Horror – ScienceFiction.com

New Horror Series ‘Basilisk’ Coming From Comic Book Stalwarts Cullen Bunn And Jonas Scharf

Tony Schaab - Senior Editor — Mon, 10 May 2021 18:05:12 +0000

New horror tales can sometimes be a mixed bag, but it’s undeniable that the genre routinely puts forth some of the most unique and original stories of any area of entertainment today. So when a new idea comes around, it’s wise for fans to give it, whatever “it” may be, a good look. News came over the weekend about ‘Basilisk,’ a new horror-themed comic-book series coming next month from BOOM! Studios and long-time industry creator Cullen Bunn. Those who follow comics will recognize Bunn’s name from his work on such previous properties as the X-Men, Deadpool, Aquaman, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Green Lantern, Moon Knight, and more. Bunn is also the creator of several comic series, most notably Harrow County, Bone Parish, and Dark Ark. With acclaimed artist Jonas Scharf handling the interior visuals, the series is front-loaded with enough star power for readers to get their money’s worth. As for the details of the story itself, here is the “official” synopsis from BOOM! Studios: Who Can Stop The Chimera? Five individuals bound by a cult-like hivemind, they terrorize small towns with their horrifying, supernatural sense-based powers, leaving death and destruction in their wake. Regan, one of the Chimera, escaped […]

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Throwback Thursday: ‘Planet of the Vampires’ (1965)

Tony Schaab - Senior Editor — Thu, 11 Mar 2021 17:30:56 +0000

At first glance, ‘Planet of the Vampires’ could easily be mistaken for just another kitschy ‘60s sci-fi B-movie. But those “in the know” revere this movie as one of the very first crossover horror/sci-fi films, a front-runner for great movies like ‘Alien’ and ‘Event Horizon’ and that’s why it’s this week’s Thowback Thursday, ScienceFiction.com’s ongoing column to great science fiction of the past. Filmed at Cinecittà Studios in Rome, the movie features an international cast and was shot by director Mario Bava on a shoestring budget – but Bava did such a great job of making the film look like a big production that you definitely wouldn’t think otherwise while watching it. In the film, two large interplanetary exploration ships, the Argos and the Galliott, respond to a distress signal originating from the unexplored planet Aura. Upon their attempts to land, both crews become possessed by an unknown force and violently try to kill each other; only through the willpower and efforts of Captain Mark Markary (Barry Sullivan) commander of the Argos, is the Argos’ crew prevented from seriously injuring each other. Upon traversing the treacherous molten terrain of the planet to reach the now-unresponsive Galliott, Argos’ crew discovers that their comrades […]

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Things Get Dark In The New Trailer For Horror Film ‘The Power’

Tony Schaab - Senior Editor — Thu, 11 Mar 2021 16:20:44 +0000

Here at ScienceFiction.com, we love a good horror movie, especially one that can make us jump and scream out loud. Coming next month from streaming service Shudder, ‘The Dark’ certainly looks like it could fit that bill. Most people are afraid of the dark to some degree; whether it makes you feel slightly uncomfortable or it’s a full-on phobia, it’s a near-universal phenomenon. Taking place in England almost 50 years ago, ‘The Dark’ aims to take that fear and ratchet things up by infusing some classic horror elements: prolonged darkness, a creepy hospital with eerie patients, and of course, a hefty dose of the supernatural. Here’s the official synopsis of the film, provided by our friends at Shudder: London, 1974. As Britain prepares for electrical blackouts to sweep across the country, trainee nurse Val (Rose Williams) arrives for her first day at the crumbling East London Royal Infirmary. With most of the patients and staff evacuated to another hospital, Val is forced to work the night shift, finding herself in a dark, near empty building. Within these walls lies a deadly secret, forcing Val to face both her own traumatic past and deepest fears in order to confront the malevolent […]

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Book Review: ‘Cell’ by Stephen King

Tony Schaab - Senior Editor — Fri, 06 Nov 2020 15:30:26 +0000

Love him or leave him, you’ve got to give Stephen King credit: the man knows how to tell a story. The author of countless novels and short stories, a ridiculous amount of which have been adapted to the big and small screens, King writes in a style that rivets many readers and employs a “can’t put it down” approach of telling his tales fast and furiously. Which is probably for the best, as some of his novels are – pardon the pun – King-sized, sometimes topping 1,000 pages (I’ve been known, on occasion, to use his mega-novel ‘Under the Dome’ to anchor my yacht so the servants can have a smoother time serving me whilst at sea). Even though ‘Cell’ was adapted into a 2016 film – poorly, which is a true surprise since it features such strong lead character actors as John Cusack and Samuel L. Jackson – the focus for fans should certainly be the original written version, first released in 2006. It’s his foray into the world of zombies, or more accurately, pseudo-zombies, as the monsters contained in this tale aren’t dead, per se. Things in the story start out innocently enough, as New England artist Clay […]

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Movie Review: Don’t Look Back

Dave Taylor — Thu, 22 Oct 2020 14:33:01 +0000

You can be excused if you’re confused about the title of this film; there are over 100 movies on IMDb with the name Don’t Look Back! Apparently it’s a very popular name for a movie. Who knew? This 2020 film is a very contemporary horror tapped into the “Karen”-in-the-park bystander zeitgeist. It revolves around a group of people who witness an assault in New York City’s Central Park but don’t do anything about it, just look away, walk away, stand and watch or even record it with their smartphones. Not a good samaritan in the bunch. When some of these witnesses start to die, young mom Caitlin Kramer (Kourtney Bell) tries to discover the truth behind the dangerous situation before she too ends up a casualty of her ostensibly poor life decision. If you’re thinking this sounds like a variation on the sly and witty Final Destination horror film series, there’s a reason for that: those films were all written by Jeffrey Reddick, who also wrote and directed Don’t Look Back. Based on a 2014 short film called Good Samaritan the film has a solid premise: What if you stood by while someone was beaten or murdered instead of intervening […]

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Throwback Thursday: ‘Alien 3’ (1992)

Tony Schaab - Senior Editor — Thu, 15 Oct 2020 17:11:40 +0000

When ‘Alien’ was released in 1979, it changed the landscape for both science fiction and horror. ‘Alien’ combined the two genres so well, people wept and fainted from fear in the theater; that’s always a sign of success. A sequel was bound to happen, and when James Cameron’s ‘Aliens’ came out in 1986, it upped the ante for action films and made the fictional Colonial Marines seem as real as the US Army. Both of those movies introduced unforgettable characters, particularly the seemingly undefeatable heroine, Ellen Ripley, played to damn near cinematic perfection by Sigourney Weaver. What happened to the series after that is shrouded in mystery and intrigue. ‘Alien3 ‘ was almost universally reviled by both fans and critics while the fourth film, ‘Alien: Resurrection,’ well… nobody talks about that. Fans sweep ‘Resurrection’ under the rug because of its overwhelming French-ness and the unfortunate casting of Winona Rider as a robot. As modern audiences know, the franchise has been revived recently by stabs at world-building like ‘Prometheus‘ and ‘Alien: Covenant.’ For many fans, that all leaves ‘Alien3 ‘ as arguably the last “true” Alien film – the end of the “classic trilogy,” if you will – yet it is the one […]

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David Arquette Calls Neve Campbell “The Heart And Soul Of The Scream Franchise”

Jax Motes — Mon, 17 Aug 2020 11:00:04 +0000

It has been confirmed that Courteney Cox and David Arquette are returning for ‘Scream 5’, to be directed by ‘Ready or Not’s Matthew Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett. That means the only original star that has yet to be signed is Neve Campbell, the lead in all four past ‘Screams’. She starred as Sidney Prescott, a teen (originally) who was targeted for psychological torture and attempted murder by a pair of demented classmates. And despite her efforts to leave her bloody past behind, she found herself drawn back into copycat killing sprees three more times. Hopefully, there will be a fourth (and fifth overall), as it’s hard to imagine a new ‘Scream’ without her. Arquette shares that opinion. As he told ET Online: “We have to get Neve, that’s the real thing. She’s the heart and soul of the Scream franchise, so to get Neve would be a really tremendous thing. Like, I’ve seen her at conventions and stuff and it’s just almost like family. We all have gone through this experience together and it’s — we’re all really sad about the loss of Wes…I would love for her to be a part of it. I mean, she’s such an important– she’s […]

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Showrunner Discusses Filming ‘What We Do In The Shadows’ Season 2 And When Season 3 May Begin

Jax Motes — Fri, 14 Aug 2020 23:45:25 +0000

FX’s ‘What We Do in the Shadows’ has developed a healthy cult following, especially since arriving on the FX on Hulu platform. It scored multiple Emmy nominations including in the Outstanding Comedy Series category, and a remarkable THREE nominations in the writing category for the episodes “Collaboration,” “Ghosts,” and “On the Run.” As part of the lead-up to the Emmys, showrunner Paul Simms discussed writing Season 2 and when Season 3 might begin filming. Simms told The Hollywood Reporter: “I think the main drive to the second season [began] at the end of the first season. We painted ourselves into a corner with the revelation that Guillermo (Harvey Guillén) was a vampire slayer. When we did that, we were like, “Yeah, we’ll figure out the rest later.” A lot of season two was making sure we followed through with that story. And then it became a really fun story that turned Harvey Guillén into an action hero. It’s always a combination of wanting to do big and exciting visual comedy, things that you wouldn’t ordinarily see on a half-hour, and then balance that with my favorite parts of the show, which is when it’s just the five characters sitting around […]

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Tig Notaro Will Replace Chris D’Elia In Reshoots For Zack Snyder’s ‘Army Of The Dead’

Jax Motes — Fri, 14 Aug 2020 20:53:38 +0000

Zack Snyder’s zombie heist movie, ‘Army of the Dead’ will undergo reshoots with one role completely recast. Stand-up comedian and actor Tig Notaro (‘Transparent’, ‘Star Trek: Discovery’) will replace Chris D’Elia, who has been accused of sexual misconduct involving underage girls. He has denied these accusations. These reshoots will take place as soon as it is determined to be safe under COVID-19 guidelines. It appears that Notaro will mostly be filmed using a green screen to digitally insert her into existing footage. ‘Army of the Dead’ was set to arrive on Netflix in winter 2020, but due to COVID-19, it has been pushed back to 2021. Initial filming was completed and it was in post-production before this announcement arrived. Dave Bautista heads up the ensemble cast which also includes Ella Purnell, Ana De La Reguera, Theo Rossi, Huma Qureshi, Omari Hardwick, Hiroyuki Sanada, Garret Dillahunt, Matthias Schweighöfer, Raúl Castillo, Nora Arnezeder, and Samantha Win. Snyder co-wrote the screenplay with Joby Harold (King Arthur: Legend of the Sword), and Shay Hatten (John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum). According to Snyder, the movie kicks off in Las Vegas, which has been walled-off from the zombie hordes with the use of shipping containers. […]

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‘Twilight’ Still Sparkles: Stephanie Meyer’s ‘Midnight Sun’ Debuts At #1

Jax Motes — Thu, 13 Aug 2020 20:43:05 +0000

The sun hasn’t set on the ‘Twilight’ franchise. 12 years after the last novel in Stephanie Meyer’s vampire romance franchise was published– 2008’s ‘Breaking Dawn’– Meyer is back in the #1 spot of USA TODAY‘s Best-Selling Books list, with ‘Midnight Sun’, which sold over a million copies in its first week of release, including presales and all formats. ‘Midnight Sun’ is a retelling of the first ‘Twilight’ told from the perspective of the male lead, Edward Cullen, the character played by Robert Pattinson in the films. Executive vice president and publisher of Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, Megan Tingley said: “We’re absolutely thrilled to bring people back to the Twilight Saga world and to celebrate this major achievement with Stephenie and the fans and booksellers who’ve supported her for the last fifteen years. In addition to the breathtaking sales, it is profoundly gratifying to hear how much the fans are loving the novel. The resounding response to the read has been ‘it was definitely worth the wait!’ ” And there’s more to come! During a Books-A-Million virtual event, Meyer divulged: “There are two more books I think in the world that I want to write. I have got them […]

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Kelly Ripa And Mark Consuelos Will Adapt Fantasy-Horror Novel ‘Mexican Gothic’ Into A Series For Hulu

Jax Motes — Wed, 12 Aug 2020 11:00:14 +0000

Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos’ Milojo Productions has won the rights to produce a TV series based on Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s bestselling fantasy-horror novel ‘Mexican Gothic’, which will go to Hulu, where Milojo has a production deal. Courtesy of Deadline: Published by Del Rey in June, Mexican Gothic follows Noemí Taboada, a young socialite who travels to the Mexican countryside and the mountains of Hidalgo in hopes of rescuing her cousin, who has recently married into a reclusive mining family, after receiving a frantic letter in the mail. Noemí seeks to unveil the family’s violent and menacing secrets, but her confidence is quickly threatened and there may be no escaping the walls of her strange, new home. Ripa sang the praises of the novel to her Twitter followers: “Sublime horror for your summer reading. So good I bought the hard copy and the download to read in the dark.” Upon landing the rights to adapt it, Ripa declared: “We feel like we hit the literary jackpot, and cannot wait to bring Silvia’s gorgeous writing to life, together with Hulu.” Author Moreno-Garcia stated: “I am excited to see the novel come to life and to meet the talented, diverse crew and cast members that […]

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Netflix Acquires ‘Fear Street’ Trilogy From Disney; Will Release Them Next Year

Jax Motes — Tue, 11 Aug 2020 21:59:49 +0000

‘Fear Street’ was a project that was set into motion by 20th Century Fox before it was acquired by Disney, but it seems it was far along enough that Disney allowed it to be finished. Originally, Fox planned to release ‘Fear Street’, based on R.L. Stine’s older-skewing horror novels as three theatrical movies, one month apart, starting this past June. Obviously, that didn’t happen. Now it appears that ‘Fear Street’ won’t get a theatrical release at all, as Netflix has reportedly acquired the films from Disney. Netflix has announced that ‘Fear Street’ will be part of an initiative called The Summer of Fear, next year. Netflix plans to stick to the one-month-apart release plan. In 1994, a group of teenagers find out that the terrifying events that have occurred in their town of Shadyside, Ohio may be connected to each other, and that they may be the next targets. The other movies will be set in 1978 and 1666, but will wrap up back in 1994. The 1978 movie sounds like a summer camp slasher movie, which fits the time period, while the 1666 story, reportedly involves witches. All three will be tied together in one over-arching story. Reportedly, all […]

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Take A Terrible Island Vacation With Jude Law And Naomie Harris In The Creepy Trailer For HBO’s ‘The Third Day’

Jax Motes — Mon, 10 Aug 2020 15:00:00 +0000

If there’s one thing horror movies have made abundantly clear, it’s that islands are terrible and no one should ever go to one, especially if they’re isolated. Only bad things happen. And that idea is further conveyed in the trailer for HBO tense new miniseries ‘The Third Day’. The trailer definitely gives off some less-sunny ‘Midsommar’ vibes. So if you had to cancel plans for a summer vacation this year, maybe that was for the best. Here is HBO’s official synopsis for the mini: The show is divided into two parts: ‘Summer’ and ‘Winter.’ In ‘Summer,’ one man (Jude Law) visits a mysterious island off the British coast and discovers a group of inhabitants intent on preserving their home at any cost. In the second half, aka ‘Winter,’ a strong-willed outsider (Naomie Harris) comes to the island seeking answers — but instead causes a battle to decide its fate. Law’s character, Sam, is featured in the first three hours, collectively known as “Summer.” Those episodes were written by Dennis Kelly, creator of the buzzy and controversial British miniseries ‘Utopia’, which is being adapted for US audiences by Amazon Prime Video. Those three episodes are directed by Marc Munden, who also […]

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Lionsgate’s Historical Horror ‘Antebellum’ Starring Janelle Monáe Is Going Straight To PVOD In September

Jax Motes — Thu, 06 Aug 2020 21:20:37 +0000

While the major theater chains are planning to open in mid-August in preparation for the September release of Warner Brothers’ ‘Tenet’, that plan isn’t guaranteed to work, as local and state governments in places such as New York, California, and New Jersey are putting their feet down and ordering that cineplexes stay shuttered to prevent the spread of COVID-19. (To read about the legal battle now raging in New Jersey, click here.) In response, the film studios are having to make some tough decisions as to whether to stay the course and wait for theaters to open to release their products as they originally planned, or to explore alternate forms of distributions, like streaming and PVOD (paid video on demand), or a mixture of release methods. For its horror movie ‘Antebellum’, Lionsgate has chosen to skip the multiplex and release it straight to PVOD on September 18. Currently, ‘The King’s Man’ from 20th Century Studios is scheduled to release theatrically on that date. Lionsgate will release ‘Antebellum’ in theaters in some foreign markets. Written and directed by Gerard Bush and Christopher Renz, their first film, ‘Antebellum’ stars Janelle Monáe as successful author Veronica Henley, finds herself teleported to the past […]

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Jurnee Smollett Says It’s “Maddening” That The Racism In ‘Lovecraft Country’ Is Still A Problem Today

Jax Motes — Thu, 06 Aug 2020 11:00:12 +0000

In addition to being a major star-on-the-rise in Hollywood, Jurnee Smollett has been an activist for Black rights from a young age. As a child in 1992 (around the time she began appearing on ‘Full House’ as Michelle’s friend Denise), she was holding up signs after Rodney King’s infamous beating. At 12, she was volunteering at a social justice nonprofit and by 18, she was its youngest board member. She has been actively meeting with members of the Black Lives Matter organization in recent months. And as it happens, her new HBO series, ‘Lovecraft Country’, set in the American South in the 1950s– the time of Jim Crow– also addresses matters of racism with a healthy dash of the supernatural. While Smollett is excited about the new series, she is understandably furious, that the same issues facing her character 70 years ago are still problems that Black Americans face today. In a cover story for The Hollywood Reporter, Smollett said: “We’re telling the story of heroes that go on a quest to disrupt white supremacy, and it’s maddening that in the year 2020 it’s still relevant.” In addition to racism, Smollett is not a fan of sexism, something she has […]

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