Posts by Gino Sassani

I grew up on the horror comics of the 1970's. Eerie and Creepy were two of my favorites. My father would buy them and pass them down to me when he finished reading them. They were black and white so that they could take advantage of a loophole in the Comics Code and often featured lurid and gory stories of horror and depravity. Probably not the most appropriate reading for a young boy, but I ate them up. Before those comics there were the EC horror comics from Bill Gaines in the 1950's. Titles like Tales From The Crypt and The Vault Of Horror called out to readers with gory and hideous covers. But it didn't really start there.

If you happen to be a BMX cinema fan you already know who Bill Allen is. He played Clu, the hero in the classic BMX film Rad. It's been a long time since there's been a BMX film out there. Now there's Heroes Of The Dirt and Bill Allen is there. He plays the father of BMX rider Phineas Cooper. While Bill doesn't ride in this film the experience has inspired him to get back out there on a bike. I had a chance to talk with Bill about his role in both films. We talked about the BMX film genre quite a bit. Bang it here to listen in on my chat with Bill Allen. Heroes Of The Dirt will be out this Christmas on home video.

"Listen, my friend. This is going to be very hard to comprehend, but none of what you are seeing is real."

Of course it's not real. It's not really that hard to comprehend at all. This is an animated show, after all. And the figures look like cut-out pieces of construction paper. Of course, we're talking about South Park. What is hard to comprehend, however, is that we're talking about the 18th season of South Park. Few television shows last this long, and only The Simpsons has been around longer when it comes to scripted animated shows running today. That's rare air, indeed

Anchor Bay has a new science fiction film out this week. It's called The Anomaly and it stars everyone's favorite vampire Ian Somerhalder. It also stars Dr. Who and Star Trek veteran Noel Clarke. Clarke also directed and co-wrote the film about a man who lives life in just under 10 minute segments before everything gets reset. He has to solve a life and death problem before he runs out of time completely. I got to spend over 10 minutes with Clarke and we talked about Dr. Who, Star Trek and his latest film The Anomaly. He managed to last more than 10 minutes and you'll want to hear what he said. Bang it here to listen in on my chat with Noel Clarke. He might have even let slip some interesting news about The Vampire Diaries.

 

Remember when you were a kid and one of your friends would come over and ask if you could come out and play? You would head for the door with a grin from ear to ear, because you knew you were about to have a blast. You might not have had any idea what it was you were going to do. Often you made it up as you went along. It didn't matter. You just knew fun times were on the other side of your front door. That's exactly how I felt going to catch The Avengers: Age Of Ultron. It was as if Joss Whedon had come to my house and asked me to come out and play.

"Life's short and then you die. And then... then you have make some decisions. You can skulk around, lamenting all that you've lost, trying to keep yourself numb and isolated. Or you can embrace who you are."

For years I've been hearing about how "hot" vampires were on television and in the movies. It all appeared to start with Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but it actually goes back a lot longer ago. Zombies, on the other hand were the sole property of feature films, usually extreme low-budget affairs. AMC's The Walking Dead has changed all of that.

Those fiends over at  RLJ Entertainment decided to really let us have it. And now you're going to get it. You've heard of Christmas in July? Well they're giving us June in October. One lucky winner is going to get a copy of the new horror film June on DVD. She may have the face of an Angel, but it's hiding a demon deep inside. Be careful what you wish for. This one's going to give you nightmares. If you think you're up for it...well... don't say we didn't warn you.

To win a copy, just follow these simple instructions.

Our good buddies over at Anchor Bay have been taking care of our readers for years. They always seem to have just the right title for any occasion. We knew they weren't going to let a 31 Nights Of Terror season slip past them. They've given us a copy of Lost After Dark on Blu-ray. If you thought the 80's slasher film was dead...think again. This one will take you back to those bloody memories of days gone by.

To win a copy, just follow these simple instructions.

"My name is Ichabod Crane. In 1781 I died on the battlefield, but I was saved by a mysterious spell cast upon me by my wife Katrina. Now I've been reawakened 250 years later in a land I no longer recognize. And fate has led me to Miss Abigail Mills., a young police lieutenant. Investigating baffling mysteries, our real mission is in danger, and the apocalypse may be upon us, our destinies entwined."

Fans of the tale The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow will recall that Ichabod came to encounter the headless horseman in one of the first American horror tales ever written.

"To understand what I'm about to tell you, you need to do something first. You need to believe in the impossible. Can you do that? Good. Because all of us, we have forgotten what miracles look like. Maybe because they haven't made much of an appearance lately. Our lives have become ordinary. But there is someone out there who is truly extraordinary." 

It's become so much easier to believe in the impossible in recent years. The guys over at Marvel have created an amazing theatrical universe where we escape into the comic book world of heroes at least a couple times a week. DC hasn't managed to wow us in our theater seats so much recently.