So, I’m in a massive department store, checking out the DVD bargain bin when, way off in the distance, I hear the rancid sound of electronic, digitized bells, playing Christmas music. (Ding Dong Merrily On High, if memory serves… but that’s not important.) I followed the noise until it led me to three aisles of Christmas decorations. Three full aisles of artificial trees, snow in cans, Styrofoam ornaments and Santa figures, dressed like Flavor Flav, that dance to “Ice Ice Baby”. Mind you, if this had happened last December, I’d have no gripe, well except for the dancing Santa. But, no, the day I did the bargain bin binge, was this past August! That’s right, Christmas decorations in August! Now, I don’t know where you’re from but the words South Florida and August are not conducive to thoughts of decking the halls with anything other than ceiling fans! It’s hotter than Lucifer’s nutsack down here in August and, quite honestly, I don’t want to know from eight maids a milking – no matter how perversely sexual that sounds.      

With the carols from Hell bouncing around between my ears, I headed over and looked for the Halloween decorations. Did I find any? Were there pumpkins, candy corn, masks, rubber knives or even orange and black M&Ms? Of course not! Those aren’t put out till late-September. To do so any earlier would just be silly, right? But Christmas decorations a full four months before Christmas, somehow that’s okay. Does that assault anyone else’s senses? You see, I wouldn’t give a rat’s ass when they started with the Thanksgiving/Christmas/Chanukah/Quanza decorations if there wasn’t a holiday in between Labor Day and Thanksgiving. But there is. It’s a little ditty we like to call Halloween. And Halloween is my favorite holiday. Since you come to this site to get your reading material, I’ll go out on a limb and assume it’s probably most of yours’ too. To everyone else, sorry Christmas folks, sorry Chanukah folks, sorry Quanza folks… your holidays are burying my beloved Halloween and I’m pretty pissed off about it!

I don’t mean to wax nostalgic here but I miss the good old days, when Halloween meant something. Do you realize that, years before cable, there was actually more horror on five or six stations – on a weekly basis - than there is now? The TV Guide called them “melodramas” back then and anyone around my age remembers, fondly, that on any given Friday or Saturday night, you actually had to choose between horror movies. There was Chiller Theater, Shock Theater and Creature Features, to name just a few. For Halloween, my local PBS station (Channel 13, out of NYC) used to play Universal horror movies by the handful. Channels 5 (WNEW), 7 (WABC), 9 (WWOR) and 11 (WPIX) used to go absolutely ape-shit with horror films in October. Some of my local movie theaters used to have special Halloween horror movies playing on weekends. My parents used to get 150 trick-or-treaters. Things like this never happen anymore. Each year, Halloween becomes less current and more a thing of the past. Now, seven stations in every market play the same 3 movies, loaded with commercials and cut up worse than a Crystal Lake camp counselor. Some religious groups continue to try to put an end to Halloween because they don’t want their kids – and I quote – “Honoring Satan”. I guess they figure your six year old has pretty much sold his or her soul, if they dress up like a Care Bear once a year. Too much political correctness has one school district in Washington State banning Halloween activities because they think real witches will be offended. (I’m not making this stuff up, folks!) Parents who have wonderful Halloween memories from their childhood, don’t even bother taking kids around anymore. Hell, I bought 40 pieces of candy this year and I’ll be shocked if I even come close to running out. 

So, what are we to do? Although it’s not my favorite solution, I have one that I know will work. I would love for the “normal” people out there to suddenly rise up and save Halloween but it isn’t going to happen. To them, it’s not worth the fight. So, what I’m going to do is to keep Halloween going strong, inside me. What I mean is, no matter when they start putting out the Christmas decorations, no matter what butchered crap they show on TV, no matter how few kids come to the door, no matter who tries to take the last breath out of my holiday, Halloween will always be numero uno to me and I’ll do whatever I can do to keep it that way. They can screw with my holiday but they can’t screw with my head. Whether I get six or sixty trick-or-treaters, I’ll hand out candy. No matter how busy my day is, I’ll make time for at least one horror movie. I’m paraphrasing, but there’s an old saying that some of you are familiar with: “For the forest to be green, each tree must be green.” I think it applies here. If each of us does our little part to keep Halloween current, it will never truly become extinct. And as long as Halloween is alive within me… it’s alive.

David Ansen wrote about this phenomenon in “Hollywood’s Scary Summer”, an article published in the June 18, 1979 issue of NEWSWEEK.  Ansen wrote, “In its first two weeks, Ridley Scott’s outer-space horror movie ALIEN has taken in $8.5 million, breaking the opening records of the all-time box office champ, STAR WARS.”  ALIEN was made for $10 million.  Can you believe that?  Did you hear me?  ALIEN was made for $10 million!!  That amount wouldn't cover the catering expenses on a James Cameron set today.   

Quite correctly, Ansen pointed out that horror movies have been around since the inception of cinema.  However, it was a genre that was generally looked upon with disdain and contempt, and most of the movies during the Fifties and Sixties were relegated to double features as throwaway drive-in fare.  All of that changed in 1973 when William Friedkin brought William Peter Blatty’s novel THE EXORCIST to the screen with a major cast.  The impact of that film is unimaginable to us today, because most audiences now are very jaded and need even more over-the-top horrific murders to keep them interested, as evidenced by the successful SAW franchise today.  SAW III opened on October 27, and promises to be ten times as brutal as SAW II.  Eeeeeeeeeeeek! 

Horror is a very cyclical genre in terms of box office success.  As soon as I got my license to drive in 1985, I hurried off the local multiplexes to see a variety of films that followed in the years to come, such as THE UNHOLY, THE STEPFATHER II, TWICE DEAD, NIGHT OF THE DEMONS, THE CURSE, CHOPPING MALL, DEMONS, etc.  Most of these movies were truly awful, and nothing like the horror classics I grew up watching on home video in 1983 and 1984.  I became disenchanted with the buffoonery of Freddy Krueger and stuck with the films of Dario Argento (when I could find them, that is!). 

Although I had been a fan of Wes Craven's THE HILLS HAVE EYES, DEADLY BLESSING, SUMMER OF FEAR, and A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET, his 1996 film SCREAM annoyed me when I saw it.  The impact of this film cannot be underestimated, however, because I believe that it really provided a much-needed jolt into the horror genre at the time and for that that I am very grateful to Wes Craven.  A whole new generation of fans came out in droves to see horror movies, and advances in technology and the explosion of the Internet made it possible for almost anyone to make a film.   

Horror is an escape from the mundane and the terror of the times one lives in.  The Fifties saw the atomic age, the Sixties saw the effects of the Cold War, the Seventies saw the horrors of Vietnam, the Eighties were…well…the Eighties, and the Nineties brought horror back in full force.  The 2000’s brought terrorism to U.S. soil and the whole world started making less sense than it did.   

The major difference between the horror films of the late Seventies and the new over-the-top films of today is not only the level of violence that occurs, but it is in the reporting of the box office receipts.  Never before has there been so much emphasis placed on how much money a movie makes as there is now.  An opening weekend can either make or break a film, and a film today is not considered successful when analysts predict it should gross this and on opening weekend it makes that.  The movie is immediately written off as a failure, which makes little sense considering that so much more revenue is to be made through ancillary markets such as DVD, cable showings, and broadcast television, to say nothing of overseas distribution.  Although critics usually revile these films such as HOSTEL, THE HILLS HAVE EYES, SAW, etc., audiences keep coming back for more.   

The Internet has opened the door to smaller filmmakers and made it possible for anyone to make a short film and post it for the entire world to see.  Fangoria Magazine, getting close to approaching its 30^th year, now has Fangoria TV, which provides original and premium content for viewing over the Internet for a monthly fee. More and more horror sites like this are being created daily, and MySpace has put the creators of these works in touch with their fans and made them “friends”.  There are more outlets for horror now than ever before, and for the first time more women are reported to be seeing horror films than men, a sure sign that the heroines like Shawnee Smith in SAW are empowering and refreshing to watch.   

Best of all, horror film directors such as Dario Argento, Mario Bava, Sergio Martino, Ruggero Deodato, Aristide Massaccesi, Lucio Fulci, Amando de Ossorio, and Narciso Ibáñez Serrador are being discovered by fans the world over through new DVD releases.  With the Internet, there’s no excuse for young horror film fans to be ignorant of these giants in the horror genre today. 

"Oh yeah... "  I replied.

"Theyre pretty good!"  he said with a devlish grin, and disappeared back out into the nightlife.

Yeah Mike - they're pretty good.  So was the vodka I drank on the way in.  Oh yeah - and the dirty gin martinis and Amstel Lights I had while walking up 6th avenue too.  Hobgoblins are a dark, european type lager - and they are good - but housing all these spirits in my gut at once while power walking 80 blocks to and from the train station - getting home at 4am and going to work construction at 7am just hours later...  Hobgoblin became a horror experience that lingered for hours and caused me pain and a nauseating fear of sounds and bright lights well into what would become Day 2 of the New York City Horror Film Festival.

So I had avoided death on the midnight meat train, drudged through a long days work, caught the LIRR back into mighty Manhattan and returned for more.  Thursday night was the date that the entire festival shifted over to its main venue - classic Tribeca Cinemas in lower NYC.  If you haven't been there before, its a small cinema with three humble theaters with no bad seats - a wide, comfortable lounge - and a very attractive bar that would welcomely wreck havoc upon us all the next few days.

Thursday night centered on a single three hour program that ran from 8 to 11pm - three shorts and a feature film.  Lets take a look at these bloody beauties and get down to what we came here for - some kick ass, original, new gore and chaos for the big screen.

"Rogairi"
directed by Tom Cosgrove

In 1763, an evil land lord looks to inherit the Rothertham estate by diabolical means.  His treacherous crimes are witnessed by supernatural forces who undertake a terrible revenge against him.

For the most part, shorts are shallow on character development and mainly deliver a chill based on atmosphere or shock.  Rogairi was a very advanced and evolved short.  Spoken mostly in ear-delicious Gaelic with english subtitles, this was a period piece set back in the ancient days of England, when land had lords and men wore wigs and makeup.  The horror production value shone through with a professional, feature-like quality, complete with a delicate bit of humor, severed limbs and ghostly atrocities.  Its drawback to me was that it was drenched with an over-commanding soundtrack - like good french fries that get overpowered by a gallon of ketsup.  In the end, however, this was an effective ghost piece with a very climactic ending - and Id recommend it over An American Haunting (review) any day for someone looking for an old time ghost chiller with an ending that actually makes sense.  A powerful short - perhaps a bit to big for its britches.

"Happy Birthday 2 U" - 2006 NYCHFF Winner for BEST SHORT
directed by David Alcade

The most unusual gift an adult can give a child.

This one won best short by the judges but I tend to disagree.  Only slightly however.  An otherwise harmless looking woman is looking for a particular young child.  Waking up tied to a bed, she soon finds herself at the mercy of a man and the young child, who just loves to play with scissors and saws.  The kid is wrapped in plastic - and this woman tied down to his bed is his birthday present.  Body parts in jars all over the room - this cant be good.  Seriously visual violence, complete with brutal digit removal and child-passionate amputations, including dream sequences that include a cat in a suit - Happy Birthday 2 U is a good blend of hackers mutilation and psychotic dream imagery with a twist at the end.  It all falls into place, and makes for the type of short film a critic can see a lot in.  Check it out (we'll let you know when it becomes available) and judge for yourself.  It wasn't my personal favorite short, but it is without a doubt in the upper eschelon of what was presented the entire weekend.

"Deadly Tantrum"
directed by Mike Mort

An enthusiastic cop fights a desperate battle against a deranged mutant to save the life of a damsel in distress.

While the previous two films were professional and stood on ornate screenplays, Deadly Tantrum was the treat on this evening to everyone that had a good buzz going and a laugh just dying to make its way out of our guts.  Simple premise - damsel in distress, cop that discovers her, and the mutant freak killer who has set up a device that is about to blow her head off with a shotgun.  This thing is freaky once you get a look at it - looks like Jason Voorhees without a mask, flipped inside out.  Its slapstick and comedic (kicks to the nuts followed by a chimp scream - things like that) - walking the fine line of comedy and horror just right, while building the tension well - leading to a bloody and horrifically funny ending - all of which had you laughing outloud.  In the end - a spinning sawblade lands on the killer's face with low-budget but non hidden gory effects - how could you not like it.  And the mutant still takes them both in the finale!  A fun and bloody short short I highly recommend for blood needers and laugh enthusiasts.

The Lost
directed by Chris Sivertson

- trailer (quicktime)

Based on the book by author Jack Ketchum, "The Lost" is the story of Ray Pye, suburban teens and mass murder.

Wow.  I had recently been introduced to Jack Ketchum's literary work when I reviewed his novel "The Girl Next Door" (HERE) - the film of which should be washing upon horror shores sometime in 2007.  I have read everything from King to Clive and others, and I was blown away by how far Jack would go to disturb you.  Every time you got through something and were like, "whew - ok glad thats over" - he would assault you yet again with something worse.  Such is his rapidly growing, notorious reputation.

The Lost, in essense, is about three lost youths - Ray Pye, his girlfriend (one of many), and his closest male friend.  Theyre going nowhere in life (which Im familiar with) - hanging in the park, drinking beer, wrecking homes, selling hash, smoking pot - mainly because none of these people have any direction.  They have too much time to kill, and soon crazy ass Ray Pye gets his first taste of death when he stumbles upon a couple of nude "lesbians" camping in the woods.  He offs them both in cold blood with a shotgun, and drags his friends into assisting with the crime.

Ever have that crazy ass friend that does things you'd never do - and drags you into his schemes because he's just too volitile to really stop?  I mean - who wants to turn that onto themselves.  Ray Pye is a complete psycho.  He cant handle rejection, is a murderous control freak, and has some serious issues.  The tension through this movie is absolutely gripping - the anticipation of what he is going to do next - how his friends will handle each situation - and the innocence at stake for every one of these charatcers.

What is an extremely well written two hour movie just flies by - an express route straight to Hell that climaxes in such a no hold barred violent manner, it will blow your mind.  Of course, as horror fans, we tend to laugh at certain sick behaviors, and Ray Pye is pretty funny at times.  Many of us laughed out loud during the course of the film.  But at the end of the film, there was cold, complete silence and dread.  You could hear dry swallows from across the theater.  What happens at the end of the movie is like a punch in the brain - stunning - leaving you bewildered - including an uncomfortable feeling for ever having laughed at him at all.

If you are a horror fan by any means - I highly recommend picking up The Lost or The Girl Next Door and giving it a try.  I can almost guarantee you will be entirely engrossed by these stories, and feel the negativity they will leave with you - like that dreadful feeling after having seen an Al-Qaeda beheading.  And with Lucky McKee and Andrew van den Houten behind the production of these stories - 2007 will stand out as a banner year for horror entertainment.  Cant complain about weak stories or unoriginal quality material anymore - Jack Ketchum's novels are being made for the screen by the numbers now.  Stephen King about licks the ground that he walks on with multiple endorsements, and youre all about to see why this coming year.  Keep a keen out for more Jack Ketchum material in the very near future.

So what had began as a long day, filled with head pounding nausea from a long days work and drinks you shouldnt mix, turns out to be awesome.  Why?  Because horror fans are just gifted everytime they look to the New York Horror Film Festival.  Yeah I was tired (sorry Kevin Shulman for not following you into the bar after not seein you for a year - my face was dripping one inch from the floor and I barely made it on time) - but as soon as adrenalized heartbeats of fear began to pump fresh blood through my pickled veins - I reintergrated into my powerful nighttime form via the vitamins of visual evils on the big screen.  Author Jack Ketchum - who sat in the theater with us - soon came down to the stage and graced us all with a Q and A session - press and fans alike.  Another 80 blocks total - caught the train home - made it to bed by 3am.  Gotta get to work by 7am - but alls good, because tomorrow is Friday night - Tony Todd, Tobe Hooper, and the House of Horrors Caretaker all to be there in person. 

If youve read "The Lost", enjoy Jack Ketchum's work, or just horror literature in general - be sure to check out the Q and A session with author Jack Ketchum coming later on today - as well as our continuing coverage of Friday night - Day 3 - which ended up being the best night of them all.  See you back here at House of Horrors with that soon.

Plot Synopsis:  Take a journey through a century of horror's most frightening tales.... if you can stand it.... ~ VideoUniverse.com

I think we can stand it.

DVD Features:  Region 1 Encoding
Keep Case

CLICK HERE to purchase from Amazon.com

An American Haunting (2006) (review)

- trailer (flash)

Plot Synopsis:  Based on true events validated by the State of Tennessee of the only case in US History where a spirit or entity caused the death of a man. With over 20 books written on the subject, and a town that still lives in fear of the return of the unseen spirit, the story of "An American Haunting" is terrifying. Between the years 1818-1820, the Bell Family of Red River, Tennessee was visited by an unknown presence that haunted the family and eventually ended up causing the death of one its members. Starting with small sounds around the farm, and the sighting of a a strange BLACK WOLF with piercing yellow eyes, the sounds escalated into full brutal contact with the certain family members, causing psychological and physical torment. The attacks grew in strength, with the spirit slapping, pulling, dragging, and beating the Bell's youngest daughter. The Bells searched for rational explanations and ways to rid their house of this entity, but to no avail as the spirit began to communicate with them through sounds, and eventually multiple voices that sounded like the wind. The cause of its actions could always be felt, but no being could be seen, and no explanation found- only the promise that one day it would kill one of the family members. Fearing that the haunting was caused by a local woman -branded a witch- who had put a curse upon the family as a result of a land dispute, the Bells tried desperately to find ways to get rid of the woman's curse, yet the attacks and disturbances only escalated. It was not until a manuscript of the local schoolteacher -who lived on the property during the disturbance- was found in 1998 that the horrifying and shocking answer to what caused this haunting would finally be unveiled. ~ Amazon.com

The unrated version contains additional footage not released in theaters...

- Official Site

DVD Features:  Region 1 Keep Case
Widescreen - 1.85
Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1 - English
Closed Captioned - English
Additional Release Material:
Bloopers
Making of
Deleted Scenes
Production Interviews -
1. Sissy Spacek - Star
2. Courtney Solomon - Director
Trailers - Internet Promos
Interactive Features:
Interactive Menus
Scene Access

Click here to purchase the RATED PG-13 or the UNRATED version from Amazon.com

Containment (2006)

Plot Synopsis:  When a deranged scientist releases a group of experimental creatures, a security guard (Julian Peck) loses his grip on reality. Atop unexplained hallucinations and strange voices, the guard is faced with the challenge of deciphering his illusions from a dangerous reality. Consequently, he is quickly swept into a terrifying puzzle that will uncover his past, and shake the foundations of his future. The only other slight problem is that his wife has dropped off his son in the midst of his horrific nightmare. ~ Amazon.com

DVD Features:  Keep Case
Audio: (unspecified) - English

CLICK HERE to purchase from Amazon.com

Curse of Halloween (2006)

Plot Synopsis:  Its October 31st.  Its Halloween.  And its cursed...

DVD Features:  Region 1 Keep Case
Widescreen
Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround - English
Additional Release Material:
Featurette - Behind-The-Scenes
Trailer 

CLICK HERE to purchase from Amazon.com

Don't Be Scared (2006)

Plot Synopsis:  Hip-hop sensations Master P and Romeo star in this tale of urban horror.  When a serial killer starts prowling a college campus for its next kill, chaos erupts as students realize they are the targets in a deadly game. ~ VideoUniverse.com

DVD Features:  Keep Case
Full Frame - 1.33
Audio: (unspecified) - English
Additional Product:
Audio CD  

CLICK HERE to purchase from Amazon.com

Halloween Night (2006)

Plot Synopsis:  Based on actual events, a man escapes an insane asylum on October 31st to return to his childhood home in hopes of discovering why his mother was murdered. In order to learn the sick and perverse truth, he must kill everyone in his way, including the family who now lives in the house as well as the guests of the Halloween party. ~ Asylum.cc

This one is written by Fangoria managing editor Michael Gingold.  Its worth checking out.  Gingold was also involved in the Shadow: Dead Riot screenplay and Asylum's films are often better than you'd expect.

DVD Features:  Standard Screen
Soundtrack English

CLICK HERE to purchase from Amazon.com

In The Dark (2006)

Plot Synopsis:  For five years a hidden crime festered as a deep, dark secret among friends. One Halloween the secret got out. Here is the actual footage of that horrific night when the group returned to the scene of the crime and came face-to-face with their wicked past. IN THE DARK is a stylish horror film, which tells the true life story of Lizzy Duncan, a young, institutionalized mental patient who was picked on by a group of delinquent teenagers brought into the institution on a work study program. Their torment of Lizzy escalated to a tragic event in which she was horribly disfigured. This film presents the actual footage of the night five years later when they returned to the burned-out institution to play a few pranks, do some drugs and have sex. But their night of fun turns into a night of revenge. Lizzy is waiting for them. ~ Amazon.com

DVD Features:  Standard Screen
Soundtrack English

CLICK HERE to purchase from Amazon.com

A Light in the Darkness (2002)

Plot Synopsis:  A bloodthirsty teen with a penchant for murder is released from the mental hospital and returns home in this stylish, contemporary horror movie. Troy Beyer, Matt Terzian, and Karen Black star in this chilling roller coaster ride of a film. ~ Amazon.com

DVD Features:  Keep Case
Anamorphic Widescreen
Audio: Dolby Digital - English
Additional Release Material:
Additional Footage -
1. MTV Short Film - OPEN MIC FRIGHT
Sneak Previews
Trailer - Previews
Text/Photo Galleries:
Director Storyboards

CLICK HERE to purchase from Amazon.com

Little Shop of Horrors/Terror (1960)

Plot Synopsis:  A pair of classic low-budget films featuring young Jack Nicholson. In THE LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS the nebbishy Seymour comes upon a plant that demands to be fed human blood, forcing Seymour on a killing spree. Nicholson appears as a masochistic dental patient. THE TERROR has Nicholson as a Napoleonic soldier investigating eerie happenings at a mysterious castle. ~ VideoUniverse.com

DVD Features:  Standard Screen
Soundtrack English

CLICK HERE to purchase from Amazon.com

My Dead Girlfriend (2006)

- trailer (flash)

Plot Synopsis:  Gore and laughs are the main ingredients of MY DEAD GIRLFRIEND, a horror-comedy starring and directed by Brett Kelly. After accidentally running over Amy with his car, Steve revives her with a magic spell that brings Amy back as a zombie with a hunger for human flesh. Things aren't exactly normal for the happy couple, especially when Amy starts chowing down on visitors. ~ VideoUniverse.com

DVD Features:  Keep Case
Full Frame - 1.33
Audio: Dolby Digital - English
Audio commentary with the cast & crew
Cast & crew interviews
Deleted scenes
Blooper reel
"The Pretty Lie" short film (7 mins.)
Tempe DVD trailers

CLICK HERE to purchase from Amazon.com

Nightmares & Dreamscapes - From the Stories of Stephen King (2006)

- Scene from Battleground (flash)

Plot Synopsis:  An eight episode adaptation of Stephen King's short stories, primarily from the Nightmares and Dreamscapes series. "Battleground" follows a quiet hitman becoming a target for violent revenge when he finds a mysterious package on his doorstep; A young woman and her attorney husband getting lost in a notoriously evil London neighborhood named "Crouch End"; "Umney's Last Case" is a 1930's era detective who realizes he's the main character in a novel, and he's being written out; A successful filmmaker films himself in "The End of the Whole Mess", recalling his genius brother's life and the scientific plan he applied to end world violence with unanticipated results; "The Road Virus Heads North" drives into gear as a celebrated writer realizes the demonic figure in the painting he's just acquired, is changing to show that it's onto the same stretch of road he's on; "The Fifth Quarter" has an ex-convict who goes to dastardly means to find treasure that puts his family's life at risk; "Autopsy Room Four" is the occupancy of a man whose about to witness his own autopsy and he's speechless to stop it; A husband and wife on a spontaneous road trip, whose stopover in a town inhabited by late music legends, might not be temporary when they're told "You Know They Got a Hell of a Band". ~ Amazon.com

DVD Features:  Additional Scenes
Featurette
Interviews
Production Sketches

CLICK HERE to purchase from Amazon.com

Saw 2 (2005) (dvd review)

- trailer (flash)

Plot Synopsis:  When detective Eric Matthews (Donnie Wahlberg) is called to a crime scene of a victim of Jigsaw (Tobin Bell), he finds a lead to the place where he is hidden. Once there, he realizes that Jigsaw trapped his son Daniel Matthews (Erik Knudsen) with three women and four men in a shelter, and they are inhaling a lethal nerve gas. If they do not use an antidote within two hours, they will die. Eric follows with increasing desperation the death of each member of the group in monitors, while trying to convince Jigsaw to release his son. ~ Amazon.com

DVD Features:  Available Subtitles: English, Spanish
Available Audio Tracks: English (DTS 6.1 ES), English (Dolby Digital 5.1 EX)
Commentary by director Darren Lynn Bousman, production designer David Hackl, and editor Kevin Greutert
Commentary by writer/executive producer Leigh Whannell and executive producer James Wan
"Zombie" - a short student film by director Darren Lynn Bousman
"The Scott Tibbs Documentary" featurette
"The Making of Saw II" featurette
"The Story Behind the Story" featurette
"Gregg Hoffman: In Memorium" tribute to producer Gregg Hoffman
"Play Me" set-top game
Trailer

CLICK HERE to purchase from Amazon.com

Skinwalker (2005)

Plot Synopsis:  In SKINWALKER: CURSE OF THE SHAMAN, an attractive young woman studying mythology intends to make a documentary about a curse rumored to be put upon six teenagers who went missing years before. But Brook has little understanding of what she's getting herself into, as the Skinwalker lurks in a town filled with secrets, more than ready to strike again.  ~ VideoUniverse.com

DVD Features:  Keep Case
Letterbox
Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround - English
Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo - English
Subtitles - English, Spanish - Optional
Additional Release Material:
Deleted Scenes
Interviews - Director and Actor Interviews

CLICK HERE to purchase from Amazon.com

Slither (2006)

- trailer (flash)

Plot Synopsis:  Here's a gooey, hilarious, creepy horror film for the whole mutant cannibal family. Michael Rooker (HENRY: PORTRAIT OF A SERIAL KILLER) stars as Grant, a big bald guy from a small southern town who gets possessed by a meat-hungry parasite worm creature from space. Even under the alien influence he still loves his wife, Starla (Elizabeth Banks), but she's alarmed at his weird new habits, such as consuming all the local wildlife. The sheriff in town (Nathan Fillion) investigates. He still carries a torch for Starla from when they were kids, but once the squirming, slithering, and cannibalism begin in earnest, it becomes clear that this is no time for romance. SLITHER's combination of interesting characters, deadpan humor, gore aplenty, and genuine scares earns it a place alongside cult classics like RE-ANIMATOR and the various LIVING DEAD and EVIL DEAD films. Director/writer James Gunn wrote 2004's DAWN OF THE DEAD before this, and it's abundantly clear where his loyalties lie: SLITHER aims its acid-dripping, brain-sucking tongue right into the hearts of horror fans. Heads explode, monsters squiggle into gaping mouths, tentacles wrap around Banks's negligee-clad body, and the sheriff takes it all in his stride. There's even a twisted intergalactic love story somewhere in the chaos, as well as hordes of in-jokes for the fans. ~ VideoUniverse.com

DVD Features:  Region 1 Snap Case
Anamorphic Widescreen - 1.85
Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround - English, French, Spanish
Subtitles - English (SDH), French, Spanish - Optional
Additional Release Material:
Deleted Scenes with Optional Commentary by Director James Gunn
Extended Scenes with Optional Commentary by Director James Gunn
Feature Commentary - James Gunn - Director; Nathan Fillion - Actor
Featurette -
1. Visual Effects: step by Step
2. Slithery Set Tour with Nathan Fillion
3. WHO IS BILL PARDY?
4. THE SICK MIND AND SLIMY DAYS OF SLITHER
5. THE GOREHOUND GRILL: BREWIN' THE BLOOD
6. BRINGING SLITHER'S CREATURES TO LIFE
7. THE KING OF CULT: LLOYD KAUFAMN'S VIDEO DIARY
Gag Reel

Click here to purchase the FULL SCREEN or WIDESCREEN version from Amazon.com

ALSO BEING RELEASED THIS WEEK

The Ivory
Laguna Films - Spanish
Unrated - no further info
CLICK HERE to purchase from Amazon.com

Jail Bait/Glen & Glenda (1954)
Krb Music Companies - Unrated
Standard Screen - Soundtrack English
70 minutes - Color - NTSC
CLICK HERE to purchase from Amazon.com

Such are those who gathered at Don Hills in New York City this past October 17th as Michael Hein and Anthony Pepe kicked off this year's New York City Horror Film Festival - where lesser devils, minor demons, filmmakers, fans and actors alike all rose from the dead to partake in the opening festivities.  There were bloody decapitations and murderous psychotic grannies.  The gore dripped from the walls at Don Hills.  The stage screen flickering with shimmering lights and shadows of the horror film worlds freshest kills.  This years bands (Bipolar J, Secret Cervix, and Kaos From Order) raised the bar and kicked freakin' ass, willfully rupturing our eardrums with sharp, mad metal.  So with the horror world - you, me and the others - all gathered, buzzed, lit, sauced and spattered at the premiere watering hole for secret serial killers and fantasizers alike - from LA to Kansas - UK to Brooklyn - we slaughtered dark Hobgoblin lagers as thick crimson dripped from our earholes and the spirits of the dead danced in the reflection of our eyes.  Michael Hein and Anthony Pepe made everyone feel like they were at home, burying us in free t-shirts and dvds, testing every murder afficianado with horror trivia to tickle the synapses of your gray matter.  It was "the devil's rain", and it was bloodthirst quenching.  Hordes of sexy horror actresses and new directors you'll be hearing about all the upcoming year...  what a sinfully sweet, devilish taste of Hell it was.

This was the atmosphere of what is now becoming the official kick-off to the Halloween season to a lot of us in the New York City area.  No disrespect in the slightest to Screamfest out of LA - but the New York City Horror Film Festival is fast becoming THE most heralded and respected cellulous celebration of evil in the nation and possibly the world.  Not enough can be said about the staff that puts this together.  Its like a virtually free ticket for the common horror fan to walk in and drink and mingle amongst stars and directors and writers from everywhere, all feeling equally important and accessable at the venue.  There are no crap autograph booths trying to charge you for scribble on a piece of paper.  The NYCHFF is about the love of the genre - not a money making opportunity designed to gather fans and milk them dry of their dollars.  And this is in NYC of all places - where money usually falls from your pockets like leaves from the autumn trees.  Michael Hein - Anthony Pepe - you and your staff are the Santa Clauses of cinematic sin - and the kick off party at Don Hills was fantastic.  I speak for legions of us when I say to you all - thank you for your generosity and hard work.

Besides the maniacal live metal, and trailer trash between sets - Don Hill's opening night NYCHFF party also kicks off the horror short screenings.  They were fun on all accounts.  From a critical point of view (and we are there to differentiate the cream from the crop), Opening Night poses an interesting dilemma for those picked to debut this particular evening.  There's an interesting difference to this night, in that sometimes its hard to absorb film subtleties amongst a happy and vocal crowd of standing room only partygoers.  So unfortunately for those shorts that had any reliance on such things, it was the others that stood out to the crowd.

Lets take a quick look at two horror shorts that stood out magnanamously this evening.

"13 Ways to Die at Home" - directed by Lee Lanier:  Lee Lanier has been covered here at House of Horrors before ("For Dead Girls and Fans of Them").  His short "Little Dead Girl" was the animated horror filet mignon of 2005.  This year he has nailed me down as a fan, returning with "13 Ways to Die at Home" - a series of shorts within a short, each with a different wacked out, psychedelic 60's appearance, showing a twisted sense of humor and raising the roar of the crowd with each wacked horror slant.  While some shorts are drowned out by mass appreciation at the bar - Lee's short, for the second year in a row used the riot to his advantage.  Mark my words - Lee Lanier will be a name you will not be able to avoid in the future.  House of Horrors has always had a superior sixth sense for the cutting edge of "New Blood" quality horror and filmmakers on the horizon, and Lee is an exceptional director that deserves more attention.  HoH will eventually be getting with Lee for a closer look at his work - in the meantime you can take a look at his demo reel of "13 Ways to Die at Home", "Little Dead Girl" and others by clicking HERE.

"Dear Sweet Emma" - directed by John Cernak:   How could you not love dear sweet Emma - a delicate old grandma tinkering around in her kitchen who personifies the term, "killing with kindness".  What is at first an innocent elderly woman taking care of her peaceful primped home is soon not as it seems.  Instead of me telling you about it, why dont you take five minutes and check out the short which is playing at IFilm right now.  Click HERE for that.  You'll be glad you did. 

Other shorts playing on this evening were, "Casket Climber Insect God" by Brian Lonano - "No Second Chances" by Rafael De Leon Jr. - "Kisses" by Dominic Traverzo - "Butcher, Baker and Nightmare Maker" by Steffan Schulz - and "The Faeries of Blackheath Woods" by Ciaran Foy.  All were excellent and entertaining pieces of film.

House of Horrors kudos go out to everyone who attended and combined for such an upbeat evening - especially club owner Don Hill himself for hosting with such class and down to earthness at the same time.  The man is always amongst the crowd, and will even take the empty glasses from your table.  Gina Ramsden of Last Rites of the Dead looked absolutely incredible.   Everyone from filmmakers Patrick Rea and Ryan Jones of SenoReality Pictures, DP Frank Sabatella and director RJ Hannigan, director Kevin Shulman, festival director Michael Hein and staff, star horror author Jack Ketchum, director Kasey Ferguson and Don his axe weilding compadre' and their girlfriends, Adam Barnick - all the filmmakers and fans and press - for appearing and making the fifth annual NYCHFF kickoff so enjoyable.  It was an awesome night.  If you missed it, make plans for next year so there's no excuses, and get in on this party for 2007.  NYCHFF Opening Night at Don Hill's kickoff party - ass kicking, murderously delicious mayhem at its finest.  ROCK ON!