It’s been months since this was officially announced, but I recently stumbled across what appears to be some of the original character sketches from the upcoming anime based on the hit show Supernatural. Like the series, the anime will feature the story of the Winchester brothers and will consist of twenty four episodes which will feature the same story arcs from the first two seasons — namely their quest to find their father and avenge the death of their late mother. The first twelve episodes will go on sale in Japan in early January, and while there’s been no word on if Supernatural: The Animation will be licensed for distribution stateside, I imagine it won’t be long before someone does — if not Warner Brothers themselves.
Believe it or not, this actually exists — in Japan. Back in 2008 Konami released a first person “on rails” coin-op entitled simply Castlevania: The Arcade. The game lets you play as a whip-wielding Belmont, a Witch, or a gun-toting Eastern wanderer and makes use of a motion-sensing light-wand for attacks. Players then swing it at enemies or pull the trigger depending on their character of choice in order to vanquish the monsters. Sounds pretty awesome right? As if that weren’t enough to sell you on it, Konami threw in a soundtrack of arranged music from previous games in the series. Sadly, the arcade machine was never formally released in the United States, and though Wikipedia mentioned something about a European release back in 2009, I haven’t heard any reports of it showing up. Hopfully with the recent boom in motion-related gaming, Konami might have a change of heart and port it to a console.
Posted by Tim Sheehy on Nov 11, 2010 in Fandom, Horror
He’s always been a favorite amongst Lovecraft fans, but his cameo in recent episodes of South Park has brought him national attention. Rather than hide your obscure love for Lovecraft lore, you can choose to embrace it, and what better way to do that than with an adorable Cthulu hand puppet. Okay, I’m sure there’s probably better ways to do it, but this hand puppet is pretty killer. He’s made out of a soft ploy-fiber plush, giving you the ability to manipulate the claws and tentacles with ease. I don’t know if owning him will grant you admittance to the enigmatic Cult of Cthulu, but there’s no harm in trying. Head over to Neatoshop to order yours today. Read more…
Posted by Michael Sacco on Oct 31, 2010 in Cinema, Horror
It’s Halloween, and that means it’s horror movie season! But man, watching all those scream queens can be an awful lot of work. Why don’t you let the Fine Brothers do all the legwork for you? They’ve compiled one hundred spoilers for horror movies of all stripes and put them all in one convenient five-minute video. Want to know about Draculas? They’ve got you covered. Wondering who meets their maker in Final Destination? They’re all over it. Wish I had one of these for my college lit classes. “100 Puritan Texts Spoiled in Five Minutes,” anyone? Read more…
So I made the tragic mistake this weekend of starting to watch Sharktopus on the SyFy channel — and while I enjoyed laughing at the screen I somehow don’t think that’s the “executives” at the SyFy channel quite imagined that they were quickly transforming their network into the Comedy Channel. In case you missed Sharktopus was sort of a cross between Bay Watch and a low budget 50s horror film. The unintentional result of this combo is that you quickly find yourself rooting for Sharktopus instead of the boring superficial actors who seem even more boring than what you’d find in a bad soap opera. Read more…
The funny thing about horror films is that they are by nature B pictures — so when you’re looking at a new horror flick you have no idea that you may in fact be looking at a future classic film — and such was the case when I first got to see A Nightmare on Elm Street back in the day. Of course every great horror needs a gimmick to make it stand out from the crowd and for Elm Street this was Freddy Krueger’s nasty metal glove. And looking at this Deluxe Freddy Krueger Metal Glove with fresh eyes I’ve now come to see that the glove design was in fact a brilliant unrecognized early example of cinema steampunk if you think about it. Read more…
Posted by Michael Sacco on Sep 15, 2010 in Horror, Star Trek
Quirk Books, the publishing group behind the smash hit Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (and an endless line of imitators), has released an amazing live-action trailer for their upcoming release Night of the Living Trekkies. It’s a zombie comedy romp with a twist — it takes place in a Star Trek convention, and all the zombies are costumed attendees. Read more…
Posted by Michael Sacco on Sep 14, 2010 in Cinema, Horror
Bruce Campbell leveraged a long and successful career out of Sam Raimi’s cult classic horror film Evil Dead, but he’s hardly forgotten his roots, according to a recent interview with the LA Times. Campbell says that working on the Dead films was a long, grueling experience, and the advice he gives fledgling filmmakers is “get two other friends and be prepared to sink four years into your project.” Besides a lot of other interesting tidbits — Evil Dead‘s production was funded by Detroit-area doctors and lawyers, for example — the coolest thing by far mentioned in this interview was Campbell’s desire to make an Expendables-style horror-comedy ensemble movie. He says it could happen in the next year or so, and that he wants horror greats like Robert Englund and Kane Hodder to be in it with him. There’s even a script! The only problem? “It just kind of blows right now.” That’s Bruce Campbell honesty for you. Read more…
I’m always happy for a geeky excuse to talk about Glee. And last time, I demanded that the writers of the show plug in a Rocky Horror Picture Show number. But now that it’s actually happening, I find myself a little skeptical about how the show that is essentially High School Musical for a slightly older set will manage to pull it off. Read more…
Oh sure anybody can read a zombie novel or watch a film — but how many zombie fanboys (and fangurls) are will to take their love of the undead up to the next level? Well if you want to let all your neighbors know that you’re pro-zombie a great way to get started is with the Garden Zombie which is much more entertaining than one of those sappy happy-go-lucky looking garden gnomes: Read more…
Being an manga fanboy Daomu caught my attention: It’s a upcoming graphic novel which is based on a series of Chinese novels and will be released by Image Comics. The adaption into English is being done by Concept Art House and the series has already done well in China. Manga has done well in the United States, but this may be a chance or Chinese manhua to gain a foothold. Here’s a preview of the book: Read more…
HBO’s True Blood has been a huge success, no doubt due in part to the Vampire craze that’s plagued the nation since Twilight hit the scene. It might be slightly more overplayed than mixing zombies with our favorite Sci-Fi series, but that certainly won’t stop anyone from watching the show — or, reading the comic. That’s right, IDW has picked up the license to the hit show and will now be publishing the True Blood comics. The first issue should be available in stores now, but a special edition is available at San Diego Comic Con with a limited edition wrap-around cover. The comic should continue the on-going adventures of Sookie Stackhouse and her lover Bill. No word on if the series will actually feature any cannon storylines, but I imagine it won’t unless the producers get involved.
San Diego Comic Con is happening this week, and each year, like clockwork, I end up catching some form of illness from interacting with the masses who attend the event. I haven’t quite turned into a zombie just yet, but it’s certainly a possibility — or so this novel would like me to believe. Night of the Living Trekkies, from the publishers of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, tells the story of some uniform-clad, prosthetic-eared fanboys who happen to be attending their annual Star Trek convention when suddenly aliens decide to unleash a zombie plague. Needless to say, their pseudo-Starfleet training suddenly comes in handy. The book is supposedly littered with countless references to the show, and fanboy culture, making it a must buy for people like you and me. Best of all, the book goes on sale just in time for the con. It’s scheduled for release on July 22nd.
Shigeru Mizuki is the master of Japanese horror manga and he’ll be honored with a large scale exhibition in Japan which kicks off on August 11, and runs until August 23, 2010. The exhibit will show off original work from GeGeGe no Kitaro (ゲゲゲの鬼太郎) and Mr. Devil manga series and other personal item associated with the master. Here’s a preview of some of the drawings that will be on display: Read more…
I know it’s been a few weeks since E3, but if you haven’t seen the latest trailer for the latest installment of Silent Hill, then here’s your chance. Konami seems intent on staying true to the formula we’ve seen in previous entries into the series by focusing on twisted puzzels, and their usual brand of dark, thought-provoking, mystery. While that much sounds promising, this will mark the first entry into the series that lacks series composer Akira Yamaoka, who many fans hold largely responsible for creating the terrifying atmosphere that the series has been known for. Not all hope is lost however, as Dan Litch, composer for television’s Dexter, has stepped in. He has some big shoes to fill, but I have high hopes. Expect to see the game hit shelves sometime in 2011. Read more…
How sad is it that I found the Japanese TV spot for Robert Rodriguez’s Predators more enticing than the TV spot airing here in the states. Sure, Japan edited the spot to feature the Yakuza character a bit more, but that’s not really the point. I tried to put finger on it and finally I think I’ve figured out why — the edits they did make feature some actual action. While our own TV isn’t exactly boring, we’re given a number of second-long clips that feature explosions and gun fire. The Japanese TV spot, on the other hand, shows off the slightly longer initial clash between a Predator hunter, and the katana-wielding Yakuza. Needless to say, it was enough to seal the deal for me — I’ll be buying ticket opening day. Read more…
Posted by Tim Sheehy on Jun 29, 2010 in Cinema, Horror
With the upcoming release of Robert Rodriguez’s Predators a little over a week away, many of us have been scouring the net for as much information as we could find regarding the upcoming sequel. It’s a shame that we had to wait so long for a proper sequel to the franchise, but whether or not it’s actually good remains to be seen. I have yet to see any marketing stunts for the film stateside. In Japan, on the other hand, marketing stunts seem to be a near daily ritual, so I wasn’t too surprised when I heard that former sumo grand champion Akinori Asashoryu showed up on stage dressed as a predator to promote the film. In my opinion, he looks pretty awesome, and ridiculous at the same time — I can’t even imagine what Dutch would have done if he was confronted by that. Read more…
Posted by Tim Sheehy on Jun 10, 2010 in Cinema, Horror
I absolutely love Japanese action films — more often than not, they’re a total tongue-and-cheek gore-fest filled with over-the-top acting and ridiculous special effects. While I admit that some of them can be a bit exploitative, I’m remarkably good at stomaching it and trying to enjoy the films for what they are. Needless to say, Go Ohara’s upcoming film looks to be no exception. Gothic and Lolita Psycho features the beautiful Rina Akiyama, popular gravure model, who plays a young woman who finds her mother murdered by assassins, and exacts revenge while dressed in gothic lolita fashion. There’s plenty of blood, women and a parasol loaded with bullets ala The Penguin in Batman Returns. Sounds awesome right? Watch the trailer and see for yourself. Read more…
Awhile back, Del Rey published the novel Star Wars: Death Troopers, and ever since I’ve been wanting to sit down and read it. The concept sounds absolutely fantastic, take Star Wars and mix in a bit of good old fashion horror — how could you go wrong? I’ll be honest, I’ve been holding out for the paperback which is due out in October, but after seeing this fantastic bust, I’m about ready to just give in and by a copy of the hardcover. The bust is actually a 1/6th scale model of the zombie Stormtrooper as depicted in the upcoming graphic novel, based on the book. If you’re looking to obtain one of these bad boys, Entertainment Earth has them for about $75 and is currently taking preorders and will ship in November. Read more…
Of all the PC games I played in the 90s, very few stand out in my mind as having revolutionized their genres, but Doom easily makes that list. I have fond memories of wading through level after level of demons and beasts with little more than an arsenal of guns, and strategically placed health packs. I still find myself playing the occasional first person shooter, but few games really capture the magic I experienced that first time, and thanks to the Doom 3 mod community, I finally have a chance to relive those fond memories. Read more…
The upcoming May issue of Pen magazine in Japan will be honoring legendary horror manga artist Shigeru Mizuki. Mizuki is the artist behind GeGeGe no Kitaro which features a great deal of Japanese folklore and a little boy who was born in a cemetery. Currently the issue isn’t out yet but when it’s available you can order it via amazon.co.jp. Read more…
I must admit that I’m not exactly a historical fiction buff, but when I heard about Seth Grahame-Smith’s recently released novel, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, I must admit that the concept piqued my interest. Of course, it wasn’t until I stumbled across this amazing trailer for the novel that I found myself compelled to buy a copy. I’m still in the process of reading it, so I can’t comment too much on the content, aside from my assurance that it isn’t Twilight. Read more…
This featurette is a behind the scenes look at how Universal is trying to go back to their great horror films from the past to bring revive The Wolfman. While it looks like they have some darn good actors and some great special effects, I’m still not sure modern audiences can still be scared by these classic creatures. We’ll have to wait and see in 2010 to see if Universal can pull this off…
This is no ordinary cute Cthulhu! This release of My Little Cthulhu actually glows in the dark. This limited edition 8-inch vinyl figure designed by John Kovalic won’t be out until March of 2010, but you can pre-order now. Can’t wait for your cutie? The original My Little Cthulhu Dark Edition Vinyl Statue is available now: Read more…
