New Stills From Joe Begos' ALMOST HUMAN

On February 21st, Joe Begos' creature feature inspired flick, Almost Human, hits VOD platforms and select theaters and they are gearing up by releasing up a new set of hi-res stills!

I am excited about this one, if for no other reason than simply that it'll be the first in-theater horror flick of the year for me! It's been far too long since I hunkered down to one in a theater, I believe the last one was The Shining on All Hollows Eve. 

In what is being called The Texas Chain Saw Massacre meets The Thing, "Mark Fisher disappeared from his home in a brilliant flash of blue light almost two years ago. His friend Seth Hampton was the last to see him alive. Now a string of grisly, violent murders leads Seth to believe that Mark is back, and something evil is inside of him."

The flick was directed by Joe Begos' and stars Graham Skipper, Vanessa Leigh and Josh Ethier. It is being released by IFC Midnight on February 21st. Dig on those tasty hi-res pics below and take a peek at the trailer if you haven't already!

MUSICAL MUSINGS - Mötley Crüe Calls It Quits With Final Tour

And they're signing a binding contract stating they'll never tour again. 

I think we all knew that this was coming for some time, but yesterday Nikki and the boys gathered in Los Angeles at a press conference to announce plans for The Last Tour. They even went as far as a signing a "cessation of touring" agreement that will go into effect at the end of 2015. 

The four piece group consisting of Nikki Sixx, Vince Neil, Tommy Lee and Mick Mars make up one of the most (if not THE most) influentials bands to hail from the glory days of the Sunset Strip in the 80's. Exploding onto the rock scene in 1981 with their debut album Too Fast For Love and a follow up in 1983, Shout at the Devil, the band has a been a fixture in the history of rock and roll ever since due to their extreme antics and heavy drug/alcohol use.

“We didn’t want to keep doing farewell tours until there was nothing left. We didn’t want to do that to the fans,” said Sixx.

While it may be a sad day for Crüeheads the world over, find solace in the fact that in early January the band will be embarking on (what is currently) a 72 date world tour that should span 2 years. The band will be touring with the legendary Alice Cooper as their support, and the tour will coincide with two special releases. The Dirt, their infamous 2001 biography, is being adapted into a biopic written by Neil Strauss, and they are releasing a country music tribute album entitled A Country Music Tribute to Mötley Crüe. No further details on that, as of yet. 

Texas Chainsaw (2013) - A Review

Evil wears many faces…

In 1974, a film was released that was so disturbingly grotesque and horrifying that it was subsequently banned in over 10 countries, some for as long as 23 years before the film saw the light of day. It’s opening crawl, voiced by John Larroquette, has gone on to become one of the most recognizable and chill inducing moments in the history of horror. 

It is The Texas Chain Saw Massacre.

This film serves as the backdrop of my horror history. It is one of the few films that will continually send shivers down my spine, even just thinking about it. Unfortunately this review is not focusing on the 1974 classic, however on the direct sequel that was released in January of 2013. I held off on watching it, not based on any reviews, but because it didn’t look very good to me (based on trailers and promotional materials). However, due to its recent release on Netflix I decided to give it a go and see if it really is as bad as everyone seems to think it is. Let’s take a look at Texas Chainsaw (3D).

Modern Art Pulls The Cute Out of Horror's Scariest Faces

I love horror fan art. It's always either hilarious or adorable, in this instance it's both! 

 Modern Art's Adam Miconi has reimagined some of the scariest faces in horror, and oh my, are they adorable. Carrie White, Leatherface and Ghostface are just a few, head below to see 'em all! 

Now I just have to pick which one will grace my phone's background...

Se7en (1995) - A Review

Long is the way, and hard, that out of hell leads up to light.

 

Seven deadly sins. Seven deadly crimes, each more ghastly than the last. David Fincher’s 1995 film Se7en  is an exercise in the macabre that carries an impact (like a sledgehammer, haha) that can last many years. In my case, it’s been over 10 and the film still rattles me to my core.

Se7en holds a very special place in my heart. It helped to ignite the spark of horror love in my dark little heart, and it was also the first review that I ever wrote which went on to be submitted (and posted) on Bloody-Disgusting, over 8 years ago. On a recent trip to Fry’s, to purchase my copy of You’re Next, I decided to scoop up a copy of the film on blu-ray and on Friday night I treated myself to another viewing of the amazing film.

While I half expected a rather mild viewing of the film I was treated to a wonderful joy ride, yet again, and it was cemented in my mind that this will always be one of my favorite horror films. It’s a work of art that often goes overlooked, so I decided that I would re-review it without having read my old review for BD and take a gander at how they match up. It’s always fun revisiting horror films after a good few years and seeing how your opinions change.

Fun, no?

HORROR AT SUNDANCE: COOTIES Opens Strong, Lionsgate Swoops in For Distribution Rights!

  

Cooties, the pre-pubescent zombedy (and debut film) from Elijah Wood's SpectreVision, opened at Sundance on Sunday night to great reception. So good in fact, that Lionsgate is making their bid to acquire North American distribution rights. 

SpectreVision is a new production company, focusing on genre films (primarily horror), that was started by Elijah Wood, Daniel Noah and Josh Waller. They've got quite the year mapped out for the company, with Cooties only being the first. The story was penned by Leigh Whannel (Saw, Insidious), and this Lionsgate deal marks quite the anniversary. It was 10 years ago, at Sundance 2003, that Lionsgate swooped in and bought Saw which then went on to become one of the biggest horror franchises in recent times. 

Starring Elijah Wood and written by Leigh Whannel, “Cooties follows a struggling writer/substitute teacher whose first day at an elementary school sees him dealing with a virus that turns the kids into mindless killing cannibals. The teacher bands with the survivors — played by Rainn Wilson, Alison Pill, Jack McBrayer and Leigh Whannell, among others — to figure out an escape from the school.”

Also appearing in the film are Rainn Wilson, Leigh Whannell, Alison Pill, Jack McBrayer, Nasim Pedrad and Jorge Garcia.

HORROR ON TV: BATES MOTEL Re-opens On Monday, March 3rd

Have you been watching Bates Motel? The A&E show has been garnering tons of attention, and appears to be quite the smash-hit. I must admit, I have yet to catch an episode, but I will be doing so very soon seeing as the first season will be available on Netflix starting February 1st.

The second season has been hotly anticipated, as the clips and promotional photos keep on rolling out. ExtraTV posted this trailer on Friday that features a rather creepy Norman Bates, played by Freddie Highmore, crooning along to Mr. Sandman while his mother (Very Farmiga) plays the piano.

With all of the great attention that this one is getting, it has to be pretty good, right? Albeit, I'm not a huge fan of The Walking Dead, this one seems more up my alley. I'm just hoping that it holds my interest longer than Hannibal did, I'm not a huge fan of updating classics to fit in with modern times, so we'll just have to see.

If you watch Bates Motel, I'd love to hear your opinions! That means the good and the bad, I like hearing all different view points. Sound off below, and enjoy the trailer for Season 2, premiering Monday, March 3rd on A&E.

MUSIC MUSINGS - Foo Fighters Enter The Studio To Record Follow Up to 2011's WASTING LIGHT

I am a musician, and I don't talk about nearly enough music on this here site. If there's one thing you should know about me, aside from my rather obvious horror obsession, is rock n' roll flows hand in hand with horror through my blood. They are my two life forces, and I would be lost with out them. 

The Foo fight for the number one spot in my heart, along with The Beatles and The Who, and they're last album put through a roller coaster of emotions ranging from pure, unadulterated happiness to teary eyed awe. The dudes just know how to do it and do it damn well. I mean, seriously, if you don't like The Foo then you don't like rock n' roll and you're not welcome round these parts.

I have been waiting with bated breath as I know that they've been working on their new album. They've been keeping extremely tight lipped about it, BUT, this morning a tweet went out via the Foo Fighters twitter (@foofighters) of 5 reels o' tape. They are in the studio, and it's only a matter of time before we get to hear what they've been working on. 

Dave Grohl has said very little about the project, Taylor Hawking (his drummer) has actually said more, but Dave has let us know that "…we are going to make this album in a way that no one’s ever done before, and we’re pretty excited about it.” We also know that the writing of the album is complete.

So what could this cryptic statement mean? Are they recording the album live? Are they recording it live in the middle of Hollywood and Highland? Or down at Palladino's in Reseda? Who the fuck knows, but I what I do know is that it's going to be amazing, and I'm sure a second pair of drawers will be needed.

A Hilarious Pintsize Demon Haunts The Streets of New York In Anticipation for DEVIL'S DUE

In October, Carrie took to the streets for a form of live action advertising that involved an actress getting pissed in a coffee shop and wreaking telekinetic havok when her coffee order gets messed up. Atleast that's what I gathered from it. Either way, I wasn't all that impressed, I thought it was rather silly.

Yesterday, the makers of Devil's Due took to the streets of NYC with a cute 'lil Antichrist in tow and had him greet the friendly tourists and citizens of the great city. What follows is an absolutely hilarious compilation of demonic antics, shocked reactions and yes, even some split pea soup.

Awwww, isn't he so cute? 

 

Devil's Due (2014) - Baby Attack Viral

There are a lot of things to appreciate about this video, from no body questioning a self propelling stroller to the baby flipping off the NYPD, it's just delightful. 

Devil's Due, directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett for the Radio Silence team (who collectively brought us 10/31/98, the final segment on V/H/S), stars Allison Miller and Zach Gilford who “After a mysterious, lost night on their honeymoon, a newlywed couple finds themselves dealing with an earlier-than-planned pregnancy. While recording everything for posterity, the husband begins to notice odd behavior in his wife that they initially write off to nerves, but, as the months pass, it becomes evident that the dark changes to her body and mind have a much more sinister origin.”

 The found footage homage to Rosemary's Baby will be in a theater near you this Friday, January 17th. 

HORROR AT SUNDANCE: COOTIES Are a Very Real Threat To Elijah Wood and Rainn Wilson In a New Dark Comedy!

Elijah Wood does not stop and I love it! Since making a huge impact on the horror world in last year's seminal remake of Maniac, Elijah Wood has made it very clear that he plans on making horror his new home. It's so exciting to see such a mainstream star take such a huge interest in the genre that we all know and love, and I for one, am very happy to have him among us. 

We've already talked about his John Cusack co-starred thriller, Stage Fright; he is heading up a new horror production company called SpectreVision that will be releasing an Iranian Vampire flick entitled A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (that looks amazing), and he will be teaming up with John Landis to produce Bad Vibes, a werewolf film set in the "psychedelic music scene of the 1960's". While all of these are exciting, the film that's currently on everyone's lips is his starring role in the Leigh Whannell scripted exploitation film, Cooties. 

"A mysterious virus hits a small Illinois town, affecting only the prepubescent population, transforming them into violent, feral little monsters.  The virus centralizes in the town’s elementary school, and quickly the infected students have the teaching staff under siege, acting out deadly revenge fantasies with an eerie sense of childlike glee.  Finally, the teachers band together, led by a hapless substitute who grew up in the town, realizing they must do the unthinkable if they hope to survive."

Awesome much? The cast is also pretty damn impressive, while Wood is headlining, we also have Rainn Wilson, Leigh Whannell, Alison Pill, Jack McBrayer, Nasim Pedrad and Jorge Garcia. While it's not exactly something that I keep hidden on here, I am not the biggest fan of Whannell's work but I am very excited to see this film. I think this could be a turning point for my opinion's on the guy. 

Below you can see the poster (which I am in love with, see the previous article on Almost Human for reasons) and a new still that has just been released. Cooties heads to Sundance where it will make it's world premiere on January 18th! And trust me, I will be keeping you posted on when and where you can see it yourself as that information makes the rounds.

IFC Midnight Releases Official Theatrical Trailer for ALMOST HUMAN

AND IT LOOKS AWESOME.

I am very excited for the release of Joe Begos' alien-horror romp, Almost Human. Seemingly heavily influenced by The Thing, Texas Chain Saw Massacre and B rate creature features of the seventies and eighties, Almost Human looks like a good 'ol fashioned blood soaked joyride that any classic horror fan will enjoy.

I first heard about this one several months ago and while it drifted to the back of my mind I was very exicted to see a date AND trailer make the news this morning.

Directed by Joe Begos, Almost Human stars Graham Skipper and Josh Ethier.

“Mark Fisher disappeared from his home in a brilliant flash of blue light almost two years ago. His friend Seth Hampton was the last to see him alive. Now a string of grisly, violent murders leads Seth to believe that Mark is back, and something evil is inside of him.“

Below you'll find the trailer, and two badass posters that I fell in love with the instant I saw them. I just love that classic look. It even has an awesomely classic tagline, which is the kind of thing you just don't find anymore.

Keep an eye out for Almost Human on VOD and in select theaters on February 21st, and as always, I will be keeping all of you posted on any future developments as I hear about them!

Almost Human (2014) Theatrical Trailer

Christian Horror You Say? Yep, Holy Moly Pictures Rolls Out THE LOCK IN

There are a lot of things that I've seen in this world, and this has to be one of the most interesting. From t-shirts with silly puns based off of various pop culture icons, to their own versions of dating sites and social media, Christians have been trying to tap into the modern day world for decades in an attempt to bring their religion into modern times and to connect with the youth of a new generation. There's nothing wrong with this, in fact, I think it's good to see the religion adapting and attempting to change with the times.

I never thought I'd see something like this though. Christian start-up company, Holy Moly Pictures, released their first film on January 9th, and it's not just any film, it's a horror film. A found footage film, no less, about demon possession (why does this surprise you?). While the film is already getting tons of flack, and being hailed as 2014's The Room, I think it's pretty cool to see this kind of forward thinking in the Christian religion. I won't be doing any bashing of my own, it just seems to easy a target.

The Lock In tells the story a 3 high school seniors who attend a lock in at their local church. A lock in, for those that don't know, is in essence a giant slumber party in a church, school, etc. where the doors are locked from dusk 'til dawn. It sounds sinister, however, it's fairly common, especially among church groups. Now one of these wily kids decides to bring a porno mag, and it just happens to be filled with the evil spirit of a demon.

Here's the trailer, dig on it, and let me know what you think about the idea of Christian Horror!

HORROR ON TV - WGN America Gets Witchy With New Series: SALEM

I'm left conflicted about this influx of slapped together horror based television that's seemed to take over the airwaves since True Blood and American Horror Story exploded in the pop culture world a few years ago. I shy away from most of it, but this one has captured my interest and I'm very interested to see how it may be. 

WGN America, a station I've never even heard of, has been releasing promos for their new series Salem that's slated to air sometime early this year and I have to say, I like what I'm seein'. It looks to be a historic piece focused on, quite obviously, Salem, MA. While there doesn't seem to be too much out there yet, aside from casting announcements and a few promo's, I like what I've seen so far and I will definitely be keeping this one on my radar. Here's to hoping that I get the channel at home, I'll have to look into that. 

Below you can check out the promo, here's some more details (courtesy of SchockTillYouDrop)!

Written by Brannon Braga and Adam Simon, the series stars Janet Montgomery (The Hills Run Red) as the ruthless but vulnerable Mary Sibley, Salem’s most powerful enchantress – and Alden’s onetime love interest; Shane West  as handsome, hardened war veteran John Alden; Seth Gabel as local aristocrat Cotton Mather who fans the flames of Salem’s witch hunt; Ashley Madekwe as Mary’s mysterious, carnal accomplice; Xander Berkeley as chief politician Magistrate Hale; Tamzin Merchant as the forthright Anne Hale, an artist with a perilous attraction to Alden; and Elise Eberle as the mysteriously afflicted Mercy Lewis. In “Salem,” witches are real, but they are not who or what they seem. 

Trailer For Eli Roth's CLOWN Reaffirms Childhood Fears

A few years ago, Jon Watts released a faux-trailer for a horror movie called Clown. Horror fans gobbled it up, and much like Thankskilling, wanted to see it become a full length feature. Well, one of those fans happened to be none other than Eli Roth (Hostel, Cabin Fever, The Green Inferno) and he decided to get involved by producing the feature and bringing it to the masses. Dimension will be handling distribution, though there has yet to be a date attached.

Now, apparently this trailer has been making the rounds for 5 months and it has only just now been getting noticed. I'm starting to think that Dimension didn't want it seen though, as it was posted on Reddit last night and in that time it has been locked down on Vimeo. Luckily, Bloody Disgusting happened to find a link to the trailer in all of it's terrifying glory and I have to say, it looks pretty damn awesome.

Dig in here!

HORROR ON DVD - Hell Hath No Fury Like AnnaLynne in SCORNED

I have NO idea how this one passed me by, but I am just saw a couple clips from it and I am VERY excited.

AnchorBay Films will be releasing Scorned on February 4th to BluRay and DVD. Starring AnnaLynne McCord and Billy Zane, the story goes: “Sadie (AnnaLynne McCord; ‘Excision’) and Kevin (Billy Zane; ‘Titanic’) have decided to spend a romantic weekend together at his lake house. But when an unexpected – and unfortunate – text from her best friend Jennifer (Viva Bianca; “Spartacus: War of the Damned”) to Kevin reveals a lurid love affair between the two, Sadie spirals into a hunger for revenge that is without mercy.”

I love love LOVE AnnaLynne McCord. She was magnificent in Nip/Tuck, and Excision was, in my opinion, one of the best horror films of the past 5 years. As I said, I have no idea how this one slipped by me, because it looks perfectly up my alley! Below you can find some art, some clips and a trailer! Let me know if this seems as awesome as I think it looks, heaven knows that I will be picking this bad boy up just as soon as it drops.

HORROR on TV - ROSEMARY'S BABY Mini-Series Gets It's Rosemary!

Hey everyone! I'm back! Atleast as back as I can be, for the time being. I apologize for dropping off the face of the planet, but things have been crazy over at Chateau Lovecraft, and I'm still attempting to get back into the swing of things after the holidays. 

BUT, I have news to share.

A couple months ago I first shared the news that NBC will be adapting Ira Levin's best selling into a miniseries. While the novel has already been adapted into one of the greatest horror films of all time, directed by Roman Polanski in 1968, I am interested in seeing what NBC does with this, especially after this casting announcement. 

Who, pray tell, is taking on the mantle of the titular character so beautifully played by Mia Farrow in '68? None other than Star Trek's Zoe Saldana. The miniseries will be directed by Agnieszka Holland. 

Agnieszka Holland

Agnieszka Holland

Agnieszka Holland the United States on a modest budget of $3.2 million. It was met with near universal acclaim from film critics and earned numerous nominations and awards. The American Film Institute ranked the film 9th in their 100 Years...100 Thrills list. The official tagline of the film is "Pray for Rosemary's Baby."

Contents

• 1 Plot
• 2 Cast
• 3 Production
  • 3.1 Script

What do you think about this casting news? Are you happy with Zoe, or did you have someone else in mind? To be completely honest, I haven't put too much thought into this remake. With everything being adapted for television these days, I believe it best to keep an open mind. It leaves little room for disappointment.

“Zoe has proven that she is one of our most gifted actresses and we think she has the perfect combination of spirit and gravitas to take on the title role from Ira Levin’s infamous novel. With Zoe leading the cast under the direction of Agnieszka Holland, this reimagined event mini-series is off to a great start.” - See more at: http://www.joblo.com/movie-news/zoe-saldana-to-star-in-nbcs-rosemarys-baby-mini-series#sthash.HWZs2J2I.dpuf

“Zoe has proven that she is one of our most gifted actresses and we think she has the perfect combination of spirit and gravitas to take on the title role from Ira Levin’s infamous novel. With Zoe leading the cast under the direction of Agnieszka Holland, this reimagined event mini-series is off to a great start.” - See more at: http://www.joblo.com/movie-news/zoe-saldana-to-star-in-nbcs-rosemarys-baby-mini-series#sthash.HWZs2J2I.dpuf

“Zoe has proven that she is one of our most gifted actresses and we think she has the perfect combination of spirit and gravitas to take on the title role from Ira Levin’s infamous novel. With Zoe leading the cast under the direction of Agnieszka Holland, this reimagined event mini-series is off to a great start.” - See more at: http://www.joblo.com/movie-news/zoe-saldana-to-star-in-nbcs-rosemarys-baby-mini-series#sthash.HWZs2J2I.dpuf

“Zoe has proven that she is one of our most gifted actresses and we think she has the perfect combination of spirit and gravitas to take on the title role from Ira Levin’s infamous novel. With Zoe leading the cast under the direction of Agnieszka Holland, this reimagined event mini-series is off to a great start.” - See more at: http://www.joblo.com/movie-news/zoe-saldana-to-star-in-nbcs-rosemarys-baby-mini-series#sthash.HWZs2J2I.dpuf

“Zoe has proven that she is one of our most gifted actresses and we think she has the perfect combination of spirit and gravitas to take on the title role from Ira Levin’s infamous novel. With Zoe leading the cast under the direction of Agnieszka Holland, this reimagined event mini-series is off to a great start.” - See more at: http://www.joblo.com/movie-news/zoe-saldana-to-star-in-nbcs-rosemarys-baby-mini-series#sthash.HWZs2J2I.dpuf

Happy New Year And More from Rg Lovecraft!

It's 2014 and what a year it's going to be for horror. I had a perfectly terrifying end to 2013, my horror collection grew, as did my love for family and friends. 

I've got a whole slew of fun articles coming up, however, it's been tough finding the chance to sit down and start cranking these out as my personal computer decides to come and go as it pleases. BUT I will be cranking out as many as I can in the spare time that I have at work.

I hope everyone had a wonderful New Years celebration, and to 2014, let's make it spooky!

Rg Loveraft