The “Friday the 13th” property is still in legal limbo, and the odds of us seeing a sequel or reboot any time soon are slim. All we the fans have for now are fan films. Thankfully, the delivery from filmmakers that respect the property has been fantastic, and James Sweet’s own fan film is no exception. It’s a little rough around the edges in regards to the narrative, but he offers some new fodder that I hope is made in to canon someday.
Smoke and Mirrors: The Story of Tom Savini (2015) [Digital]
On Demand and Digital for the First Time Ever on October 19th, “Smoke and Mirrors” is one of the many documentaries exploring the life and work of Tom Savini. For those unaware, Savini is a legendary make up artist that’s contributed to some of the most iconic horror movies of all time. Behind the man and his make up is the story of a man who has spent most of his life second guessing himself and considering himself the black sheep among his talented group of siblings.
Night of the Animated Dead (2021) [Blu-Ray/Digital]
The last time “Night of the Living Dead” was animated was in 2009’s “Re-Animated” where director Mike Schneider enlisted a slew of animators to offer their own interpretations of various scenes from George A. Romero’s masterpiece. That wasn’t so much a remake, as it felt more like an art installation, or a cinematic experiment that allowed us to view the classic film through various lenses and scopes, giving us unique peek in to the terrifying narrative. “Night of the Animated Dead” has a chance to feel like a unique re-imagining. Instead it picks off the corpse of George A. Romero’s “Night of the Living Dead.” Continue reading
Straight Outta Nowhere: Scooby-Doo! Meets Courage the Cowardly Dog (2021)
It’s pretty surprising that Scooby Doo and Courage the Cowardly Dog have never met in the animated medium before. Courage is something of a neo-Scooby Doo for the contemporary Hanna Barbera slate of animated series, and has its devotees. It’s a much more bizarre, spookier, and edgier series that’s even been embraced by the horror community. While it doesn’t make too much sense for them to meet, it also does make a ton of sense which adds to the oddity that’s “Straight Outta Nowhere.”
The Five Worst (and Four Best) Scooby-Doo Knock Offs
I guess because it’s written in blood in a contract with some demonic force that every single year, Scooby Doo has to have a new movie released on or around the Halloween season. Truth be told, the movies sell well and Scooby Do around Halloween just makes sense. The long running series from Hanna Barbera has been one of the most influential franchises of all time, even bringing with is a wave of goofy, silly, god awful copy cats. They tried everything to duplicate the success of Scooby from talking mopeds, goofy ghosts, and even miniature detectives.
These are five of the worst Scooby Doo Knock Offs, and Four of the Best.
Kubo and the Two Strings (2016) [Blu-Ray/DVD]
With Shout! Studios being given the rights to Laika Studios’ catalogue, they’ve been releasing almost all of their acclaimed award winning films with some new features. If you’ve been a fan of Laika over the years as I’ve been, it’s not surprising that they’ve risen in the ranks alongside PIXAR and Disney as one of the best of their ilk. Probably their best yet is “Kubo and the Two Strings,” a wonderful mixture of mythology, folklore, horror, action, and adventure along with their amazing animation.
Bingo Hell (2021)
Oak Springs is seeing changes a lot of neighborhoods have been going through, new coffee shop, new art, new businesses, it’s being gentrified. To Lupita, this is unacceptable as it affects her friends and loved one. After a night of Bingo, it becomes clear that something more is afoot, but she seems to be the only one to see it for now. When a newcomer takes over the bingo hall, she’s ready to fight.