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!

Haunted Newsreel

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Universal and Alex Proyas Team for "Dracula Year Zero"

Alex Proyas (I, Robot and Dark City) will direct Dracula Year Zero for Universal, reports Variety.com. The movie will be about Vlad the Impaler, the historical figure that served as an inspiration for Bram Stoker when he wrote Dracula in the late 1800s. Proyas was reportedly attracted to the screenplay, written by Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless, saying that it plays off the horror and sympathy you have for Vlad, a man who "sells his soul to the Devil to save his kingdom and family."

Regarding the film, screenwriter Sharpless said, "One of the cool things about this is that we're doing it at Universal. This is the home of monster movies."

Scott Glosserman to Direct "Playing House"

Variety.com reports that Scott Glosserman, writer-director of Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon, has been tapped by Paramount Vantage to direct Playing House, a film he pitched to the studio with Macy Raymond. Glosserman and Raymond will also write the screenplay together. The story of the film involves a couple who move into an empty island mansion and are preyed upon. Glosserman is also working on the script for the fantasy film Tal.

Strike Entertainment in Pre-Production on "Black Lagoon" Remake

Buried in Variety.com's news story about Brothers of Invention is the tidbit that Strike Entertainment (Dawn of the Dead '04, Slither) is in pre-production on the long-rumored remake of Universal's 1954 classic Creature from the Black Lagoon. Producer Gary Ross (Pleasantville, Big) has already written the screenplay, and Breck Eisner (Sahara) is set to direct.

Ebert, AFI, and the Dead Teenager Movie

Let me begin by saying that there's a certain irony in the story I'm about to tell. I've spent the last week and a half in defense of the so-called "Dead Teenager Movie". When I started Classic-Horror, eight years back when I was younger and dumber, it was meant as a shining spire of enlightment, broadcasting a message of excellent horror in what I perceived to be a wasteland of Freddy Krueger and Jason Voorhees fansites. My notion of horror on the Internet has changed significantly since then, as has my appreciation of the slasher genre.(read more...)

More on MGM's Vincent Price and Roger Corman Box Sets

DVD Drive-In has the scoop on MGM's upcoming Vincent Price and Roger Corman box sets. The Price set is being advertised as part of MGM's "Scream Legends Collection", which indicates we could see more box sets of a similar nature in the future. Films in the set include The Abominable Dr. Phibes, Dr. Phibes Rises Again, Tales of Terror, Twice-Told Tales, Theatre of Blood, Madhouse, and the new special edition of The Witchfinder General. An extras disc will contain a documentary ("Vincent Price: Renaissance Man") and two featurettes ("The Art of Fear" and "Working with Vincent Price"). The set will be available on September 11th.(read more...)

Final Poster for "The Invasion"

Cinematical has posted what they report as the final poster for the upcoming Invasion of the Body Snatchers remake, The Invasion. The film, due to come out August 17th, stars Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig. The plot concerns an alien disease which robs the infected of their humanity.

New Universal Classic Horror Box Sets

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"

The Fly Collection

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

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"

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.

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