The Norliss Tapes was Dan Curtis’ follow-up to the wildly successful Kolchak TV-movies. While it also centred around a reporter caught up in supernatural events, the twist on The Norliss Tapes was that the main character was only ever portrayed in flashback. Norliss had gone missing, leaving behind a deskful of cryptic audio tapes which his publisher believed could hold the answer to his disappearance. Unfortunately, The Norliss Tapes never got past the pilot episode. Now, according to Fangoria, The Norliss Tapes will finally get its chance to shine on DVD.

And there’s a lot more coming in October from the Bay, for whom Halloween is Christmas: The 3rd also sees the DVDebut of THE NORLISS TAPES, the 1973 pilot for a never-launched TV series directed by Dan Curtis and scripted by William F. Nolan, who would reteam soon thereafter on TRILOGY OF TERROR.

As a huge fan of Kolchak, and creepy seventies horror telefilms in general, I’m really excited that I’ll finally be able to watch it.

Sometimes I feel like a beautiful maiden with two handsome suitors vying for my affection. Only substitute “beautiful maiden” with “ruggedly handsome horror blogger” and “two handsome suitors” with “killer snake movies”.

Asylum has released a trailer for its highly anticipated knock-off, Snakes On A Train. I love that, in lieu of their usual big-ticket imitations, Asylum is inadvertently reclaiming exploitative schlock from a major studio. And to top it off, they seem to deliver on the promise of their promotional art!

Trailer courtesy of Dread Central.

Master of Horror Cartooning Stephen Bissette has written a response (scroll down to the July 25th post) to the Tim Lucas article I linked to yesterday about the gradual supplantation of print ‘zines by blogs. Stephen offers another alternative. What if the release of the films themselves, if not downplaying the need for ‘zines, can be considered the continuation and maturation of the cult movie ‘zine scene?

In fact, many of these releases sport, as extras, nifty and sometimes expansive booklets that are, in fact, l’il fanzines in and of themselves. Add to those print mini-zines the tsunami of DVD bonuses, extras and ‘easter eggs’ we’ve come to take for granted, and you have digital fanzines en masse that clearly are 21st Century kith and kin to their 20th Century precursors, available from far more distribution venues than the mail-order-only-Monster-Kids of the ’60s would have dared to imagine.

There’s plenty more where that came from, and it’s an exhaustive ride. Bissette marries the old and the new in ways that are unexpected yet glaringly obvious in hindsight.

Oh, and Xerox Ferox has got to be one of the coolest names for anything, anywhere.

The long-awaited, much-anticipated DVD release of Rock ‘N Roll Nightmare has finally arrived. This sweet slice of hair metal heaven is a Canuxploitation legend and worthy of the attention of the Gods themselves!

Don’t take my word for it. Synapse Films, the masterminds behind this special edition, have compiled a handy list of reviews for your perusal. But wait! Even more exciting is a link to an interview with Writer/Producer/Actor/God of Metal Jon Mikl Thor, the steely hand behind Rock ‘N Roll Nightmare! This is a man who was immediately placed on my top friends list on The Horror Blog MySpace as much out of awe and fear as respect.

But my hammer’s gotten more developed over the years, as well as the costuming, more leather and studs, and the hammer have gotten bigger and more powerful.

Intercessor Rides…Through The Night!

The Onion’s AV Club has created a list of The 15 People You Meet Listening To DVD Audio Commentaries. It’s worth a look if you’re like me and plow through the special features, even though it spreads the joke a little thin. Of special interest to readers of this blog is number 10, The Smoker.

Listen to the clinking of lighters. Hear the satisfied exhalation of the first drag. Notice the slight mumbling caused by clenched lips. The Smoker can’t get through a track without indulging, and doesn’t care whether you notice. This type is especially common among the great horror directors. George Romero tends to cough his way through tracks, while it’s almost a pleasure to hear how much John Carpenter enjoys his smokes. Almost. (See also Kevin Smith.)

Maybe it’s just me, but this is the only type on the list that is given some small amount of respect.

It appears to be stop-motion animation day here at The Horror Blog. Animation Magazine has an informative review of Equinox, a 1960s backyard homage to Harryhausen madness by special effects pioneers Dennis Muren, Dave Allen and Jim Danforth. Leave it to art-house favourites Criterion to give the deluxe treatment most budget DVD companies wouldn’t even touch. I’ve been waiting for this one for months, and it doesn’t sound like it will disapoint.

Fans of mainstream movies will probably want to take a pass, but those who appreciate bizarre cinema, stop-motion animation and low-budget, creature feature drive-in fun (you know who your are!) will definitely want to add this one to their collection.

Add “Likes long walks on the beach” and you’ve got my personals ad. Check out a scratchy trailer for the movie here.

Mondo Macabro delivers once again, this time with a piece of Lollywood Horror entitled Hairy Beast. Before you watch it, I have to warn you of two things.

First, this seems to be some sort of condensed version of the entire movie, as you actually get to see its resolution. So if you would rather not have the movie spoiled for you, as much as that’s possible with this kind of film, don’t watch the clip.

Second, this clip is crazy in the best possible way. It comes with my highest recommendation.

In support of their forthcoming Bollywood Horror collection, Mondo Macabre have placed one of the featurettes from that upcoming release on Youtube. Entitled “Freddie, Jason and… Saamri - The Ramsays and the Birth of Bollywood Horror”, it’s a fascinating peek inside a rarely seen sub-sub-genre. The Horror Blog, entertaining and educational!

John Waters has been tapped by Synapse Films to do a commentary track for their dvd release of Christmas Evil. In a way, I like fan commentaries even more than by those who worked on the film, from Eli Roth on Bloodsucking Freaks to Joe Bob Briggs on numerous dvds, especially Jesse James Meets Frankenstein’s Daughter.

A friend of mine recently pointed me in the direction of fan commentaries provided over the internet, something we’ve decided to explore ourselves in the future. Some of the more notable ones include Suspiria and The Texas Chain Saw Massacre.