Cool news out of author Brian Keene’s camp. A movie adaptation of Keene’s dark and hyper-violent book The Cage,  finds director, cast, and F/X squad. Now they’re looking for the money necessary to bring the story of THE CAGE to fruition.

To be directed by Jon D. Wagner (D: Anniversary At Shallow Creek, P: All Cheerleader’s Die, Cheap Thrills), and produced by Brian James Fitzpatrick (Spring Breakers, London Fields), from a script written by Ted Rypel, and based on a story of the same name written by Bram Stoker Award-winning author, Brian Keene, The Cage has begun to assemble it’s cast:  Zach Galligan, (Gremlins, Hatchet 3); Damian Maffei, (Joe R. Lansdale’s Christmas With The Dead);  Hannah Fierman, (V/H/S);  Megan Duffy, (Maniac);  Samantha Hahn, (Blood Night: The Legend Of Mary Hatchet); and Sam Ingraffia, (The Falcon And The Snowman).  Adding their talents to The Cage with imaginative special F/X are Emmy nominated (Boardwalk Empire) Jeremy Selenfriend, and Monster in My Closet F/X (The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Chernobyl Diaries, NBC’s The Blacklist).

Zach Galligan? From Gremlins? I’m definitely on board. This sounds awesome!

The Cage team has opened a Kickstarter page to raise the $85,000 they need to mount the production. Contributions to the project will be rewarded with various perks ranging from an adorable $1 package, to posters, t-shirts, DVDs, Blu-rays, autographed Keene books, featured parts (victim and non-victims!) and some other very, very fun stuff.

Anyone familiar with Keene’s work is no doubt excited about this news, and so is the author himself. “I’m thrilled with the screenplay and excited by the team that’s been assembled.” says Keene, “It’s always a daunting prospect when your work is adapted by others for another medium, but I have absolute confidence and belief in this project and the people involved. I can’t wait to see it!”

And director Jon D. Wagner is definitely speaking the horror movie community’s language. “Myself and everyone involved feel a great responsibility to do this intense, mind bender of a film “right”, adds Wagner.  “Not just for ourselves, but for all the different groups of fans out there who expect us to do good by them. There’s no stunt casting, no gimmicks.  Just good, talented folks who are thrilled to be doing this movie.”

Check out The Cage’s official website (www.survivethecage.com).

What do you think about seeing a movie adaptation of The Cage?

Buy Urban Gothic by Brian Keene at Amazon.

Another book by Brian Keene, this “monster” story takes place in the ghettos of Philadelphia.  The plot is reminiscent of a slasher film where it begins with a group of kids who’s car breaks down in a questionable neighborhood and they take refuge in an abandoned house where they are hunted one by one by inbred, cannibalistic, mutants.  It’s violent, disturbing, and gory… everything we love about the genre.

Buy the strain on Amazon

I never really get into vampire stories.  The whole genre is beginning to get overplayed.  (I suppose you could say the same about zombies, but personally I can never get enough.)  But The Strain intrigued me.  It starts off somewhat slow, but becomes kind of a mystery.  By the time it becomes a full blown vampire thriller, you’re sucked in.  The Strain is the first book in a trilogy and I have yet to read the third book.  So far this one is my personal fav.  ‘The Fall’ is the second book and is good, but it’s pretty long and has some slow parts.  The aforementioned third book is titled “The Night Eternal.”

Buy The Gathering Dead from Amazon

This is a book I just stumbled upon on Amazon and decided to check it out.  It’s another zombie book that is more from a military point of view.  The action starts immediately and doesn’t stop until the very last page.  Actually it doesn’t even stop there.  It was a bit tough to get past all the military speak and acronyms since I’m not a military man myself, but it’s not a big deal.  It didn’t slow me down at all.  It does leave you hanging, so I’d also recommend reading the rest of the series:  ‘Left with the Dead (Novella,) The Rising Horde Volume 1, and The Rising Horde Volume 2.

As an adult, reading is something that I never really got into. My wife says I lack imagination, because I could never understand how she could read the same books over and over — or how she could laugh or cry over words written on a page. But I actually read a lot as a child. I started reading early and found a place in the advanced reading groups at school. I remember loving Dr. Seuss’ Green Eggs & Ham. But once I got into middle school and high school, I always failed book reports and reading tests because I absolutely refused to read — although that might have had to do with being told what to read rather than an actual aversion to the activity (which is a statement on our ridiculous educational system in America, but that’s another argument for another time and another place). If I was able to, I always picked a book with big words and short chapters or something that was a movie novelization. (I once did a book report on Rocky.) The one time I was enthusiastic about a reading assignment was in 11th grade, when we could choose to read The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury. When I passed the test with flying colors, the teacher was convinced I had cheated and actually quizzed me orally in front of the entire class. I still passed.

Now I can say that I’ve read close to 100 books in the last year, and that can be contributed to two things: 1. The Walking Dead. Now, you may say, “That doesn’t count — it’s a comic.” Fair enough. But to me, that was about as close to reading as I got. I borrowed the first hardcover from James, and I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough. I was enthralled, and I thought I’d give further reading a try. 2. The Kindle. I requested a Kindle Fire for Christmas last year mainly because it was a cheap tablet, but once I realized the availability of eBooks and the ease of which you could access them, I became one reading son of a bitch. It was so easy to download a book. With an Amazon Prime account, I could pick from a selection of books to “borrow” for free, and there’s actually a collection of pretty decent books on the cheap.

So with all that being said, I wanted to go over some of the books that I’ve read that I HIGHLY recommend… if you’re into that whole “reading” thing. We’ll post one every few days.

Buy The Rising from Amazon!

1. The Rising  by Brian Keene:

Brian Keene is an author James and I have talked about frequently on the podcast, and he has quickly become my favorite author. The Rising is a bit of a different take on the zombie genre. They are intelligent and able to strategize, which any zombie fan knows is bad news. Not only does the plague infect humans, it also affects animals and birds, which is just horrifying in itself. I really enjoyed the way Keene developed the characters. Right off the bat, you feel for them, which is what makes you invest yourself in a story regardless of the medium — books, movies, TV, etc. The Rising leaves you with a fantastic cliffhanger that made me angry that I had to stop there and hunt down the second book, City of the Dead. Both books are excellent.

James: “Anyone can die at anytime.”

It’s common knowledge in the 40 Oz. of Horror world that Chad and James approach, consume and review their horror in wildly different manners. Whereas James was poised and ready to devour the new and highly anticipated issue of The Walking Dead, Chad took his time, anxious about what the pages might reveal about the beloved (and be-feared?) characters.

They both marveled at the downright badness of a new villain, whose behavior, they believe, at least rivals that of the Governor.

“The Governor’s whole arc was just so vile,” Chad said, but this new guy quickly reaches untouched territory, including – spoiler – threatening to sodomize Carl in front of a beardy Rick.

“I threw the comic when I was done with it,” James said.

Issue 100 is certainly an important milestone for the series, and while the TV show has plenty of catching up to do, readers of the comic are no doubt wondering how long the storyline can last.

“He knows where he wants to end,” said Chad of author Robert Kirkman. The creator, he said, knows certain plot points he wants to hit on the way to his conclusion and fills in the gaps.

What are your thoughts on Issue 100? Did it shock you? What are your predictions for the future of the plot?

Check out Episode #23 for more information.

Thanks to The Walking Dead Podcast for the following:

The cover art for The Walking Dead Novel “Rise Of The Governor” has been released. The book will be the first of three books and will detail the back story of The Governor. The novel will be written by Robert Kirkman along with horror vet Jay Bonansinga. The novel is set to be released on September 27th 2011.