Wild Eye Releasing Announces Release Date for Tales of Poe

New York, NY - Wild Eye Releasing has announced the October 11th DVD and Digital HD release of the acclaimed horror anthology Tales of Poe. Since the world premiere at the famous Egyptian Theater in Hollywood, Tales of Poe has been met with acclaim and awards on the festival circuit. San Francisco Weekly called the anthology "a worthy successor to the Roger Corman/ Vincent Price Poe films" while Icons of Fright hailed the result as "downright stunning to witness...wickedly adventurous".

Co-directed by Bart Mastronardi and Alan Rowe Kelly and co-written by Michael Varrati, Tales of Poe combines the classic horror prose with the star power of legendary scream queens Adrienne King (Friday the 13th, Friday the 13th Part 2), Caroline Williams (Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, Halloween 2), Amy Steel (Friday the 13th Part 2, April Fool's Day) Debbie Rochon (Model Hunger, Hell Town) and Lesleh Donaldson (Happy Birthday to Me, Funeral Home).

Based on the timeless works of Edgar Allan Poe, three of the renowned author's most popular stories (The Tell Tale Heart, The Cask of Amontillado, and Dreams) receive unique retellings by directors Bart Mastronardi & Alan Rowe Kelly. Offering a compelling and shocking journey into madness and the macabre, Tales of Poe features some of the most beloved final girls in horror movie history in new and exciting roles.

The October 11th DVD release of Tales of Poe (SRP $19.95) will exclusively include a behind the scenes featurette, deleted scenes, an interview with co-director Bart Mastronardi, trailers and more.

Top 5 Horror Films of 1986

We are now entering the late 80's which just so happens to be one of my favorite.  1986 is where the slasher films are starting to make a small comeback, and Jason returns from the dead for the first time.  This is also the year that holds my favorite horror movie of all time.

April Fools Day 

April Fools Day is definitely a guilty pleasure of mine.  I just watched it this past Sunday as a matter of fact.  Not meant to be scary or even taken seriously just a great dark comedy with a fantastic cast.  Including former Friday the 13th alum Amy Steel.

Crawlspace

There are probably alot of people who are not going to agree with this pick but I really do love this movie.  He may have been one of the hardest actors to work with on this film but Klaus Kinski is brilliant as tenant landlord and former MD Karl Gunther.

Night of the Creeps

I just saw this movie not too long ago but it has easily become on of my favorite movies to watch.  The fun factor in this movie is through the roof and probably my favorite movie that stars Tom "Thrill Me" Adkins

Witchboard

This year has been a big year for Blu Ray releases thanks to Scream Factory.  Finally getting the blu ray treatment it deserves.  Tawny Kitaen really is a horrible actress but it doesn't take away from the greatness that is Witchboard.  The sequel Witchboard 2 also got a Blu Ray release this year but we will be talking about this one in the 90's.

Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives 

Here is it my favorite movie of all time Friday the 13th Part VI.  I could not get enough of this movie when I was younger and that hasn't changed over the years.  The first film when Jason actually raises from the dead and becomes a zombie.  The mixture of Jason and dark humor in this film made it great.

Top 5 Horror Films of 1984

As I look through the list of 1984, it was really not a big year for horror movies but 1984 was not boring at all.  This is the year for some big horror blockbusters.  Real classics that made the genre what it is today.  Let's see what we got, shall we?

Night of the Comet

I just saw this recently for the first time.  Not really so much scary as just cheesy 80's awesomeness.  It was good enough to make #5 on the list.

Children of the Corn

A Stephen King book turned to the big screen with a bunch of creepy fuckin kids who are out to kill all the adults in Gatlin.  Oh yea, Linda Hamilton is in this one too!!

Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter 

Love or hate this movie, it is one of the better Friday sequels.  Certainly not the best but Ted White did an excellent job of playing the larger more destructive Jason and a young Corey Feldman that was pretty alright as well.  While Kimberly Beck was no Amy Steel as a final girl she was a hell of a lot better than Dana Kimmell.  As much as I like Part III I still have to admit Dana was pretty awful.

Silent Night Deadly Night

My absolute favorite movie to watch around the holiday season.  This film really is a slasher film in every way.  Unfortunately it was picketed by the PTA so bad that it only lasted a couple of weeks in the theaters and not getting a release on VHS till some time after.

A Nightmare on Elm Street

Of course this was going to be #1 on the list.  The first big hit released by New Line Cinema and another masterpiece in horror for Wes Craven.  Introducing everyone to Freddy Krueger played by Roger Englund and his glove of blades.

Friday the 13th Part II 1981 - REVIEW

The sequel that many Friday fans say is their favorite.  While it is a very good installment it is not my favorite but I do love it.  This is the film that made Jason Voorhees a staple of pop culture and one of the most iconic movie figures/villains of the 1980's.  In the age of the slasher boom Paramount decided to go ahead with the first sequel to the heavily successful Friday the 13th.

We start with Alice (Adrienne King) sleeping and having flashbacks to the events from the original Friday the 13th.  We see her awake from her bad dream and have a not so nice conversation with her Mother after a nice shower.  She opens her refrigerator to find Mrs. Voorhees' head in there.  She is stabbed in the head by her son, a now grown up Jason (Steve Dash).  Back in Crystal Lake the main camp has been closed but there is another camp next to it that is now open for business again as a training camp for counselors run by Paul Holt (John Furey).

 With the help of his assistant Ginny (Amy Steel) they plan on putting a little more than a dozen counselors through a vigorous training program to get them in shape for the camp season.  Paul is well aware of the legend of Jason but he tells the story and assures the camp it is just a legend and it is not true.  Within the first few days Paul lets his camp cut loose and go out for one more night out before they get down to business.  Some stay back but who will survive.  Jason is on the loose and he will not stop till  they are all gone!

The role of Jason was actually played by 2 people:  Steve Dash and Warrington Gillette.  Warrington was the first but was soon replaced by a fellow stuntman Steve Dash who plays Jason for majority of the movie.  I gotta say I really love sackhead Jason.  While the hockey mas is iconic they sack is a little more creepy in my opinion. The rest of the cast that was put together for this movie was rather remarkable.

 All very young and talented actors and actresses.  This indeed put Amy Steel on the map for her performance of the all important final girl Ginny Field.  Another notable actor in this film was Stu Charno who later went on to star in John Carpenter's Christine a few years later.

The effects in this film were great even though Tom Savini was not able to return and elected to work on another movie instead.  There are a few death scenes that I consider to be the best in the series.  My favorite from this one was Mark (Tom McBride)  getting a machette to the face and him rolling down the steps in this wheelchair.

 I think that scene is "wheelie cool!"  Everyone who was involved with this  did a standout job.  The acting was great, well great for the 80's, the direction was great and so was the writing.  I do enjoy this sequel more than the original.  There are not many movies I will say that about but this is one of them.  Stay twisted everyone!

Horrorhound Weekend Columbus Convention - Review

One of the best things about being a horror movie fan is attending the conventions that occur all over the country.  Meeting all the vendors in the industry along with some of the actors and actresses that appear in the movies you love.  While not all fun and games you do have to deal with the crowds and stand in sometimes very long lines, but if your a big enough fan its all well worth it.  It also depends on how well organizer for the event handles all the obstacles as well.  Horrorhound always does a great job of this.  There are always going to be complaints about the crowds and how large the facility is, but its a convention no matter how large the venue is its going to be crowded.  Horrorhound puts together one of the best cons twice a year every year since 2007 and this year in Columbus is no different.

This years theme was Women in Horror honoring some of the women who have made this genre great.  What Horrorhound has also done is pair some of the women up with their stalker or killer.  Example: Amy Steel was there and next to her was Steve Dash who played Jason in Friday the 13th Part 2. Clelebrity guests included: Adrienne Barbeau,  Scout Taylor Compton, Danielle Harris, Lisa Wilcox, Cerina Vincent, Tyler Mane, Cassandra Peterson, Norman Reedus and many more.  The big name to me on this ballot was Pam Grier.  She had her own room to sign in, a very large conference table to hold her massive assortment of photos and also her book.

There were a few reunions such as From Beyond which included: Barbara Crampton, Carolyn Purdy-Gordon, and director Stuart Gordon.  Its also worth mentioning that all three were also in Re-Animator with Ian Patrick Williams who was also in attendance.  Another mini reunion was Rob Zombie's Halloween with Scout Taylor Compton, Danielle Harris and Tyler Mane.  Who is even larger in person than he looks in Halloween.  The big reunion was Day of the Dead.  Appearing from the movie was: Lori Cardille, Taso Stavrakis, Anthony Dileo, Mark Tierno, Debra Gordon, and John Vulich.

As i have said above Horrorhound has one of the best guest lineups around.  When you are there you can do nothing but have fun.  A few of the lines were long namely Norman Reedus's, Cassandra Peterson's and Pam Grier's.  I toughed it out through two of the lines and skipped meeting Cassandra Peterson which i may regret later but you can't meet them all i guess.  Well you can but that costs allot to do that.  I did have the pleasure of meeting majority of who was there. Even an added bonus i got to meet the actress I interviewed a couple months ago, Pretty Poison.  She is an absolute doll and cannot wait to see her in more films.  To wrap it up, it was an awesome weekend and i can't wait to do it again in September in Indy.  Stay twisted everyone!