British independent film company Ghost Dog Films, who have already branched into graphic novels and video games, have now produced a first ebook and audiobook. It’s based on Ghost Dog’s 2019 film Crucible of the Vampire, which also spawned the excellent graphic novel, which I featured previously. The story – set in a spooky old … Continue reading
Category Archives: Horror
A century of horror films – 12 of the best
Wondering which horror films to feast on this Halloween (or any other time)? Pete Appleyard, a film editor, horror enthusiast, and lecturer at London’s MetFilm School, has put together his recommendations spanning the last 100 years. See if you agree. Nosferatu – 1922This early, unofficial adaptation of Dracula by F.W Murnau still holds every bit … Continue reading
Short films project finds success in competitions
A series of short screenplays, known as The Annalium Project (featured in this blog earlier this year), has been finding success in international competitions. The project’s creator (my pal) Robert Lancey had been hoping to have started filming the first film ‘Sssss’ by now, but the continuing COVID-19 pandemic has kept that on hold until … Continue reading
Dragon Knight – ‘gritty fantasy epic’ from a house of horror
A new film about medieval knights, the supernatural, and a dragon was always going to interest me. When it comes from a studio specialising in horror, then it interests me even more. And this is the case with Dragon Knight. Scottish genre house Hex Studios are the people behind the project, having previously given us … Continue reading
Interacting with horror: ‘I Saw Black Clouds’
The idea of ‘interacting’ with a horror film isn’t new – famous examples include the ‘punishment poll’ in William Castle’s Mr Sardonicus (1961) and the ‘werewolf break’ in The Beast Must Die (1974). But these days, things are much, much more sophisticated, as the forthcoming British horror I Saw Black Clouds shows. This latest offering … Continue reading
Over the forest and into adventure – Annalium goes online
An intriguing series of short, dialogue-free screenplays, has now gone online. Annalium is the work of Cardiff-based writer (and my pal) Robert Lancey, who has created a website to showcase the screenplays and their potential to be realised on screen. Each opens with a flight over a forest, and then a descent through the treetops … Continue reading
Arrr! Long John Silver and Dracula’s innkeeper went to my old school
I was delighted to discover recently that two great West Country actors went to my old school. Robert Newton, who played the archetypal Long John Silver (and arguably originated the ‘pirate accent’) and George Woodbridge, the classic Hammer horror innkeeper and comedy policeman, were both students of Exeter School in Devon. Newton, born in Dorset … Continue reading
Under fire – three dragon films you may have missed
Dragons are perhaps the most feared, and almost certainly the most spectacular, of mythical creatures. So it’s no surprise they’ve often featured in movies. Recent incarnations include the awe-inspiring dragons in TV’s Game of Thrones and cinema’s Hobbit films, and Starburst listed 10 of the best in this 2019 feature. Impressive as those blockbusters are, … Continue reading
How Talking Pictures found the perfect nostalgic formula
The idea of a channel devoted to classic films isn’t new, but in the UK Talking Pictures TV has found what seems to be the perfect nostalgic formula. While TCM (Turner Classic Movies) has been around since the 1990s and more recently Sony Movies has launched a dedicated ‘Classic’ channel, these and others tend to … Continue reading
The Flock: award-winning horror is also a Midlands ‘Western’
A new British horror movie, which has already scooped a string of awards for its script, has now launched a crowdfunding campaign to raise the production budget. The Flock has won four awards for its script, most recently the 2019 Special Jury Prize at the Barcelona International Film Festival. Continue reading