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Providence #2

Writer – Alan Moore

Art – Jacen Burrows

Colors – Juan Rodriguez

Letters – Kurt Hathaway

Publisher – Avatar Press

In the concluding line of Providence #1, our protagonist Robert Black lamented the death of his lover and his failures as a writer with the line “I never want to dream again,” written in his commonplace book. But as his trail of The Book of the Wisdom of the Stars heats up in issue #2, it seems that while Robert Black may be done with dreams, dreams are not quite done with Robert Black.

With Providence being a Lovecraft deconstruction so intent on blurring the lines between reality and narrative, it seems strange that we had to wait all the way until issue #2 before the fine line between reality and dreams became a prominent theme. Dreams are one of the most mysterious aspects of day-to-day existence, a near-daily, personal indulgence in fictions seemingly without origin, narrative causality,...

The work of H.P. Lovecraft has inspired not only legions of fans throughout the years but an entire sub-genre of horror. Highlighted by frail, false realities masking a horrific and unfathomable truth… and of course, tentacles, fans embrace Lovecraftian horror films like the squishy appendages they feature.

And with the release of Dead Shadows, we remember our Top 11 Lovecraftian Horror Films.

This list contains not just movies inspired by the writings of H.P. Lovecraft, although some of them are certainly here; it also has movies that fall into the Lovecraftian-inspired category. Cosmic horror of the unknown and unknowable that could fracture sanity hovering over reality. Cthulhu. And, of course, those tentacles we mentioned earlier.

As for honorable mentions, how about the wildly popular hit HBO show "True Detective" for starters? There are certainly some Lovecraftian influences there, including Rust Cohle's ideas on fate and religion and the cult of Hastur operating in Louisiana.

[Warning: Spoilers Ahead!] It's no surprise to find among H. P. Lovecraft's work some of the best tales of life-death-reanimation. “Cool Air” is one tale that follows a man through his brief acquaintance with one Dr. Munoz. It's a first-person narrative, and reads, of course, like a journal. Despite being a pretty short short story, it weaves an intricate environment of interesting people, sights, sounds and discoveries. Dr. Munoz is a man inhumanly obsessed with the cold. One day, after having a heart attack, the man living below Dr. Munoz's apartment seeks his expertise. The doctor is able to help him and, surviving the heart attack, they become fast friends. But the longer he knows Munoz, the more wary he becomes of him. The strange chemical smells. The cold air. The insistence on maintaining an “even temper.” As time passes, Munoz needs his living space to be colder and colder, until one day the inevitable happens.

Starting this week, fans of the radio anthology series Suspense will be able to hear new versions of their favorite classics broadcast on Sirius Xm BookRadio 80 two nights a week.

The updated Suspense airs Wednesdays (7:30pm Et/4:30pm Pt) and Sundays (11:30pm Et/8:30pm Pt), and Episode #1 is an adaptation of Lovecraft's 'Cool Air,' starring Adrienne Wilkinson and Daamen Krall.

The original Suspense, which ran from 1942-1962, was known as “radio’s outstanding theater of thrills” and featured a virtual 'who’s who' of Hollywood stars, including horror legends Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, Vincent Price, and Peter Lorre. Though many of its episodes were murder mysteries, the original Suspense made many forays into pure horror, such as its adaptations of H.P. Lovecraft’s The Dunwich Horror and Curt Siodmak’s Donovan’s Brain.

As for the new Suspense, it goes in a somewhat different direction.

Director Albert Pyun tries his hand at this latest adaptation of the Lovecraft classic. Morgan Weisser star of other Pyun movies including Bulletface (2010) and Infection (2005) leads a small but experienced cast that includes his father Norbert Weisser horror fans will remember him from his brief but memorable role as the crazy Norwegian in The Thing (1982) and Crystal Green (who also starred in Bulletface). Although made on a shoestring budget the few who have seen H.P. Lovecrafts Cool Air seem to like it. A veteran director and seasoned actors will hopefully make this adaptation work. We will see.

Lionsgate just dropped us a line to let us know they have two new features poised and ready for their DVD and digital download debuts on May 21st. Read on for the latest on one of the After Dark Originals, Dark Circles, and Cool Air.

After Dark Films presents a twisted reality in Dark Circles arriving on DVD, Digital Download and Video on Demand May 21st from Lionsgate Home Entertainment. This supernatural horror film stars Pell James (The Lincoln Lawyer), Johnathon Schaech (That Thing You Do), Jennifer Foreman (Angry Little God) and Philippe Brenninkmeyer (Beerfest). The Dark Circles DVD includes audio commentary with writer/director Paul Soter and will be available for the suggested retail price of $26.98.

Synopsis

When new parents Alex and Penny retreat from the city and move into a place outside town, the stress and massive sleep-deprivation caused by their infant has both of them seeing things...

Today's batch of ratings brings a few notable titles beginning with Relativity's 21 And Over, which essentially looks like it's this year's Project X, or something along those lines and the R rating and description would seem to suggest I'm not too far off. We also have a PG-13 rating for The Host, based on "Twilight" author Stephenie Meyer's novel of the same name and starring Saoirse Ronan as well as a PG-13 for Bryan Singer's long-delayed Jack the Giant Killer with Warm Bodies star, Nicholas Hoult. And finally, you'll see a rating for a film called Drift, which is an Australian surfer film starring Sam Worthington. It will be hitting domestic theaters later this year via Arc Entertainment, but no release date just yet. With all that said, here is the complete batch of latest MPAA ratings from Bulletin #2258. 21 And Over Rated R For crude and sexual content,...

This latest bit of news should be music to the ears of all our readers who enjoy a bit of horror radio now and again. Blue Hours Productions is reviving the classic radio anthology series Suspense, and it will begin airing on SiriusXM Satellite Radio this fall.

The original Suspense, which ran from 1942-1962, was known as “radio’s outstanding theater of thrills” and featured a virtual 'who’s who' of Hollywood stars, including horror legends Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, Vincent Price, and Peter Lorre. Though many of its episodes were murder mysteries, the original Suspense made many forays into pure horror, such as its adaptations of H.P. Lovecraft’s The Dunwich Horror and Curt Siodmak’s Donovan’s Brain.

The new Suspense, however, will go in a somewhat different direction, notes Blue Hours' John C. Alsedek. “While we’ll still be doing mystery stories, we’re also going for some bone-chilling horror.

We got the first word on director Albert Pyun's adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft's Cool Air at the end of last week, and to kick of this week, we have a look at the brand new key art for the film.

Cool Air will be debuting at the Estepona International Film Festival in September, and rest of us here in the States should be able to see it soon afterwards via Wrekin Hill, who bought North America rights to the film.

Writer Cynthia Curnan and Pyun have re-imagined the story with a contemporary but no less creepy setting. Cool Air stars Morgan Weisser, Wendy Phillips, Jenny Dare Paulin, Crystal Green, and Norbert Weisser; and the editing is by Glen Berry.

You can check out the opening credits sequence below, but first here's the 1926 short story's synopsis courtesy of Wikipedia:

The story is set up as the narrator's explanation for...

Another H.P. Lovecraft adaptation is headed our way, this time from the man for whom "rest" is a dirty word, director Albert Pyun, who is putting the finishing touches on Cool Air, which will be debuting at the Estepona International Film Festival in September.

The rest of us here in the States should be able to see Cool Air soon afterwards via Wrekin Hill, who bought North America rights to the film.

Writer Cynthia Curnan and Pyun have re-imagined the story with a contemporary but no less creepy setting. Cool Air stars Morgan Weisser, Wendy Phillips, Jenny Dare Paulin, Crystal Green, and Norbert Weisser; and the editing is by Glen Berry.

You can check out the opening credits sequence below, but first here's the 1926 short story's synopsis courtesy of Wikipedia:

The story is set up as the narrator's explanation for why a "draught of cool air" is the most detestable thing to him.

Surely we’ve all seen a movie or TV show where someone attempted to commit murder by locking someone in a sauna and setting the heat to full blast. But a whole survival horror movie built around three people trapped in a sauna as the temperature rises to a dangerous 247°F? That’s a new one.

That’s the premise of the new thriller 247°F from first-time directors Levan Bakhia and Beqa Jguburia and first-time writer Lloyd S. Wagner that was shot in the Republic of Georgia.

Here’s a more detailed synopsis:

Jenna, Renee, Ian, and Michael arrive at a lake house owned by Ian's uncle Wade. Planning for party and fun, three of them end up locked in the sauna. At first they think it is Michael playing jokes on them, but soon they realize that no one is coming to help, not even Wade. The heat is rising,...

Even back in the day Marvel was tryinig to get some of its titles out in movie form but wasn't successful. There's been a Punsher that starred Dolph Lundgren and even a Fantastic 4 movie that was so cheesy it got shelved and has never seen the light of day and we also had a Captain America movie that will finally be getting a Director's Cut on blu-ray in May.

Director Albert Pyun says that the film once had a huge budget and the n the backers backed out and the film had to be finished on a shoe string budget. Pynn is going to ride the coat tails "so-to-speak" with the big screen release of Captain America and his recent Director's Cut release of Cyborg.

Here's what Pynn is describing his cut as;

It will be based on "my own 35 mm CA work picture and temp mix [that] I did before I left [the] picture.

Tales of an Ancient Empire just got a huge dose of badassedness in the form of a female daywalking vampire assassin to be portrayed by Victoria Maurette. Maurette joins the film's previously announced cast that includes Christopher Lambert, Melissa Ordway, Kevin Sorbo, Lee Horsley, and Jennifer Siebel Newsom.

The news came down from director Albert Pyun's official website, where you can also find a photo of Maurette in training in Buenos Aires for her role. She has previously appeared in two of Pyun's films: Left for Dead (review here) and Bulletface.

A brief synopsis of Tales of an Ancient Empire is as follows: A princess (Ordway) is on a quest to unite the five greatest warriors to save her kingdom from a demon sorceress. But the odyssey to find them reveals a secret past for all.

To help familiarize fans with some of Maurette's "talents", Pyun provided us with...