I've got a teaser trailer here for you to watch for a dark fairytale horror thriller called Corvidae. I normally don't post trailers for short films, but this one actually looks interesting and it stars Game of Thrones star Maisie Williams. Here's the synopsis:
Corvidae is a dark fairytale written and directed by Tom de Ville that follows a young girl who loves birds, and the very strange strange thing that happens when she tries to protect a wounded crow from the boys in her village. Rooted in the tradition of pastoral horror, it is a short, silent film inspired by the work of writers such as Alan Garner and Arthur Machen.Jay (Maisie Williams) is a young girl living in the countryside who comes across a group of local boys who are shooting birds and nests with their catapult. Eager to protect them from doing more harm, Jay steps...
Corvidae is a dark fairytale written and directed by Tom de Ville that follows a young girl who loves birds, and the very strange strange thing that happens when she tries to protect a wounded crow from the boys in her village. Rooted in the tradition of pastoral horror, it is a short, silent film inspired by the work of writers such as Alan Garner and Arthur Machen.Jay (Maisie Williams) is a young girl living in the countryside who comes across a group of local boys who are shooting birds and nests with their catapult. Eager to protect them from doing more harm, Jay steps...
- 8/3/2018
- by Joey Paur
- GeekTyrant
British-Irish production company Film and Music Entertainment has added an adaptation of Arthur Machen’s fantasy novel “Hill of Dreams” to its production slate. Machen’s fans include Mick Jagger and Guillermo del Toro.
The screenplay has been written by Jonathan Preece and the film will be directed by Fatmir Koci, who previously teamed on “Elvis Walks Home.” It centers on an aspiring writer who “seeks beauty through literature, but is lured by a femme fatale into a world of fantasy and nightmare in Victorian London,” according to F&Me.
Preece is “a real talent to watch out for, able to turn his hand to original work and creative adaptations. The screenplay has now been delivered, and we are working on putting the package together to take to financiers,” said Mike Downey, F&Me co-chief.
Also on the slate is “Jumpman,” directed by Russia’s Ivan Tverdovsky, best known for “Corrections Class,...
The screenplay has been written by Jonathan Preece and the film will be directed by Fatmir Koci, who previously teamed on “Elvis Walks Home.” It centers on an aspiring writer who “seeks beauty through literature, but is lured by a femme fatale into a world of fantasy and nightmare in Victorian London,” according to F&Me.
Preece is “a real talent to watch out for, able to turn his hand to original work and creative adaptations. The screenplay has now been delivered, and we are working on putting the package together to take to financiers,” said Mike Downey, F&Me co-chief.
Also on the slate is “Jumpman,” directed by Russia’s Ivan Tverdovsky, best known for “Corrections Class,...
- 5/13/2018
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
Yorkshireman-cum-Australian Filmmaker Julian Butler (of Smile Orange infamy) talks to host Stuart Wright about five of his favourite British horror films for the ongoing podcast series “5 Great British Horror Films”. Butler’s pick include:
The Devil Rides Out (1968) Paul Sykes: At Large (1990) Drillbit/Bad Karma (1992) Secret Adventures of Tom Thumb (1993) Come To Daddy (Chris Cunningham video for Aphex Twin) (1997)
Julian Butler also plugs Holy Terrors – the portmanteau film he co-directed with Mark Goodall.
To buy the DVD email holyterrors@btinternet.com or search for ‘Holy Terrors DVD’ on eBay. There’s a book tie in available from Tartus Press (limited edition of 200) tartaruspress.com/machen-holy-terrors.html
To find out more about Arthur Machen visit the website of The Friends of Arthur Machen: www.arthurmachen.org.uk...
The Devil Rides Out (1968) Paul Sykes: At Large (1990) Drillbit/Bad Karma (1992) Secret Adventures of Tom Thumb (1993) Come To Daddy (Chris Cunningham video for Aphex Twin) (1997)
Julian Butler also plugs Holy Terrors – the portmanteau film he co-directed with Mark Goodall.
To buy the DVD email holyterrors@btinternet.com or search for ‘Holy Terrors DVD’ on eBay. There’s a book tie in available from Tartus Press (limited edition of 200) tartaruspress.com/machen-holy-terrors.html
To find out more about Arthur Machen visit the website of The Friends of Arthur Machen: www.arthurmachen.org.uk...
- 2/28/2018
- by Phil Wheat
- Nerdly
UK/Irish production outfit also developing adaptation of Arthur Machen’s fantasy masterpiece Hill of Dreams.
UK/Irish production company Film and Music Entertainment (F&Me)’s busy slate includes reuniting with award-winning Dede director Mariam Khatchvani on Nene.
Georgian writer/director Khatchvani also produces and co-writes the new film with producer Vladimer Katcharava, and is developing at Cannes Cinefondation after winning the Asia-Pacific Screen Awards development grant.
The plot, based on a true story, is about law enforcement agencies using force against citizens. F&Me reunites with Dede partners 20 Steps Productions (founded by Katcharava) and JaJa Film Productions.
F&Me’s Irish outfit will also again pair with Netherlands-based Jaja Film Productions on Jacco Groen’s Streetkids United III – The Road To Russia, about more than 200 street kids from across the world who will come together in Moscow for The Street Child World Cup.
F&Me also collaborates with Jaja on Jamillah van der Hulst’s Fighting...
UK/Irish production company Film and Music Entertainment (F&Me)’s busy slate includes reuniting with award-winning Dede director Mariam Khatchvani on Nene.
Georgian writer/director Khatchvani also produces and co-writes the new film with producer Vladimer Katcharava, and is developing at Cannes Cinefondation after winning the Asia-Pacific Screen Awards development grant.
The plot, based on a true story, is about law enforcement agencies using force against citizens. F&Me reunites with Dede partners 20 Steps Productions (founded by Katcharava) and JaJa Film Productions.
F&Me’s Irish outfit will also again pair with Netherlands-based Jaja Film Productions on Jacco Groen’s Streetkids United III – The Road To Russia, about more than 200 street kids from across the world who will come together in Moscow for The Street Child World Cup.
F&Me also collaborates with Jaja on Jamillah van der Hulst’s Fighting...
- 2/15/2018
- by Wendy Mitchell
- ScreenDaily
Holy Terrors is an adaption of six Arthur Machen tales which has been brought to the screen by from co-directors Mark Goodall and Julian Butler; and was selected to play at the Horror-on-Sea Film Festival on Saturday 20th January. I got chance to ask them a few questions about why they chose to adapt the stories of Arthur Machen, collaborating together on the film and their favorite adaption.
What can we expect from the film Holy Terrors?
Mark – A strange and eerie cinematic experience that is atmospheric, hypnotising and perplexing.
Julian – A feature film bringing together six weird tales by Arthur Machen, the apostle of wonder.
Why did you feel it was important to adapt the selected stories of Arthur Machen together in a film?
Mark – It was a challenge as there are very few audio-visual adaptations of Arthur Machen out there. Julian Butler and I felt that the stories would work well visually,...
What can we expect from the film Holy Terrors?
Mark – A strange and eerie cinematic experience that is atmospheric, hypnotising and perplexing.
Julian – A feature film bringing together six weird tales by Arthur Machen, the apostle of wonder.
Why did you feel it was important to adapt the selected stories of Arthur Machen together in a film?
Mark – It was a challenge as there are very few audio-visual adaptations of Arthur Machen out there. Julian Butler and I felt that the stories would work well visually,...
- 1/23/2018
- by Philip Rogers
- Nerdly
In his latest interview/podcast host Stuart Wright talks to Yorkshireman-come-Australian filmmaker Julian Butler (of Smile Orange infamy) about Holy Terrors – the portmanteau film he co-directed with Mark Goodall.
The Welsh writer Arthur Machen wrote many acclaimed stories of the supernatural which brought him great fame in the 1920s. His work has faded from view in the decades since leaving just a dedicated following including Stephen King and Mick Jagger. Holy Terrors is a new film aiming to bring Machen to a new audience and adapts six of his tales into a spine-tingling portmanteau film. Effectively capturing the unique atmosphere and feel of Machen’s writing, Holy Terrors is sure to provide a night or two of uneasy sleep for the viewer.
To buy the DVD email holyterrors@btinternet.com or search for ‘Holy Terrors DVD’ on eBay.
There’s a book tie in available from Tartus Press (limited edition of 200) tartaruspress.
The Welsh writer Arthur Machen wrote many acclaimed stories of the supernatural which brought him great fame in the 1920s. His work has faded from view in the decades since leaving just a dedicated following including Stephen King and Mick Jagger. Holy Terrors is a new film aiming to bring Machen to a new audience and adapts six of his tales into a spine-tingling portmanteau film. Effectively capturing the unique atmosphere and feel of Machen’s writing, Holy Terrors is sure to provide a night or two of uneasy sleep for the viewer.
To buy the DVD email holyterrors@btinternet.com or search for ‘Holy Terrors DVD’ on eBay.
There’s a book tie in available from Tartus Press (limited edition of 200) tartaruspress.
- 1/5/2018
- by Stuart Wright
- Nerdly
Sad that the Halloween season is over already? Have no fear, it has been extended! Check out the new Halloween shirts revealed by Terror Threads that get this edition of Horror Highlights rolling. Also: Kaleidoscope release details and trailer, Ghost Box short story collection edited by Patton Oswalt, a clip and trailer for My Little Sister, TV4 Entertainment and The Asylum's new Apocalypse streaming service, Beneath Us acquisition details, info on the new comic Rusty Revolver, and info on Christopher Michael Carter's new horror novels.
New Halloween Shirts from Terror Threads: Press Release: "Death has come to your little town! Terror Threads celebrates the night he came home with a collection of John Carpenter's Halloween apparel.
A whopping 16 exclusive, officially-licensed Halloween shirts are for sale, ranging from newly commissioned artwork to vintage production stills turned into unique shirt designs.
Michael Myers, Laurie Strode, Dr. Loomis, the Myers house, and more...
New Halloween Shirts from Terror Threads: Press Release: "Death has come to your little town! Terror Threads celebrates the night he came home with a collection of John Carpenter's Halloween apparel.
A whopping 16 exclusive, officially-licensed Halloween shirts are for sale, ranging from newly commissioned artwork to vintage production stills turned into unique shirt designs.
Michael Myers, Laurie Strode, Dr. Loomis, the Myers house, and more...
- 11/9/2017
- by Tamika Jones
- DailyDead
John Saavedra Kirsten Howard Oct 16, 2017
Stephen King's Lovecraftian novella, N., is coming to the small screen...and it will be called 8.
You could almost say Stephen King has risen from the dead, except that his popularity never died out in the first place.
See related Star Trek: Netflix reveals the most rewatched episodes New on Netflix UK: what's added in October 2017?
Yet another adaptation has been announced in the Year Of King. The author's novella, 'N.,' is set to become a TV series from Gaumont TV. The show won't be called 'N.,' though. Instead, the project will be titled 8.
'N.' is the story of a man who has been diagnosed with obsessive compulsive disorder, but in true King fashion, something way more sinister might be behind the man's suffering, as he becomes increasingly obsessed with a Stonehenge-like formation of stones in Maine that...
Stephen King's Lovecraftian novella, N., is coming to the small screen...and it will be called 8.
You could almost say Stephen King has risen from the dead, except that his popularity never died out in the first place.
See related Star Trek: Netflix reveals the most rewatched episodes New on Netflix UK: what's added in October 2017?
Yet another adaptation has been announced in the Year Of King. The author's novella, 'N.,' is set to become a TV series from Gaumont TV. The show won't be called 'N.,' though. Instead, the project will be titled 8.
'N.' is the story of a man who has been diagnosed with obsessive compulsive disorder, but in true King fashion, something way more sinister might be behind the man's suffering, as he becomes increasingly obsessed with a Stonehenge-like formation of stones in Maine that...
- 10/13/2017
- Den of Geek
The greatest of all Hallmark holidays, the day of St. Valentine is constructed to make couples feel obligated to go out on expensive and over-anticipated dates, while unnecessarily reminding single people of their status. Candy hearts and roses are meant to celebrate monogamy and “normal” love; but the origins of the holiday go back to Roman culture and involved whips, wolf skins and fertility orgies. Sound more your speed? Then these decidedly non-romantic books may be the right tonic for this holiday:
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley: Mary Shelley’s still shocking novel is an affront to many things: religion, ego, scientific progress, but also love. The titular doctor creates a creature that he abandons out of disgust, only to have his creation haunt his every step and destroy all the people he loves. Talk about a bad ex. The book is a tragic exploration of freakishness and abandonment, an...
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley: Mary Shelley’s still shocking novel is an affront to many things: religion, ego, scientific progress, but also love. The titular doctor creates a creature that he abandons out of disgust, only to have his creation haunt his every step and destroy all the people he loves. Talk about a bad ex. The book is a tragic exploration of freakishness and abandonment, an...
- 2/14/2017
- by Ben Larned
- DailyDead
Few filmmakers have accomplished what Lucio Fulci has by turning gorefest pulp into a demented form of art. For the uninitiated, it may be impossible to get past the incomprehensible dubbing, inhuman acting, and nonexistent plots in some of Fulci’s films. Once used to these elements, though, one can see the way his films feel like nightmares, a series of impressionistic images that inspire dread. While I won’t claim that Fulci’s films are high art, I can perceive something important going on beneath the smears of gore. He has more on his mind than creative kills.
In two of Fulci’s films, The Beyond and City of the Living Dead, there are direct references to Clark Ashton Smith, the author who helped create the fantasy and science fiction genres. Smith was a friend of H.P. Lovecraft, and created a cosmic mythos of his own, with inventions like...
In two of Fulci’s films, The Beyond and City of the Living Dead, there are direct references to Clark Ashton Smith, the author who helped create the fantasy and science fiction genres. Smith was a friend of H.P. Lovecraft, and created a cosmic mythos of his own, with inventions like...
- 1/6/2017
- by Ben Larned
- DailyDead
There are few horror tropes that have tired themselves out more quickly than “don’t go into the woods.” We’ve seen it in cinema since the ’60s, reaching its short peak in the ’80s with films that even chose the trope as their titles. From slashers to creature flicks, horror has always made surface stabs at the innate fear of the woods, utilizing it only as a location in which horrors occur. Whether the church of Satan or the stalking grounds of a killer, the woods themselves rarely take action. Not in film, at least.
Reaching into the annals of weird fiction, one cannot avoid crossing the path of adventurer and author Algernon Blackwood, active in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. While his early career consists of articles detailing his explorations of global wilderness, Blackwood is still known today for his ventures into horror and the fantastic.
Reaching into the annals of weird fiction, one cannot avoid crossing the path of adventurer and author Algernon Blackwood, active in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. While his early career consists of articles detailing his explorations of global wilderness, Blackwood is still known today for his ventures into horror and the fantastic.
- 9/30/2016
- by Ben Larned
- DailyDead
John Saavedra Sep 3, 2019
From a story about a demonic clown to a haunted hotel, these are the 10 Stephen King horror novels you can't miss!
There's no doubt that writer Stephen King is best known for the horror novels that haunt his special corner of American literature. But the extremely prolific writer has also written plenty of dark/epic fantasy, science fiction, literary, mystery, and even romance. In fact, there are plenty of examples of genre-mixing in his writing. Books like Lisey's Story (a truly fantastic read), Duma Key, The Green Mile, The Eyes of the Dragon, Bag of Bones, and The Dark Tower series are fantastic examples of what King can do with just about any genre of fiction.
It can be hard to make a distinction between King's true horror books and those that happen to have some scary moments in them. But that's why we're here. We've made...
From a story about a demonic clown to a haunted hotel, these are the 10 Stephen King horror novels you can't miss!
There's no doubt that writer Stephen King is best known for the horror novels that haunt his special corner of American literature. But the extremely prolific writer has also written plenty of dark/epic fantasy, science fiction, literary, mystery, and even romance. In fact, there are plenty of examples of genre-mixing in his writing. Books like Lisey's Story (a truly fantastic read), Duma Key, The Green Mile, The Eyes of the Dragon, Bag of Bones, and The Dark Tower series are fantastic examples of what King can do with just about any genre of fiction.
It can be hard to make a distinction between King's true horror books and those that happen to have some scary moments in them. But that's why we're here. We've made...
- 10/1/2015
- Den of Geek
John Saavedra Oct 9, 2018
From a story about a demonic clown to a haunted hotel, these are the 10 Stephen King horror novels you can't miss!
There's no doubt that writer Stephen King is best known for the horror novels that haunt his special corner of American literature. But the extremely prolific writer has also written plenty of dark/epic fantasy, science fiction, literary, mystery, and even romance. In fact, there are plenty of examples of genre-mixing in his writing. Books like Lisey's Story (a truly fantastic read), Duma Key, The Green Mile, The Eyes of the Dragon, Bag of Bones, and The Dark Tower series are fantastic examples of what King can do with just about any genre of fiction.
It can be hard to make a distinction between King's true horror books and those that happen to have some scary moments in them. But that's why we're here. We've made...
From a story about a demonic clown to a haunted hotel, these are the 10 Stephen King horror novels you can't miss!
There's no doubt that writer Stephen King is best known for the horror novels that haunt his special corner of American literature. But the extremely prolific writer has also written plenty of dark/epic fantasy, science fiction, literary, mystery, and even romance. In fact, there are plenty of examples of genre-mixing in his writing. Books like Lisey's Story (a truly fantastic read), Duma Key, The Green Mile, The Eyes of the Dragon, Bag of Bones, and The Dark Tower series are fantastic examples of what King can do with just about any genre of fiction.
It can be hard to make a distinction between King's true horror books and those that happen to have some scary moments in them. But that's why we're here. We've made...
- 10/1/2015
- Den of Geek
It's pretty hard for a book trailer to grab our attention, but with its cozy yet creepy campsite setting, this one for Uninvited Press' recent release of Dark Forest managed to do so. If stories about the "malignant wilderness" sound intriguing, then read on!
Synopsis:
Something deadly lurks among the shadows, and the trees themselves seethe with menace.
Never believe you are safe. No one is safe.
The dark forest is a state of mind.
Dark Forest is an anthology from Uninvited Books edited by Robert Dunbar. These classic stories of the malignant wilderness come from the pens of illustrious authors like Ambrose Beirce, Algernon Blackwood, Arthur Machen, E. Nesbit, H. G. Wells and many others, combining to create an atmosphere of surreal malignity. (Also included is Dunbar’s novella Wood.)
Each tale is annotated by contemporary talents, and the insights and observations of writers of the caliber of Paul G. Bens,...
Synopsis:
Something deadly lurks among the shadows, and the trees themselves seethe with menace.
Never believe you are safe. No one is safe.
The dark forest is a state of mind.
Dark Forest is an anthology from Uninvited Books edited by Robert Dunbar. These classic stories of the malignant wilderness come from the pens of illustrious authors like Ambrose Beirce, Algernon Blackwood, Arthur Machen, E. Nesbit, H. G. Wells and many others, combining to create an atmosphere of surreal malignity. (Also included is Dunbar’s novella Wood.)
Each tale is annotated by contemporary talents, and the insights and observations of writers of the caliber of Paul G. Bens,...
- 8/18/2014
- by Debi Moore
- DreadCentral.com
From Nosferatu to Twilight, gothic films have explored what frightens us – and why we are willing victims of our fear. A few days before Halloween, and as the BFI begins a nationwide season, Michael Newton is seduced by horror, sex and satanism
Beyond high castle walls, the wolves howl. The Count intones: "Listen to them! The children of the night! What music they make!" And those words usher you into a faintly ludicrous cosiness, the comfortable darkness of gothic. For gothic properties are altogether snug, as familiar as Halloween costumes – a Boris Karloff mask, the Bela Lugosi cape, an Elsa Lanchester wig. So it is that many of us first come to the form through its parodies; I knew Carry On Screaming! by heart before I saw my first Hammer film. And yet, within the homely restfulness, something genuinely disturbing lurks; an authentic dread. And watching these films again, we...
Beyond high castle walls, the wolves howl. The Count intones: "Listen to them! The children of the night! What music they make!" And those words usher you into a faintly ludicrous cosiness, the comfortable darkness of gothic. For gothic properties are altogether snug, as familiar as Halloween costumes – a Boris Karloff mask, the Bela Lugosi cape, an Elsa Lanchester wig. So it is that many of us first come to the form through its parodies; I knew Carry On Screaming! by heart before I saw my first Hammer film. And yet, within the homely restfulness, something genuinely disturbing lurks; an authentic dread. And watching these films again, we...
- 10/26/2013
- by Michael Newton
- The Guardian - Film News
Horror stories that are grounded in reality, and yet not bound by rules … these inspire Adam Simon and Tim Metcalfe (The Haunting in Connecticut). And it’s what they appreciate about Seed, a powerful and terrifying novel written by Ania Ahlborn. Simon and Metcalfe have been selected by Amazon Studios to adapt Seed for the screen.
“Ania’s character insight and scenic eye managed to do what few horror writers even attempt, let alone succeed at – and that is, create a fictional world we instantly recognize as our own, as true,” Simon said. “Like Stephen King and a handful of Horror masters, she knows that writing great horror fiction is like directing lightning – your pole’s gotta be grounded.”
Seed was added to the Amazon Studios development slate last year, and Ahlborn says the experience has been “nothing but awesome.” And she’s a fan of Simon and Metcalfe. “I...
“Ania’s character insight and scenic eye managed to do what few horror writers even attempt, let alone succeed at – and that is, create a fictional world we instantly recognize as our own, as true,” Simon said. “Like Stephen King and a handful of Horror masters, she knows that writing great horror fiction is like directing lightning – your pole’s gotta be grounded.”
Seed was added to the Amazon Studios development slate last year, and Ahlborn says the experience has been “nothing but awesome.” And she’s a fan of Simon and Metcalfe. “I...
- 4/1/2013
- Hollywonk
By Joseph Leray
Last fall, a few things happened at People Can Fly, the Polish studio behind “Painkiller,” “Bulletstorm,” and the upcoming “Gears of War: Judgment”: Epic Games bought the studio, and the founding trio of Andrew Poznanski, Adrian Chmielarz, and Michal Kosieradzki left the company to go indie.
They went on to form a new company called The Astronauts, and they’ve just announced their first game: “The Vanishing of Ethan Carter.” The Astronauts describe their game as “weird fiction,” a literary term that refers to the supernatural and macabre stories popularized at the turn of the century -- think H. P. Lovecraft and Arthur Machen.
In “Vanishing,” players will control a young detective with the ability to visualize lethal crimes exactly as they happened investigating the kidnapping of a young boy. Your paranormal skills and old-fashioned detective work will form the basis of your investigations.
“What we...
Last fall, a few things happened at People Can Fly, the Polish studio behind “Painkiller,” “Bulletstorm,” and the upcoming “Gears of War: Judgment”: Epic Games bought the studio, and the founding trio of Andrew Poznanski, Adrian Chmielarz, and Michal Kosieradzki left the company to go indie.
They went on to form a new company called The Astronauts, and they’ve just announced their first game: “The Vanishing of Ethan Carter.” The Astronauts describe their game as “weird fiction,” a literary term that refers to the supernatural and macabre stories popularized at the turn of the century -- think H. P. Lovecraft and Arthur Machen.
In “Vanishing,” players will control a young detective with the ability to visualize lethal crimes exactly as they happened investigating the kidnapping of a young boy. Your paranormal skills and old-fashioned detective work will form the basis of your investigations.
“What we...
- 2/6/2013
- by MTV Video Games
- MTV Multiplayer
Horror enthusiasts all over the world are invited to read “The Uninvited,” a brand-new iPad app containing original tales of terror and sequential art. This anthology ($2.99) can be found on Apple’s App store, and it features work from contributors far and wide. More multimedia and literary content are planned for future issues, but as for when it happens will depend on the response, and the other struggles along the way.
That also includes embracing the digital generation, where almost any book can be found in electronic form, and adapting the software to run on other tablet computers. An iPhone version is in the works, but as for the desktop computer, who wants that? According to magazine founder, Adam Blainey, these computers aren't designed for reading a lengthy novel or a comic book.
“It works, but it just never caught on for psychological reasons,” says Blainey. Some people are probably afraid of transition.
That also includes embracing the digital generation, where almost any book can be found in electronic form, and adapting the software to run on other tablet computers. An iPhone version is in the works, but as for the desktop computer, who wants that? According to magazine founder, Adam Blainey, these computers aren't designed for reading a lengthy novel or a comic book.
“It works, but it just never caught on for psychological reasons,” says Blainey. Some people are probably afraid of transition.
- 9/24/2011
- by noreply@blogger.com (Ed Sum)
- 28 Days Later Analysis
There’s plenty of dank weather, occult rituals and gore in Wake Wood, the latest movie from the revived Hammer Films. Here’s Ryan’s review…
No sun. Perpetual rain. It's the weather, I suspect, that makes the British Isles home to so many spectacularly hideous works of horror. Writers like W W Jacobs and Arthur Machen have been frightening the wits out of unwary readers for over a hundred years, while Hammer Films have been weaving similarly nightmarish visions in cinema since the 1950s.
Wake Wood, one of a clutch of new offerings from a freshly revived Hammer, harks back to a long tradition of horror that is distinctly of the British Isles. Set in a quiet village somewhere in Ireland, it has a loamy, dank atmosphere that recalls Jacobs' startling short story, The Monkey's Paw, and vague echoes of the folky weirdness on display in the 1971 film, The Blood On Satan's Claw.
No sun. Perpetual rain. It's the weather, I suspect, that makes the British Isles home to so many spectacularly hideous works of horror. Writers like W W Jacobs and Arthur Machen have been frightening the wits out of unwary readers for over a hundred years, while Hammer Films have been weaving similarly nightmarish visions in cinema since the 1950s.
Wake Wood, one of a clutch of new offerings from a freshly revived Hammer, harks back to a long tradition of horror that is distinctly of the British Isles. Set in a quiet village somewhere in Ireland, it has a loamy, dank atmosphere that recalls Jacobs' startling short story, The Monkey's Paw, and vague echoes of the folky weirdness on display in the 1971 film, The Blood On Satan's Claw.
- 3/25/2011
- Den of Geek
by Joe Nazzaro
What a difference two years make. When writer/director Guillermo del Toro first announced his plans to co-write and direct Peter Jackson’s long-awaited adaptation of The Hobbit, that news was met with a somewhat mixed response. While del Toro had often been associated with darker genre fare such as Pan’s Labyrinth or The Devil’s Backbone, there was little doubt that the gifted filmmaker would bring a unique sensibility to the project, which would be split into two films.
But earlier this summer, del Toro announced that he was leaving The Hobbit after working on the screenplay for both installments and overseeing most of the design for part one. The reason for his departure was the continuing lack of a start date for production in the wake of rights co-owner MGM’s continuing financial problems. With obvious reluctance, and no shortage of high-profile projects awaiting his attention,...
What a difference two years make. When writer/director Guillermo del Toro first announced his plans to co-write and direct Peter Jackson’s long-awaited adaptation of The Hobbit, that news was met with a somewhat mixed response. While del Toro had often been associated with darker genre fare such as Pan’s Labyrinth or The Devil’s Backbone, there was little doubt that the gifted filmmaker would bring a unique sensibility to the project, which would be split into two films.
But earlier this summer, del Toro announced that he was leaving The Hobbit after working on the screenplay for both installments and overseeing most of the design for part one. The reason for his departure was the continuing lack of a start date for production in the wake of rights co-owner MGM’s continuing financial problems. With obvious reluctance, and no shortage of high-profile projects awaiting his attention,...
- 8/18/2010
- by Michael
- FamousMonsters of Filmland
Early in Vincenzo Natali's Splice, rogue scientist couple Clive and Elsa (Adrien Brody and Sarah Polley) watch as their latest massively transgressive experiment is set in motion. They are fertilizing an egg to create a human-creature hybrid, messing with the fundamental building blocks of biology. No one can so much as guess who or what will emerge: Will it be dangerous? Beautiful? Deformed? In horrible pain? They are standing on the breach of the unknown. For a long moment, the camera considers Clive and Elsa's faces as they stare, wide-eyed and beside themselves with excitement, at their handiwork. We're excited too. This is big, existential stuff, and for once the movie seems to know it.
The great English horror writer Ramsey Campbell has written about the value of wonder in the genre: "Many horror stories communicate awe as well as (sometimes instead of) shock, and it is surely inadequate...
The great English horror writer Ramsey Campbell has written about the value of wonder in the genre: "Many horror stories communicate awe as well as (sometimes instead of) shock, and it is surely inadequate...
- 6/11/2010
- by Eugene Novikov
- Cinematical
When it comes to reviews, most books can at least drag a “pretty good” or “not bad” from the mouths of critics. But when the words “masterpiece” and “unforgettable” are thrown around, one can’t help but wonder what all the fuss is about. Neverland, the new novel by author Douglas Clegg (Isis, Afterlife, The Priest Of Blood, etc.) from Vanguard Press, has been lauded by Publisher’s Weekly as a “haunting story redolent with the influence of Arthur Machen, H.P. Lovecraft, and other classic horror writers.” If you’re craving a southern Gothic horror tale that isn’t about Rednecks in overalls “not taking kindly” to some city folk, that slowly builds dread as opposed to cheap, gory descriptions, Neverland may be for you.
- 4/16/2010
- by samueldzimmerman@gmail.com (Nick Masercola)
- Fangoria
It is fast approaching that unique portion of the year when all true matters arcane and diabolical are given the festive treatment, as Halloween prompts folks to deploy their broomsticks for something other than sweeping up after the household pet. Although we have recently seen cinematic quotas of the supernatural gobbled up by vampire and zombie flicks, it would be remiss to overlook the genuine chills instilled by the most successful exponents of the ghost movie genre. So here are ten of the scariest ghost movies to put the frighteners on us poor, trembling cinema-goers.
10. Dark Water (2002)
Leaky plumbing becomes an unlikely source of spine-tingling terror in this J-Horror offering from director Hideo Nakata, the man who had previously attached creepy connotations onto video cassettes and cold-calling in the first two Ringu films. Sharing some narrative ground with his earlier horror hits, Dark Water finds Nakata once again casting a...
10. Dark Water (2002)
Leaky plumbing becomes an unlikely source of spine-tingling terror in this J-Horror offering from director Hideo Nakata, the man who had previously attached creepy connotations onto video cassettes and cold-calling in the first two Ringu films. Sharing some narrative ground with his earlier horror hits, Dark Water finds Nakata once again casting a...
- 10/12/2009
- by Paul Martin
- Movie-moron.com
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