Classic-Horror.com | Reviewing the History of Horror Movies

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!

"Day of the Dead" Remake Reshoots

Submitted by Nate Yapp on Tue, 2007-06-19 14:08

Jeffrey Reddick, screenwriter on the upcoming Day of the Dead remake, recently gave fellow horror site Arrow in the Head an update on the project's progress. Said Reddick: "I'm not sure when the movie's coming out. I know they're doing some reshoots very soon..." Reddick will be doing some additional rewrites on the film, as will director Steve Miner (Friday the 13th Part 2 and Part 3, Lake Placid).(read more...)

Review: See No Evil (2006)

Submitted by Timothy J. Rush on Tue, 2007-06-19 00:00

Very much a WWE in-product, written by their staff and starring one of their wrestlers, it would be easy to dismiss this story of a murdering psychopath as nothing more than slasher-trash. But given the chance to play out in its entirety, See No Evil, while not a diamond in the rough, is perhaps a nice quartz in the mud.

The film's tale is simple. A cop busts in on an eye-plucking killer, shoots him in the head, and loses an arm for his trouble. Flash forward several years, and this grizzled cop is now taking a group of young, promiscuous convicts out on a work detail to renovate the run-down Blackwell Hotel. And lo and behold, the hotel is secret home of the not-quite-dead killer from that previous encounter. Cue murder, mayhem, mutilation, and a dash of shower voyeurism. A simple formula that plays out quite well in its simplicity.
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Fox Announces Classic Horror DVDs for September

Submitted by Nate Yapp on Mon, 2007-06-18 16:35

More from the DVD Drive-In folks. In addition to the MGM releases detailed here, Fox will be releasing DVDs of a number of films from its own vaults on September 11, 2007. Included is a double feature of the Amicus Tales from the Crypt (1972) and Vault of Horror (1973), both making their DVD premieres. Other two-in-one deals include Chosen Survivors / The Earth Dies Screaming (the latter directed by Terence Fisher), Devils of the Darkness / Witchcraft, and Blueprint for Murder / Man in the Attic. All of these sets are expected to retail for around $14.99.(read more...)

Witchfinder General Comes to DVD

Submitted by Nate Yapp on Mon, 2007-06-18 16:22

Michael Reeves' 1968 horror film Witchfinder General (also known as The Conqueror Worm) will finally be coming to DVD in the USA, according to DVD Drive-in. The film follows Matthew Hopkins (Vincent Price) as a man who preys on the superstitions of 17th Century England, torturing "witches" for a fee. The new DVD will contain Reeves' director's cut of the film, as well as the original score by Paul Ferris, which had been replaced in all previous US video editions of the film. Producer Phillip Waddilove and actor Ian Oglivy have recorded a commentary for the release, and Waddilove's personal collection of production stills will be included as well.(read more...)

Review: Nightmare (1981)

Submitted by Nate Yapp on Sat, 2007-06-16 02:00

Romano Scavolini's Nightmare (better known under its UK title Nightmare in a Damaged Brain) has a history of controversy and censorship. The video was banned during the "Video Nasty" debacle in Great Britain and remained so until 2005. Additionally, Tom Savini, who is credited with the special effects, has publicly denied that he worked on the film, although there is some evidence to suggest he served as a consultant to effects artist Ed French. Further, the fact that Nightmare has had spotty availability on VHS and no availability on Region 1 DVD has lent the film an air of foreboding mystery. Don't let any preassigned notions about Nightmare deceive you. While it's a worthy film on several levels, it suffers from Scavolini trying too hard to give the typically juvenile slasher subgenre an adult sensibility. (read more...)

"Pathology" Set Visit

Submitted by Emily Langton on Fri, 2007-06-15 23:59

The camera slides on a track, following actor Michael Weston as he pontificates to his fellow pathologists. A murder victim lies on a slab in the center of the room. Like so many detectives before them, these characters are trying to figure out the cause of death. Unlike most murder mysteries, though, they're not trying to bring the killer to justice. In fact, the killer is sitting in the room, drinking a beer and watching the proceedings with a smug look. For these pathology students, killing is a game - a way to show off their smarts. Who among them can commit the perfect murder; a death so subtle that their fellow killers can't even detect the cause?(read more...)

Welcome to the New Classic-Horror.com!

Submitted by Nate Yapp on Fri, 2007-06-15 23:58

You've probably noticed a few things that are just a bit... different around here. After a lot of hard work by a lot of different people, the brand-new Classic-Horror.com has finally launched on the site's eighth birthday. We're running on the Drupal content management system, which allows us the flexibility to offer all sorts of new features. I'm really excited about the possibilities that this opens up for the future of the site.

What you can expect in the new Classic-Horror:(read more...)

Val Lewton Films Get Twisted Remakes

Submitted by Nate Yapp on Fri, 2007-06-15 11:36

Twisted Pictures, the genre arm of Evolution Entertainment, will produce remakes of four classic horror films in a joint venture with RKO Pictures. The deal would allow Twisted to follow in the footsteps of Robert Zemeckis's Dark Castle pictures, substituting Val Lewton in for William Castle. Three of the four remake titles have been selected: I Walked with a Zombie (1943), The Body Snatcher (1945), and Bedlam (1946).(read more...)

Brad Caleb Kane Digs Into "The Historian"

Submitted by Nate Yapp on Fri, 2007-06-15 11:22

Brad Caleb Kane has signed on to write a feature-length adaptation of Elizabeth Kostova's novel "The Historian" for Sony, Variety.com reports. Kane, who has done stints as a vocalist (Aladdin) and an actor (Starship Troopers, an episode of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer"), has been making a name for himself as a screenwriter with These City Walls, a script that has been making the rounds in Hollywood. Kostova's novel involves a teenage girl delving into the work of her father: discovering the truth about Vlad the Impaler. Said producer Douglas Wick regarding their choice of screenwriter: "One of the things we've been looking for is someone who could not only capture the visceral, sexy part of the story, but who also has the talent to make it credible."

David Manners

Submitted by Nate Yapp on Fri, 2007-06-15 02:19

David Manners was born Rauff de Ryther Daun Acklom in Halifax, Nova Scotia on April 30, 1901 (although accounts of his birth year vary from 1900 to 1905). At sixteen, Manners made his stage debut in a high school production of William Shakespeare's The Tempest. After receiving his B.S. in Forestry from the University of Toronto, he joined Basil Sydney's Touring Co.. When he wasn't acting, he held down odd jobs around the United States and in Canada, before finally settling in Hollywood in 1930.