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On Friday nights, IndieWire After Dark honors fringe cinema in the streaming age with midnight movies from any moment in film history.

First, the Bait: a weird genre pick and why we’re exploring its specific niche right now. Then, the Bite: a spoiler-filled answer to the all-important question, “Is this old cult classic actually worth recommending?”

The Bait: No Food? No Females? No Shit.

There’s a feminist interpretation of “A Boy and His Dog” lurking somewhere inside this divisive black comedy from 1975. But I might be just a little too depressed to find it.

No worries! We can still flop on the couch, stream it for free, and let the maybe-misunderstood, anti-fascist cult classic — about a brutish scavenger named Vic (Don Johnson) and his psychic dog named Blood (voiced by Tim McIntire) — smother us both like a hug in a heatwave.

This summer in the U.

Few comic book readers might know about Jack Kirby's "Kamandi: The Last Boy on Earth." The "Kamandi" property was created by Kirby (the comic book legend behind "Eternals") in 1972 and fell in line with the then-rising trend of post-apocalyptic stories like "Planet of the Apes," "I Am Legend," and the 1978 film version of "The Time Machine." The apocalypse was looming large, and pop culture tapped eagerly into those impulses to imagine distant sci-fi worlds where anything could happen.

Kirby's entrance into this genre fast-forwarded to a point in the far-flung future after Earth had been devastated by an unknown cataclysm. The planet has since been renamed Earth A.D. (After Disaster), and most of humanity had devolved into violent savagery. Some people were keeping civilization alive in underground bunkers, although they had to hide from multiple new species of anthropomorphic animal monsters. Indeed, animals had rapidly evolved thanks to...

Of all the science fiction movie subgenres, post-apocalyptic films are the most likely to fly under the radar with brilliant stories that explore life after the collapse of civilization as we know it. The greatest post-apocalyptic films all explore the erosion of modern human values when met with some greater force that society ultimately isn't able to weather, be it a deadly virus, nuclear bombs, or some other grave esoteric threat. Post-apocalyptic films can vary greatly in tone, from campy action-packed romps full of strange scrapmetal contraptions to tender, meditative reflections on the human condition.

Sadly, not every great post-apocalyptic movie can reach the same heights of fame as the Mad Max movies, with many being low-budget, independent films ripe for falling into the annals of cinematic obscurity despite their quality. Others are simply too offbeat or strange to be paraded by a wide audience, only finding their fans far...

Apocalyptic cinema has been around for almost as long as cinema itself, ever since August Bloms aptly titled The End of the World came out in 1916. But few films have had as deep an impact on the genre as the little known sci-fi classic, A Boy and His Dog. Based on a book of the same title by author Harlan Ellison, A Boy and His Dog helped form the esthetics that would become ubiquitous in specifically post-apocalyptic media. Everything from oddly dressed scavengers to ramshackle shanty towns can be found in this darkly comedic movie, with director L.Q. Jones eschewing the normal doom and gloom of likewise films in the genre. While the movie might be a bit unwieldy for modern sensibilities, it is nonetheless an extremely influential piece that has inspired some seriously monumental media franchises after it, particularly the Fallout series.

Let me tell you a story about Harlan…

I talk to 10 people about Harlan Ellison and that’s how almost every conversation starts. If I’d talked to a hundred, it would’ve been the same. Because everyone has a Harlan Ellison story. Everyone who knew him, worked with him, argued with him, fought with him; everyone who was friends with him or claimed to be; everyone who was taught by him, learned from him, owes some portion of their career or life to him; everyone who loved him or...

If there’s one thing Don Johnson knows how to do, it’s leave a lasting impression.

Whether he’s rocking pastel suits as Sonny Crockett in Miami Vice or stealing scenes in Knives Out, Johnson has been a Hollywood staple for decades.

With his signature mix of cool swagger, tough-guy grit, and undeniable charisma, he brings a certain je ne sais quoi to every role he plays.

(Photo by Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images)

Now, he’s gearing up for another exciting role as Captain Robert Massey in Ryan Murphy’s upcoming series Doctor Odyssey.

Set on a luxury cruise ship with a medical twist, this new show proves that Johnson isn’t slowing down and continues to take on intriguing, unexpected characters that keep fans hooked.

From chasing bad guys and solving mysteries to tackling a wide range of roles, his career has been a rollercoaster of hits and misses.

Beyond Fest 2024, the genre film festival based in the United States is returning for its 12th presentation with an 82-feature lineup for 15 days of cinematic spectacle! This year’s celebration includes a killer roster of firsts, special screenings, anticipated reunions, and more fan-favorite filmmakers than most cinephiles could handle for one momentous event! This year’s collection of films and creators is better than ever, so prepare yourself for a gauntlet of big-screen wonders, a popcorn diet, and random encounters with celebrities and fans alike.

Per Beyond Fest’s official press release (with some flavor text sprinkled in):

Beyond Fest, the biggest and highest-attended genre film festival in the US is excited to announce its complete slate of 2024 programming comprising 82 features, including 16 World Premieres, 4 International Premieres, 1 North American Premiere, 3 US Premieres, and 25 West Coast Premieres. After entertaining over 25,000 guests in 2023, Beyond Fest returns for its 12th edition, spanning September 25th – October 9th.

The long-awaited unveiling of Gary Dauberman’s Salem’s Lot, the west coast premiere of Terrifier 3, a 30th anniversary Speed reunion with Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock, and focus on filmmakers Sam Raimi and Shane Black are among the many highlights of the 12th edition of Beyond Fest, which will hit Los Angeles starting Sept. 25.

Other big-name titles include the international premiere of Toho’s My Hero Academia: You’re Next and the west coast premieres of The Brutalist, the immigration thriller that is coming off a Silver Lion award for best director at the Venice Film Festival. Sean Baker’s Palme d’Or winner Anora, Donald Trump origin story The Apprentice, and Marielle Heller’s Nightbitch are also on the docket And there will be the U.S. premiere of Sarah Paulson’s suspense thriller Hold Your Breath.

Billing itself the largest genre film festival in the United States,...

Quick: what’s the all-time best middle movie in a popular Og cinematic trilogy? Yes, The Godfather Part II and The Empire Strikes Back are obvious and beyond reproach, but what else comes to mind? Aliens? Terminator 2? Back to the Future Part 2? Evil Dead 2? What about Oldboy or Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom? Yeah, all worthy responses that happened to be flat-out wrong!

When peering through the rear-view at the best movie trilogy centerpiece, Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior leaves the others in the dust. Released two years after the handcrafted, low-budget original Mad Max, the making of The Road Warrior couldn’t have been more different than what visionary filmmaker George Miller experienced on the first go-around. For instance, the first film was hampered by limited resources and budgetary restrictions. Meanwhile, the sequel was strapped with over 10 times the original movie’s budget, allowing Miller to execute the dazzling,...

Warning! Contains spoilers for Sweet Tooth.

James Thacker is not based on a real person, but his character in Sweet Tooth draws inspiration from real-world explorers. The show's metaphors about humanity's actions causing an apocalypse parallel real-world concerns like climate change. While Sweet Tooth is a work of fiction, it reflects the importance of environmental stewardship and draws from real-life landscapes.

James Thacker's story in Sweet Tooth season 3 makes one curious whether he is based on a real person. Although Netflix's Sweet Tooth is quite evidently a work of fiction, it is hard not to notice how the show draws several metaphors to the real world. For instance, in its opening episodes, it accurately captures the chaos and anxieties that dawn upon the world after a deadly pandemic starts killing the masses.

By highlighting how the overarching apocalypse is a consequence of humanity's actions, Sweet Tooth also draws parallels...

Explore post-apocalyptic worlds through novels like A Boy and His Dog, Metro 2033, and Alas, Babylon for insights into Fallout's future. Silo series and Dies the Fire offer gripping narratives on human survival and conflict in a post-apocalyptic world. Delve into The Road, Lucifer's Hammer, and The Postman for dark, thought-provoking tales of hope and civilization after devastation.

While waiting for Fallout season 2, plenty of post-apocalyptic books are sure to capture audiences' attention and fill the hole left in the hit TV show's absence. Based on the video game series of the same name, Fallout is the latest in the recent trend of adapting video games for the small screen, and its success proves how much interest there is in good television that draws on the lore and worldbuilding of video games. Part of what makes Fallout so popular is that it creates a vivid and immersive post-apocalyptic world...

What is the best Australian movie ever made? Walkabout? Wake in Fright? The Piano? Picnic at Hanging Rock? The Babadook? All worthy contenders, no doubt, but they’re all wrong answers. The only acceptable response regarding the best movie from the Land Down Under is Mad Max, George Miller’s marauding motorist mania that celebrated its 45th anniversary in 2024. Never mind the billion-dollar franchise it spawned, the creative ingenuity and low-budget DIY filmmaking of the original remains one of the most impressive cinematic feats on record.

A true independent movie with a rebellious spirit, Mad Max was made in just 12 weeks for a paltry $350,000 yet went on to gross $185 million worldwide. The film introduced the world to Mel Gibson, who would go on to play the badass road-racing Main Force Patrol officer Max Rockatansky twice more en route to becoming a bona fide Hollywood action star. Now, with the law-enforcing...

Prepare to enter no-man’s land with Shout! TV’s Obscury Road, a marathon of post-apocalyptic films streaming Friday, May 24. The marathon will feature cult classic films including Dune Warriors, Wheels of Fire, and Deathsport, starring the likes of David Carradine, Luke Askew, and Claudia Jennings as desert warriors.

The Obscury Road marathon can be viewed on Shout! TV; as well as the Shout! TV app on Roku, Android, Apple TV, and Amazon Fire TV; and the following digital streaming platforms: Samsung TV Plus, Amazon Freevee, Local Now, Plex, Pluto TV, Sling TV, LG Channels, available on LG Smart TVs, Fubo, and Xumo.

In support of the event, we’ve joined up with Shout! Studios to give away copies of the following movies: Wheels of Fire / Raiders of the Sun, Exterminators of the Year 3000, A Boy And His Dog, Cyborg, Equalizer 2000, Deathsport, MST3K Escape 2000, MST3K Robot Holocaust,...

Spoilers are ahead for Fallout season 1.

Set within the franchise's canonical timeline, Fallout season 1 boasts plenty of references to other stories from the series. However, one of Fallout's best Easter eggs appears in Cooper Howard's (Walton Goggins) backstory. A seemingly throwaway line, the brilliant nod actually references one of the sci-fi comedy flicks that helped inspire the original Fallout. The show's main events unfold 219 years after the Great War's bombs decimated the United States, but that doesn't mean 2077's Cooper Howard, a charming Hollywood actor-turned-spokesperson for Vault-Tec, is dead. In fact, the undying actor roams the Wasteland as The Ghoul.

The Ghoul reveals himself to be a gun-for-hire with a very clear set of morals.

After prolonged exposure to intense radiation, Cooper's visage mutated, earning him the moniker of The Ghoul. While other surface-dwelling people have undergone the phenomenon of ghoulification, very few have their wits about them, and many have turned feral.

The debut of Amazon’s Fallout series is a major moment for fans of the gaming franchise who have long dreamed of an adaptation of the legendary RPG franchise. Of course, since every episode of that series is being released at once, there’s a good chance you’ll finish the post-apocalyptic series pretty quickly and be left feeling as empty as an apocalyptic wasteland.

Thankfully, there is no shortage of tremendous post-apocalyptic movies out there to help you fill that void. From some of the most shocking films ever made to bonafide action classics, the post-apocalyptic genre is a surprisingly robust slice of sci-fi that has gifted us with numerous masterpieces.

In fact, it was so tough to choose between the best of those movies that I ultimately focused more on the best post-apocalyptic movies that share some notable traits with the Fallout franchise. That said, anyone who really...

Films set in the future, like "A Boy and His Dog," offer imaginative and dark portrayals of post-apocalyptic wastelands in 2024. "The Quickening" envisions a bleak 2024 where a mega-corporation controls the world through a solar radiation-blocking shield. "Narcopolis" depicts a corrupt and dystopian 2024 UK where all drugs are legalized, showcasing advanced technology and reality-warping effects.

Science fiction movies have always had the tricky task of depicting the future, and 2024 has already had its share of representation. Any time a science fiction story envisions a drastically different future, whether it's a technologically-advanced utopia or a bleak, devolved post-apocalyptic wasteland, it's always difficult to gauge exactly how far into the future the calendar should be. While it's easy to laugh from the vantage point of the present at the overly-ambitious dreams of sci-fi writers, it's exceedingly difficult to predict the flow of technological advancement and societal change.

Now that 2024 has arrived, the genre...

Science fiction movies often come with a coating of dazzling special effects, and are invariably sold with spectacle in mind. And yet, the best science fiction stories are about ideas far more than visuals, and they tend to hold up much better, even when their effects age. That, in turn, gives the genre a bumper crop of underrated gems: films that didn't quite fit the zeitgeist upon release, but have aged like fine wine.

Some such movies find their audience and deserve acclaim along with that. A sterling example is Ridley Scott's Blade Runner, which was dismissed upon release, but now ranks among cinema's unquestioned masterpieces. Not all of them enjoy such late-inning comebacks, leaving them for genre aficionados to uncover.

Related: 10 Ways Blade Runner Subverts Science Fiction Cliches

The Last Man on Earth (1964)

Richard Matheson's I Am Legend is one of the most influential science fiction novels of the 20th century,...

Based on Harlan Ellison's novella of the same name from 1969, A Boy and His Dog should go down as the most underrated movie ever made that revolves around an apocalypse. In this case, the landscape is a post-apocalyptic southern United States, set in 2024 as the titular duo work in tandem to survive the harsh realities they've become acquainted with. The boy's name is Vic, while his pooch's name is Blood. And in premise, A Boy and His Dog stands out from most other stories of its kind for featuring the concept of telepathy.

The two are able to communicate, though no other human in the fictional wasteland can hear what Blood is thinking. It's a gift unique to Vic. And they don't just form a tangible, dynamic rapport from the film's first frame — their back-and-forth dialogue will hold your attention by itself. But that's not to mention the integrity...

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This post contains spoilers for "Star Trek: Lower Decks" season 4.

"Star Trek" has always taken inspiration from titans of the science fiction genre. Whether it's "Strange New Worlds" delivering a heartbreaking riff on an Ursula Le Guin short story or "The Next Generation" scientists building on the concepts of Isaac Asimov, "Star Trek" has always worn its love of geeky sci-fi on its sleeve. It's only fitting, then, that the long-running franchise's most entertainingly chaotic entry, "Star Trek: Lower Decks," references one of 20th-century sci-fi's wildest figures: Harlan Ellison.

The nod to one of Ellison's works comes via the title of season 4, episode 2, "I Have No Bones Yet I Must Flee." In the context of the episode, this phrase is hilarious, as it references the inexplicable, bone-drinking capabilities of a cute creature called Moopsy that the "Lower Decks" crew...

Corbin Bernsen, a.k.a. The Dentist himself, has signed on to star in the summer camp-set sci-fi horror film Marshmallow, Deadline reports. Bernsen is joined in the cast by child actors Kue Lawrence (The Amityville Murders), Kai Cech (Dear Santa), and Max Malas (New Amsterdam).

Daniel DelPurgatorio, who co-directed the Tales of the Black Freighter animated short for Zack Snyder, will be directing Marshmallow from a screenplay by Black Friday writer Andy Greskoviak. As mentioned, this one will be set “at a secluded summer camp” and centers on Morgan (Lawrence), a timid and introverted 12-year-old who is thrust into a waking nightmare when a once-fabled campfire tale becomes real. As a mysterious figure descends upon the camp, Morgan and his newfound friends must embark on a treacherous journey and uncover a sinister reality buried beneath the surface. Little do they know that the truth harbors a secret that will...

Exclusive: Up-and-comers Kue Lawrence (Beautiful Boy), Kai Cech (Dear Santa) and Max Malas (New Amsterdam) are set to star opposite Corbin Bernsen (White House Plumbers) in the sci-fi horror mystery Marshmallow from director Daniel DelPurgatorio, which is heading into production in a couple of weeks.

The indie written by Andy Greskoviak (Black Friday) is set at a secluded summer camp, where Morgan (Lawrence), a timid and introverted 12-year-old, is thrust into a waking nightmare when a once-fabled campfire tale becomes real. As a mysterious figure descends upon the camp, Morgan and his newfound friends must embark on a treacherous journey and uncover a sinister reality buried beneath the surface. Little do they know that the truth harbors a secret that will test their resilience and unravel the very fabric of their reality.

Warner Davis and Todd Friedman will produce the pic, with Hemlock Circle Productions aboard as the production company,...

The great director discusses some of his favorite movies with host Josh Olson.

Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode

The Alzheimer Case a.k.a. Memory of a Killer (2003)

Memory (Tbd)

The Protégé (2021)

You Only Live Twice (1967)

Cast A Deadly Spell (1991)

The Mask Of Zorro (1998)

GoldenEye (1995)

Casino Royale (2006)

Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid (1969)

Slap Shot (1977) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary

Salt (2010)

Atomic Blonde (2017) – Brian Trenchard-Smith’s trailer commentary, Randy Fuller’s wine pairing

The Manchurian Candidate (1962) – John Landis’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s Criterion Blu-ray review, Randy Fuller’s wine pairing

The Manchurian Candidate (2004)

Lawrence of Arabia (1962)

The Bridge On The River Kwai (1957) – John Landis’s trailer commentary

Oliver Twist (1948)

Dr. No (1962) – Brian Trenchard-Smith’s trailer commentary

The Guns Of Navarone (1962)

The Dirty Dozen (1967) – Ed Neumeier’s trailer commentary

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) – John Landis’s trailer commentary, Dennis Cozzalio’s 70mm reissue review

The Spy Who Loved Me...

It’s the end of the world as Joel (Dylan O’Brien) knows it and, despite living in an underground bunker for seven years to evade the gigantic mutant reptiles, insects and amphibians that now roam the earth’s surface, he feels surprisingly fine. Michael Matthews’ cheerfully PG-13 adventure comedy quickly dispenses with any notional topicality threatened by its premise (it would be a reach to relate the comet-strike/radiation quandary faced by humanity in its opening moments to our current deeply uncool and uncinematic global disaster), but that’s all for the best. It leaves “Love and Monsters” free to get on with its splattery creature effects and silly but satisfying hero’s journey entirely unencumbered by importance.

Abetted by a disarming, charming O’Brien, liberated from the dourness of the last dystopia he battled in the “Maze Runner” movies, Matthews delivers a daffily lightweight throwback to the teen action-adventures of the ’80s and ’90s.

From the people that brought you Pandemic Parade chapters 1-8, comes yet another thrilling episode featuring Jesse V. Johnson, Casper Kelly, Fred Dekker, Don Coscarelli, Daniel Noah, Elijah Wood and Blaire Bercy.

Please support the Hollywood Food Coalition. Text “Give” to 323.402.5704 or visit https://hofoco.org/donate!

Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode

The Wondrous Story of Birth a.k.a. The Birth of Triplets (1950)

Contagion (2011)

The Omega Man (1971)

Panic In The Streets (1950)

The Last Man On Earth (1964)

Night of the Living Dead (1968)

Fantastic Voyage (1966)

Innerspace (1987)

The Howling (1981)

The Invisible Man (2020)

The Sand Pebbles (1966)

Where Eagles Dare (1969)

Planet of the Apes (1968)

Goldfinger (1964)

The Spy Who Came In From The Cold (1965)

Murder On The Orient Express (1974)

Dr. No (1962)

From Russia With Love (1963)

Bellman and True (1987)

Brimstone and Treacle (1982)

Richard III (1995)

Titanic (1997)

Catch 22 (1970)

Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf (1966)

The Graduate (1967)

1941 (1979)

Dr. Strangelove (1964)

Jaws (1975)

The Fortune (1975)

Carnal Knowledge (1970)

Manhattan...

The saga continues, featuring Adam Rifkin, Robert D. Krzykowski, John Sayles, Maggie Renzi, Mick Garris and Larry Wilmore with special guest star Blaire Bercy from the Hollywood Food Coalition.

Please support the Hollywood Food Coalition. Text “Give” to 323.402.5704 or visit https://hofoco.org/donate!

Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode

Key Largo (1948)

I Don’t Want to Talk About It (1993)

Camila (1984)

I, the Worst of All (1990)

The Wages of Fear (1953)

Le Corbeau (1943)

Diabolique (1955)

Red Beard (1965)

Seven Samurai (1954)

Ikiru (1952)

General Della Rovere (1959)

The Gold of Naples (1959)

Bitter Rice (1949)

Pickup On South Street (1953)

My Darling Clementine (1946)

Viva Zapata! (1952)

Panic In The Streets (1950)

Yellow Sky (1948)

Ace In The Hole (1951)

Wall Street (1987)

Women’s Prison (1955)

True Love (1989)

Mean Streets (1973)

Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)

The Abyss (1989)

The China Syndrome (1979)

Big (1988)

Splash (1984)

The ’Burbs (1989)

Long Strange Trip (2017)

Little Women (2019)

Learning To Skateboard In A War Zone (If You’re A Girl) (2019)

The Guns of Navarone...

We have one last batch of Blu-ray and DVD releases coming our way before we say goodbye (and good riddance) to the month of March. Scream Factory is keeping busy this Tuesday with their Blu-rays for both Bones and Munster, Go Home! (two titles this writer cannot wait to revisit in HD), and Vinegar Syndrome is showing some love to both Hollywood Horror House and Xtro 3: Watch the Skies this week as well.

Arrow Video has put together a 3-Disc Special Edition Collector’s Set of the Ringu films that fans will definitely want to pick up, and season two of The Purge television series heads home to DVD, too. Other releases for March 31st include Eat Brains Love, Evil River, and Terror in Woods Creek.

Bones (2001)

The time is 1979. Jimmy Bones is respected and loved as the neighborhood protector. When he is betrayed and brutally murdered by a corrupt cop,...

The taglines for the 1966 overstuffed turkey “The Oscar give viewers a preview of the machinations of this camp delight- “The Dreams and the Schemers… the Hustlers and the Hopefuls…All Fight for the Highest Award!”

And you thought there was a lot of campaigning now for the Academy Award!

Kino Lorber has unleashed “The Oscar” just in time for the Academy Awards Sunday on Blu-ray with a brand new 4K restoration and two audio commentaries- one with film historians Howard S. Berger, Steve Mitchell and Nathaniel Thompson and a much more funny and caustic one with comic/actor Patton Oswalt, Oscar-nominated screenwriter Josh Olson (“A History of Violence”) and producer/writer/director Erik Nelson.

“The Oscar” was penned by Harlan Ellison, yes Harlan Ellison of “A Boy and His Dog,” “The Outer Limits” and “The Twilight Zone” fame and the team of Russell Rouse and Clarence Greene, who penned the 1949 classic noir “D.O.A.,...

The American Genre Film Archive, the largest non-profit genre film archive and distributor in the world, has teamed up with Shout! Factory for a wide-ranging new theatrical partnership that will see a slew of cult classics heading back into theaters. Agfa will distribute 50 film classics from Shout! Factory’s movie library to theaters this year, following similar collaborations with home video labels like Arrow Films, Severin Films, and Vinegar Syndrome.

The Austin-based Afga has selected a number of shlock-tastic titles like “Black Christmas,” “Chopping Mall,” “Caged Heat,” and both “Slumber Party Massacre” and its sequel to release back into theaters. The deal also includes a number of bonafide classics as well, including John Ford’s “Stagecoach,” John Cassavetes’ “A Woman Under the Influence,” and Alfred Hitchcock’s “Foreign Correspondent.”

“We could not be more thrilled about this partnership,” said Agfa Head of Business Affairs Alicia Coombs in an official statement.

By Andrew J. Rausch

Lq Jones is a legend. He’s been in some of the greatest American films ever made, and his extensive filmography (consisting of well over 100 films) features a virtual Who’s Who of American American cinema. He made his film debut in the 1955 Raoul Walsh war picture Battle Cry, credited with his birth name Justus E. McQueen. The character he played was a young private named...Lq Jones. Soon, at the behest of the studio, the young actor changed his name to that of the character, and the rest is history.

Lq Jones isn’t a household name, and that’s a shame, because it deserves to be. Among knowledgeable cineastes he’s seen as a god among men, a gifted and accomplished performer. He’s one of those character actors people instantly recognize, as he’s been in films with the likes of Elvis Presley,...

It’s here, the second half of the science fiction TV series from the 1960s, restored and remastered. It’s really only half a season and the creative team has been swapped out, but several gems are every bit as good as episodes from year one. Plus acting disc producer David J. Schow ladles on the extras like thick gravy … including promos and TV spots not seen since 1963 and ’64.

The Outer Limits, Season Two

Blu-ray

Kl Studio Classics

1964-65 / B&W / 1:33 flat / 867 min. / Street Date November 20, 2018 / available through Kino Lorber / 69.95

Executive-produced by Leslie Stevens

As I tried to express in my openly enthusiastic review of the Season One disc set from last March, we kids and young teenagers were absolutely gaga about The Outer Limits back in 1963 and 1964. I’m afraid that we probably weren’t paying close enough attention when it tapered off and disappeared (in 1965?). By that...

Everyone loves a good post-apocalypse. The fascination is no modern phenomenon either, with classic movies like The Shape of Things to Come, The Last Man on Earth, A Boy and his Dog, and many more using the end of the world as their backdrop. In recent years, the setting has only grown in popularity, as modern day classics like Mad Max: Fury Road and TV's The Walking Dead delight audiences with their crumbling civilizations.

Film and television aren't the only media in on the fun, though, as countless video games take place on a ruined planet. Perhaps the most iconic post apocalyptic games out there are the Fallout titles, which first showed up on the scene in 1997. What makes these open world masterpieces so memorable are the massive amount of details and stories present in them.

Each of the four mainline entries, and the equally as compelling spin-off New Vegas,...

Robert Kirkman and Kevin Smith have paid tribute to Harlan Ellison, recalling the influence that the legendary science fiction writer had on movies such as 'The Terminator.'

"Anyone working in genre stories can’t claim that they have no influence from Harlan Ellison," Kirkman, creator of comic book series "The Walking Dead," said to IMDb.

Ellison, who died on June 28 at 84 years old, wrote episodes of "The Twlight Zone," "The Outer Limits," and "Star Trek" among others.

Speaking to filmmaker Kevin Smith for IMDb, Kirkman said: "He touched every form of science fiction and everything orbiting that world. His contribution to the world can’t be underplayed. It’s something that all creative people hope for: Can I affect a genre, a medium in the way that someone like that does? He accomplished something monumental. It’s a tragic loss."

Smith recalled Ellison's episode of "The Outer Limits" from 1964 titled "Soldier," which led to a lawsuit against Orion Pictures after claims that 'The Terminator' drew ideas from the story. It was settled out of court and a credit was added.

"If you looked at a 'Terminator' VHS or watched in the theater when it came out, there was a credit that wasn't there that when you watched a LaserDisc later on. It said 'Acknowledgement to the works of Harlan Ellison'."

"I’m a fan. I know these things," Kirkman said.

Reflecting on how Ellison's name should be remembered, Smith said: "To genre enthusiasts of a certain age, [Ellison] is there constantly. To this next generation, maybe not as much.

"It’s up to people like us to say: "Hey, there was this great writer who laid a lot of track that other people traveled on for the rest of their careers.""

Ellison also acted as a conceptual consultant on "Babylon 5" and a creative consultant on the 1980s series of "The Twilight Zone" as well as writing the short story upon which post-apocalyptic feature "A Boy and His Dog" was based and the screenplay to 1966 drama feature "The Oscar."

Watch the full interview here...

Speculative-fiction writer Harlan Ellison, who penned short stories, novellas and criticism, contributed to TV series including “The Outer Limits,” “Star Trek” and “Babylon 5” and won a notable copyright infringement suit against ABC and Paramount and a settlement in a similar suit over “The Terminator,” has died. He was 84.

Christine Valada tweeted that Ellison’s wife, Susan, had asked her to announce that he died in his sleep Thursday.

Susan Ellison has asked me to announce the passing of writer Harlan Ellison, in his sleep, earlier today. “For a brief time I was here, and for a brief time, I mattered.”—He, 1934-2018. Arrangements for a celebration of his life are pending.

— Christine Valada (@mcvalada) June 28, 2018

The prolific but cantankerous author famously penned the “Star Trek” episode “City on the Edge of Forever,” in which Kirk and Spock must go back in time to Depression-era America to put Earth history back on its rightful course,...

Harlan Ellison, one of the world’s foremost science fiction writers, has died at 84. His death was announced by family friend Christine Valada via twitter. Though Ellison was a longtime resident of Los Angeles, the location of death was not disclosed.

Tweeted Valada, the widow of Wolverine creator Len Wein: “Susan Ellison has asked me to announce the passing of writer Harlan Ellison, in his sleep, earlier today. “For a brief time I was here, and for a brief time, I matter.’ – He, 1934-2018. Arrangements for a celebration are pending.”

Among Ellison’s highly influential and very popular novels and novellas are 1969’s post-apocalyptic A Boy and His Dog (made into a 1975 cult film starring a young Don Johnson) and, among the very many short story collections, 1980’s Shatterday, which included the remarkable title story that became the basis for the very first episode of the rebooted 1985 Twilight Zone.

Harlan Ellison in Los Angeles Photo: Pip R Lagenta

Harlan Ellison, whose work was credited with inspiring The Terminator, has passed away at the age of 84, it emerged today. The writer, whose novella A Boy And His Dog was adapted into a film with Don Johnson, was famous for writing five stories a day for many years, and infamous (but much loved) for his temper.

Ellison was also known for campaigning for the writes of screenwriters, whom he felt were not adequately recognised by the film industry in the light of how much they contribute. He lobbied for an increase in writers' pay and for proper acknowledgement for writers whose ideas were adapted into films.

A prolific writer for the small screen, Ellison contributed to the likes of Babylon 5, The Outer Limits and The Twilight Zone. He was born in Ohio but moved to Los Angeles at the age...

Talk about a kiss goodnight!

Maggie Rizer has shared an adorable Instagram photo of her puppy and her newborn son sharing a cute moment together.

In the sweet snap, Rizer’s golden retriever pup gives little Edward Thomas Masud Mehran a big, wet doggie kiss on the cheek as the newborn sleeps swaddled in a blanket.

“A boy and his dog❤️❤️ #CharlieBearMehran,” Rizer, the model and AIDS activist, captioned the photo.

Want all the latest pregnancy and birth announcements, plus celebrity mom blogs? Click here to get those and more in the People Babies newsletter.

Rizer and husband, Alexander Mehran,...

Chicago – Dystopia has been dissed out. Mining the negative vibe future world can’t seem to touch the rich creative vein any more and the reserves seem dry. Writer/director Ana Lily Amirpour may have an element within her interpretation that is hard core, but it’s not enough to understand the overall vision of her tomorrow world, except that we’re all part of “The Bad Batch.”

Rating: 3.0/5.0

A vision of the future world, explored in films as diverse as (just the B’s) “Battlefield Earth” (2000), “Blade Runner” (1982) and “A Boy and His Dog” (1974), always had the desolation, the strange/mean characters and oddball counter-nirvana that develops as a reaction to the dread. “The Bad Batch” does not sway from this formula, and in fact embraces it, but its lack of original feeling is fairly apparent. However, it does have an interesting female protagonist, horror situations that are uniquely stomach-turning,...

Celebrating 30 years worth of fanaticism and community in the cult of Ashley ‘Ash’ Williams.

Thanks to our Star Trekian utopia of VOD insta-satisfaction (“Number One, slap The Greasy Strangler on the view screen!”), it’s becoming difficult to remember the ruthless savagery of that bygone VHS hunt. I spent far too many days roaming my hometown and neighboring cities chasing down lesser-known Kurosawas, the Critters sequels, and the seemingly always elusive pre-Mad Max apocalyptic mindfuck, A Boy and His Dog. Too often I had to settle for less, and rewatch Police Academy 4 instead of the highbrow hilarity of Zapped! cuz some other Scott Baio devotee had the local Power Video on stakeout. If your tastes in cinema aligned with the Blockbuster new release guarantee then you were golden, but us degenerates with a predilection for Roger Corman, and movies made before our births were doomed to the endless quest. Which, of...

Any horror movie that starts off with a Serlingesque voiceover has my attention. And when you make your antagonist a hulking alien who looks like an eight foot tall Gene Simmons sans Botox with a proclivity for ripping off people’s heads And shooting laser beams out of his eyes, you are granted permission to take all my money. Welcome to The Dark (1979), a fun throwback to a time when audiences weren’t beholden of such things as logic and coherence to have a ripping drive-in experience.

But what audiences do always appreciate is a good cast, strong direction, and some solid jumps. The Dark answers the call though in such an unassuming way that before you could blink, it was gone from theatres (but hung around drive-ins for a bit, as horror films were wont to do). It’s so low key that viewers at the time probably felt...

War. War never changes.

Neither does Bethesda’s Fallout.

Not that that’s necessarily a bad thing.

I remember my first memorable journey into the wasteland with Fallout 3 (and subsequent journeys with Fallout, Fallout 2, and Fallout: New Vegas). And while I had done plenty of playthroughs with the previous games, I was itching for a new journey back to the retro future. Since it’s been seven years since Bethesda rewrote Fallout and broke ground with the third iteration, I was extremely eager to see what they had in store.

If you’ve played Fallout 3 or Fallout: New Vegas, you’ll know what to expect here. Play a (now voiced) protagonist who leaves an isolated vault to explore the post-nuclear wastes of the city (now Boston) who’s searching for something (now his/her son) while battling hordes of giant mutants, S&M raiders, and haywired robots, while also exploring...

Variety has learned that The Perfect Guy’s David M. Rosenthal has closed a deal to helm action thriller How It Ends for Sierra Pictures.

Working from a script from Brooks McClaren, the director’s latest project is set against the end of days. When an apocalyptic event inexplicably brings the nation to its knees, a young father goes through Hell and high water in order make it home to his pregnant wife, who just so happens to be on the other side of the country.

Developing and financing the project is Sierra Pictures, while Paul Schiff Productions are attached to produce – a responsibility the banner will leverage with Sierra’s executive producer Nick Meyer. Meanwhile, Sierra/Affinity will handle international sales of the apocalyptic drama and love story.

After finding success with The Perfect Guy – which pulled in $57 million off the back of a $12 million budget in September – Rosenthal...

Something is different in “The Good Dinosaur.” It’s a Pixar film, sure, one which frequently pushes the company’s image-rendering output to stunning heights. Here, the rush of a river or the view of a mountain range, both rendered, along with the rest of the film’s environments, in nearly photo-realistic detail, can be just as powerful as the actions of lovingly crafted characters. Those characters, in stark contrast to the backgrounds, are mostly cartoonish. The story focuses on Arlo, a young, googly-eyed, long-necked Apatosaurus who is separated from his family while in pursuit of a food-stealing bandit. That bandit is a human boy, soon named Spot, and that name should be enough to indicate that Spot is more like a dog than a human child. It's a high-concept and family-friendly take on “A Boy and His Dog,” with a distinctive Pixar touch. The collision of elements — intensely lifelike...

A boy and his dog. And then another boy and the dog. And even the damn dog is male.

Click here for the ongoing ranking of 2015’s films for female representation.

Note: This is not a “review” of Max! It is simply an examination of how well or how poorly it represents women. (A movie that represents women well can still be a terrible film; a movie that represents women poorly can still be a great film.) Read my review of Max.

See the full rating criteria. (Criteria that do not apply to this film have been deleted in this rating for maximum readability.)

This project was launched by my generous Kickstarter supporters. You can support this work now by:

• buying some Where Are the Women? merch

• becoming a monthly or yearly subscriber of FlickFilospher.com

• making a pledge at Patreon

• making a one-time donation via Paypal...

Cinema’s Hidden Pearls – Part I

By Alex Simon

One of nature’s rarest items, a pearl is produced within the soft tissue (specifically the mantle) of a living shelled mollusk. Just like the shell of a clam, a pearl is composed of calcium carbonate in minute crystalline form, which has been deposited in concentric layers. Truly flawless pearls are infrequently produced in nature, and as a result, the pearl has become a metaphor for something rare, fine, admirable and valuable. Hidden pearls exist in the world of movies, as well: films that, in spite of being brilliantly crafted and executed, never got the audience they deserved beyond a cult following.

Here are a few of our favorite hidden pearls in the world of film:

1. Night Moves (1975)

Director Arthur Penn hit three home runs in a row with the trifecta of Bonnie & Clyde, Alice’s Restaurant and Little Big Man,...

Warner Bros. Pictures has released the first TV spot for Max, a family action adventure from writer/director Boaz Yakin (“Remember the Titans), starring Josh Wiggins, Lauren Graham and Thomas Haden Church.

Blake Shelton’s special version of “Forever Young” from the ‪Max Movie‬ soundtrack is now available on iTunes! Get it now: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/forever-young-single/id998028981

A precision-trained military dog, Max serves on the frontlines in Afghanistan alongside his handler, U.S. Marine Kyle Wincott. But when things go terribly wrong on maneuvers, Kyle is mortally wounded and Max, traumatized by the loss of his best friend, is unable to remain in service.

Sent stateside, the only human he seems willing to connect with is Kyle’s teenage brother, Justin, so Max is saved when he is adopted by Kyle’s family. But Justin has issues of his own, including living up to his father’s expectations,...

When I was a very young boy, my mother went for a trip to visit my gran, leaving me alone with my father and brother. My dad had an idea to buy a VHS video recorder and whipped us into a frenzy by promising we could watch Star Wars Every Single Day, if we wanted to. He bought it and we did, but of course we couldn't only watch Star Wars and so began an odyssey into the post apocalyptic wilderness, fueled by a seemingly endless supply of B movies from the local video store. We watched Battletruck, Night of the Comet, A boy and his Dog and countless others, but the one that started it all off, the one that captured our imaginations more than any other, Was Mad Max 2, “The Road Warrior”.

I don’t think I watched the first Mad M [Continued ...]...

Every decade has their cinematic science fiction obsessions which speak to its concerns of the age; in the 1950s films such as Earth vs. The Flying Saucers and Them! capitalised on fears of alien invasion and nuclear proliferation. In the 1960s films like Barbarella and Ikarie Xb-1 captured the hopes and dangers of space exploration while in the 1970s Silent Running and A Boy and His Dog showed a growing concern for the environment and a mistrust of governments resulting in dystopian futures. Then in the 1980s it was the exploration of inner space with the boundaries of the human mind and body being crossed and redrawn with films like Altered States and the cinema of David Cronenberg. The 1990s ushered in an obsession with apocalyptic imagery and alternate realities with Dark City and The Thirteenth Floor amongst many others.

Through these decades of cinematic science fiction, the concept of...

This spring, rev up your engines and get ready to relive the explosive action, daring stunts and high-octane thrills when the 1991 action smash hit Harley Davidson And The Marlboro Man arrives for the first time on Blu-ray on May 19, 2015 from Shout! Factory. Mickey Rourke (The Wrestler, Sin City) and Don Johnson (A Boy and His Dog, TV's Miami Vice) star in this genre collision of biker movie, heist thriller and buddy flick that will take you to the hardline of action and adventure! Co-starring Tom Sizemore (Natural Born Killers), Chelsea Field (The Last Boy Scout), Tia Carrere (True Lies) and Vanessa Williams (Shaft), this relentlessly explosive actioner just may prove that "it's better to be dead and cool than alive and uncool." When their favorite bar is threatened with closure,...

Above: Pipe Dreams (1976).

While searching for something to post on Movie Poster of the Day on Christmas Eve, I took a look at the poster for Bob Clark’s A Christmas Story, which I hadn’t paid much attention to before. On closer inspection I recognized it as a pretty perfect pastiche of Norman Rockwell, with its meticulous depiction of a domestic scene in medias res, and down to its details like its circular frame within a frame, its white background, and the parallel black lines mimicking the Saturday Evening Post masthead.

The association with, or subversion of, America’s favorite purveyor of whimsical Americana makes perfect sense in light of the poster’s tagline about the "Original, Traditional, One-Hundred-Percent, Red-Blooded, Two-Fisted, All-American Christmas” and the artist, Robert Tanenbaum, even took his parody a step further by signing his illustration in the style of Rockwell’s trademark stenciled signature.

Once...

"It's that rat circus out there, I'm beginning to enjoy it. Look, any longer out on that road and I'm one of them, a terminal psychotic, except that I've got this bronze badge that says that I'm one of the good guys."

And so we were introduced to the ticking time bomb of fury that is Mel Gibson, at least on screen, in "Mad Max."

Released 35 years ago this week (on April 12, 1979), George Miller's film about a near-future cop who turns vigilante when a biker gang kills his partner and his family, made an international star out of Gibson, made Miller an A-list director, and helped put the new wave of Australian cinema on the world map. It also launched a franchise that continues to this day; next year, Miller will finally release the long-gestating "Mad Max: Fury Road," with Tom Hardy taking over as Max.

While the original...