The rumor mill went into overdrive again last week as Babak Anvari, the director brought onboard to direct the first true sequel to CLOVERFIELD, gave just a few scraps of development details regarding the long-delayed project. Nothing much in the way of new info was offered, but I guess fans should just be happy that the goddamn thing is actually still being considered at this point.

This got me thinking about the very first poster I saw for CLOVERFIELD, way back circa late 2007. Though I love the theatrical poster we ended up with (featuring a headless Statue of Liberty and replete with a number of details and Easter eggs), Paramount’s teaser poster was horrifying in its simplicity. Showing a herculean shadow over a cramped and murky Manhattan, it offered only one word of advice: HIDE.

#onesheetwonders #cloverfield #babakanvari #paramount #teaserposters

DARKROOM seemingly had a simple, easily-attainable mission: have the charismatic James Coburn introduce two to three short tales of mystery, suspense, and horror each week during prime time. Rod Serling’s NIGHT GALLERY had already been off the air for almost a decade, so audiences were surely in the mood for a new anthology show, right? How could it go wrong?

Well, it did. Spectacularly. 

Right off the bat, ABC stuck DARKROOM with a 9pm Friday night showing. In the biz, this is commonly known as the “death slot”, where good shows (or shows that used to be good) go to die. This is because working stiffs historically opt to go out on Friday nights to celebrate the coming weekend rather than sit at home in front of the squawk box. 

For those who didn’t party or who were too young to do so (like me), there was DARKROOM…at least for the scant two months it ran during the holiday season of 1981-1982. Like any other horror anthology offering, some of the scripts were unfocused, rushed, or had their content watered down for television. In the face of these usual obstacles, DARKROOM was curiously able to jump out the gate with a unique tale that, more than 40 years later, has become prescient and downright disturbing. 

In a segment entitled “Closed Circuit”, Greg Conway, an aging new anchor, suspects his colleague has been replaced with a look-alike. Digging deeper into the mire of network politics, Conway discovers that his friend’s broadcasts have indeed been usurped by an electronic doppelganger and, even worse, he is next on the list for replacement. Alluding to such topics as computer-manipulated pixels and the constant threat of ageism for those growing older in the public eye, Alan Brennert’s teleplay plays out like some kind of prototype for David Cronenberg’s VIDEODROME. It’s an astonishingly astute commentary on the disposability of celebrities, the power of their fickle viewers, and the encroachment of the digital revolution. 

Despite solid storytelling like “Closed Circuit” and some other entertaining tales, DARKROOM never stood a chance against CBS hits like “The Dukes of Hazzard” and “Dallas”. The series was unceremoniously yanked after its first seven episodes sank to the bottom of the Nielsens. However, its failure did help pave the way for a wave of horror anthology successes later in 1980s, including TALES FROM THE DARKSIDE, THE HITCHHIKER, TALES FROM THE CRYPT, FRIDAY THE 13th: THE SERIES, and respectable reboots of ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS and Serling’s own TWILIGHT ZONE.

Though the series never got a proper release in most territories, I urge you to catch “Closed Circuit”, as well as other DARKROOM episodes, over at the Internet Archive.    

#smallscreenscreams #darkroom #closedcircuit #jamescoburn #alanbrennert #ABC #CBS #dallas #thedukesofhazzard #anthology #rodserling #nightgallery #thetwilightzone #alfredhitchcockpresents #talesfromthecrypt #talesfromthedarkside #fridaythe13ththeseries #thehitchhiker #davidcronenberg #videodrome #ageism 

Those wily folks at New Line Cinema and RCA/Columbia Pictures teamed up to bring CRITTERS home to all of us.

Of all the high-profile GREMLINS rip-offs, this was probably the best received. Sure, GHOULIES had that poster with the big toilet and HOBGOBLINS was so bad it made it onto “Mystery Science Theater 3000”, but only CRITTERS had those roly-poly Krites, as well as Dee Wallace and Billy Zane!

#fearflashbacks #critters #krites #newlinecinema #rca #columbiapictures #gremlins #ghoulies #hobgoblins #mysterysciencetheater3000 #deewallace #billyzane

I fell ass-backwards into this little number just the other day and decided it was perfect for my St. Patrick’s Day post.

This one is courtesy of the folks at Tom Spina Creations, who were hired to build a custom mannequin to display the actual costume worn by Warwick Davis in LEPRECHAUN (1993). You gotta admit they did an awesome job here. After 30 years, the outfit is still in beautiful condition, and the workers at TSC crafted a perfect way to show it off.

Check out the full details over at Tom Spina Creations!

#horrorhappenings #leprechaun #stpatricksday #warwickdavis #tomspinacreations

We haven’t had any deadites for a bit, so let’s send you into the weekend with a little bit of evil Ed Getley from EVIL DEAD II, courtesy of the Fangoria Poster Magazine #2 (1988).

#onesheetwonders #evildead2deadbydawn #deadites #edgetley #fangoria

LOL! It’s true, it’s true!

And let me tell ya, folks, there are places in the Pacific Northwest where these goddamn trucks are EVERYWHERE. Therefore, if you were totally traumatized by this scene, don’t even think of visiting anything close to the state of Oregon anytime soon.

#killermemes&comics #finaldestination2 #loggingtrucks #pacificnorthwest #oregon

With its subjective direction, gory kills, and curious-artist-in-danger plot, it may be tempting to dismiss Lamberto Bava’s second feature, A BLADE IN THE DARK, as a derivative mix of two of Dario Argento’s classics, DEEP RED (1975) and TENEBRAE (1982). But when you consider Bava’s maturing sense of suspense while delivering a host of nasty, blood-soaked particulars, the film becomes a bit more difficult to assess, especially when compared to his downright awful directorial debut, MACABRO (1980).

Bava’s pedigree–serving as a protege of sorts to Dario Argento while being the son of Mario Bava, the man who pretty much put giallo thrillers on the map–is never as evident as it is here. A composer sits alone in an isolated house, working on the soundtrack for an upcoming thriller. As he immerses himself in the creative process, he begins to experience some top-shelf heebie-jeebies of his own. Soon, he finds himself trapped in a film within a film, his own surreal life unfolding like a scene set to the very score he was hired to compose. Some of the sequences come off head-scratching one minute and hilarious the next, but Bava consistently instills an air of danger around a number of ugly murder sequences. Little details – a thatch of a victim’s hair caught in a wire fence, slashed Penthouse nudes, and the click-click-click of the killer’s utility knife–form a muscular frame for the film’s sour mix of graphic physical violence and quiet, stylized creeps.

The killer’s identity seemed pretty damn obvious to me from the get-go, but the ‘how’ and ‘why’ are more important than the ‘whom’. However, when you’re dealing with a slasher film that runs 108 minutes, a heavy dollop of misogyny can go a long way, and A BLADE IN THE DARK is more than happy to oblige in that department. Most of the victims are pretty females, some who grace the screen for mere minutes before being brutalized via a range of shiny, sharp-edged weapons. 

Despite its director admitting the film is a parody of gore films, A BLADE IN THE DARK is a cruel, uncomfortable experience. But that’s kind of the point, isn’t it? Though Bava’s career would arguably peak two years later with DEMONS (1985), and the genre would later normalize the kind of mean-spirited murder sequences on display here, his work was rarely as distasteful, intriguing, or disturbing as it was here. 

#unclean&unseen #abladeinthedark #lambertobava #macabro #demons #darioargento #tenebrae #deepred #giallo

Little known fact: I actually saw JAWS in the theater. My crazy-ass parents took me to it when I was a year old…and I fell asleep during it.

Therefore, I was certainly glad to read an article over at Bloody Disgusting that the film is getting a re-release this summer to coincide with it’s golden anniversary. The film serves as the genesis of the ‘summer blockbuster’, as many have tried and failed to replicate its tremendous success over the last 50 years.

My advice? Find a theater with good speakers. In addition to John Williams’ iconic soundtrack rightfully snagging an Oscar, the film also won an Academy Award for Best Sound.

JAWS is set to terrorize you all over again the week of August 29th. Click here to check out Bloody Disgusting’s original article.

#horrorhappenings #jaws #johnwilliams #50thanniversary #academyawards #bloodydisgusting

Damn, what a deal we have for you today!

Today’s flashback is from the original theatrical run of John Carpenter’s HALLOWEEN, during which they actually gave away copies of the tie-in novel to audience members! As some of you may know, the film had a very sluggish theatrical run that started in October 1978 and was still traipsing through cinemas two years later, as this advert features double bills with MOTHER’S DAY and THE EXTERMINATOR, both of which debuted in September 1980.

Considering the novel, originally penned by Curtis Richards and released a bit belatedly in 1979, went on to become quite the spendy artifact, this giveaway was a smart method to entice horror hounds into theater seats.

#fearflashbacks #halloween #tieinnovels #johncarpenter #curtisrichards #mothersday #theexterminator

Today, we have one of the stop-motion models from Tim Burton’s MARS ATTACKS! I saw this little guy in recent years at the Museum of Pop Culture (MoPOP) in Seattle. Definitely check the place out if you’re ever in the city.

I still have lots to share from the museum so keep an eye out for more posts in the coming weeks and months!

#fearflashbacks #marsattacks #timburton #museumofpopculture #mopop #seattle