News

There’s a popular idiom often attributed to Picasso about how good artists copy and great artists steal. Naturally, this isn’t referring to plagiarism, but rather the idea that it’s better for an artist to reproduce something directly from the source instead of simply regurgitating it as-is. The way I see it, this sentiment also applies to creative rip-offs, as I’ll take an unlicensed cash-grab over endless sequels any day of the week.

After all, this is how we got beloved franchises like Friday the 13th (the original film was an attempt at capitalizing on the success of Halloween) and even Star Wars (A New Hope was meant to be a cheap Flash Gordon knock-off). And in honor of all the rip-offs that continue to feed the ouroboros that is popular culture, we’ve decided to come up with a list celebrating six spooky Mockbusters that are actually worth your time.

With a library featuring South Korean coolness, Chinese gothic horror, Kung Fu westerns, and more, it’s packed with projects that don’t often make it to mainstream platforms.

If you find yourself bored of “mainstream” cinema and looking for something a little more… weird, the streaming service Midnight Pulp could be worth checking out. With an eclectic library featuring South Korean coolness, Chinese gothic horror, Super 8mm horror comedy, Kung Fu westerns, vintage erotica, and more, it’s packed with projects that don’t often make it to mainstream platforms. As such, Midnight Pulp brands itself as the go-to streaming service for “all things strange.” Keep reading to see if Midnight Pulp is worth adding to your streaming line-up.

7-Day Free Trial $4.99+ / month via amazon.com Everything You Need to Know About Midnight Pulp:

What Is Midnight Pulp?

How Much Does Midnight Pulp Cost?

What Hit Movies Can You Watch on Midnight Pulp?...

Stars: Halle Berry, Anthony B Jenkins, Percy Daggs IV, Kathryn Kirkpatrick | Written by Kc Coughlin, Ryan Grassby | Directed by Alexandre Aja

The latest film from French horror director Alexandre Aja is an evil-in-the-woods mystery chiller that’s intent on keeping the audience guessing until the end. As such, it has its moments, thanks to strong performances by the two young leads, but it’s never as satisfying or as scary as it ought to be.

Never Let Go takes place in a remote wooden house in the forest, where Halle Berry’s Momma (the character is never named) is raising her two young, non-identical twin boys Nolan (Percy Daggs IV) and Samuel (Anthony B Jenkins), apparently in the wake of some apocalyptic event that has befallen the rest of the country. Accordingly, Momma tells the boys that if they leave the house, they must remain tied to it via a length of thick rope,...

Plot: A mother (Halle Berry) and her twin sons (Percy Daggs IV and Anthony B. Jenkins) are tormented by a malicious spirit. They can only survive if they remain connected to their home, a remote cabin in the woods. But when one of the sons starts to question whether or not the evil really exists, the family finds itself in greater danger than ever.

Review: Alexandre Aja has easily established himself as one of the most unique voices in horror, famously willing to try his hand at just about every aspect of the genre. He’s made hardcore horror (High Tension), funny horror (Piranha 3D), contained horror (Crawl – which is getting a sequel) and even romantic horror (Horns). With Never Let Go, he dips his toe into the elevated facet of the genre, weaving a highly allegorical yarn that ties in themes of motherhood, brotherhood, repressed trauma, and more.

As such,...

The director of the Feast trilogy as well as Piranha 3Dd, John Gulager is back with Se7en Cemeteries, an upcoming horror movie from Quiver Distribution starring Danny Trejo.

Se7en Cemeteries will be available in select theaters and on VOD October 11, 2024.

Watch the official trailer below, which sees Danny Trejo raising an army of the dead.

In the upcoming horror movie, “A recent parolee (Danny Trejo) gets a Mexican witch to resurrect his old posse so that they can help him save a woman’s ranch from a ruthless drug lord.”

Danny Trejo stars alongside Sal Lopez, Samantha Ashley, Efren Ramirez, Vincent M. Ward, Lew Temple, Richard Esteras and Maria Canals-Barrera.

Joel Soisson and John Gulager wrote the screenplay.

The post ‘Se7en Cemeteries’ Trailer – Danny Trejo Raises the Dead in ‘Feast’ Director’s New Horror Movie appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Director Alexandre Aja has certainly made his mark on the horror genre over the past 20 years. After bursting onto the scene in 2003 with the controversial High Tension, he weaved his way through American genre films with the remake of Wes Craven’s The Hills Have Eyes, the remake of Into the Mirror, the remake of Joe Dante’s Piranha, the adaptation of Joe Hill’s Horns, and the creature feature Crawl. Now, he’s unleashing his latest film Never Let Go, a mature fairy tale that sends him back into a world similar to the one he built in Horns eleven years ago.

Never Let Go, in theaters on Friday, stars Halle Berry, Percy Daggs IV and Anthony B. Jenkins.

Berry plays June, “known simply as Momma to her fraternal twin sons, Samuel (Anthony B. Jenkins) and Nolan (Percy Daggs IV). After an entity she calls ‘the Evil’ took over the world,...

Will Optimus Prime and Megatron be able to scare off the Ghost With the Most?

Paramount and Hasbro’s animated “Transformers One,” an origin story about the feuding Autobots and Decepticons, is targeting $30 million to $40 million in its opening weekend. Based on those projections, it’ll easily dethrone the two-time champion, “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.” The spooky Warner Bros. sequel is looking to add roughly $25 million in its third weekend of release. “Beetlejuice 2” has grossed $188 million domestically and $264 million globally to date.

“Toy Story 4” director Josh Cooley helmed “Transformers One,” which cost $75 million and features the ensemble voice cast of Chris Hemsworth (as Optimus Prime), Brian Tyree Henry (as Megatron), as well as Scarlett Johansson, Keegan-Michael Key, Steve Buscemi, Laurence Fishburne and Jon Hamm. It is the franchise’s first theatrical animated film since 1986’s “The Transformers: The Movie.” That film was a box office disappointment, though its reputation among...

"Save this lady's farm – job's done." Quiver Distr. has revealed an official trailer for an indie horror comedy called Seven Cemeteries, made by filmmaker John Gulager (a Project Greenlight winner who also made Feast and Piranha 3Dd previously). As with everything else horror, this is set for release in October in time for the horror season. A recent parolee named Bravo gets a Mexican witch to resurrect his old posse so that they can help him save a woman's ranch from a ruthless drug lord. The film is loosely inspired by The Seven Samurai and The Magnificent Seven, as he tries to round up his old gang to get revenge... But of course it's hard to wrangle the (un)dead. Danny Trejo stars as Bravo, with Sal Lopez, Samantha Ashley, Efren Ramirez, Vincent M. Ward, Lew Temple, and Richard Esteras. Not much to see here. Even though they tried to make this all big & crazy,...

The next film from director Alexandre Aja (High Tension, The Hills Have Eyes, Piranha 3D, Crawl), Never Let Go has received a brand new trailer from Lionsgate this afternoon.

Never Let Go arrives in theaters September 20, 2024.

Academy Award winner Halle Berry is leading the film’s cast.

Percy Daggs IV (The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey) and Anthony B. Jenkins (Florida Man) will star alongside Berry in Never Let Go. Check out the film’s official poster below.

The upcoming Lionsgate horror film follows a mother (Berry) and her fraternal twin sons (Daggs and Jenkins) who have been tormented by an evil spirit for years and are convinced to never let go of their family’s protective bond. But when one of the boys questions if the evil is real, their connection is severed, triggering a terrifying fight for survival.

Aja is directing from a script by Kevin Coughlin & Ryan Grassby.

Lionsgate has released the new trailer and poster for Never Let Go, the psychological thriller directed by Alexandre Aja.

Written by Kc Coughlin and Ryan Grassby, the horror film will open in theaters on September 20, 2024. It is rated R for strong violent content and grisly images.

In this new psychological thriller/horror, as an Evil takes over the world beyond their front doorstep, the only protection for a mother, played by Academy Award winner Halle Berry (Monster’s Ball), and her twin sons is their house and their family’s protective bond.

Needing to stay connected at all times—even tethering themselves with ropes—they cling to one another, urging each other never to let go. But when one of the boys questions if the evil is real, the ties that bind them together are severed, triggering a terrifying fight for survival.

In addition to Halle Berry, the film stars Percy Daggs IV...

"After your rope broke, did you notice anything?" Lionsgate has unveiled a second trailer for Never Let Go, a dark woods horror from mastermind genre filmmaker Alexandre Aja. It's still set to open in September in just a few weeks from now. Never Let Go follows a mother and her fraternal twin sons who have been tormented by an evil spirit for years and are convinced to never let go of their family’s protective bond. But when one of the boys questions if the evil is real, their connection is severed, triggering a terrifying fight for survival. It's set almost entirely at a creepy old cabin in the woods. Halle Berry stars as the mother, with Percy Daggs IV & Anthony B. Jenkins as the two boys. The concept of this involving them all being tied together with this rope is nifty, I just hope it proves to be more...

Calling all horror fans, we need your attention! We have some very good news to share. This just in: a sequel to the 2019 box office hit Crawl is in the works at Paramount Pictures with French filmmaker Alexandre Aja back to direct. More on this upcoming horror film below.

Titled Crawl 2, the sequel is reportedly in development at Paramount, with Andrew Deutschman and Jason Pagan (Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension and Project Almanac) writing the screenplay. As mentioned above, Aja, who directed and produced the first film, will helm the sequel. He will be producing alongside Craig Flores and Sam Raimi, who also produced the first movie. In addition, Gregory Levasseur and Zainab Azizi are signed as executive producers.

Unlike Crawl, which centered around a father-daughter duo trying to survive a gator attack while trapped inside their Florida home during a hurricane, Crawl 2 will see a switch of locations to the Big Apple,...

Paramount Pictures is crawling back for more.

The studio is deep in development on a sequel to Crawl, its gator-gnashing horror movie released in 2019, and is eyeing a fall shoot in Europe.

Andrew Deutschman and Jason Pagan, known for penning horror flick Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension and time-travel romp Project Almanac, are writing the script.

French-born horror fiend Alexandre Aja, who directed the initial movie, will be back in the director’s chair. Aja is also producing as well as Craig Flores and horror master Sam Raimi, all of whom produced the original.

Crawl, written by Michael and Shawn Rasmussen, starred Kaya Scodelario and Barry Pepper as a daughter and father duo who find themselves trapped in a Florida home and hunted by a gator (or three) during a Category 5 hurricane. The movie proved profitable for Paramount, generating $91.5 million on a budget of under $14 million.

Crawl 2 will feature a...

Whenever you hear the name Stephen Spielberg, you often think of movies like Jurassic Park, Indiana Jones, and E.T. the Extra Terrestrial. But one of his most well known films is the 1975 horror movie Jaws, based on the 1974 novel of the same name about a killer great white shark terrorizing the people of a coastal town and how a few brave heroes set out to hunt down and kill the beast.

The movie went on to become a massive success making $476.5 Million on a $9 Million budget. It became one of the most iconic films of the 1970s and it received sequels and inspired multiple imitators such as Piranha, Orca, and Tentacles. With the film’s 50th Anniversary just a year away, Universal will most likely be re-releasing the franchise onto multiple formats.

However, one of the recent re-releases for the series, specifically the third and fourth films, has caused some controversy for the studio.

On Friday nights, IndieWire After Dark takes a feature-length beat to honor fringe cinema in the streaming age.

First, the spoiler-free pitch for one editor’s midnight movie pick — something weird and wonderful from any age of film that deserves our memorializing.

Then, the spoiler-filled aftermath as experienced by the unwitting editor attacked by this week’s recommendation.

The Pitch: A Meddlesome Producer’s Bloodiest, Briniest Catch of the Day

As titillating as it is atrocious, “Humanoids from the Deep” has everything. Sandy boobs. Practical gore. A woman director undermined by Roger Corman. Garnish with those dead dog scenes, and what more could you ask of a creature feature from the summer of 1980?

Starring Doug McClure as a hero fisherman, Ann Turkel as an inquisitive biologist, and Vic Morrow in a shifty special performance, this sluggish monster invasion imagines a community ravaged by sea creatures (Aka clumsy actors in suits...

Plunge into the ocean’s murky depths to find shark hybrids, deadly piranhas, fish-men, and more with Shout! TV’s Killer Fish Weekend, a binge-worthy marathon of cult classics streaming on both Shout! TV and Scream Factory TV on July 12-14.

The marathon includes Piranha (1978 and 1995), Sharktopus Vs. Pteracuda (featuring a cameo from Conan O’Brien), Sharkansas Women’s Prison Massacre (have you ever seen a shark walk on land?), and Lords Of The Deep (co-produced by Roger Corman).

The Killer Fish Weekend marathon can be viewed on Shout! TV and Scream Factory TV; as well as the Shout! TV app on Roku, Android, Apple TV, and Amazon Fire TV; and the following digital streaming platforms – Samsung TV Plus, Amazon Freevee, Local Now, Plex, Sling Freestream, LG Channels, available on LG Smart TVs, Fubo, Xumo and LiveTVx, available on Google devices. Scream Factory TV is available to stream on The CW.

[Warning: The below contains Major spoilers for Criminal Minds: Evolution Season 17 Episode 7 “Piranha.”] Rossi (Joe Mantegna) gets the blast from the past he tried so hard to avoid in the final moments of the latest Criminal Minds: Evolution episode. But offscreen, it’s a different story. Mantegna reunited with Felicity Huffman and Rossi with her character, Gideon’s ex-wife Jill, with whom he has history, when he walked into his office at the end of “Piranha” and found her looking at the boxes gathered. But for Mantegna, it led to him recalling “lovely memories.” While he hadn’t yet watched the episode (“I like to watch [them] as the public sees them”), he did remember filming it when he and Huffman talked to TV Insider about this episode. “Felicity and I go way back, so it was exciting. I looked at her at the moment, memories flashback-ed to, God, some years ago doing films together back in the...

The life of an actor is one that has its peaks and valleys and is not without its share of heartbreak. All actors have their "one that got away," instances where they miss out on a great role and/or project, yet most of those situations involve coming close to landing a role before finding out that someone else has been cast. It's far more rare to land a plum role only to have the character itself change so drastically that the director actually talks you out of accepting the gig.

That's exactly what happened to a young Corey Feldman upon auditioning for "E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial" for director Steven Spielberg. After the unfortunate news had been broken to Feldman, Spielberg did what so many Hollywood figures have done since cinema began: made a promise to involve him in the filmmaker's next project. While such a promise typically holds...

Los Angeles – Plunge into the ocean’s murky depths to find shark hybrids, deadly piranhas, fishmen, and more with Shout! TV’s Killer Fish Weekend, a binge-worthy marathon of cult classics streaming on Shout! TV and Scream Factory TV on July 12-14.

Sink your teeth into a delicious array of titles on Shout! TV and Scream Factory TV, including Piranha (1978 and 1995), Sharktopus Vs. Pteracuda (featuring a cameo from Conan O’Brien), Sharkansas Women’s Prison Massacre (have you ever seen a shark walk on land?), and Lords Of The Deep (co-produced by Roger Corman). See the full marathon schedule below.

The Killer Fish Weekend marathon can be viewed on Shout! TV and Scream Factory TV; as well as the Shout! TV app on Roku, Android, Apple TV, and Amazon Fire TV; and the following digital streaming platforms – Samsung TV Plus, Amazon Freevee, Local Now, Plex, Sling Freestream, LG Channels, available on LG Smart TVs,...

July is all about the Olympics with Peacock, but that’s just scratching the surface. With a major WWE event, fireworks, the Tour de France and movies galore, Peacock has never been a better value.

Great films coming to the service include “The Big Lebowski,” “The Fifth Element,” “Jaws,” The “Men In Black” trilogy, “Pitch Perfect,” “Titanic”, “Purple Rain,” and “Office Space.”

Sign Up $5.99+ / month peacocktv.com Use the code PEACZL3V0D1 to get a full year for just $30! What are the 5 Best Shows, Movies, and Specials Coming to Peacock in July 2024? Summer Olympics Opening Ceremony | July 26

The world’s best athletes go for gold in Paris and you can catch the best lineup of events on Peacock! It all starts with the breathtaking opening ceremony on July 26.

For the first time ever, the ceremony won’t be inside a stadium. The entire event will play out against the backdrop of the Seine river.

Despite a copious amount of violence, multiple deaths, and slimy, goopy scenes wherein little monsters get blended, torched, melted, and otherwise horribly mutilated, Joe Dante's Frank Capra spoof "Gremlins" was released on June 8, 1984, with a PG rating from the Motion Picture Association of America. Producer Steven Spielberg recognized that "Gremlins," in being so tonally whimsical, wasn't quite raw enough to warrant an R-rating, yet also realized that it might be a little too terrifying for the kids who were allowed to see PG-rated movies. Spielberg suggested to the MPAA that it introduce a PG-13 rating to cover films like "Gremlins." It should also be noted that, in 1984, a PG rating was similarly given to Spielberg's violent adventure film "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom," so it was high time a stop-gap be included.

The PG-13 rating was introduced on July 1, less than a month after "Gremlins" opened. Weirdly,...

Joe Dante's "Gremlins" is a one-of-a-kind blockbuster from an era when studios hadn't quite yet developed the formula for producing hit movies. In the early 1980s, executives under pressure to find projects capable of breaking the coveted $100 million domestic mark relied heavily on movie stars or bestselling books, but to strike gold you needed vision. That meant finding a visionary.

There were two 30-something film brats who fit this profile during that period: George Lucas and Steven Spielberg. And since Lucas was, at the moment, a two-franchise man with "Star Wars" and the just-taking-off Indiana Jones series, Spielberg, who'd just set up his production company Amblin Entertainment at Universal Pictures, was the closest thing to a Walt Disney alive and unfrozen in Hollywood.

After scoring a one-two box-office knockout in 1982 with "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial" and "Poltergeist," Spielberg was eager to expand his burgeoning showbiz empire. For his first official,...

Following the success of Steven Spielberg’s 1975 cinematic masterpiece Jaws, which captivated audiences with its tense and frightening portrayal of a great white shark terrorizing a beach town, the movie became an inspiration for upcoming thrillers. But there was one film in particular that shockingly used Jaws as a humorous dig.

Acclaimed filmmaker Steven Spielberg | image: Gage Skidmore/Wikimedia Commons

Well, in 1978, after Universal Studios released the sequel to Jaws, director Joe Dante came up with Piranha, which was a playful parody version of Steven Spielberg’s suspenseful thriller. Taking a humorous approach, exaggerating the dangers of a school of deadly piranhas, the movie deliberately departed from Jaws’ serious and suspenseful tone.

However, Joe Dante’s campy spoof movie seemingly annoyed Universal Studios, which almost led to a lawsuit, until Steven Spielberg intervened to save the day.

Joe Dante Took a Playful Dig at Steven Spielberg’s Jaws

Three years...

French director Alexandre Aja has been in the horror game for a long time; over two decades, in fact. His 2003 breakout “High Tension” cemented him as an up-and-comer in the genre, and after moving stateside to work in Hollywood, he furthered his career with remakes like “The Hills Have Eyes” and “Piranha.” But Aja hasn’t had a real hit since 2019’s “Crawl,” a taut survivalist thriller B-movie that revived the director’s career.

Continue reading ‘Never Let Go’ Trailer: Halle Berry Stars In Alexandre Aja’s Latest Horror Thriller This September at The Playlist.

Time for something scary. Lionsgate has revealed the official trailer for Never Let Go, a new horror from the acclaimed horror filmmaker Alexandre Aja. This one is set for release in theaters nationwide in September later this year. Never Let Go follows a mother and her fraternal twin sons who have been tormented by an evil spirit for years and are convinced to never let go of their family’s protective bond. But when one of the boys questions if the evil is real, their connection is severed, triggering a terrifying fight for survival. It's set almost entirely at a creepy old cabin in the woods. Halle Berry stars as the mother, with Percy Daggs IV & Anthony B. Jenkins as the two boys. Alexandre Aja is a master of horror and is always cooking up something terrifying - this is no exception. A chilling trailer promising a clever new horror...

In a career that has spanned seven decades, Roger Corman is nothing short of a legend. His influence and impact are almost immeasurable, having mentored or introduced so many prominent filmmakers working today. That doesn’t even touch on how he changed independent cinema or wore multiple hats doing so: director, producer, writer, and actor, to name a few.

With the legend’s passing this weekend, it feels only appropriate to highlight just a handful of the essential Roger Corman horror movies on streaming. This week’s streaming picks celebrate some of the essential works of Roger Corman horror movies, whether he produced, directed, or appeared on screen.

Here’s where you can stream them this week.

For more Stay Home, Watch Horror picks, click here.

A Bucket of Blood – AMC+, Crackle, Fandor, Kanopy, MGM+, Midnight Pulp, Pluto TV, Prime Video, Screambox, Shudder, Tubi, Vudu

Roger Corman had a recurring interest in counterculture,...

Roger Corman, the legendary B-movie filmmaker who directed, produced, and starred in upwards of 500 films over the course of a staggering eight decade-spanning career, has died. He passed away aged 98 this past Thursday at his home in Santa Monica, California.

In a statement posted on Roger’s Instagram to announce his passing, Corman’s wife Julie and daughters Mary and Catherine shared the following: “It is with profound sadness, and boundless gratitude for his extraordinary life, that we remember our beloved husband and father, Roger Corman. He passed away on May 9th, at home in Santa Monica, California, surrounded by his family. He is survived by his wife Julie and his daughters Catherine and Mary. He was generous, open-hearted and kind to all those who knew him. A devoted and selfless father, he was deeply loved by his daughters. His films were revolutionary and iconoclastic, and captured the spirit of an age.

Corman made over 400 movies including cult classics Death Race 2000, Piranha and The Little Shop of Horrors and launched the careers of Scorsese and De Niro

Gallery: a career in picturesAppreciation: Peter Bradshaw on CormanRoger Corman obituary

Roger Corman, the writer and director who helped turn out such low-budget classics as Little Shop of Horrors and gave many of Hollywood’s most famous actors and directors early breaks, has died aged 98.

Corman died on Thursday at his home in Santa Monica, California, his daughter Catherine Corman said on Saturday in a statement.

Roger Corman, the independent filmmaker known as the “King of the Bs,” has died at the age of 98.

The Oscar-winning director and producer of films like 1959’s The Wasp Woman and 1960’s The Little Shop of Horrors, died at his home in Santa Monica on Thursday, May 9th.

“He was generous, open-hearted and kind to all those who knew him,” Corman’s daughter Catherine Corman said in a statement to the Associated Press. “When asked how he would like to be remembered, he said, ‘I was a filmmaker, just that.’”

Earlier this year, it was announced that Corman, Joe Dante and Brad Krevoy were teaming up on Little Ship of Halloween Horrors, a reboot of Corman’s cult classic.

Affectionately referred to as “King of the B-movies” and “The Pope of Pop Cinema,” Corman, credited with launching the careers of Jack Nicholson, Martin Scorsese, Robert De Niro, James Cameron, and Francis Ford Coppola.

Clockwise from bottom left: Halloween (Compass International Pictures); Hellbound: Hellraiser II (New World Pictures); Mandy (XYZ Films); Re-Animator (Empire Pictures); Chopping Mall (Concorde Pictures) (Screenshots: YouTube)Graphic: The A.V. Club

We’re halfway to Halloween, and even though October 31 is still six months away, there’s still one place...

Eco-horror isn’t a sub-genre that gets talked about a ton unfortunately. It can be anything from animals attacking due to their sudden craving of human flesh like Grizzly or even just due to man not putting enough respect on the name of nature like in Long Weekend. The hey day of these is undoubtedly the 70s with things like Prophecy, The Swarm, Piranha, Phase 4, and a few other standouts. While the output certainly slowed down, there are more than a few standouts in the late 90s and even 21st century. We can’t seem to stop screwing up the planet and as we do, we get reminded that the planet may just fight back in ways like what is shown in Day After Tomorrow or to a hilarious degree in The Happening. A unique one that failed to make its budget back, even with good reviews and scores, is...

Tonight, Shudder and AMC+ will be airing a special edition of The Last Drive-In with Joe Bob Briggs that serves as a tribute to legendary producer Roger Corman – so it seems fitting that we have some Corman news to report today. Deadline has revealed that Corman and Brad Krevoy, CEO of Mpca, are teaming up to produce a reboot of Corman’s 1960 classic The Little Shop of Horrors called Little Shop of Halloween Horrors, with Joe Dante on board to direct!

Dante’s previous directing credits include Piranha, The Howling, Gremlins, Innerspace, The ‘Burbs, Gremlins 2: The New Batch, Matinee, Small Soldiers, and Looney Tunes: Back in Action.

Gremlins 2 and Matinee writer Charles S. Haas has written the screenplay for Little Shop of Halloween Horrors, but plot details have not been revealed. The Little Shop of Horrors, which received a very popular musical adaptation (that was turned into a...

Exclusive: Iconic filmmakers Joe Dante and Roger Corman are teaming with Emmy-nominated veteran producer Brad Krevoy, CEO of Mpca, on Little Shop of Halloween Horrors, a reboot of Corman’s famed 1960 horror comedy, Little Shop of Horrors.

A reimagining intended to jumpstart a new franchise, Little Shop of Halloween Horrors will be directed by Dante, from a script by Charles S. Haas (Gremlins 2: The New Batch), with Corman and Krevoy co-producing. Also joining the project is independent producer Charles Cohen, who previously worked at T-Street, where he oversaw and executive produced the Republic Pictures release Snack Shack, in addition to developing other projects for the company.

Originating as a low-budget genre flick directed by Corman and co-starring a young Jack Nicholson, the first Little Shop of Horrors quickly cemented itself as a cult classic following its release in 1960. Shot on a shoestring budget, pic tells the...

You can never underestimate the power of hearsay. Sometimes, something sounding like it could be true is enough to convince people that it must be. And while this phenomenon can have disastrous real-world consequences when applied to science and politics, it’s also responsible for some memorable instances of collective storytelling.

From hook-handed murderers to gerbils becoming stuck inside famous actors, urban legends are the modern equivalent to ancient campfire stories about werewolves and vampires – which is why it makes sense that they’ve inspired some of most beloved genre films. And with so many of these allegedly “true” stories to choose from, we’ve decided to come up with a list highlighting six of the most underrated movies based on urban legends.

Naturally, we’ll be shying away from more popular films like Candyman and Jamie Blanks’ Urban Legend, but don’t forget to comment below with your own...

‘The film was 20 years ahead of its time. Look at what we’re dealing with now – border conflict is a nightmare’

We decided to make a film about the Texas border after going there in 1978 to shoot a cameo in the Joe Dante film Piranha, which I wrote. On my day off, I visited the Alamo in San Antonio. What I knew about the battle was mostly the Walt Disney version – Davy Crockett and all that. But the day I was there, Chicano-Americans were protesting, saying: “Tell the whole story.” I got interested in its racial complexity, the fact there were Mexicans fighting for the US, too, and that the “freedom” the Texans were fighting for was the freedom to own slaves. That’s a major part that gets left out.

John Sayles has made a career out of writing and directing some of the finest ensemble films of all time, movies like “Matewan,” “Eight Men Out,” and “Sunshine State” that create rich tapestries of American life filled with intimate detail and epic sweep. One of his most entertaining and sophisticated works, the 1996 contemporary Western “Lone Star,” is newly available in 4K and Blu-ray editions from Criterion, and it has, like most of Sayles’ movies, only improved with age. As a Texas sheriff investigates an old murder, the film becomes timeless and specifically of its era (particularly in the border crossing scenes conceived and shot before the wall that eventually went up in Sayles’ location), a complex consideration of cultural conflicts and generational divides that seem hardwired into the American consciousness.

It’s a great American epic, yet like all of the director’s films it was shot on a modest...

From Bandicoot Scotland, producers of ITV’s The Masked Singer, and StoryHunter, The Masked Singer Maskcast is a brand new twice-weekly entertainment podcast offering fans a deep dive into the Masked universe, with special celebrity guests, exclusive behind-the-scenes insights and gossip, and an opportunity to dissect those maddeningly compelling clues.

Hosted by The Masked Singer superfan Nick Johns, Monday’s pod delves deep into TV’s greatest guessing game with the help of a special celebrity guest, pouring over the colourful characters, dazzling performances and magnificently bonkers moments from the previous episode. Nick also heads backstage to uncover the secret sauce that goes into producing the nation’s most spectacularly staged show, meeting the team behind the magic including creative overlord Daniel Nettleton and the award-winning costume designers responsible for the characters’ outrageous attire.

Thursday’s edition includes a superfan hangout where show devotees turn detectives to decode the crucial...

The episode of The Black Sheep covering Ghoulies Go to College was Written and Narrated by Andrew Hatfield, Edited by Brandon Nally, Produced by Lance Vlcek and John Fallon, and Executive Produced by Berge Garabedian.

Ok, I’ve thought about this long and hard, discussed with my local priest and therapist, and after much internal strife, I’ve decided it’s time. You hear a lot about rip-offs for franchises, particularly the big ones. We have Jaws rip-offs, Exorcist rip-offs, Halloween rip-offs, and more. What you don’t hear a lot about, and good lord do they exist, are the multiple rip-offs of Gremlins. Gremlins got its own incredible sequel and then finally this year its very own animated show that is… fine… it’s fine. But with Gremlins profitability came the clones. We got the fun and good with the Critters franchise, the bad with both Munchies and Hobgoblins,...

We know what an American in Paris looks like, but an American in Italy…now that’s all the rage in recent years.

Italian costume designer Nicoletta Ercole, who was Emmy-nominated for her work on HBO film “My House in Umbria,” exclusively told IndieWire that the rise in Italy-set American productions have fumbled when capturing the romantic aesthetic of the nation. From “Mafia Mamma” to “The Book Club: The Next Chapter” to “Spin Me Round,” more and more American productions are opting to film in Italy. Now with Michael Mann’s “Ferrari” set to speed into theaters and the trendy second season of “The White Lotus” awaiting Emmy nominations, it’s proof that Italy is the country of the moment in stateside culture.

Yet according to Ercole, American filmmakers have an antiquated idea of Italian fashion. “They want to see really the Italian style, or in the case of ‘House of Gucci,...

To celebrate the release of High Tension on Limited Edition Dual 4K Uhd/Blu-ray Box Set & Standard Editions on 4K Uhd & Blu-ray from 11 December, we’re giving away a Limited Edition Dual 4K Uhd/Blu-Ray Box Set to a lucky winner!

Prepare for some pulse-racing, heart-pounding High Tension. The fantastic French horror from Alexandre Aja (The Hills Have Eyes (2006), Piranha 3D) gets a brand-new Limited Edition 4K/Blu-ray Dual Edition Box set release from masters in the field Second Sight Films this December.

A new entry to the French extremity movement on its release in 2003, this fearsomely violent slasher stars Cécile de France and Maïwenn, as two best friends whose sleepover goes shockingly awry. This brutally violent, fear-fuelled cult classic arrives in the Limited Edition and Standard Edition 4K and Blu-ray versions, on 11 December 2023.

Alex (Maïwenn) and Marie’s (Cécile de France) study-weekend takes a savage turn, when a murderous...

A rollicking revenge drama wrapped up in darkly funny rom-com packaging, 2021’s :a[Promising Young Woman]{href='https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/promising-young-woman/' } marked the emergence of a bold new voice in British filmmaking – Emerald Fennell. Armed with exquisite needledrops, razor sharp social commentary, and a slick sense of visual style, the writer-director proved herself to be quite the provoc-auteur. And now she’s back, taking aim at the seedy, seductive world of the Oxfordian elite with :a[Saltburn]{href='https://www.empireonline.com/movies/news/new-saltburn-trailer-barry-keoghan-jacob-elordi-emerald-fennell/' }, which sees Barry Keoghan’s socially outcast student Oliver Quick lured to the sprawling titular estate of Jacob Elordi’s Felix Catton for a summer he’ll never forget. It’s also a period piece. “Which period?” we hear you cry? Why, the Noughties, of course!

Writing exclusively in :a[this month’s issue of Empire]{href='https://www.empireonline.com/movies/news/empire-issue-preview-aquaman-and-the-lost-kingdom-saltburn-wonka-werner-herzog/' target='_blank'...

Back in 2010, legendary producer Roger Corman and his wife/producing partner Julie Corman teamed up with the late director Declan O’Brien – who is best known for making several of the Wrong Turn sequels – to bring the world the creature feature Sharktopus, which is about exactly what it sounds like it would be about. A shark/octopus hybrid that goes on a man-eating binge. That film received two sequels, Sharktopus vs. Pteracuda and Sharktopus vs. Whalewolf… and now it has been given the remake treatment. In China! A trailer for the Chinese remake of Sharktopus can be seen in the embed above.

Scripted by Mike MacLean and Stephen Niver, the original Sharktopus had the following synopsis: Aiming to create the U.S. Navy’s next hyper-weapon while fiddling with shark and octopus DNA, the visionary geneticist, Nathan Sands, comes up with a nightmarish prototype: the genetically enhanced “S-11” hybrid. However, after a...

The episode of Horror Movie Rip-Off covering Jaws and Piranha was Written by Paul Bookstaber, Narrated by Ryan Cultrera, Edited by Ryan Cultrera, Produced by John Fallon, and Executive Produced by Berge Garabedian.

Introduction

They say imitation is the best form of flattery, even if it becomes apparent that we’ve seen similarities between films within a certain genre; by the end of it, they’re still sometimes enjoyable. However, what do we consider the best film that has it all between the originator and the imitator? The film that goes above and beyond in terms of scope, its acting, its overall story, and most importantly its rewatch ability? Today we’re going to compare two infamous 70s horror films that explore the creatures of the deep. One that deals in absolute, and the other that deals in packs. I apologize for the riddles, but if you consider yourself a horror hound like me,...

“This is the only person to run a studio who knows how to make a movie,” director Allan Arkush exclaimed, hailing his former boss Roger Corman in front of a sold-out crowd at the Aero Theater in Santa Monica Saturday evening.

Now 97 years old, the unbelievably prolific Pope of Pop Cinema was the guest of honor at the genre-focused Beyond Fest, in partnership with American Cinematheque. Corman joined for a panel with Arkush, fellow directors Ron Howard, Joe Dante and Amy Holden Jones and producer Jon Davison — all of whom Corman helped launch into Hollywood under his independent production and distribution company New World Pictures, founded in 1970. After directing more than 45 features, Corman decided to create his own banner, which would go on to help jumpstart the careers of Jonathan Demme, Curtis Hanson and countless other talents.

“I made a picture for American International that made too much money, ‘The Wild Angels.

South African crime writer Rudie Van Rensburg’s “Piranha” is set to be adapted into a new crime drama series from Strong Studios. Titled “Endangered,” the project is being shopped as a six-episode limited series written by screenwriter Jake Riddell and directed by BAFTA award winner Stuart Urban (“The Mystery of Suzy Lamplugh”).

“Endangered” follows the story of Montgomery Smith, a rich but exiled Englishman who is being pursued for smuggling endangered rhino horn, and also tells the tale of the veteran detective Captain Kassie Kasselman, who’s after him.

“While researching rhino poaching, I became increasingly aware of how serious of a problem it is,” said Van Rensburg in a statement. “It’s a great honour to have such renowned filmmakers helming the production of ‘Endangered,’ and I’m delighted that this issue will be brought to the attention of a wider audience.”

The Van Rensburg tale is set...

The lineup for Beyond Fest 2023 has been announced, and, as per usual, attendees will be in for a pretty incredible lineup of sci-fi classics, horror favorites, and more than 30 premieres. The event takes place from September 26th – October 10th.

With 55 features, Beyond Fest 2023 looks like a winner yet again. Some of the major attractions this year are special screenings of The Abyss (hopefully with news of a 4K Blu-ray?), Manhunter, Piranha, The Raven, and Pacific Rim, all with their directors – James Cameron, Michael Mann, Joe Dante, Roger Corman, and Guillermo del Toro – in attendance…and those are just some of the retro screenings! Fans might also want to try nabbing tickets for movies like folk-horror All You Need is Death, Cannes debuted Vincent Must Die, the remake of The Toxic Avenger, and so many more.

You can see the full lineup for the 2023 Beyond Fest below, complete with details on the premiere,...

Gareth Edwards’ The Creator, starring John David Washington and Gemma Chan in a sci-fi epic about a world at war with artificial intelligence, is set to open the Beyond Fest in Los Angeles.

The action thriller from 20th Century studios also stars Allison Janney and newcomer Madeleine Voyles and will screen at the Aero Theatre. The closing night film is Kristoffer Borgli’s comedy satire Dream Scenario from A24 and starring Nicolas Cage.

James Cameron will be at L.A.’s biggest genre festival for a special screening of The Abyss from 1989, Michael Mann will host a screening of his 1986 film Manhunter and actor Malcolm McDowell will be on hand for a special screening of Caligula: The Ultimate Cut.

Elsewhere, Joe Dante will host a screening of his 1978 thriller Piranha, Roger Corman will be in attendance for a special screening of The Raven from 1963 and Guillermo del Toro will present in-person his 2013 tentpole Pacific Rim.

The largest genre film festival in the U.S. has some of the biggest names in Hollywood attending its 2023 edition. The Los Angeles-based Beyond Fest announced the slate of films and special screenings for the 11th edition, running September 26 through October 10.

This year’s Beyond Fest boasts 55 films across 15 days, including a special screening of “The Abyss” with director James Cameron, Michael Mann in attendance for a “Manhunter” screening, “Pacific Rim” with Guillermo del Toro, Gregg Araki for “Nowhere,” and a panel discussion between Roger Corman and collaborators Ron Howard, Jon Davison, Amy Holden Jones, Joe Dante, and Allan Arkush following the release of new 35mm prints of Corman’s “Rock ‘n Roll High School,” “Piranha,” “Grand Theft Auto,” and “The Raven.”

A special screening of “Caligula: The Ultimate Cut” will feature actor Malcolm McDowell in conversation with archivist/author Thomas Negovan, moderated by critic Stephen Farber. “You Must Remember...

Beyond Fest genre film festival returns for its 11th edition with a full slate of premieres and acclaimed classics from Palme d’Or winner “Anatomy of a Fall” to the Michael Mann hit “Manhunter.” James Cameron is set to make an appearance for a special edition screening of “The Abyss” followed by a special tribute to Roger Corman, along with appearances by Mann and Guillermo del Toro.

“Our goal this year was to go bigger while also exposing audiences to new filmmakers who represent the future,” said Evrim Ersoy, Beyond’s head of programming. “We’ve delivered on that promise with a program that has the world’s most celebrated artists like James Cameron, Guillermo del Toro, and Roger Corman joining us alongside some of Cinema’s boldest new voices including Nikhil Nagesh Bhat, Demián Rugna and Macon Blair.”

Beyond Fest will open with Gareth Edward’s sci-fi feature “The Creator...

Beyond Fest is one of the greatest, most unsung movie events of the year in Los Angeles. Happening over 15 days this year (from Sept. 26 to Oct. 9), it is a go-for-broke celebration of genre cinema – smartly programmed, lovingly assembled and genuinely thrilling.

And this year is no different, with highlights being a screening of the special edition of “The Abyss” (the wave lives!) with an appearance by director James Cameron; a screening of “Manhunter,” with director Michael Mann in attendance; a robust Roger Corman retrospective (including a screening of “Piranha” with director Joe Dante) and the West Coast premiere of new movies like Macon Blair’s “The Toxic Avenger” and Nicolas Cage in A24’s “Dream Scenario.”

There are also retrospective screenings of “The Iron Giant” (with Brad Bird), “Pacific Rim” (with Guillermo del Toro) and a presentation of the new 4K restoration of “The Raid,” among many, many other things.