TRICK ‘R TREAT’S Sam would like to remind you all that Halloween can be celebrated every holiday of the year. So, enjoy the video below, and HAPPY ZOMBIE JESUS DAY (aka EASTER) from BACKWOODS HORROR and the folks over at FearNet!
Ok boils ‘n ghouls, it looks as though the internet is back up and running in the new Backwoods Horror offices and we’re nearly done packing. Time to get caught up on all the horror news, reviews, and everything in between that’s fit to print. We got a blu-ray & DVD of the Unrated Director’s Cut of KILLER JOE in the mail the other day, so expect a review for that film coming soon, along with a review for THE TURNPIKE KILLER, SLAUGHTER TALES, and PROJECT OCTOBER (all three made by local NY/Brooklyn filmmakers, THE TURNPIKE KILLER being produced by New York Horror Film Productions, and written and directed by Evan Makrogiannis – who has a son of oh about 13 or so who also has a werewolf film on the discc I’ll also review…it’s fantastic to see budding indie horror filmmakers). SLAUGHTER TALES, by the way, was made by a (I believe) 15 year old young filmmaker named Johnny Dickie, who also does all the special effects makeup, so it’ll be a joy to see his work.
There is a lot of talent coming out of this area in the indie horror arena. I recently attended a small screening of a few indie horror shorts and a revival of SLUGS (and carried away a signed poster), called the NEW YORK CITY HORROR AND EXPLOITATION FILM FESTIVAL in Astoria. I believe it was the first of many to come and I look forward to being invited back again.
Anyway, that’s all for now. This time of year is SLOW for horror news so it doesn’t look like I missed much, but you can bet your bloody arse I’ll get it up on the site.
Keep it Creepy,
Aaron J. Howell
The new Backwoods Horror office has been without internet for the past 24 hours. The entire area is actually. This is terribly annoying as we JUST had lines put in yesterday evening & we were going to be up and running with new posts amd reviews soon. Time Warner its telling us it’ll be tomorrow before things are back to normal (I’m writing this from my phone). So, hopefully, expect us to be back in bloody business by Sunday or Monday.
Thank you for your patience and consideration.
Your friend in horror,
Aaron J. Howell
Cheif Editor & Owner
Backwoods Horror
aaron@backwoodshorror.con
Where have we been the past few days? You may have noticed a lack of updates. Well, the BACKWOODS HORROR office is moving from Manhattan to the Brooklyn area so we’re taking a short break while we get everything moved and the internet back up and running. This will be the last post more than likely from our current office, but rest assured boils ‘n ghouls, BACKWOODS HORROR isn’t gone, just moving its physical space. So we’ll be seeing your bloodshot eyes again soon. Thank you so very much for your patience.
KEEP IT CREEPY!
-Aaron J. Howell-
You may have noticed that we’ve been gone over the month of November. After the witching season of Halloween, things tend to calm down in the world of horror so, instead of being bored out of our wits, we took the month off to reflect on all things horror and the state of the genre. Sadly, we didn’t miss much. But now we’re back, risen anew from our charnel abodes to spread terror throughout the land…er…well…the internet anyway. What little news we have to report on from the past month we’ll get up right away, and of course we’ll continue to pass along to you, dear boils ‘n ghouls, all the horror news, reviews, and everything in between that’s fit to print (though, admittedly, December has always been a slow month for horror as well. Still, a month’s a month and that’s been long enough.). We’re back. Jooooooin Uuuussssss….
Apologies for the lack of updates recently boils ‘n ghouls. We here at Backwoods Horror have been experiencing some technical difficulties, and on top of that most of the office has been sick with some kind of devil flu from hell. Unfortunately, because of these issues, we haven’t been able to keep you up to date on the latest and greatest on horror news, reviews, and everything in between. Sorry about that. But now we’re back and ready to chew bubble gum and kick ass, and we’re all out of bubble gum. So get ready for the latest and greatest in horror and thank you so very much for your patience.
In the meantime, this is about how half the office looked for the past few weeks:
From: Bloody Disgusting
Director Fede Alvarez is currently wrapping up photography on EVIL DEAD remake, FilmDistrict and Ghost House Pictures’ remake of Sam Raimi’s 1981 cult-hit horror classic, now filming in Auckland, New Zealand. The film was written by Alvarez and Rodo Sayagues (with a polish by Diablo Cody) is produced by Sam Raimi (Spider-Man); Rob Tapert (30 Days of Night) and Bruce Campbell who played the popular Ash character in the original trilogy.
Now Raimi confirms what we’ve more or less been suspecting, that the character of Ash will not be in the remake. He told MTV, “No, that character’s not in this movie“. He also said that the new one is “gut-wrenching, scary and intense“. This all fits nicely with what I’m expecting from the movie so far. From what I’ve heard, this thing is intense and gory and stays true to the spirit of the original without copying its exact story. In other words, I’m expecting it to do what remakes are (at their best) supposed to do.
A core cast of young, fresh talent includes Jane Levy (Suburgatory) as Mia; Shiloh Fernandez (Deadgirl, Red Riding Hood) as David; Lou Taylor Pucci (Carriers) as Eric; Jessica Lucas (Cloverfield) as Olivia and Elizabeth Blackmore (Legend of the Seeker) as Natalie.
SYNOPSIS:
“Five twenty-something friends become holed up in a remote cabin where they discover a Book Of The Dead and unwittingly summon up dormant demons living in the nearby woods, which possess the youngsters in succession until only one is left intact to fight for survival.”
Soooooo, what do I think about all this? I think that it sounds like they’re making a completely different movie than THE EVIL DEAD and it shouldn’t be called a remake at all. THE main character ASH isn’t even going to be in it and it doesn’t even follow the same story. What does this mean? It means they’ve made a completely different movie with elements similar to THE EVIL DEAD, making it a rip-off, not a remake, and to make matters worse, Diablo Cody (who has about the same writing talent as Stephanie Meyer) had a hand in the script. So, unlike other sites it would seem, while I think this may very well be an OK horror film, it shouldn’t have the name THE EVIL DEAD attached to it in any way. It should just be it’s own thing instead of marring the name of one of the greatest films of all time.
Howdy ho there boils ‘n ghouls. I realize it’s been a little while now since I’ve updated Backwoods Horror. What’s my excuse? I’ve been BUSY! Well, that’s part of it, anyway. One reason I haven’t been updating much is that, sadly, the state of the genre has been sickening (and not in a good way). Every horror film that seems to come out these days is either a shitty remake or a shitty original. The heart just doesn’t seem to be there any more when it comes to making a damn good horror movie. Either big studios are pumping out remakes that crap on the originals for some quick cash, or smaller/indie studios and directors are doing rush job gore fests for the same reason. It’s not about quality anymore. That sort of thing is disheartening when you’re a big fan of the genre, and over time I began to wonder why I was putting so much effort into this site when every day I was slapped in the face by another disappointment.
Then there was the move. That’s right boils ‘n ghouls, I’ve moved out of the shack down South and into the big city…New York City. Manhattan, for the detail obsessed out there. Why? Because NYC is where it’s at, that’s why. What does this mean for Backwoods Horror? Good question (quit asking so many damn questions!). Well, first of all, you can take the horror fiend out of the backwoods, but you can’t take the backwoods out of the horror fiend. Backwoods Horror is still going to have that touch of crazy, that’s never going away, but now that I’m in NYC, I’ll finally have access to things I never had access to before. Now, when independent horror flicks get a limited release (those limited releases often hitting NYC), I’ll be able to check ‘em out and let you, my readers, know if they’re worth a damn before spending your hard earned buckaroos. And that’s just the tip of the horror iceberg. I can’t wait to dive in and see what terrors lurk beneath.
The long and short of it, folks, is that I’m back.
You’ve been warned.
This week I’ll be posting reviews for THE BOOGENS, INTO THE PIT: THE SHOCKING TRUE STORY OF DEADPIT.COM, THE WOLFMAN, and POOR PRETTY EDDIE. The first is an old favorite from the early 80′s that hasn’t yet made it to (legitimate) DVD release. INTO THE PIT is a documentary about the DeadPit Horror Talk Radio boys The Creepy Kentuckian and Uncle Bill. THE WOLFMAN was just fucking godawful and I will pull no punches. Finally, POOR PRETTY EDDIE falls within what you could call Hicksploitation and, being that this is BackwoodsHorror.com, I’m going to start reviewing quite a few flicks within this genre. Stay tuned!
Those tea-drinking, queen loving bastards are at it again with their awesome editions of shit we in America would OBVIOUSLY appreciate more (though, more than likely, we’ll eventually get it…but I want it NOOOOOOOOOOOOOW). What am I ranting about? Oh, well, only a new special edition of DAY OF THE DEAD on Blue-Ray (with an added DVD for more special features). That’s right, the love that has been shown only to NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD and DAWN OF THE DEAD (I still drool over my Ultimate Edition black case of zombie lovin’), is finally coming to the classic DAY OF THE DEAD. This new edition for the 25th Anniversary (which Brits can pick up March 29th) is going to kick some major f-ing ass, and, once we in the STATES get it, well, it’s BLU-RAY time for the shack. Check out the article at Shoot For The Head for an in-depth look at what this sweet, sweet edition has packin’! LUCKY BASTARDS!
