EDGE OF DARKNESS is a more then effective thriller.  It actually works on many levels.  As a drama, it scores, as an action/adventure, it scores well lets face it, it's just a damn good flick.

Really didn't know what I was in store for when I slapped this one in the player but was quickly sucked into the storyline which quickly involves us in a fathers quest to find out who murdered his daughter.

SPOILERS AHEAD SO STOP IF YOU DON'T WANT TO KNOW DETAILS

MEL GIBSON play Thomas Craven, a cop whose daughter EMMA is coming home for a visit.  He picks his daughter up at the airport and as they are getting into the car she gets sick and vomits.  Blaming it on the trip and such they hurry home.  Things seem great and Craven sets about making his daughter some dinner, making small talk when he notices that Emma has a nose bleed she then gets violently sick again.  In a panic they rush around to head to the hospital, Emma is trying to tell her dad something but its getting lost in the confusion.  As they head out the front door some one yells CRAVEN and shoots Emma who dies in her fathers arms.

At first everyone assumes that it is some kind of revenge killing aimed at Thomas who certainly has his share of enemies in town but as CRAVEN is going through his daughters things he discovers that she was carrying a gun, and a Geiger counter  and immediately knows that something is not right.

From this point on EDGE OF DARKNESS becomes part revenge flick and part conspiracy flick.  As CRAVEN investigates deeper and deeper he discovers that his daughter had discovered some unsavory goings on and was actually coming home to enlist her fathers help in exposing the truth.

EDGE OF DARKNESS ends up being a very taught, very emotional film that will literally have you wrapped around its finger within the first 10 minutes and just does not let go until the final frame.

GIBSON is great in these types of films and this one is no exception.  I completely enjoyed my time spent with this film and appreciated the fact that they wove a complex and interesting story while not forgetting to keep it entertaining and surprising.  You really don't know exactly where they are heading with things till the very end and when you find out it is not a groaner but instead both exhilarating and heartbreaking.

EDGE OF DARKNESS should make it onto your must see list

EDGE OF DARKNESS is available now on DVD and Blu-ray.  You can CLICK HERE to head on over to the WB store and pick it up now.

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There are very few companies out there right now putting out discs that are even close to doing as good a job as  SHOUT FACTORY.  These folks know how to do it and then hit another home run with the release of GAMERA The Giant Monster.

Sure, the movie is laughable at times particularly at the beginning where the original shots of an Air Force general attempting to gain control of the situation are just horribly acted have been reinserted but really, that's part of the charm of films like this.  I love that horrible stuff.  It's the best.

Any self respecting monster fan knows the story of GAMERA.  He is of course the giant flying turtle who breaths fire and other assorted cool things.  He particularly enjoys destroying things like lighthouses, power plants, cities.

As the film opens a jet fighter crashes and causes a small nuclear explosion as it was carrying nuclear war heads.  The explosion awakens the sleeping giant GAMERA who promptly eats a ship and heads toward shore.

What happens next is pretty self explanatory  if you have ever watched a Japanese monster movie.  GAMERA destroys everything in his path as the military fumbles around attempting to destroy him and the scientists watch knowingly as they develop a way to end GAMERA'S reign of terror.

This is really a fun film.  I enjoyed revisiting it and SHOUT FACTORY has done a fantastic job of bringing the original Japanese version to DVD.  It looks great, the transfer is beautiful and they've included a couple of pretty kick ass special features that include a commentary track and a retrospective of the GAMERA franchise.

The retrospective is of particular interest as it really gives an in depth look into the making of a Japanese monster movie back in the day when they were in their prime.  Fascinating and well done.
This film was originally released back in 1965, 45 years ago.  YIKES!

It's still a great piece of cinema history and it's great to see SHOUT FACTORY giving the film the respect it deserves.

GAMERA The Giant Monster hits DVD from SHOUT FACTORY and wades ashore on May 18th. 

You can CLICK HERE and get the film directly from the folks at SHOUT.

Here's a couple of clips that the fine folks at SHOUT FACTORY sent over, enjoy and make sure to pick up you copy on the 18th.

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Lets start a movement.

I think the folks behind this new release, NEVER SLEEP AGAIN:  THE ELM STREET LEGACY should be made the official documentary film makers of horror.  That's right, if a retrospective of a horror film, franchise, actor, actress, anything horror related is being considered then these are the folks that should do it.

NEVER SLEEP AGAIN is not just good it is exceptional.  Jaw droppingly complete and massively entertaining NEVER SLEEP AGAIN chronicles the birth and life of an icon.  FREDDY KRUGER is as recognizable as the classic monsters of my youth.  FRANKENSTEIN, DRACULA, THE WOLFMAN, THE CREATURE welcome FREDDY into their fold and this documentary explains how and why this happened.

At a length of about 4 freakin hours this two disc set devotes roughly 30-40 minutes to each and every film in the franchise talking to stars, crew, fans and anyone else they could muster. 

While for the most part this project most certainly celebrates the franchise it is also brutally honest and the underlying hard feelings and disagreements that occurred throughout the years rear their ugly heads a few times but what becomes apparent is that the folks involved in these films are family and as you all know sometimes family members disagree but in the end they all come together to support the family. 

I found myself literally glued to my TV watching and listening as those involved chronicle the rise of movie royalty.and finding out little known facts and secrets about the franchise.  It is AWESOME!!!

Be ready to waste the better part of your day once you stick this sucker in the player, get a couple 2 liters of pop, a couple bag of chips and insert the catheter cause you won't be moving for a while.

The first disc is the main feature presentation.  It's a 13 chapter chronicle of all things ELM STREET from the films to the TV show to the record albums, if it's NIGHTMARE related it is discussed.

The second disc is an exceptional collection of special features.  I watched them out of order because I couldn't wait to watch the HORROR'S HOLLOWED GROUNDS episode that visits the locations of WES CRAVEN'S original.  Sean Clark does a great job, as always.  If you watch nothing else on Disc 2, watch this.  But, why would you not watch everything else, it's all great.  Check it out:

 Disc 2:
Extended Interviews - 2 hours

First Look: Heather Langenkamp's I Am Nancy - 7 mins.

For the Love of the Glove - 18 mins.

Fred Heads: The Ultimate Freddy Fans - 13 mins.

Horror's Hallowed Grounds: Return to Elm Street - 23 mins.

Freddy Vs. the Angry Video Game Nerd - 5 mins.

Expanding the Freddy Universe: Freddy in Comic Books & Novels - 16 mins.

The Music of the Nightmare: Conversations with Composers & Songwriters - 13 mins.

Elm Street Poster Boy: The Art of Matthew Joseph Peak - 7 mins.

A Nightmare on Elm Street in 10 Minutes - 10 mins.

Teaser Trailer - 1 min.

Hidden Easter Egg - 3 mins.

Kudos to everyone associated with this project.  You can certainly tell that all involved love these films and their excitement and passion for it comes through in every frame. 

This just may be the best horror documentary I have ever seen.

NEVER SLEEP AGAIN:  THE ELM STREET LEGACY is out now and should be pretty easy to find just about anywhere you buy your horror flicks.  Go find this one, settle into your favorite chair and whatever you do.....DON'T......FALL.....ASLEEP!

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BLOCKADE BILLY is a short tale.  Coming in at 144 pages it is a quick read to say the least.  It is also beautifully crafted, exceptionally told and some of Kings best work in recent memory.

I have been a fan of King's work  well, pretty much forever and I've read stuff I consider to be classic and other tales that just weren't my cup of tea and every once in a while you get one that is just special.  Such is BLOCKADE BILLY. 

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There's a bit a new trend in horror literature.  Historical horror.  Actually the author of this book ABRAHAM LINCOLN: VAMPIRE HUNTER kind of started it all with PRIDE AND PREJUDICE AND ZOMBIES back in 2009.  The premise kind of goes like this. Take a piece of history and throw some kind of horror twist at it.

In ABRAHAM LINCOLN:  VAMPIRE HUNTER we meet up with a young Abe as he sits by his mothers bed side.  She is dying from what doctors at the time call "milk sickness".  It's not long till young Abe finds out the truth, his mother had died at the hands of a vampire.  Abe vows to spend his life hunting and destroying the beings that took his mother from him.

So, a Vampire hunter is born.  Author Sethe Grahame Smith tells the tale as the secret diary's of Mr. Lincoln are uncovered and in those pages lies a tale of a great stateman, a visionary and hunter of the undead.

Smith more the adeptly adds the Vampire underworld into what the history books has already taught us about the life and times of Mr. Lincoln.  The funny thing is, it doesn't really come across as silly or stupid.  Smith tells the tale through the words of Lincoln's diary.  It turns out that old honest Abe found out that southern politicians are allowing slavery as a way to feed their Vampire friends and this is something that Abe can not allow to let happen.  He becomes determined to end slavery thus cutting off the food chain for the Vampires.  Of course Civil War breaks out and Vampires are fight for the south.  As the war escalates and the president becomes less and less popular he is given a troop of vampires to protect him called The Trinity.  Kind of the first ever Secret Service.  The book is just filled with these kind of things and it all reads unbelievably believable.

I really enjoyed ALVH.  It's well paced, impeccably written and just plain fun.  The gore factor is quite high but at no time does any of this take itself to seriously.  If you're looking for a high octane vampire ride that doesn't romanticize or overteen the bloodsuckers, you've found it.

ABRAHAM LINCOLN:  VAMPIRE HUNTER is available now.  CLICK HERE to go get it a AMAZON.

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