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On a solo tour last year, Nick Cave suddenly became self-aware. He built his career performing with bands — the Birthday Party, Grinderman, the Bad Seeds — but here he was with only a piano and Radiohead bassist Colin Greenwood supporting him. As they worked their way through nearly two dozen songs every night, Cave started thinking deeply about his songwriting.

“When I was singing these songs alone at the piano with just the bass — old songs, new songs, over 45 years of songwriting — they spoke their original intent,” he says, thoughtfully choosing his words on a call.

Nick Cave has spent the last six years in conversation. Through his Red Hand Files Website and his touring Q&a series, the 66-year-old punk-rock icon has waxed poetic with his fans about grief, aging, and forgiveness. And after dropping the Bad Seeds’ last record, the devastating Ghosteen, in 2019, it seems he’s ready to talk about something that’s sadly rare in these times: joy.

On the band’s latest, Wild God Cave plays preacher, congregation, and god over the course of a suite of songs that are in equal measure elegiac and ecstatic.

In an interview with Stephen Colbert on Tuesday, Nick Cave recalled how Johnny Cash pushed himself and called on a higher power for the opportunity to record a duet cover of Hank Williams’ “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry” for Cash’s 2002 American IV album.

Cash was around 70 at the time and had been suffering from the flu and laryngitis. “When I saw him, he was sort of a terrifying apparition of a man, so different than the man I thought him to be,” Cave said. “He was essentially...

Prime Video is the place to be in August with an incredible month of new releases. The month kicks off with the premiere of the animated series Batman: Caped Crusader on Aug. 1. The series was produced by J.J. Abrams and The Batman‘s Matt Reeves. We also return to Middle Earth this month with the premiere of The Rings of Power season 2 on Aug. 29.

As far as movies go, the Amazon original Jackpot! arrives on Aug. 15 starring Awkwafina and John Cena. This comedy is set in a world where Lottery winners have to survive until sundown in order to claim their multi-billion dollar jackpot – anyone who kills them before that gets to claim their prize.

The Hobbit trilogy also joins the Prime Video library this month, as do 21 and 22 Jump Street, Superman I-iv, Superman Returns, Night Swim, Drive Away Dolls, and 10 Cloverfield Lane.

Here’s everything coming...

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds are back with “Long Dark Night,” the latest song from their upcoming new album Wild God.

“Long Dark Night” follows previous Wild God singles “Wild God” and “Frogs.” Rooted in stirring piano and finger-plucked acoustic guitar, “Long Dark Night” is a country ballad from Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, complete with evocative harmonies in the chorus and a sense of lonesome ennui. Cave’s booming baritone mutters around the verses, landing in poignant clarity when he wonders, “Maybe a long dark night is coming down.” Stream “Long Dark Night” below.

Nick Cave was inspired by the poem “Dark Night of the Soul” by the Spanish 16th-century poet St. John of the Cross when writing “Long Dark Night.” “‘Long Dark Night’ is inspired by one of the greatest and most powerful poems of conversion ever written,” Cave said in a statement about the song.

Nick Cave has written many, many songs. But lately, he’s been at odds with the process, calling songwriting “a fucking nightmare” in a new interview.

Speaking to Mojo, the musician expressed discomfort with the act of sitting down and writing a song. “I don’t like writing songs. To write a song is this deeply mysterious, abstract, anxiety-ridden process that’s just not fun,” Cave said. “Playing around with the kid is fine but to get the kid out is a fucking nightmare. So I put it off until I can’t put it off any further.”

Against all those obstacles, Cave still managed to bust out 10 songs for his forthcoming album with his band the Bad Seeds, Wild God, which arrives on August 30th. While the air of Wild God is one that is both “complicated” and “joyous and infectious,” Cave also opened up about his heartbreaking 2019 album Ghosteen,...

The distribution company Kino Lorber recently launched an interesting Blu-ray line called Kino Cult, and so far they have released the 1985 sci-fi Western Alien Outlaw, the Bettie Page double feature Teaserama and Varietease, the 1985 horror film The Dark Power, the 1974 drama Drifter, the 1974 Jess Franco horror film Lorna the Exorcist, the 1973 Jess Franco crime thriller Sinner: The Secret Diary of a Nymphomaniac, and the 1985 Clive Barker adaptation Underworld (a.k.a. Transmutations). Now our friends at Bloody Disgusting have learned that five more Kino Cult Blu-ray releases are set for August 20th, and there’s a theme to this batch: they’re all “nature run amok” horror movies! Most of them are movies I love to watch, too. Here’s the line-up: The Food of the Gods, Empire of the Ants, Frogs, Squirm, and Kingdom of the Spiders. Each one is available for pre-order on Amazon, and each of these...

Nature will run amok when Kino Lorber unleashes five classic eco-horrors on Blu-ray as part of its Kino Cult line:The Food of the Gods, Empire of the Ants, Frogs, Squirm, and Kingdom of the Spiders. Due out on August 20, each title comes with a slipcover and features reversible artwork. Pre-orders are up for $24.95.

1976’s The Food of the Gods is written and directed by Bert I. Gordon, based on H. G. Wells’ 1904 novel The Food of the Gods and How It Came to Earth. Marjoe Gortner, Pamela Franklin, Ralph Meeker, Jon Cypher, and Ida Lupino star.

In the film, “On a remote island, a mysterious substance is oozing from the ground. A farmer sees that it acts as a growth hormone and thinks his fortune is made. But when rats, chickens, worms and wasps begin sampling the potent substance, they morph into bloodthirsty giants! Now, it’s up to...

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds have returned with “Frogs,” the second single from their upcoming album Wild God.

With rich, psychedelic instrumentation and Nick Cave’s signature booming tenor, “Frogs” is a passionate, climactic turn from the group. Helping raise the stakes is an extensive orchestra, which echo Cave’s consuming messages with fanfare and melodrama. Cave begins with a biblical reference to Cain and Abel, and later escalates to a freeing, revelatory high. “The frogs are jumping in the gutters/ Leaping to God, amazed of love,” he sings before crying “Amazed to be back in the water again.”

Of the song, Cave said in a statement, “The sheer exuberance of a song like ‘Frogs,’ it just puts a big fucking smile on my face.” Produced by Cave and Warren Ellis, “Frogs” follows Wild God’s title track, which we named as Song of the Week upon its release in early March.

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds tell a freewheeling story of a deity roaming the planet on their new single, “Wild God,” which will appear on their upcoming album, also titled Wild God, due out Aug. 30. The album will be the band’s 18th overall and first since 2019’s Ghosteen.

The group blends rock, gospel, and even a little harpsichord to create a five-minute journey. “I’m a wild god flying and wild god swimming, and I’m an old sick god dying and crying and singing,” Cave sings before...

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds have announced a new album called Wild God, which will arrive on August 30th. Today, the band shared the album’s title track and lead single.

Released via Bad Seed in partnership with Play It Again Sam, Wild God will span 10 tracks, each produced by Cave and Warren Ellis. In addition to the band’s lineup — consisting of Cave, Ellis, Thomas Wydler, Martyn Casey, Jim Sclavunos, and George Vjestica — Luis Almau and Radiohead’s Colin Greenwood made contributions to the album.

Speaking about Wild God in a new statement, Cave expressed a “hope [that] the album has the effect on listeners that it’s had on me.” Continuing, he explained: “It bursts out of the speaker, and I get swept up with it. It’s a complicated record, but it’s also deeply and joyously infectious. There is never a master plan when we make a record.

Super Bowl 2024 Commercials (Picture Credit: IMDb & Youtube)

On Sunday, February 11, the most awaited Super Bowl match occurred, where the Kansas City Chiefs played against the San Francisco 49ers. The Chiefs also won it this year, and it is their second consecutive win. The game was interesting indeed, but the entertaining star-studded advertisements made it fun. From Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, and Jennifer Aniston to Jenna Ortega, Lionel Messi, and more, here are some of the Super Bowl Commercials of 2024.

The Super Bowl is a significant event in the United States, and people utilize this event by launching new movie trailers and entertaining commercials. Scroll below for more.

The Super Bowl has seen some fantastic commercials. For example, the Budweiser Frogs ad, Nike’s Hare Jordan ft Bugs Bunny, the Star Wars included Volkswagen commercial, and others. The 1980s Coca-Cola ad featuring ‘Mean’ Joe Greene, FedEx’s Cast Away ad, and...

It's my birthday today, and I was inspired to curate this spine-chilling list of birthday horror movies! As I sat down to brainstorm what I'd be watching tonight to celebrate, I realized… there are a lot of birthday-themed horror movies. So I figured I'd share them with you, too!

Whenever you're looking to add a thrilling twist to your own birthday celebrations, look no further! From relentless time loops to sinister birthday parties gone awry, these movies are sure to keep you on the edge of your seat and give your birthday festivities a hauntingly unforgettable twist. So, bookmark this list and enjoy these 10 horror movies on your own special day. Grab some popcorn, invite your bravest friends, and get ready to scream your way through this hair-raising collection of birthday horror movies that will leave you with more than just cake and candles!

Universal

Happy Death Day (2017)

This slasher-meets-Groundhog-Day...

As the smell of freshly grilled hotdogs fills the air and fireworks light up the night sky, it’s time to celebrate Independence Day with a chilling twist – a bunch of 4th of July horror movies! While everyone else is reveling in the patriotic festivities, horror enthusiasts like us know that there’s a particular delight in indulging in spine-tingling scares with an Americana flavor.

So, grab your favorite red, white, and blue snacks, ignite your sense of dread, and get ready for an All-American horror movie marathon! From small-town secrets to monstrous creatures lurking beneath the surface, these 4th of July horror movies will add an extra thrill to your Independence Day. Let the frights begin!

Universal The Purge (2013)

What better way to explore the dark side of American society than with The Purge? Set in a dystopian version of the United States, this film introduces an annual night of lawlessness and violence.

With its list of new releases for July 2023, Prime Video is going to help you stay safe from the oppressive July sun.

Highlighting the Amazon Originals on the TV side this month are two heavy hitters. The first is The Horror of Dolores Roach on July 7. Based on a podcast of the same name, this series could best be described as a modern day Sweeney Todd? Why, you ask? Well you know why. Think about it. Then season 2 of Neil Gaiman adaptation Good Omens premieres on July 28. This season will follow angel Aziraphale (Michael Sheen) and demon Crowley (David Tenant) as they seek to keep the Archangel Gabriel (Jon Hamm) away from both heaven and hell.

There aren’t any Amazon Original movies of note this month and that’s alright as the influx of library titles is more than enough. July 1 sees the arrival of The 40-Year-Old Virgin, No Country for Old Men,...

While summer starts in June, things truly heat up in July, and that includes all the hot new drops on streamers. Amazon’s Prime Video has refreshed its slate of content with over 60 new movies, like Bradley Cooper’s “A Star Is Born” and the 1973 animated adaption of the children’s book “Charlotte’s Web.”

Prime Video kicks off the start of the month with Doug McHenry’s “Jason’s Lyric,” “Father of the Bride,” and “Little Nicky.”

Plus, if you’re a Reese Witherspoon fan, Prime Video sets you up with her very first film and her breakout role as Dani in “Man in the Moon.” And the entire “Legally Blonde” trilogy is also available, for those who bend and snap.

Prime Video is also giving watchers some ultimate film classics like “Free Willy,” ”Gladiator,” and “Dances With Wolves.”

Last but absolutely not least, Season 2 of “Good Omens” will land on...

Prime Video has adapted the one-woman podcast “Empanada Loca” into a new series. “The Horror of Dolores Roach” will begin streaming on the service on July 7. Buckle up, because this one is gruesome. Roach (Justina Machado) returns to a gentrified Washington Heights after a long prison sentence and works as a masseuse in the basement of a friend’s empanada shop. But when her security is threatened, Roach is driven to extremes to survive.

Watch “The Horror of Dolores Roach” trailer:

Season 2 of “Good Omens” also will premiere on Prime Video in July. Arriving July 28, the series focuses on the friendship between Aziraphale (Michael Sheen), a fussy angel and rare-book dealer, and the snarky demon Crowley (David Tennant). While the Apocalypse has been averted, the pair are back living their lives in London, until the archangel Gabriel shows up. The series is based on the novel by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett.

As the forced hibernation of an often (in some parts of the US) ends lots of folks, besides the college kids, are making plans for the big “Spring break”. Aside from hitting the beaches, a good percentage will haul out the camping gear and make their journey into the woods to commune with Mother Nature. Oh, but what if “mama’ is not very welcome, especially those animal residents? These “humans vs. the wild” showdowns have been film thriller fodder for decades with the “king” Jaws, Frogs, Night Of The Grizzly, and Day Of The Animals, And you remember how The Revenant grabbed a load of Oscars in 2015. Perhaps its most shocking scene pitted the story’s hero against a ferocious bear (the producers tagged as “Judy”). Now she was protecting her cubs, while the title star of this new flick, which is “inspired by true events” has a very different...

It’s safe to say that the world is a bit weird right now. Much to some people’s surprise, horror movies can often be a way for fans to make sense of things and confront their fears in a safe space. Streaming service Shudder offers a large array of horror movies, TV shows, and even podcasts covering the full spectrum of the macabre. But how do you know where to start?

We’ve put together a guide to some of the best films the service has to offer. The Shudder catalogue is always growing and changing so we’ll keep this updated – head back for the latest additions and new suggestions.

(All entries are available in both UK and US unless stated otherwise!)

Hammer The Vampire Lovers (1970)

Only Available In The US

After literally decades in which the classic Hammer Films library of horror titles was often difficult to see,...

Stanley. Now there’s a name to inspire fear amongst the masses, yes? Well, this was the ‘70s, and wheels turned in the horror world whichever way the road to success was paved. Such is the case with the aforementioned Stanley (1972), a film looking to mooch off the big earnings of 1971’s Willard; but instead of rats, we get snakes. And a whole lot of them.

With Willard leading the charge, the ‘70s had a veritable menagerie of When Animals Attack films, with the films switching gears from smaller critters to big ‘uns following the blowout phenomena of Jaws (’75). But for now, we’ll focus on one of the many creature flicks that slithered through drive-ins the end of May; no good notices to be found, but for those who hung around for the second feature, they were treated to a revenge story with bizarre behavior, colorful characters, and some decent kills.

Right now, in this galaxy… featuring Lloyd Kaufman, Brad Simpson, Gilbert Hernandez, Grant Moninger and Blaire Bercy.

Please support the Hollywood Food Coalition. Text “Give” to 323.402.5704 or visit https://hofoco.org/donate!

Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode

Mondo Keazunt (1955)

The Human Tornado (1976)

Gigot (1962)

The Hustler (1961)

How to Commit Marriage (1969)

The Magnificent Ambersons (1942)

Citizen Kane (1941)

Touch of Evil (1958)

The Last Man On Earth (1963)

Night of the Living Dead (1968)

The Omega Man (1971)

I Am Legend (2007)

Panic In Year Zero! (1962)

Dogtooth (2009)

The Entity (1983)

Shelf Life (1993)

The Killers (1964)

The Next Voice You Hear… (1950)

Donovan’s Brain (1953)

Talk About A Stranger (1952)

Julius Caesar (1950)

They Saved Hitler’s Brain (1968)

The Exterminating Angel (1962)

The Jerk (1979)

Kings Row (1942)

Santa Fe Trail (1940

Bedtime For Bonzo (1951)

The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter (19468)

Point Blank (1967)

House of Wax (1953)

Black Shampoo (1976)

A History Of Violence (2005)

Return To Oz (1985)

Death Wish 4: The Crackdown (1987)

The Anderson Tapes (1971)

Psycho (1960)

Two Evil Eyes (1990)

The Taking of Pelham One Two Three...

From within the bowels of his burned down estate…Dr. Phibes Rises Again (1972), in this cheerful sequel to the box office success from the previous year. Dear Vincent Price was on a macabre roll with a succession of very funny and ghoulish horror classics, and Again is no exception.

Released by Aip in July, this MGM-emi co-production was successful enough to have producers seriously consider another sequel; but alas, it never materialized. What we are left with though, is yet another example of Price being teamed with the proper talent worthy of his own – not to mention a protagonist for the protagonist: Count Yorga himself, Robert Quarry.

Robert Fuest returns in the director’s chair, as well as co-writing with Robert Blees (Frogs). The result isn’t quite as good as its predecessor, but it’s still filled with enough creative deaths and lip smacking theatrics from the leads to warrant a closer look.

Don Kaye Nov 27, 2019

John Frankenheimer’s 1979 environmental horror movie comes to Blu-ray, flaws and all. Brace yourself.

The 1979 film Prophecy (not to be confused with 1995’s Biblical horror movie The Prophecy) was very much the last gasp of the 1970s boom in ecologically tinged genre movies. It was a string of titles that included No Blade of Grass (1970), Silent Running (1972) and Soylent Green (1973), but leaned especially heavily on the “nature strikes back” subgenre, which gave us such offerings as Frogs (1972), Night of the Lepus (1972), Bug (1975), The Food of the Gods (1976), Day of the Animals (1977) and other, often low-budget quasi-exploitation quickies.

Prophecy on its face seemed to have more going for it. The director was John Frankenheimer, the man behind masterworks like The Manchurian Candidate, Seven Days in May, and Seconds, while the writer was David Seltzer, fresh off his horror classic The Omen. Paramount sunk $12 million into the film, which...

Jim Knipfel Mar 4, 2019

We look at some of the lesser-remembered but influential evil artificial intelligence computer movies, Colossus and Demon Seed.

The ugly turns taken by assorted historical vectors in the late 1960s and early ‘70s—a string of high-profile assassinations, race riots, Manson, the Weather Underground, Vietnam, Nixon, a broader awareness of impending environmental collapse—made the 1970s a particular golden era for dystopian cinema. All the above mentioned forces and more gave us the likes of Soylent Green, No Blade of Grass, Thx-1138, Frogs, The Omega Man, and countless other visions of our doomed future. In and amongst all our other inescapable anxieties and paranoias was an increasing awareness of the role computers were playing in our daily lives.

Technoparanoid fears of dehumanization and power-mad machines can of course be traced back to the silent era in cinema, and much earlier than that in literature and legend, but...

Stars: Lisa Sheridan, Stephen Tobolowsky, Carlos Alazraqui, John Hennigan, Tiffany Shepis, David Mattey, Bruce Bohne, Jonah Beres, Chalet Lizette Brannan, Lilli Passero, Bryan Daniel Porter, Faust Checho | Written and Directed by James Ojala

Ecological horror is a genre that is not often tapped for terror these days, though it was – at one time – a staple of the horror genre, with films like Frogs, The Bees, Day of the Triffids, Them! and a myriad of spider-based movies asking “what if?” questions that captured the imagination of audiences for years.

Apparently based on true unsolved outbreaks of wildlife mutations (Loosely based), Strange Nature marks the directorial debut of fx maestro James Ojala and tells the story of Kim (Lisa Sheridan) and her son Brody who move back in with Kim;s estranged hermit father in the backwoods of a small town and find themselves in the middle of a horrendous phenomenon where...

Sometimes a successful sequel requires the filmmakers to tear apart what made the previous entry work, and piece together something new; perhaps just keeping the engine and the chassis, and other car stuffs that I know nothing about. What I do know, however, is that when you rebuild a clever psychodrama like Willard (1971) and turn it into a Rats Gone Wild meets Disney Lonely Sick Boy flick, the result is Ben (1972). And that result is a model so endearingly odd I’m amazed it made it off the assembly line at all, yet so glad it did.

Released by Cinerama Releasing in late June stateside with a worldwide rollout in the fall, Ben was viewed by critics at the time as a laughable follow up to a film that didn’t exactly win over reviewers. They simply found the premise and execution unfrightening and silly, and moved on. They’re not wrong,...

Man vs. Nature never turns out well in horror; certainly nothing past the ‘50s terrors of looming lizards/shellfish caused by radiation/radiation. And while the ‘70s switched the vibe into eco-horror, the genre never lost sight of the nagging realization that when we push against the elements, they push back hard. So it is with Saul Bass’ Phase IV (1974), a weird and riveting sci-fi thriller that proves (as if it was needed) ants are way smarter than man.

Released in the U.S. in September by Paramount, Phase IV was not a financial success, and only inspired middling critical thought, at best. Lying somewhere between 2001’s cosmic tone poem and a Bert I. Gordon schlocker, audiences chose to ignore the cerebral looking for a visceral experience that isn’t really there; nevertheless, this uneasy mixture results in a unique experience far apart from other When Animals Attack films.

The...

Guest Reviewer Lee Broughton is back, with a rodent roundup of horror, or more accurately, psychological suspense interrupted by a few salacious slayings. What would Mickey say?

The brief synopses of Daniel Mann’s Willard and Phil Karlson’s Ben that appeared in the horror movie books and magazines that kids in the UK loved to pore over during the late 1970s always gave the impression that this pair of killer rat films were hardcore horror shows.

In truth, the actual horror content of both films is relatively mild and infrequent. In spite of this, Willard and Ben still tend to be discussed in terms of their relation to the often more extreme movies that appeared in the “animals attack” cycle of horror films that flourished during the 1970s.

That particular subgenre represents something of a niche interest area that is governed by a pretty tight set of boundaries. The...

Some horror movie monsters instantly achieve iconic status and proceed to slash, mutilate and maim their way through an ever-increasing stack of sequels until the inevitable jump-the-shark moment when they’re shelved (until it’s time for a gritty, dark reboot).

Others … well, others don’t quite get that chance. For every Michael Myers, there’s a dozen wannabes stalking the shadows of lesser-known horror films, just trying their hardest to scare people. They fail miserably, of course, but where would we be as a civilization without the likes of …

Evil Trees in The Triffids

They’re trees. And they...

In a femme fatale performance as Marion Crane, Janet Leigh is such a compelling leading lady in Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho, that it’s that much more shocking when you find out in bloody fashion that she, in fact, isn’t the leading lady. So, you can imagine my excitement when I realized that one of the other movies on Leigh’s résumé features killer rabbits. With Easter Sunday coming up, I figured what better way to celebrate Jesus coming back from the dead as a giant bunny (I’m assuming that’s what happened) than by checking out a flick about massive rabbits terrorizing the Southwest?

I’m a sucker for “nature’s revenge” movies, and the sillier the premise, the better. George McCowan’s Frogs, for example, is a nutty exploitation masterpiece that layers insightful social commentary in between sheets of bonkers set pieces where various amphibians and reptiles attack the local aristocracy.

Truth be told, I’ve never been too big on Westerns. I don’t know why; I just don’t connect with most of them, or maybe I feel that there’s something missing. Perhaps…Satan?!? Yes, of course we’re heading back to the ‘70s where the Behooved One thrived, even on the small screen. Saddle up for Black Noon (1971), a long forgotten horror/western TV movie that laid the groundwork for some well-regarded horror films.

First airing on The New CBS Friday Night Movies on November 5th, Black Noon had no real competition from the NBC World Premiere Movie or ABC’s Love, American Style, with audiences taking to this insidiously laid back demon oater.

Let’s crack open our telegrammed copy of TV Guide and have a look see:

Black Noon (Friday, 9:30pm, CBS)

A preacher and his wife deal with mysterious forces in a small western town.

Nick Aldwinckle Oct 25, 2016

Fancy some horror? We've been taking a look at the discs of Ghoulies, The Burning, Psychomania and more...

“Have you ever heard a frog scream?”, the tag-line to George McCowan’s 1972 ecological horror Frogs (out now on Arrow Blu-ray) should have read. Indeed, for any of you readers that have ever been rudely awoken at 2am by the sound of a traumatised frog being gifted to you by your pet cat/furry psychopath, an amphibian cry of terror is probably the second worst sound there is (behind, of course, Kaiser Chiefs).

See related Will Arnett confirms more Arrested Development Arrow's Stephen Amell stars in Lego Batman 3 Dlc trailer

Not that frogs themselves are inherently evil, though viewing this classic dose of seventies green-themed nastiness might convince you otherwise. Slugs are Ok, too, though we’ll get on to them later on in this month’s vague...

It’s one of those fears I never think about until someone brings it up - being buried alive. Just saying it makes my skin crawl, and not in a scary movie kind of way. Waking up in total darkness, unable to really move, hearing the sound of my heart beating wildly in my chest and this is before the true panic sets in. Check please, and bring the car around, won’t you? This is why I will be cremated, thanks (and save the comments about waking up engulfed in flames – it’ll be quicker, at least). Roger Corman’s Premature Burial (1962), based on the short story by Edgar Allan Poe, taps directly into this fear and mines that vein for 81 entertaining minutes.

Released in North America on March 7th by American International Pictures (there’s a story – more on that later), Premature Burial was the 3rd of Corman’s Poe adaptations,...

Don Kaye Apr 22, 2019

For Earth Day, we look at what happens when Mother Nature gets her revenge. Here are 20 films about animals running amok.

We should always have a healthy fear and respect for nature, and especially for all the creatures great and small that inhabit this planet alongside us. But with all the abuse we heap on both them and the Earth, it would hardly be a surprise if they collectively decided one day that they had had enough of us. It’s no wonder that many sci-fi and horror films revolve around the idea of animals attacking humans -- some of them corrupted by man-made poisons like radiation, some seeking revenge, and some, perhaps the most frightening, hunting us simply because we’re there.

There’s no better example of the latter than Steven Spielberg’s masterful Jaws, but we decided to look back at 20 movies -- from...

Tomorrow, Scream Factory's unleashing respective double feature Blu-rays of The Food of the Gods and Frogs, and Empire of the Ants and Jaws of Satan. We've been provided with three Blu-ray copies of each double feature to give away to Daily Dead readers.

The Food Of The Gods

"Legendary director Bert I. Gordon (The Amazing Colossal Man, Attack of the Puppet People) – the father of the "gigantic creature" genre – delivers this spine-tingling tale of ecology gone berserk. Based on H.G. Wells' classic horror novel, The Food of the Gods predicts a terrifying future where oversized animals are suddenly at the top of the food chain and ready to take over!

On a remote island, a mysterious substance is oozing from the ground. A farmer sees that it acts as a growth hormone and thinks his fortune is made. But when rats, chickens, worms and wasps begin sampling the potent substance,...

With Memorial Day behind us and summer just right around the corner, the horror and sci-fi home releases are really begin to heat up as we’ve got a bunch of great cult classics and new indie genre films to look forward to this Tuesday. Scream Factory is giving fans a double dose of double features with their The Food of the Gods/Frogs and Empire of the Ants/Jaws of Satan Blu-rays and we’ve also got the latest from Dark Sky Films- Let Us Prey- arriving on both Blu-ray and DVD on May 26th.

Anchor Bay is also bringing home Spike Lee’s Da Sweet Blood of Jesus this week, Vinegar Syndrome is giving the cult film Madman a high-def upgrade and Universal is keeping busy as well with their releases of Seventh Son, The Loft and the Orson Welles classic Touch of Evil too.

Animal horror was big in the 1970s, and it’s not just the fault of Jaws. Environmental concerns carrying over from the previous decade were seeping into the American consciousness and, by extension, the American genre film.

Pesticides, pollution and ever-increasing concerns about nuclear power funneled their way into a slew of eco-horror movies in which mankind’s incessant tampering with the environment led Mother Nature to retaliate in the form killer animals, insects and fish, often mutated to gigantic size and always ready to kill. Titles like Grizzly and Night of the Lepus and Kingdom of the Spiders and The Swarm were de rigueur for ‘70s horror, and while the genre has never really gone away — every year sees a few new killer animal films (and that’s not counting the SyFy Channel nonsense like Crocosaurus) — it reached its zenith during that decade. Now as part of their Summer of Fear,...

On May 26th, Scream Factory's unleashing nature-gone-wrong creature features, including the killer amphibians from Frogs, the giant rats from The Food of the Gods, the killer ants of Empire of the Ants, and the creepy king cobra from Jaws of Satan.

The Food Of The Gods

"Legendary director Bert I. Gordon (The Amazing Colossal Man, Attack of the Puppet People) – the father of the "gigantic creature" genre – delivers this spine-tingling tale of ecology gone berserk. Based on H.G. Wells' classic horror novel, The Food of the Gods predicts a terrifying future where oversized animals are suddenly at the top of the food chain and ready to take over!

On a remote island, a mysterious substance is oozing from the ground. A farmer sees that it acts as a growth hormone and thinks his fortune is made. But when rats, chickens, worms and wasps begin sampling the potent substance, they morph into bloodthirsty giants!

"I remember a time of chaos... but most of all, I remember the Road Warrior. The man we called 'Max.'" In anticipation of the Mad Max: Fury Road premiere, the 35+ year history of George Miller's dystopian franchise is celebrated in a new featurette. Also included in our latest round-up is a newly announced Blu-ray from Scream Factory that should please Sam Elliott and Katharine Ross fans, as well as the special features and cover art for Warner Bros.' Innerspace high-definition home media release.

Mad Max: Fury Road: Press Release -- "From director George Miller, originator of the post-apocalyptic genre and mastermind behind the legendary “Mad Max” franchise, comes “Mad Max: Fury Road,” a return to the world of the Road Warrior, Max Rockatansky.

Haunted by his turbulent past, Mad Max believes the best way to survive is to wander alone. Nevertheless, he becomes swept up with...

Reel-Important People is a monthly column that highlights those individuals in or related to the movies that have left us in recent weeks. Below you'll find names big and small and from all areas of the industry, though each was significant to the movies in his or her own way. Harve Bennett (1930-2015) - Producer. He worked on the Star Trek movie franchise, beginning with Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and staying through Star Trek V: The Final Frontier. He died on February 25. (Deadline) Lynn Borden (1937-2015) - Actress. Best known for TV's Hazel, she also appears in Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice, The Carpetbaggers, Dirty Mary Crazy Larry, Black Mama White Mama (see below), Frogs, the...

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Long before he co-starred as James Dalton's memorable mentor and friend in Road House, Sam Elliott took on killer amphibians in 1972's Frogs, and with Scream Factory offering up two double doses of nature-gone-wrong creature features, Frogs is invading homes on Blu-ray this May along with the giant rats of The Food of the Gods, the killer ants of Empire of the Ants, and the creepy king cobra from Jaws of Satan.

Press release - "This spring, nature strikes back! On May 26, 2015 Scream Factory presents Food of the Gods and Frogs, two nature-gone-berserk shockers on Blu-ray for the first time. This release comes complete with bonus features, including new interviews with the films’ stars Belinda Balaski and Joan Van Ark.

The Food Of The Gods

Legendary director Bert I. Gordon (The Amazing Colossal Man, Attack of the Puppet People) – the father of the "gigantic creature" genre – delivers this spine-tingling tale of ecology gone berserk.

Food Of The Gods / Frogs & Empire Of The Ants / Jaws Of Satan

On Blu-ray May 26, 2015

This spring, nature strikes back! On May 26, 2015 Scream Factory presents Food of the Gods and Frogs, two nature-gone-berserk shockers on Blu-ray for the first time. This release comes complete with bonus features, including new interviews with the films’ stars Belinda Balaski and Joan Van Ark.

… Continue reading →

Horrornews.net...

Lynn Borden, who starred on the 1960s TV comedy Hazel and was done in by a killer turtle in the 1972 cult eco-horror film Frogs, died Tuesday after an extended illness, her family announced. She was 77.  Borden played Barbara Baxter on the fifth and final season of Hazel, which starred Shirley Booth as a live-in maid. The show had shifted from NBC to CBS, and Hazel had moved in with another family.   Frogs, distributed by American International Pictures, stars Ray Milland as a wealthy wheelchair-bound man who is polluting the swamp around his island estate. Nature

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Reviewed by Kevin Scott

MoreHorror.com

Frogs (1972)

Written by: Robert Huchison, Robert Blees

Directed by: George McCowan

Cast: Sam Elliot (Pickett Smith), Ray Milland (Jason Crockett), Joan Van Arc (Karen Crockett), Adam Roarke (Clint Crockett), Judy Pace (Bella Garrington), Mae Mercer (Maybelle), Lynn Borden (Jenny Crockett)

One great truth that I have learned is that there are truly no new things. There are only old things happening to new people. Agree or disagree, I’m using it in this particular instance to describe a little subgenre of the horror film, the eco horror film. My picks for horror movie watching in general are usually split between about 70 percent random and about 30 percent deliberate. It’s usually the random ones that are the most fun. I’m a sucker for American International Pictures flicks from the 1970’s. They fall under a few different types of classifications, but they are all Grindhouse...

Marc Buxton David Crow Chris Cummins Nick Harley Gavin Jasper Jim Knipfel Bridget Lamonica Vinny Murphy John Saavedra Alec Bojalad Chris Longo Tony Sokol Oct 31, 2018

We take you on a chilling journey through the history of our favorite legitimately terrifying TV episodes.

gThere's a long history of television shows playing dress up for Halloween. But it doesn't always have to be an October episode or a straight up horror show to make for properly scary TV. Sometimes that helps, to be sure, but it's not a hard and fast rule.

With that in mind, we rounded up a stack of stories from throughout TV history to assemble a list of the spookiest, weirdest, and yes, downright terrifying hours (and half-hours) to ever hit the airwaves, from The Twilight Zone and The Outer Limits to Supernatural and American Horror Story.

Check 'em out...

The Twilight Zone "After Hours"

Season 1, Episode 34 (Original...

“Shocktober” continues with Scream Factory announcing two more titles they will be bringing to Blu-ray next year: 1976’s The Food of the Gods and 1972’s Frogs. The former (loosely based on an H. G. Wells novel) sees a pro football player take on giant rats, while the latter stars Sam (Road House) Elliot as a photographer evading murderous amphibians. Both take place on islands where nature has taken over.

“Happy Monday! Our month-long “Shocktober” celebration and countdown to Halloween continues with two more films to reveal: We are pairing 1972’s swampy Frogs (starring Sam Elliott) and 1976’s giant animal-ridden Food Of The Gods (starring Pamela Franklin) together on the Blu-ray format as a double-feature! Expect to see the release emerge next Summer.

We still have more films to announce this month so be sure to check back here on our page this month to be the first to see them!

Writer Lee Gambin calls them Natural Horror films, other writers call them Revenge of Nature or Nature Run Amok films and writer Charles Derry considers them a type of Apocalyptic Cinema.

Of course we’re speaking of one of the great horror subgenres for which we’ll employ writer Kim Newman’s tag: The Revolt of Nature.

Since the end of the 1990s, lovers of animal attack films have been subjected to copious amounts of uninspired Nu Image, Syfy Channel and Syfy Channel-like dreck like Silent Predators (1999), Maneater (2007) Croc (2007), Grizzly Rage (2007) and a stunning amount of terrible shark attack films to name a few that barely scratch the surface of a massive list.

These movies fail miserably to capture the intensity of the unforgettable films they are imitating and the recent wave seems to carry with it the intent of giving the Revolt of Nature horror film a bad name.

By David Savage

One of the most idiosyncratic and inventive voices of genre filmmaking to emerge in the 1970s was Jeff Lieberman (born 1947), whose three best known films, Squirm (1976) Blue Sunshine (1978) and Just Before Dawn (1981) have become classics of horror and sci-fi. Cited as an influence on such directors as Eli Roth and Quentin Tarantino (the latter lists Squirm as an essential viewing if he’s to take you seriously), Lieberman’s filmmaking captures the low-budget resourcefulness of Roger Corman and combines it with a singular point of view -- one that seems both quirky and at times, deliriously demented.

Here at Cinema Retro, these are exactly the types of directors we enjoy tipping our hat to. So I’m excited to announce that I’ve organized a tribute to Lieberman built around these three films with the generous participation and hosting of Anthology Film Archives in New York City,...

By the 1970s, mankind had finally realized that, as species go, we were pretty much the worst thing to ever happen to the planet – what with treating the natural world as our own personal dumping ground, pumping pollution into the air, and poisoning the waters with chemicals – and so the modern environmental movement was born. Not only was this a hopeful development for the survival of the Earth but it was also terrific news for connoisseurs of B-movies as “eco-horror” became a popular trend and the ‘70s became a decade when – on screen, at least – nature had finally had enough of man’s bullshit.

In Frogs, directed by George McCowan and written by Robert Hutchison and Robert Blees, a young Sam Elliott stars as Pickett Smith, a freelance photographer busy taking pictures of the trash-strewn Southern swamplands surrounding the island estate of the wealthy Crockett family. While paddling around the Crockett’s property,...

Happy Friday, little darlings! It's been a long week, so let's all take a trust fall back into the marshmallowy softness of Ae Movie Club.

This week I'm starting things off with a Reviewlet of the new real-time indie horror flick Silent House, which then kickstarts a discussion of other "parlor trick" movies that successfully used sleight-of-hand to create a unique and engaging filmgoing experience.

It Came From Instant Queue looks under the fur of one of our most beloved playtime pals, our Movie Confessional asks which movies have gotten you out of your seat and out the door before the credits rolled, and of course we've got the usual heapin' helpins of Vintage Beefcake, new posters and trailers, and more movie talk that you can stuff in Jiminy Glick's underpants.

5 ... 4 ... 3 ... 2 ... 1 ...Start!

Elizabeth "Don't Call Me Mary Kate and/or Ashley" Olsen

Reviewlet: Silent House

This week a horror...