NBC has recruited a long list of noted directors, actors and writers for its 13-episode suspense and horror anthology series Fear Itself. The series, produced by LionsGate and Industry Entertainment, will boast the work of award-winning horror directors John Landis (An American Werewolf in London), Darren Bousman (Saw II), Brad Anderson (The Machinist), Mary Harron (American Psycho), Stuart Gordon (Re-Animator) and Heroes' Ernest Dickerson. Superman Returns' Brandon Routh and Mad Men's Elisabeth Moss join Cynthia Watros (Lost), Eric Roberts (Heroes) and Larry Gilliard Jr. (The Wire), along with a boatload of other actors who will earn some screen time in one of the series' episodes. And just what kind of horrors can you expect? Landis' "A Nightmare in Lace" follows a bride who receives word on her wedding day that her groom is a serial killer, and Harron's "Community" features a young couple who find their dream home in the perfect neighborhood (until their neighbors start killing ...
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The Crazies courtesy Blue Underground
The sequel to 28 Days Later 2002 that would be 28 Weeks Later in case you hadnt guessed streets today and its a good follow-up to one of those films that came from out of the blue and reminded horror fans like me that theres still life in the classic monsters All it takes is a directorscreenwriter team like Danny Boyle and Alex Garland to put a fresh spin on the old tropes But my pick of the week is an older and shamefully overlooked movie George Romeros The Crazies 1973 whose influence is all over films as various as a cluster of 80s horror pictures Impulse and MutantNight Shadows both 1984 Warning Sign 1985 the mainstream respectable Outbreak 1995 the video-game inspired Resident Evil series and of course 28 Days Later And frankly The Crazies core concerns are as timely now as they were in the wake of the 1960s counterculture if not more so Following the runaway success of Night of the Living Dead 1968 Romero
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I had a feeling Brad Anderson's Masters of Horror entry, Sounds Like, would be grim. Anderson's critically acclaimed low-budget thriller, Session 9, remains one of the most grim and cerebrally horrifying movies I've ever seen. Whenever I recommend Session 9, I describe it as one of those movies that made me hear things at night. Only two other movies to date have had that effect on me: The Exorcist and The Blair Witch Project. The Exorcist stands out as way more "in the face" (in more ways than pea soup) of the three, but Blair Witch and Session 9 both delivered that subtle, "crawl in the brain and haunt me for days" effect, which is my favorite kind of horror.I believe the most powerful link between these three films is the masterful use of sound, both subliminal and overt. It's no surprise that The Exorcist is known for using subliminal sound throughout the film, as well as huge contrasts between silence and audio assault to increase the feeling of terror and dread. For me, the mo...
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