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A fun piece of trivia: one of J.J. Abrams' first professional gigs was writing the music for Don Dohler's 1982 horror cheapie "Nightbeast." Dohler, as B-movie fans might know, is the creative mind behind "The Alien Factor" and "Galaxy Invader," movies that were filmed mostly in the woods. Abrams has since become one of the preeminent makers of big-budget mainstream blockbusters, so it's fun to picture him as a teen handing over tapes to a hard-working schlockmeister like Dohler.

Abrams stuck with it, though, and eventually sold a film treatment to screenwriter Paul Mazursky when he was still in college. That treatment became Arthur Hiller's 1990 comedy "Taking Care of Business" with Jim Belushi. Abrams continued to rise through the ranks of Tinseltown from there, penning the scripts for films like "Regarding Henry," "Forever Young," and, uh, "Gone Fishin'." By the early 2000s, Abrams had enough clout to launch...

AMC Networks’ Shudder has announced the titles that will be available on the streaming service next month. The Shudder July 2024 slate includes horror, thriller, and supernatural titles.

The July highlights include the films Arcadian and Humane, as well as new episodes of The Last Drive-In with Joe Bob Briggs. Numerous repertory titles will also be available throughout the month.

Shudder’s expanding library of films, TV series, and original content is available on most streaming devices in the US, Canada, the UK, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand.

Shudder July 2024 Highlights

The Shudder premiere schedule for next month.

Arcadian (Shudder Exclusive Film)

Streaming on Shudder July 12 (Available in the US and CA)

Set in the near future, life on Earth has been decimated. Paul (Nicolas Cage) and his twin teenage sons, Thomas (Jaeden Martell) and Joseph (Maxwell Jenkins), find tranquility by day but torment by night. When the sun sets, ferocious...

In addition to booking a role in the upcoming Keeper from director Osgood Perkins (Longlegs), Tatiana Maslany (Orphan Black) is also leading the cast of a horror-comedy pilot titled “The Nightbeast” for Amazon MGM Studios. And this one has got a Wild premise.

Deadline reports, “Maslany will also produce the pilot that follows a young mother who is unsatisfied with her seemingly perfect suburban life, so she begins an affair with the boogeyman in her son’s closet – a surprisingly sexy man called the Nightbeast.

“But this harmless affair she thought to be a figment of her imagination begins to have unexpected consequences, as her two worlds increasingly begin to collide.”

The project is said to be a “seductive, darkly comedic tale.”

“The Nightbeast” is the brainchild of Leah Rachel (Chambers) and Travis Jackson (Hemlock Grove), with Jamie Babbit (“Russian Doll”) on board as director of the pilot.

The post...

Amazon MGM Studios has given a pilot order to “The Nightbeast,” a dark comedy starring Tatiana Maslany.

In “The Nightbeast,” per the official logline, “a young mother unsatisfied with her seemingly perfect suburban life begins an affair with the boogeyman in her son’s closet — a surprisingly sexy man called the Nightbeast. But this harmless affair she thought to be a figment of her imagination begins to have unexpected consequences, as her two worlds increasingly begin to collide in this seductive, darkly comedic tale.”

Leah Rachel and Travis Jackson serve as creators of “The Nightbeast” Executive producers include Peter Warren; Justin Levy, Fred Berger and Brian Kavanaugh-Jones for Range Studios’ Station26; Kristen Campo for Campout; and Jamie Babbit, who also serves as director. Maslany serves as a producer in addition to starring.

If ordered to series, “The Nightbeast” will likely stream on Amazon Prime Video.

Maslany is best known for...

In 2019, the documentary of 80s horror In Search of Darkness became an instant hit with horror fans. Now, a beautiful coffee table style companion book is available and is a must-own for all fans of one of horror’s greatest eras. The book is a walk down the horror aisle of the best mom and pop video store in the heyday of VHS, featuring full color photos, poster art, insightful essays and more. More than just a nostalgic throwback, In Search of Darkness is the kind of book I wish I’d had back in my years as a burgeoning horror fan but is also satisfying for the film fanatic I have become in the years since.

The format is beautifully and simply laid out, with at least a dozen (usually more) movies from each year of the decade presented in order of release accompanied by informative and insightful essays...

Vinegar Syndrome just put a Massive lineup of new releases up for grabs this afternoon, making one thing crystal clear: in the horror world, physical media is alive & well in 2024!

First up, Vinegar Syndrome’s March 2024 lineup includes the 4K Uhd debut of the landmark horror anthology and Amicus classic, Dr. Terror’s House of Horrors from 1965.

The March package also includes Specters (1987), Singapore Sling (1990), Story of a Junkie (1985), and Goin’ South (1978), while Nightbeast (1982) gets a VHS release.

Vinegar Syndrome further details, “We’re getting in the Halloween spirit 7 months early with the 4K Uhd debut of director Freddie Francis’ landmark horror anthology and Amicus classic, Dr. Terror’s House of Horrors (1965), newly and exclusively restored by Vs from its 35mm camera negative and overflowing with an array of archival interviews and other exciting extras. Moving two decades on, we’ve paired a duo of devilish supernatural horrors from director Marcello Avallone...

Aptly named for the acidic smell of deteriorating film, Vinegar Syndrome made an auspicious debut in 2013 with its inaugural release, The Lost Films of Herschell Gordon Lewis. In the decade since, they have unearthed, restored, and distributed hundreds of cult, exploitation, horror, action, and adult films.

Popping in a new Vinegar Syndrome disc is a bit like cinematic Russian roulette. It’s always interesting, but you never know if you’re going to get an obscure masterpiece, a campy B-movie, a so-bad-it’s-good slice of fun, or a dud. The unknown is half the fun, and discovering those diamonds in the rough makes it worthwhile.

In celebration of their anniversary, I’m highlighting 10 hidden gems from Vinegar Syndrome’s first 10 years.

To narrow the choices, I’m ignoring the heavy hitters like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Part 2 and The Amityville Horror, box sets like Forgotten Gialli and Home Grown Horrors,...

Hello, dear readers! As we get ready to bid another month a fond farewell, we have one final batch of home media releases coming our way before we head into March. Severin Films is keeping busy this week with a trio of Blu-ray releases, including Castle of the Creeping Flesh, The Attic Expeditions, and Plague Town. The new Wrong Turn movie arrives this Tuesday on both Blu and DVD, and if you’re a Troma fan, they’re showing some love to Nightbeast this week as well.

Other releases for February 23rd include Beast Within, Legion of the Night, Only the Good Parts, and the From Dusk Till Dawn trilogy is getting a re-release on DVD, too.

The Attic Expeditions

It's been called "imaginative and audacious" (Los Angeles Times), "fantastic and surreal" (Classic Horror) and "an ideal film that verges towards masterpiece" (Weird Wild Realm). Now experience the Blu-ray premiere...

Sincerity: it’s not always in fashion, and is often pushed aside in favor of cynicism and snide commentary. You know, the easy route—a lack of belief and faith in what one is presenting. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the entertainment industry, where artistry can be overtaken by the bottom line in a quest for first place at the box office. And then you had people like Don Dohler, who created films for the sake of creating them, in order to capture the joy of being a kid in a theater and transported to another time and place. Such is the case with his magnum opus Nightbeast (1982), a spectacular no-budget wonder that encapsulates everything wonderful about the movies, now given fresh life through a terrific new Blu-ray from Vinegar Syndrome.

Sure, I’m hyperbolin,’ but Nightbeast has everything you could want in a sci-fi/horror/action thriller:...

More October fun for our readers in today's Horror Highlights. Seventh.Ink starts things off with images of their Haunted Collection IX apparel, which is available now, and we also have Patient Zero Blu-ray / DVD details and info on Terrortory II coming to Amazon Prime.

Seventh.Ink's Haunted Collection IX Apparel Release Details: "Haunted Collection IX includes four shirts and a ton of other great items such as enamel pins, embroidered patches, and 9x12 screen prints.

As always, the shirts are tagless and screen printed with water-based ink on Next Level blanks.

Everything is now available at www.seventhink.com"

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Patient Zero Blu-ray and DVD Release Details: Press Release: "Matt Smith (“Dr. Who”), Natalie Dormer (“Game of Thrones”) and Academy Award nominee Stanley Tucci star in Patient Zero, debuting on Blu-ray and DVD October 23rd from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. After a super-virus has turned humankind into highly intelligent,...

Nightbeast

At ten o’clock on the evening of Saturday 26 July, as the lights dimmed inside a 159-seat auditorium inside Wrocław’s nine-screen Kino Nowe Horyzonty, the resounding ambience consisted of chatter, cheers, the clatter of glass bottles and that inimitable sea of punchy hisses as the capacity audience cracked open one beer can after another.

They’d come for a triple bill: Amir Shervan’s Samurai Cop (1989), Don Dohler’s Nightbeast (1982) and Arizal’s American Hunter (1990). Numbers had depleted and decibels had doubled by the time the lights came back on at around quarter-to-three the next morning. The marathon formed part of ‘Midnight Madness: VHS’, the late-night retrospective at New Horizons, western Poland’s excellent film festival, whose annual program also boasts some of the most dependable arthouse titles from the previous twelve months.

Had anybody been observing the scene of ordered anarchy that night, they may have...

Prepare to be corrupted and depraved once more as Nucleus Films releases the sequel to the definitive guide to the Video Nasties phenomenon – the most extraordinary and scandalous era in the history of British film. Video Nasties: The Definitive Guide Part 2, a three-disc collector’s edition box set, is being released on DVD on July 14th 2014, to tie in with the 30th Anniversary of the Video Recordings Act 1984.

For the first time ever on DVD, all 82 films that fell foul of the Director of Public Prosecutions “Section 3” list are trailer-featured with specially filmed intros for each title, alongside a brand new documentary – Video Nasties: Draconian Days (review), directed by Jake West.

And to celebrate the release, Film4 FrightFest is hosting a special event – the world exclusive London Premiere of the finalised unseen extended 97 minute cut of Video Nasties: Draconian Days at The Prince Charles Cinema on Thurs 3 July, 8.30pm. The...

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Are you familiar with the three B’s? Don’t fret if you aren’t; honest mistake. Most wouldn’t know what they stood for unless they had a penchant for skin-crawling content or a passionate knowledge of all things horror and science-fiction related. Don Dohler was an archetypal filmmaker for the sacred formula of B’s as he committed his life to creating and producing such movies as Nightbeast, Fiend and who can forget Alien Factor 2: The Alien Rampage? While such a coagulated patrimony might be brushed aside by most, his influence and honest prescription for a horror film’s health has been everlasting. And those three little B’s? Blood, boobs and beasts. Such an ideal has been adopted by countless films and now, V/H/S/2 continues the trend with wreckless abandon. . . And it’s all the better for it.

Last year,...

J.J. Abrams is reportedly set to direct the new Star Wars, but who is this super force in Hollywood? Here are five facts about the acclaimed 46-year-old movie man:

5. Though he's most known for his sci-fi shows and films, Abrams started out co-creating the television series Felicity (1998–2002), starring Keri Russell. He also composed the music for the opening credits.

4. Other TV shows Abrams has had his hands in include: Alias (2001–2006), Lost (2004–2010), Fringe (2008–2013), Undercovers (2010), Person of Interest (2011–present), Alcatraz (2012) and Revolution (2012–present).

3. Abrams first job in the biz was reportedly when he was 16 when he wrote the music for Don Dohler's film Nightbeast.

2. Abrams got into the family business. He is the son of television producer Gerald W. Abrams and executive producer Carol Abrams. His sister is screenwriter Tracy Rosen.

1. He founded the production company Bad Robot that produces many of his TV shows.

Do you think Abrams is the right man for the Star Wars job?...

Way before J.J. Abrams was making headlines and box office films such as Super 8, Star Trek, Let Me In and Cloverfield; there was a Troma film entitled Nightbeast. In fact at the young age of 16 in 1982 J.J. Abrams received his first movie credit with Nightbeast a Troma film directed by Don Dohler and stared Tom Griffith, Jamie Zemarel and Karin Kardian. It was that same year J.J. Abrams and his good friend Matt Reeves (later they went on to direct Cloverfield and Let Me In) were contacted by Steven Spielberg to repair some Super 8 films that Spielberg had made as a child.

J.J. Abrams warps Time at will. Past, present, and future coexist as a kind of fluid that cannot be contained. The camera jumps back and forth in time. Characters age and grow younger again. Time itself accelerates, then slows. "It's intriguing to play with exactly when you learn elements in a story," says the Emmy-winning writer-director-producer, referring to Lost, his biggest hit on the small screen. "It engages audience members in a puzzle where they begin to question everything. It makes them look for clues in what they're watching in a way traditional narrative doesn't."

This temporal relativity allows Abrams to create forms of entertainment more time-bound directors cannot. And it is increasingly not only a stylistic signature, but also an added bit of leverage in the marketplace. ("We are thrilled to be in business with him," says Brad Grey, Paramount's chairman and CEO. "Bad Robot was one of the...

Last week, Fangoria and Troma gave you a chance to win Blood, Boobs & Beast on DVD before it arrives in stores. Were you one of the lucky readers? Check the winners list after the cut!

Congratulations to:

Julie Lawrence - Beaufort, Nc Laura Pruett - Brownwood, TX Steven Muir - Bellevue, Wa Dan Komoda - East Windsor, NJ Gary L. Watts - Attica, Ks Thanks to everyone for entering!

Blood, Boobs & Beast (on DVD February 24) tells the compelling story of Don Dohler, whose movies have been called everything from "oddly brilliant" to "some of the worst films of all time." The documentary also features interviews with Lost creator J.J. Abrams, FX artist Tom Savini (Dawn Of The Dead), FX artist Tom Sullivan (Evil Dead) and Toxic Avenger creator/Troma lord Lloyd Kaufman.

The 2-disc DVD includes the feature-length Bb&B documentary, Dohler's 1983 film Nightbeast (which featured a J.J. Abrams-composed...

On February 24, 2009, Troma Entertainment will release John Kinhart's acclaimed Don Dohler documentary Blood, Boobs & Beast (see an exclusive clip here) on special edition DVD. In celebration of the upcoming release, Fangoria and Troma are giving away five copies of the DVD!

Blood, Boobs & Beast tells the compelling story of Don Dohler, whose movies have been called everything from "oddly brilliant" to "some of the worst films of all time." The documentary also features interviews with Lost creator J.J. Abrams, FX artist Tom Savini (Dawn Of The Dead), FX artist Tom Sullivan (Evil Dead) and Toxic Avenger creator/Troma lord Lloyd Kaufman.

The 2-disc DVD includes the feature-length Bb&B documentary, Dohler's 1983 film Nightbeast (which featured a J.J. Abrams-composed score for a sex scene in his first movie-biz gig) as well as audio commentaries, deleted scenes and trailers.

Want To Win A Copy? Send an email to bloodboobs@fangoriaonline.com with your name,...

On February 24, 2009, Troma Entertainment will release John Kinhart's acclaimed Don Dohler documentary Blood, Boobs & Beast (see previous item here) on special edition DVD. In celebration of the upcoming release, John hooked Fango up with a very appropriate exclusive clip from the film. See it after the jump.

Blood, Boobs & Beast tells the compelling story of Don Dohler, whose movies have been called everything from "oddly brilliant" to "some of the worst films of all time." The documentary also features interviews with Lost creator J.J. Abrams, FX artist Tom Savini (Dawn Of The Dead), FX artist Tom Sullivan (Evil Dead) and Toxic Avenger creator/Troma lord Lloyd Kaufman.

The 2-disc DVD includes the feature-length Bb&B documentary, Dohler's 1983 film Nightbeast (which featured a J.J. Abrams-composed score for a sex scene in his first movie-biz gig) as well as audio commentaries, deleted scenes and trailers.

In the exclusive clip presented below,...

You may have heard about the wonderful documentary Blood, Boobs & Beast on various horror and indie film websites over the past year or so about the career of independent horror filmmaker Don Dohler. The doc is finally on its way to DVD courtesy of Troma, and it'll come complete with what is arguably Dohler's most famous film, Night Beast.

Making Don Dohler the subject of a documentary even struck me as an odd choice and I'd previously heard of the man, but if you've read my review of Blood, Boobs & Beast (review here) you'll realize just how interesting, and even a bit sad, his story proves to be even for those unfamiliar with his films, such as Night Beast and The Alien Factor. Dohler has also inspired artists and filmmakers such as Robert Crumb (Fritz the Cat), J.J. Abrams (creator of TV show "Lost") and Art Speigelman (Maus) with his...

Filmmaker John Kinhart just gave Fangoria the heads-up that his acclaimed documentary Blood, Boobs & Beast will be released on DVD on February 24, 2009 via Troma Entertainment.

Blood, Boobs & Beast tells the compelling story of Don Dohler, whose movies have been called everything from "oddly brilliant" to "some of the worst films of all time." The documentary also features interviews with Lost creator J.J. Abrams, FX artist Tom Savini (Dawn Of The Dead), FX artist Tom Sullivan (Evil Dead) and Toxic Avenger creator/Troma lord Lloyd Kaufman.

The 2-disc DVD includes the feature-length Bb&B documentary, Dohler's 1983 film Nightbeast (which featured a J.J. Abrams-composed score for a sex scene in his first movie-biz gig) as well as audio commentaries, deleted scenes and trailers.

For full details on the film, check out the trailer below, then hit the Official Site, or pre-order yours by clicking here.