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Mere mortals have been fascinated by witchcraft for hundreds of years, and the film industry has taken note, with witch-themed movies going back more than 100 years.

In 1922, the silent partly documentary-style Swedish film “Haxan” sought to understand the roots and misunderstandings of witchcraft, and the mania that surrounded the witch hunts. Controversial at the time, it is now considered one of the most influential of the early horror films. Less than 20 years later, Margaret Hamilton would make the Wicked Witch the standard for evil witches, and help make “The Wizard of Oz” a timeless classic.

SEE25 best TV witches, ranked worst to best

In the decades since, witches have appeared in just about every genre of film. Early romantic comedies “I Married a Witch” and “Bell, Book and Candle” were so popular they inspired the classic 1960s TV series “Bewitched.” But while a witch’s antics on the small screen were amusing audiences,...

Mere mortals have been fascinated by witchcraft for hundreds of years, and the film industry has taken note, with witch-themed movies going back more than 100 years.

In 1922, the silent partly documentary-style Swedish film “Haxan” sought to understand the roots and misunderstandings of witchcraft, and the mania that surrounded the witch hunts. Controversial at the time, it is now considered one of the most influential of the early horror films. Less than 20 years later, Margaret Hamilton would make the Wicked Witch the standard for evil witches, and help make “The Wizard of Oz” a timeless classic.

SEE25 best TV witches, ranked worst to best

In the decades since, witches have appeared in just about every genre of film. Early romantic comedies “I Married a Witch” and “Bell, Book and Candle” were so popular they inspired the classic 1960s TV series “Bewitched.” But while a witch’s antics on the small screen were amusing audiences,...

There’s no better way to celebrate the spooky season than with Elvira, the queen of Halloween. The “Mistress of the Dark” is hosting a one-night, four-film marathon on Shudder as part of Elvira’s 40th Anniversary, Very Scary Very Special Special on Shudder. The evening will see the ever-so-lively Cassandra Peterson come full-circle, as she revisits a similar format to that of her beloved late-night television series, Elvira’s Movie Macabre. The show premiered in 1981 out of the CBS affiliate in Los Angeles, bringing “B” horror and science fiction to the forefront. Over the years, Peterson became a pop culture icon with appearances on various TV shows, spinoffs, and merchandise licensing bonanza. In 1988, she starred in her own movie, Elvira: Mistress of the Dark, which is part of the streamer’s lineup. Rounding out this frightful good time will be old school classics House on Haunted Hill, The City of the Dead,...

Horror icon Elvira is returning to the small screen to celebrate her 40th anniversary as the much beloved Mistress of the Dark, the horror hostess with the mostess. She is celebrating on Shudder with a movie marathon on September 25th! The marathon will begin at 8pm Est on Shudder US and Canada, then it will be available on demand in all Shudder territories and AMC+ on the 27th. The lineup of films includes Elvira: MIstress of the Daek, House on Haunted Hill, The City of the Dead and Messiah of Evil. Check out the promo below the announcement! Horror Icon Elvira Makes Long-awaited Return To The Small Screen With Elvira’S 40th Anniversary, Very Scary, Very Special Special Debuting September 25 On Shudder...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

Drop Dead Diva is being resurrected by CBS: The Eye network is developing a gender-swapped reboot of the Lifetime dramedy, according to our sister site Deadline.

The hour-long reboot, titled Drop Dead Dave, centers on a self-involved Gen Z lawyer named Dave who dies in a freak accident “and his soul is transferred into the body of Rita, a successful but complicated Gen X attorney, forcing Dave to live as a woman and navigate an entirely new perspective on life, love and identity,” per the official synopsis.

More from TVLineTVLine Items: Piers Morgan Joins Fox Nation, Another Life Trailer...

A surprise addition to Shudder's “61 Days of Halloween” lineup, a special one-night event hosted by Elvira will feature a four-film marathon, including Elvira: Mistress of the Dark, House on Haunted Hill, The City of the Dead and Messiah of Evil. The special will air on Shudder on September 25h, and we have more details below, along with a promo video featuring, featuring Elvira!

Shudder, AMC Networks’ premium streamer for horror, thriller and the supernatural, welcomes the beloved Halloween queen of camp Elvira (Cassandra Peterson) for a one-night movie marathon event, Elvira’s 40th Anniversary, Very Scary, Very Special Special. Joining Shudder’s annual “61 Days of Halloween” lineup, the special debuts Saturday, September 25 at 8pm Et in the US and Canada via the Shudder TV feed within the Shudder app and will also be released on demand to all Shudder platforms and AMC+ beginning Monday, September 27. Similar to the cult classic,...

The EuroCrypt of Christopher Lee

Blu ray – Region Free

Severin Films

1962-72

Starring Christopher Lee, Thorley Walters, Karin Dor

Cinematography by Ernst W. Kalinke, Angelo Baistrocchi

Directed by Terence Fisher, Harald Reinl

While Hammer Studios depended on bosoms and blood to rejuvenate a listless horror industry, their new contract player had some high octane ideas of his own. His name was Christopher Lee and though the hulking actor towered above the crew and co-stars, he proved shockingly agile as the newborn creature in 1957’s The Curse of Frankenstein. No matter how hospitable or well-tailored, his Dracula was a clear and present danger—fleet of foot and supernaturally strong. And in 1959’s The Mummy, he turned the slow-moving immortal into an Olympian killing machine, outpacing his victims like an undead Usain Bolt.

Making the scene just as the sixties were racing into view, Lee’s express lane monsters ignored musty gothic...

Leading documentary specialist Dogwoof has acquired world sales rights to Miguel Eek’s feature debut “The First Woman,” following its world premiere in the First Appearance Competition section of documentary film festival IDFA, which runs Nov. 18-Dec. 6.

The film (see trailer here) is an intimate and tender portrait of Eva, a woman who has struggled with mental illness, loss, and addiction, and her search for a “normal” life, and to reunite with her son after an estrangement lasting 15 years.

Luke Brawley, Dogwoof’s festivals manager, said that having followed Eek’s previous work, “we recognized his distinctive style and talent early on.” In “The First Woman,” Eek’s “unique perspective on character and narrative is in full focus,” Brawley added. “This beautiful portrayal of one woman’s aspiration to live a ‘normal’ life, after struggling with loss and addiction, cements Miguel as a real talent to follow on the festival and awards circuit.

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By Todd Garbarini

I’m a sucker for black and white horror films and thrillers. Hold That Ghost! (1941) and Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948) are the closest I ever got to an actual horror film when I was a child. The latter actually frightened me and gave me more than a handful of nightmares while in kindergarten. As I got older, I thrilled to the suspense-filled Psycho (1960) by Alfred Hitchcock, Robert Wise’s The Haunting (1963), and George A. Romero’s Night of the Living Dead (1968) on network television viewings. I picked up a VHS copy of John Llewelyn Moxey’s masterful The City of the Dead under the insipid title of Horror Hotel and discovered a classic that I love to this day. There is an overall spookiness that I associate with black and white that I wish contemporary horror film directors would go back to.

Hello everybody, what’s up? You’re listening to I Was Just Wondering With Tom Salmon! The podcast that dives into music, film and games and everything else in between.

My guest on this week’s episode is HanXiong Bo who wrote, directed and produced his latest short film Drifting (2019), which tells the story of a young man struggling with his gender identity after being raised as a girl in China. Drifting has it premiered at the San Sebastian Film Festival in 2019 and was nominated for the best short film award at the festival and was a semi-finalist at the 2019 Student Academy Awards.

We jumped into HanXiong’s experience being a Maths student in Beijing and making his first no-budget zombie short film City of The Dead (2012), how he found his filmmaking voice studying at UCLA and what it was like working as a camera operator for one of American...

This week’s horror and sci-fi home media releases feature a stellar array of new and old. Scream Factory is showing some love to a trio of classic titles—Blood from the Mummy’s Tomb, Circus of Horrors and Scars of Dracula—and for those who may have missed it in theaters a few months back, Jim Jarmusch’s zombie comedy The Dead Don’t Die is shambling its way home on various formats. We’re also getting several modern classics released in 4K this Tuesday—Daybreakers and Edgar Wright’s Cornetto Trilogy, and for all you Supernatural fans out there, season 14 arrives on both Blu-ray & DVD, just in time for the final season.

Other Blu-ray & DVD releases for September 10th include Nekrotronic, John Wick: Chapter 3, Paranormal Activity 6-Movie Collection, and Hex.

Blood from the Mummy’s Tomb

A British expedition in Egypt discovers the ancient sealed tomb of the evil Queen Tera.

Scream Factory continues to heat up the summer for horror fans with another round of new Blu-ray announcements, including 1981's Fear No Evil (coming to Blu-ray on September 24th) and 1960's Circus of Horrors (slated for a September 10th Blu-ray release).

Fear No Evil Blu-ray: "Devilish behavior knows no bounds in 1981’s Fear No Evil. Directed by Frank Laloggia and sporting a killer punk and new wave soundtrack, this cult film fav finally see’s it Blu-ray debut in North America. Expected release date is planned for Sept 24th.

God has appointed three archangels to fight against Lucifer, who has assumed human features. Archangel Raphael, in the guise of Father Damon, kills Lucifer and ends his life in jail. But his sister, Archangel Mikhail, knows that one day the devil will reappear. Eighteen years later, Lucifer returns, now in the form of Andrew, a brilliant but shy schoolboy who becomes...

John Llewellyn Moxey, a prolific TV director who helmed episodes of “Charlie’s Angels,” “Mannix,” “Magnum, P.I.” and “Murder, She Wrote,” died of complications from cancer on April 29 in University Place, Wash. He was 94.

The Argentinean-born British director was also known for a long string of 1970s-era TV movies, including “The Night Stalker,” “Panic in Echo Park,” “Smash Up on Interstate 5,” “Conspiracy of Terror” and “The House that Would Not Die.” His TV credits also include “The Saint,” “The Avengers,” “Hawaii Five-o,” “Mission: Impossible,” “Miami Vice” and the pilot episode of “Charlie’s Angels.”

He began as an editor, then moved on to direct episodes of the British series “London Playhouse,” “The Adventures of Tugboat Annie” and “Coronation Street.” He made his feature film directorial debut with “The City of the Dead” in 1960 in the United Kingdom, later released in the U.S. as “Horror Hotel” in 1961. Even though the cast was mostly British actors,...

The Night Stalker/The Night Strangler

Blu ray

Kino Lorber

1972/73 / 1.33:1 / 74/90 Min. / Street Date October 2, 2018

Starring Darren McGavin, Simon Oakland

Cinematography by Michel Hugo, Robert B. Hauser

Directed by John Llewellyn Moxey, Dan Curtis

In January of 1972 ABC broadcast the story of a middle-aged newsman hot on the trail of a vampire seemingly escaped from a 50’s horror comic. The man and the monster had one thing in common – by the 70’s they were both anachronisms, adrift in an era of hot pants and roller disco.

Carl Kolchak, the overbearing reporter played by crusty TV vet Darren McGavin, was not simply immune to current fashions – his steadfast belief in the supernatural ensured his outsider status throughout two films and 20 hour-long episodes broadcast between 1974 and 1975.

The first of those movies was The Night Stalker, a nocturnal thriller animated by the lurid neon of the Vegas strip where a string of showgirl...

The frights of Horror Hotel are back in an improved presentation in this 2018 Limited Edition. Set in New England but filmed in Old England, this creepy shocker is a favorite not just for the presence of Christopher Lee, but also the wonderfully mortiferous Patricia Jessel and the cadaverous Valentine Dyall.

The City of the Dead

Remastered Limited Edition Blu-ray

Vci

1960 / B&W /1:66 widescreen / 78 min. / Horror Hotel / Street Date March 27, 2018 / 12.89

Starring: Venetia Stevenson, Patricia Jessel, Christopher Lee, Betta St. John, Valentine Dyall, Dennis Lotis, Tom Naylor, Ann Beach, Norman Macowan.

Cinematography: Desmond Dickinson

Production Designer: John Blezard

Film Editor: John Pomeroy

Original Music: Douglas Gamley, Kenneth V. Jones

Written by George Baxt from a story by Milton Subotsky

Produced by Max Rosenberg, Milton Subotsky, Donald Taylor

Directed by John Moxey

Vci has released an improved Blu-ray of The City of the Dead, hereby designated their Remastered 2018 Limited Edition. Having been...

The month of March is closing out with a busy week of home entertainment releases, with two of the highlights this week being Scream Factory's stunning Steelbook editions for Assault on Precinct 13 and Prince of Darkness. Scream Factory is also keeping busy with their Collector’s Edition release of Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon and their Blu-ray release of IFC Midnight's I Remember You.

David Cronenberg’s Scanners is also making its way into the Criterion Collection this week, and The City of the Dead is the recipient of another limited edition release as well. Other notable titles coming home on March 27th include The Robot Chicken Walking Dead Special, The Outer Limits Season 1, Hell’s Kitty, Star Time, The Executioners, Mercy Christmas, and Star Wars: The Last Jedi.

Assault on Precinct 13 Limited Edition Steelbook (Scream Factory, Blu-ray)

Isolated inside a soon-to-be-closed L.A. police station,...

There aren’t a ton of absolutes in life, but among a laundry list of things I enjoy whilst spinning around the sun, here’s three: Christopher George, private dicks, and mad scientists. And so imagine my delight when I stumbled across Escape (1971), a failed TV pilot about an ex escape artist turned P.I. who investigates, in his words, “the unexplainable.” And while the pilot doesn’t dip its toes too much into the pool of the unusual, it sure feels like that’s the way they were planning to go.

Not picked up by the network and instead broadcast on April 6th as an ABC Movie of the Week, Escape did little to swerve people away from their Hee Haw’s, All in the Family’s and 60 Minutes for the brass to reconsider putting it back on the slab. What a shame; Escape today plays as Bruce Wayne...

Padraig Cotter Oct 5, 2017

Alan Dean Foster chats to us about writing the official movie prequel to Alien: Covenant...

Alan Dean Foster is a name that will be familiar to fans of quality fantasy and sci-fi novels. He’s the prolific author behind the Spellsinger series, The Damned Trilogy and standalone books such as Voyage To The City Of The Dead, Glory Lane and Drowning World.

Mr Foster is also well known for his work in movie and television novelizations and spin-offs. This part of his career began when George Lucas hired him to ghost-write the Star Wars: A New Hope novel, which also led to him writing the first expanded universe novel Splinter Of The Mind’s Eye. Since then he’s written books set in the Star Trek and Transformers universes, in addition to novelizations of The Thing, Dark Star, Outland and Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

Fans of...

Horror Hotel: Bigelow and Boal Recount Grim Chapter of Racial Disparity

This year’s most harrowing horror movie, Kathryn Bigelow’s Detroit, happens to be based on events which took place nearly fifty years prior to the exact date its reenactment reaches theaters.

Continue reading...

Horror Hotel: Bigelow and Boal Recount Grim Chapter of Racial Disparity

This year’s most harrowing horror movie, Kathryn Bigelow’s Detroit, happens to be based on events which took place nearly fifty years prior to the exact date its reenactment reaches theaters.

Continue reading...

By Darren Allison

City of the Dead (Aka Horror Hotel) 1960 Directed by John Llewellyn Moxey, Starring Christopher Lee, Patricia Jessel, Venetia Stevenson, Betta St. John and Dennis Lotis. Arrow 2 disc Blu-ray and DVD released: 24th April 2017

When filming began on The City of the Dead, Christopher Lee was already established as a leading horror star. Hammer was paving the way with a new brand of horror and Lee had played a huge part in their success playing the Frankenstein monster, Dracula and the Mummy. The City of the Dead provided the perfect opportunity for Lee to spread his wings further within the genre by moving into the realms of witchcraft, the occult and American gothic.

Set in a small New England village (and hardly a city as the title suggests), Lee plays Professor Driscoll, an authority on the occult who persuades one of his students Nan Barlow (Venetia Stevenson) to research his hometown of Whitewood,...

Anna Biller captures the colours, style and mores of the lurid 70s in this near-perfect pastiche

Stiletto-sharp and as precise as a stocking seam, Anna Biller’s terrific homage to campy 1960s and 70s sexploitation horror movies is a riot of synthetic hair and vampy overacting. Biller, who designed the costumes and sets as well as writing, directing, editing and producing, has immersed herself in the Beyond the Valley of the Dolls-meets-Hammer psychological-shocker aesthetic. Hers is a witty and playful approach, but as with her 2007 film Viva – a lascivious, early 70s B-movie take on the sexual revolution – Biller lovingly recreates the film-making of the era with a fan’s obsession to detail. As such, it reminded me of Hélène Cattet and Bruno Forzani’s giallo pastiche, Amer: both pictures are deliciously lurid but wholly serious in their appreciation of the genre they evoke.

Biller cites George Romero’s...

Sometimes it’s hard to put a fresh coat of paint on an old house. The colors can bleed through no matter how many new layers are added, giving the house a look of desperation from a block away. But sometimes the right paint is used, the restoration is done with love and affection, and the new owners actually care about their surroundings. Such is the case with The Night Stalker (1972), the ABC TV movie that took the vampire out of his crumbling castle and transported him to the seedier side of the modern day Las Vegas strip; and in doing so created one of the most endearingly reluctant monster hunters of all time, Carl Kolchak.

Originally airing as the ABC Movie of the Week on Tuesday, January 11th, 1972, The Night Stalker slayed the competition in the ratings, including CBS’s successful Hawaii Five-o/Cannon lineup. And I mean destroyed...

Have you ever had a roommate who just wouldn't pay their share of the rent? Three friends face this dilemma in Matthew John Lawrence's short film Larry Gone Demon, but the only problem is that their fellow housemate is seemingly straight out of hell. You can watch their blood-splattered struggle in its entirety right here on Daily Dead, and we also have an exclusive clip from Last Girl Standing, as well as a new Vr video from #Room301.

Watch the Short Film Larry Gone Demon: "A frenetic, punk-rock nightmare centering on one asshole of a roommate.

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1st Place Award – 2015 Horrorvision Film Festival

1st Place Award (Short Horror-Comedy) – 2016 International Horror Hotel Film Festival

Best Horror Film – 2015 Coney Island Film Festival

Best Short Horror Film – 2015 Vortex Film...

Christopher Lee isn’t only an icon for the horror community. He’s an actor who has crossed over so many genres that you’d be hard-pressed to find a circle of geekdom that doesn’t hold him in high regard. He’s wielded lightsabers against Yoda and bested Gandalf in a wizard’s duel. But guess what, non-horror nerds? He was ours first. Taking the torch from Bela Lugosi to become the definitive Dracula of his era, Lee has a bevy of horror roles to his credit which, let’s face it, he makes iconic just by playing them. So the question is, what role would be a good fit for my little column? After quite a bit of searching, I decided to go with a movie in which Lee uses something that I’ve never seen him use before: an American accent. So let’s take a look...

Intriguing anthology film releases on Amazon Prime Award winning series, Horror Hotel, an anthology featuring unusual tales spanning sci-fi/mystery and suspense reminiscent of The Twilight Zone or Alfred Hitchcock, has released a new feature film on Amazon Prime that can easily be enjoyed by the whole family. The series’ first gained recognition upon release in …

The post Horror Hotel the Movie Breaks Tradition With Family Friendly Tales first appeared on Hnn | Horrornews.net - Official News Site...

A few years ago we told you about the ambitious independent horror throwback web series Horror Hotel and its later expansion into a second season — and if you liked those, well… you’re in for some good news… Horror Hotel:… Continue Reading →

The post Horror Hotel: The Movie Now Streaming for Free on Amazon Prime appeared first on Dread Central.

June is ending on a quiet note for horror and sci-fi home entertainment releases, as we only have six titles coming our way on June 28th.

Blue Underground has shown some love to two cult classics with their Blu-ray double feature of Circus of Fear and Five Golden Dragons, and Arrow Video is resurrecting another cult classic (albeit one that is a bit more recent) with their Return of the Killer Tomatoes Special Edition Blu-ray.

Other notable titles being released this Tuesday include Alien Strain, Shark Exorcist, Forgotten Tales, and Hotel Inferno.

Alien Strain (Mti Home Video, DVD)

After his girlfriend vanishes without a trace on a camping trip, he quickly goes from witness to suspect. Now, a year later, she returns to the very spot from which she was taken, but not like she was before.

Circus of Fear/Five Golden Dragons Double Feature (Blue Underground, Blu-ray)

Circus Of Fear...

This horror almost-classic has Christopher Lee and great atmosphere. Keep a sharp lookout for All Them Witches: they're not easy to spot... if you're as unobservant as Venetia Stevenson's sexy grad student. Were she studying sharks, this girl would wrap herself in fresh meat and jump into the middle of a mess of 'em. The City of the Dead Blu-ray Vci 1960 / B&W /1:78 widescreen / 78 min. / Horror Hotel / Street Date March 29, 2016 / 24.99 Starring Patricia Jessel, Dennis Lotis, Christopher Lee, Tom Naylor, Betta St. John, Venetia Stevenson, Valentine Dyall, Ann Beach, Norman Macowan. Cinematography Desmond Dickinson Production Designer John Blezard Film Editor John Pomeroy Original Music Douglas Gamley, Kenneth V. Jones Written by George Baxt from a story by Milton Subotsky Produced by Max Rosenberg, Milton Subotsky, Donald Taylor Directed by John Moxey

Reviewed by Glenn Erickson

Interest has been high for Vci's new The City of the Dead, a movie...

In this episode of Off The Shelf, Ryan and Brian take a look at the new DVD and Blu-ray releases for Tuesday, March 29th, 2016.

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Follow-Up Kickstarter Projects: Ben Model, Disney Television Animation Don Hertzfeldt Blu-rays News The Iron Giant Kino Lorber: Teen Witch, The Mark of Zorro, Rawhide, 3 Bad Men, The Pit, Chandu The Magician Scream Factory: Bad Moon, Hell Hole, The Boy Who Cried Werewolf Warner Archive: Father of the Bride (1950), Devlin, The New Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Code Red: The Dark 88 Films: Drive-In Massacre Cinema Epoch: Private Lessons Eureka: Upcoming Titles Twilight Time April Preorders Links to Amazon Bicycle Thieves Blue Ice Chantal Akerman: Four Films Cherry Falls The City of the Dead Code 7, Victim 5 / Mozambique Concussion Confession of a Child of the Century Corruption Hidden Fortress Frightmare The Gong Show Movie Hateful Eight Murders in the Rue Morgue...

March’s home entertainment releases are ending on a quiet note, as we’ve only six titles arriving on Blu-ray and DVD this Tuesday. Scream Factory has their Cherry Falls and Murders in the Rue Morgue / The Dunwich Horror double feature Blus for you guys to look forward to, and Vinegar Syndrome is keeping quite busy themselves with three different releases: Frightmare, Pigs, and their Revenge of the Virgins / Teenage Zombies double feature. Last but certainly not least, the Christopher Lee cult classic The City of the Dead is also getting the HD treatment on March 29th as well.

Cherry Falls (Scream Factory, Blu-ray)

A fiendish take on the teen thriller genre, where there’s a method to a killer’s madness, and only one naughty way to insure you’re not the next victim in the town of Cherry Falls. Dark secrets, darker motivations, and the blackest...

Holliston: Friendship is Tragic, the graphic novel based on the Holliston TV series from Adam Green (Frozen), features characters from the show and will be released in October. Also: Alexandre Aja’s curator collection on Shudder, Circus of Fear and Five Golden Dragons double feature Blu-ray details, a Viktorville poster, and a Shark Exorcist trailer.

Holliston: Press Release: “Source Point Press has announced they are currently in production on a graphic novel titled “Holliston: Friendship is Tragic”, based on the horror sit-com Holliston tv series created by filmmaker Adam Green. This announcement coincides with Source Point’s debut publisher booth at C2E2 in Chicago, and to celebrate the announcement the first promotional image for the comic will be available as a C2E2 exclusive art print limited to only 50 copies. Writer Greg Wright, artist Stephen Sharar, Editor Travis McIntire, and colorist and letterer Joshua Werner will...

Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing costar in a worthwhile horror attraction -- and for once even share some scenes. Amicus gives us five tales of the uncanny, each with a clever twist or sting in its tail. Creepy mountebank Cushing deals the Tarot cards that spell out the grim fates in store; Chris Lee is a pompous art critic wih a handy problem. Also with Michael Gough and introducing a young Donald Sutherland. Dr. Terror's House of Horrors Blu-ray Olive Films 1965 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 98 min. / Street Date October 27, 2015 / available through the Olive Films website / 29.98 <Starring Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, Michael Gough, Donald Sutherland, Alan Freeman, Max Adrian, Roy Castle, Ursula Howells, Neil McCallum, Bernard Lee, Jennifer Jayne, Jeremy Kemp, Harold Lang, Katy Wild, Isla Blair, Al Mulock. Cinematography Alan Hume Film Editor Thelma Cornell Original Music Elizabeth Lutyens Written by Milton Subotsky Produced by Max Rosenberg, Milton Subotsky Directed by...

The trailer recently dropped for The Funhouse Massacre, and it kicks off this morning's round-up. Also: a Kickstarter launch for Zombie Mouth Bubblegum, acquisition news for Terrordactyl, and Horror Hotel Season 2 premiere details.

The Funhouse Massacre: "The film, directed by Andy Palmer, stars Robert Englund, Jere Burns, Scottie Thompson, Clint Howard and Courtney Gains. The Funhouse Massacre, which was produced by Warner Davis, President of Petri Entertainment, will hit theaters in 15-20 U.S. markets on Friday, November 13th.

On Halloween night, a gruesome group of the United States' most notorious and colorful serial killers escape from Statesville Asylum and descend on a giant funhouse whose theme is based on their different reigns of terror. The unsuspecting carnival goers think that the carnage created is just part of the show, that is, until they become part of the main attraction. The only people left to stop them are a ragtag group of college kids,...

It’s a big week for cult horror fans, as there are some supremely awesome titles making their way home on September 22nd, including The Sentinel from Scream Factory and Tobe Hooper’s Eaten Alive, which is being released by Arrow Video. For all you Time Warp fans out there, 20th Century Fox is celebrating The Rocky Horror Picture Show’s 40th anniversary in grand style with a stellar Blu-ray set and Kino Lorber is resurrecting the often overlooked early ’90s thriller Lisa, starring the adorable Staci Keanan from My Two Dads.

Other titles being released on Tuesday include Arrow: Season Three, The Flash: Season One, and a pair of kid-themed Halloween movies perfect for younger viewers this upcoming October.

Eaten Alive Two-Disc Special Edition (Arrow Video, Blu-ray/DVD Combo)

Meet The Maniac & His Friend. Nearly a decade before he donned Freddy Kruger's famous red and green sweater,...

Shaggy maniac Neville Brand was born on the bayou. He lives by his high morals and so just can't resist feeding random visitors to his gargantuan crocodile. If they resist that idea, he uses a giant scythe for a persuader. Tobe Hooper's sopho-gore feature boasts several name stars, plus, in this new edition, a brightly colored, picture-perfect transfer. Eaten Alive Blu-ray + DVD Arrow Video (U.S.) 1976 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 87 min. / Death Trap, Starlight Slaughter, Horror Hotel / Street Date September 22, 2015 / 39.95 Starring Neville Brand, Mel Ferrer, Carolyn Jones, Marilyn Burns, William Finley, Stuart Whitman, Roberta Collins, Kyle Richards, Robert Englund, Crystin Sinclaire, Janus Blythe, Betty Cole. Cinematography Robert Caramico Special Effects Robert A. Mattey Makeup Effects Frank Gluck Confirmed Original Music Wayne Bell, Tobe Hooper Written by Alvin Fast, Mardi Rustam, Kim Henkel Produced by Mardi Rustam Directed by Tobe Hooper

Reviewed by Glenn Erickson

Tobe Hooper is an odd duck...

At a motel, hotel, or inn, you expect to have a roof over your head, a bed to sleep on, and the peace of mind that you'll live to see the sun shine through your window come morning. But as horror fans know, that last expectation isn't always met in places like the Bates Motel of Psycho, the Motel Hello of Motel Hell, the Pinewood Motel of Vacancy, and the Starlight Hotel of Tobe Hooper's Eaten Alive. Soon, viewers can experience the scaly scares and scythe slices of the lattermost overnight establishment like never before, as Arrow Video has announced they will release Eaten Alive on Blu-ray and DVD in both the Us and UK with a bunch of bonus features and a fresh 2k transfer from the original camera negative.

Arrow Video will release Eaten Alive on Blu-ray and DVD in the Us on July 28th and in the UK on July 27th.

Merchants of Menace: The Business of Horror Cinema

Edited by Richard Nowell

Bloomsbury Publishing

264 pages. Illustrated

229 x 152 mm

Isbn: 9781623564209

Review By Adrian Smith 

Many books have been written about the horror genre, from almost every conceivable perspective. Here however, is a somewhat different approach: the horror industry as an economy. Films, after all, require finance, and whilst artistic decisions are usually at the forefront of analysis, without the money men in the background cinema as we know it would not exist today.

Merchants of Menace, with a tribute to William Castle on its cover, attempts to give the reader a history of the horror genre from the 1930s Universal cycle through to the American remakes of today. A collection of essays on the horror genre, one will also find an in-depth look at the re-launch of Hammer as a brand and business entity, the zombies of Poverty Row and many more.

We're in for a really crazy ride when The Walking Dead Season 5 returns to AMC on October 12th. We don't know exactly where this next season is going to take these characters or what they are going to have to go through, but thanks to producer Gale Anne Hurd, we do know that it will take the group back to the city environment.

Hurd recently told EW that Season 5 will be more of an urban setting, and will feature a place ominously known as The City Of The Dead.

"The show has spent a lot of time in primarily rural settings. But you’re never going to find the cure to the zombie apocalypse in the sticks. Now with them embarking on a mission, they have to reenter what we call the City of the Dead."

Hurd goes on to say that the stakes will be raised due to the...

In our weekend Indie Spotlight, we’ve featured Horror Hotel, an anthology series where death and the unusual seem to be drawn to a creepy old hotel. The web series has been gaining momentum among horror fans and now it has been announced that Horror Hotel will be distributed over Hulu:

“The film community in Georgia is buzzing with news that one of their own productions, Horror Hotel the web series, has landed distribution on well- known streaming media site, Hulu.

The popular series gained immediate attention after releasing in September of 2013 catching the eye of The Georgia Entertainment Gala with a nomination for Best Series/Short Films for 2013, and most recently, winning 4 awards at the LAWeb Fest in the Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Horror category.

“We are so pleased to be able to showcase the hard work of all our 80+ cast and crew from the local Georgia film community for this 1st season.

Welcome back to the series of posts here at SciFi Mafia that we’re calling Web Series Wednesday where we devote a space to the wonderment of the web series. Every Wednesday we’ll cover an awesome web series and give you all the info to get into it.

If you’ve got a favorite web series you’d like us to cover, head on over to the Contact Us page and shoot us your request. To catch up on past Web Series Wednesday posts click here.

This week we’re taking a little time to update you on shows we’ve already covered!

Space Janitor’s second season is available since we reported last. And they also met their Kickstarter goal for a third season and it is currently in production! Huzzah! You can see our initial review here, and you can check them out to your heart’s content here.

While The CW is airing repeats of most of its shows this week, "The Originals" is new; and here's a Producers' Preview of Ep. 1.16, “Farewell to Storyville," in which exec producers Julie Plec and Michael Narducci discuss if Klaus, Elijah, and Rebekah can break their troubled cycle.

"The Originals" Ep. 1.16 - "Farewell to Storyville" (airs 3/11/14, 8-9pm): Trapped In The City Of The Dead - Despite Klaus’ (Joseph Morgan) rage, Elijah (Daniel Gillies) is determined to protect Rebekah (Claire Holt) while the three of them are trapped in the City of the Dead cemetery by a witch’s boundary spell.

Klaus and Rebekah trade bitter accusations until Elijah steps in to reveal a long-held secret from the family’s past.

Meanwhile, Marcel (Charles Michael Davis) races to free Rebekah, ultimately finding himself forced to make a deal with Genevieve (guest star Elyse Levesque).

Finally, Rebekah and Hayley (Phoebe Tonkin...

Klaus, Elijah, and Rebekah have been through a lot together over the years, and it's all coming to a head in Episode 1.16, “Farewell to Storyville." Check out a clip and several stills in which a very determined Elijah prepares to fight his brother to save their sister.

"The Originals" Episode 1.16 - "Farewell to Storyville" (airs 3/11/14, 8-9pm): Trapped In The City Of The Dead - Despite Klaus’ (Joseph Morgan) rage, Elijah (Daniel Gillies) is determined to protect Rebekah (Claire Holt) while the three of them are trapped in the City of the Dead cemetery by a witch’s boundary spell.

Klaus and Rebekah trade bitter accusations until Elijah steps in to reveal a long-held secret from the family’s past.

Meanwhile, Marcel (Charles Michael Davis) races to free Rebekah, ultimately finding himself forced to make a deal with Genevieve (guest star Elyse Levesque).

Finally, Rebekah and Hayley (Phoebe Tonkin...

Welcome back to the series of posts here at SciFi Mafia that we’re calling Web Series Wednesday where we devote a space to the wonderment of the web series. Every Wednesday we’ll cover an awesome web series and give you all the info to get into it.

If you’ve got a favorite web series you’d like us to cover, head on over to the Contact Us page and shoot us your request. To catch up on past Web Series Wednesday posts click here.

This week we’re covering Horror Hotel.

This week’s feature comes from a suggestion from Debbie Hess, executive producer of Horror Hotel, and if you like the Twilight Zone, then you’ll love the Horror Hotel web series. It’s done in the same format with each of the episodes being contained stories of terror in the hotel, but with a little humor poked in.

During the week of March 10th, "Supernatural" and "The Vampire Diaries" are both airing repeats, but "The Originals" is, well, original! Here's the synopsis of Episode 1.16, “Farewell to Storyville,” in which our three Originals are trapped in the City of the Dead.

"The Originals" Episode 1.16 - "Farewell to Storyville" (airs 3/11/14, 8-9pm)

Trapped In The City Of The Dead — Despite Klaus’ (Joseph Morgan) rage, Elijah (Daniel Gillies) is determined to protect Rebekah (Claire Holt) while the three of them are trapped in the City of the Dead cemetery by a witch’s boundary spell.

Klaus and Rebekah trade bitter accusations until Elijah steps in to reveal a long-held secret from the family’s past.

Meanwhile, Marcel (Charles Michael Davis) races to free Rebekah, ultimately finding himself forced to make a deal with Genevieve (guest star Elyse Levesque).

Finally, Rebekah and Hayley (Phoebe Tonkin) connect over their shared concern for Hayley’s unborn baby.

Horror Hotel is a three-day event that will take place in 2014 on June 6-8 in Hudson, Oh. The event includes a film festival, a convention, haunted rooms to walk through, plus Scream Queen and Film Scoring Competitions.

The film festival portion of the event is currently open for submissions in the following categories: Horror, Slasher, Horror Comedy, Sci-Fi and TV Pilot. Other than films falling into those categories, there are no other restrictions on submissions, including no restrictions on date produced or having screened at previous festivals.

However, to get a vibe as to what the fest is looking for, you can peruse the 2013 lineup on their website.

The Early Deadline has already passed, but there are two more Deadlines coming up, both of which are listed below.

For more information, please visit the Horror Hotel website.

Deadlines

Standard Deadline

March 1, 2014

Entry Fee: $35

Late Deadline

March 15, 2014

Entry Fee: $40...

A short while ago we told you about the new web series called Horror Hotel that was poised to bring us some indie tales of the weird and fantastic. Well, now we've gotten word that the doors are open for business and the series is in full swing on YouTube. Check in and check it out!

Season One of Horror Hotel features six episodes entitled 'Tilt', 'Invader', 'Guillotine', 'Bookworm', 'Houdini's Hand' and 'Tesla's Tooth'. You can watch the first episode embedded right here, and the others are lined up straight after. Of course everything is also available over on the Horror Hotel YouTube channel.

A family affair since inception, Horror Hotel is the brainchild of award-winning costume designer and independent filmmaker Ricky Hess, produced in turn by him and Debbie and Al Hess. Said to be influenced by the likes...

A behind-the-scenes video showing off Rob Zombie’s Halloween attraction, Great American Nightmare, has been released. In the video, he discusses the scares he has in store for unsuspecting attendees of the new haunted attraction that opens its doors for the first time this evening.

“Rob Zombie’s Great American Nightmare at Pomona Fairplex coming this fall October 10th through November 2nd – Thursday through Sunday.

This bone-chilling experience combines the most advanced Haunted House technology featured in three Terrifying attractions. Is Not for young children, people who scare or get offended easily. These haunts will offer a three-dimensional experience with animatronics and effects, a maze that is the ultimate definition of claustrophobia and fear, sudden chills and startling thrills, that will make one scream with fright and laughter.

The three attractions [are] based on Rob Zombie’s horror films: Lords Of Salem Total Black Out, The Haunted World Of El Superbeasto 3D,...

Back in my school days, I never went the extra scholastic mile. Maybe it was because it seemed like too much of a brown-nosey thing to do but more likely I’d have to chalk it up to laziness. Either way, I never went above and beyond for any assignment. If only Nan Barlow (Venetia Stevenson), the academically ambitious heroine of 1960’s The City of the Dead (aka Horror Hotel), had shared my same apathetic attitude.

A rapt student of history teacher Professor Alan Driscoll (Christopher Lee), Nan doesn’t plan on just phoning in her senior paper on witchcraft. No, this eager young woman is going to do way more than just regurgitate what she can research in the school library. She plans to use some vacation time to visit a real town where witches reportedly once lived and uncover the hidden history behind those dark days of old...

Last year we ran a schedule of every TV/Cable network schedule we could find that could be construed as Horror or Halloween related for the month of October. Let’s just say it proved useful for our readers and even for our staff when they were looking to find something to watch, wanted to program their DVR’s or didn’t want to miss out on some great “live” Horror. Isn’t there something about having a movie fed to you on TV as opposed to watching it on Blu-ray or DVD or streaming? We may not like commercials, but the randomness that you can associate with a TV program itinerary is novel. It removes a little bit of control from the audience who is all to concerned with being in control these days (just look at the reasons behind publishing a piece like this).

So here’s the 2013 Halloween Seasonal TV Preview,...