Troma’s Fathers Day
CHICAGO – If the word Troma means nothing to you, then you may want to avoid “Father’s Day,” a truly twisted and sadistic slice of horror-comedy that makes other recent attempts at grindhouse insanity (“Machete,” “Hobo with a Shotgun”) look…
B Movie Studios
ASTOR PICTURES Astor Pictures Corporation was in the truest sense of the words not a true poverty row studio.They did not have a studio at all.Their primary business was in the distribution and re-releasing of films.Probably one of their more…
John Landis
It almost seems unnecessary to provide an introduction, or summarize in some way, the career of John Landis. Let’s just say, even if you don’t realize it, you’ve probably seen one of his films—possibly even a few of them. Even…
Shock Value
By the mid-1960s the horror genre was in a parlous state. The great horror stars of the 1930s and 40s, like Boris Karloff and Vincent Price, were plying their trade in hack B-movies that amused far more than they scared….
The Phantom Menace Is Back
Full disclosure: George Lucas did not “violate my childhood”. I don’t care that Jar Jar Binks makes the Ewoks look like fucking Shaft. To me, the Star Wars films have always been highly effective B-movies – no more, no less…
Robert Rodriguez’s Machete Kills
As we heard this week, Robert Rodriguez is planning an April shoot for Machete Kills, his follow-up to the Danny Trejo starring 2010 B-movie action fest that the rumour is he will direct himself this time. Thanks to Coming Soon,…
Osombie Hunts Down a Zombie Bin Laden
It’s only been 9 months since SEAL Team Six accomplished their mission to hunt down and kill Osama Bin Laden. Unfortunately, after burying the known terrorist at sea, Bin Laden has returned as a member of the undead and a…
Trash Film Orgy fundraising event
Sacramento’s Trash Film Orgy Productions (TFO) is preparing to make a new feature film this spring. In an effort to bring the film to the big screen, TFO will hold a kickoff fundraising event this Friday, February 10 at Sacramento’s…
Is Crowdsourcing The Future Of Film?
What makes Iron Sky particularly cool, in my opinion, is that despite its goofy, B-movie premise, the production values look to be top notch. And tons of the ideas, visuals, and other aspects of the film were all crowdsourced. Internet…
Nazis invade from the dark side of the moon!
I knew there was a reason Berlin Film Festival should not be missed. Apparently the hot ticket at the Berlinale is not Angelina Jolie’s Bosnia drama, The Land of Blood and Honey, or Werner Herzog’s Death Row documentary, Into the…
DEVIL BAT DIARY
Inspired by the famous 1940 film, “Devil Bat Diary”(CreateSpace, ISBN: 9-781461-070924), tells the “true”story of what really happened to the unhappy citizens of Heathville, Illinois, during that terrible prewar summer, as recorded in the long-suppressed journals of Chicago City Register’s…
H.B. Halicki
H.B. “TOBY”‘ HALICKIlived the American dream. At 15 he left his home in Dunkirk, New York and moved to California. He started working pumping gas and within two years owned his own body shop. He enrolled in real estate classes…
Iron Sky
In the last moments of World War II, a secret Nazi space program evaded destruction by fleeing to the Dark Side of the Moon. During 70 years of utter secrecy, the Nazis construct a gigantic space fortress with a massive…
The Devil Bat
Movies from the “golden age” of black and white films (approximately the 1930’s through the 1950’s) almost invariably contain well-written dialogue and strikingly subtle humor, making them a favorite among many fans of cinema. The horror movies of this more…
Abraham Lincoln:Vampire Hunter
It’s bizarre enough to imagine a world where our nation’s 16th president walks among vampires; thankfully, we don’t have to see him harboring a secret crush on one of them, too. Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (out June 22) arrives at…
Robert Rodriguez & Danny Trejo Return For Machete Kills
Robert Rodriguez’s next film will be Machete Kills, a sequel to his 2010 Grindhouse B-movie starring Danny Trejo that will shoot in April, according to Deadline. Kyle Ward (writer of in-development Kane & Lynch) has completed the follow-up screenplay that…
The Schtick of William Castle
10 Bug 1975 Film: An earthquake releases a swarm of cockroaches who can create fire. A scientist (Bradford Dillman) breeds the cockroaches and creates flying, intelligent super bugs! Produced but not directed by William Castle. Gimmick: A million-dollar life insurance…
The Divide’ is Another Post-Apocalyptic Nightmare
“Not exactly the Garden of Eden.” Surveying the basement where he’s now sealed off with seven other survivors of a nuclear blast, Mickey (Michael Biehn) is less than impressed. You’re apt to sympathize: the New Yorkers assembled around him look…
The Hidden Mythos of ‘Police Academy’
What do Joseph Campbell and Officer Carey Mahoney have in common? Odysseus. Prometheus. Moses. Officer Carey Mahoney? Well, yes. The idea that all narratives share common themes and structures was coined as a “Monomyth” or “Hero’s Journey” by author Joseph…
It Came From Pittsburgh-Happy Birthday George
Today is George A. Romero’s Birthday and to celeb rate I’d thought I’d revisit this excellent Vanity Fair Interview Zombies, as any cultural critic who’s ever written about zombie movies will tell you, are metaphors. They represent our societal and…