constantly surrounded by broken families and lives that had fallen apart. There were so many different reasons for these collapses, but with the sheer quantity passing in front of me, it started to blur together into some kind of monstrous amalgam of everything that’s wrong with humanity. That was my inspiration for “the plague.” The kids I worked with inspired the fierce resilience of characters like Julie and Nora. I dedicated Warm Bodies to the foster kids I’ve met. They meant a lot to me.

DC: You’re running a unique pre-sale campaign for The Burning World. When readers pre-order your book, they also get a free digital copy of the “bizarre post-apocalyptic newspaper” that guides the main character, R. What made you decide to do this?

IM: I’m always looking for ways to make the reading experience more immersive and involving. The Exed World Almanac is something that appears throughout The Burning World in crazed, hand-scrawled illustrations so I thought it’d be cool to release a special issue that’s written just before the book begins and kind of foreshadows what’s about to happen. When people order directly from my author site, Isaacmarion.com, I’m able to include it as a bonus.

Pre-orders are great for artists because they allow you to start promoting your work far in advance of the release date and get people on board in their moment of interest instead of expecting them to “stay tuned” for six months. The downside is that they’re so unsatisfying because you pay money and then nothing happens for a long time. I wanted to give people some instant gratification when they pre-order and also provide a little appetizer for what’s coming. And I just like writing the Almanac. It takes my brain to weird, crackling places.

Our thanks to Isaac for his time! For more info visit his social media accounts:

Instagram: @isaacmarion and @warmbodiesbooks
Twitter: @isaacinspace
Facebook: facebook.com/isaacmarionauthor and facebook.com/warmbodies

Synopsis:
Being alive is hard. Being human is harder. But since his recent recovery from death, R is making progress. He’s learning how to read, how to speak, maybe even how to love; and the city’s undead population is showing signs of life. R can almost imagine a future with Julie, this girl who restarted his heart – building a new world from the ashes of the old one.

And then helicopters appear on the horizon. Someone is coming to restore order. To silence all this noise. To return things to the way they were, the good old days of stability and control and the strong eating the weak. The plague is ancient and ambitious, and the Dead were never its only weapon.

How do you fight an enemy that’s in everyone? Can the world ever really change? With their home overrun by madmen, R, Julie, and their ragged group of refugees plunge into the otherworldly wastelands of America in search of answers. But there are some answers R doesn’t want to find… a past life, an old shadow, crawling up from the basement.

The post Exclusive Q&A with The Burning World Author Isaac Marion appeared first on Dread Central.

Chris Alexander has become a filmmaker who operates outside of the box and his latest endeavor is no different. Read on for the skinny on Blue Eyes.

From the Press Release:
Executive Producers Chris Alexander and Barbie Wilde are proud to announce their new feature length horror film project Blue Eyes, starring electronic music legend, performance artist and actor Nivek Ogre (Skinny Puppy, Repo! The Genetic Opera, Queen of Blood).

Blue Eyes will be directed by Chris Alexander (Blood for Irina, Queen of Blood, Female Werewolf and the upcoming Blood Dynasty), with a script written by Alexander and Barbie Wilde, actress (Hellbound: Hellraiser II, Death Wish 3) and author (The Venus Complex, Voices of the Damned). The script is based on an original story by Wilde.

Funding via Kickstarter to be announced. In the meantime, follow Blue Eyes on Twitter and Facebook.

Synopsis:
Gazza Hunt is a man living on the edge, a man whose life has been battered down by bum luck and bad decisions and who has simply given up. Homeless, hopeless and wracked by addiction, Gazza’s desperate existence is interrupted one night when, wandering in the woods, he follows a glowing blue light to a freshly dug hole in the earth where he finds an ethereal, nude sleeping beauty, perfect in every way. But, as Gazza soon learns, this woman isn’t asleep. She’s dead. And yet somehow Gazza is still uncontrollably drawn to her…this blue girl…with those blue eyes…

The post Stare into Barbie Wilde’s Blue Eyes appeared first on Dread Central.

Celebrated for its unsettling atmosphere, eldritch monsters, oppressive difficulty, and detailed lore, Bloodborne has been praised by fans and critics alike as one of the top video games of the current console generation.

In May UDON Entertainment is releasing the highly anticipated Bloodborne Official Artworks, collecting all of the grim, Gothic-inspired illustrations behind the smash hit Bloodborne video game in one gorgeous art book; and we have all the details right here along with a few preview pages.

From the Press Release:
Gamers know that Bloodborne (review) is inextricably linked with the fan-favorite Dark Souls series; and indeed, fans who have picked up UDON’s bestselling Dark Souls Design Works and Dark Souls II Design Works know exactly what kind of hair-raising, bone-chilling experience awaits within the pages of Bloodborne Official Artworks. Inside you’ll find a complete lineup of creature designs, location illustrations, character concepts, and weapons as well as an item and trophy glossary – and more!

Don’t think for a moment that Bloodborne’s downloadable content has been forgotten either; Bloodborne Official Artworks also features plenty of material from the game’s sole DLC campaign, “The Old Hunters!” Truly, there has never been a better time to discover – or rediscover – the hauntingly beautiful city of Yharnam.

Bloodborne Official Artworks will be available for purchase at finer comic book stores, book retailers, and various online retailers on May 23, 2017 (pre-order here), while Dark Souls Design Works and Dark Souls II Design Works are available now.

The post Bloodborne Art Book Coming in May appeared first on Dread Central.

Let’s face it… Netflix’s selections at times can be a bit on the iffy side, especially if you’re one of those pickier-than-hell horror fans like I am; and when you’re faced with the notion of scrolling through a metric crap-ton of useless garbage sprinkled on a streaming site, it can get to be a bit tiresome.

Luckily I was introduced to Shudder, an absolutely fright-tastic subscription site that streams only horror to your phone, laptop, tablet, or whatever connection device you might have planted in your skull (just kidding).

In all honestly, I canceled my Netflix subscription a couple of months ago, strictly due to the lackluster content that was available for us aficionados of spooky flicks; and lucky me… I’ve hopped on the Shudder Express! With films specifically selected for the site by horror fans, the choices are bountiful and ever-changing (not to mention they look pretty damned good, resolution-wise).

Love Asian horror? Got it. Big fan of names like Bava and Giallo? Covered. Maybe you’re looking to jump into the late Saturday nights of your youth and tune in to some “Tales from the Darkside” episodes before you drift off to sleep? You’re in luck! Actually, Shudder’s got your back with categories like “Bad Genes and Killer Kids,” “Eco-Terror,” “Foundations of Horror,” and “Psychos and Madmen” – and I’m seriously undercutting the amount of content on the site, as they have documentaries, curators’ picks, and even a streaming choice called Shudder TV – just tune in and let the site take over.

It only costs $4.99 a month to join, or $49.99 for the entire year (a much better deal), and the content is always on the move with you, with supporting platforms like Roku, Amazon, Google Play, Apple iOS, or even directly through the SHUDDER site itself – Playstation and Xbox users can also stream through their consoles with the VRV app.

Not down with what’s available? That’s cool – you can cancel when you want, although I really don’t think you’ll want to when you see what they’ve lined up for you.

All in all, I can’t rave enough about the site enough, and I’ve only scratched the surface of what they’ve got to offer. So, what are you waiting for? New episodes of “Orange Is The New Black”?  Get off yer duffs, and start your free trial over at Shudder.com right now!

The post Editorial – Want Horror On Demand? Then Get Shudder Now! appeared first on Dread Central.

Indie films often follow a long and winding road on their way to reaching the masses, and one that we’ve been talking about for a few years now is Baphomet.  Writer/director Matthan Harris has provided us with an update plus an exclusive look at the storyboard sequence for a nightmarish scene with the Hellkeeper, who serves as the Gatekeeper to Hell in the film.

Harris tells us, “As for the film’s progress, shooting is expected to continue in March. I’m also in talks with a very exciting horror veteran to join the cast; will update you on that soon.”

Currently the cast includes Cradle of Filth frontman Dani Filth as occult expert Lon Carlson.  Harris serves as writer, director, co-star, and producer with Incisive Pictures on Baphomet. For more info and updates, keep your eyes on the Baphomet Facebook page.

Synopsis:
An American family celebrates their 28-year-old daughter’s pregnancy. The celebration is interrupted when a Satanic cult leader, Henrik Brandr, unexpectedly visits their ranch.

Henrik offers to pay the family a large sum for ownership of their land. Jacob Richardson, the father, rejects the offer due to the priceless sentimental value of the ranch. Henrik, displeased, begins to put devastating curses on the Richardsons, trying to force them off their land – even if it means murdering them.

After suffering unexplainable tragedies, the Richardsons seek help from Marybeth, a white witch high priestess. They soon discover a terrible secret about their house, revealing why their land is so valuable to the cult. They realize they must protect their house from the cult at all costs, and a violent battle between good and evil ensues.

The post New Storyboards Introduce Us to Baphomet’s Hellkeeper appeared first on Dread Central.

The Mothman of Point Pleasant, West Virginia has always been one of my favorite cryptids, but aside from that damn film film Richard Gere and a couple of indie productions, it never really penetrated the mainstream like Nessie or Bigfoot or any of its other more famous counterparts. Possibly because since it first allegedly appeared in 1966, reportings of Mothman sightings have been so rare that the legend pretty much faded into obscurity.

At least we’re getting a new documentary from the Small Town Monsters team about the alleged winged creature, which is now on Kickstarter. Having already finished filming, they’re asking for a meager $9,500 to complete post-production, which is hardly the tallest of orders, so help them make the Mothman fly once again.

New Mothman Film Unveils A Terrifying Look at the Legendary Monster
Small Town Monsters, the company behind The Mothman of Point Pleasant, has unveiled the official poster (created by horror artist, Sam Shearon) for their feature film. The company is promising a brand new take on the Mothman stories, including aspects never told before the documentary which is being funded through a Kickstarter campaign launching on February 2nd. While the crowdfunding campaign is mostly focused on Mothman, it will also help drive forward the production of Invasion on Chestnut Ridge, another STM film, which is scheduled for release around Halloween.

The campaign is offering a Mothman statue (designed and sculpted by Jean St Jean and produced by CreatuReplica) as one of its primary rewards. Other rewards include getting your name in the credits of both films, a Mothman t-shirt created by Sam Shearon, an exclusive cryptid poster by Matt Harris, DVD copies of the films and much more. The campaign also offers the opportunity for backers to watch a pre-release copy of “Mothman” ahead of its official release this June.

The Mothman of Point Pleasant will tell the truly bizarre story of thirteen months that changed the town of Point Pleasant forever. It promises the first in-depth, chronological look at not just the Mothman-creature encounters but all of the unusual activity which took place around the town and seemed to culminate with the collapse of the Silver Bridge. The Silver Bridge incident claimed the lives of 46 people in 1967, an event which still affects the community to this day.

Invasion on Chestnut Ridge, the second film slated for release from Small Town Monsters in 2017, is the first STM documentary to focus on UFOs. The documentary tells the strange tale of the Chestnut Ridge, a one hundred mile stretch of land where eerie events have been transpiring for decades. The town at the heart of this story is the rural community of Kecksburg, Pennsylvania where, in December of 1965, many local residents claimed to see a UFO crash in a nearby forest. Since 1965, events have transpired on “the ridge” that truly stretch the boundaries of our reality.

Previous Small Town Monsters films include Beast of Whitehall and Boggy Creek Monster. Both films recently took honors at the Hollywood International Independent Documentary Awards. The entire series is available on DVD through their online storefront (http://shop.smalltownmonsters.com) as well as streaming through Vimeo OnDemand, Amazon Instant Video and soon, iTunes and Google Play.

To learn more about the Kickstarter visit the page at The Mothman of Point Pleasant and Invasion on Chestnut Ridge.

The post The Mothman of Point Pleasant Documentary Spreads its Wings on Kickstarter appeared first on Dread Central.

He’s fought everything from robots to Charlie Sheen, but I don’t think Danny Trejo has ever fought a pig on screen before. Let alone an army of mutant pigs. So the gory as hell trailer for “Bullets of Justice” is a pretty unique experience.

Although IMDb lists it as a film, the “Bullets of Justice” Indiegogo campaign states that it is in fact the pilot episode of a TV series. It’s set in the not too distant future, in which an attempt to create an army of super soldier pigs to fight in World War III backfires, with the swines attempting to overthrow humanity.

“Bullets of Justice” also stars Timur Turisbekov, Yana Marinova, and Dessy Slavova and comes from Wrong Turn 6 director Valeri Milev.

Synopsis:
During the Third World War, the American government initiates a secret project code named “Army Bacon” in order to create super soldiers by inbreeding human beings with pigs. Twenty-five years later a breed called “Muzzles” has occupied top of the food chain, eating and farming humans like animals. Rob Justice is an ex-bounty hunter working for the last line of human resistance – a group of survivors hiding in a nuclear bunker deep underground. His mission is to find out how Muzzles came to power and destroy them.

“Bullets of Justice” is a pilot episode of a TV series in the genres of black satire, action, and horror. During the filming process we decided to allocate the post-production budget into shooting in order to express our ideas the way we wanted to. As most of the scenes require a lot of visual effects, we need your help so we can finish the product and deliver it.

It is an independent project created by friends with the idea to finish the pilot episode as an introduction for a future series. In appreciation for your help, we’ve compiled perks that include masks, props that were used during the shooting, and even a role in the next episode.

The post Danny Trejo Fights an Army of Mutant Pigs in Bullets of Justice appeared first on Dread Central.

Despite its name, Scared to Death isn’t a remake of Bela Lugosi’s only color film of the same name or the 1981 monster movie which also shares the moniker. It’s actually a slasher set in a haunted house on Halloween. Sounds like they hit all the boxes on the horror checklist right there.

It comes from from director Kate Lavin, whose previous credits include Trail of Blood On the Trail and the short Death Choice: Motel Mayhem, and stars Courtney Rose Bennett, Michelle De Sutter, Anna Nabhan and Kristy Whitman. Although it doesn’t yet have a release date, you can stay updated on the website of production studio The Lavin Production Company and on their Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter accounts.

Synopsis:
Two people viciously murdered at a nearby haunted house isn’t enough to deter four friends from their Halloween plans. As they make their way through a haunted house, the women start to notice that not everyone is there for fun and games. As they cross paths with a killer, these friends go from scared to death.

The post Scared to Death Trailer Will Scare You to Death appeared first on Dread Central.