The Beyond Screening in Nashville, 35mm!

Good News, fright fans - Grindhouse Releasing is bringing Lucio Fulci's supernatural masterpiece THE BEYOND to the big screen in Nashville, TN in glorious 35mm.

 

The gruesome gathering takes place Feb 20th and 21st at the mighty BELCOURT THEATER - show times to be announced, so stay tuned to the Belcourt's website



Also equally exciting is the news that Grindhouse Releasing is putting this long-overdue Fulci classic out on Bluray, and they're doing it up right, rerleasing it on a 3-disc set with GLOW-IN-THE-DARK artwork housing two Blu-ray discs and a bonus CD of the classic Fabio Frizzi soundtrack, remastered from the original studio tapes.

It hits stores Feb 10, 2015. Preorder it here

Interview with Forest J. Ackerman

In the March, 2013 issue of  Scary Monsters Magazine #86, Monster Memories, Dr. Gangrene presented a transcribed interview with Mr. Sci-fi himself, the one and only forest J. Ackerman. This took place July 29th, 2000 in louisville KY, at the last Rivercon convention.

HG Chicken - Coming Soon!

Wanted to let you guys know about a kickstarter that my buddy Mike Salva is holding. I don't typically endorse Kickstarter campaigns, as I get tons of requests for this sort of thing and usually don't know the filmmakers personally. But this one looks pretty cool:

It's for an animated short film called HG Chicken, about an evil mutant time traveling chicken, voiced by Bobcat Goldthwait, and his robot sidekick (Jonathan Katz). Other personalities involved include Maria Bamford, Todd Barry, Lloyd Kauffman, and the Godfather of Gore himself, H.G. Lewis.

So check it out, there's tons of great perks including a signed DVD of Bloodfeast by Herschel himself.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/projectmeatball/hg-chicken-bobcat-goldthwait-as-an-evil-mutant-chi

Scary Monsters Magazine #83 - Eegah

In this issue Dr. Gangrene takes a look at one of his favorite B-movies - EEGAH, and talks to both Richard Kiel and Arch Hall Jr. about the film, too!

12 Hours of Terror Coming Back to the Belcourt!

Calling all Creeps!

This Saturday, October 25th, the historic Belcourt Theater in Nashville TN will be hosting a 12-hour movie marathon of fright flicks that starts at 10pm Saturday and runs non-stop until 10am Sunday morning!

SO just what films will they be showing? Well, the event opens with the awesome SHAUN OF THE DEAD and closes with the Dario Argento film UNSANE (Tenebrea). In between is a calvacade of mystery movies. But here's a few hints:

10:00pm: We start with the beloved SHAUN OF THE DEAD, the madcap adventures of a man who has to get his life together in the middle of a zombie apocalypse.

---

Midnight: A special secret screening of an upcoming horror film that has been messing with festival goers' minds and making children's birthday party planners very, very nervous.

---

1:55am: The adage goes that possession is 9/10 of the law, but this film would beg to differ—with steel, savagery, and violence.

---

3:45am: This import shocker will ruin Mother's Day and Christmas for you, not to mention reevaluate the lethal potential of your hobbies.

---

5:15am: It's always a good time for a Battle of the Bands! Let's hope the winners survive.

---

6:50am: Do you feel that peaceful mountain air? The acrid iron tang of freshly spilled blood? The breezy rush of unspeakable secrets being revealed?

---

8:30am: We finish with the Maestro himself, Dario Argento's UNSANE. Because everybody knows a successful book tour needs psychosexual confusion, magnificent tracking shots, and the many shades of murder to be truly memorable...

So join us at the Belcourt, if you dare! I will be there all night and will be introducing the first film, Shaun of the Dead. This is one event fright fans will NOT want to miss!!

Nashville Nightmare - Horror High

Happy Halloween Fright Fans! I got a chance last night to go to a local haunted house, Nashville Nightmare. Widely recognized as one of the best haunts in the city, Nashville Nightmare was ranked in the top 30 haunts in the country by Haunted Attractions Magazine. Last year I got a chance to go through Nashville Nightmare, and this year I took the opportunity to go through a second haunt on the same premises, Horror High.

This one was themed like a disaster ridden, haunted high school full of gory scenes, creeping ghouls, and screaming students. There were no established Hollywood characters anywhere to be seen - no Freddy, Jason or Michael, which is totally refreshing. Instead we are treated to room after room of original frights. Very well done and a super cool theme. Definitely worth checking out - thanks for the tickets, Brad!

Nashville Nightmare is located at:
1016 Madison Square, Madison, TN 37115

Check it out!!

 

Scary Monsters Magazine Issue #93 - Top Ten Vincent Price Films

In Issue #93 of Scary Monsters Magazine I take an in-depth look at my top ten Vincent Price films.
click to enlarge

Scary Monsters #91 - Kurt Larsen Interview

I got a chance to chat in this issue with Kurt Larsen - writer, director, producer and even an actor in the independent feature film Son of Ghostman, a terrific film and loving tribute to horror hosts old and new! click to enlarge pages

Scary Monsters Magazine Article Issue #89 - Interview with Ed Douglas of Midnight Syndicate

Dr. Gangrene interviews Ed Douglas, musician, film producer/director, and mastermind behind Midnight Syndicate, the ultimate haunted soundtrack company.
click to enlarge pages

Dr. Gangrene's Horror Hootenanny 11

The details for the 11th annual Dr. Gangrene's Horror Hootenanny are officially announced, and we're excited to announce a new venue this year, as well as a slightly different format. This year we'll be showcasing 3 bands early on in the evening, with a special 40th anniversary/Marilyn Burns tribute screening of Texas Chainsaw Massacre at Midnight, with special guest John GRANDPA Dugan.

As always the event is a costume party, with special prizes for winners, plus a dollar discount at the door for all who come dressed in costume. There are 2 separate areas at the new venue, the CULT FICTION UNDERGROUND. One is the screening room where the bands will play and the movie at midnight. The other room is the bar area where the Halloween party will rage until the wee hours of the morning.

The Horror Hootenanny has been howling for over a decade - this is the eleventh annual Hootenanny, Nashville's premiere Halloween event. make plans now - it's gonna be a scream!

H.P. LOVECRAFT ART SHOW - Cthulhu Calling 3!

August 20th marks the birthday of horror writer Howard Phillips Lovecraft, whose Cthulu mythos and cosmic terrors continue to inspire to a legion of writers, artists, filmmakers and more to this very day. Case in point was a cool event I attended last weekend at the Cult Fiction Underground lounge in Nashville, TN - CTHULHU CALLING 3. Yes, the influence of the elder Gods even reaches into the heart of the bible belt!!

This was the third annual Lovecraftian event, and the place was packed. There were some fantastic pieces this year - Here's a few pictures from the event:

This final piece is from my good friend Eric Powell, comic artist/writer extraordinaire and creator of The Goon.

The event is organized by Adam Baker, Cthulhu enthusiast and the fella responsible for the awesome King in Yellow piece above, as well as the trio of tentacled ladies piece that was used in the advertisement. Amazing work as always, Adam! Thanks for organizing this monstrous event from the stygian depths of Music City!

 

Crystal Lake Memories – The Complete History of Friday the 13th - REVIEW

 

 

Ok, sometimes late is better than never, I suppose.

Almost exactly one year ago I received a screener copy of Crystal Lake Memories, a 2-DVD documentary on the Friday the 13^th film series from 1428 Films and Panic Ventures. I started watching it last year but got completely caught up in the Halloween hullabaloo (my Octobers are always insane), and I meant to revisit it several times since. Just recently my son Luke and I sat down and watched both discs and I immediately regretted waiting so long to do so - this thing is fantastic! And not just for fans of the Friday franchise – those folks will obviously enjoy it. I’d recommend this for the casual Friday fan or even anyone who simply enjoys documentaries in general.

First off, this is a massive documentary. It is a visual counterpart to the 2005 book by Peter M. Bracke, and covers the entire franchise from the original 1980 film by director Sean S. Cunningham all the way through to the 2009 remake, including the 1987 TV series. It features interviews, clips, and commentaries from almost everyone that took part in those films; actors, directors, writers, stunt men, producers, casting agents, composers  – you name it, they’re probably in there somewhere - even Alice Cooper!

Crystal Lake Memories opens (and closes) with a brand new sequence shot specifically for the documentary, featuring a group of kids (ok, not so much kids as twenty-somethings… or thirty-somethings, but who’s counting?) huddled around a campfire being told the legend of Jason Vorhees by none other than, appropriately enough, Corey Feldman (who plays a significant part in the Friday series). This then dissolves into the title sequence where the moon morphs into Jason’s signature hockey mask – and the show is on! We are led through the series film by film in chronological order with Feldman’s narration and a host of interviews and comments. There are behind the scenes photos and video and even, in some cases, never before seen footage excised from the films.

It is truly an enormous endeavor, and too much for me to take in in one sitting; I had to break it up over several nights. There is more information delivered than I ever thought possible about this series, and here’s the thing – it is all totally entertaining. I credit the editors who put this beast together with keeping it rolling and fast-paced. It never gets boring – which is amazing considering it’s over 6 hours long - 400 minutes of footage!

Each chapter of the documentary tackles a different film – the contents of each disc are as follows:

Disc 1
I Prologue/Long Night at Camp Blood
II The Body Count Continues
III A New Dimension in Terror
IV Jason’s Unlucky Day
V repetition
VI Ressurection
TV Curious Goods

Disc 2
VII Jason’s Destroyer
VIII Terror in Times Square
IX The Nine Lives of Jason Vorhees
X Evil Gets An Upgrade
XI Winner Kills All
XII Reboot
XIII Reflections in the Water/Epilogue

And to top it all off, there’s even a commentary track for the entire documentary! Yep, that’s right – a commentary track that is, believe it or not, equally entertaining! It features the creators of the documentary discussing the trials and tribulations of creating this gigantic documentary. You can imagine how much work and coordination went behind this production, and the number of stories that were created in the process.

The folks responsible for Crystal Lake Memories, 1428 Films, are also the creators behind the amazing NEVER SLEEP AGAIN documentary on Freddy Krugar and the Nightmare on Elm Street series. That is another massive documentary that follows the Freddy franchise film-by-film and is equally entertaining. It is on Netflix right now, and highly recommended!

So check out CRYSTAL LAKE MEMORIES – available on DVD and BLU-RAY now. Definitely worth the price of admission – which ain’t that high! It sells for around $30 on Amazon right now for the Bluray, $18 for the DVD. You can’t beat that with a machete!

Farewell to THE RUE MORGUE PODCAST

They say all good things must come to an end- and if there’s one thing I’ve learned over the past few years it’s to enjoy the good things while they’re here, because they won’t last forever. So it is with much sadness that I bid a fond farewell to the RUE MORGUE PODCAST.

It seems like only yesterday that I wrote a very similar post bidding farewell to the previous incarnation of this audio podcast, RUE MORGUE RADIO.   THAT show was a variety show of interviews, reviews, commentary and music of all genres, all brilliantly woven together by the talented Tomb Dragomir, who I interviewed here. It was a fantastically popular podcast (and perennial Rondo Award Winner) that was ended for budgetary reasons by RUE MORGUE MAGAZINE  in February of 2012.   

RMR was discontinued, but in its stead rose THE RUE MORGUE PODCAST. I wrote an article about the new RMpodcast here back in Feb of 2012.  Hosted by Stuart Feedback Andrews (and occasionally side-kick Last Chance Lance), the Rue Morgue Podcast featured interviews with directors, actors, and artists from the horror community, as well as contests, commentaries, music and more. It was always entertaining and one I looked forward to regularly. 

Feedback's interviews were always interesting and insightful…and influential, as a horde of imitators follow in his footsteps.  He was a true innovator of horror talk radio - and a true champion of Women In Horror Month, and I think his show played a big part in helping to spread WIHM's message.

169 episodes later Rue Morgue comes to an unfortunate end – but rather than end this post on a down note, I’d like to congratulate Feedback on the many hours of entertainment he’s provided, and the legacy he’s left behind.

So to Feedback, and The Rue Morgue Podcast, I salute you. I hope you continue to produce more podcasts, Feedback - especially Cinephobia-radio, your side project/podcast of which I'm a big fan.

Listen to my interview with Feedback here

Universal Classic Monsters: Complete 30-Film Collection

GREATEST HORROR FILMS IN HISTORY TO BE RELEASED IN UNIQUE 30-FILM DVD SET

 

 

(Los Angeles, Calif. July 23, 2014) — They informed our dreams and nightmares, each and every one. Brilliant actors, craftspeople, and filmmakers combined to deliver these indelible characters who may have died on screen, but they will surely live forever. They are the one and only Universal Classic Monsters.

Now, for the first time ever, all 30 Universal Pictures' Classic Monster films will be available together on DVD in the "Universal Classic Monsters: Complete 30-Film Collection," available on September 2, 2014, showcasing every original film featuring Hollywood's most iconic monsters, including Dracula, Frankenstein, The Mummy, The Invisible Man, The Bride of Frankenstein, The Wolf Man, The Phantom of the Opera and The Creature from the Black Lagoon.

Everyone knows the names of the great actors who delivered the performances which made the films magnetic in unprecedented fashion: Karloff, Lugosi, Chaney, Jr., Rains, Hull, Lanchester, Rathbone, Carradine, Chapman. Their cinematic presence both individually and collectively stand tall in singular fashion through film history.

With hours of bonus features as well as a 48-page book featuring behind-the-scenes photographs, original posters, rare correspondence and more to enhance the viewing experience, Universal Classic Monsters: Complete 30-Film Collection includes the following genre masterpieces:

 

Dracula (1931)

Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (1943)

Frankenstein (1931)

Phantom of the Opera (1943)

The Mummy (1932)

Son of Dracula (1943)

The Invisible Man (1933)

The Invisible Man's Revenge (1944)

The Bride of Frankenstein (1935)

The Mummy's Ghost (1944)

Werewolf of London (1935)

House of Frankenstein (1944)

Dracula's Daughter (1936)

The Mummy's Curse (1944)

Son of Frankenstein (1939)

House of Dracula (1945)

The Invisible Man Returns (1940)

She-Wolf of London (1946)

The Mummy's Hand (1940)

Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948)

The Invisible Woman (1940)

Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man (1951)

The Wolf Man (1941)

Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954)

The Ghost of Frankenstein (1942)

Revenge of the Creature (1955)

Invisible Agent (1942)

 

BONUS FEATURES:

• Behind the Scenes Documentaries
• The 1931 Spanish Version of Dracula
• Bela Lugosi, Boris Karloff, Lon Chaney Jr. and Jack Pierce Featurettes
• 13 Expert Feature Commentaries
• Archival Footage
• Production Photographs
• Theatrical Trailers

My 1000th post - Reflecting back over the past 15 years

Today is a bit of a milestone as this post is the 1000th of this blog. I started this blog October 26th, 2006. At that time I was actually restarting it, as I'd started a blog earlier that year and grown disenchanted with it and cancelled it. This was the second go-around, and this time it stuck.

Today is also an anniversary for me, as the premiere of my very first show, CHILLER CINEMA, made its debut on July 1, 1999! With that in mind, I'm feeling a bit nostalgic, so let's look back a bit at the past 15 years, shall we?

Many late night shoots followed that first fateful shoot. The first episode aired on Hendersonville, TN cable Access Channel 3, and then later on Nashville Access CH19.

From there it was a snowball effect - other access stations began reaching out to us, asking for content, and we eventually moved the show onto our local UPN station and then switched again to the WB, where we enjoyed a long run.

I was always amazed at the success of the show - not that I didn't work hard. In fact, I worked my butt off, spending thousands of hours writing, shooting, and editing the show. But it always made me chuckle a bit that this little show filmed in a shed behind my house was garnering such heaps of praise.




And it did - we went on to appear in USA Today, on Spike TV, to be named of the 20 Best Cable Access shows in the country by GEAR Magazine, to win 2 Rondo Awards, to be interviewed multiple times in the Tennessean Newspaper, to appear in Scary Monsters, Rue Morgue, Mondo Cult, Outre, and Horror Hound Magazines - to win a Best of Nashville Award from The Nashville Scene Magazine and appear on the cover years later.



We even were given a special award from the Governor of Tennessee, an official proclamation recognizing Dr. Gangrene and company for years of hard work...




Just last year I was approached by a group of super talented folks who made a Dr. Gangrene comic book. I was honored to be asked to be the host of that book, it turned out amazing!

I've had fans make action figures and Mego figures of Dr. Gangrene...





and even made an appearance in the official Dick Tracy comic strip!




It's been an amazing run, and I've had the privilege of working with some talented folks over the years, especially Chuck Angell and Cameron McCasland, without whom the show wouldn't have been possible, and Jeano Roid who provided me with a welcome boost in a time of need, and became a great friend and frequent collaborator/partner on the Horror Hootenanny shows.

I also have to thank Mike Hook, Program Director at WNAB for the opportunity to host movies on the WB - Ken Beck from the Tennessean for all the great coverage over the years - Jim Ridley at the Nashville Scene - Dan Johnson for all the writing talent - Brian Hickman for technical assistance, camera work, and musical genius - Keith Smith for the editing expertise - Steve Kaplan at Alpha Video - Dave Conover and the folks at Wonderfest - Ron Adams and the folks at Monster Bash - Dennis Druktennis at Scary Monsters Magazine - Scott Essman at Universal - Mike Curtis for the opportunity to appear in Dic Tracy, an amazing event I never could have forseen - Sam Thompson for the encouragement and technical assistance starting out - Trish Crist and the Nashville Cable Access Station - J. Sorrels, my drive-in partner in crime, for all the help on the live shows and being such a great friend - Derek Koch, who has been a true friend in times of need - Robert Taylor and Sara Waugh, my fellow Vincent Price fanatics - my horror host brothers in arms - all the many talented musicians who donated music and videos for the shows, especially The Creeping Cruds, The Exotic Ones, The Reverbians, Impaler, Ben Kaboom, Ghoultown, The 3D Invisibles - Jason and Stephanie Carmen - Mark Greenbaum for the help on the show and with Spookhand - Joe Badon for putting together the Dr. Gangrene Comic Book! - Bob Horne, for crafting the awesome Mego figures - all the talented artists and animators who donated work - the many cast and crew members who helped over the years, you all have contributed to the success of the show and I thank you all, Brandon Lunday, Linda Wylie, Ethen Black, and Paul Browning especially, as you all put in many late hours.

To all the interviewees and guests, and indy filmmakers we've featured, my thanks! You guys were all amazing, and it's been a treat to host this show the past 15 years. Over that time I've had my ups and downs, personally, and the show has reflected that. But through it all my friends supported me, and the show continues.

I know I am leaving off many deserving folks, as there are too many to thank, it's impossible to name them all. If I didn't mention you, just know I appreciate your support.

Thank you all - Here's to the future, whatever it may hold.
Stay Mad - Dr. Gangrene

Tower of London Pressbook

I was fortunate to have Sara Waugh share part of her magnificent Vincent Price collection with me recently, and she graciously agreed to let me share it here as well. Sara, btw, is cousin to Robert Taylor, who shared a series of Vincent memorabilia here a couple years back for the Vincentennial celebration. She has quite the collection of original memorabilia from Price films too.

First up, from 1938, this original pressbook from TOWER OF LONDON