That Day Again.

Trailer Tuesdays: My Bloody Valentine.

My pick for this week's trailer seems fairly obvious considering its proximity to a certain insidious Hallmark holiday.

Trailer courtesy of LonChaneySr

All griping aside though, it is no secret how much I love this slasher, so any opportunity to showcase it is fine by me.

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Well, that was one hell of a storm. The last time we had a snowfall like that, this blog was in its infancy. Life, however, must go on and now that we're all dug out, here's the news.

He's A Big Box Wizard.

Charles Band is a man who needs no introduction to anyone who would read this blog. He began his career at the dawn of home video and has either directed, produced or distributed hundreds of horror titles over his long career. Recently, while cleaning out one of his old warehouses, he came across something truly remarkable. Here below, is the story straight from the man himself.

I love this video because it also serves as a mini-documentary about the genesis of home video, as well as a promotional piece to hock his wares. For more info on the sale, click here.

The Dead Return.

The Walking Dead returns from its mid-season hiatus this evening and all week AMC has had their hype machine cranked to eleven. For the last several days, Toronto's Union Station has been host to this little display.

For a closer look, check out this video courtesy of sajak551.

Michonne McFarlan'd.

Staying on the topic of TWD, McFarlaneToys recently unveiled this little piece of awesomeness.

Right click to enlarge.

This 14.5” Resin statue is limited to 1500 pieces and will set you back three-hundred bones. Pre-orders start tomorrow, so click here if you want more info.

That's it for now. If you'll excuse me, I have some necromorphs to strategically dismember.

Night of the Demon (#8)

Viewing the next entry on the Time Out Best 100 List, Jacques Tourneur's 1957 film Night of the Demon, turned out to be quite the adventure. It began with a trip to the video store (yes, they still exist) that netted me a copy of a Z-grade eighties flick about a killer Bigfoot which shared the same moniker. I knew almost nothing of Tourneur's film, but the moment this other one flashed onscreen, I knew there had been some egregious error made. So, after a humble exchange, I finally got my hands on the right demon.

While attempting to expose shady cult leader Julian Carswell (Niall MacGinnis), psychologist Dr. John Holden (Dana Andrews) becomes the target of a powerful demon curse. Always the skeptic, Holden dismisses the idea until some inexplicable events begin to convince him otherwise. Aided by the niece of a former victim of the curse, Holden races against time to stop Carswell's evil deeds once and for all.

Night of the Demon is a perfect example of great storytelling. It is a straightforward, dialogue driven and expertly executed tale. The strength of this film is the rivalry between Holden and Carswell. There is a real battle of wits between these two which culminates in a final confrontation on a train car which I absolutely loved. These kinds of exchanges are so rare in film these days and really exemplifies how filmmaking has changed over the last fifty years. It seems nowadays that studios feel there needs to be a grand gesture every ten minutes to keep the audience interested, when they should be concentrating on enthralling us for the nine-minutes and fifty-nine seconds previous and thus making time irrelevant.

MacGinnis (left) & Andrews as Julian Carswell and  Dr. John Holden in Night of the Demon.

Much to my surprise, I almost immediately noticed that this film was the template that director Sam Raimi used for his 2009 horror flick Drag Me To Hell. If you replace the loan officer and gypsy characters with a psychologist and cult leader, you basically have the same story. Even both climaxes take place at a train station. In tone and aesthetic, these two are obviously polar opposites, but I can't believe this comparison wasn't made more often upon Drag Me To Hell's release. This isn't a condemnation you understand, as this type of thing is common practice these days, just an observation.

However, as good as Night of the Demon is, I have to admit being a little disappointed with the actual Demon. It looked rather rudimentary, but it was somewhat offset by the cool-looking smoky visual effect that signalled its appearance. I did a little reading and found out that the creature was later added in against Tourneur's wishes by producer Hal E. Chester. I'm afraid have to side with Tourneur on this one.

The Demon cometh.

There is no question that Night of the Demon should be on the list. All the cornerstones of a great horror story are present and accounted for here. It has solid performances and a sense of dread and immediacy brought on by concise storytelling, rather than bells and whistles.

Don't Open The Closet Door!

Last fall, I mentioned I helped out on a buddy’s short. Well, it is now nearing completion and director Mike Pereira just released the teaser trailer online. Here it is below, along with three promo stills.

Trailer Tuesdays: Home Video.

I wanted to do something a little different this week. I've been looking for an opportunity to praise the wonderful archive site RetroOntario.com, and Ed Conroy's recent article on the Canadian Pay TV wars of the early eighties was just the right opportunity. Conroy's article - which you can see by going here - not only delves into the battling clans First Choice and Super Channel (which eventually amalgamated to become what is now the The Movie Network in 1984) it also covers the programming produced by said channels like Murder In Space and the anthology series The Hitchhiker. On a similar note, here is a selection of home video related ads available on RetroOntario.com. If you grew up in the GTA in the eighties, visiting this site will overwhelm you.

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Hey everyone, just checking in before I consume copious amounts of unhealthy foods and beverages as part of my annual SuperBowl festivities. Here are some choice cuts from the week.

Psycho-pella!

I came across this cool little video in my Facebook feed last week. Released this past Halloween, American musician Petra Haden created this vocally charged rendition of the theme from Psycho. Here it is below.

Man Is The Warmest...

With Dead Space 3 being released next week, Visceral Games unveiled this awesome piece of promo from artist Ron Guyatt.

I am hoping that Dead Space 3 is more like The Thing, than the Gears of War clone the demo has led me to suspect, but I guess I will see soon enough.

ABC's of EPK.

With the upcoming release of the uber-anthology ABC's of Death on March 8th, Magnet posted this short teaser featuring some of the contributors. Here it is below.

I can't help but find it comical that two of the filmmakers who appeared in this spot were responsible for the best and the worst entries. ABC's of Death is now available on VOD.