Haunted Newsreel

Writer-director Jeff Thomas sent us the news that Warner Bros. has picked up his film Fallen Angels for theatrical and home video distribution in the United States via its Polychrome Pictures subdivision. In the film, the demolition of a turn of the century prison grinds to a halt when a 100 year old crime scene is discovered. Hidden deep underground is a chamber filled with the remains of several brutally slain children. As a CSI team arrives at the prison, an even more disturbing discovery is made that will eventually unveil a legion of seven demons and their even more chilling origins: each demon is responsible for one of the seven deadly sins.(read more...)

Although it had been long-rumored that actor Bruce Campbell would not be reprising the role of Elvis in Don Coscarelli's Bubba Ho-Tep sequel Bubba Nosferatu, the actor confirmed the news to Fangoria Radio on Friday. Apparently, the issue came down to the script. "[Don Coscarelli and I] got to a few points ... that we couldn't reconcile. I want to keep our friendship, so we parted ways. So I'm not part of that project." Coscarelli is reportedly thinking about recasting the part, but acknowleged to Fangoria that it would be difficult to fill Campbell's shoes.

Bubba Nosferatu's plot as it stands now involves Elvis fighting Vegas-based vampires while dealing with the manipulations of his manager, Colonel Tom Parker (to be played by Paul Giamatti).

More news from Campbell, including the status of the Evil Dead remake, can be found at Fangoria.com.

Seventy-five years ago, Japanese production company Toho Company Ltd. started its life near the Hankyu Railway. Originally named Tokyo-Takarazuka Theater Company, it would grow to be the largest film production studio in Japan. For sci-fi/horror fans, they are perhaps most famous for their kaiju ("strange beast") films, most of them featuring the radioactive dinosaur Godzilla. They also produced Masaki Kobayashi's horror anthology Kwaidan (1964).(read more...)

Dimension Films is running a contest to promote Rob Zombie's remake of Halloween (opening August 31st in theaters everywhere). Go to www.zombieshalloweencontest.com and upload a photograph depicting your take on the Halloween series for a chance to win a screening of the new Halloween and a Rob Zombie prize pack (including a limited edition t-shirt, four CDs, and DVDs of Zombie's previous two films House of 1000 Corpses and The Devil's Rejects).(read more...)