News
BOOKS: David J. Skal Curates ‘Fright Favorites’ in New Book from TCM
Film and cultural historian David J. Skal is well known for his research and writings on the history of the horror genre, and in his new book from Turner Classic Movies, Fright Favorites: 31 Movies to Haunt Your Halloween and Beyond, he once again puts his considerable knowledge on display.
Hollywood and Halloween have been inextricably tied together since the early decades of the 20th century, Skal notes in his introduction. The first mention of the holiday came as early as 1914 in a brief scene in the silent film, The Three of Us. In 1920, the holiday was featured more prevalently in the film Do the Dead Talk? which dealt with the subject of the seances and spiritualism that had taken many social circles by storm.
Of course, no one could ever forget early Disney short films like The Skeleton Dance or Donald Duck facing down his nephews and a real witch in Trick Or Treat.
The spooky, the surreal, and the all-out terrifying have been fodder for filmmakers from those very earliest days, and Skal picks out some of his own Fright Favorites providing background and production trivia on each film as well as suggestions for companion films for each entry.
With the introduction complete, Skal begins with two of the greatest silent horror films ever made: F.W. Murnau’s Nosferatu and Rupert Julian/Edward Sedgwick’s The Phantom of the Opera starring Lon Chaney. The author dives deep into the history of both films and sets the tone for the rest of the book providing history that is never dry or boring.
Most people know that Nosferatu was based on Dracula and that Stoker’s estate sued Murnau for copyright infringement. The film was only saved because they “forgot” about a couple of prints that existed after Murnau was ordered to destroy the negatives. What you might not know is that the film’s production designer and producer was Albin Grau, a famed German occultist who filled the film with hermetic, alchemical, and Enochian symbology.
The Phantom of the Opera, meanwhile, had its own tests and trials. When it was presented to audiences in early 1925, it was almost universally panned and in an unprecedented move, the studio ordered major reshoots, replacing director Rupert Julian–who repeatedly clashed with the film’s star Lon Chaney–with Edward Sedgwick, adding comic relief and subplots to “fill out” the film.
Lon Chaney famously clashed with The Phantom of the Opera‘s original director so much that he took it upon himself to direct many of his own scenes.
The changes drastically altered the overall tone of Phantom, but it also guaranteed its success. When it opened later that same year, audiences and critics alike raved about the film, cementing its place in horror history.
These are just two very brief examples of the kind of information you’ll find in Skal’s book, and believe me when I tell you there is so much more included about Nosferatu and The Phantom of the Opera that I simply don’t have time to cover.
I’ll fully list the titles included in the book below, but I must say that Fright Favorites is almost a perfect list of films that could easily serve as a haunted advent calendar to count down to Halloween. The author’s choices might not all be the scariest, but they are certainly a representative sample of some of the best genre filmmaking of the last century. Covering Skal’s 31 movie in 31 days might just be what we need in a year that’s presented one setback after another for most of us.
And yes, you get bonus points if you watch the film and its “you might also like” companion.
Fright Favorites is available in bookstores and online. The hardcover version retails for $23 and you can order yours by CLICKING HERE. Check out the full list of movies covered in depth in the book below and let us know which are your favorites and what you would add!
- Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror
- The Phantom of the Opera
- Dracula
- Frankenstein
- Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
- The Mummy
- Mystery of the Wax Museum
- The Wolf Man
- Cat People
- Them!
- Creature from the Black Lagoon
- Invasion of the Body Snatchers
- The Curse of Frankenstein
- Horror of Dracula
- House on Haunted Hill
- Black Sunday
- The Pit and the Pendulum
- The Birds
- The Haunting
- Night of the Living Dead
- Rosemary’s Baby
- The Exorcist
- Young Frankenstein
- Halloween
- The Shining
- The Thing
- A Nightmare on Elm Street
- Beetlejuice
- Hocus Pocus
- Scream
- Get Out
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Lists
New to Netflix (U.S.) This Month [May 2024]
Another month means fresh additions to Netflix. Although there aren’t many new horror titles this month, there are still some notable movies well worth your time. For instance, you can watch Karen Black try to land a 747 jet in Airport 1979, or Casper Van Dien kill giant insects in Paul Verhoeven’s bloody sci-fi opus Starship Troopers.
We are looking forward to the Jennifer Lopez sci-fi action movie Atlas. But let us know what you are going to watch. And if we have missed something, put it in the comments.
May 1:
Airport
A blizzard, a bomb, and a stowaway help create the perfect storm for the manager of a Midwestern airport and a pilot with a messy personal life.
Airport ’75
When a Boeing 747 loses its pilots in a midair collision, a member of the cabin crew must take control with radio help from a flight instructor.
Airport ’77
A luxury 747 packed with VIPs and priceless art goes down in the Bermuda Triangle after being hijacked by thieves — and time for a rescue is running out.
Jumanji
Two siblings discover an enchanted board game that opens a door to a magical world — and unwittingly release a man who’s been trapped inside for years.
Hellboy
A half-demon paranormal investigator questions his defense of humans when a dismembered sorceress rejoins the living to wreak brutal vengeance.
Starship Troopers
When fire-spitting, brain-sucking bugs attack Earth and obliterate Buenos Aires, an infantry unit heads to the aliens’ planet for a showdown.
May 9
Bodkin
A ragtag crew of podcasters sets out to investigate mysterious disappearances from decades earlier in a charming Irish town with dark, dreadful secrets.
May 15
The Clovehitch Killer
A teenager’s picture-perfect family is torn apart when he uncovers unnerving evidence of a serial killer close to home.
May 16
Upgrade
After a violent mugging leaves him paralyzed, a man receives a computer chip implant that allows him to control his body — and get his revenge.
Monster
After being abducted and taken to a desolate house, a girl sets out to rescue her friend and escape from their malicious kidnapper.
May 24
Atlas
A brilliant counterterrorism analyst with a deep distrust of AI discovers it might be her only hope when a mission to capture a renegade robot goes awry.
Jurassic World: Chaos Theory
The Camp Cretaceous gang come together to unravel a mystery when they discover a global conspiracy that brings danger to dinosaurs — and to themselves.
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Movie Reviews
Panic Fest 2024 Review: ‘Never Hike Alone 2’
There are fewer icons more recognizable than the slasher. Freddy Krueger. Michael Myers. Victor Crowley. Notorious killers who always seem to come back for more no matter how many times they are slain or their franchises seemingly put to a final chapter or nightmare. And so it seems that even some legal disputes cannot stop one of the most memorable movie murderers of all: Jason Voorhees!
Following the events of the first Never Hike Alone, outdoorsman and YouTuber Kyle McLeod (Drew Leighty) has been hospitalized after his encounter with the long thought dead Jason Voorhees, saved by perhaps the hockey masked killer’s greatest adversary Tommy Jarvis (Thom Mathews) who now currently works as an EMT around Crystal Lake. Still haunted by Jason, Tommy Jarvis struggles to find a sense of stability and this latest encounter is pushing him to end the reign of Voorhees once and for all…
Never Hike Alone made a splash online as a well shot and thoughtful fan film continuation of the classic slasher franchise that was built up with the snowbound follow up Never Hike In The Snow and now climaxing with this direct sequel. It’s not only an incredible Friday The 13th love letter, but a well thought out and entertaining epilogue of sorts to the infamous ‘Tommy Jarvis Trilogy’ from within the franchise that encapsulated Friday The 13th Part IV: The Final Chapter, Friday The 13th Part V: A New Beginning, and Friday The 13th Part VI: Jason Lives. Even getting some of the original cast back as their characters to continue the tale! Thom Mathews being the most prominent as Tommy Jarvis, but with other series casting like Vincent Guastaferro returning as now Sheriff Rick Cologne and still having a bone to pick with Jarvis and the mess around Jason Voorhees. Even featuring some Friday The 13th alumni like Part III‘s Larry Zerner as the mayor of Crystal Lake!
On top of that, the movie delivers on kills and action. Taking turns that some of the previous fils never got the chance to deliver on. Most prominently, Jason Voorhees going on a rampage through Crystal Lake proper when he slices his way through a hospital! Creating a nice throughline of the mythology of Friday The 13th, Tommy Jarvis and the cast’s trauma, and Jason doing what he does best in the most cinematically gory ways possible.
The Never Hike Alone films from Womp Stomp Films and Vincente DiSanti are a testament to the fanbase of Friday The 13th and the still enduring popularity of those films and of Jason Voorhees. And while officially, no new movie in the franchise is on the horizon for the foreseeable future, at the very least there is some comfort knowing fans are willing to go to these lengths to fill the void.
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News
New Vampire Flick “Flesh of the Gods” Will Star Kristen Stewart and Oscar Isaac
80s nostalgia is still going strong in the horror community. As proof of this, Panos Cosmatos (Mandy) is developing a new 80s themed vampire film. However, unlike some of the other nostalgia bait films that have come out recently, Flesh of the Gods is packing some serious talent.
First, the film is written by the legendary Andrew Kevin Walker (Se7en). If that wasn’t enough, the film will star Oscar Isaac (Moon Knight) and Kristen Stewart (Underwater).
Variety gives us a glimpse into the story line, stating that: “Flesh of the Gods is set in glittering ’80s L.A., where married couple Raoul (Oscar Isaac) and Alex (Kristen Stewart) each evening descend from their luxury skyscraper condo and head into the city’s electric nighttime realm. When they cross paths with a mysterious and enigmatic figure known as Nameless and her hard-partying cabal, the pair are seduced into a glamorous, surrealistic world of hedonism, thrills and violence.”
Cosmatos offers his own opinion of the film. “Like Los Angeles itself, ‘Flesh of the Gods’ inhabits the liminal realm between fantasy and nightmare. Both propulsive and hypnotic, ‘Flesh’ will take you on a hot rod joy ride deep into the glittering heart of hell.”
Producer Adam McKay (Don’t Look Up) seems to also be excited about The Flesh of the Gods. “This director, this writer, these incredible actors, vampires, choice ’80s punk, style and attitude for miles… that’s the film we’re bringing you today. We think it’s wildly commercial and wildly artful. Our ambitions are to make a movie that ripples through popular culture, fashion, music and film. Can you tell how excited I am?”
Flesh of the Gods is set to begin filming later this year. It will launch at Cannes with WME Independent, CAA Media Finance, and XYZ Films. The Flesh of the Gods does not currently have a release date.
That’s all the information we have at this time. Make sure to check back here for more news and updates.
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