News

Puppet Combo are once again taking it old-school in more ways than one. Originally released in 2019 on itch.io, the developer has announced that their PS2 Survival Horror-inspired title The Glass Staircase will be headed to Steam, PlayStation, Xbox and Nintendo Switch on May 24.

Described as “a short-form old-school psychological horror game”, The Glass Staircase takes place in 1922, inside a dilapidated estate converted into an orphanage. Four girls attempt to survive long enough to complete their chores and find a new home. As these things go, unknowable horrors have punctuated the history of the house, and they’re about to learn about them the hard way.

Rather than focusing on grotesque slasher horror, The Glass Staircase is a surreal and atmospheric game, inspired by PS2 survival horror titles like Silent Hill 2 and the GameCube classic Eternal Darkness. Of course, you have to toss in those classic 80s Italian horror movies such as The Beyond,...

16 years after the faux trailer debuted as part of Grindhouse, Eli Roth finally delivered the feature version of Thanksgiving. There were no leftovers, but among the special features on the slasher’s home video release is an audio commentary by Roth and producer-writer Jeff Rendell.

Here are 10 things I learned from the Thanksgiving commentary…

1. The concept dates back to the filmmakers’ childhoods.

Thanksgiving is based on Roth’s faux trailer from Grindhouse, but its origins date back even further than 2007. Best friends since kindergarten, Roth and Rendell grew up in Newton, Massachusetts (about an hour from Plymouth) watching horror movies together.

Inspired by a pivotal theatrical viewing of Silent Night, Deadly Night circa 1984, they longed for a definitive Thanksgiving slasher in the vein of the other holiday horrors.

“We just started thinking of like, ‘What if there was a Thanksgiving slasher movie? You could put someone in an oven, and there was a killer pilgrim,...

Not every horror movie is going to connect with critics, no matter how much the public loves it or if its wider reputation grows more favorably over time. These range from cult classics that earned legions of devoted fans to maligned sequels and reboots that didn't deserve the critical hate they got upon release. Simply put, even the most poorly reviewed horror flicks deserve a reappraisal and are, at the very least worth a look from the curious and unfamiliar.

There are plenty of horror movies that hold a rotten critics' approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes that still make for interesting, and in many cases, even great viewings. With everything from supernatural giallo movies to slasher sequels that subvert expectations, there is a horror movie for every scary sensibility. Here are the 15 horror flicks that didn't connect with most critics that should be given at least one solid viewing.

Read...

The final movie in Lucio Fulci’s “Gates of Hell” trilogy, The House by the Cemetery is getting a brand new 4K Ultra HD release from Arrow Video this Halloween season.

Both the Limited Edition 4K and the Limited Edition Blu-ray sets will be releasing in the UK on October 9, and there’s also an Arrow Store Exclusive Limited Edition 4K variant.

But why wait? Exclusively watch the official trailer for the bloody new 4K restoration below, along with a full clip from the gorgeous new restoration. Two words: Bat. Attack.

And pre-order your copy from Arrow Video today!

As the 1970s gave way to the 1980s, director Lucio Fulci increasingly specialised in the dark, ultraviolent horror movies which would earn him the affectionate moniker “the Godfather of Gore”.

The third and final instalment in his “Gates of Hell” trilogy, 1981’s The House by the Cemetery showcases the malevolent maestro at his blood-drenched best.

Since launching in 2020, Cauldron Films has quickly established itself as a boutique label to watch for cult film fans. In addition to unearthing and restoring obscurities like The Crimes of the Black Cat, American Rickshaw, and Frankenstein ’80, they’ve secured a few heavy hitters. Their most recognizable title to date is Lucio Fulci’s City of the Living Dead (originally released in the US as The Gates of Hell). Following an exclusive slipcase edition last year, a standard retail version of the 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray set is available this week.

The 1980 Italian horror film is significant for kicking off Fulci’s thematically connected Gates of Hell trilogy, followed by The Beyond and The House by the Cemetery the next year. Developed in the wake of Fulci’s success with Zombie in 1979, City of the Living Dead features more undead ghouls but this time as accoutrements rather than a centerpiece.

Lucio Fulci's gut-spewing, brain smashing, head drilling, Lovecraftian zombie nightmare features an amazing list of Italian talent behind the scenes with a screenplay co-written by Dardano Sacchetti, special FX by Gino De Rossi cinematography by Sergio Salvati, and soundtrack by Fabio Frizzi. With supporting performances by Giovanni Lombardo Radice, Carlo De Mejo and Janet Agren, City of the Living Dead (a.k.a. The Gates of Hell) is among the greatest Italian Horror films of all time!

When a priest hangs himself in a cemetery, he...

Announced today as part of Arrow Video’s October 2023 lineup, Lucio Fulci horror classic The House by the Cemetery is getting a brand new 4K Uhd and Blu-ray release.

Both the Limited Edition 4K and the Limited Edition Blu-ray sets will be releasing in the UK on October 9, and there’s also an Arrow Store Exclusive Limited Edition 4K variant.

As the 1970s gave way to the 1980s, director Lucio Fulci increasingly specialised in the dark, ultraviolent horror movies which would earn him the affectionate moniker “the Godfather of Gore”.

The third and final instalment in his “Gates of Hell” trilogy, 1981’s The House by the Cemetery showcases the malevolent maestro at his blood-drenched best.

Special Features for this release include…

4k restoration from the original negative by Blue Underground 4k (2160p) Ultra Hd Blu-ray presentation in Dolby Vision (hdr10 compatible) Restored original lossless mono English and Italian soundtracks Optional...

It’s Monday. That might leave you seeing red. So, we’re celebrating accordingly by embracing horror movies that massively deliver on the red stuff. This week’s streaming picks showcase some of horror’s goriest offerings that wield the gore in various ways. Some use excessive bloodletting to elicit a laugh, while others aim to put you through an extreme gauntlet of visceral terror. These ultra-gory horror movies are all available on streaming now.

As always, here’s where you can watch them this week.

For more Stay Home, Watch Horror picks, click here.

City of the Living Dead – AMC+, Kanopy, Pluto TV, Shudder, Tubi, Vudu

What’s a gory horror list without the Italian Godfather of Gore, Lucio Fulci? It seems appropriate to kickstart this week with the first entry in his “Gates of Hell” trilogy. The plot sees a reporter and a psychic try to close the...

Happy Friday, dear readers! One of our annual traditions here at Daily Dead is that, once a year, we take a few weeks to celebrate a notable time period in the horror genre. And since 2021 marks the 40th anniversary of all the great classics that were released during 1981, we thought it only made sense to pay tribute to the films of that year with our Class of 1981 series.

Starting on Monday, August 16th, we will be kicking off our two-week celebration of the killer horror and memorable sci-fi movies that were released throughout 1981. And if you feel like celebrating right alongside us, I’ve gone ahead and put together this handy list of where you can stream an assortment of ‘81 classics on a variety of platforms (both subscription-based and free).

And remember, be sure to check back here every day on Daily Dead for all kinds of 1981-related fun, as...

On-screen texts bookending “Dachra” claim this thriller is “inspired by true events,” and that “in North Africa hundreds of children are victims of acts of witchcraft.” Nonetheless, one might be forgiven for assuming this purported first-ever Tunisian foray into horror cinema is drawn less from local crimes or superstitions than from the familiar genre tropes of “The Blair Witch Project,” “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” and umpteen other long-standing fan favorites.

Originality may indeed be scarce in writer-director Abdelhamid Bouchnak’s debut narrative feature. Yet this gory goulash of city slickers, creepy yokels, editorial jolts and cannibalism largely transcends its derivative basic elements, thanks to his astute, richly atmospheric handling. Dekanalog is releasing the film to U.S. theaters and virtual cinemas on July 9, nearly three years after its festival premiere — during which time “Dachra” became Tunisia’s biggest homegrown box office hit in a quarter century. That impact is unlikely to be duplicated elsewhere,...

All you late night Drive-In fans be sure to tune in this Friday for all new episode of The Last Drive-In hosted by Joe Bob Briggs. This Friday nights guest will be legendary filmmaker Roger Corman. Known as “The Pope Of Pop Cinema”, Corman has been a trailblazer of independent film for more than fifty years. Corman has mentored and given many mainstream directors such as Joe Dante, Francis Ford Coppola, Ron Howard, Martin Scorsese, and James Cameron to name a few. He has also helped launch the careers of many actors including William Shatner, Jack Nicholson, Bruce Dern, Sylvester Stallone, and Dennis Hopper to name a few. Roger Corman joins a list of celebrities that have been interviewed by Joe Bob during season 3 of the drive-in including Chris Jericho, Bruce Campbell, and Clint Howard. Movies that have been on the Drive-In during season three include Mother’s Day,...

August’s home media offerings are wrapping up in a big way this week, and I hope you’ve got your wallets ready because there are a ton of releases that genre fans are going to want to add to their collections. Fulci fans should be excited for the arrival of both The House by the Cemetery and The New York Ripper in 4K, courtesy of Blue Underground, and Severin is having their own Fulci fiesta this week, too, with their releases of Aenigma, Demonia as well as the recent documentary Fulci for Fake.

Scream Factory also has a killer lineup of titles headed home on Tuesday, including the Collector’s Edition of Tales from the Darkside: The Movie and the Universal Horror Collection: Volume 6.

Other Blu-ray and DVD releases for August 25th include Dead Pit, The Beast Must Die, The Last Victim, Live Feed, Gemini, Hallucinations, and Alien Scum.

Blue Underground to release The New York Ripper and The House By The Cemetery on 4K Uhd Blu-ray on August 25th Pre-order Here Blue Underground is proud to present critically acclaimed restorations of The New York Ripper and The House By The Cemetery in true 4K Ultra High Definition with Dolby Vision Hdr and a new …

The post Blue Underground to release more 4K Uhd Blu-rays in August appeared first on Hnn | Horrornews.net.

Italian ‘Maestro of Gore’ Lucio Fulci canvassed a wide array of genres. Not unlike his colleague Mario Bava, his filmography resists being pigeonholed, seeing as his career eclipsed the movements in which he became prominent and eventually notorious. While some may revere his giallo masterpieces such as A Lizard in a Woman’s Skin (1971) or Don’t Torture a Duckling (1972), it would be his gory horror films in the 1970s and 80s which really branded him, especially items such as The House by the Cemetery (1981) or the flame-torching face sequence of the unlucky sex worker in Contraband (1980). But his 1979 cult classic Zombie (aka Zombi 2) remains one of his richest visceral experiences.…...

Italian horror auteur Lucio Fulci is one of the most prominent voices to shape horror, both in his native country and on an international scale. Known as the Italian godfather of gore thanks to memorably gruesome titles The House by the Cemetery, Zombi 2, City of the Living Dead, The Beyond, and The New York Ripper, Fulci drew the ire […]...

I can’t always write about lesser known films. I mean I can, but I think it’s important to look at films known but not necessarily loved within their specific sub-genre. Case in point: Lucio Fulci’s The House by the Cemetery (1981), the last film in his loose “Gates of Hell” trilogy, and usually considered the least of the three. It certainly was by me - until my latest viewing, that is; while not epic in scope like The Beyond (‘80) or as atmospheric as City of the Living Dead, it has a straightforwardness that I find refreshing. As straightforward as Fulci can get, I suppose, in all his Fulci-ness.

For those unaware of the late director and the level of his import, we will need to consult with Cushing’s Ghoulish Glossary, which states:

Thought for many years by individuals with their heads firmly ensconced up their own rectum...

” What is all this about the dead coming back to life again and… having to be killed a second time? I mean, what the hell’s going on here? “

The Dead Are Among Us on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray! In Italy, it was considered the ‘unofficial sequel’ to Dawn Of The Dead. In England, it was known as Zombie Flesh Eaters and banned as obscene. In America, it was called Zombie and advertised with the depraved tag line “We Are Going To Eat You!” Tisa Farrow (The Grim Reaper), Ian McCulloch (Contamination), Al Cliver (Cannibals), and Richard Johnson (The Haunting) star in this worldwide splatter sensation directed by ‘Maestro Of Gore’ Lucio Fulci that remains one of the most eye-skewering, skin-ripping, gore-gushingly graphic horror hits of all time!

Disc 1 (4K Uhd Blu-ray) Feature Film + Extras:* Audio Commentary #1 with Troy Howarth, Author of Splintered Visions: Lucio Fulci and His Films

* Audio...

From The New York Ripper to The House by the Cemetery, Blue Underground is known for their restorations of beloved horror movies, and now they're taking things to the next level with their upcoming 4K Ultra HD releases of Lucio Fulci's Zombie and William Lustig's Maniac.

The 4K Ultra HD releases of Zombie and Maniac are each slated for a May 26th release from Blue Underground, who previously released both films on Blu-ray, respectively. We have the full release details below, and to learn more, visit:

https://www.diabolikdvd.com/product/zombie-blue-underground-4k-uhd/ https://www.diabolikdvd.com/product/maniac-blue-underground-4k-uhd/

Zombie 4K Ultra HD: "The Dead Are Among Us on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray!

In Italy, it was considered the ‘unofficial sequel’ to Dawn Of The Dead. In England, it was known as Zombie Flesh Eaters and banned as obscene. In America, it was called Zombie and advertised...

Happy Monday, everyone! We have a fun batch of home media titles heading home this week, led by Zombieland: Double Tap, Countdown, and The Addams Family animated film. For those of you who dig on older horror, Blue Underground has put together a limited edition release of Lucio Fulci’s House By the Cemetery that you’ll undoubtedly want to pick up this Tuesday, and Vci is giving The Phantom of the Creeps the 2K treatment as well.

Other notable releases for January 21st include I See You, Bad CGI Sharks, No Sin Unpunished, and Castle Freak: Remastered on DVD.

The Addams Family (2019)

Get ready to snap your fingers! The Addams Family is back in their first animated comedy about the kookiest family on the block. Funny, outlandish, and completely iconic, The Addams Family redefines what it means to be a good neighbor.

Special Features:

Deleted and Extended Scenes Charades...

Horror BFFs Heather Wixson and Patrick Bromley celebrate the holiday season by showcasing The Godfather of Gore on a new episode of Daily Dead's podcast!

Horror BFFs Heather Wixson and Patrick Bromley celebrate the gift of horror this holiday season with a "Very Fulci Christmas" episode of Corpse Club! Listen as the Horror BFFs unwrap the gift of conversation with an entertaining and informative discussion on a trio of memorable horror movies from legendary Italian filmmaker Lucio Fulci: Zombie (aka Zombi 2), The Beyond, and The House by the Cemetery.

From an epic showdown between a zombie and a shark to the discovery of a gateway to Hell to a house that harbors a sinister secret, there's something for every horror lover to unwrap on this episode. So, whether you're a lifelong fan of The Godfather of Gore or you're new to the influential filmmaker's work, enjoy this special Horror BFFs episode of Corpse Club!

The House By The Cemetary 3-Disc Limited Edition / 4K Restoration coming January 21st The outrageous Italian shocker from The Godfather of Gore, Lucio Fulci Read The Fine Print… You May Have Just Mortgaged Your Life A young family moves from their cramped New York City apartment to a spacious new home in New England. …

The post Blue Underground’s The House By The Cemetery 3-Disc Limited Edition 4K appeared first on Hnn | Horrornews.net.

Fabio Frizzi Announces the “Beyond Composers Cut Tour” Frizzi 2 Fulci: (Press Release) Fabio Frizzi is returning to North America to perfom the legendary score for “The Beyond.” “The Beyond” is a psychedelic, supernatural nightmare directed by the granddaddy of Italian splatter Lucio Fulci. The second film in Fulci’s "Gates of Hell" trilogy sandwiched between City of the Living Dead (1980) and The House by the Cemetery (1981), “The Beyond’s” loose narrative revolves around a Louisiana hotel which may in fact be one of the seven gates to hell. The movie is beloved by horror fans for its surrealistic imagery and gore-tastic set pieces, including gouged out eyes, face-eating spiders, reanimated corpses, and a bloodthirsty dog. Additionally, a composer’s cut of the score is being re-release in conjunction with the tour via Cadabra Records.

Fabio will play a second set entitled “Frizzi 2 Fulci.” This is a breathtakingly amazing experience that...

It’s been a while since I’ve taken a Fulci out for a spin; frankly the latter part of his career has generally been met with the indifference (and occasional disdain) afforded his fellow countryman Dario Argento. Fair? Well, art is subjective, but even strict apologists have a hard time defending some late in the game efforts. Which brings us to Aenigma (1987), Fulci’s take on Argento, and a fine last gasp of electric madness.

Distributed by Filman International late December in France, Aenigma didn’t see release in Fulci’s homeland until August of ’88; by this point his films weren’t even making it stateside anymore, and it didn’t show up in North America until late October the following year for a limited run. When DVDs started making noise in the early ‘00s, Aenigma was finally brought to a wider audience who promptly gave it the awkward smile of a disappointed parent.

As we get ready to close out the month of November, that means we have one last batch of horror and sci-fi home media releases on the docket before we get into December. Scream Factory is keeping busy with not only their killer box set of The Critters Collection, but they’re also showing Munchie and Munchies some love this week as well. Blue Underground is doing the dark lord’s work with their brand new Blu-ray for Lucio Fulci’s Zombie (even giving fans three cover art versions to choose from), and as far as recent films go, both Searching and The Little Stranger come home on Tuesday, too.

Other notable releases for November 27th include Screams of the Night, Cold Ground, Brutality, Last American Horror Show, and At First Light.

The Critters Collection

They’re back and ready to devour your Blu-ray player! The terrifying and tiny menaces...

During the early 60’s to the mid 80’s Italian horror was in its heyday – directors such as Mario Bava, Dario Argento, Lucio Fulci, Antonio Margheriti, Umberto Lenzi, Joe D’Amato, and Enzo. G. Castellari directed some of the most outrageous terror films ever. Films that, at the time, pushed boundaries, depicting some of the most stylish and horrific on screen images. But at the same time these films included some of the most elegant and beautiful scores, scores which gained a cult following then and to this day – and they remain as popular now as they’ve ever been.

In comes Vault of Horror – The Italian Connection from Demon Records…

Featuring twenty of the most amazing film Italian genre themes ever, it is a heady mix of funk, disco, electronic and prog rock; featuring composers such as Stelvio Cipriani, Franco Micalizzi, Roberto Donati, Carlo Rustichelli, Nico Fidenco, Ennio Morricone, Fabio Frizzi,...

Review by Roger Carpenter

While Lucio Fulci made his reputation with a series of graphically violent horror movies like Zombie (Aka Zombi 2), City of the Living Dead (Aka The Gates of Hell), The House by the Cemetery, The Beyond, and The New York Ripper, his early career was a hodgepodge of film genres including comedies, spaghetti westerns, and poliziotteschi. However, many critics argue that his greatest films were his early gialli films like A Lizard in a Woman’s Skin and Don’t Torture a Duckling. Fulci was handicapped by terribly low budgets for most of his career but some of his earlier works were actually well-funded, allowing his cinematic craftsmanship to be on full display. Such was the case with Don’t Torture a Duckling.

As was the case with many gialli of the time period, the film titles were influenced by Argento’s first three gialli, collectively known as the “Animal Trilogy.

Time can be a hell of a drug, especially when it comes to the projected image. There’s an inherent danger in revisiting a film we have fond memories of; is it as good as we recall? Conversely, can a film improve after an initial viewing, one that perhaps was initially dismissed with a shrug and a wave of the hand? Case in point: actor David Keith’s directorial debut, The Curse (1987), a film that inspired nothing in me beyond guffaws 30 years ago. But that was then; now it inspires a sense of awe, because if you’ve ever wondered what an American-flavored Lucio Fulci film would look like, clear a spot in your collection for the class clown of the Class of ’87.

Producer Ovidio G. Assonitis is no stranger to fans of the genre; if you’ve seen Beyond the Door (1974), Tentacles (1977), or The Visitor (1979), then you know he...

Apr 28, 2017

Lucio Fulci, Frankenhooker and more in our round up of new horror Blu-rays and DVDs...

So, what’s your personal idea of hell? For this writer, it would almost certainly involve being chained down in the audience of an eternal live filming of Loose Women as Donald Trump waves a slice of tiger bread, forever just out of reach. Yours is likely to be similar, though it would have to be pretty grim indeed to come anywhere near Lucio Fulci’s 1981 career-best infernal vision and perhaps the definitive (obviously other than Little Nicky) cinematic depiction of eternal damnation, The Beyond.

See related Better Call Saul season 3 episode 3 review: Sunk Costs Better Call Saul season 3 episode 2 review: Witness Better Call Saul season 3 episode 1 review: Mabel

The Italian gore icon behind such genre classics as Zombie Flesh Eaters and The House By The Cemetery offers ostensibly a zombie film set in...

There are certain horror films you just love. Weird, offbeat, horrible puzzle boxes that, by all rights, have no logical reason to exist, and yet there they are. And then, there’s Beyond the Door (1974), an Italian / American co-produced quasi-Exorcist treatise that burns down that particular sacred house, stomps on the ashes, and pisses on the embers before speeding off in its Ferrari. If you found The Exorcist too restrained, we may have just become best friends.

Beyond the Door is also known as Chi Sei?, Who Are You?, Behind the Door, The Devil Within Her (not to be confused with the Joan Collins vs. satanic little person shocker) and various other titles it was given in an effort, I’m assuming, to avoid Warner Brothers’ legal department (they can’t catch us if they can’t find us!). Back then, Warner Bros. was on the hunt for any horror...

“The boat can leave now. Tell the crew.” With these words, a horror classic was born. Zombie (1979) was the first Lucio Fulci film that assaulted my eyeballs, And it was the first zombie flick I ever saw. Heady stuff for a quivering ten-year-old, but it proved to be the perfect gateway to the splattery splendors of Italian terror, a door that will forever remain ajar.

Let me be as straightforward as I can: if you’re a fan of Fulci but haven’t caught this yet, you can forget about the surrealism of The Beyond (1981) or the Lovecraftian flourishes of City of the Living Dead (1980). This is Fulci driving a simple narrative right through the hearts of horror lovers everywhere, coming out the back bloodied and unbound, unapologetic in its mission statement to horrify and repulse. Mission accomplished.

Zombie was released in Italy in August of 1979 as Zombi 2, titled...

Movies are so rarely great art that if we cannot appreciate great trash we have very little reason to be interested in them. – Pauline Kael.

The above quote from the late, legendary American film critic Kael was most certainly not referring to Lamberto Bava’s Demons (1985), but a lot of films in our beloved genre bow to this description. Demons is great trash – it wants nothing more to assault your senses with a barrage of images and sound for 88 minutes before you even know what hit you, and does so while breathing that rarified Italian air.

But I’m sure she was referring to a film like Demons – one made with a ton of style, by a filmmaker impassioned with his chosen topic, as ridiculous as that plays on the screen. And make no mistake, Demons is ridiculous; as a matter of fact, it starts there before rapidly ascending to the sublime.

Think back to your first sip of beer. Chances are it was a domestic brew. Perhaps a Budweiser or a Coors Light. Or if you’re a Canuck like me, maybe a Molson Canadian. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with a home-grown… Continue Reading →

The post Tasting Italian for the First Time: The House by the Cemetery appeared first on Dread Central.

Also known as The Gates of Hell (among other titles), this gruesome entry is the first of a loose Lucio Fulci trilogy including The Beyond and The House By the Cemetery. When the Gates of Hell are opened, hordes of ravenous levitating zombies are unleashed and reporter Christopher George has to travel to Lovecraft's Dunwich to close the portal before All Saint's Day.

H.P. Lovecraft doesn’t translate to film very well. Many have tried, few have succeed. Lovecraft’s stories are mood-driven, using his dense antiquarian writing style to tell tales that say so much while unfolding so little in terms of action. This doesn’t exactly lend itself to a cinematic adaptation. Yet several films have found a way to tackle Lovecraft without actually adapting Lovecraft. The following films pay tribute to Lovecraft without actually adapting any of his stories.

10.Evil Dead

Sam Raimi’s 1981 The Evil Dead features one of Lovecraft’s most widely known creations: The Necronomicon. Lovecraft used this book of magic, which was attributed to the fictional Abdul Alhazred, in several of his stories. This recurrence was one of the many Lovecraftian elements that gave a reader the sense of an ever-growing mythology — stories all loosely connected, existing in the same mad universe. Lovecraft wrote a short...

Ted Geoghegan’s We Are Still Here is a love letter. Two parents, grieving over their lost son, move to a new house in Massachusetts. The house, of course, is haunted. It’s like Lucio Fulci’s The House by the Cemetery – intentionally so. It hearkens back to an older time, and it doesn’t really feel like a modern horror movie. Among the glut, it stands out, and the universally high marks it’s received from critics show that Geoghegan was onto something. After working as a writer and producer for years, this marks his feature debut as a director. It’s certainly a […]...

Ted Geoghegan’s We Are Still Here is a love letter. Two parents, grieving over their lost son, move to a new house in Massachusetts. The house, of course, is haunted. It’s like Lucio Fulci’s The House by the Cemetery – intentionally so. It hearkens back to an older time, and it doesn’t really feel like a modern horror movie. Among the glut, it stands out, and the universally high marks it’s received from critics show that Geoghegan was onto something. After working as a writer and producer for years, this marks his feature debut as a director. It’s certainly a […]...

City of the Living Dead (1980) is not where my relationship starts with Italian director Lucio Fulci. Also known as The Gates of Hell (a way better title, and what I saw it as), Cotld was not released in North America until 1983. By this time, my eyeballs had already been assaulted by Zombie (1979), and The Beyond (1981). This film was made in between, and it shows – it’s a fascinating fulcrum between the flesh eating exploits of the former and the surreal dreamscapes of the latter. It’s a creepy classic from one of the Italian masters of the genre.

Released in 1980 in his native Italy, Cotld was released in the U.S. by North America Marketing in May of ’83. Derided by critics at the time, it’s never up for re-evaluation by the mainstream. And that’s okay. What fellow horror fiends have known for decades is that Fulci at his...

Stars: Barbara Crampton, Andrew Sensenig, Lisa Marie, Larry Fessenden, Monte Markham | Written and Directed by Ted Geoghegan

As a kid growing up in the 80s there were only a handful of women who, at least for this young horror fan, could sell a film on their name alone. For T&A terror it was the likes of Brinke Stevens, Michelle Bauer and Linnea Quigley; but for the real stuff, the truly horrorfying movies it was Barbara Crampton. To this day I will watch any film to which her name is attached, he presence in a movie, especially a horror movie, always elevates the production. Which is why We Are Still Here was pretty much a given at this years Frightfest!

But it’s not just the presence of Crampton that attracted me to this particular slice of New England horror.

Back in 2009, Ti West’s The House of the Devil...

Horror, fantasy, Hong Kong action, animation, strange documentaries, thought-provoking science-fiction, Japanese new wave and martial arts are just among the many genres the Fantasia Film Festival covered in its nineteenth year of programming. Famous for being the largest genre film festival in North America, Fantasia is packed with Canadian, North American and worldwide feature-length premieres as well as shorts. This year’s line-up included 22 World Premieres, 13 International Premieres, and 21 North American Premieres including Marvel’s Ant-Man, the animated Miss Hokusai and the much-anticipated Attack on Titan. As of Wednesday night, August 5th 2015, the most recent edition of the festival will be a thing of the past.

With over 130 films screened in 23 days, it’s impossible to see them all. This year, I tried my best to pace myself. Long gone are the days where I would cram in 3 or 4 movies in a day. Maybe I’m getting old and...

The Editor

Directed by Adam Brooks and Matthew Kennedy

Written by Conor Sweeney, Adam Brooks and Matthew Kennedy

2014, Canada

Over the past few years, we’ve seen a number of homages to the giallo genre including Peter Strickland’s clever, slightly bizarre and altogether mesmerizing thriller Berberian Sound Studio, a movie that pays tribute to the old-school cinematic craftsmanship of sound mixing and sound effects. The Editor, like Berberian Sound Studio, features a movie-within-a-movie only this time it’s the editor, not the foley artist, who gets the spotlight. Set in an Italian movie studio plagued by death, the film’s deceptively simple plot involves Rey Ciso (co-director Adam Brooks), a once prominent film editor who accidentally chopped off four of his fingers and is now forced to edit with one hand. Cisco becomes the prime suspect in a series of gruesome murders perpetrated upon the film’s cast. Certainly,...

We Are Still Here

Directed by Ted Geoghegan

Written by Ted Geoghegan

USA, 2015

Taking cues from late ’70’s /early ’80s horror (primarily director Lucio Fulci’s The House by the Cemetery and John Carpenter’s The Fog), writer/director Ted Geoghegan’s directorial debut We Are Still Here doesn’t break new ground, but serves as a suspenseful and well-crafted old-fashioned ghost story.

Geoghegan’s concept is pretty straightforward; a period piece set in 1979 about a married couple Anne (Barbara Crampton) and Paul (Andrew Sensenig) who relocate to a new home in rural New England after a car accident takes the life of their only son Bobby. The pair has hopes that a fresh start will bring them some closure only Anne feels a strange presence in the house and believes that her child’s spirit is following them. When spooky occurrences originate from the basement, and neighbor Dave (Monte Markham...

My original plan was to publish a list of my ten most anticipated films screening at the Fantasia Film Festival but considering the incredible line-up this year, I find it near impossible to narrow it down to only ten. So instead I’ve decided to select one movie a day, or better yet, the movie that you should choose if you only had time for one.

Day 1. Tangerine

Christmas Eve in Tinseltown!

If you’re not familiar with director Sean Baker start taking notes. The man is a genius and one of the best indie American filmmakers working today. In Starlet, Baker spun an unlikely friendship between a young porn actress and an old lady in the San Fernando Valley. In Prince of Broadway, he chronicled the struggles of a hustler balancing fatherhood while working in New York’s wholesale district. Baker’s work avoids labels by refusing to adhere...

From its chilly opening sequences and impressive title unveil, Ted Geoghegan’s slim yet sturdy debut We Are Still Here belongs to a contemporary tradition of filmmakers directly referencing vintage masters from the annals of horror cinema. Unlike the hybridization occurring in the works of recent indie filmmakers like Ti West or Adam Wingard, Geoghegan denies his film the same sense of increasing self-awareness, though a sense of the ludicrous certainly remains intact. Fashioning the film after giallo master Lucio Fulci’s 1981 classic The House by the Cemetery, Geoghegan assembles an impressive cast of notables. But those unfamiliar with either the source inspiration or the reputation of the principal players may find the narrative too routine, dressed up as it is with a title befitting of a Joyce Carol Oates saga.

Following the death of their son Bobby in a tragic car accident, Anne (Barbara Crampton) and Paul Sacchetti (Andrew Sensenig...

Some of the best and surprising films, not just in horror but all genres, are the ones that sneak up on you and catch you off guard. To be more specific, small films that seemingly come out of nowhere, without warning, and despite their having an otherwise mild-mannered appearance, turn out to have quite a surprising impact.

Written and directed by Ted Geoghagan, We Are Still Here is one of these little modestly made films that speak quietly but carry a big stick. Wash, as I will refer to it from here on out, is a superbly made film that does not strike you as such upon the first viewing. Instead, its a film that nags at you and eats away at your mind after the viewing has ended. For myself, I came away from my initial viewing thinking only mediocre thoughts of its content, but as I soon realized,...

Horsehead Awaits – This June

Acclaimed horror-fantasy film Horsehead will be coming to Blu-ray and DVD on June 23. Starring Catriona MacColl (The Beyond, The House By The Cemetery) and Murray Head (Sunday Bloody Sunday, “One Night in Bangkok”), Horsehead enjoyed a long film festival run with screenings at Fantastic Fest, Sitges International Film Festival, and L’Etrange Festival. Synopsis: Beautiful young Jessica ...

Hnn | Horrornews.net - Official News Site...

By Hank Reineke

On the weekend of April 24-25, DVD Drive-In and the Riverside Drive-In in Vandergrift, Pa, hosted the third annual April Ghouls Drive-In Monster-Rama. This springtime festival of 1970s and 1980s exploitation horror-films, now in its third year, is the more recent sister to September’s glorious Drive-In Super Monster-Rama. This latter event, which will enjoy its ninth incarnation this coming autumn, generally features a slate of more “traditional” monster movies from the 1960s and 1970s. Neither weekend of programming should be missed by any horror film devotee with access to an automobile. The intent of the original Drive-In Super Monster-Rama (first presented at the Riverside in 2007) was to authentically re-create the ambiance of the all-night drive-in theater spook shows of the 1960s and 1970s. In this regard, the event succeeds in every possible manner.

Co-sponsored from its inception by George Reis of the cult-film website “DVD Drive-In” and the Riverside Drive-In,...

Lucio Fulci’s House By The Cemetery Invades Brooklyn May 1st and 2nd

Lucio Fulci’s 1981 horror film The House by the Cemetery will be screened at Brooklyn’s Nitehawk Cinema on 35mm in the Williamsburg section of the city at 12:15 am on Friday night, May 1st and at 12:15 am on Saturday night, May 2nd. From the press release: Can anyone survive the demented marauding zombies in… ...

Horrornews.net...

Flyboy, Leatherface, Ash, possessed teenagers, and hordes of the living dead will grace the silver screen at Vandergrift, Pennsylvania's Riverside Drive-In this weekend. One of our favorite events of the year, the April Ghouls Drive-In Monster-Rama features back-to-back evenings of horror movie marathons, with this year's event featuring screenings of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, The Evil Dead, Night of the Demons, the Dcp of George A. Romero's Dawn of the Dead, and more.

Held every year in April (as an extension of September's Drive-In Super Monster-Rama), the April Ghouls Drive-In Monster-Rama shows eight horror movies (usually all from the ’70s and ’80s) over two nights on a huge drive-in screen in Vandergrift, Pa's Riverside Drive-In Theatre (mere miles away from the Monroeville Mall, where Romero filmed Dawn of the Dead).

Special guest Paul Musser, the "Plaid Shirt Zombie" whose head was used in the original promotional posters for Dawn of the Dead,...

Lucio Fulci’s 1980 film The Beyond is largely regarded as his masterpiece, and it’s hard to disagree with that sentiment. The Italian filmmaker had a long and varied career working across a number of genres, including fantasy, westerns and, most famously and frequently, horror. The Beyond finds him in total control of both his obsessions and his abilities, blending his penchant for nightmare logic, abstract formalism and, of course, gushy, gushy gore. Fulci gotta Fulci.

It’s practically useless to try and explain the movie’s plot, as this isn’t a movie that’s contingent on story. Any attempt to understand what’s really going on will more than likely lead to further frustration; better to let the images and tone of the thing wash over you. It begins with the murder of a man at the hands of an angry mob, an event which opens one of...

The Beyond

Directed by Lucio Fulci

Written by Dardano Sacchetti, Giorgio Mariuzzo, and Lucio Fulci

Italy, 1981

While he may not have the name recognition of George Romero or Wes Craven, Lucio Fulci has had a singular impact on the horror genre. And though his work doesn’t lend itself to the sort of pop culture familiarity that unites these and other more mainstream horror directors, what he did best within the genre, he did as well as any other filmmaker. His was a down and dirty horror: grisly, textured, elaborate, graphic. And arguably his finest achievement, certainly one that perfectly showcases his style and skill, is The Beyond (1981), out now on an extensive 3-disc collectors edition Blu-ray.

The Beyond begins in 1927 Louisiana, where the basic premise of portentous evil lurking near seven doors to hell is established. Upon one of those gateways sits an old gothic hotel, which in the present day,...