“31 Nights Of Terror” In Their Own Words: Interviews With Masters Of Horror
Posted in Random Fun by Gino Sassani on October 25th, 2016
Most of the time we’re telling you what we think here at Upcomingdiscs. I thought it would be nice to use 31 Nights Of Terror to let you hear what the filmmakers themselves have to say. We have talked to many of them over the years. Take some time to “chill” with some masters of horror.
Sara Karloff has been keeping the memory of her father alive for decades. Boris Karloff was one of the true masters of horror. Sara’s a friend and it’s always great to talk with her. Join us for one of those talks. Sara Karloff Interview
Joe Dante reached out to us a few years ago. It was a great honor to talk with him. We share a love for classic horror and Dante is truly a master filmmaker. Joe Dante Interview
David Hewlett is known mostly for his work as the annoying but brilliant Rodney on Stargate: Atlantis. When I caught up with him he had just worked on the horror film Debug. It was one of my favorite interviews. David Hewltt Interview
Thomas Dekker played characters from Captain Picard’s son to John Connor in the Terminator series. He also worked on a film called Fear Clinic. That’s when I got the chance to chat with him. Thomas Dekker Interview.
Felissa Rose was 13 when she appeared in Sleepaway Camp. Imagine my surprise to see her years later in Zombie Killers. That’s when we ended up having our nice talk. Felissa Rose
Declan O’Brien has been a real friend to Upcomingdiscs. He turned around the Wrong Turn franchise and then did it again with the Joy Ride films. He puts his budget on the screen. I talked to him twice. Wrong Turn Interview & Joy Ride Interview.
“31 Nights Of Terror” The Midnight Swim
Posted in No Huddle by Dan Holland on October 24th, 2016
Yet another indie horror flick has come through the Upcoming Discs hub. Although, I wouldn’t necessarily categorize The Midnight Swim into the horror genre: it’s more of a dramatic mystery. That is not to say that the film did not have any unnerving moments, but the priority of the storytelling was to study the three main characters. In an effort to capture three very different personalities while simultaneously providing a lingering suspense, The Midnight Swim created a tension that resolved to my satisfaction. Ultimately, the film favored its character study more than it did its mystery, which hurt my enjoyment as a result.
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Suddenly (Blu-ray)
Posted in No Huddle by Dan Holland on October 23rd, 2016
Frank Sinatra is a man of many talents, although I had never really paid much attention to his acting, as I had never actually seen him outside a musical. Anchors Aweigh and On the Town are among my favorite musicals. That being said, I have never watched a film where I have been fully attentive to Sinatra’s talents as an actor. While Suddenly has other big names like James Gleason and Sterling Hayden, I was surprised that the entire film had an incredibly rocky start without Sinatra’s presence in the first twenty minutes.
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“31 Nights of Terror” Lights Out (Blu-ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by J C on October 23rd, 2016
“Everyone is afraid of the dark…and that’s what she feeds on.”
Despite rumors to the contrary, I am a full-grown adult. That means I can’t in good conscience admit to being afraid of the dark. The most I’ll concede is a sense of uneasiness if I’m in a dark space because I might bump into something. And if I hear a strange noise in the middle of the night, my mind might start creating sinister shapes out of shadows. (Hold on…am I afraid of the dark?!) Either way, that primal and unshakable fear of what could be hiding just out of sight is what powers Lights Out, one of the leaner, nimbler, and flat-out most enjoyable low-budget horror flicks in recent years.
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“31 Nights Of Terror” Waxwork/Waxwork II (Blu-ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on October 22nd, 2016
The third release of the Vestron Video Collector’s Series that Lionsgate has decided to put out isn’t just one film but two, Waxwork and its sequel Waxwork 2: Lost in Time. If you think just because it’s a two-for-one release that they may have taken the lazy route on handling the transfers and features, well, I can happily say that you’d be wrong. If you like campy horror, especially the kind that existed during the late 80’s on into the early 90’s, then this is the kind of double-feature set you’ll have a blast with. It doesn’t hurt, either, that it’s being released just in time to be enjoyed for those of you looking to put together some horror movie marathons during the Halloween season
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The Night Of (Blu-ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 21st, 2016
You know, I miss James Gandolfini. I know that HBO misses him as well. When The Sopranos finished, Gandolfini signed a development deal with HBO. He would not only work in front of the camera but help find and produce material for the network. We all know what happened next. Gandolfini passed suddenly, just when it seems he was breaking out of his Tony Soprano typecast, and one gets the feeling that he was going to do great things. One solid indication of that promise comes in the HBO series The Night Of… which was one of those passion projects that the man never got to see through.
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“31 Nights Of Terror” She Who Must Burn
Posted in No Huddle by Jeremy Butler on October 21st, 2016
Most villains on earth are those who believe that they are the good guys. She Who Must Burn proves that in spades when a local preacher wages war against a woman’s counselor for Planned Parenthood (not called that during the film, but that is the best way to describe it). This is another welcomed addition to the 31 Nights of Terror, again featuring human evil rather than supernatural evil, which in my opinion makes it even more terrifying, because it could easily go from a fiction to reality.
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Jack Reacher Never Go Back
Posted in The Reel World by Archive Authors on October 21st, 2016
Forbes magazine called Jack Reacher and author Lee Childs as the strongest brand in publishing as much for his over 100,000,000 in sales and billion dollar imprint as for the strong loyalty of fans and favorable ratings of the readers. The 21st Jack Reacher novel, Night School, is coming out in a couple of weeks (which I’m sure Simon & Shuster would thank me for mentioning, but they don’t need my help), and Reacher fans will buying in droves. The second Reacher movie will be out on November 21.
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Ice Age: Collision Course (UHD Blu-ray) (4K)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 21st, 2016
“The universe, a vast expanse of space and matter. It includes all that we see and all that we know. Since the beginning of time, we have wondered how it all came to be. A gloriously orchestrated plan? A chance series of events? Or something much, much dumber?”
Space really is the final frontier. It’s where they send tired franchises to die. They sent Jason and Pinhead to space. They sent the Three Stooges into orbit. Abbott & Costello ended up in space. They even sent Machete into space. It’s the filmatic version of jumping the shark. In Ice Age: Collision Course they send lovable Scrat into space.
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“31 Nights Of Terror” Contest: Win Lucifer: The Complete First Season From Allied Vaughn
Posted in Contests, Expired Contests by Gino Sassani on October 20th, 2016
Do you know what scares me about this Halloween? It’s all these prizes I’m going to be sending out in about a month. You could say The Devil made them do it. Our friends at Allied Vaughn have given us a copy of Lucifer: The Complete First Season on Blu-ray to give away. Now you can catch it all in high definition.
To win a copy of this prize, follow these instructions.
- Fill out your name and email address in the comment form below – your email address will remain private and visible only to us.
- Do not post your address as an actual comment! Instead tell us – What was the best creature design ever made for a movie?
- Only those comments that answer our question will be considered.
Contest is now closed Winner is Kim H.
Winners are notified by E-mail. If you did not get a confirmation E-mail from us, check your Spam filter and contact us. Any prize not claimed in 2 weeks will be forfeit and be placed in the end of year contests next Holiday Season.
Blood Father (Blu-ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on October 19th, 2016
I can’t be the only one who misses seeing Mel Gibson in a tent pole movie for the studio every year. Sure, he said some rotten things, but does it matter what he does in his personal life? The man still is a great actor and an even better director. Hollywood has always been forgiving of its talent; it’s a system that seems to enjoy seeing talent make a comeback and do some amazing work. What it seems is that sometimes we forget that these icons on the screen are human, and they make mistakes and do stupid things and they have to own these experiences for the rest of their lives in the spotlight.
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The Infiltrator (Blu-ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Jeremy Butler on October 19th, 2016
Growing up one of coolest jobs I thought was out there was undercover work. Not to diminish all the threats to one’s well-being associated with that profession, but come on, who didn’t want the opportunity to reinvent themselves as someone else entirely. Undercover affords that opportunity. That said, it does not come without a cost, and that cost is explored thoroughly in The Infiltrator, a based on a true story tale about a U.S. Customs agent who infiltrates the most successful and equally dangerous drug cartel led by the one and only Pablo Escobar. An interesting little tidbit that I was unaware of before the opening credits was that this film was shot right here in the Tampa area, which provided recognizable environment and a chance to pick out familiar territory.
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“31 Nights Of Terror” Upcomingdiscs First Annual Halloween Decorations Contest
Posted in Contests by Gino Sassani on October 19th, 2016
We want to see something scary. Upcomingdiscs is inviting you to send us a photo of your Halloween decorations. The day after Halloween (11/1/16) we will post the photos we get and give our readers 2 weeks to vote on their favorite in the comments. The photo that gets the most votes will win a mysterious collection of horror films.
Here’s how to enter:
- Send one photo to comments@upcomingdiscs.com. Please pick the best angle and subject. Only 1 photo is allowed.
- On Nov. 1st we will post all of the photos for our readers to vote on their favorite. Only 1 vote per ip address will be allowed. But you are encouraged to send your friends to vote for yours. They just won’t be able to all vote from your computer or network address.
- Please indicate a user name/handle to include with your picture. Send one that can be made public. We WILL NOT Publish your email address.
- All photos must arrive by Midnight Eastern Time on 11/01/16. A confirmation email will be sent.
- By sending a photo you are giving consent for your photo to be posted at Upcomingdiscs.
We hope to make this an annual event. Who’s going to be our first Master Of Mayhem?
Contest is open to US & Canada only.
The Legend of Tarzan (Blu-ray 3D)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on October 19th, 2016
I’ve always been a fan of Tarzan; I loved the old series and the films basically because I just dug how he was this fearless character who lived in the jungles who fought the bad guys and a few wild animals as well. As I got older that was when I discovered the books of Edgar Rice Burroughs, and I just had a blast with all these pulp tales about the civilized Wildman and the beautiful Jane. I even remember how excited I was about seeing Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan as a kid; even though this screen adaption bored me to tears, it was still exciting to see the character up on the screen. Now it’s 2016, and the character is swinging into action on the big screen again, and with a large budget to back it up.
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Wild Oats
Posted in No Huddle by Archive Authors on October 19th, 2016
Shirley MacLaine and Jessica Lange are two great women of American film, and living legends. It is always a pleasure to see them work. They both have won shelves of awards including Best Actress Oscars. But they both have also been in bad movies. The process of being a creative artist is always a journey where you take a leap through a hoop with the hopes of doing good work. It also becomes difficult for actresses, even for living legends, to get good work as they grow older. But films about older people are important too. All movies can’t be about young attractive new faces being forced on you with little understanding of who they are.
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Tuesday Round Up: October 18, 2016
Posted in Tuesday Round Up by J C on October 18th, 2016
While it may not technically be eligible for our “31 Nights of Terror”, one of our entries this week absolutely qualifies as a horror show. Everything that can go wrong, does go wrong for the young protagonist in HBO’s The Night Of. But let’s not forget that it’s still October, so we’ve got a double feature more suitable for the spooky season. Vestron brings some familiar monsters to life with its Waxwork Collector’s Series, which includes both Waxwork and Waxwork II: Lost in Time.
One last reminder before signing off for the week: if you’re shopping for anything on Amazon and you do it through one of our links, it’ll help keep the lights on here at UpcomingDiscs. See ya next week!
“31 Nights Of Terror” Vampyres
Posted in No Huddle by Archive Authors on October 18th, 2016
Vampyres (2015) is a remake of Vampyres (1974). It is important to note that right here at the start. They have a strong similarity, and the latter film is clearly a homage and loving duplication. It should be stated that the new version is not better, but the two films have identical essential elements. That would be naked lesbian flesh-eating, blood-obsessed predators. The original was fairly groundbreaking in its almost fetishistic content. This version has more nudity and sex scenes. I would safely say that if you like naked blood-soaked sex scenes, you will enjoy it, but aficionados of horror classics will likely be pickier.
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Denial
Posted in The Reel World by Archive Authors on October 18th, 2016
David Hare is an extremely prolific and ambitious playwright. He has written over 30 plays, but he has also done television and screenplays as well as directing in all three mediums. One of his first screenplays was an adaptation of his play, Plenty, which starred Meryl Streep, in 1985. He also wrote the screenplay for an adaptation Michael Cunningham’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, The Hours, which starred Meryl Streep as well. He also wrote the screenplay for The Reader, which was nominated for numerous awards and was about a woman guard in a German concentration camp and starred Kate Winslet.
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“31 Nights Of Terror” The Caretaker
Posted in No Huddle by Brent Lorentson on October 17th, 2016
When it comes to director Jeff Prugh and his new film The Caretaker, he shows that you don’t need a big budget or grand effects to deliver a horror film. In the case of The Caretaker, filming on a modest budget may have presented the director with the challenge to lean more towards atmosphere and technique rather than fall back on special effects and gore. This isn’t a film that is going to get a wide release in theaters across the US, so it’s going to have to rely on receiving word of mouth to be seen. With there being so many options to choose from, what makes The Caretaker stand out from the pack? Well, if I’m being honest, it’s because I find the film charming in a way. Not exactly what a horror film would want to have said about it, but this is one of those little films where you can actually feel the labor and passion put into this.
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“31 Nights Of Terror” Broken Vows
Posted in No Huddle by Jeremy Butler on October 16th, 2016
Everyone makes mistakes. Decisions that are made in the heat of the moment that haunt them and they wish they can take back. Sometimes those mistakes don’t go away as easily as they want to them to. That is definitely the case for Tara (Jamie Alexander) after her bachelorette weekend in New Orleans. Looking to celebrate her impending wedding as well as forget an indiscretion committed by her soon-to-be husband (Cam Gigandet), she meets Patrick (Wes Bentley), a bartender at a club Tara and her friends go to. They meet, there’s a connection, and as these things go, one thing leads to another, as they say. Afterwards, she just wants to move on and forget it happened, but Patrick will not be ignored (I know it is an obvious rip-off, but it applies).
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“31 Nights Of Terror” Contest: Win The Curse Of Oak Island Season 2 On DVD
Posted in Contests, Expired Contests by Gino Sassani on October 15th, 2016
Even our buddies at History/ A&E are getting in on the 31 Nights Of Terror fright-wagon. The Curse Of Oak Island Season 2 is now out on DVD. We’ve got a copy of the release for one of our lucky Upcomingdiscs friends out there. Rick and Marty return to the mysterious Oak Island, and you’re invited to join them. You’re going to need more than a life jacket for this trip.
To win a copy of this prize, follow these instructions.
- Fill out your name and email address in the comment form below – your email address will remain private and visible only to us.
- Do not post your address as an actual comment! Instead tell us – What is your favorite horror-themed television show?
- Only those comments that answer our question will be considered.
Contest is now closed Winner is Karen Thaeter
Winners are notified by E-mail. If you did not get a confirmation E-mail from us, check your Spam filter and contact us. Any prize not claimed in 2 weeks will be forfeit and be placed in the end of year contests next Holiday Season.
The Accountant
Posted in The Reel World by Brent Lorentson on October 14th, 2016
It would seem as though Ben Affleck is finally starting to shed the stigma of doing bad films. He’s been on a roll since he took on the role of George Reeves in Hollywoodland and has also in the process become an accomplished director. When the trailer first dropped for The Accountant, I wasn’t sure what to expect, but as you look at the laundry list of talent that fills the cast, it quickly became a film I had my eye on. What is surprising is despite their being franchises that seem to cover the same territory ie: Jack Reacher and the Jason Bourne films, is there room for another lone-wolf-killing-machine film?
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“31 Nights Of Terror” Contest: Win 101 Horror Movies To See Before You Die
Posted in Contests, Expired Contests by Gino Sassani on October 14th, 2016
To help us with this year’s 31 Nights Of Terror our very good friends over at Barron’s want to share some reading that’s to die for. Yes, we’re giving away a copy of their wonderful book: 101 Horror Movies You Must See Before You Die. We’ve reviewed 2 editions of their 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die. It’s a perfect companion for your frightening book shelf. These Barron’s books are a ton of fun and are sure to start the debates flying when you share it with your friends.
To win a copy of this prize, follow these instructions
Contest is now closed Winner is joey dee
Winners are notified by E-mail. If you did not get a confirmation E-mail from us, check your Spam filter and contact us. Any prize not claimed in 2 weeks will be forfeit and be placed in the end of year contests next Holiday Season.
The Last King (Blu-ray)
Posted in Disc Reviews by J C on October 14th, 2016
Imagine if Three Men and a Baby was remade with just two guys, a baby, a battle axe, and a bunch of arrows. Despite its exceedingly generic Americanized title, The Last King has a little something different to offer action-weary movie watchers. The story is set in a time and place — 13th century Norway during the country’s civil war — that is probably unfamiliar to U.S. audiences. And while much of the hand-to-hand combat and royal treachery will prove cliched to some, they are presented with some fun tweaks and an occasionally sentimental tone that doesn’t always mesh with the hard-hitting action.
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X-men: Apocalypse (UHD Blu-ray) (4K)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 13th, 2016
“Everything they’ve built will fall! And from the ashes of their world, we’ll build a better one!”
Since Disney has taken over The Bullpen at Marvel, they have had an unprecedented run of successful comic book superhero films. During that same time DC/Warner has had trouble finding a direction for their cinematic universe. But the Marvel titles still in the hands of other studios haven’t shared in that run of good fortune. Sony finally had to relinquish control of Spider-Man, and Fox has followed disaster with disaster with The Fantastic Four. The single exception to that rule has been the Fox handling of The X-Men universe.
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