The Movies - Zombies!

The Movies

Check this out:

Imagine you could make any movie you wanted to. Imagine you could pluck someone from obscurity and make him or her the hottest star in Tinseltown. Imagine that you had control of an entire movie studio, competing with others to create a string of box office smashes. Imagine being able to use your judgement alone, deciding whether success lies with epic action pictures or lots of low budget, hammy 'B' movies.

Will the stars you've so lovingly groomed develop monstrous egos - refusing to accept that they are now too old to play the romantic leads that made them famous? You can help, but there are only so many times you can send them to fat farms and plastic surgeons.

Will you watch your movies being shot or do you want to direct the action yourself? Will you decide to innovate and introduce the talkies, color or digital sound before any of your rivals? Or will you let the other studios make the investments, leaving you to jump on the bandwagon if the new technology becomes popular?

Many of the things you've ever read or heard about Hollywood are right here in The Movies - from stars having affairs and hitting the bottle to teams of genius filmmakers creating the box office hit of the year.

Movie mogul, talent spotter or film director. You can be one or you can be all three. That's the magic of The Movies.

Here's an article on The Movies over at Gamespot.com. And best of all, here are some some movies that players have made:

A Long Dark Night in the West
A Zombie's Life
Afternoon of the Dead
Again
Aim for the Head
Angelima Jola in Those Bloody Zombies, Part One
Those Bloody Zombies, Part Two
Those Bloody Zombies, Part Three
Angriff der Amazonen Zombies

Click here to find more...

Doomed

Doomed to Consume

From Fango:

Filmmaker Jason Stephenson sent over the new pics at left and below from his new zombie opus DOOMED TO CONSUME, previously known as INFECTED. He also notes that 10 new video clips have been added to the Media section of the movie's official website. As for the film's progress, Stephenson says, "Postproduction is coming along a little slower than we had anticipated, but there's no sense in rushing a good thing! We already have a rough cut minus sound effects and score ready to have footage added to extend it a bit, and we also plan on shooting a last-minute alternate ending very soon as well! Either way, the end results should be well worth the wait for zombie film fans.

Retardead

Retardead

Remember hearing about this one, all those many years ago? Okay, it hasn't been ages, but it sure seems like a while. Update: Rick Popko of 4321 Films has indictated that we are certainly still to expect it. Due to the sheer amount of people involved in it (epic?), it's taking much longer to complete than anticipated. Photography should be finished up within the next two months, and then it's off to editing. We'll try to keep you informed on all the retardead progress.

Synopsis from ZMDB:

Sequel to Monsturd as the eveil scientist returns to test his new experiments on a special ed class turning them into flesh eating zombies. Evil has come to the Butte County Institute of Special Education, and its students will never be the same. After surviving a battle to the death with his own monstrous creation, Dr. Stern returns to continue his horrible research in this blood-drenched sequel to the cult hit "Monsturd." Armed with a fatal hyper-intelligence serum, the mad doctor transforms a quiet community into an army of flesh-eating zombies. It's a showdown of limb-chopping, head-bursting proportions as Stern's nemesis, F.B.I. agent Susan Hannigan, and the local sheriff's department take on the zombie plague in the ultimate battle royale.

James Gunn Interview

James Gunn

Here's a James Gunn (Dawn of the Dead '04 writer, Slither director) interview by Spooky Dan over at Bloody-Disgusting.

BD: James? Let start this off right. How should I address you? Dude? James? Jim? Captain Gunn? Commander Fun-pants? Jimmy G? Mr. Hollywood?

JG: Hmmm. Let’s see. How about “Der Lollipop Fuhrer”? No? Do I look like an “Ace”? I always wanted to be an “Ace.” No? Well, than “Cubby” will do fine.

Darren McGavin RIP

Kolchak Stalks No More

1922-2006

Probably best know to horror fans as Kolchak, McGavin also contributed directly to the zombie sub-genre, in the wacky 80's zombie cop flick, Dead Heat as Doctor Ernest McNab. Were there any zombie episodes in The Night Stalker, you might ask? There certainly was...aptly named, The Zombie. Rest peacefully, Kolchak.

Sullengrey

Sullengrey

Have you checked out Sullengrey? Well, you should. Synopsis:

Remember what it was like to be a child? To be afraid of the shadows on the wall, monsters under the bed, and the boogeyman? Welcome to Autumn's Grove, where all that paralyzing paranoia comes to life. Only one person can control it...if his brains don't get eaten first.

Also described to me as:

It's a little boi meets girl, girl obsesses with boi, boi dumps girl, girl obsesses with destroying the world and raising the dead kind of story.

And how about this awesome artwork?

Issue #1 Cover


Issue #2 Cover


Issue #3 Cover


Issue #4 Cover

That got your attention, didn't it. Issue's #1 & #2 are now for purchase at the Ape Store, and you can check out 10-11 page previews of said issues right here. For MySpace updates, join them on their profile.

Deadpit.com

Deadpit.com

There's always some sort of zombie action going on over at Deadpit.com, and this past Friday was no exception! Click here to check out their interview with Felissa Rose (Dust to Dust, Dead Things, Zombiegeddon, and Corpses are Forever). Also, if you missed Feb. 17's show, click here to have a listen to their sit down with Dust to Dust and Dead Things director, D.T. Carney. More past shows can be heard here. Want to talk about it? Join Uncle Bill and The Creepy Kentuckian here on their forum.

Zombie Comics!

Zombies!: Feast

From Creature Corner:

IDW, the publishers of many a great horror titled comic book (as well as several film projects in the works) are presenting an all-new horror series entitled ZOMBIES!: FEAST. They've brought us great adaptations of SHAUN OF THE DEAD and LAND OF THE DEAD. They're also publishing Clive Barker's GREAT AND SECRET SHOW and F. Paul Wilson's THE KEEP (expect a review as soon as I get my hands on the forth issue).
Now, in ZOMBIES!: FEAST, Shane McCarthy and Chris Bolton bring us a balls-to-the-wall zombie tale of brutality and survival.

"The dead are walking the Earth in an endless pursuit to quench their insatiable hunger for flesh. But the killers in this tale are not limited to just the undead. Eight of the country’s most notorious murderers are being transferred across state when their bus enters a town overrun with feasting corpses! Now the town’s remaining survivors find themselves fighting a battle on two sides. Five innocent civilians, eight cold-blooded killers, and a hoard of flesh-eating zombies–whether they make it out or not, the title of this first tale promises a very bloody and incredibly gruesome yarn!"

Expect the mayhem in May of this year.

From IDW:

An event of nightmarish proportions has begun! The dead are walking the Earth and tearing the living limb from limb in an endless pursuit to quench their insatiable hunger for flesh. Yet not all killers are undead. Eight of the country's most notorious murderers are being transferred across state when their bus enters a town overrun with feasting corpses! Now the town's remaining survivors find themselves fighting a battle on two sides. Five innocents, countless zombies. eight killers, and a wide variety of blunt instruments whether they make it out or not, it promises to be very bloody and incredibly gruesome! In the end, it's not the nightmare outside you need to worry about but the monsters beside you. Art and all five covers, which connect to form one horrific image, will be provided by George A. Romero's Land of the Dead cover artist Chris Bolton. Ted McKeever will provide a variant wraparound cover for issue one, and variant covers for the remaining issues as well.

PS...

Pretty-Scary

Check out ZAGG's rockin' Pretty-Scary mention:

When Pretty/Scary was formed in 2004, we had no idea how many other women who were out there who felt the same way we did; that women rule and horror rules and so, lets try to mix them both up together and get some recognition. Websites in the past had tried and failed miserably, like the now-dead HorrorDiva, or ZombieGirls. But Pretty/Scary remains strong, while other newer places like Fan Girl magazine and the blogs Zombie-A-Go-Go and Final Girl bring much needed female influence to horror commentary. Staci Layne Wilson, Jesse Lilley, and Jovanka Vuckovic have also been instrumental in making female horror journalism the fun and sexy pastime it has become.

Big thumbs up to PS for all they do for the genre, and more importantly, all they do for women in the genre!

The Visiting

The Visiting

So, here is the description of The Visiting from Fango:

VISITING stars another Academy Award honoree, Nicole Kidman, in the BODY SNATCHERS-esque tale of a woman trying to save her son and society in general from an alien plague that alters people's behavior.

There is debate as to whether or not an Invasion of the Body Snatchers type film constitutes a zombie movie (or, IOTBS itself). There is a handful of early zombie fare that falls into a "zombie by alien design and control" kind of catagory. Whatever your personal taste, I've included it here, because ZAGG is all-zombie-inclusive. Yay for something zombie-related with Nicole Kidman!

From About.com:

The Visiting tells the story of a mysterious epidemic that alters the behavior of human beings. When a Washington D.C. psychiatrist (Kidman) discovers the epidemic’s origins are extraterrestrial, she must fight to protect her son, who may hold the key to stopping an imminent invasion. As she said at the press conference, it wasn’t the screenwriter so much that got her attention, but “the theme [about] the love a mother has for her child. [and] My emotional response to the material.” What attracted her to film itself was the director, Oliver Hirschbiegel: “I thought that Downfall was a terrific piece of filmmaking,” she said. (Downfall is a 2004 Nazi film with a very dark, genre ambiance.)

Cunningham in LA

Sean Cunningham
to Teach in LA

From Fango:

Sean Cunningham, creator of the legendary FRIDAY THE 13TH, will teach a one-time-only Learning Annex class in Los Angeles March 2. The Blood, Sweat, and Filmworkshop will center on the low-budget independent fright flick, how to make a good one and how to sell it once it's made. Besides subjects such as scripting, budgeting and marketing, Cunningham will discuss all the gory details of his own experiences in horror moviemaking. The class will be held from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. at the Annex's Westside location; the fee is $49.99 or $44.99 for VIP members. For more details and to register, click here.

Posters!

2 New Posters:
Fido & Day of the Dead

From Bloody-Disgusting:

Today a brand new "concept" poster for Lionsgate's upcoming zombie-comedy Fido was posted online. Hitting theaters sometime this year, or early nexy tear, the film is set in a small 1950s town where rotting zombies deliver the mail. Also inside you'll find a "clean" look at the poster for Steve Miner's remake of Day of the Dead. The original follows a group of scientists and military personnel holed up in an underground bunker because the world above is overrun with zombies. The lumbering flesheaters eventually find a way in and wreak havoc on the scientists who've been experimenting on their undead brethren....

SD

Interview with
Special dEaD's
Thomas Phillips

From Undead Films:

"These two guys locked themselves in their rooms for about two months and hammered out ideas together, a lot of them were great, but in the end, they had been done before. So they kept at it and kept throwing out ideas, and then one day it finally hit.

“Sometimes Heroes Ride the Short Bus”

The tagline says it all. Let’s put zombies at a camp for the mentally challenged. I mean how many times do you get to see the mentally challenged as leads in a horror film? To top that, they are the heroes. I mean come on, have you ever seen a mentally challenged zombie?"

HoD2 Contest

Win House of the Dead 2
at Bloody Disgusting

From Bloody-Disgusting:

Bloody-Disgusting has been provided with (5) copies of Lionsgate's upcoming DVD release of House of the Dead II, which stars Sid Haig, Emmanuelle Vaugier, Sticky Fingaz, James Parks, Victoria Pratt and Ross Patterson. This un-Uwe Boll touched sequel, which was directed by Mike Hurts, picks up where the last film left off, as government operatives investigate the island and the mysterious house.

If you'd love to take a peak at this direct to video sequel, all you have to do is e-mail the following to mailto:submit@bloody-disgusting.com:

-Put HOUSE OF TH DEAD II in the subject line
-Inside include your full name
-Full mailing address
-And then tell me your favorite Uwe Boll moment.

Winners will be chosen at random on March 19th.

PZ

Pot Zombie Screenings

From PZ:

AUSTIN TEXAS-
This friday the 24th at 8:00 at ROOM 710 - 710 RED RIVER
be there!

March 2nd
PHILADELPHIA, PA
triangle theater 6:00
part of BACKSEAT FILM FEST www.backseatfilmfestival.com
only $5 and FREE booze!

Fri March 10th
AUSTIN TX
ROOM 710 at their sxsw opening night partay!

Zombie Prom

Zombie Prom

You might know of the Zombie Prom stage play, but who knew it had rcently been adapted to film!? Now we know! Check it out here.

Story:

Zombie Prom is a 1950s horror comic book brought to life as a musical comedy film. It is a campy, rollicking, romp through the America's "Atomic Age" and the "Golden Age" of horror comic books. Here's the story...

Set in the fabulous '50s, this is the tale of a sweet teenage girl named, TOFFEE (a Gidget-type) and her "rebel without a cause" boyfriend, JONNY. The two meet at Enrico Fermi High School and fall in love, but the principal, MISS DELILAH STRICT (Stalin in pumps and a dress!) intervenes, persuading the indecisive young Toffee to break up with Jonny. Tortured by the betrayal, Jonny drives his motorcycle to the nearby Francis Gary Powers Nuclear Power Plant and flings himself into a nuclear cooling tower!

Guilt ridden and alone, Toffee mourns the loss of her love, until one day when Jonny returns, risen from the dead - AS A TEENAGE NUCLEAR ZOMBIE! The mass of decomposing flesh professes his love and tells Toffee that he wants her back. He plans to clean up his act, finish school and take her to the senior prom - if she'll have him. Toffee is racked with indecision, but worst of all Miss Strict refuses to allow "zombie scum" in her fine institution. She clearly states that "The satanic walking dead are strictly prohibited at Enrico Fermi High." She even threatens to cancel the senior prom if anyone is caught supporting the "cadaver's cause."

At the same time, word of this conflict reaches EDDIE FLAGRANTE, a slick sensationalist TV show host, who loves a lost cause. Eddie arrives at the school with his film crew to cover the story and make a "cause celebre" out of Jonny - "This sounds like a clear-cut case of Zombie Civil Rights!" But once he arrives, we see that he and Miss Strict share a past, shrouded in an elusive mystery.

As crisis takes hold of the school, the following questions are raised - Will Toffee take Jonny back? Will Miss Strict let Jonny come back and finish school, or will she cancel Senior Prom, ruining the most important night in the lives of the students of Enrico Fermi High!?

Zombie Reagan!

And now...more Culture...


"With a head of hair like that, let him die in office."

Here he is in all his undead glory. Reagan never looked so good! For more zombie work from James, please refer to an earlier painting, Zombie Jane Wyman (Reagan's first wife). I'm waiting for Zombie Nancy to come out...that one practically paints itself!

Slither

Slither Featurette

From Bloody-Disgusting:

If you head on over to YouTube you can watch a very special uncensored featurette from Universal Pictures and James Gunn's Slither, which stars Gregg Henry, Michael Rooker, Elizabeth Banks, Rheagan Wallace, Brenda James, Don Thompson, Haig Sutherland, Lloyd Kaufman and Jennifer Copping. Watch this spot for an exclusive interview with James Gunn very soon! 'Slither' hits theaters March 31st, 2006. When a bunch of farmers’ livestock turn up horribly mutilated and a young women goes missing, Sheriff Bill Pardy (Nathan Fillion) and his team, aided by Grant’s wife Starla (Elizabeth Banks), uncover the dark force laying siege to their town… and come face-to-face with an older-than-time organism intent on absorbing and devouring all life on Earth.

BBC

Voodoo Priestess at BBC

The BBC news site often has these little photo journals and yesterday I saw they had one on West Africa voodoo priestess, Na Danon, so I thought I'd share.

F13th

Director Set for New Friday the 13th

From Fango:

Variety reports that New Line Cinema and the Platinum Dunes company are in final talks with director Jonathan Liebesman to helm the new FRIDAY THE 13TH movie. Liebesman (pictured on the set of his feature debut, DARKNESS FALLS) is wrapping up work on another killer franchise entry, TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE: THE BEGINNING, for the two companies; he has also been attached to New Line's wartime chiller THE WATCH (since taken over by Victor Salva) and killer-bug feature DEAD ASLEEP. Mark Wheaton is writing the new FRIDAY, which will incorporate elements from the early films of the series; see details here, and go here to see our first report on the new CHAINSAW.

Automaton Transfusion

Automaton Transfusion

From Fango:

Fango received the stills above and below and some early info about the zombie opus AUTOMATON TRANSFUSION from Geoff Clark, who produced the movie with William Clevinger, Jeremy McCormick and Mark Thalman. Written, directed and edited by Steven C. Miller, who has worked on Asylum features such as FRANKENSTEIN REBORN, THE BEAST OF BRAY ROAD and H.G. WELLS' WAR OF THE WORLDS, the movie centers on an experiment by the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War to create undead soldiers that could fight in the stead of the living, a program that got kiboshed when the resulting ghouls inevitably demonstrated an uncontrollable hunger for human flesh. Thirty years later, the Army restarts the project in a remote town, and soon the place is overrun by the bloodthirsty dead. A small group of high-school students fight back, and the result, according to the filmmakers, is a nonstop adventure of four friends battling their way through swamps, forests, blood and ZOMBIES to survive!�

Ric Gonzalez, whose credits include a number of Donald Farmer flicks, created the makeup FX for AUTOMATON TRANSFUSION, which stars Joel Hebner (who played creatures in Asylum's FRANKENSTEIN, BEAST and SHAPESHIFTER), Garrett Jones, Juliet Reeves, William Howard Bowman, Rowan Bousaid and Ashley Elizabeth Pierce. You can find out more and see a trailer at the movie's MySpace page.

Caligari

Caligari in Hollywood

From Fango:

Fango has learned that LA’s American Cinematheque will host a screening of two horror classics on Saturday, April 1 at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood.
The double feature commences at 7:30 p.m. with director Fritz (METROPOLIS) Lang’s 1931 film M. Starring genre legend Peter Lorre, then, next up is arguably the finest example of German Expressionist silent cinema ever produced, director Robert Weine’s 1919 masterpiece THE CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI (which will feature live musical accompaniment by Dan Redfeld). The film, which stars actor Conrad Veidt in the role of Cesare, centers on a “pasty-faced somnambulist [Veidt] sent forth by psychotic asylum head, Dr. Caligari [Werner Krauss] to do his evil bidding, specifically kidnapping beautiful waif, Jane (Lil Dagover).” Clearly an influence on the string of ’20s and ’30s American horror (the Universal classics wear CALIGARI’s imprint on their sleeve proudly), the film is a hypnotic journey, due in no small part to the abstract sets created by production designers Walter Reimann, Walter Röhrig and Hermann Warm.

Visit the Cinematheque site linked above for additional details.

DBA

Dead Bitch Review

Check out Superheidi's take on Dead Bitch Army over at Pretty-Scary.

… but generally, I protest dear reader, historically and ethically I’m not given to the Cold Ethels of this world (Sorry, Alice..) Okay, I admit I may have been known to gawk, unceremoniously, at Number Nine (or was it Seven?), Romero’s foxy (cough, splutter) zombi-ette chick… but THAT’S IT! No more… no sirrrree… Well, maybe there’s one more. Andre Duza’s delightfully undead ass-kicking (or perhaps ass-munching) super-dame, Bloody Mary, makes me feel just a little tingly all over…

Medieval Ash

NECA's Medieval Ash

From Boody-Disgusting:

Today NECA released the first image of their upcoming Medieval Ash figure from the cult fav Army of Darkness. The figure is a work in progress and yet it still looks incredible.

Andre Duza

Dead Bitch Army

Do check out Spiral's new interview with zombie author Andre Duza, right here! And if you haven't yet, there's last week's interview with Conor McMahon, right here!

Le Sangre

Original Fiction by Saranna DeWylde at ZAGG!

Check out Le Sangre by Saranna DeWylde, right here!

Jason?

Bryniarski Not the Next Jason

From Bloody-Disgusting:

Over the past few days Andrew Bryniarski, who plays Leatherface is Platinum Dunes' Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake and its upcoming prequel Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning, has been putting out word that he think he'd be a perfect fit for Jason in the next Friday the 13th film. We decided to drop word into the Dunes' base and see what they had to say about it, here's the skinny from Brad Fuller, "we love and admire Andrew's work as Leatherface, but we are going in a different direction with Jason." Expect more announcements soon, such as who will direct the pic. The next Jason pic, which will feature some of his origins, is shooting for an October 13th, 2006 date, which is ultimately unrealistic.

Dellamoarte Dellamore!

Cemetery Man to DVD, Finally

From Creature Corner:

Well, this is just about the coolest DVD news I've heard in awhile. Anchor Bay Entertainment has finally decided on a release date for the long awaited R1 DVD of CEMETARY MAN! So set your wallets for June 13th, 2006!

No details other than a release date as of yet.

CoR on DVD

City of Rott comes to DVD

From MoviesOnline:

Frank Sudol director of City of Rott dropped me a line to let me know his Animated Zombie flick is hitting DVD shelves soon. Sometime in 2006, Unearthed Films ("Guinea Pig") will release "City of Rott", a 77 minute, gore-drenched, animated zombie film not to be missed. Besides the insane amount of zombies, blood and guts, the film includes an original story with compelling characters. The DVD will contain Special Features such as Director Commentary, zombie shorts, image gallery, deleted scenes and more. Stay tuned...

Sd Premiere

Special dEaD World Premiere

From MoviesOnline:
Lazy Ghost Films is proud to announce the world premiere of their feature length film, Special dEaD. The film will screen at Laemmle Sunset 5 in West Hollywood on February 23, 2006 at 7:30 PM, to a full house of enthusiastic horror fans and VIP guests. Amongst the special guests will be our very own Sheila Roberts who will be reviewing the film for you the readers. Directed by Thomas L. Phillips and Sean Simmons, and written by Jared Tweedie, Special dEaD is a Horror Comedy set high in the hills of Corona, California.

F13th

More on Friday the 13th
They don't know "exactly what it's going to be yet."

From Fango:

“We don’t know exactly what it’s going to be yet; it’s definitely not going to be set after FREDDY VS. JASON or JASON X,” Fuller tells Fango, addressing their film’s place in the FRIDAY universe. “This was such a juicy title, we couldn’t pass it up. So we’ve been talking to Wheaton, and we’re figuring it out. Jason didn’t really start killing until FRIDAY THE 13TH PART 2, so this isn’t a remake of the first one—Jason’s definitely going to be killing people in our movie. He didn’t wear the hockey mask until the third film [pictured], and our Jason is definitely going to wear the mask—so this is how we’re going about it right now.

Read more...

KNB!

Berger and Nicotero Join
Burbank WoH Lineup


I love these guys...

From Fango:

KNB EFX Group founders Howard Berger and Greg Nicotero have joined the lineup of the next West Coast edition of FANGORIA's Weekend of Horrors convention, presented by Anchor Bay Entertainment, to be held June 2-4, 2006 at LA's Burbank Airport Hilton (2500 Hollywood Way). The duo will discuss their work on such recent projects as THE HILLS HAVE EYES, HOSTEL, LAND OF THE DEAD and MASTERS OF HORROR, as well as the upcoming films GRIND HOUSE, TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE: THE ORIGIN and SIN CITY 2. Berger just garnered an Academy Award nomination in the Best Makeup category for THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE, and Nicotero and Berger also took three out of six Best Makeup slots in the just-announced Saturn Awards (see here for details: www.saturnaward.org).

DWTS & THC

Death Walks the Streets
& The Horror Channel

From THC:

Filming on Death Walks the Streets is getting ready to start with director James Zahn at the helm, and producers Matt Pletcher, Daniel J. Heffner (both Saw movies), Norm Swain (All In), and special effects by Bob Kurtzman. Because we strive to bring you the coolest new horror in the coolest new ways, we’ve joined forces with the film’s creators for a series of behind-the-scenes stuff you won’t find anywhere else.

Director Zahn will soon have his own blog right here, and will be providing The Horror Channel with behind the scenes video that will be available via podcast. You’ll also be seeing more and more pictures, artwork, and news as shooting progresses.

Start checking out the goods right NOW!

Episode 1

Episode 2

Episode 3

Episode 4

As an added bonus James Zahn and Matt Pletcher will be LIVE in our chatroom prior to our Revenge of the Midnight Movie promotion! Make sure ya check 'em out!

Our exclusive Death Walks the Streets section of this website will be up and running really soon but in the interim, be sure to visit the official site for Death Walks the Streets right here to learn more about the movie and it’s creators!

NEW Interview with Conor McMahon!

That's right...Conor McMahon, director the Irish zombie goodness, Dead Meat. Check it out here. Big, crazy thanks to Wayne Simmons (Spiral) for taking the time to provide us with this!

Hollowville

Hollowville
The Zombie Fiction Collective

The 'Virtual Town Project', or Hollowville, was quite simply created by accident. In the process of trying to put together a six part series on another website, each part written by a different author, we realized that we needed the story to take place in one setting. Because of our varied backgrounds, the idea was presented to simply fabricate a town. Sadly, that co-op fell apart...but, the idea of the fictional town grew.

Hollowville is merely a setting. It is a place that does not exist. The perfect home for fictional characters.

The main goal behind the virtual town concept is to give authors a place to exercise their creativity in a new format. By containing different continuing tales in one setting, writers can pool from each other's ideas, as well as cross their storylines.

Take a moment to imagine that. Really. Imagine seven different writers telling tales of speculative fiction, with all of their characters living in the same town. Imagine all seven of those characters crossing paths, each on his/her own inexplicable journey into horror. Now, imagine seventeen, or even seventy such tales...

Zombie Filmmakers Get Theirs.

Cemetery Gates on DVD

From Fango:

Fango has learned that Kismet Entertainment/Graveyard Films will release CEMETERY GATES, the second film directed by SOTA FX co-founder Roy Knyrim, to DVD May 30 through Ventura Distribution. PHANTASM fave Reggie Bannister stars as one of a pair of scientists tracking a mutated, ferocious Tasmanian Devil that has been stolen from their lab and escaped, and sets its hungry sights on a group of college students shooting a zombie movie in a graveyard. No supplemental details are available yet, but we’ll keep you posted; look for a CEMETERY GATES set visit in Fango #253, on sale April 18.

I know...it's not a zombie movie, it's a movie about a mutated, ferocious Tasmanian Devil. But it amuses me to no end that it's poor, unwary victims are low-budget zombie filmmakers. Admit it, it's funny.

Wuh? Huh?

Friday the 13th
What the hell is it? A Remake? A Prequel? Eh?

From Blood-Disgusting:

Although this picture is rumored to be a remake, we've been told it may be more of a "re-envisionment" of the series. From our anonymous scooper, we've were informed that Michael Bay and Platinum Dunes apparently WANTED to remake it but would said "let's do something different" instead. New Line was super cool with it. So the next 'Friday' more of an ULTIMATE FRIDAY THE 13th... if you know anything about the Marvel comics ULTIMATE series.

Basically, the plan (which can still change) is takes place after part 1 and shows Jason killing and becoming the monster we know and love. Getting the potato sack mask and the hockey mask, etc...

Watch this spot for more inside goodies soon. Click here for the official press release.

So...what is this? They know we're getting plenty tired of remakes, so rather than make something original, they're just going to call them "Re-envisionments" or "Re-imaginings", and basically take the concepts and important details of our classics and just...make shit up? Jesus Christ, this is a franchise that's gone into 10 movies and now they just want to...what the hell is it they want to do? *grumble, grumble* Friggin' Michael Bay...he got TMC (and is doing another), he got The Amityville Horror...he even got The Hitcher...now he's got F13th...what's next up his magic re-imagining sleeve?

There's also this from Creature Corner:

We knew who was writing the screenplay a few days ago but weren't supposed to say anything. But since Variety is running it... A CHUD Correspondant from the old days, Mark (Smilin' Jack Ruby) Wheaton is hard at work! I met Mark at Fangoria a few years ago. He is a huge FRIDAY THE 13TH fan. So, the script is in good hands.
Do know that the body count is supposed to be HIGH. Like really high, in the 40s. There are also rumours that the film may not make the Oct release date (the next Friday the 13th is in April '07). But it is way too early to tell.

Urban Zombies...

Last Rites

From Bloody-Disgusting:

Today the official website for the urban zombie-pic Last Rites was updated with a brand new trailer, just in tiem for Valentine's Day! Duane Stinnett's independent feature, which stars Noel Guglielmi, Enrique Almeida, Danny Martinez, Ethan Ednee, Ryan King, James C. Burns, Steve Basilone, Cazimir Milostan, Janine Foster, Michelle Perdue and Reggie Bannister, tells the story of rival street gangs battling a zombie plague in downtown Los Angeles.

Necropolis

ROTLD 4: Necropolis DVD

From Fango:

The good people at Lionsgate Home Entertainment gave Fango the first look at the art above for a bunch of genre titles they have slated for mid-late April. RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD: NECROPOLIS, the first of the two back-to-back in-name-only sequels that premiered on the Sci Fi Channel last year, arrives April 18...

VD!

Happy Valentine's Day

Enjoy the day with a special someone...maybe you can convince them to buy you Zombie Honeymoon at Deep Discount DVD for $17.96!