News

This month’s installment of Deep Cuts Rising features a variety of horror movies, with most selections reflecting a specific day or event in December.

Regardless of how they came to be here, or what they’re about, these past movies can generally be considered overlooked, forgotten or unknown.

This month’s offerings feature vengeful Christmas ghosts, home intruders, and more.

The Dumb Waiter (1979)

Image: Geraldine James as Sally in the1979 short film The Dumb Waiter.

Directed by Robert Bierman.

December 28 is National Short Film Day, and no genre thrives in this format as much as horror. And while story often has to be sacrificed or compromised when something is as brief as The Dumb Waiter, Robert Bierman compensates with an unwavering sense of dread. The Vampire’s Kiss director adeptly condenses the plot and action of a standard ’70s long-feature into this tense and well-shot 18-minute clip.

The story...

Back when video shops and horror aisles were still common, it was hard not to be creeped out by the classic box art for The Fear. Wooden antagonist Morty attacks onlookers with his unrelenting stare. The tagline “He’s Whatever Scares You The Most” is as intriguing as it is foreboding. And while this 1990s horror oddball has found itself a fanbase over the years — albeit a small one — its sequel continues to go unnoticed. A lot of folks don’t even know it exists to begin with.

Not too long after Morty’s debut, someone gave the mannequin a killer makeover. Whether or not the update was an improvement is arguable, and reviews of this sequel are indeed more negative than that of the original. However, The Fear: Halloween Night has at least one thing its predecessor doesn’t: a clearer sense of identity.

The ‘90s gave rise to...

Jason Lives: Friday the 13th Part VI reached the 37th anniversary of its theatrical release on August 1st. Four days earlier, July 28th was the 34th anniversary of the release of Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan. And the folks at Sadist Art Designs have decided to celebrate both of these films by unveiling new Jason Lives and Jason Takes Manhattan T-shirt designs!

Both shirts are available with or without side seams, and while the Jason Lives shirt is only available in black, the Jason Takes Manhattan shirt comes in a variety of colors. Prices range from $26 to $32, and the options and be viewed (and purchases can be made) on the Sadist Art Designs website. A couple sample images of the shirts can also be found at the bottom of this article.

The Jason Lives shirt shows iconic slasher Jason Voorhees with iconic rocker Alice Cooper, who...

Killer Collectibles highlights five of the most exciting new horror products announced each and every week, from toys and apparel to artwork, records, and much more.

Here are the coolest horror collectibles unveiled this week!

Jamie Lee Curtis Signed Photo from My Hand In Yours

Jamie Lee Curtis made her first and only horror convention appearance back in 2012. If you missed out, the Halloween star is offering signed, personalized, and authenticated 8×10 prints featuring Laurie Strode from Halloween Ends.

They’re available from My Hand In Yours for $150 this month only in honor of Make March Matter, after which the price will go up to $200. All profits are donated to Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.

Leatherface Action Figures from Trick or Treat Studios

Trick or Treat Studios has unveiled Leatherface 1:6 scale action figures based on The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III, and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre...

This month’s installment of Deep Cuts Rising features a variety of horror movies. Some selections reflect a specific day or event in March, and others were chosen at random.

Regardless of how they came to be here, or what they’re about, these past movies can generally be considered overlooked, forgotten or unknown.

From dinosaurs to a killer clown, here are five hidden horror gems and deep cuts that you can check out in March 2023.

The Fantasist (1986)

Directed by Robin Hardy.

Despite her family’s mixed reaction to her decision, Moira Harris‘ sheltered but curious character moves to Dublin to be a teacher. There she becomes the next target of a serial killer who gradually escalates from phone calls to murder. The protagonist of The Fantasist eventually suspects her pushy American neighbor (Timothy Bottoms) to be the culprit.

While best known for directing The Wicker Man, and to a lesser extent The Wicker Tree,...

The Arrow in the Head Show hosts John “The Arrow” Fallon and Lance Vlcek are clearly two guys who are after my own heart. I say this because Friday the 13th is my favorite franchise, so I find that I can never go too long without watching a Friday the 13th movie. The Arrow and Lance seem to be right there with me, because they talk about Friday the 13th movies with some frequency – and in the latest episode of The Arrow in the Head Show, they’re taking a deep dive into the 1989 sequel Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan (watch it Here)! To find out what they had to say about Jason Takes Manhattan, check out the video embedded above.

Written and directed by Rob Hedden, Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan has the following synopsis: Mass murderer Jason Voorhees is resurrected from the bottom of Crystal Lake.

A new episode of the Black Sheep video series has just been released, and in this one we’re directing some praise toward an underappreciated entry in Full Moon’s Puppet Master franchise. That entry is the 1993 release Puppet Master 4 (watch it Here), and you can find out why we think it deserves more respect by checking out the video embedded above!

Directed by Jeff Burr from a script crafted by Charles Band, Steven E. Carr, Todd Henschell, Keith S. Payson, Jo Duffy, and Douglas Aarniokoski, Puppet Master 4 was shot back-to-back with the following year’s Puppet Master 5. The synopsis for Part 4 goes like this: The mini-menaces Blade, Tunneler, and Pinhead go toe-to-toe with their most menacing enemy yet – a team of terrifying, gremlin-like creatures known as “Totems” that are sent by the evil Egyptian demon Sutekh to recapture the magic stolen by Toulon. The demons target a young scientist,...

It’s time for a new episode of our Wtf Happened to This Horror Movie? video series, and in this one we’re looking back at a poorly-received entry in a beloved slasher franchise. A movie that marked the end of an era. The horror movie covered in this episode is Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan (watch it Here), which was not only the last Friday the 13th to be released in the 1980s (since it came out in ’89), but also the last one to be distributed solely by Paramount Pictures. After this one, there would be a four year break between films while the franchise moved over to New Line Cinema. Why was Jason Takes Manhattan so underwhelming that Paramount gave up on Friday the 13th? Find out by taking a look at the video embedded above.

Written and directed by Rob Hedden, Friday the 13th Part VIII...

[We're celebrating some of the most memorable horror and sci-fi movies of 1989 this month in Daily Dead's Class of 89 retrospective series! Check back on Daily Dead throughout the rest of August for more special features celebrating the 30th anniversaries of a wide range of horror and sci-fi films!]

Whew! Now, that is a long movie title! We can't close out the 1980s without discussing Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan. Coincidentally, Part VIII would be the last movie released in Paramount’s original Friday the 13th timeline, and it was released in 1989, the last year of the decade. But, let's not talk so much about the end and focus instead on celebrating what I believe to be one of the most Gif-able slasher movies ever.

Rob Hedden's Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan follows the senior class of Lakeview High School as they set sail towards the bright lights of New York City. It's not long after the Lazarus takes off that good ol' Jason boards the ship to do what he does best: terrorize and kill the unsuspecting passengers on board. Side note: I can't help but notice that the ship's name...

What do Left Behind, Little Nicky, Mister Frost, and Hellboy all have in common? They all feature the devil in either a starring or cameo role. Satan or Lucifer has long been a fascinating figure ever since John Milton’s Paradise Lost immortalized him. Not surprising in a bit of homage Al Pacino as Satan in The Devil’s Advocate call himself “John Milton.” But treatments of the devil have varied greatly. In The Devil Rides Out (1968), Christopher Lee faces off against a Satan cult but Satan himself only appears for a few brief moments.

Tim Curry’s devil in Legend, on the other hand, takes center stage in perhaps the wildest interpretation yet with his devil sporting huge cloven hooves and horns. But in the 1990s, the devil became more and more cynical and laid back. Gabriel Byrne in the End of Days plays him as a normal man...

The Canadian independent film The Death of Alice Blue will have a limited release in Canada on August 6.

In the film, we follow Alice Blue (Alex Appel). She's the new creative intern at Raven Advertising. Unfortunately for her the place is run by vampires. A group of eccentrics enlist her aid in thwarting their nefarious schemes but there's a complication. There's the possibility that she herself may be genetically predisposed to being the greatest vampire ever, and the only one who can save the dying breed. Alice is forced to confront herself and make a stand, whatever the outcome.

The film was directed and written by Park Bench.

The other stars are Park Bench, Kristen Holden-Ried, Gordon Currie, Barbara Radecki, Megan Fahlenbock, Veronica Hurnick, Carolyn Dunn, Amanda Brugel, Michael Caruana, Juno Mills Cockell, Ed Fielding, Katie Griffin and John Healy.