I never realized until I started this blog that there are certain topics that keep attracting comments long after most everyone has moved on. Case in point, the Blind Dead vs. Jason Voorhees and Michael Myers rumble from last year’s Horror Blog Monster Rally. There are 15 comments up there at this point, 14 of which were made long after the contest closed, 8 of them in just one day by the same person, and practically all of them discussing a fight other than the one originally presented. Obviously reading comprehension skills are not necessary at Chateau Horror Blog.

no the f he is not jason is way way bigger then micheael and stronger too

MICHEAEL CANT WIN AGIANTS JASON VOORHEES HANDS DOWN JASON WILL WIN MICHEAELS NOT AS BIG OR AS STRONG AS JASON

Apologies to Sean for the title.

“”Death Note” stories contain elements of mystery, death and revenge, and are harmful to children’s psychological development.” - From a statement by the Chinese government on illicit horror material.

It’s easy to get lost in the minutae of North American horror cinema and neglect the big picture. While most bloggers, myself included, are pondering the fate of R-rated horror, half a world away there’s a genuine War on Horror.

It all started with Death Note, a hugely popular horror manga which tells the story of a boy who comes into possession of a notebook which has the power to kill anyone whose name is written within. With the help of the internet, Death Note and other horror publications have fallen into the hands of eager students in China, who find the stories to be a great way to deal with stress and anxiety. Some students were so taken with the story that they created their own Death Note binders, which they used to catalogue the names of people they were angry with. These people included their own parents and teachers, who did not take kindly to being marked for death.

The result has been a nationwide crackdown on all horror material. According to the agency in charge of dealing with pornography and other harmful materials, they have confiscated 5,912 “Death Note” books, 11,930 other illegal horror books, and 1,364 horror CDs and DVDs, most of which are likely bootlegs to begin with. The government also intends on clamping down on horror content on the internet.

The ban has even resulted in actual death threats from students directed at teachers, which has only strengthened the government’s stance.

I’m off to Gay Woodstock tomorrow and the only lighter I own is a Godzilla make that roars really loud.

Movies

Eli Roth insists that his adaptation of Stephen King’s Cell will be a true adaptation. King purists revolt, I rejoice.

David Goyer set to get pigeonholed as “that invisible guy” with an upcoming remake of the Invisible Man.

Pakistani filmmakers attempt to resurrect dying film industry with zombie movie.

The Bruce Campbell Army descends on Vegas.

I just like the mental image of krumping vampires.

DVD

The Final Girl Film Club returns with The Innocents. Hope you did your homework.

Interviews

A pair of surprisingly frank interviews for the 50th anniversary of I Was A Teenage Werewolf.

Billy Connelly, the only real reason to watch Fido, discusses what it took for him to become a zombie.

Fido director Andrew Currie fills in the rest.

Courtney Solomon discusses those Captivity billboards and Eli Roth’s feud with After Dark Films.

Literature

Blogher presents the highlights from Stephen King’s recent trip to Toronto. I’ve really got to get going on that myself.

Comics

Mike Sterling, my American brother from another mother, contributes a horror-themed guest strip to The Rack. He’s just lucky I wasn’t in the store or I would have geek-slapped him good.

The Comics Reporter reviews House.

Theatre

The Gate gives another take on Evil Dead - The Musical. Man, that’s yet another event I was supposed to write about. Summer’s making me lazy.

Vampire Lesbians of Sodom. ‘Nuff said.

Blogging

Kimberly of Cinebeats gets groovy. Of course I knew she was joining The Groovy Age of Horror. I’m the Dr. Mabuse of horror blogging.

Events

The American Cinematheque of Los Angeles has announced its Fantasy, Horror & Science Fiction Film Fest line-up and it looks sweet.

In July, the dead of the Niagara region shall rise up and feast on the living. Expect to see me there.

Misc.

Bill Cunningham, international hater of zombies, discusses the topic on Geekerati.

Crave Online compiles a list of cinema’s toughest dads.

Doctor Fate vs. the Deep Ones

Not-Horror

Congratulations to David Z. and family on the birth of daughter, Romay Linberg Anulka Zuzelo!

If you’re aware of an event I can place here, or are planning one yourself, please send me an email at steven@thehorrorblog.com.

Notable Theatrical Releases

June 22nd - 1408
June 22nd - Black Sheep (Limited)
July 6th - Joshua (Limited)
July 13th - Captivity
July 27th - Skinwalkers

Notable DVD Release

June 19th - The Abandoned

Notable Comic Book Releases

June 20th, 2007

Hellblazer #233
Texas Chainsaw Massacre Cut
Walking Dead #38
Walking Dead Hardcover Vol. 2
Ghost Rider #12

Events

June 16th - July 22nd (Astoria, New York) - The Museum of the Moving Image presents It’s Only A Movie: Horror Films From The 1970s and Today.
June 21st (Toronto, Ontario) - Rue Morgue Magazine’s Cinemacabre presents Deathdream.
June 22nd (Toronto, Ontario) - Friday Night Frights presents Death Race 2000.
June 22nd (Toronto, Ontario) - Trash Palace, Toronto’s Classiest Theatre, presents Frankenstein’s Daughter.
June 22nd - June 24th (Dallas, Texas) - Texas Frightmare Weekend, featuring guests George A. Romero, John Russo, Russ Streiner, Linnea Quigley, Sid Haig and Bill Moseley.
June 29th (Toronto, Ontario) - Friday Night Frights presents C.H.U.D.

July 3rd (Toronto, Ontario) - Cinematheque Ontario presents La Belle et la Bete.
July 5th - July 23rd (Montreal, Quebec) - The Fantasia Film Festival 2007.
July 6th (Toronto, Ontario) - Cinematheque Ontario presents Day of Wrath.
July 13th - July 14th (Phoenixville, Pennsylvania) - The Colonial Theater presents Blobfest.
July 13th - July 14th (St. Catharines, Ontario) - Niagara Region Zombie Walk.
July 13th (Toronto, Ontario) - Cinematheque Ontario presents Spirit of the Beehive.
July 19th (Toronto, Ontario) - Cinematheque Ontario presents Knife in the Water.
July 20th-22nd (Rosemont, Illinois) - Flashback Weekend, featuring guests Robert Englund, Heather Langenkamp, John Saxon, Amanda Wyss and more.
July 24th (Toronto, Ontario) - Cinematheque Ontario presents Kwaidan.
July 28th (Toronto, Ontario) - Cinematheque Ontario presents Ugetsu.

Name your favourite horror movie sequel.

Sean T. Collins - Attentiondeficitdisorderly Too Flat

If you’d asked me a month or two ago, I’d have stuck with the franchise I touted last week and gone with Hellbound: Hellraiser II, no question. It’s a note-perfect continuation of the original’s themes coupled with an enriching expansion of the original’s mythos, with some of the most gruesome special effects ever committed to the screen. But the astonishingly powerful and harrowing 28 Weeks Later is a contender, most definitely.

Jeff O’ Brien

Aliens. I don’t consider that to be Sci Fi…

Nathan - MicroHorror

I’m not a big fan of sequels. There are a number of major horror franchises in which I’ve watched the first film but none of the follow-ups, including Nightmare on Elm Street, Child’s Play, Scream and Saw. That said, I’m going to name 1978’s Dawn of the Dead as the best horror movie sequel I’ve seen (I know I named Return of the Living Dead as my all-time favorite horror movie in last week’s Roundtable, but I don’t consider it a sequel). In Dawn, George Romero takes the universe of Night of the Living Dead and both opens it up and refocuses it. Night was a vicious representation of Cold War paranoia writ small, but Dawn takes a broader view and sets its sights on American consumerism and mall culture. Romero’s we-are-the-monsters commentary has been often imitated, but never duplicated.

Bill Cunningham - DisContent

Legally Blonde 2…

Be afraid. Be very afraid….

David Z. - Tomb It May Concern

It gets a lot of flak, but I really LOVE Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2. It is a perfect mixture of black comedy and balls out gore-and features some memorable nasty bits (’it’s wet”) and great lines. “It’s a dog eat dog world…and from where I sit, there just ain’t enough damn dogs!!”

Kimberly - Cinebeats

I love all the Hammer horror sequels. Their Dracula and Frankenstein films are all fantastic in my opinion.

I also really like Inferno (1980), Bride of Frankenstein (1935), Return of the Fly (1959), Dr.
Phibes Rises Again (1972), Dawn of the Dead (1978) Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (1986), Halloween II (1981), Aliens (1986) and Evil Dead II (1987), even though it was more of a remake than an actual sequel. A few of the sequels I mentioned are better or just as good as the originals.

Tim - Mondo Schlocko

Favorite horror movie sequel would have to be RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD 2. As much as I love the hell out of the first, part two is the one that just sticks in my head more than the other.

Dave - Rue Morgue’s The Abbatoir

My fave horror sequels:

Dawn of the Dead is the obvious one but some other faves that spring to mind are Phantasm II, Return of the Living Dead Part II, Amityville II: The Possession and The Exorcist III. And it goes without saying that Leprechaun Back 2 Tha Hood is a masterpiece for the ages. Seriously, though, I watched it on Christmas day a few years ago and it proved to the be the perfect fun, stupid antidote to cloying holiday sentimentality. A recommended experience!

They said it couldn’t be done. Thanks to everyone who made this follow-up to last week’s Roundtable such a success. Make sure you pop by next week for a continuation of this exciting franchise. And if we’ve missed your favourite sequel, please let us know in the comments below.

The Rue Mortuary is spreading the news that friends of late indie filmmaker Don Dohler are putting on a benefit to provide for Dohler’s mentally challenged sister, Joy. The event itself is being held in Baltimore, Maryland on June 23rd with a silent auction and a screening of two of Dohler’s films.

For those who can’t make it, the organizers are accepting donations via Paypal at timewarpfilms@comcast.net or by cheque or money order made out to ‘Joy Dohler Fund’ at Timewarp Films, 18530 Falls Road, Hampstead, Maryland, 21074. Organizers are also seeking out items for their silent auction and can be reached at the email address above.

If you can afford it, please consider donating.

Wow. It’s been over three months since I did one of these horror info dumps. Enjoy!

Movies

Laurie Bartram 1958 - 2007.

Expectations vs. Reality. Hostel II underperforms, yet it will still probably be one of the most profitable movies of the year.

Roeper calls bullshit on Roth. Literally. Is he even allowed to swear?

Elizabeth Banks cast as evil stepmother in Tale of Two Sisters remake. Oh, man. Does this mean it’s actually going forward?

Eli Roth’s perfect storm of horror.

Sean T. Collins takes a gander at a batch of trailers, including I Am Legend, Invasion and 30 Days of Night.

Skull Ring dissects the LA Times take on Horror Box Office.

That was quick! Saw IV already finished shooting!.

Saw Watch 2007 continues. I’ve got to admit, I like the poster.

DVD

Grindhouse to be split in two.

Games

Survival Horror comes to the incredibly small screen.

Literature

Stephen King’s latest to premiere in Esquire. I love that at least some people have the clout to get the short story in mainstream magazines.

Excerpt from Stephen King’s forward for his upcoming Richard Bachman book.

Comics

Sequart looks at four horror graphic novels from Fantagraphics. Zombie comics by Jason? Sold. Courtesy of Journalista.

World’s worst rampaging robot.

Real World

Vampire Moths of Finland.

Misc.

Moby wants to be a vampire; wonders if it would interfere with being vegan.

A zombie primer.

After a lengthy lull things are finally starting to pick up here at Page 666. Here are a few blind items concerning the best and the brightest of the Horrorcognesti.

Which former HorrorCast cohort wrote Page SixSixSix an email about Hostel II which stated, “While watching the movie I felt kinda shitty cause you weren’t there because I was the only one laughing during the movie and I knew if you were with me, you would have been laughing along with me”? That’s just about the sweetest thing you can say to a fellow horror nerd.

Which proprieter of the world’s first smokelong Horror fiction site has joined The Horror Roundtable? And which knowledgable member of the Rue Mortuary has not only signed up for the Roundtable, but started his own blog dedicated to the obscure and sleazy?

Which stupidly prolific blogger celebrated his 2nd anniversary last week, just shy of The Horror Blog’s first anniversary? And which former Flat Earth Hunk-of-the-Month snagged himself a swell promotion at the day job? Coincidence?

Which Dorothy Parker celebrity impersonator lost Charles Nelson Reilly only to find God? Or is that the other way around?

Which Son of Odin celebrated his birthday this weekend where he received a set of Sword and Sandal movies wrapped in a Titanic giftbag like a modern-day Trojan horse?

Which ruggedly handsome blogger has been cheating on his horror site with a tumblog devoted to comics, animation and illustration?

Which notorious merchant of sleaze is expecting, and why are they still allowing him to breed? Is it to provide cheap labour for his nefarious online activities?

Which Rue Morgue regular started his column with the words “I don’t care about Grindhouse”, then proceeded to spend an entire page talking about it?

When he’s not getting his cock stung by scorpions, which “groovy” blogger is on the hunt for jet-setting female correspondents?

Speaking of globe-trotting ladies, which Vegas-bound blogger has a thing for Edwige Fenech. Yowza! Page SixSixSix-approved!

Which auteur, seen recently canoodling with various up-and-coming starlets, has finally finished his 16mm opus?

Got snaps of Lindsey Lohan making out with George A. Romero on the dancefloor? Spotted Paris Hilton and Jack Hill discussing a WIP biopic? Contact Page SixSixSix at steven@thehorrorblog.com with all your horror gossip!

Name your all-time favourite horror movie.

T Van - Tolerated Vandalism

Favourite all-time horror movie? I’m sure I’m mentioned a little movie called Halloween in the past. It’s one of John Carpenter’s masterpieces. It was one of the first horror movies I ever saw. My father and brother were watching it on TV in the early ’80’s and I happened to catch the opening sequence when young Michael kills his sister. I was terrified. The film still holds up 29 years later.

It’s the quintessential slasher flick that set the standard for countless knockoffs in the years to follow. If you haven’t seen Halloween, you’ve never seen a great horror film. I just hope that Rob Zombie doesn’t fuck up the remake.

Dave - Rue Morgue’s The Abbatoir

Oh come on, now! It’s like asking a parent who his favourite child is. Don’t even go there, Wintle…

Sean T. Collins - Attentiondeficitdisorderly Too Flat

This is an EXTREMELY difficult question to answer because there are a half-dozen or so horror movies I just love to pieces. But I’m going to say Hellraiser, because it fills my heart with a transgressive glee, like something different is flowing through my veins after I’ve watched it, a feeling just as strong now as it was the first time.

Jeff O’Brien

Dawn of the Dead

Nathan - MicroHorror

All-time favorite? Pick only one? You asked for it: 1985’s Return of the Living Dead. It has everything that I want in a horror movie. First, even though it’s a spin-off, it has its own original premise and mythos. Zombies demanding brains to eat is a trope of the genre, and this is the movie that started it all. Second, the script is smart, funny and endlessly quotable. It runs the gamut from comedy to terror to pathos, veering through some unpredictable twists along the way, and never misses a mark. I’d wax poetic about some of my favorite scenes and gags, but I don’t want to spoil the pleasure for any newcomers. Third, the special effects and makeup are creative and gruesome. The emaciated “tar-barrel” zombie is a particular standout. And finally, but by no means least, Return of the Living Dead has some of the best horror nudity I’ve ever seen. If you’re the sort of person who likes to look at naked women, and I know I am, Linnea Quigley’s graveyard striptease will haunt your dreams.

Some great horror movies make you break out in a cold sweat and dread the unknown. Other great horror movies make you ponder the depravity hidden in the human soul. Return of the Living Dead will make you grin from ear to ear. It’s just that much fun.

Rony

My favourite horror movie has got to be The Changling. That movie still scares the living crap out of me. Yeah it’s slow in the beginning, but the sequence with the wheel chair always freaks me out.

Louis - Damaged 2.0

LARRY THE CABLE GUY: HEALTH INSPECTOR. I no longer believe in a kind, loving God.

JA - My New Plaid Pants

Not just my favorite horror movie, it may be my favorite movie, period - Roman Polanski’s Rosemary’s Baby. I love every single thing about it, and have probably seen it upwards of twenty times. Most valuable lesson I have ever learned: Beware the chalky under-taste!

Brainbug - The Celluloid Cesspool

Right now, my favourite is Amando de Ossorio’s When the Screaming Stops. It’s a Spanish horror film about the legend of Lorelei, the Rhine River siren who killed sailors by luring them to the water with her beauty. The movie opens with a bride-to-be getting killed by a large lizard-like beast in a small sleepy village. The siren is beautiful by day but turns into a slimy monster by moonlight. The town is appalled by the murder and the local girl’s boarding school hired a professional hunter to keep them safe. This leads to more deaths, some romance and the inevitable showdown in an underwater cave. The movie is a blast and features frequent, blood-soaked murders. There are terrific close-ups of flesh being ripped apart and hearts being torn out. I also love the blind violin player who recounts the legend, the siren’s man-servant Alberic who likes whipping people, the abundance of lovely female students who spend all their time in bathing suits and revealing nightgowns, the rubbery beast that enjoys jumping through windows and eating human hearts, and the scientist who has sheep running around in his laboratory while he develops a way to kill the monster. Plus Tony Kendall is great as the burly hunter and Silvia Tortosa is simply gorgeous as the vulnerable boarding school teacher. This is an often gory, sometime unintentionally funny and always entertaining horror film. I can’t recommend it enough! It’s also known as The Lorelei’s Grasp, but I prefer the VHS version since it includes spliced-in red flashes of impending doom before every death scene.

Bill Cunningham - DisContent

I cannot answer this one!!!!!!! Aaaargh!

Doug Nagy

Hellraiser is my favorite horror movie. I love this film for many reasons, and it is scary as hell. I remember the first time I saw the film how freaked out i was when the hooks started to sink into the flesh after the puzzle box was unsuccessfully solved. The Cenobites are just badass, and a woman goes to bars, to entrap men to murder, so she can bring back her dead brother in law (to continue their affair).

Curt - Groovy Age of Horror

Hmmmmm . . . if I’m in a giallo mood, it’s BIRD WITH THE CRYSTAL PLUMAGE, but if I’m in a gothic monster mood (as I happen to be now), it’s NIGHT OF THE WEREWOLF.

David Z. - Tomb It May Concern

Favorite horror film has to be HOUSE BY THE CEMETERY. It captures everything I like about Eurohorror, Lucio Fulci (my gateway drug) and spooky house flicks.

And gore…lots of gore!

An amazing score, a crack director with a stacked deck of talent and a monster called FREUDSTEIN. How can you beat that.

Kimberly - Cinebeats

Impossible to answer. I’m going to have to pass on this week’s roundtable. I could put a Top 100 List together if I had more time or maybe pick a favorite “zombie” “ghost” “vampire” or some other sub-genre film, but I just can’t name one horror title that I love above all else.

Gary Wintle

Gremlins

It’s hard to even look at as a horror movie nowadays and I’ll probably think of another one after I’m done this. Gremlins scared and thrilled the hell out of me when I was a kid. From those cocoons opening, to the swimming pool scene and especially striped melting and bubbling with the skull underneath…holy shit, I love that movie. So many great moments of terror and twisted hilarity.

Not only is this the fiftieth weekly Roundtable, it’s also The Horror Blog’s one-year anniversary! Boy, it feels as if it’s been going forever, doesn’t it? Like it will never end. Thanks to all the hooligans above for sticking with it. Won’t you add your own favourite to the comments below?

I wonder how long before Rue Morgue was going to announce the appearance of Dario Argento’s more-talented, lesser-known brother, Mario at this year’s Festival of Fear.

“Guests for the Festival of Fear chapter of the Expo include a super-rare appearance by director Mario Argento (Suspira) and a not-so-rare visit from George Romero.”

I’ve never been a big fan of Suspiria, overshadowed as it is by the superior film Suspira. And really, aren’t we all getting just a little tired of George Romero’s (sic) repeated visits to the Festival of Fear? After all, it’s only been, what, three or four years?

Name a movie monster you feel hasn’t been given its due.

Dave - Rue Morgue’s The Abbatoir

Without a doubt, The Crawling Eye. This is one of the great unsung horror classics, mainly because the monsters kick so much ass. I just noticed it rates a paltry 3.9 our of 10 on the IMDb. WTF?

The Crawling Eye has a posse!

Nathan - MicroHorror

I hope I don’t lose any horror cred by naming Venom, from Spider-Man 3. Sam Raimi had a fantastic monster on his hands, and the visual effects to back it up, but he blew it. Eddie Brock, the cocky photographer willing to cheat his way into fame, is the dark mirror of Peter Parker, while Venom’s powers echo those of Spider-Man, but with added strength and brutality. Raimi squandered all this potential by cramming Venom into an already crowded movie, reducing him to little more than a cameo and cheating audiences out of a great movie monster.

Jeff O’Brien

BIGFOOT!!!!!

Sean T. Collins - Attentiondeficitdisorderly Too Flat

You know what was awesome? The Gorax, from the made-for-TV Star Wars spin-off The Ewok Adventure. I love me some giant monsters. And you know what else was REALLY awesome? The Watcher in the Water from The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring–as my buddy Ken pointed out to me, it’s the best cinematic representation of Cthulhu ever.

Basically, I love monsters that aren’t from horror movies proper–from the garbage-chute creature, the space slug, the mynocks, the Rancor and pretty much everything else in Jabba’s palace in SW to the cave troll, the orcs, the Uruk-Hai, the ringwraiths, the mumakil, the fell beasts, and Shelob in LotR to such infamous examples as the flying monkeys in The Wizard of Oz–because they get in under the radar and do lots of damage to children, and what goal is more noble than that? I think we buffs as a group underestimate the impact that non-horror monsters have on the imaginations of the viewing public.

Bill Cunningham - DisContent

Creature from the Black Lagoon…

Every creature in the Universal pantheon has been successfully remade except this razor-clawed, water-breathing, stealth amphibian man. Someone needs to make this movie happen! John Carpenter came close, but shuttered the project.

Imagine an intelligent creature that can swim anywhere, any depth, that goes up against a secret program of DARPA (The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is an agency of the United States Department of Defense responsible for the development of new technology for use by the military — courtesy Wikipedia) that is trying to capture the creature and create more “undersea agents” of destruction. (I hope you get the reference)

Mix THE DAY OF THE DOLPHIN with this creature and you have something that would rawk!

Kimberly - Cinebeats

After seeing photos of the “Monster Pig” last week I’d have to say that giant wild pigs have not been that well represented in horror movies yet. The Razorback (1984) movie was a pretty poor effort and I’d like to see a horror film where Monster Pigs are really used to good effect.

JA - My New Plaid Pants

The Spider Gremlin from Gremlins 2: The New Batch!

Cuz Gremlin + Spider = HARDCORE BADASS.

Too bad a muppet in a handkerchief headband took him out in his prime.

Rony

Now, I’m not too sure if this is classified as a movie monster or not but the sharks from “Deep Blue Sea”, you know, the movie with LL Cool J. Many people just thought that it was some stupid sharks but if you think about it those sharks where as smart as you or I (okay smarter than LL Cool J). If those sharks were actually real, I would never set foot in water, or even in a boat, because those things would just rip me apart. The first people to be killed would be those fish lovin’ hippies who will try and protect them, and then the hicks with guns will be next on the menu. You may say “Well, they’re stuck in the water. They can’t do anything on land. We’re safe here.” WRONG! Those jerks will find a way to get us. Maybe through the sewers, maybe through aquariums. You can’t trust a fish. Never trust a fish!

Tim - Mondo Schlocko

My answer would have to be the CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON. This poor guy got one fantastic film and a couple crummy sequels and a sure-to-be crappy remake. It deserves more. I would have loved to see the monster get some sort of Hammer treatment back in the day. After all they did Frankenstein’s Monster, Dracula, and the Mummy, but never a CREATURE flick.

David Z. - Tomb It May Concern

I think there is a shortage of Aswang horrors… that needs to be fixed-this Filipino Frightener rocks. There are some local Filipino productions, but very few in English. For example…

Also, have we seen any good hopping vampires lately?

Thanks to all the boils and ghouls who were up to this week’s Roundtable challenge. Make sure you check out their wares, and if you have a spare moment please leave a comment detailing your favourite overlooked monster. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to make a “The Crawling Eye has a posse” t-shirt.