I Swear to God I'm Not Dead...

Iiiiiii'm moving! Oh joy. 

Replace all labels with "Supernatural" "Occult" or "Serial Killer" and you have a good idea of what my life looks like right now.

SO, I just wanted to give all you lovely people an update as I have been a horrible blogger, missed Halloween and been gone for going on 2 weeks. I will punish myself with a long and strenuous weekend of moving boxes, unpacking, putting together Ikea furniture and wanting to kill myself. I'll be back first thing Monday with a round up of everything that I've missed over the past few weeks!

- Rg Lovecract

Shocking News from EVIL DEAD Camp - Fede Alvarez Will NOT Be Returning To Direct EVIL DEAD 2

Talk about news that slaps you across the face and calls you a little bitch... In April, when Evil Dead shook the masses in all it's bloody glory, it seemed inevitable with little question that Evil Dead 2 would soon be underway with the new comer Fede Alvarez back behind the camera to show us what happens to Mia. Alvarez had been talking heavily about how the script was already well underway and even went out of his way to start rumors that the two worlds of Evil Dead, both old and new, could eventually meet in a horror collision for the masses.  

I guess that was all fluff talk, because today, Rodo Sayagues (co-writer of Evil Dead) announced that the sequel was not happening, and he did so quite definitively:

“Look, I am sorry to tell you this but that movie won’t happen. Evil Dead 2 is not going to happen, at least not with us involved. We left that project many months ago because we preferred to put our energies on other things. I don’t know if the producers still have intentions of making it. But what I can tell you is that we are not part of that project," he explained to Gorosito TV. 

Now I'm sure that there are a lot of you out there rejoicing that this project is moving forward, but I would be bold-face lying if I said that I wasn't a bit crushed right now. It feels like we got teased in a huge way, and then just dropped flat on our faces. I don't think I'll know what to think until Alvarez says something about this himself, but I'll tell you what, it certainly makes the guy come off as somewhat of an asshole. 

- Rg Lovecraft

FUN FIND - Batman In Classic Movie Scenes: Halloween Edition

This is one of my favorite YouTube series. The title pretty much sums it up, it's Batman in various classic films! However they do this it's amazingly done, and always hilarious. This one is right up my alley though, as Batman traverses some of the great horror classics to bring you a fun, Halloween treat. Check it out below!

More HELLRAISER News Trickles Down From Clive Barker's Camp

Bloody Disgusting reported today that, in a completely unsurprising turn of events, the remake of Hellraiser currently being penned by original creator, Clive Barker, will in fact be rated R. Now, just take a second and picture a Hellraiser with a rating of PG-13. Makes ya feel funny, doesn't it? Well thank God that ain't gonna happen, but with all of the other doubts surrounding this one that is one that never crossed my mind.

Barker elaborated on his Facebook page, where all of this news is emanating from: “As questions are asked I’ll do my best to answer them, though as you all know making movies is a volatile art, and things seldom remain fixed. One question regarding the rating has been asked. I asked it too, and Dimension confirmed that they are purely interested in an R-rated picture."

In another interesting bit of news, when asked why he isn't embarking on an original artistic endeavor, he had this to say: “Somebody else asked why I’m not writing something original. The answer is that I am. After Hellraiser I intend to write and direct a completely new horror movie, which will mingle graphic horror and erotic content, to create an unrated film which will push the envelope of extreme content further than ever…”

Now that I am very interested in seeing. 

But folks, let's keep something in mind. BD posted an editorial about this last week and I think it needs to be said across all mediums that are reporting news of the potential Hellraiser remake. This is not official. Nothing is set in stone. That being said, this is merely news of an idea that has been pitched, and Pinhead is not officially out of development hell yet. In the past week since this news has been announced I have been approached my hoardes of friends, and co-workers (all people who know my love for his film, and have love for it themselves) asking my thoughts on the matter, and I've told them the same thing. While it's very exciting that Dimension bit on the pitch, that doesn't mean anything. Think about the countless other films (especially horror) that were going to happen and then just fell by the wayside. 

Doug Bradley himself took to Facebook to share his thoughts on the matter as well: 

"Hi everyone! Just arrived in Orlando for Spooky Empire, to be greeted by the news via Clive Barker’s Facebook that he is writing a new Hellraiser script and intends that I should play Pinhead again. This is intriguing news, about which I know absolutely nothing. No one has contacted or spoken to me about returning. So until you hear from me to the contrary, assume that all rumors about me returning as Pinhead are only rumors.

Peace & Pain.
-Doug”

This, of course, doesn't mean you should keep your fingers crossed. I want to see Pinhead up on the bigscreen just as much as the next guy, but we can't get too ahead of ourselves. That will only lead us towards disappointment and pain (but maybe that's what Pinhead wants anyway). 

- Rg Lovecraft

HERE COMES THE DEVIL Looks Terrifyingly Relentless

Mexican horror has really been up and coming lately. Breaking waves was Jorge Michel Grau's We Are What We Are in 2010 (Jim Mickle's remake is getting rave reviews), now we have Here Comes The Devil from director Adrian Garcia Bogliano. 

A terrifying tale that appears to be drawing from the aesthetic influence of early horror films such as The Hills Have Eyes and Dawn of the Dead: "A married couple loses their children while on a family trip near some caves in Tijuana. The kids eventually reappear without explanation, but it becomes clear that they are not who they used to be, that something terrifying has changed them."

 Starring Francisco Barreiro, Laura Caro, Alan Martinez and Michele Garcia, the film first made rounds at TIFF (the Toronto International Film Festival) but is slated for an American release on December 13th of this year. Head below for a peek at the NSFW trailer and an equally awesome poster!

 

An Evening With Pazuzu - A Love Letter to Horror

Last night I had the wonderful oppurtunity to watch The Exorcist on a projector screen for the first time in my life, in all of it's nasty glory. I've been looking forward to it for weeks, and it did far from disappoint, not to mention the fact that it was "The Version You've Never Seen" made it that much more fun. Horror movies are meant to be seen in a theater; on a big screen with a good sound system, comfy chair and plenty of attentive faces pointed at the screen, yours only a dot in the sea of them. Last night was an amazing experience for me for a variety of reasons, getting the to see the film in a theater was only one, but it showed me a lot about the horror genre and how it still stands up in today's society.

Walking into that theater, I had a lot of thoughts going through my head mainly focused on what the audience reaction was going to be. Would the scariest film of all time still hold up? Would there be laughs and guffaws at the intended terror? Or was everyone there to watch an old classic they've seen a dozen times, only in a better setting and in it's proper format? The answers to those questions left me pleasantly surprised.

I am sure that if you are reading this right now that you consider yourself a fan of the horror genre, so I don't think I have to get into the semantics of what this particular film means to the horror community. There will never be another like it. While, yes, there have been films like A Serbian Film (which are pure schlock), they simply cannot be compared to a film with this kind of magnitude and wide spread mass appeal. This one holds a very special place in my heart, because it was one of the first horror films that swept the world and became a test of endurance. Could you make it through The Exorcist? Men crying like women, women fainting like children and children having nightmares from the schoolyard whispers that passed in it's wake, The Exorcist from then on cemented itself as a fixture of modern popular culture.


I arrived to the theater last night (thanks to traffic) 15 minutes before showtime. In Los Angeles there are a chain of upscale movie theaters called ArcLight Cinemas. With assigned seating, a bar in the lobby and no previews, it's the place to see a movie (for an inflated cost, of course). After grabbing a water, and settling into seat K16, the show started almost as if on cue and we were rolling. What I was greeted to in the first five minutes was exactly what I had been hoping for. You could have heard a pin drop in that theater. There was no crunching of popcorn, no throats that needed clearing, no laughter or jeering. Dead silence, and that is the way it remained for a majority of the film. To hear that during a film like this, it's just wonderful. There was no divided attention, everyone's eyes were fixed on that screen as if their lives depended on it.

One thing that I did not anticipate was how many people in that theater had clearly not seen the film, which I found fantastic. I love watching this one with people for the first time and if I could show it to them in a theater every time, I would. The poor woman sitting next to me, I feared, was on the verge of a heart attack through out the duration of the film. While yes, there were one or two women who resumed the role of cynic, making it a point to laugh at certain parts of the film that were intended to scare (and I believe that these people are the bain of the earth, I get angry thinking about them now), I believe they got a stare down from a couple sitting next to me (and I'd be lying if I said I didn't turn around and glare a bit) which got the point across just fine.

You've heard me say it once, and I have no intention on stopping, but sound design can make or break a horror film. The sound design in The Exorcist is perfection. You can barely even say that it has a soundtrack (aside from Tubular Bells) considering it consists of a conglomeration of unidentifiable slaps, percussive hits, string plucks and screeches, and wailing voices. To be in a theater that is equipped with a state of the art surround sound system was an absolute treat. I've seen this film dozens of times, yet, I found myself with my hand over my chest at certain parts.

I have to say my favorite part of the whole experience though was observing the way the audience was adjusting and reacting to the film. I was beginning to get a little disheartened after the first 15 minutes or so of the film. There were too many jeers for my taste, it was beginning to impede on my experience of the film, and I'm talking laughter at parts that left me wondering what was funny to be laughed at in the first place. However, when we reached the infamous scene in Act II where Regan asks her sweet mother to let the Lord Jesus go to town on her, there was in instantaneous mood shift in the theater. You could feel fear enter the theater and it was an incredible experience. I don't think I'll ever forget the collective sigh that emanated following the administration of sedatives, along with groans and shivers that mixed with Regan's dying scream. That was when I knew that this audience was along for the ride, and from there on out there was no more jeering; it was us, Pazuzu and Father Merrin.

To know that this film still has that impact is such an incredible thing to me; it's something that I've debated with friends over. To be able to witness this film scare a generation of 30+ year olds who have never seen it before, was a beautiful experience. This film is, and will always be, one that I wish I could experience in 1974 when it was literally causing people to pass out and vomit in the aisles.

Last night, I went to church, and it was a beautiful reminder of why I love this genre and why I've devoted 13+ years of my life to learning as much as I can about it.

Next up: The Shining at the Cinerama Dome on All Hallow's Eve, and I can't wait. 

- Rg Lovecraft

Sam Raimi Confirmed as Director of ARMY OF DARKNESS 2!

Happy Sunday everyone! Seeing as last night was Halloween Party night of the year, I hope that most of you are still alive. I myself had a great night, playing some rock and roll for a party full of tipsy, costumed party goers. Tonight, I'll be seeing The Exorcist on the big screen, and I got to wake up to this wonderful tid bit of news!

It has been confirmed that Sam Raimi will be resuming his position in the directors chair for the return of his iconic Evil Dead franchise. While the news didn't come from Raimi directly, it did come from Fede Alvarez (director of this year's Evil Dead), and seeing as he's pretty much been adopted into the whole ED camp, it's safe to say that this is a reliable source. 

Fede took to Twitter and made the announcement in response to a fan asking if he'll be taking on directorial duties for the much anticipated sequel. His response: "Sam Raimi will!".

Well folks, it looks like this might actually happen.