Haunted Newsreel

To me, the horror film genre is so close to being past beyond saving, with only certain films giving me a slight glimmer of hope for the future (Trick 'r Treat). This is mainly because the genre is completely flooded with several mainstream remakes of classic horror films, first being started off with Gus Van Sant's shot by shot remake of Psycho in 1998. Now, don't get me wrong, there have been several good remakes that pay homage to the original while also taking a concept into an entirely different direction (The Thing, The Fly, The Blob, etc). But being in a generation where horror remakes are the norm, it's frankly just getting tiring to see remakes of classics (Halloween, Friday the 13^th, etc) and obscure cult favorites (Black Christmas, Maniac, etc) being made and released year after year.(read more...)

Disheartened by a conversation he overheard at his local video rental store, graphic designer Eric Slager felt that word needed to get out on the awesomeness that is Vincent Price. So he created an awesome poster that presents the titles of some of Price's greatest works in the shape of the actor's face, garnished with his meticulously coiffed hair and waxed moustache. You can read the whole story at Slager's blog. It's a really cool piece of art for which we are happy to boost the signal.

Following in the footsteps of the Warner Archive Collection, Columbia/Sony has announced its own burn-on-demand DVD service, Screen Classics on Request. Among the 100 initially available titles are several of interest to horror fans, including the rarely-seen The Soul of a Monster (1944), a brand-new transfer of The Spiritualist (1948, previously available in cheap movie multi-packs as The Amazing Mr. X), and Arthur Hiller's killer bat movie Nightwing (1979). All titles are available for purchase (typically at around $19.94 a pop) at the Columbia Classics website.  A full list of horror-related titles appears after the jump.(read more...)

Roy Ward Baker, who directed several British horror films in the late 1960s and early 1970s, passed away in his sleep on Tuesday, according to Guardian.co.uk. He was 93 years old. Born in 1916, Baker worked his way up the the ranks of the British film industry in the 1930s and 40s, moving from minor jobs to assistant director (he worked with Hitchcock on The Lady Vanishes). In 1947, he made his directorial debut with The October Man, which he made for Two Cities Films in 1947. He directed a number of notable pictures in the 1950s, including Don't Bother to Knock (starring Richard Widmark and Marilyn Monroe) and A Night to Remember (which documented the sinking of the RMS Titanic). As part of his extensive television work in the early 1960s, Baker helmed the episode of The Avengers which introduced Diana Rigg's Emma Peel to the world. (read more...)