THE PREDATOR Trailer, PHANTASM Returns, and More!
In this Issue:
- Creative Kills: Explosions in the Sky
- Image of the Week: H.R. Giger’s Gargoyle
- Tiny Bites – This Week’s Best Horror Headlines
- The A to Z of Subgenres: N is for New French Extremity
- Things We Love: Census Bloodbath
CREATIVE KILLS: EXPLOSIONS IN THE SKY
By Joshua Lyon
Independence Day! It’s never quite as fun when it falls midweek (boo to a missed three-day weekend), but that’s no excuse not to celebrate. And while you’re watching the annual light show that symbolizes our nation’s independence, don’t forget to also salute the important roles those fireworks serve in horror.
Take zombie hordes: fireworks are an excellent way to distract them, as seen in Land of the Dead. Heat-seeking fungus monsters are similarly drawn away by their spritzing warmth, but make sure you don’t also accidentally set fire to your hiding place while you’re at it, like in Splinter.
In Final Destination 3, a tilted crate of fireworks aimed directly at Ian during a tricentennial fair all whiz by their obvious mark. But as the Hot Top fashion victim gloats over his luck, he’s unaware the mini-missiles hit a cherry picker instead … causing it to topple and crush him.
Put to a more practical use, some forms of fireworks act as rescue devices. Stranded folks can use flare guns to alert rescuers of their whereabouts, and they’re also ideal for knocking space vampires off a helicopter (Lifeforce) or taking out a boat-hijacking sociopath (Dead Calm).
Roadside flares — basically just muzzled Roman Candles — alert motorists to broken down vehicles, but make sure an ambulance driver posing as Jason Voorhees doesn’t shove one down your throat; a fate that befalls poor Vinnie, the unintentionally homoerotic greaser in Friday the 13th: A New Beginning. Gamers can avenge his death by taking the real Jason down with a flare gun or even plain old firecrackers in Friday the 13th: The Game.
Popping off those virtual explosives are the only sure way to guarantee you won’t get burned this Fourth, so remember to play safe with the sparks. (Unless you’re battling evil, that is. Then feel free to go wild.)
IMAGE OF THE WEEK
H.R. Giger’s Gargoyle
When Paisley Abbey Scotland needed a dozen of its gargoyles replaced in 1991, a stonemason modelled one on the xenomorph from the Alien films.
TINY BITES
LETO’S LIVING VAMPIRE, ROMERO’S LITTLE WORLD & MORE
The Predator‘s either the fourth or sixth installment in that franchise, depending on whether you count thoseAlien vs. Predator flicks, and is set between 1990’sPredator 2 and 2010’s Predators. If that’s confusing, don’t worry: its new trailer delivers all the gore and kickass action of the original.
Jared Leto, who went mad for the Joker in Suicide Squad, will soon tackle another dark comic book character: the scientist turned living vampire turned Spider-Man villain Morbius.
The Purge Producer Jason Blum explains why he could never have pulled offA Quiet Place. And what it’ll take for there to be a Get Out 2.
You no longer need to know French to read The Little World of Humongo Bongo, George Romero’s monster book for kids. After more than two decades, it’s finallyavailable in an English-language edition, complete with the zombie master’s own illustrations.
Thanks to Da Vinci Code author Dan Brown, hundreds of occult texts have been digitized to be read online. (Unfortunately, there’s doesn’t seem to be a copy of the Necronomicon.)
Watch Nicolas Cage grab a giant ax and the world’s largest chainsaw to take on a bloody cult in the new trailer for Mandy, from the director of Beyond the Black Rainbow.
A horror superfan wrote a touching memoir of his 47-year friendship with special-effects wizard Ray Harryhausen, as well as his friendships with Psycho‘s Robert Bloch and five-time film Van Helsing Peter Cushing.
Critics can’t seem to stop talking about “elevated horror,” but don’t forget the grungy charms of “underground” horror, as in these 25 no-budget flicksyou might not have seen, including 1993’s Zombie Bloodbath, which “is everything the title would suggest.”
Phantasm‘s deadly silver sphere is about to get shiner than ever thanks to director Don Coscarelli’s restorations, which will fly into theaters October 1.
THE A TO Z OF SUBGENRES: N IS FOR NEW FRENCH EXTREMITY
The New French Extremity rose to fever pitch in the first decade of the 21st century with one aim: transgression. Spanning genres (from art drama to all-out horror show) and concerns (from sociopolitical to… well, all-out horror show), this loose group of films and filmmakers savagely provoke their audience with artfully rendered feral acts and less-than-optimistic worldview. These works are brusque, poetic, carnal, and cruel, convulsing with excess and vicious bodily contact. Prepare yourself.
The Essentials: Inside (À l’intérieur), Trouble Every Day, Martyrs, Irreversible, See the Sea
Favorites: In My Skin (Dans ma peau), Frontiers, High Tension, Ma Mére, Calvaire (The Ordeal)
THINGS WE LOVE: CENSUS BLOODBATH
Writer Brennan Klein has made it his mission to watch and review every single ’80s slasher, around 300 in all, on his blog. In addition to spoiler-soaked reviews, he breaks each film down into categories like Weirdest Moment, Best Kill, and Champion Dialogue, of which there’s endless material to work with, such as “These Quaaludes are murder on my skin!” from Hell Night.