News

Wayne Osmond, who co-founded the Osmonds, scored four Top 10 singles with the group and was a regular on the hit variety show Donny & Marie starring his younger brother and sister, died January 1 in Utah after a stroke. He was 73.

The news was confirmed in a Facebook post by his brother Merrill Osmond, who wrote in part: “I’ve never known a man that had more humility. A man with absolute no guile. An individual that was quick to forgive and had the ability to show unconditional love to everyone he ever met. Until I see him again, know that he was loved.”

Born on August 28, 1951, in Ogden, Utah, Wayne Osmond began singing with his siblings Alan, Merrill and Jay in a barbershop quartet called The Osmond Brothers during the late 1950s. The boys’ father, George Osmond, got them an audition on The Lawrence Welk Show, but they weren’t hired.

As Sheriff Brackett (played by Charles Cyphers) says in John Carpenter’s 1978 classic Halloween, “everyone is entitled to one good scare”. Any good Halloween movie should have at least one good scare in it, so now that the holiday the film was named after is upon us, we here at Arrow in the Head have decided to look back over all of the Halloween movies and put together a list of moments that get our hearts beating faster and put us on the edge of our seats. On the Halloween: Best Scares in the Franchise list below, you’ll find our picks for the top 5 scariest moments. Did your favorite make the cut?

Halloween (1978) – Nurse Car Attack

It’s a dark and stormy Halloween Eve. Nurse Marion Chambers (Nancy Stephens) has been sent to the Smith’s Grove Sanitarium with Michael Myers’ doctor Sam Loomis (Donald Pleasence) to get the...

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Irony, thy name is Amazon. Long before Iron Man ever arrived on the scene in his fancy metal suit and arsenal of deadly weapons, director Paul Verhoeven had already perfected the art of lampooning America's obsession with hyper-militarized heroes acting as agents of the state with "RoboCop." Action fans ought to be well familiar with how the 1987 classic had one of the first (and arguably final) words on the rise of the police state in modern society in modern genre fiction, telling the story of a sinister mega-conglomerate named (what else?) Omni Consumer Products violently spearheading the newest technological horror: taking a dead cop killed in the line of duty, resurrecting him in the disturbing "body" of a metallic droid, arming it to the teeth, and setting it loose upon the streets of a futuristic Detroit. What could possibly go wrong!

Killer Collectibles highlights five of the most exciting new horror products announced each and every week, from toys and apparel to artwork, records, and much more.

Here are the coolest horror collectibles unveiled this week!]

RoboCop 2 4K Uhd from Scream Factory

RoboCop 2 will protect the innocent on 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray on June 18 via Scream Factory. The 1990 sequel has been newly scanned in 4K from the original camera negative with Dolby Vision.

Irvin Kershner (Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back) directs from a script by comic book legend Frank Miller and Walon Green (Eraser). Peter Weller returns to star with Nancy Allen, Dan O’Herlihy, Tom Noonan, Belinda Bauer, and Gabriel Damon.

Special features include: commentaries by CG supervisor Paul M. Sammon and the RoboDoc: The Creation of RoboCop documentarians; Corporate Wars: The Making of RoboCop 2; Machine Parts: The FX of RoboCop 2; Ocp Declassified; and more.

Species...

Director Nick Castle’s 1984 sci-fi film The Last Starfighter is one of the most revered cult classics of the 1980s, so it has been no surprise to hear that the film’s screenwriter Jonathan R. Betuel is eager to revive the property is some way. Eight years ago, it was announced that Betuel was working on a spin-off TV series called The Starfighter Chronicles, which would focus on alien law enforcement. That project has never made it into production. Five years ago, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story writer Gary Whitta revealed that he was working with Betuel on a reboot called The Last Starfighters. That one even got a sizzle reel, but still didn’t make it into production. Now, during an interview with Gizmodo, actor Wyatt Russell revealed that he’d love to see a remake of The Last Starfighter.

While doing the press rounds with his father...

A couple months ago, we heard that Neca had created a figure of Tom Atkins’ character Dr. Challis from Halloween III: Season of the Witch (watch it Here) that would only be available for purchased by fans attending the Halloween: 45 Years of Terror convention. That convention has since come and gone – and now Neca has put the Challis figure up for sale on their website! The figure comes with a Silver Shamrock coaster signed by Atkins himself and can be purchased at This Link. It’s going for the price of $75.

Written and directed by Tommy Lee Wallace, Halloween III: Season of the Witch has the following synopsis: Hospital emergency room Dr. Daniel “Dan” Challis and Ellie Grimbridge, the daughter of a murder victim, uncover a terrible plot by small-town mask maker Conal Cochran, a madman who’s planning a Halloween mass murder utilizing an ancient Celtic ritual. The ritual...

2023 marks the 45th anniversary of the release of John Carpenter‘s classic slasher Halloween and the birth of the Halloween franchise, and the franchise’s producers at Trancas International Films will be celebrating the anniversary by bringing the Halloween: 45 Years of Terror convention to Pasadena, California this fall. The convention will be held from September 29th through October 1st in the Pasadena Convention Center… and it has now been revealed that convention attendees will have the exclusive opportunity to purchase a Neca-created figure of Tom Atkins’ character Dr. Challis from Halloween III: Season of the Witch (watch it Here)!

HorrorHound magazine reported, “Neca has teamed up with Sean Clark of Horror’s Hallowed Grounds to develop an exclusive action figure to be offered at the the upcoming Halloween: 45 Years of Terror convention in Pasadena, California. The figure in question is that of Dr. Challis from Halloween III: Season of the Witch!

Of all of Hollywood’s attempts to cash in on the video game craze of the 1980s, The Last Starfighter trails only Tron as the decade’s most fondly nostalgized entry in the video game movie’s micro boom. Like Tron, Nick Castle’s film is a demonstration of then-new CGI technology, which means that inevitably its heavy reliance on wireframe animations and blocky, thickly pixelated objects has very much aged, though the fact that its visual effects are tethered to the game technology of the day further highlights it as a relic of its era. Perhaps the one area in which it’s ahead of its time is in its conceit of an arcade game being used as a military recruiting tool.

At the center of The Last Starfighter is a teenager named Alex Rogan (Lance Guest), who lives in a trailer park at the dusty outskirts of his hometown.

A new episode of The Arrow in the Head Show has just been released, and in this one hosts John “The Arrow” Fallon and Lance Vlcek are looking back at the 1990 sci-fi action sequel RoboCop 2 (watch it Here), which sees our hero RoboCop trying to get a new drug called Nuke off the streets of Detroit… and then battling a drug dealer who has been turned into a RoboCop himself. To find out what The Arrow and Lance think of RoboCop 2, check out the video embedded above.

Directed by Irvin Kershner from a screenplay by Frank Miller and Walon Green, RoboCop 2 has the following synopsis: Cyborg Detroit policeman Alex Murphy is the sole officer on duty after the police force goes on strike against evil conglomerate Omni Consumer Products and its push to foreclose on the city of Detroit. Aside from dealing with the normal level of crime,...

The Halloween franchise has gone through various retcons, making way for different timelines, and it even has one movie that isn’t part of the Michael Myers saga, yet one element from it appears in the reboot trilogy: Silver Shamrock, and a wild theory explains how this is possible. In 1978, John Carpenter introduced the world to slasher Michael Myers, the villain of his horror movie Halloween, which spawned a franchise that has had different timelines and versions, and after catching up with Michael and Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) in Halloween II, the saga took a turn with its third movie.

Titled Halloween III: Season of the Witch, the movie left Michael Myers and Laurie Strode aside and instead told the story of Dr. Dan Challis (Tom Atkins) and Ellie Grimbridge (Stacey Nelkin), who team up to investigate a mysterious murder. This leads them to Conal Cochran (Dan O’Herlihy), the...

"RoboCop" was a hot favorite on the school playground when I was a kid. Stories of brutal cop killings and boardroom bloodbaths joined the head-popping scene from "Scanners" and the gruesome exploits of Freddy Krueger as the kind of viewing choice that separated the cool kids from the rest of us. Or at least, separated those who had access to their parents' video rental card from those who didn't.

I caught up with it again several years ago after a gap of about two decades, going in expecting a blast of pure '80s nostalgia. I got a blast alright, but there was nothing sentimental about it. Seeing it again as an adult made me realize that "RoboCop" isn't just a fun movie, it's a great one. Paul Verhoeven directs the hell out of it and there is plenty of substance and style to go with the over-the-top action.

Like all the best sci-fi dystopias,...

It’s time for a new episode of The Manson Brothers Show, which is hosted by the writers/stars of the horror comedy The Manson Brothers Midnight Zombie Massacre – Chris Margetis (Stone Manson) and Mike Carey (Skull Manson) – and in this one the boys are celebrating Halloween nine months early by taking in a viewing of Halloween III: Season of the Witch (watch it Here). To find out what they had to say about Halloween III, check out the video embedded above!

Written and directed by Tommy Lee Wallace, Halloween III: Season of the Witch has the following synopsis: Hospital emergency room Dr. Daniel “Dan” Challis and Ellie Grimbridge, the daughter of a murder victim, uncover a terrible plot by small-town mask maker Conal Cochran, a madman who’s planning a Halloween mass murder utilizing an ancient Celtic ritual. The ritual involves a boulder stolen from Stonehenge, the use of...

Halloween III: Season Of The Witch ends on a hauntingly ambiguous note, but its alternate ending would have been the franchise's most disturbing. Halloween III took the series in a Very different direction from the first two movies, ditching Michael Myers and the slasher genre entirely. Time has been kind to Season Of The Witch, but the sequel was widely hated upon release for its lack of connection to the original two. While it was intended to launch Halloween as an anthology series - with each sequel telling a different horror tale on Halloween night - the backlash to the film saw that didn't happen.

Halloween III currently ends with protagonist Dan Challis (Tom Atkins) frantically calling TV stations to get them to turn off a Silver Shamrock commercial. This advert is part of a planned mass sacrifice of children wearing Silver Shamrock Halloween masks, and the movie ends with...

Halloween as we know it has finally come to an end. No longer will The Boogeyman be haunting the streets of Haddonfield. With the release of Halloween Ends, and before the series is inevitably rebooted again, it’s time now to take stock of the franchise and its best moments. Over the course of 44 years, the Michael Myers saga has given us plenty of frights. There have been exciting highs and terribly grim lows. Through it all, there’s always been something worth talking about, no matter how divisive.

While the franchise’s carnage is always up for discussion, I wanted to focus in on those non-kill scenes一mostly, I may have snuck in one or two一that linger with you long after the movie has ended. From character monologues to heart-pounding chase sequences (and everything in between), this list celebrates the 20 best scenes in the Halloween universe, including a few from...

‘Tis the season to cover the Halloween film franchise heavily, and we have been doing that here on JoBlo and Arrow in the Head this month. Not only have we been running articles and videos about the new film, Halloween Ends, but we’ve also looked into the making of Halloween 4 and Halloween 5, had a discussion about Halloween 5, deemed that sequel to be Awfully Good, looked at outlines for an alternative version of Halloween 5 and an unmade Halloween / Hellraiser crossover, and covered Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers with a Black Sheep video. Now it’s time for another episode in the Black Sheep video series, and this time we’re looking back at the biggest oddball of the Halloween franchise. The sequel that drifts away from the story of Michael Myers. It’s 1982’s Halloween III: Season of the Witch (watch it Here), and you can...

Basically obligated to make another Halloween sequel but hoping to leave Michael Myers behind, producers John Carpenter and Debra Hill decided to try to turn the franchise into an anthology series, where each film would tell a different story set on Halloween. Nigel Kneale was hired to write the initial script for what became Halloween III: Season of the Witch (watch it Here), and Carpenter and Hill’s pal Tommy Lee Wallace was hired to direct the film. After watching his movie get rejected by viewers when it was released in 1982 and then gain cult classic status over the decades, Wallace has taken it upon himself to write a tell-all book about the production of his Halloween sequel. The book is titled Halloween 3: Where the Hell is Michael Myers? – The Definitive History of Horror’s Most Misunderstood Film, and is going to be available from Bear Manor Media this November.

Spoilers for the "Halloween" franchise, including "Halloween Ends," follow.

"Halloween Ends," the latest (and possibly last?) entry in the "Halloween" franchise, goes to unexpected places. It takes big swings, introduces new characters, and unfolds in a fairly unpredictable manner. Some have taken issue with such drastic changes, but here's the thing: big, weird swings are nothing new for the "Halloween" series. Indeed, part of what makes the "Halloween" franchise so memorable is its flexibility — Michael Myers' never-ending murder quest has been shaped and reshaped in different ways through a score of films.

And that's part of the fun. If you're a fan who only wants these films to play the hits — The Shape stalking teens through Haddonfield — there are multiple movies that offer that. But there's something to be said for the out-there, unconventional, big-swing "Halloween" movies. Movies that take that familiar formula and smash it to bites, asking if...

This article contains major spoilers for "Halloween Ends."

Over four decades since John Carpenter's seminal horror masterpiece, the "Halloween" series has finally been laid to rest with "Halloween Ends." In the world of slasher movies, labeling something as the "final chapter" is a nice gesture, but these franchises rarely ever stay dead. Although David Gordon Green's conclusion makes it explicitly clear that his Michael Myers (James Jude Courtney), the seemingly immortal villain, has taken a new shape in the form of literal mincemeat after the town exacts its pound of flesh once and for all.

It asks if "Halloween H20" had actually stuck by its ending, rather than disregarding its finality for "Halloween: Resurrection."

In the closing moments of "Halloween Ends," it's implied that Haddonfield, and by extension Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis), can finally rest now that Michael has been put to pasture. But for the folks...

This is not another “Halloween III is good actually” article. After forty years, its reappraisal as a genre classic seems to be more or less complete. It is true that for years the absence of Michael Myers, Laurie Strode, and Dr. Loomis led many fans of the Halloween movies to confusion, rejection, or outright rage against the film, but as time has passed, tempers have cooled, and the film has been assessed on its own terms. Though John Carpenter’s original masterpiece is generally acknowledged as the apex of the franchise, Halloween III: Season of the Witch is, at least for many, the film that captures the essence of the Halloween season better than any other in the series. By looking to the ancient past and combining it with current American celebrations and cultural rituals, it creates a tapestry that reflects the “Season of the Witch” in a way that...

In the modern era of movie making, where the franchise is king, sequels haven’t just become a byproduct of box office success, they’ve become an inevitability.

Nowhere is this better exemplified than in the world of horror. Deliver 90 minutes plus of scares to large swathes of the cinema-going public and the chances are an order for seconds will be up before the original movie has even left multiplexes.

Blame it on market forces and the fact movie-making is fundamentally a money-making enterprise, but the results have proven gruesome for fans, in every sense of the word.

While critically-lauded sequels like The Godfather Part II and The Empire Strikes Back were the result of careful planning and expert execution, horror sequels have, by and large, been about studios striking while the iron is hot.

The result is a series of largely repetitive follow-ups that crank up the gore to...

Click here to read the full article.

On July 13, 1984, Universal debuted Nick Castle’s sci-fi actioner The Last Starfighter in theaters. The Hollywood Reporter’s original review, headlined “‘Starfighter’ summer tonic for youthful sci-fi film enthusiasts,” is below:

The Last Starfighter is a fight science-fiction adventure that may prove a summer tonic to young viewers whose heads swirl with notions of alien planets, forces and intergalactic warriors. For others, this Universal/Lorimar production may be an all-too-familiar trek through familiar plot terrain and special effects wizardry.

Lance Guest stars as a recent high school grad who’s a videogame whiz. Guest lives in a trailer park and aspires to bigger things. He wants to go away to school, not just the local community college, but doesn’t have the funds. The best thing about his life is his frisky girl friend (Catherine Mary Stewart) and the escapist time he spends,...

Most noted for its troubled production background, this hospital-set murder thriller turns a doctor into a detective: James Coburn’s medico undertakes an amateur investigation of a crime involving an illegal abortion, and the cover-up thereof. Although tangled up in the crazy James Aubrey-Kirk Kerkorian regime at MGM, Blake Edwards’ film can boast a strong supporting cast: Jennifer O’Neill, Pat Hingle, Elizabeth Allan, Dan O’Herlihy, James Hong, Michael Blodgett, Regis Toomey and John Hillerman.

The Carey Treatment

Blu-ray

Warner Archive Collection

1972 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 101 min. / Available at Amazon.com / General site Wac-Amazon / Street Date May 10, 2022 / 21.99

Starring: James Coburn, Jennifer O’Neill, Pat Hingle, Skye Aubrey, Elizabeth Allan, Dan O’Herlihy, James Hong, Michael Blodgett, Regis Toomey, Jennifer Edwards, John Hillerman, Alex Drier, Robert Mandan, Melissa Tormé-March.

Cinematography: Frank Stanley

Art Director: Alfred Sweeney

Film Editor: Ralph E. Winters

Original Music: Roy Budd

Screenplay by “James P. Bonner” and...

By Lee Pfeiffer

The Warner Archive has released the 1972 MGM thriller The Carey Treatment on Blu-ray.  James Coburn has one of his best roles as Dr. Peter Carey, a rebellious but esteemed pathologist who moves to Boston to take a prominent position at one of the city's most highly regarded hospitals. The charismatic Carey loses no time in gaining friends, alienating top brass and bedding the comely chief dietician (Jennifer O'Neill). However, he soon finds himself embroiled in a politically volatile investigation when a fellow surgeon is arrested for performing an illegal abortion on the 15 year-old daughter of the hospital's crusty administrator (Dan O'Herlihy). (The movie was released a year before the landmark Roe V. Wade decision that legalized abortion in America and now appears to be on the verge of being reversed.) Coburn believes his friend's protestations of innocence and decides to launch his own investigation into the matter.

Arrow Video bumps yet another of its top special edition titles up to 4K Ultra HD, just for home theater enthusiasts after the best and brightest of big screen experiences. The movie looks better than ever, and although the unrated version still packs too much gore overkill for average viewers, we respect the Horror-Comic vibe it was meant to conjure. As sci-fi satire Robo still carries a big stick: Edward Neumeier’s anti-corporate, anti-privatization message comes through loud, clear, and profane.

RoboCop 4K

4K Ultra HD Steelbook

Arrow Video

1987 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 103 min. / Street Date April 12, 2022 / Available from / 49.95

Starring: Peter Weller, Nancy Allen, Dan O’Herlihy, Ronny Cox, Kurtwood Smith, Miguel Ferrer, Robert DoQui, Ray Wise, Felton Perry, Paul McCrane.

Cinematography: Sol Negrin, Jost Vacano

Production Design: William Sandell

Special Effecs and Makeup: Rob Bottin, Peter Kuran, Rocco Gioffre, Phil Tippett, Harry Walton, Tom St. Amand, Robert Blalack

Film Editor: Frank J. Urioste...

Gavan O’Herlihy, an actor whose extensive roster of roles in TV and film often was overshadowed by a character that famously evaporated — he played Chuck Cunningham, eldest son of the central Happy Days family, who exited with barely a subsequent mention — has died. He was 70.

The Dublin-born actor died Sept. 15 of undisclosed causes in Bath, England. His death was first reported by The Irish Echo newspaper.

Ron Howard, who starred as Chuck’s little brother Richie Cunningham on the hit ABC 1970s sitcom, tweeted: “I knew him as the 1st of 2 Chucks on #HappyDays & then as Airk in #Willow where I had the pleasure of directing him. A talented actor with a big free spirit.”

After making seven appearances in 1974 during the first season of Happy Days, O’Herlihy vanished from series; his character would appear in two additional episodes, played by Randolph Roberts, before disappearing for good. O’Herlihy...

It happens every time: we want to cruelly betray somebody, but Love keeps getting in the way. When evil Dan Duryea sics con-man louse John Payne on the saintly war widow Joan Caulfield, three other women come tagging along as well, ’cause Payne is just too attractive. The swindle in George Sherman’s unsure noir gets uglier and then loses its way in the third act, with clunker dialogue and a climax that dissolves when it should resolve. Look out for super femme input from Shelley Winters, Dorothy Hart and Patricia Alphin. It’s an early featured role for Winters, and she doesn’t hold back.

Larceny

Blu-ray

Kl Studio Classics

1948 / B&w / 1:37 flat Academy / 89 min. / Street Date July 13, 2021 / available through Kino Lorber / 24.95

Starring: John Payne, Joan Caulfield, Dan Duryea, Shelley Winters, Dorothy Hart, Richard Rober, Dan O’Herlihy, Nicholas Joy, Percy Helton, Walter Greaza, Patricia Alphin, Gene Evans.

Cinematography:...

“Greetings, Starfighter. You have been recruited by the Star League to defend the frontier against Xur and the Ko-Dan armada.”

For those of you who remember seeing director Nick Castle’s sci-fi gem in theaters during the summer of 1984, those words are ingrained in your memory!

The Last Startfighter tells the story Alex Rogan (Lance Guest), an arcade game whizz-kid whose wildest dreams comes true when he finds himself enlisted to fight in an interstellar war. The movie also starred Dan O’Herlihy, Catherine Mary Stewart and the great Robert Preston as “Centauri”. It’s still a fun, great film to watch!

Now screenwriter Gary Whitta has revealed the sizzle reel for The Last Starfighters, the sequel which fans have long been waiting for.

Here’s the sizzle reel for the Last Starfighter sequel I’ve been working on with original creator Jon Betuel. Thanks so much to Matt Allsopp (Rogue...

Filmmakers/authors discuss the movies they wish more people were familiar with.

Movies Referenced In This Episode

Eurocrime! The Italian Cop and Gangster Films That Ruled the ’70s (2012)

Live Like A Cop, Die Like A Man (1976)

Island of Lost Souls (1932)

Lost Soul: The Doomed Journey of Richard Stanley’s Island of Dr. Moreau (2014)

Top Gun (1986)

Water Power (1977)

Taxi Driver (1976)

In Fabric (2018)

A Climax of Blue Power (1974)

Forced Entry (1975)

Once Upon A Time In America (1984)

Nashville Girl (1976)

Ms .45 (1981)

Act of Vengeance a.k.a. Rape Squad (1974)

High Plains Drifter (1973)

Design For Living (1933)

Trouble In Paradise (1932)

Melody (1971)

Oliver! (1968)

Moonrise Kingdom (2012)

That’ll Be The Day (1973)

Stardust (1974)

The Errand Boy (1961)

Looney Tunes: Back In Action (2003)

The Bellboy (1960)

Which Way To The Front? (1970)

Hardly Working (1980)

A Night In Casablanca (1946)

The Cocoanuts (1929)

Duck Soup (1933)

Boeing Boeing (1965)

Confessions of a Young American Housewife (1974)

Cockfighter (1974)

The Second Civil War (1997)

I, A Woman (1965)

The Devil At Your Heels (1981)

The...

In 1964, Fail Safe was released. It was directed by the very influential and prolific director Sidney Lumet, an American master of cinema and television, who helmed films such as Network, 12 Angry Men, Serpico, and Before the Devil Knows You're Dead, to name a few. Lumet was also well-known for getting excellent performances out of his actors, and Fail Safe is no different. The war room drama stars Dan O'Herlihy, Henry Fonda, Walter Matthau and many other players with varying roles of weight. Some tidbits: Fail Safe was adapted from a novel of the same title by Eugene Burdick and Harvey Wheeler. (Originally, the story was published in 1962 during the Cuban...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

The world trembles on the brink, and liberals are in charge! The nicest President you ever met gives the Soviet Premier an offer anybody could refuse, while technical glitches, not crazy people or radical politics, are blamed for starting WW3. Sidney Lumet’s taut, scary armageddon-outta-here thriller was weighed in the balance against a certain Stanley Kubrick film and found wanting, but unless you’re a stickler for technical details it really works up a buzz. The cast & crew list is a menu of committed liberal talent.

Fail Safe

Blu-ray

The Criterion Collection 1011

1964 / B&w / 1:85 widescreen / 112 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date January 28, 2020 / 39.95

Starring: Henry Fonda, Dan O’Herlihy, Walter Matthau, Frank Overton, Edward Binns, Fritz Weaver, Larry Hagman, William Hansen, Sorrell Booke, Hildy Parks, Janet Ward, Dom DeLuise, Dana Elcar.

Cinematography: Gerald Hirschfeld

Film Editor: Ralph Rosenblum

Written by Walter Bernstein from the book by Eugene Burdick,...

Extra-special extras adorn this stunning reissue of a modern sci-fi action classic. Paul Verhoeven’s sledgehammer of graphic-novel brutality and wicked political satire (courtesy of a Michael Miner-Ed Neumeier screenplay that should have won awards) hasn’t diminished one iota. We still feel like we’re being subjected to a shockingly ultra-violent entertainment from the future. Both versions are present, along with enough interview extras to make one feel personally involved in the production. Although later entries in the Robo franchise were marketed to children (we have the toys to prove it) this hard-action show expresses an adult-oriented rage against Reagan’s America. The filmmakers could have earned a lot more money making Robo un-political and kid-safe but instead chose to stay true to their radical concept.

Robocop

Blu-ray

Arrow Video Limited Edition Collector’s Set

1987 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 103 min. / Street Date November 26, 2019 / Available from Arrow Academy

Starring: Peter Weller,...

With Halloween nearly two weeks away now, we have another great new batch of horror and sci-fi Blu-rays and DVDs coming out this week that genre fans are undoubtedly going to want to add to their home media collections, as they are not only perfect to enjoy for the remainder of October, but pretty much any time of year. The two biggest highlights for me personally are Scream Factory’s absolutely stunning Steelbook editions of Halloween II (1981) and Halloween III: Season of the Witch, and Kino Lorber has also put together a brilliant Blu-ray presentation of Trilogy of Terror as well.

Warner Archive is resurrecting Dracula A.D. 1972 in HD this Tuesday, and Agfa is doing the dark lord’s work with their Schlock Blu-ray. Plus, if you’ve never had the chance to experience the original Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Olive Films has put together a new special...

As we gear up for David Gordon Green's Halloween, it's time to reexamine the most maligned entry in the franchise… Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982) Director: Tommy Lee Wallace Stars: Tom Atkins, Stacey Nelkin, Dan O'Herlihy Michael Myers goes on vacation and gives someone else a chance. We've covered our share of bad Halloween movies over the years,…...

Scream Factory is making October dreams come true today. Following their announcement of a new Trick ’r Treat Collector's Edition Blu-ray, they've now unveiled two other autumnal treats: Steelbook Blu-rays of Halloween II and Halloween III: Season of the Witch.

Due out on October 9th, both Halloween sequel Steelbooks come with new 4K scans, artwork by Nathanael Marsh, and special features included on previous Blu-ray releases.

Check out the full release details for both Steelbooks below, and let us know if you'll be adding them to your home media collections this fall!

Halloween II Steelbook Blu-ray: "Picking up exactly where the first film left off, Halloween II follows the same ill-fated characters as they encounter the knife-wielding maniac they left for dead in the first film. But the inhuman Michael Myers is still very much alive and out for more revenge as he stalks the deserted halls of the Haddonfield hospital.

By Lee Pfeiffer

The Warner Archive has released the 1972 MGM thriller The Carey Treatment. James Coburn has one of his best roles as Dr. Peter Carey, a rebellious but esteemed pathologist who moves to Boston to take a prominent position at one of the city's most esteemed hospitals. The charismatic Carey loses no time in gaining friends, alienating top brass and bedding the comely chief dietician (Jennifer O'Neill). However, he soon finds himself embroiled in a politically volatile investigation when a fellow surgeon is arrested for performing an illegal abortion on the 15 year old daughter of the hospital's crusty administrator (Dan O'Herlihy). (The movie was released a year before the landmark Roe V. Wade decision that legalized abortion in America.) Coburn believes his friend's protestations of innocence and decides to launch his own investigation into the matter. The case soon unveils a lot of skeletons that some prominent people would...

Oct 24, 2016

Missing the franchise's main villain, Halloween 3 may not be a canonical Halloween movie - but it's much better than you remember...

No matter how undeniably great a film Halloween was, by the middle of Halloween II some of us - seven or eight of us anyway - were already pretty bored with the idea of watching Michael Myers carving up even more teens. That’s why for that small handful, Halloween III: Season Of The Witch - no matter how different and unexpected and strange it was - came as a blessed relief.

See related Arrow season 5: trailer for episode 4, Penance Legends Of Tomorrow season 2: trailer heads to Feudal Japan Supergirl season 2: episode 4 trailer teases alien fight club

Following the mind-boggling success of the 1978 original, John Carpenter and Debra Hill had a clever idea. Instead of traditional repetitive sequels, they’d turn Halloween into an...

David Lynch and Mark Frost's 1990 TV series looks better than ever, while the 1992 feature prequel digs deeper in Laura Palmer's unpleasant final days without as many rewards. CBS's 9-disc retrospective is a setup for the highly awaited series continuation -- delayed by 25 years. Twin Peaks: The Original Series, Fire Walk with Me & The Missing Pieces Blu-ray CBS / Paramount 1990 & 1992 / Color / 1:37 flat full frame & 1:78 widescreen / 25 hours + 134 min. / Street Date September 20, 2016 / 72,99 Starring (series) Kyle MacLachlan, Michael Ontkean, Lara Flynn Boyle, Sherilyn Fenn, Ray Wise, Sheryl Lee, Mädchen Amick, Dana Ashbrook, Richard Beymer, Warren Frost, Peggy Lipton, James Marshall, Everett McGill, Jack Nance, Joan Chen, Piper Laurie, Kimmy Robertson, Eric Da Re, Harry Goaz, Michael Horse,Russ Tamblyn, Kenneth Welsh, Wendy Robie, Miguel Ferrer, David Lynch, Heather Graham, Dan O'Herlihy, Billy Zane, James Booth, Michael Parks, Lenny von Dohlen, Hank Worden, David Duchovny, Walter Olkewicz, Jane Greer, David L. Lander,...

What a way to start off the week! The formidable cast list for Showtime's forthcoming Twin Peaks revival series was revealed this morning, and man, is it a doozy. In addition to boasting such key returning players as Kyle MacLachlan (Dale Cooper), Sheryl Lee (Laura Palmer/Maddy Ferguson) and Sherilyn Fenn (Audrey Horne), there are a number of surprising A-listers in the mix including Michael Cera, Trent Reznor, Amanda Seyfried and Naomi Watts. On the downside, a not-insignificant number of cast members from both the original series and the 1992 prequel film Fire Walk with Me are completely absent from the list. Where, for instance, is Lara Flynn Boyle (or Moira Kelly, for that matter)? Michael Ontkean? Piper Laurie? Joan Chen? Anyone from the mill? (Literally, there is no one from the mill.) So while I'm thankful that most of the major players are back in action, I can't help but...

It's a great time to be a "Twin Peaks" fan, and speculating which actors will be involved in the upcoming Showtime revival -- which has already started filming in Washington State -- is a fun diversion for die-hards. While I'm not interested in actual plot details (co-creator Mark Frost has responded to the multitude of fan-taken set photos by imploring them to #KeeptheMysteryAlive), I am curious to know which characters we can expect to see 25 (or 26, if the show premieres in 2017) years after the original series left the airwaves. To that end, I'll be keeping tabs on the involvement of 33 still-living "Twin Peaks" stars via a running list, which I've compiled below and which I'll be updating as more information presents itself via sightings, social media posts and actual confirmations by Lynch, Frost and the stars themselves (to date, only one of the original actors has been officially confirmed to return). First,...

Billy Wilder directed Sunset Blvd. with Gloria Swanson and William Holden. Billy Wilder and Charles Brackett movies Below is a list of movies on which Charles Brackett and Billy Wilder worked together as screenwriters, including efforts for which they did not receive screen credit. The Wilder-Brackett screenwriting partnership lasted from 1938 to 1949. During that time, they shared two Academy Awards for their work on The Lost Weekend (1945) and, with D.M. Marshman Jr., Sunset Blvd. (1950). More detailed information further below. Post-split years Billy Wilder would later join forces with screenwriter I.A.L. Diamond in movies such as the classic comedy Some Like It Hot (1959), the Best Picture Oscar winner The Apartment (1960), and One Two Three (1961), notable as James Cagney's last film (until a brief comeback in Milos Forman's Ragtime two decades later). Although some of these movies were quite well received, Wilder's later efforts – which also included The Seven Year Itch...

'The Man from U.N.C.L.E.' 2015: Henry Cavill and Armie Hammer. 'The Man from U.N.C.L.E.' movie is a domestic box office bomb: Will it be saved by international filmgoers? Directed by Sherlock Holmes' Guy Ritchie and toplining Man of Steel star Henry Cavill and The Lone Ranger costar Armie Hammer, the Warner Bros. release The Man from U.N.C.L.E. has been a domestic box office disaster, performing about 25 percent below – already quite modest – expectations. (See also: “'The Man from U.N.C.L.E.' Movie: Bigger Box Office Flop Than Expected.”) This past weekend, the $80 million-budget The Man from U.N.C.L.E. collected a meager $13.42 million from 3,638 North American theaters, averaging $3,689 per site. After five days out, the big-screen reboot of the popular 1960s television series starring Robert Vaughn and David McCallum has taken in a mere $16.77 million. For comparison's sake:...

'The Man From U.N.C.L.E.' with Henry Cavill and Armie Hammer. 'The Man from U.N.C.L.E.' box office: Bigger domestic flop than expected? Before I address the box office debacle of Warner Bros.' The Man from U.N.C.L.E., I'd like remark upon the fact that 2015 has been a notable year at the North American box office. That's when the dinosaurs of Jurassic World smashed Hulk and his fellow Halloween-costumed Marvel superheroes of Avengers: Age of Ultron. And smashed them good: $636.73 million vs. $457.52 million. (See also: 'Jurassic World' beating 'The Avengers' worldwide and domestically?) At least in part for sentimental (or just downright morbid) reasons – Paul Walker's death in a car accident in late 2013 – Furious 7 has become by far the highest-grossing The Fast and the Furious movie in the U.S. and Canada: $351.03 million. (Shades of Heath Ledger's unexpected death...

'The Man from U.N.C.L.E.' with Henry Cavill. 'The Man from U.N.C.L.E.' box office: Hollywood's third domestic bomb in a row Right on the heels of Chris Columbus-Adam Sandler's Pixels and Josh Trank's Fantastic Four comes The Man from U.N.C.L.E., a big screen adaptation of the 1960s television series, directed by Guy Ritchie and starring Man of Steel hero Henry Cavill and The Lone Ranger costar Armie Hammer. (See updated follow-up post: “'The Man from U.N.C.L.E.' Movie Box Office: Bigger Bomb Than Expected.”) Budgeted at a reported $88 million, to date Pixels has collected a mere $61.11 million in North America. Overseas things are a little better: an estimated $73.6 million as of Aug. 9, for a worldwide total of approx. $134.71 million. Sounds profitable? Well, not yet. First of all, let's not forget that distributor...

Teresa Wright and Matt Damon in 'The Rainmaker' Teresa Wright: From Marlon Brando to Matt Damon (See preceding post: "Teresa Wright vs. Samuel Goldwyn: Nasty Falling Out.") "I'd rather have luck than brains!" Teresa Wright was quoted as saying in the early 1950s. That's understandable, considering her post-Samuel Goldwyn choice of movie roles, some of which may have seemed promising on paper.[1] Wright was Marlon Brando's first Hollywood leading lady, but that didn't help her to bounce back following the very public spat with her former boss. After all, The Men was released before Elia Kazan's film version of A Streetcar Named Desire turned Brando into a major international star. Chances are that good film offers were scarce. After Wright's brief 1950 comeback, for the third time in less than a decade she would be gone from the big screen for more than a year.

There's a new law enforcer in town and he's half man, half machine! From the director of Total Recall and Basic Instinct comes a "sci-fi fantasy with sleek, high-powered drive" (Time) about an indestructible high-tech policeman who dishes out justice at every turn! When a good cop (Peter Weller) gets blown away by some ruthless criminals, innovative scientists and doctors are able to piece him back together as an unstoppable crime-fighting cyborg called "RoboCop." Impervious to bullets and bombs, and equipped with high-tech weaponry, RoboCop quickly makes a name for himself by cleaning up the crime-ridden streets of violence-ravaged Detroit. But despite his new, hardened exterior, RoboCop is tormented by scraps of memory of his former life, and relives vivid nightmares of his own death at the hands of the vicious killers. Now he is out to seek more than justice...he wants revenge! Actors: Peter Weller, Nancy Allen, Dan O'Herlihy,...

Odd List Ryan Lambie 6 Nov 2013 - 06:50

From random films with altered names to unrelated storylines, we take a look at 15 incredibly tenuous horror and sci-fi film sequels...

The profit-driven nature of filmmaking usually means that, if a movie's a hit, sequels follow. And it's sometimes the case that, particularly in the realm of low-budget sci-fi and horror, those sequels are trotted out in a rush, or don't have anything to do with the film they're following.

This isn't to say that the sequels on this list are necessarily bad - it's a proper mixed bag of the great, the mediocre and the downright awful - but in each instance, these sequels have only vague links to their predecessors, or worse still, they're entirely different films rebranded to fit an existing franchise.  

Our list is by no means definitive - rather, we've chosen a collection of films that we find the most memorable.

Where the hell is Michael Myers? Halloween 3 may not be a canonical Halloween movie, but it's much better than you remember.

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tumblr Eight more days til Halloween, Halloween, Halloween...Eight more days til Halloween...Silver Shamrock!

No matter how undeniably great a film the original Halloween was, by the middle of Halloween II some of us—seven or eight of us anyway—were already pretty bored with the idea of watching Michael Myers carving up even more teens. That’s why for that small handful, Halloween III: Season of the Witch, no matter how different and unexpected and strange it was (and precisely for those reasons), came as a blessed relief.

Following the mind-boggling success of the 1978 original, John Carpenter and Debra Hill had a clever idea. Instead of traditional repetitive sequels, they’d turn Halloween into an anthology series: each year a new film would come out...

RoboCop to have a special screening in Hollywood: Cast members Allen, Weller, and director Verhoeven to attend presentation followed by reception and Q&A The 1987 original RoboCop directed by Dutch filmmaker Paul Verhoeven, and starring Peter Weller and former Brian De Palma leading lady Nancy Allen, will have a special presentation at noon on Saturday, May 18, 2013, at the Harmony Gold Theater, located on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood. The screening and reception, to be hosted by Allen, Weller, and Verhoeven, will also feature a Q&A and autograph session. (Pictured above: Allen and Weller in the original movie released more than a quarter of a century ago.) Proceeds from the pricy $75 / $125 tickets will go to weSPARK, which is described as "an organization that enhances the quality of life for cancer patients, family and friends by providing multiple services designed to help heal the mind, body and spirit." Tickets for the screening can be purchased here.

"John Huston Week!" continues at Trailers from Hell, today with director Dan Ireland introducing Huston's rich, languidly paced adaptation of James Joyce's novella, featuring a career-best performance from daughter Angelica. John Huston didn't live to see his final film released, but it's one of his most impressive. James Joyce's 1914 novella is considered one of the greatest stories ever written, yet Huston's meticulous movie does it full justice. Stately, elegant and richly observed, with a poignant climactic punch that sneaks up on you. Among the Abbey Players seen to advantage herein are Hollywood stalwarts Dan O'Herlihy and Sean McClory but It's Angelica Huston's movie to steal, and she does.

Very few movie studios are willing to gamble on anything that strays outside of their comfort zones. They all want sure things. That's why we get so many remakes and sequels to movies these days. Their actions aren't without reason. Moviegoers are a fickle bunch. Something that sounds or looks good on paper may not translate well when it finally hits the big screen. Universal Studios and John Carpenter learned that lesson the hard way with Halloween III: Season of the Witch.

With the release of Halloween III: Season of the Witch on Blu-ray, horror enthusiasts are given the chance to once again revisit the one and only entry in the franchise that doesn't feature knife-wielding Michael Myers. It would seem like common sense that a movie whose first two entries banked on the masked Myers' teenage killing sprees wouldn't work without him.

However, producers John Carpenter and Debra Hill...