Oh Dark Castle. Gone are the days of "House on Haunted Hill", "Thirteen Ghosts" and "Ghost Ship". It seems it was hard to recover after "Gothika". I can't blame you for that try at diversity with "RocknRolla" and "Ninja Assassin"... but give me some more good horror would ya? Here's the latest horror movie trailer with the "Dark Castle" name attached, take a look:

"Once you believe it's real, you die"... Ok. The concept doesn't sound too bad. Sure, the CG is a little transparent. We've seen the ghost stain at 1:03 before, and the grudge like slinking at 1:45 but maybe "The Apparition" will bring good horror back to Dark Castle... right?

According to Wiki:

"Dark Castle Entertainment is a division of Silver Pictures, a production house affiliated with Warner Bros. It was formed in 1999 byJoel Silver, Robert Zemeckis, and Gilbert Adler..."

"Dark Castle Entertainment's name pays homage to William Castle, a horror filmmaker from the 1950s and 1960s"

- Josh

So now The Great Gatsby's more than just that classic book I see from time to time with different covers at my local 'Chapters'. Disclaimer: I've never read the book, but it does look like it might be interesting. Who am I kidding, it's that art deco look that's pulled me in. Take a look for yourself... It's pretty impressive:

Looks like someones up for an oscar for art direction and costume design...


Leonardo DiCaprio is a pretty solid actor on his own but the cast in this case looks good all around. What do you think? Is it something you'll go see?

- Josh

When I saw the campaign add for Will Ferrell and Zach Galiafianakis in character, I thought maybe it was a one off for funny or die or something. Turns out it's a full blown movie directed by Jay Roach who also directed "Dinner for Schmucks" and "Meet the Fockers"... wait a second...

Don't get me wrong, I'm a big Ferrell and Galiafianakis fan, but I don't know what to make of this. To be fair, Roach did direct "Austin powers" and "Meet the Parents" which some will say are varying degrees of funny. Keep an eye on this one. If all else fails, at least we can all look forward to "Anchor Man 2".

- Josh

It’s so hard to find good horror. I made this complaint to a fellow horror fan at Fredericton’s ‘Strange Adventures’ (Comic Book Shop) today and she shared my lament... I think all horror fans can agree. We then swapped suggestions for good horror and I thought for a moment that maybe there was some promise that there are still good scares out there that I haven’t discovered yet. 

So in the spirit of sharing suggestions, I’ll let you in on a magazine series I discovered after a conversation with the owner of Fredericton’s ‘Gus Books’. We were talking about weeding through the garbage horror out there... The graphic novel type. You know the one where the artworks right on but the story is just not there (Like “Welcome to Hoxford”). Then, with a faint hint of nostalgia he drops, “Creepy” magazine.

Creepy Magazine. Never heard of it? Its a magazine with a collection of just the right sized Horror comics. I haven’t read them all, but from the little I did read, I could feel my faith in horror begin to replenish.

According to Wiki: 

“Creepy was an American horror-comics magazine launched by Warren Publishing in 1964. Like Mad, it was a black-and-white newsstand publication in a magazine format and thus did not require the approval or seal of the Comics Code Authority. The anthology magazine was initially published quarterly but later went bimonthly. Each issue's stories were introduced by the host character, Uncle Creepy. Its sister publications were Eerie and Vampirella.”

1964! Ain’t that a blast from the past? Creepy ended in 83, had a single blip heartbeat in 85 and was fully resurrected in 2009 by Dark Horse Comics and New Comic Company LLC. You can get the new stuff digitally right here: https://digital.darkhorse.com/search/?q=creepy

Know any Creepy Magazine entries that are better then others? Any other suggestions for good horror?

- Josh 

Who needs a little horror this week end? Here are some suggestions for a timely horror fest or Halloween in May:

#1 The Mothman Prophecies

This flick takes its time. It’s atmospheric and creepy. To boot, it’s based on true events! Turns out the Mothman was reportedly seen in the Point Pleasant area. According to Wiki, the Point Pleasan Register article read, “Couples See Man-Sized Bird... Creature... Something”. There was a book about it. 

It’s not about being scary... pop out at you type scary, this movie is about being spooky in exploring and expanding on something that some people are suggesting actually exists. Take a look.

The Mothman Prophecies Stars Richard Gere (Primal Fear) and Laura Linney (Mystic River, The Exorcism of Emily Rose). It’s directed by Mark Pellington (Arlington Road)

#2 Alien

Alien is all about less is more. Low on the Alien, high on the impending alien attack. That’s what makes this little tense visit in space worthwhile. Just try not to jump when they finally find the head hugger or at the conclusion of a cat and mouse chase in the duct system.

It’s a great movie to pick up if you want to spend some time on a series. Its sequel, Directed by James Cameron, while more action than horror is a worthy successor. I can’t fully recommend Alien 3 and even less so Alien resurrection, but the first two Alien movies may be just enough of a primer for the upcoming “Prometheus”, which is said to be a prequel to the first entry.

Alien stars Sigourney Weaver (Aliens, Avatar) and Iam Holm ( From Hell, Lord of the Rings). It is directed by Ridley Scott (Gladiator, Prometheus ) 

#3 Donnie Darko

The trailer for Donnie Darko looked like it offered an intriguing and strange brand of horror. Its demonic bunny was more than enough to inspire all sorts of ideas about where it came from and what it wanted. While the truth behind it is more tame then I’d like and tangled in ambitious storyline, the movie still pulls off horror but more so in the realm of science fiction. 

Its charm is in its indie style and acting. It’s no surprise that its uniqueness has attracted a cult following. Find out what all the fuss is about by picking this one up if you haven’t already.  

Donnie Darko stars a young Jake Gyllenhaal (Source Code, Brokeback mountain) and is directed by Richard Kelly (The Box)

#4 Friday the 13th Part 2

*** Spoiler alert for Friday the 13th Part 1***
 Jason makes his first appearance in this one, dawning a burlap sack as a mask. Turns out that doing in dear old mom in part 1 only agitated him into a killing frenzy. It’s an oldie, but a goodie. Seeing Jason standing in plain sight in a dark room will surprise you. Watching him hunt the cast will remind you of what classic slasher movies were all about.

Friday the 13th Part 2 is directed by Steve Miner (Lake Placid) 

#5 The Evil Dead

The Evil Dead is tense. Quirky and Tense. From those opening scenes with the porch bench banging steadily against the cabin to trying to keep possessed friends locked in basement. It’s a horror movie that offers all sorts of surprise as to what it has up its sleeve. If you haven’t watched it already, I would recommend it as a more scary than creepy, quirky classic.

The Evil Dead stars Bruce Campbell and is directed by Sam Raimi (Drag me to Hell)

- Josh

‎"Counting the Dead" is my first short story to become available on Amazon.com. It was launched May 1rst/2012. It is priced at an attractive 0.99$ and is a great entry in my works. Visit the amazon.com website to see it for yourself. It's as creepy as the best of my other short stories. See for yourself by clicking on the picture below to be brought to Amazon.com

Any help spreading the word about the new release would be much appreciated. Thanks for all the support.

- Josh