J.R.'s Top 5 list of Horror Movies for 1987

The late 80's hold a special place for me because it was when I started watching horror movies.  I may have only been 7 or 8 but I knew what was a good movie.  1987 looking at the list of horror movies released, I am finding it really hard to pick just 5.  Love the picks or hate them, this is my top 5 of 1987.

Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night II

The Prom Night sequels are guilty pleasures of mine.  Prom Night II is so much fun you can't help but  have a blast watching it.  True it does not have anything to do with the original and does not star Jamie Lee Curtis but it is a great watch and I highly recommend it!

Creepshow 2

The follow up to the anthology horror success of Stephen King and George Romero is my number 4.  I could watch this movie probably once a week and never get tired of it.  It has just the right mixture of cheese and just good horor.  There are only 3 stories on this one opposed to the original that had 5 but it does not lack in quality.

Dolls

This great film I really did not see till much later.  Mainly because the movie poster and the previews freaked me out when I was little and I was too terrified to see it.  I am a sucker for killer doll movies like this and Puppetmaster.  Guy Rolfe is such a great actor too.  His performance is one of the reasons I love this movie.

The Lost Boys

I am not a huge fan of vampire movies but this is one of best in my opinion.  Packed with a cast of young and virtually unknown actors at the time makes this movie so enjoyable.  I have to mention also that Corey Feldman and Jamison Newlander will be appearing at the Twisted Tails Film Festival hosted by Twisted Central.

Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors

This film has to be my number 1 for 1987.  Not only is it the best out of the franchise in my opinion but it is also the first horror movie that I ever watched.  This movie started it all for me.  It totally scared the shit out of me at that age but I still loved it and Freddy Krueger.

The Frog Brothers to Reunite at Twisted Tails Film Festival

July 24, 2014 – Dallas, TX – Corey Feldman (The Lost Boys, Goonies, Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter) and Jamison Newlander (The Lost Boys) will both be in attendance for the fourth annual Twisted Tails Film Festival. Feldman will be available for signing Saturday, December 6th from 12:00 pm to 6:00 pm ONLY at the Holiday Inn Dallas Park Cities, Dallas, Texas. The two of them will join Eileen Dietz (The Exorcist), Tiffany Shepis (Sharknado2: The Second One) and Andrew Divoff (The Wishmaster, Lost). Tickets are available at www.twistedtailsfilmfestival.com.

Submissions are open and can be submitted electronically to filmsubmissions@twistedtailsfilmfestival.com or via regular mail. There are no submission fees and selected films will be announced October 1, 2014.

Twisted Tails Film Festival is proud to work with Paws in the City for the second year in a row. 100% of the proceeds raised by Twisted Tails will be donated to Paws in the City, a nonprofit, all volunteer, no-kill organization dedicated to helping the abused, neglected and homeless animals of the Dallas/Ft. Worth area.

For more information and or to stay up to date on current events, visit us on Facebook and Twitter.

Corey Feldman to Attend Twisted Tails Film Festival in Dallas

June 2, 2014 – Dallas, TX – Corey Feldman (The Lost Boys, Goonies, Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter) has been added to the growing line up for the fourth annual Twisted Tails Film Festival. Feldman will be available for signing Saturday, December 6th ONLY at the Holiday Inn Dallas Park Cities, Dallas, Texas. Tickets are available at www.twistedtailsfilmfestival.com. 

Submissions are open and can be submitted electronically to filmsubmissions@twistedtailsfilmfestival.com or via regular mail. There are no submission fees and selected films will be announced October 1, 2014.

Twisted Tails Film Festival is proud to work with Paws in the City for the second year in a row. 100% of the proceeds raised by Twisted Tails will be donated to Paws in the City, a nonprofit, all volunteer, no-kill organization dedicated to helping the abused, neglected and homeless animals of the Dallas/Ft. Worth area.

For more information and or to stay up to date on current events, visit us on Facebook and Twitter.

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.

Crystal Lake Memories: The Complete History of Friday The 13th (2013) - REVIEW

Finally what every Friday The 13th fan has been waiting for ever since the release of Never Sleep Again, the documentary on Nightmare on Elm Street, a complete documentary on the Friday The 13th film series.  Back in 2005 a book was released by the same name to serve as a complete behind the scenes history of Friday The 13th.  This served as a fantastic piece of reading for any Friday fan but would not be enough.  There needed to be something on the big screen for fans to get their Friday fix.

Here was have the most complete and in depth look at every film in the Friday franchise that fans have been itching for.  Spread over 2 discs and 2 discs of bonus material totaling well over 6 hours of viewing, enough to give an horror nerd a big ole geekgasm.  From the same creators of Never Sleep Again they have broken down each movie one by one and interviewing countless Friday alumni including some interviews that were not featured on the original book.  As a Friday fan I can say we have all been waiting for this a long time and finally we have something to sink our teeth into.  I guess I should also mention that it is hosted by Corey Feldman and that's all I am going to say about that.

I was very impressed with how thorough this documentary was in detailing every little thing about the franchise that has dominated the horror industry since 1980.  The set comes with 2 blu ray discs and 2 dvd discs as well as 2 more discs loaded with bonus material and I have to be honest I have yet to check out all the bonus material as of yet.  The first disc covers Friday 1-7 plus a small segment on Friday The 13th The Series.  I was a little disappointed with the little amount of time they spent talking about The Series because it is one of my favorite TV Shows but I guess there wasn't much they could say.  Although an interview with Robey would have been a nice add on to it.

The second disc starts with part 8 and goes till the end of the franchise to date.  I have to admit that from part 8 on are not my favorite of the series so needless to say the first disc is were it is at.  Once New Line took over the series I really could give a shit about those movies.  Jason Goes to Hell was terrible as well as Jason X.  The only one that really kept my interest on the second disc was Freddy vs Jason which we all know was fucking awesome.  Just to add something to F VS J, what the fuck happened to Monica Keena.  She looks like a totally different person and I don't mean that in a good way.  There is plastic surgery then there is I have too much money and going to totally make my face look like an alien.

All in all I really enjoyed watching this and have to say my favorite segment was the breakdown of Friday The 13th Part 3.  While it is not my favorite movie of the series it's my 3rd favorite as a matter of fact but knowing so little about the behind the scenes to this one and the interviews with the always gorgeous Dana Kimmel, as well as Paul Kratka, Larry Zerner, and the late Richard Brooker made this what I thought was the most informative segments of the doc.  Don't get me wrong each segment is awesome and the segment on the first film shows how it came to even be.  I would rate this 9 out of 10 stars, can't quite give it a perfect 10 because it was hosted by Corey Feldman.  I really think they could have found a better host than that.  Stay twisted everyone!

New Release Date Set for Crystal Lake Memories: The Complete History of Friday the 13th

1428 Films, Panic Productions and Hutson Ranch Media have announced that the release date for Crystal Lake Memories: The Complete History of Friday the 13th has been moved to Friday, September 13th, 2013. The documentary was originally slated for release on August 27th.

"Because of the scope of the show and in order to craft the best, most interesting and entertaining look at the films and TV series, it became necessary to give the post-production process a bit more time,” says producer Thommy Hutson. “Ultimately, though, we are thrilled with the show and can't wait for fans to get back to camp - and we think Mrs. Voorhees and Jason would be happy with the new date!"

"Having spent well over a year in production on Crystal Lake Memories, we wanted to take a little more time to give fans the definitive Friday the 13th documentary they've been waiting for," explains writer/director Daniel Farrands. "Not only were we able to line up a couple of last-minute interviews for our bonus disc and record a full filmmaker commentary track, it just made more sense to wait a couple of weeks and release Crystal Lake Memories on the ‘unlucky day’ it celebrates: Friday the 13th."

The three-disc Blu-ray/DVD combo pack of the documentary, which runs a staggering 400 minutes, can currently be pre-ordered exclusively via the film’s official website. An exclusive bonus disc containing approximately 4 hours of extended interview material will be included with orders placed on the website. After the soft release on September 13th, the film will be available to the general public on October 8th.

Corey Feldman (star of Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter) narrates Crystal Lake Memories, which features interviews with approximately 150 cast and crew members from all twelve Friday the 13th films and the syndicated television series, many of whom have never before appeared in on-camera interviews. Interview subjects include Kane Hodder, Robert Englund, Tom Savini, Danielle Panabaker, Sean S. Cunningham, Derek Mears, Betsy Palmer, Wes Craven, Robert Shaye, Alice Cooper and many more.

Crystal Lake Memories promises to be the definitive retrospective on the unstoppable Friday the 13th franchise. The film is written and directed by Farrands and produced by Hutson, who previously teamed up for the award-winning Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy.

Pre-order Crystal Lake Memories: The Complete History of Friday the 13th now at www.CrystalLakeMemories.net

6 Degrees of Hell 2012 - REVIEW

There are a lot of things in horror films that I can pick out as an irritating factor. But none are more severe than getting hyped about a main character only to see him/her for maybe 10 out 90+ minutes. That's like ordering pepperoni on your pizza and getting canadian bacon instead... it's just not the same.

Six people and their lives are stitched together by a supernatural force that has laid claim to one of them. A Halloween haunted establishment is ground zero for a paranormal perfect storm inadvertently touched off by a seemingly random series of events.

The acting in this film is not bad. What's bad is when a character who spends very little time on screen outshines everyone else. That character would be Deputy Hendricks played by Brian Anthony Wilson. He is way under utilized in this film as most of his time is spent sitting across the table from Corey Feldman recounting the story of these six unfortunate people. Very much a waste of his talents in this reviewer's opinion. I would however like to mention Joe Raffa who took on the ambitious tasks of acting and directing. If he intentionally made his character an arrogant prick then he did a spot on job because he was definitely not my favorite of the bunch. The rest of the main cast, Nicole Cinaglia, Kyle Patrick Brennan, David J. Bonner and Brian Gallagher worked well with what they were given.

My biggest problem with this film lies in the first 60 minutes or so. The viewer is bombarded with one incomplete story line after another. There is so much going on in that first hour that I had to start the film over again just to get a clear vision of what direction it was taking. We're introduced to one under developed character after another and the transitions between them is so flawed that it's really a struggle to keep up with who's who and what story line goes where. At one point I even got two of the characters confused because everything was so muddled that I couldn't keep up. The story is being told by Wilson's character so in essence the entire film is a flashback. Then you have flashbacks in the flashback that give you peeks into each individual character. It's just soooooo much! Information and set up is key to getting good characters but in this case they just tried to do too much in too short of a time without ever really getting a good foothold. 

All that said, the last 30 minutes are a rip roaring good time with a high body count and decent effects. But for me it was too late by then. I've said it before and I'll say it again, without a solid, well built story, everything else just falls apart. Would I watch this again? The answer is an emphatic no. Would I recommend this to anyone else? Well, it's all a matter of taste I guess. I literally just had a conversation with someone today who doesn't think a good story is necessary for a film as long as everything else... execution, score, style, etc is good... so it's possible this person would enjoy it. I'm not saying it's all bad, if you can make it through the first hour and not look back you may find it's an enjoyable film.

"6 Degrees of Hell" Coming to Laemmle's Music Hall November 20th

COREY FELDMAN'S  HOSTING A ONE-NIGHT SHOWING OF "6 DEGREES OF HELL" NOVEMBER 20TH 

The Laemmle Music Hall 

9036 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles

Order Tickets Now

Corey Feldman (The Lost Boys, The Goonies) will be in attendance for the Los Angeles premiere of 6 Degrees of Hell.

Joined by writer and producer B.H. Smith, the screening will include a Q&A following the film and a horror trivia game,  with such prizes as signed scripts, posters and movie packs.

Synopsis:  In Northeast Pennsylvania, "Uncle Jack's Hotel of Horror" is besieged by a dark presence after two friends of "Uncle" Jack, Chris and Kellen, unwittingly release a deadly evil by transporting local psychic Mary Wilkins' collection of haunted objects as props for the popular tourist attraction. At the same time, a local TV ghost hunter, confronts an evil that has haunted him all his life-one he believes is responsible for his sister's death years ago.

His search puts him in the path of a rogue police chief and June, a girl who seems to be the eye of this supernatural perfect storm. They all find themselves connected to the old hotel while the threads of their own personal horrors draw paranormal investigator Kyle Brenner (Feldman) to pull all the threads together. 

 

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Following the screening, the film will be released on Blu-Ray/DVD on November 27th. The Blu-Ray and DVD will come complete with an impressive selection of special features. These include "The Making of 6 Degrees of Hell", "Behind the Scenes with Corey Feldman", "The Real Hotel of Horror Walkthrough", "The World Premiere of 6 Degrees of Hell" and more.

Release Date for 6 Degrees of Hell Announced

Breaking Glass Pictures is proud to announce the November 27 Blu-Ray (SRP $29.99)/DVD (SRP $24.99) release of 6 Degrees of Hell. Directed by Joe Raffa (You'll Know My Name), the film stars Corey Feldman (The Lost Boys, The Goonies), Jill Whelan ("The Love Boat"), Brian Anthony Wilson (Limitless), Faust Checho (The Fields), newcomers Nikki Bell, Kyle Patrick Brennan, Ashley Sumner, Nicole Cinaglia, David J. Bonner and Raffa himself.

In Northeast Pennsylvania, "Uncle Jack's Hotel of Horror" is besieged by a dark presence after two friends of "Uncle" Jack, Chris and Kellen, unwittingly release a deadly evil by transporting local psychic Mary Wilkins' collection of haunted objects as props for the popular tourist attraction. At the same time, a local TV ghost hunter, confronts an evil that has haunted him all his life-one he believes is responsible for his sister's death years ago.

His search puts him in the path of a rogue police chief and June, a girl who seems to be the eye of this supernatural perfect storm. They all find themselves connected to the old hotel while the threads of their own personal horrors draw paranormal investigator Kyle Brenner (Feldman) to pull all the threads together.

The film has massive social media presence, with an astonishing 102,000 followers on the 6 Degrees of Hell official Facebook and over 2.2 million trailer views on YouTube.

6 Degrees of Hell is currently enjoying a limited theatrical rollout, including a week-long run in New York starting on Halloween night. A full list of screenings can be found here.

 The Blu-Ray and DVD will come complete with an impressive selection of special features.  These include "The Making of 6 Degrees of Hell", "Behind the Scenes with Corey Feldman", "The Real Hotel of Horror Walkthrough", "The World Premiere of 6 Degrees of Hell" and more.

Breaking Glass Pictures Picks Up Corey Feldman's 6 Degrees of Hell

Domestic distributor Breaking Glass Pictures (5 Star Day, The Fields, The Living Wake) has snapped up the indie horror film 6 Degrees of Hell for North America. The deal was struck last week between CEO Rich Wolff and Fabrication Films SVP Miriam Elchanan, a follow-up to the successful release of The Fields earlier this year. Directed by Joe Raffa (local hit You'll Know My Name), the film stars Corey Feldman (The Lost Boys, The Goonies), Jill Whelan ("The Love Boat"), Brian Anthony Wilson (Limitless), Faust Checho (The Fields), newcomers Nikki Bell, Kyle Patrick Brennan, Ashley Sumner, Nicole Cinaglia, David J. Bonner and Raffa himself.

In Northeast Pennsylvania, "Uncle Jack's Hotel of Horror" is besieged by a dark presence after two friends of "Uncle" Jack, Chris and Kellen, unwittingly release a deadly evil by transporting local psychic Mary Wilkins' collection of haunted objects as props for the popular tourist attraction. At the same time, a local TV ghost hunter, confronts an evil that has haunted him all his life-one he believes is responsible for his sister's death years ago.

His search puts him in the path of a rogue police chief and June-a girl who seems to be the eye of this supernatural perfect storm. They all find themselves connected to the old hotel while the threads of their own personal horrors draw paranormal investigator Kyle Brenner (Feldman) to pull all the threads together...

Looking forward to another release with Breaking Glass, writer/producer Harrison Smith said, "We're excited about 6 Degrees of Hell because it makes horror fun again. It's a horror film with Easter eggs, there's so much horror history in it. It's intelligent, fun horror with solid characters and respect for the genre."

Wolff echoed his sentiments, saying "6 Degrees is an excellent film, and the second in what will hopefully be many successful collaborations between Breaking Glass, Fabrication, and Harrison. It is a perfect match."

Developments on the title have been closely watched, with an astonishing 101,000 followers on the 6 Degrees of Hell official Facebook and over 1.5 million trailer views on YouTube.

There is a celebratory theatrical screening scheduled in the shooting location, the Pocono Mountains, on August 24th 2012. Corey Feldman, various cast and crew and Breaking Glass Pictures staff will attend and celebrate both the ongoing success of The Fields and the acquiring of 6 Degrees Of Hell.

The DVD will hit shelves on October 30, the day before Halloween.