EerieTube Creates Special Friday the 13th Intro!

Our pals at Eerietube have created a special intro in honor of Friday the 13th!  Check it out here.  It’s very atmospheric.  And while you’re there check out some of their great short films.   No horror fan should miss them.

Horror Can’t Scare Up Box Office Numbers

Five horror films were released this weekend, several in limited release.  But none managed to make an impact at the box office.  Let Me In, the remake of the Swedish film Let the Right One In, did the best.  It scored an estimated weekend haul of $5.2 million.  Just enough to land it in 7th place.  Case 39 did about the same, pulling in about $5.1 million.

What does this mean?  Hard to tell.  Is this just a reaction to these specific films?  Or has the audience gone bearish on horror?  We’ll know more in the weeks ahead.  Next week (10/8/10) Wes Craven‘s My Soul to Take opens.  And later in month we have releases of Paranormal Activity 2 and Saw 3D.  If all these films fail to ignite interest, the genre may be facing a dark future.

Horror Movies: Scary or Fun?

Brian Mattus has a fascinating article at Fangoria Online:  Asking the simple question:  Are  horror movies supposed to be scary or fun?

Here’s the meat of the piece:

All too often, it seems that people complain that a horror film was “bad” because it wasn’t “scary”. Without any context, this is essentially meaningless. For example, when was the last time a movie scared them, and what was it?

I feel that this “problem” has less to do with the quality of a film than it does with someone’s having built up a tolerance. Besides being a horror fan, I’m also a fan of very spicy food, and I have an assortment of hot sauces made from habanero and scotch bonnet peppers in my refrigerator at all times. My tolerance of spicy food is significantly higher than average, but my fiancee would argue that just because I don’t feel a dish is spicy, this doesn’t necessarily make it so.

Curiously, when horror films aren’t being accused of being bad because they’re not scary, it’s because they’re “not fun”. This seems to be a by-product of the ’80s, when so many horror films were glutting the market that the genre largely descended from “fright films” into horror-comedies – intentional or not.

These are all interesting questions.  In general, the answer of course is both and neither.  To us the crucial element of horror is that it deal with the “horrific” in some form or another.  And whether this is done through being scary or funny is less the issue.

Box Office: PARANORMAL ACTIVITY Chops Up SAW VI!

The Paramount released low-budget shocker Paranormal Activity had another strong weekend at the Box Office.  In it’s widest release so far (1,915 screens), PA not only saw a 12.1% increase in box office but took the top place at the box office with $22 million, smashing it’s nearest competitor Saw VI which only brought in $14.8 million in its opening weekend.  This is more impressive news for the low budget horror community.

Video: Rollercoasters and the Power of Fear

The video below has been getting quite a bit of attention on the web.  And it’s a funny vid as these things go.  But that’s not the reason we’re posting it.  Cute kid vids aren’t really our thing.

But we do think it’s a fascinating display of why we all love horror books and movies.  This kid’s literal “rollercoaster of emotions” shows what happens to everyone when we encounter good horror material.

The initial excitement, then deep fear (above), followed by a release:

And, finally, the desire to do it again:

This is what good horror does, and why we all find it so cathartic.  And why you’ll find that people who make horror content are some of the most cheerful, relaxed and easy going people you’ll ever meet.

Here’s the whole vid:

NEW MOON Teaser Poster Released

Twilight fans need to make some space on their walls for this new poster for the sequel New Moon.

But looking at this poster we can’t but help asking the question:  Do these young actors really need so much airbrushing?

Video: Clive Barker’s New Movie!

Below is a feature on the movie Dread, based on the short story of the same name by Clive Barker.

The story involves a group of college students who are making a study of human fears.  One of the participants takes advantage of this information to terrorize his fellow students.

This film is already getting some good buzz in the horror community.  A reviewer at Shock Till You Drop, who saw a rough cut of the film, said:

Dread,  in spirit and in execution, feels consistently like a Clive Barker tale. I don’t think it’s going to disappoint the author’s fans.

Sounds good to us.

Video: Set Report From New Joe Dante Horror Film!

This looks like a lot of fun.  It could bring Dante back to the mainstream.

The story involves some some teenagers who find a hatch leading to a bottomless hole in the basement of their new home; they open it which unleashes a force of evil that brings their nightmares to life.

And it’s in 3D!

more about “Video: Set Report From New Joe Dante…“, posted with vodpod

Polanski’s REPULSION Comes to Blu-Ray

From DVD Savant:

Criterion has announced a full-on restored DVD and Blu-ray of Roman Polanski’s Repulsion for July 28! The extras sound terrific — a Polanski-Deneuve commentary, for starters — but we’re especially enthused at the prospect of finally seeing a worthwhile video representation of this fine horror film — it’s really something in a good widescreen presentation.

This is really great news for horror fans.  But even better news for horror filmmakers.  All horror filmmakers, especially ones forced to shoot with low bugets, should see this.  It shows just how much one can do with very little.  And to finally have it in a decent widescreen presentation is just icing on the cake.

CLOVERFIELD Sequel?

Cloverfield was not only a hit, but a fan favorite.  Yet, so far, sequel talks have been muted.  J.J. Abrams finally broke the silence on the subject at Wondercon (via Shock Till You Drop):

We’re actually working on an idea right now.  The key obviously at doing any kind of sequel, certainly this film included, is that it better not be a business decision. If you’re going to do something, it should be because you’re really inspired to do it. It doesn’t really have to mean anything, doesn’t mean it will work, but it means we did it because we cared, not because we thought we could get the bucks. We have an idea that we thought was pretty cool that we’re playing with, which means there will be something that’s connected to Cloverfield, but I hope it happens sooner than later because the idea is pretty sweet.

Sounds intriguing.