Hammer House of Horror is Back….

In the 1950’s through to the 1970’s Hammer Films dominated the horror cinema both here in Britain and worldwide. With Classics  like…

The Curse of Frankenstein (1957)

Dracula (1958)

Both these films starred Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing who really made these films Spectacular. Hammer Films also produced Science Fiction, Thrillers, Film Noir, Comedies and later TV series. Hammer Films had extremely low budgets compared to films these days, but to stay at the top they used quality, well established British actors  and cleverly designed sets and costumes. Some later Hammer Films…

The Curse of the Werewolf 1961

The Quatermass and the Pit 1967

Taste the Blood of Dracula 1969

Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell 1974

The Company ceased production  in the 1980’s due to the general decline of the British Film Industry, basically big budget American cult movies like the Exorcist and The Omen had taken over the top spots at the cinemas and low budget movies just didn’t get the box office sales.

But now 2 buyers and over 20 years later, the wait is finally over…

The new film “Let Me In” is out on November the 5th 2010

The story is of a haunted strange boy who is in love with a centuries-old girl vampire. Very different from the bosom heaving vampire movies that we used to get from Hammer Films in the 1960’s and 70’s.

Another new release “The Resident”

This one is also being released in 2011. “The Resident” stars Sir Christopher Lee, Hammers original and best British actor, Hilary Swank  of Million Dollar Baby fame and Jeffrey Dean Morgan, who played John Winchester in Supernatural. This horror is set in New York, where tenant (Hilary Swank) is Terrorized by her psycho landlord (Jeffrey Dean Morgan)

And finally “The Woman in Black”, brilliant book – set to be a real Hammer Classic

This is also to be released in 2011. An adaption of the classic ghost story The Woman in Black. The West End play has been running for years and the 1989 TV adaption stuck in the the minds of anyone who watched it. It’s a tale of a young solicitor, played by none other than Daniel Radcliffe of Harry Potter fame, who is plagued by a terrifying apparition.

John Landis

The wolfman…is back after 12 years away from the industry. No one ever thought he would stay away for that long, especially after making great films like…

“The Blues Brothers” not a horror, but made Landis a name

“An American Werewolf in London”

Video for Michael Jackson’s “Thriller”

He also had his low points though with many of his 90’s films being way below par. Like the sequel  “Beverly Hills Cop III “

But he has been busy over the last 12 years, mainly directing. Landis also appeared in Spider-man 2, all be it very briefly for his friend Sam Raimi. He admits he’s done tons of stuff over the years he’s been missing from our screens, such as documentaries and commercials mainly unsigned or for charities.

So a lot rides on his new Film…

“Burke and Hare”

The grisly true story of Edinburgh’s two most notorious mass murderers. Released in cinemas 29th October 2010.

John Carpenter

This guy scared the bejesus out of me as a kid and is another great film maker to make it back after 9 years. At his peak, he gave us…

“Halloween”

“The Fog”

“The Thing”

Then he really bottomed out with….

“Ghosts from Mars”

Released in 2001. It contained one too many elements for most people….Space spooks and Martial Arts !!! (Although I quite like it)

But his long awaited comeback is finally here…

“The Ward”

Released in 2010. This psycho-chiller tells the tale of a young woman in a mental institution who finds herself haunted by an increasingly terrifying ghost.

Joe Dante

This is the final of the four film makers to make a return this year after 7 years. At his peak, he gave us…

“Gremlins”

“Piranha”

“The Howling”

His absolute low point was…

“Looney Tunes : Back in Action”

Released in 2003. This sequel with it’s no story, story and mainly unfunny mess, really bummed out big style…no body understood what it was trying to achieve or why they bothered making it.

But he’s back with…

“The Hole” in 3D

Released in 2010. This is a sharp, punchy horror flick and reminds me of his 80’s horror movies.

The story is about three kids and a locked trap door… With inventive set pieces, 3D and a strong young cast, Dante creates a family film that will appeal across all age ranges.

Guest blogger Demon Chick has really enjoyed writing this one about Horror Films, as this is what she loves to watch in her spare time. Next time she will be writing for Virgin Galactic most likely about Richard Bransons new space quest.

Fox Mulder (played by actor David Duchovny) is searching for answers after his sister was supposedly snatched from their childhood home by aliens. As he grows up, the driving force to find the truth becomes almost the only thing he can think of.
He works for the FBI now and as he is always digging into other worldly phenomena and the unexplained, the FBI put him in a basement room in charge of the unexplained know as the X-Files.
Dana Scully (played by actress Gillian Anderson), a straight-laced scientist and sceptic is assigned to watch over Mulder and the X-Files. She is there to debunk his work and to explain the unexplained.  She also reports back about Mulder’s exploits to higher authorities at the FBI.

So the partnership begins…
Ghosts, Monsters, Aliens, Love, Deceit, Conspiracies and all things Creepy, this dark TV Show has something for everyone.

So here are our favourite Scariest Monsters.

1. Eugene Victor Tooms

Lurks in the dark, a stretchy cat man with glow in the dark yellow eyes…

Season 1 Episode 20: “Tooms” – Multiple murderer who is over 100 years old.

Written by Glen Morgan and James Wong
Directed by David Nutter

Aired 22/04/1994
Quote:

(Mulder trying to distract Eugene Tooms)

Mulder:” I’m looking for my dog. His name is Heinrick. He’s a Norwegian Elkhound. I use him to hunt moose!”

Season 1 Episode 3: “Squeeze” – same creepy bloke gets two episodes…
Written by Glen Morgan and James Wong
Directed by Harry Longstreet

Aired 24/09/1993
Quote:

(Mulder and Scully discovering matching fingerprints from 1930’s and 1960’s)

Mulder: “And he should stick out in a crowd with ten-inch fingers.”

2. Ronnie Strickland

Glow in the dark green eyed pizza delivery boy who likes to bite people…

Season 5 Episode 12: “Bad Blood”

A town full of Blood suckers…
Written by Vince Gilligan
Directed by Cliff Bole
Aired 22/09/1998

Quote:

Mulder: “Yee hah! Actually a town called Chaney about 50 miles south of there, population 361, by all accounts very rustic and charming. But as of late, ground zero of the locus for a series of mysterious nocturnal exsanguinations.”

3. The Fluke Man

Horrid, pink, slimy, sucker style mouthed creature…

Season 2 Episode 2: “The Host”

A parasitic fluke man who bites and infects humans with flukeworms…

Written by Chris Carter
Directed by Daniel Sackheim

Aired 23/09/1994
Quote:

Mulder: “I don’t know, but it looks like I’m going to have to tell Skinner that his suspect is a giant, blood-sucking worm after all.”

4. Cecil L’ively (Bob)

A mad man, but a flesh and blood human being with the ability of pyrokinesis…

Season 1 Episode 12: “Fire”

A man who uses his gift to kill British aristocrats by burning them alive…

Written by Chris Carter
Directed by Larry Shaw
Aired 17/12/1993

Quote:

Mulder: “Well, that’s one of the luxuries of hunting down aliens and genetic mutants. You rarely get to press charges.”

5. The Peacocks

Horribly disfigured, inbred, genetic mutants…

Season 4 Episode 2: “Home”

Mrs Peacock gives birth to a deformed baby and her 3 sons bury it alive…
Written by  Glen Morgan and James Wong
Directed by Kim Manners
Aired 11/10/1996

Quote:

Mulder: “Oh, that was just a little too Chuck Bronson for me.”

6. The Jersey Devil

She is a hairy humanoid, wild woman/beast, murderer and cannibal…

Season 1 Episode 5, “The Jersey Devil”

Locals go missing only to by found later dead with limbs chewed off…
Written by Chris Carter
Directed by Joe Napolitano

Aired 08/10/1993
Quote:

Scully: “You keep that up and I’ll hurt you like that beast woman.”

7. Leonard Morris Betts

A horrible, cancerous, disgusting looking man…

Season 4 Episode 12: “Leonard Betts”

Mulder and Scully investigate a headless body that walks out of the morgue…
Written by Vince Gilligan,John Shiban and Frank Spotnitz
Directed by Kim Manners
Aired 26/01/1997

Quote:

Mulder: [on Leonard Bett's brain sections] “Let’s get a slice to go.”

8.  Joseph Goodensnake/Jim Parker

Werewolf, man beast, shapeshifter…

Season 1 Episode 18: “Shapes”

A legend of lycanthropic nature comes to light…
Written by Marilyn Osborn
Directed by David Nutter
Aired 01/04/1994

Quotes:

Mulder: “They told me that even though my deodorant is made for a woman, it’s strong enough for a man.”

9. Michelle Bishop

An 8 year old girl with telekinetic powers…

Season 1 Episode 21: “Born Again”

Mulder and Scully believe an little girl is linked to a cop who died before she was born…

Written by Alex Gansa and Howard Gordon
Directed by Jerrold Freedman

Aired 29/04/1994
Quotes:

Mulder: “Why is it still so hard for you to believe, even when all the evidence suggests extraordinary phenomena?”

10. The Great Mutato

A mutant, the product of a scientist’s experiments…

Season 5 Episode 5: “Post-Modern Prometheus”

Reports of a strange creature that impregnated a middle aged woman…
Written by Chris Carter
Directed by Chris Carter
Aired 30/11/1997

Quotes:

Mulder:”Dr. Frankenstein pays for his evil ambitions, yes. But the monster is supposed to escape, to go search for his bride.”

Andrea was given the idea of this blog from her search for Virgin Holidays surprisingly, she was looking for ghost tours and stumbled across lots of old images of “The X-Files”. She wrote this on one of the Virgin trains across the UK to her Edinburgh Ghost tour holiday.

Today, “The Final Destination” hits theaters and in addition to being shot in 3D (can’t believe it took this long), its article-including-title implies that this will be the final installment. Not so sure about that, but if this actually is cinema’s last “Destination,” I’d like to take a look back at the franchise — in particular, its best deaths.

For those who don’t know, each installment kicks off with someone foreseeing a mass accident — plane crash, highway pile-up, roller coaster derailing — which they save a select group of people from perishing in. Those lucky few are then stalked by death, and killed one by one, in a series of “freak accidents.”

In my opinion, “FD 2″ featured the best installment opening accident: a log-toting tractor-trailer loses some cargo, and causes one of the worst — and bloodiest — freeway accidents in history! But when it comes to Death tying up loose ends, the best are spread pretty evenly across the board. Warning: awesome gore lies in wait!

5 Nail Gun, “Final Destination 3″

The threequel’s heroine Wendy rushes to Ian’s afterschool job at a Home Depot-esque warehouse to warn him that he’s next on death’s list. But when Ian is saved from a falling picket fence panel, death moves on to his girlfriend Erin and helps a nailgun shoot her repeatedly in the back of the head.

4 Hooked Man in the Elevator, “Final Destination 2″

Following her son’s death by falling glass panel (also awesome), Nora is headed to meet the rest of the freeway survivors when Officer Burke calls to inform her that a man with hooks causes her death. Not so comforting when you’re standing next to a man with a basket of prosthetic limbs. One gets caught around her braid and prevents Nora from escaping the lift. Well, not all of her — her head remains inside as the doors slam shut and the elevator begins to rise. Think you can figure out how this one ends.

3 Tanning Beds, “Final Destination 3″

The fact that they closely resemble coffins has always made me a little leery of tanning beds. And after watching these ladies cook to death thanks to a dislodged shelf that accidentally locks the chambers shut, you won’t see me slipping inside any time soon!

2 Chain Reaction, “Final Destination 2″

I’ve always enjoyed how one death acts as the catalyst for the next in the franchise. My favorite sequence occurs when everyone miraculously survives a (second!) car accident — including the driver, Kat, who was nearly impaled by a piece of piping that slammed through the back of her headrest. And as emergency techs try to dislodge her from the car, one triggers the airbag, propelling Kat’s head backwards into the pipe. This causes her cigarette to drop on the ground, which ignites a gas leak and triggers an explosion that causes a piece of barbed wiring to fly across the field and right through Rory, who falls to pieces.

1 Magic Bus, “Final Destination”

She wasn’t the first to die following their plane explosion, but Terry’s kill is easily the original’s biggest shock! During a fight with her boyfriend about putting what happened behind them, Terry steps off the curb, turns around and tells Carter, “I’m moving on. And if you want to waste your life beating the s*** out of Alex every time you see him then you can just drop f***ing dead!” A speeding bus that comes out of nowhere takes care of the rest.