News

Franca Bettoia, the Italian actress who starred opposite Vincent Price in the 1964 cult sci-fi film The Last Man on Earth, has died in Rome, her family told the Italian news agency Adnkronos. She was 88.

Bettoia was married to Italian actor Ugo Tognazzi — he starred in the 1978 movie La Cage aux Folles in the part played by Robin Williams in Mike Nichols’ 1996 adaptation The Birdcage — from 1972 until his death from a cerebral hemorrhage in 1990 at age 68.

In The Last Man on Earth, directed by Ubaldo Ragona and Sidney Salkow, Bettoia portrays Ruth, a woman who, with the help of Price’s Dr. Robert Morgan, is fending off the effects of a plague that has turned humans into vampiric creatures.

Filmed in Rome, produced by Robert L. Lippert and distributed by American International Pictures, the movie was based on Richard Matheson’s 1954 novel I Am Legend. The author then co-wrote the screenplay credited as Logan Swanson.

Adaptations of books into movies can differ vastly due to intentional choices by filmmakers. Reimagining classic stories, like Shakespeare plays and Austen novels, in modern contexts is common. The same source material can result in two movies with wildly different end products, both valid in their own ways.

Filmmakers have to make a lot of choices when adapting a book, and this means that two different adaptations can end up looking nothing like each other. Sometimes, this is completely intentional, especially when a filmmaker decides to radically change a story that has already been told many times before. This explains why so many Shakespeare plays and Austen novels are often reimagined in modern contexts.

Watching two movies which use the same source material highlights just how many decisions each adaptation makes. Book lovers often have gripes when their favorites are adapted in ways that they don't agree with, but two...

The first Vincent Price collection from Scream Factory was a pure treasure. When October rolls around, almost nothing puts me in the Halloween mood like a constant stream of Vincent Price films on my TV. Never did I think that Scream could improve upon their original price collection, but when the films that would be included in this new set were announced, I was shocked. The first Vincent Price Collection has some really solid Price films, mostly of a Poe nature, and it was one of the most exciting releases of the year for fans of classic horror. The second set, drops the Poe theme(mostly), and includes some of Price’s most famous, well-regarded films, including a couple of my favorites. The list of films is impressive, and there are extras on most of the films. The packaging is consistent, and equally pleasing to the eyes. Scream Factory’s...

The first Vincent Price collection that was released by Scream Factory is a thing of beauty. It was announced recently that they would bringing us a second collection of Vincent Price films on Blu-ray, and I couldn’t be any more excited about it than I already am. Well, maybe I can be, because Scream Factory just released the full details of the set, and it’s going to be a good one. Check out the press release below, and please click here to pre-order your own copy of this collection, which streets on October 21. Man, October is really upon us, isn’t it?

The Vincent Price Collection II

Featuring The First-ever Blu-ray™ Presentation Of

The House On Haunted Hill (1959), The Return Of The Fly (1959),

The Comedy Of Terrors (1963), The Raven (1963),

The Last Man On Earth (1964), The Tomb Of Ligeia (1964),

And Dr. Phibes Rises Again (1972)

In Stores Everywhere On October...

Usually, this spot is reserved for our weekly rundown of the new movies available to stream on Netflix Instant but August is a dead month and there is nothing notable streaming this week. Doesn’t look like there will be for another couple weeks either, so let’s pick the best horror movies available to stream on Netflix right now:

Let Me In / Let the Right One In

Let Me In

Rated R | 2010

Flickchart Ranking: #482

Times Ranked: 9558

Win Percentage: 63%

Top-20 Rankings: 22 Users

Let the Right One In

Rated R | 2008

Flickchart Ranking: #63

Times Ranked: 78814

Win Percentage: 65%

Top-20 Rankings: 404 Users

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The Exorcist

Rated R | 1973

Flickchart Ranking: #281

Times Ranked: 309191

Win Percentage: 49%

Top-20 Rankings: 4116 Users

Directed By: William Friedkin

Starring: Ellen Burstyn • Max von Sydow • Lee J. Cobb • Linda Blair

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The Evil Dead

Rated Nr | 1981

Flickchart Ranking: #350

Times Ranked: 129936

Win Percentage: 49%

Top-20 Rankings: 511 Users

Directed By: Sam Raimi

Starring: Bruce Campbell • Ellen Sandweiss • Betsy Baker...