Ready Player One is a 2018 American science fiction adventure film produced and directed by Steven Spielberg from a screenplay by Zak Penn and Ernest Cline, based on Cline’s 2011 novel of the same name.

The movie contains a vast number of popular culture references, mainly from the 1970s and 1980s but also the 1990s; a surprising number of these are from horror culture – this listing contains spoilers, so perhaps watch the blockbuster first:

• Both Freddy Krueger and Jason Voorhees are seen as battling avatars in the OASIS game
• The T-Rex dinosaur from Jurassic Park is a destructive obstacle in an urban virtual vehicle race.
• King Kong climbs down from the Empire State Building and proves a massive obstacle in the aforementioned wacky race.
• In the same race, Godzilla can be seen attacking Megalon in the distance.
• An Alien chest-burster is used as a practical joke.
• The Sulaco spaceship from Aliens, is seen as a virtual toy.
• A crashed Martian space ship from War of the Worlds is the site of a virtual meeting.
• Beetlejuice is seen as a videogame avatar.
• Graffiti related to Gremlins is briefly seen (this passed us by).
• The Christine Plymouth from the 1983 Stephen King adaptation can be glimpsed in a virtual race.
• Lead gameplayer Wade briefly adopts Michael Jackson’s red outfit from the Thriller music video.
• David Cronenberg’s 1986 remake of The Fly is apparently mentioned.
• There is a whole extended sequence set in a virtual replica of the Overlook Hotel from The Shining. Besides the creepy twins, elevator gushing gallons of blood, the naked lady in Room 237, the gameplay goes beyond the 1980 movie (and also amusingly notes that Stephen King hated it), to include a giant axe attack in the maze and zombies in the ballroom too.
• Spawn is seen as an avatar in a battle sequence.
• Slasher doll Chucky is used as a weapon, prompting a startled virtual soldier to exclaim, “It’s fucking Chucky!”
• Villain Sorrento adopts the guise and weaponry of Mechagodzilla from Toho’s Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla (1974).
• A toy version of Robbie the Robot from Forbidden Planet.
• The scary skeleton warriors from Jason and the Argonauts are glimpsed in a battle scene.
• There may have been a toy Godzilla in young Halliday’s bedroom but it could have been a model dinosaur.

As regards the main cast’s horror credentials:

• Tye Sheridan was in Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse
• Olivia Cooke was in the Bates Motel TV series; The Limehouse Golem; Ouija and The Quiet Ones
• Ben Mendelsohn was in Needle
• Simon Pegg was, of course in Shaun of the Dead; Hot Fuzz and The World’s End, Steve Coogan’s comedy TV series Dr. Terrible’s House of Horrible, plus the upcoming Slaughterhouse Rulez

Thanks to Vulture.com for identifying a few we missed when viewing Ready Player One earlier today. Please let us know if there are others in this whirlwind of a movie in the comments below.

‘One last mission. Retrieve the asset. Go back to your family.’

Cartel 2045 – aka Juarez 2045 – is a 2017 science fiction action film written and directed by Chris Le, and starring Danny Trejo (Dead in Tombstone; Voodoo Possession; The Devil’s Rejects) with Alexander P. Heartman, Brad Schmidt, and Blake Webb.

The year is 2045, the continuing drug war has caused havoc between The United States and Mexico. Gear Side International, a robotics engineering company on the brink of bankruptcy, sells off their technology to the Cartel on the black market.

With the advanced military robotics technology in the wrong hands the cartel uses it to their advantage; replacing their enforcers, hit men, and soldiers…

Cartel 2045 premieres on VOD on May 1, 2018 from Uncork’d Entertainment.

IMDb

‘May the chaos be with you…’

Bloody Chainsaw Girl – original title: Chimamire sukeban chênsô – is a 2016 Japanese science fiction comedy horror film directed by Hiroki Yamaguchi (Hellevator) from a screenplay by Mitsunori Fukuhara, based on a manga by Rei Mikamoto. It stars Rio Uchida, Mari Yamachi, Seira Satô, and Yuki Tamaki.

Delinquent high school student Giko (Rio Uchida) wields a chainsaw like no other, a talent she inherited from her long-deceased father.

On her way to high school, Giko is attacked by Sayuri, an assassin sent by rival student Nero. It seems that Nero has been burning the mad scientist oil and turning fellow classmates into cyborgs that obey her every command. The nefarious Nero is looking to add Giko to her collection of demented soldiers.

Although able to repel Sayuri’s attack, Giko is hardly out of the fire, and finds herself targeted not only by Nero, but also by all the members of her school’s Ninja Club, including Hanzo, their female leader who – in addition to a cyborg makeover – received a sex change from Nero…

Reviews:

“Evidently, Yoko Matsuda and Kazuhide Shimohata in the makeup department, Yuta Okuyama, Soichi Umezawa and Adam Nishida on the special effects, and Mami Ito in the costume department have done wonders into portraying all this bloody preposterousness on screen, and the result is truly impressive.” Panos Kotzathanasis, Asian Movie Pulse

“It manages to fill most dialogue with nonsense, especially the rationale of the villain – which is so nonsensical I still cannot comprehend […] If you want an example of the craziness, look at the poster here and see where the missiles come from.” Moonlight Knight

Main cast:

• Rio Uchida
• Mizuho Abe
• Seijirô Nakamura
• Ray Nishimura
• Kayako Okuda
• Seira Satô
• Yûki Tamaki
• Mari Yamachi

IMDb

Future World is a 2018 American science fiction action film, directed by James Franco and Bruce Thierry Cheung, from a screenplay by Chung and Jay Davis. It stars James Franco, Milla Jovovich, Jeffrey Wahlberg, Lucy Liu, Method Man, Suki Waterhouse and Snoop Dogg.

The film is scheduled to be released on May 25, 2018, by Lionsgate Premiere.

In a post-apocalyptic world, where water and gasoline have long since dried-up, a prince from the oasis (one of the last known safe havens) must venture out to find medicine for the ailing queen (Lucy Liu).

However, along the prince gets mixed up with the warlord (James Franco) and his robot Ash (Suki Waterhouse), which leads to a daring journey through the desolate wastelands…

Cast and characters:

• James Franco …Warlord
• Milla Jovovich
• Lucy Liu … The Queen
• Suki Waterhouse … Ash
• Method Man … Tattooed Face
• Snoop Dogg … Love Lord
• Margarita Levieva … Lei
• Scott Haze … Gutter
• Jeffrey Wahlberg … Prince
• Twin Shadow
• Carmen Argenziano … The Maker
• Destiny Austin … Sky
• Wilmer Calderon … Skinny
• Tamzin Brown … Sweet T
• Krista West … Love Lord Call Girl
• Ben Youcef … Rico

Wikipedia | IMDb

‘If you have the guts – he wants them!!’

Nightbeast – aka Night Beast – is a 1982 American science fiction horror film written and directed by Baltimore-based Don Dohler (Blood Massacre; The Galaxy Invader; Fiend). It is a remake of sorts to Dohler’s first film The Alien Factor. The movie stars Donald Leifert, Tom Griffiths and George Stover.

Most of the cast of The Alien Factor reprise their roles in Nightbeast. It features opening credit effects by Ernest D. Farino (who later created the title effects for The Terminator, The Abyss and Terminator 2: Judgment Day) and the creature was created by John Dods who later provided special effects for Ghostbusters II, Alien Resurrection, and The X Files. Additional makeup effects were by Amodio Giordano. Parts of the synth score were written by future Star Trek and Star Wars director J.J. Abrams. The movie had a budget of $42,000, a relatively large amount for a Don Dohler production.

A British VIPCO video release, the film was included on the lamentable Section 3 “liable for forfeiture” list as covered on Video Nasties: The Definitive Guide Part Two, Draconian Days

 Buy with Blood, Boobs and Beast: Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk

Reviews:

“The film suffers from the usual shortcomings of this kind of regional, semi-amateur film-making: cliches, poor special effects, wooden acting, and the kind of script where “Holy shit!” is considered witty, Oscar Wilde-esque dialogue […] Still, Nightbeast does have its entertaining aspects.” Liz Kingsley, And You Call Yourself a Scientist!

” …a hoot from start to finish. The script was ultra-basic, the dialogue and acting uniformly atrocious, the photography amateur, and the direction pedestrian. However, it does feature a cool alien, lots of daft moments and unintentional (and intentional) humour.” Justin Richards, Blueprint: Review

“While the film is no Night of the Creeps (hell, it’s not even The Deadly Spawn), Nightbeast has its charms. As to what those charms are exactly, I have no idea. Actually, the title of the documentary about the career of Don Dohler sums up these charms quite well: Blood, Boobs and Beast. Check out if you get the chance, it’s a pretty good doc.” House of Self-Indulgence

“If you’re looking for a serious sci-fi movie, you’d be looking in the wrong place with Nightbeast. If you’re looking for cheesy, schlocky, consistently low budget special effects and a montage of gunfire, then you can’t go wrong here.” Internal Bleeding

“It entertained me and it didn’t outstay its welcome, to expect anything else of the movie would have been foolish. It’s far from a classic, it isn’t even very coherent, but with a just few thousand dollars Dohler made a movie that was much more entertaining and enjoyable than a lot of $100 million sci-fi movies I’ve seen.” To Obscurity and Beyond

“Naturally, this is the sort of affair that is a laff riot to those viewers in a certain frame of mind, with all its grottiness and cheapness and ideas above its station, even though those ideas were to make a more violent version of a fifties sci-fi invasion effort which were not exactly ambitious, but Dohler insisted on throwing in bits of business he felt proper movies should have, no matter how out of place they were.” Graeme Clark, The Spinning Image

“Well Nightbeast is probably not going to change your life, but if you are in a serious need of some real 80s entertainment of the weird kind, you can’t go wrong with Nightbeast, cause they don’t make em’ like this anymore.” Hog-Wild Howls

“Although the special effects (including some startling uses of gore makeup) are noteworthy, the actors aren’t given much to do other than stand around and talk. The final result is disappointing.” TV Guide

“Although the movie focuses on the gory kill scenes with glee, it’s not gory enough to be a splatter movie, it’s not campy enough to be funny and it’s not strange enough to be entertaining.” The Worldwide Celluloid Massacre

Cast and characters:

• Tom Griffith … Sheriff Jack Cinder
• Jamie Zemarel … Jamie Lambert
• Karin Kardian … Lisa Kent
• George Stover … Steven Price – Night of the Living Dead: Genesis; Camp Blood 666; Frames of Fear; Call-Girl of Cthulhu; Vampire Sisters; The Galaxy Invader; et al
• Don Leifert … Drago
• Anne Frith … Ruth Sherman
• Eleanor Herman … Mary Jane
• Richard Dyszel … Mayor Bert Wicker
• Greg Dohler … Greg
• Kim Pfeiffer … Kim [as Kim Dohler]
• Monica Neff … Suzie
• Glenn Barnes … Glenn
• Rose Wolfe … Glenn’s Girl
• Jerry Schuerholz … Hunter
• Hank Stuhmer … Hunter

Wikipedia | IMDb | Image credits: House of Self-Indulgence

‘Stay dry. Stay alive.’

The Rain is a 2018 Danish science fiction horror thriller television series created by Jannik Tai Mosholt, Esben Toft Jacobsen and Christian Potalivo.

Six years after a brutal virus carried by the rain wiped out almost all humans in Scandinavia, two Danish siblings emerge from the safety of their bunker to find all remnants of civilisation gone.

Soon, they join a group of young survivors and together set out on a danger-filled quest through abandoned Scandinavia, searching for any sign of life. Set free from their collective past and societal rules the group has the freedom to be who they want to be.

In their struggle for survival, the group discover that even in a post-apocalyptic world there’s still love, jealousy, coming of age, and many of the problems they thought they’d left behind with the disappearance of the world they once knew…

The series is set to premiere on Netflix on May 4, 2018.

Cast and characters:

• Alba August as Simone
• Lucas Lynggaard Tønnesen as Rasmus
• Mikkel Følsgaard as Martin
• Angela Bundalovic as Beatrice
• Sonny Lindberg as Jean
• Jessica Dinnage as Lea
• Lukas Løkken as Patrick
• Iben Hjejle as Ellen
• Lars Simonsen as Frederick
• Johannes Kuhnke as Sten

Production:

Production commenced in late June 2017 in Denmark and Sweden.

Wikipedia | IMDb

‘Horror so incredible it stretches the mind of man beyond the breaking point’

Space Probe – Taurus – aka Space Monster – is a 1965 American science fiction feature film written, produced and directed by Leonard Katzman. It stars Francine York, James Brown, Baynes Barron and Russ Bender.

In the year 2000, the spaceship Hope One sets off to find new galaxies for colonisation. However, an encounter with an alien being and “a swarm of meteorites” sends the ship streaking off course into a sea of monsters on an uncharted world…

Reviews:

“This is one of director Leonard Katzman’s few writing credits, and that’s a shame, because although each and every scene carries with it all the clichés of the space movie, the dialogue is never leaden or dull. In fact, in most movies of this kind, The Chick would be a unsatisfying role to play, but Lisa proves to be a remarkably strong character…” The Bad Movie Report

” …uninspired acting, a plodding pace, and subpar special effects, makes for a way-below-average space adventure […] Years from now, you’ll only remember one thing about this movie, and that is a tongue darting in and out of an alien’s mouth.” Dave Sindelar, Fantastic Movie Musings and Ramblings

“While the bulk of the effects are cheesy, the shots of the astronauts floating around in space are well done. The monsters are cool too. I especially liked the rubbery looking alien who kept frantically licking its lips. The giant crabs, which are just regular crabs walking around an Estes rocket are also good for a laugh.” Mitch Lovell, The Video Vacuum

“Really bad, low-budget flick with a rubber monster and a climactic crash into a “sea of monsters” which is really a fish tank full of crabs. Ultra cheap production with handed down cast and props.” Videohound’s Complete Guide to Cult Flicks and Trash Pics

Choice dialogue:

Dr. Lisa Wayne: “By the way Colonel, I think I know where some of that billions of dollars must have gone. To build a special helmet for that fat head of yours!”

Dr. Lisa Wayne: “What a horrible looking creature!”

Cast and characters:

• Francine York … Dr. Lisa Wayne – Astro Zombies: M3 – Cloned; The Centerfold Girls; Curse of the Swamp Creature; Mutiny in Outer Space
• James B. Brown … Colonel Hank Stevens – Targets
• Baynes Barron … Dr. John Andros – The Strangler (1964); From Hell It Came; Phantom of the Rue Morgue
• Russ Bender [misnamed Russ Fender in credits] … Dr. Paul Martin – I Saw What You Did; The Navy vs. the Night Monsters; The Strangler (1964); Anatomy of a Psycho; Ghost of Dragstrip Hollow; War of the Colossal Beast; The Veil TV series; I Bury the Living; The Amazing Colossal Man; It Conquered the World; War of the Worlds
• John Willis … TV Reporter
• Bob Legionaire … Faith I Crewman
• James Macklin [as Jim Maclin] … General Mark Tilman
• Phyllis Selznick … Earth Control Secretary
• John Lomma [as John Loma] … Earth Control

Trivia:

The alien mask was also used in The Wizard of Mars (1965).

IMDb | Image credits: The Spectrum

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‘Question your humanity’

5th Passenger is a 2018 science fiction horror feature film directed by Scotty Baker from a screenplay co-written with Morgan Lariah and David Henri Martin. The movie stars Doug Jones, Marina Sirtis, Mindy Robinson

The year: 2151. In the aftermath of an oppressive class war, Miller, a pregnant officer aboard an escape pod must struggle to survive with her remaining crew when a mysterious and vicious life form attacks, determined to become the dominant species…

5th Passenger will be released by Epic Pictures in select movie houses and on VOD on July 10, 2018.

Cast and characters:

• Doug Jones … Langdon
• Marina Sirtis … Alana
• Mindy Robinson … Thea
• Armin Shimerman … Myers
• David Lim … Li
• Tim Russ … Franklin
• Manu Intiraymi … Thompson
• Ann Hu … Officer Xi’an
• Reka Rene … Johanna
• Hana Hatae … Nurse Yagi
• Rico E. Anderson … Captain Arnold Reguine
• Ego Nwodim … Dr. Stephan
• Cleo Fraser … Young Eve Miller
• Peter Sebastian Wrobell … UGS Sagan crew member
  Keo Woolford … Captain Odate

IMDb

The Predator is a 2018 American science-fiction action horror feature film directed by Shane Black (Iron Man 3) from a screenplay co-written with Fred Dekker (The Monster Squad; Night of the Creeps). Shane Black was an uncredited script doctor on the 1987 Predator movie. Yvonne Strahovski, Olivia Munn and Jacob Tremblay star.

It is the fourth film in the Predator franchise, following Predator (1987), Predator 2 (1990) and Predators (2010). The new film is R-rated.

Read the main entry for The Predator (2018)

New and future releases

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Alien from the Deep is a 1989 Italian science fiction horror film directed by Antonio Margheriti [as Anthony M. Dawson] (Cannibal Apocalypse; Seven Deaths in the Cat’s Eye; Castle of Blood; et al) from a screenplay by Tito Carpi (Tentacles; Last Cannibal World; Seven Murders for Scotland Yard) and produced by Franco Gaudenzi. It stars Daniel Bosch, Marina Giulia Cavalli, Luciano Pigozzi, Robert Marius, and Charles Napier.

Two members of Greenpeace discover that a local factory sheds radioactive waste into an active volcano, which has created a terrifying creature that wreaks havoc in the area…

Reviews:

“Outside of Charles Napier’s (Silence of the Lambs) performance in the role of a megalomaniac colonel, who has been hired to protect E-Chem Corporation secrets, the rest of the cast are stale and forgettable in their respective roles. Ultimately, Alien from the Deep is bottom of the barrel Euro-Cult schlock…” Michael Den Boer, 10K Bullets

“It sucks that the creature doesn’t make an appearance for nearly an hour into the film but there’s enough gunplay, explosions and jungle chases to keep the momentum moving forward […] a mighty entertaining film.” Ken Kastenhuber, McBastard’s Mausoleum

” The alien (or whatever it is) really steals the show, though, especially when it’s finally shown in all its oversized, awkward glory for the big climax complete with more flashing lights, smoke, and explosions than a Duran Duran video.” Nathaniel Thompson, Mondo Digital

“What is perhaps surprising is just how dated it is. The script uses old hat explanations, some of which have not been in use for a good thirty years. The alien is a standard 1980s ripoff of H.R. Giger but this sits alongside atomic energy threat themes from the 1950s and 1970s ecological concerns.” Richard Scheib, Moria

“The movie isn’t particularly gory but it does have some awesome scenes where snakes somehow take down a small army of guys with M-16s and frequent use of the word ‘balls’ scattered throughout…” Ian Jane, Rock! Pop! Shock!

“No, Alien from the Deep didn’t win any Oscars, but to hell with those – it’s a helluva entertaining monster movie, packed with action, stunts, some gore, explosions and of course an alien-monster-thingie directly from the volcano of our imagination.” Fred Anderson, Schmollywood Babylon

It’s not a problem that it’s a bad film. That, I feel, was a given […] Admittedly, the final 20 minutes when the laughably crappy monster rears its claw and a few minor explosions blow the shit out of toy cars etc, is great.” Sex Gore Mutants

Choice dialogue:

“Don’t touch me, you snake squeezer! You’re all alike! Men like you think you’re real men just because you got a pair of balls!”

“I think it’s some kind of claw, Colonel!”

“Fear is contagious! You gotta nip it in the butt!”

“This isn’t f*ckin’ Vietnam, ok! But I said I’d stop the Greenpeace bastards and I will!”

Main cast and characters:

Daniel Bosch … Bob
Marina Giulia Cavalli … Jane [as Julia Mc. Kay]
Luciano Pigozzi … Doctor Geoffrey [as Alan Collins]
Robert Marius … Lee
Charles Napier … Colonel Kovacks

Filming locations:

• Latina, Lazio, Italy
• Pagsanjan, Laguna, Philippines

IMDb

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‘This 4th of July, pledge your allegiance’

The Domestics is a 2018 American post-apocalyptic horror feature film directed and written by Mike P. Nelson. The Hollywood Gang Productions movie stars Kate Bosworth and Tyler Hoechlin.

In a terrifying post-apocalyptic world inhabited by murderous gangs divided into deadly factions, Nina (Kate Bosworth) and Mark (Tyler Hoechlin) race desperately across the lawless countryside in search of safety. As one depraved group narrows their search for the couple, they must work together as they are pushed to the breaking point in order to survive…

The Domestics is scheduled to be released in select movie houses on June 28, 2018, by Orion Classics and on VOD the day after.

Main cast and characters:

• Tyler Hoechlin as Mark West
• Kate Bosworth as Nina West
• Lance Reddick as Nathan Wood
• Sonoya Mizuno as Betsy
• Dana Gourrier as Wanda
• Thomas Francis Murray as Plowboy Jim
• David Dastmalchian as Willy Cunningham

Wikipedia

‘Pure evil. Bite-sized.’

Ghastlies is a 2016 Canadian science fiction comedy horror feature film directed by Brett Kelly (My Fair Zombie; Homicycle; Jurassic Shark) from a screenplay by Chris Bavota (shorts: Never Tear Us Apart; Attack of the Brainsucker; After Ate).

The movie stars Kim Valentine (Monster Pool: Chapter Two), Kendra Summerfield (Raiders of the Lost Shark), Jessica Huether and Julie Racine.

Three sorority sisters plan an initiation for their nerdy friend during a weekend getaway. Things don’t go exactly as planned when they accidentally stumble upon a craft containing a trio of extraterrestrial ghastly ghouls! Armed with only their boyfriends and brains, they resolve to send these pint-sized gatecrashers back to the edge of the universe—or die trying…

Reviews:

“Ghastlies is not just a low-budget film, but an ultra low-budget film that attempts to impress without the proper resources to actually look legit. For example, the alien creatures are so cheaply made that it feels as if someone ran to Toys R Us and then grabbed whatever exotic villains they had on sale that could get the job done. Then there are large bits of the ‘acting’ that really look like screen tests…” Svet Atanasov, Blu-ray.com

“The cartoonish hand puppets, the implausible effects, and the technical inconsistencies can all be overlooked as campy charm, passed aside to enjoy Ghastlies for what it’s worth, but what can’t subside is the wonky connection between the cast that doesn’t favor well that’s diluted at the end by the starkly questionable and abrupt editing…” Stephen T. Lewis, It’s Bloggin’ Evil 

“The effects are about as lo-fi as you get can, of course, with felt puppets serving as the title monsters (complete with actors flailing around trying to hold the inanimate critters to their heads) and lots of practical gore effects, some of them surprisingly squishy and others deliberately fake and ludicrous (such as a torn spinal cord).” Nathaniel Thompson, Mondo Digital

“There is a sufficient body count, blood, and gore contained in this to satisfy horror fans, the major issue is its quality. Yes, it is all practical effects, but they are done rather poorly. And not in a fun campy sort of way, but in a that was disappointing way. The puppet monsters have to be the best part of the picture. They are fairly crude, yet fun.” Raul Vantassle, The Movie Sleuth

“If originality isn’t a strong point, the movie has a lot more going for it –pretty girls, goofy characters, a good sense of humor. The aliens are all puppets, which gives the film some retro charm (even when one of those puppets proves to be a little rapey!) and the movie is fairly gory as well. All of those effects are done practically, another feather in the picture’s cap.” Ian Jane, Rock! Shock! Pop!

Ghastlies was released as a Blu-ray + DVD combo and HD digital on November 11, 2017 via Camp Motion Pictures. The disc special features are:

• Audio commentary by director Brett Kelly and actor Trevor Payer
• “Going Ghastlies” FX featurette
• “Tomb Talks Tubular Toonage” music featurette
• “They’re Ghastlies” music video
• Double-sided cover art

Main cast:

• Kim Valentine
• Kendra Summerfield
• Jessica Huether
• Julie Racine
• Eric Deniverville
• Joel Elliot
• Kyle Martellacci
• John Migliore –The Drownsman; Bite; Poltergeist Encounters; et al
• Janet Hetherington
• Peter Whittaker
• Jurgen Vollrath
• Kyle Martellacci

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“Nightflyers is a haunted house story on a starship. It’s Psycho in space.”

Nightflyers is 2018 American science fiction horror television series, co-produced by the Syfy channel, based on the novella of the same name and the series of short stories by George R.R. Martin. The series will debut this Fall.

Set in the year 2093, a team of scientists aboard the Nightflyer, the most advanced spacecraft ever built, as they embark on a journey to find other life forms. Their mission takes them to the edge of the solar system, and to the edge of insanity, as they realise true horror isn’t waiting for them in outer space… it’s already on their ship.

Cast and characters:

Bronte Carmichael … Skye D’Branin
Phillip Rhys … Murphy
Miranda Raison … Tessia
Gwynne McElveen … Tobis
Gretchen Mol … Dr. Agatha Matheson
Eoin Macken … Karl D’Branin
David Ajala … Roy Eris
Sam Strike … Thale
Maya Eshet … Lommie
Angus Sampson … Rowan
Jodie Turner-Smith … Melantha Jhir
Brían F. O’Byrne … Auggie

Development:

In 2016, it was announced that Syfy would be developing a series based on Martin’s novella. Later in 2017, it was announced that the series would rather be based on the film adaptation from 1987. George R.R. Martin will not be involved directly with the series due to his exclusive contract with HBO, however he will be credited as an executive producer.

Filming:

The series began production in early 2018 on location in Limerick, Ireland, and also at Limerick-based Troy Studios.

Wikipedia | Official webpage

Alien Titans: Game Over Collection is a set of three-inch collectible figures based on the characters from the Alien film franchise manufactured by Titan Entertainment.

“Warrant Officer Ellen Ripley returns alongside US Colonial Marine Dwayne Hicks and android science officer Bishop. The Alien Queen makes her first appearance as a 3” blind-boxed Titan and the Xenomorph is back in multiple devastating incarnations, including a Warrior Xenomorph, a glow-in-the-dark Xenomorph variant and an Emergency Lighting Xenomorph.

The battle-ready Armored Personnel Carrier and a Flaming Alien Egg also feature in this much-anticipated Titans collection! Each figure is 3” blind-boxed – and some of them come with a character-specific accessory.”

Source: Broke Horror Fan

‘Deadly, trained killers… but no one told them they were dead!’

Sniper Corpse is a 2018 British science fiction horror film written and directed by Keith R. Robinson. The Other Dimension Films production stars Tony Eccles, Gareth Gower, Kit Smith, and Jordan Murphy. Howy Bratherton provided the voice of the titular resurrected soldier.

Unscrupulous politicians have secretly been resurrecting British soldiers killed in combat to use them for top secret missions. However, the widow of one of the undead soldiers is determined to uncover the truth behind the conspiracy.

One of the resurrected soldiers offers to help her uncover the truth on the condition that he is given a proper burial, which has disastrous consequences for everyone involved…

Filming locations:

Kent, England, UK

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It has been confirmed that Neill Blomkamp, director of District 9 and Elysium, will be directing RoboCop Returns for MGM.

Furthermore, original scripters Ed Neumeier and Michael Miner are producing and executive producing, respectively. Justin Rhodes will rewrite Neumeier and Miner’s original sequel script for Paul Verhoeven’s 1987 classic.

Talking to Deadline, Blomkamp stated:“The original definitely had a massive effect on me as a kid. I loved it then and it remains a classic in the end of 20th Century sci-fi catalog, with real meaning under the surface. Hopefully that is something we can get closer to in making of a sequel. That is my goal here. What I connected to as a kid has evolved over time.

At first, the consumerism, materialism and Reaganomics, that ’80s theme of America on steroids, came through most strongly. But as I’ve gotten older, the part that really resonated with me is identity, and the search for identity. As long as the human component is there, a good story can work in any time period, it’s not locked into a specific place in history.”

Elaborating, Blomkamp said: “What’s so cool about RoboCop is that like good Westerns, sci-fi films and dramas, the human connection is really important to a story well told. What draws me now is someone searching for their lost identity, taken away at the hands of people who are benefiting from it, and seeing his memory jogged by events. That is most captivating.

The other thing I am excited by is the chance to work again with Justin Rhodes. He has added elements that are pretty awesome, to a sequel that was set in the world of Verhoeven. This is a movie I would love to watch.”

It is widely anticipated that this sequel will retain the violence of the 1987 which was watered down for the 2014 Jose Padilha-directed version that starred Joe Kinnaman.

‘We were not here first’

Extinction is a 2018 science fiction thriller directed by Ben Young (Hounds of Love) from a screenplay by Brad Caleb Kane and Spenser Cohen. Eric Heisserer (Arrival) also worked on the script.

The movie stars Michael Peña, Lizzy Caplan (Cloverfield), Mike Colter, Lilly Aspell, Emma Booth, Israel Broussard, and Lex Shrapnel.

A working-class father of the future faces recurring dreams of destruction by an unknown force. When his unwanted nightmares begin to affect his relationship with his family, he soon realises they may be the key to a horrible reality, as a relentless alien attack begins to destroy the Earth. As the invaders’ assault progresses, he is forced to find both the strength to protect his family and an understanding of who he truly is…

Originally slated for a January 2018 release by Universal, the movie was subsequently acquired for an  exclusive release by streaming channel Netflix on July 27, 2018.

Filming locations:

Serbia

Trivia:

This film should not be confused with the 2014 British film of the same name about prehistoric predators.

‘He stripped souls as bare as bodies!’

X – also known as X: The Man with the X-Ray Eyes and The Man with the X-Ray Eyes – is a 1963 American science fiction horror film produced and directed by Roger Corman from a screenplay by Ray Russell (Mr. Sardonicus; Premature Burial; The Incubus) and Robert Dillon. The movie stars Ray Milland, Diana Van der Vlis, Harold J. Stone and John Hoyt.

While most of the cast are relatively unknown, Don Rickles is notable in an uncharacteristically dramatic role. Veteran character actor Morris Ankrum makes an uncredited appearance, his last in the movie industry, plus an uncredited appearance by Corman regular Dick Miller as a heckler.

Shot in just three weeks on a budget of $300,000, Corman described the film’s success as a miracle. The movie was notable for its use of visual effects to portray Dr. Xavier’s point of view. While crude by later standards, the visuals are still effective in impressing upon the audience the bizarre viewpoint of the protagonist and it has since attained cult status. American International Pictures (AIP) released the film as a double feature with Dementia 13.

A Lancer books novelisation was written by Eunice Sudak (Tales of Terror; The Raven) and a Gold Key comic was also issued.

Dr. Xavier (Ray Milland) develops eyedrops intended to increase the range of human vision, allowing one to see beyond the “visible” spectrum into the ultraviolet and x-ray wavelengths and beyond. Believing that testing on animals and volunteers will produce uselessly subjective observations, he begins testing the drops on himself.

Initially, Xavier discovers that he can see though people’s clothing, and he uses his vision to save a young girl whose medical problem was misdiagnosed.

Over time and with continued use of the drops, Xavier’s visual capacity increases and his ability to control it decreases. Eventually he can no longer see the world in human terms, but only in forms of lights and textures that his brain is unable to fully comprehend.

Even closing his eyes brings no relieving darkness from his frightening world, as he can see through his eyelids. His behaviour becomes increasingly erratic, and Xavier’s associates assume that he is going insane…

Reviews:

“The horror is different from the Poes, which are often painfully Freudian. X is both more abstract and more visceral. The premise itself preys on both the vulnerability of our eyes and on their strangeness as the only exposed viscera in the human body. It hides what is happening to Xavier’s eyes behind dark glasses for much of its running time so it can provide a jolt to the audience when they’re finally revealed.” Christianne Benedict, Filmmaker

“The uses for this x-ray vision range from the tawdry (seeing through women’s clothing) to the illegal (cheating at poker) to the disturbing. There’s even a thread of cosmic, Lovecraftian horror running through this flick, as Xavier’s eyes begin to show him visions from outside our universe. Corman didn’t craft many winners, but this film is one of them.” Jim Vorel, Paste magazine

” …at times as bad and ludicrous as anything in the thrill genre, at others as brilliant and expressionist as an Antonioni of the same period. It’s pop art, the Pathecolor tonality and Spectorama effects anticipating the psychedelic genre, just like the renegade doctor and his quest for a higher level of consciousness.” Lawrence Russell, Culture Court

“Corman’s achievement in X – The Man with X-Ray Eyes is, as were invisibly, to have bent the genre to its own ends. The result is one of his undisputed masterpieces, the weak special effects notwithstanding.” Phil Hardy (editor), The Aurum Film Encyclopedia: Science Fiction

Buy Blu-ray: Amazon.com

“One of Roger Corman’s strangest films, hampered by inadequate effects and other budget woes yet singularly compelling as it unfolds an allegorical plot…” John Stanley, Creature Features

” …well acted by its small cast, X fully realizes every eerie chill and conceptual horror in Robert Dillon and Ray Russell’s clever screenplay. The movie has a brisk pace (a factor Corman mastered early on) and the direction is clever but simple. Time jumps and scene transitions are never predictable and carry a strange sense of displacement.” Glenn Erickson, DVD Savant

” …the film is mainly interesting because of its visual inventiveness, though Roger’s usual lack of a sufficient budget prevented the possible permutations of the idea being fully realised. Ray Milland makes a good lead, a character who’s not entirely sympathetic … ” Nigel Honeybone, Horror News

“Most viewers come away wishing that the special effects were better and thankful that “Specterama” never caught on. The images of x-ray vision actually look more like double vision. They even remind me of the silly “x-ray specs” that we bought from comic books in the 1970s. The circular “eye” shape that surrounds these shots is unnecessary. The fuzzy rainbow colours quickly become annoying.” Glen Elroy Goldweber, Claws & Saucers

“The opening purple twirl sets the strange tone and Les Baxter’s jazzy score keeps toes tapping. You’ll need a sense of humour for the film’s shocking tent revival finale.” Shirley Halperin, Steve Bloom, Reefer Movie Madness: The Ultimate Stoner Film Guide

Offline reading:

How I Made a Hundred Movies in Hollywood and Never Lost a Dime by Roger Corman with Jim Jerome, Da Capo Press, New York, USA, 1998. Buy from Amazon.co.uk

The Films of Roger Corman by Alan Frank, Batsford , London, 1998

Buy DVD from Amazon.com

Buy DVD from Amazon.co.uk

Buy the soundtrack CD by Les Baxter from Amazon.co.uk

Buy: Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk

Ad mat courtesy of DriveInTheater.com

Venom is a 2018 American science fiction dark fantasy feature film directed by Ruben Fleischer from a screenplay by Scott Rosenberg, Jeff Pinkner, Kelly Marcel and Will Beall, based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name.

The movie is produced by Columbia Pictures in association with Marvel and stars Tom Hardy, Michelle Williams, Riz Ahmed, Scott Haze, and Reid Scott. It is rumoured that Woody Harrelson plays Carnage.

Following a scandal, journalist Eddie Brock attempts to revive his career by investigating the Life Foundation. However, Eddie comes into contact with an alien symbiote that bonds with him, giving him superpowers and a horrific alter-ego: “Venom”…

Venom is released in most territories on October 4 and 5, 2018.

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Death Race: Beyond Anarchy will be released ‘Unrated & Unhinged’ on Blu-ray, DVD, and VOD by Universal 1440 Entertainment on October 2, 2018.

The fourth movie in the Death Race franchise is being released as part of the Death Race 4 – Movie Collection alongside Death Race (2008), Death Race 2 (2010), and Death Race: Inferno (2013).

The movie was directed by Don Michael Paul (Tremors: A Cold Day in Hell) from a screenplay co-written with Tony Giglio. Paul W.S. Anderson (who wrote and directed the first entry) conceived the storyline with Giglio and serves as executive producer alongside Roger Corman (who, of course, produced the cult classic Death Race 2000 back in 1975).

We covered Corman’s campy Death Race 2050 (2016) is covered here

The movie stars Danny Trejo, Zach McGowan, Danny Glover, Fred Koehler (American Horror Story),  Christine Marzano, Terence Maynard and Velislav Pavlov.

• Audio commentary with director/co-writer Don Michael Paul and star Zach McGowan
• Inside the Anarchy making-of featurette
• Time Served: Lists and Goldberg featurette with Fred Koehler and Danny Trejo
• On the Streets of Death Race: Beyond Anarchy stunts featurette