Our editor-in-chief Nate Yapp is proud to have contributed to the new book Hidden Horror: A Celebration of 101 Underrated and Overlooked Fright Flicks, edited by Aaron Christensen. Another contributors include Anthony Timpone, B.J. Colangelo, Dave Alexander, Classic-Horror.com's own Robert C. Ring and John W. Bowen. Pick up a copy today from Amazon.com!

Posts by Nate Yapp

New Universal Classic Horror Box Sets

Submitted by Nate Yapp on Thu, 2007-07-05 16:29

DVD Drive-In reports that Universal Home Video will be releasing two five-movie box sets as Best Buy exclusives sometime before Halloween. The sets will retail for about $20 each.

The first set, a "Horror Collection" will contain several sought after titles, including The Black Cat (1941), Man-Made Monster (1941), Horror Island (1941), Night Monster (1942), and Captive Wild Woman (1943).

The second set will be skewed towards science fiction and will include Dr. Cyclops (1940), Cult of the Cobra (1955), The Deadly Mantis (1957), The Land Unknown (1957), and The Leech Woman (1960).

More Details on Fox's "The Fly Collection"

Submitted by Nate Yapp on Mon, 2007-07-02 11:40

DVD Drive-In has more details on Fox Home Video's upcoming The Fly Collection. The box set, which will contain The Fly (1958), The Return of the Fly (1959), and (for the first time ever on home video in the US) The Curse of the Fly (1965). Additionally, DVD Drive-In has learned that David Hedison, star of The Fly, has recorded a commentary track for that film, moderated by David Del Valle of FilmsInReview.com. Del Valle said of the commentary: “David Hedison was in fine form for the duration of the taping. He had not seen the film for years so it was a fresh approach for him and he had fun with it. It was interesting to watch him look at himself as he appeared on film half a century ago.” In addition to the commentary track, the set will include two new featurettes -- one on the making of the films and another on Vincent Price, who co-starred in The Fly and The Return of the Fly.(read more...)

Details for Dark Sky's "Spider Baby" DVD

Submitted by Nate Yapp on Mon, 2007-07-02 11:33

Dread Central has received word for DVD producer Elijah Drenner on what fans can expect from Dark Sky Films' September 25 DVD release of Jack Hill's classic Spider Baby, or The Maddest Story Ever Told. Features will include:

A new commentary track by director Hill and co-star Sid Haig.
The Hatching of Spider Baby - a documentary featuring interviews with Hill, Haig, and a bevy of others from the Spider Baby cast and crew.
Spider Stravinsky: The Cinema Sounds of Ronald Stein - a brief featurette on the movie's composer.
The Merrye House Revisited - Jack Hill revisits the location where Spider Baby was filmed.

The DVD has its own MySpace page where the cover art will soon be revealed.

Cameron Diaz Opens "The Box"

Submitted by Nate Yapp on Thu, 2007-06-28 17:59

Cameron Diaz has signed on to play the lead in Richard "Donnie Darko" Kelly's upcoming horror flick The Box, according to Variety.com. The movie, which is based on the Richard Matheson short story "Button, Button," deals with a young woman who receives a box that will cause "certain things" to happen, depending which of the box's buttons are pressed. Media Rights Capital is fronting the film's entire $30 million-plus budget and will begin pursuing distribution deals in the fall. "My hope is to make a film that is incredibly suspenseful and broadly commercial, while still retaining my artistic sensibility," Kelly said.

Review: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1941)

Submitted by Nate Yapp on Thu, 2007-06-28 00:37

With an Oscar-winning director, a two-time Oscar-winner in the title role, and a number of future Oscar winners and nominees in the supporting cast, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's lavish 1941 adaptation of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde suffers from a surfeit of class. While director Victor Fleming creates a very literary-minded film, he misses the point of making a horror movie, removing much of the sadism and sordidness necessary to make Robert Louis Stevenson's story play well in the cinematic medium. Instead, we're left with something that's pretty, but ultimately hollow.(read more...)

Sony Remaking Hitchcock's "The Lodger"

Submitted by Nate Yapp on Wed, 2007-06-27 11:06

Sony Pictures will produce a remake of Alfred Hitchcock's 1927 Jack the Ripper thriller The Lodger, Variety.com reports. David Ondaatje is set to write and direct the film, which will take inspiration from the Marie Belloc Lowndes novel of the same name. However, this version of the story will be set in modern day Los Angeles and concern a copycat killer. No word yet on casting prospects.

Final Details on "Masters of Horror" Season 1 Box

Submitted by Nate Yapp on Mon, 2007-06-25 14:37

Fangoria.com has scored the final details on Anchor Bay/Starz Entertainment's "Masters of Horror" Season 1 box set. Coming August 28th, the set will collect all 13 episodes of Showtime's horror anthology series in a "mausoleum" box. Also included (and this is the new information) will be a fourteenth disc with some intriguing featurettes. They are:

"Masters of Horror" Dinner: Executive producer Mick Garris gathers the Season 1 directors to converse over a meal at Hollywood's Magic Castle restaurant.
"Masters of Horror" Director's Guild of America discussion
Two segments from Garris's 1980s cable talk show "Fantasy Film Festival", featuring Steven Spielberg and John Boorman.

The set's suggested retail price is set at $79.97, although you can expect it to be lower at online retailers like Amazon.com. The collection is limited to 20,000 units.

1 comment

Review: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1920)

Submitted by Nate Yapp on Mon, 2007-06-25 02:40

Of the countless cinematic adaptations of Robert Louis Stevenson's novella "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde", the most effective to this day is Paramount's 1920 version starring "the Great Profile", John Barrymore, in the title roles. Under the direction of John S. Robertson, and with the stunning performance of Barrymore, the film dips deep into the well of depravity that is Hyde, creating a thoroughly engaging experience.
(read more...)

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Week

Submitted by Nate Yapp on Mon, 2007-06-25 02:38

“He is not easy to describe. There is something wrong with his appearance; something displeasing, something downright detestable. I never saw a man I so disliked, and yet I scarce know why. He must be deformed somewhere; he gives a strong feeling of deformity, although I couldn’t specify the point. He’s an extraordinary-looking man, and yet I really can name nothing out of the way. No, sir; I can make no hand of it; I can’t describe him. And it’s not want of memory; for I declare I can see him this moment.”
(read more...)

AFI to Horror: Not on Our List

Submitted by Nate Yapp on Thu, 2007-06-21 11:38

Let's take a second to review the process of listing "best movies". The only word that can really be used to describe the process is "arbitrary." In the case of the AFI's "100 Best" lists, the American Film Institute's "experts" -- over 1,500 "leaders from the creative community", including directors, writers, actors, cinematographers, and editors -- vote from a list of 400 nominated films on which 100 are the very best. The film must be feature-length and American.(read more...)