“Enough of this Michael Myers bullshit.” was a line spoken by character John Strode (portrayed to brilliance by actor Bradford English) in Halloween 6: The Curse of Michael Myers.

Turns out in 1995 when the movie was released theatrically, many of the Halloween fans and genre fans alike said the same thing. One of the most renowned cases of poor test audience and studio interference, Halloween 6 has become one of the most talked about entries in the franchise. Many feel that it was a hack-and-slash mess that left fans more sour than satisfied. It was not until after the release when the world of horror learned of the original edit – a concept and piece that much more related to Screenwriter Daniel Farrands’ vision and brought the series full circle.

On September 23^rd, Anchor Bay Entertainment and Scream Factory (two distributors who have become Gods to the many VHS/DVD/Blu-Ray collectors out there) have combined their strengths to produce the ultimate combination of the Halloween Franchise into one large box set. Although countless versions have been released over the years, this box set not only has new material but the long awaited and too-often-bootlegged version of Halloween 6 known as “The Producer’s Cut.”

Thanks to Rue-Morgue magazine out of Toronto, Halloween fans got treated to the first ever theatrical release of The Producer’s Cut on Thursday night. The magazine routinely hosts movies in what they have called their ‘Cinemacabre’ movie nights. Rue-Morgue Editor-in-Chief Dave Alexander took a few minutes to discuss how it came about.

“Well, with Cinemacabre, I’m always trying to do things that are a unique experience,” said Alexander, “or a little bit outside of the box. There is a lot more competition for genre screenings especially in Toronto, a lot more than when we started Cinemacabre years ago. We showed the Director’s Cut of Mimic when it came out and Guillermo Del Toro came out to the screening and did a Q&A with us so I kind of had that stuff on my mind.”

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With many cases in filmmaking, often what is seen on screen was not the original concept and Alexander continues that “the idea [is] that we have these interesting filmmakers [that] have their version or what’s close to their version shown on the big screen. The fans love it and often the companies like it too because it’s good promotion for them coming out so it’s just kind of one of those things that work well for everybody.”

On the Producer’s Cut showing specifically, Alexander says it is for “the horror fans and for the Halloween fans that drove in from out of town that want to get a chance to see a totally unique screening.”

The film begins on October 30, 1995 and picks up six years after the events of Halloween 5

The now 16-year-old Jamie Lloyd (sadly not portrayed by original actress Danielle Harris due to the studio unwilling to negotiate a fair salary) is being treated inside Smith’s Grove Warren County Sanitarium. Through a flashback, the audience gets to see how Jamie ended up in the clutches of the mysterious Man-In-Black and still threatened by her Uncle, Michael Myers. From there, we are introduced to the Strode family – relatives of Jamie Lee Curtis’s Laurie character – who are now living in the old Myers house. Besides Michael and Jamie, the main character we are pleasantly re-introduced to is Dr. Loomis portrayed by the legendary Donald Pleasance. Sadly this was Pleasance’s final appearance in the franchise and the swan song for Dr. Loomis. Pleasance’s untimely death was not foreseen and unfortunately, caused the iconic character minimalized screen-time in the theatrical release because no new footage could be shot. With over 40+ minutes of scenes cut or altered, it is no wonder fans were left with a product that bordered on dismal. If The Producer’s Cut had of been released in its original form, it very well could be the best of the sequels in the series. With the emphasis on the origins of Michael’s evil that included the ancient rituals of Sam Hain and Celtic Legend (all primary factors into the essence of the Halloween lore), the film fleshes out and brings to a close certain elements established through the previous three Myers entries. Eliminating spoilers as much as possible, it is safe to say though that by the end of this cut, Loomis has now discovered why he was destined to battle Myers for all these years but no matter what curse was imposed on Myers as a child, he is what original creator John Carpenter always envisioned, his own, independent agent of evil. If this were to be the last entry in the franchise (which was not the intention but could have been following Pleasances death and prior to Jamie Lee Curtis willing to return), The Producer’s Cut brings closure to the entire series while leaving just enough for the fans and the story to retain its longevity.

Lively helping-hand and current Rue-Morgue Intern, Brett McNeill, had not seen the theatrical cut so watching the series up to that point; it was a first time experience which left him very pleased. After the credits rolled, McNeill was happy to share why he found it to be “the best Halloween sequel.” Many fans that have seen the movie will probably agree with him that “the fact that it all happened in the Myers house” brought relativity back to the original and because of it, brought the audience “more suspense.”

Alexander elaborated on the film’s significance to the franchise, “For the people who know The Producer’s Cut, it gets a lot more into the whole curse of Thorn subplot which was subsequently abandoned after they re-cut it, which, was one of the most interesting things to happen to the Halloween series when they introduced occult nature to the evil of Michael Myers. You get to sort of go back into that world and there is a real interest in it. There are people that have done fan films based around the whole curse of Thorn cult stuff that we’ve done articles on. It’s sort of like a ‘What If?’ kind of scenario. What if the Halloween franchise went in that direction and embraced this whole other path.”

Both the theatrical and the Producer’s Cut plot-points were abandoned for the next installment, Halloween: H20 – a decision that was made during the course of production by Jamie Lee Curtis. H20 was not without its share of script revisions but in relation to Halloween 6, could not compare. Alexander mentioned that he “talked to a fellow tonight that has read several different versions of the script that were posted online and this is still far from what Screenwriter Daniel Farrands had in mind, but at least it puts a whole different coat of paint on the series.”

The landscape of Film and Television in 2014 has certainly changed and that is where the importance of The Producer’s Cut cannot be overlooked. For almost 20 years, petitions surfaced online pleading for the movie’s release onto DVD. It is fitting then that this pinnacle version of Halloween 6 is now getting the treatment it deserves and speaks volumes for the power of the fans and followers of these films.

In a last note, Alexander brought up a very valid take on the subject: “I think that’s what is significant [about the film]. We sort of live in an age now where everything comes out, people’s scripts get posted online [and] stuff gets leaked. People talk about what could have been, you know they make trailers for movies that don’t exist and posters for things that don’t exist so it’s kind of come into the control of fans. They let their imaginations kinda run wild on it and I think this [film] fits firmly into that mindset.”

It is a blessing that events such as Cinemacabre and the people responsible exist. Through the support of the distributor, Anchor Bay Entertainment (who now own the rights to this version), the Rue-Morgue crew was able to bring life back to the Halloween series one last time. Maybe by coming out to The Royal Theatre, and buying the upcoming Box Set, the admiration of The Producer’s Cut release allowed fans victory and closure; allowing them to properly say with pride:

“Trick or Treat, Mother-Fucker!”

For more information on Cinemacabre and Rue-Morgue, visit www.rue-morgue.com
For more information on the Halloween franchise, visit www.halloweenmovies.com

Special Thanks to Dave Alexander, Brett McNeill, Rue-Morgue Magazine and Anchor Bay Entertainment

Editor’s note: Dean is a fan of the 40oz. Of Horror Podcast and submitted this review. If you would like to do the same, just email contact@40ozofhorror.com.

I have a friend that suggested checking out this flick called The Den.

The story follows Elizabeth (Melanie Papalia) who gets a grant to interview individuals on the internet to create a thesis paper documenting how people interact on the internet — which goes to show the government will fund all types of pointless projects in the name of education. Through her “studies” she comes across a bunch of fucked up people with too much time on their hands.

The internet is full of videos and people that are just plain weird and prove you can find ANYTHING to help you get your rocks off. The movie uses some of these as comic relief to lessen the tension and to show the freaks are out there. One particular use of a giant dick dancing around the screen made me laugh out loud (think Dick-Head from Jay and Silent Bob’s Super Groovy Cartoon Movie). The first time writer/director, Zachary Donahue, uses video chat similar to Chatroulette to create a found footage movie that is pretty effective.

I usually don’t like the Found Footage slant on movies because the camera angles don’t always make sense. The director actually used this style effectively including one view where the camera is being used in first person due to it being super glued to someone’s head making me say a resounding…yes. The fact that a movie/director can get into my desensitized head and make me think that was good is impressive.

The Den has a lot of effective jump scares, kills, masked shadow characters, and unknown motives that don’t become clear until the end of the movie.

This is Zach Donahue’s first full feature and is an independent film. I could not find how much it cost to make but they clearly put the money in the kills and not in the video which makes sense since it is supposed to be filmed using a computer camera so it works.

This is definitely one I would check out and I look forward to watching what Zach comes up with next though nothing has been announced yet.

When you Google the name Stitch, you get the children’s cartoon Lilo and Stitch, so it’s strange to find out that there are other things that are also named Stitch, like an evil force who instead of killing you will literally stitch you up, for example.

I saw this movie [Stitch] with my friends on one of our horror night marathons. We were hoping to see the movie Stitches (which I haven’t seen, but I’m sure can’t be worse than this awful film), but I mixed up and play this instead. We started to watch, you know — giving it a fair chance — and we were really impressed… by how terribly horrible this movie was.

Editor’s note: We call this the 40oz. Of Horror 20 Minute Rule

Stitch is the story of two parents who lose their child in a car accident, and the dad, played by Edward Furlong (come to think of it, when you see a formerly successful actor that doesn’t have the best career now, you know the movie is going to suck), feels bad about it because he was the one who was driving.

Together with their friends (a guy who seems to be into spiritual stuff and a blonde girl that doesn’t say much) they travel to a remote location in the desert for a healing ritual. The ritual is supposed to make them feel better, but when you are doing a “healing ritual” you maybe should take with you a guy that is not full of shit.

This movie, which by the way the creators think is a horror film, is more like a day time soap opera, because (SPOILER ALERT) the blonde dull girl is pregnant with the main characters baby and because one night when the guy as feeling bad about her daughter’s death he decided to fuck his best friend’s wife… as if that was going to help his remorse.

Check out guest blogger Sofi’s website here!

Also the special effects are so useless. In one of the scenes the dumb blonde (possessed by evil forces) cuts the dad’s hand. After that, they apply a piece of cloth to make the bleeding stop, and it magically stays perfectly still without ever falling off.

I don’t know where writer/director Ajai was trying to go with the whole “evil force that stitches you,” but it’s not good. It’s just plain stupid. Stitches are not something that will ruin your life, that’s not what the typical bad guy does. I can’t believe that such a thing exists: a bad guy, that instead of killing you, only gives you stitches. It’s ridiculous.

In the movie’s defense I should say that it had some scary parts, but not enough to save the whole film.

Check out the trailer for Stitch.

Did you see Stitch? Tell us what you think in the comments below.

Metallica Through the Never is one of the greatest, most original movies I have seen in my lifetime. There, I said it.

Starring James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, Kirk Hammett, and Robert Trujillo and emerging actor Dane DeHaan (A Place Beyond the Pines, Kill Your Darlings, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 & 3) as Trip, this intense IMAX 3D journey weaves a cryptic narrative through a live Metallica concert.

We’re talking Me-fuckin-tallica here. One of the most influential rock bands in the history of the universe shot with 24 cameras simultaneously and edited masterfully in IMAX 3D. At some points during the film you realize what it would feel like to be on stage playing alongside James and the boys. There are no cheesy 3D gags — just live heavy metal with great action running in parallel.

On to the action.

DeHaan’s character Trip works for the band. It’s clear that Trip can’t believe he is living this dream — even if he’s just a heavy metal gofer. Early in the concert, Trip is ordered to leave and go take gas to a stranded production truck. Inside the truck is something that “the band really needs.” On his way, Trip runs into some trouble — it’s apocalyptic trouble to say the least. Trip’s action sequences never seem to take you away from the concert and the concert never takes you far from the action. This was brilliant. The ‘tallica tunes, at times, narrate the story and the imagery takes unexpected surrealist turns.

“You need to go see this mother-fucking movie like you need oxygen”

And speaking of music, this is by far the best sounding live Metallica concert ever released. The music is actually live too. This isn’t some terrible pantomime of a studio recording; it is an artfully mixed, surround-sound live experience. What you see is what you get. The live concert doesn’t show Metallica doing anything live that they don’t normally do. The band isn’t wearing stage clothes picked out for the big screen, and they aren’t playing different instruments, but there are a few fanboy nods to stage props that have been used throughout Metallica’s history.

I highly recommend this movie. If you are a Metallica fan, “highly recommend” is a gross understatement. You need to go see this mother-fucking movie like you need oxygen and beer… err water.

Have you seen Metallica Through the Never, or do you plan to see it?

Tell me what you think below the trailer.

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James Wan first hit the mainstream in 2004 with the groundbreaking hit SAW. (Regardless of what you think of the sequels, there’s no denying that the first film of the franchise was a game changer.) He then went on to direct the delightfully underrated Dead Silence, the fantastically brutal Death Sentence, and one of the best horror films in years, Insidious. So between Wan’s history and the buzz created from the test screenings, I was pretty excited for the release of The Conjuring. Admittedly, as with most genre films, I still had a bit of trepidation. We’ve all been burnt too many times by the next big horror movie that ends up letting us down. But we can’t let that stop us from enjoying our favorite genre and, hey, James Wan hasn’t let us down yet…

The streak continues!

The Conjuring is a creepy throwback to the classic haunted house films of yesteryear. With elements from all decades of horror, it’s like The Changeling had a gang-bang with Poltergeist and Insidious. Even The Exorcist was in the corner touching itself while watching the other three having all the fun and waiting for the right time to jump in on the action. Then there’s The Amityville Horror watching the show from a tree branch outside the window. And there are plenty of homages to all of those films.

The Conjuring is based on real-life paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren and one of their actual cases from 1973, when a family moved into a new house and quickly became victims of a demonic entity. Sound familiar? It should. There’s nothing new here, but it’s executed as well as it ever has been. The film is paced very well with brilliant acting. The first two acts have that old-school slow-burn kind of feel, but you can tell it’s ramping up for the third and final act. Just like in his other movies — especially Insidious — Wan uses excellent audio and foley work to control the mood and tension. And he has mastered the “jump scare,” taking the often-predictable “fake scare” and turning it against you, which is very refreshing.

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Now, I know that we all love our “scary” movies. (Why else would you be reading this?) But the word “scary” is thrown around carelessly. If you ask me, The Conjuring is the first legitimate SCARY movie in years. Even though it takes a lot to make me jump during a movie, I’ll admit I did it a few times, and I could tell everyone in the theater was having a lot of fun jumping, hiding their eyes, and watching with nervous laughter. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen a crowd leave a movie a little freaked out, with rattled nerves, maybe afraid to go to sleep that night.

As horror fans, there are so many movies that we let ourselves get excited for. Then we see the movie… And maybe it was decent or maybe it was a bit over-hyped. But we move on and forget about it, because it just wasn’t that memorable. (Remember the Evil Dead remake? Yeah, me neither.)

The Conjuring is one we’ll remember.

Will you be going to see The Conjuring?

Evil Dead, Evil Dead, Evil Dead…

Just saying the title evokes passions from horror fans — the casual and diehard alike. So to announce they were going to “remake” this classic really put a burr in some people’s saddles.

Then we saw the trailer.

It had all the elements: the quick shots through the woods, the blood, Sam Raimiʼs ’73 Olds Delta 88, the blood, the Necronomicon, the blood, tree rape, more blood — did I mention the blood yet? Holy crap, that was a lot of damn blood. Some reports say it was 10,000 gallons of it. Pretty sure I saw 10,001. Oh, and also Sam Raimi and Bruce damn Campbell are producers!? How can we not love this!?

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And donʼt worry if you havenʼt seen it — Iʼm not going to ruin anything for you. This is a review, not a spoiler.

Now, there a certain things that will take me out of a movie — poor visual effects being the most common, just in front of people using “555” in their phone numbers. Evil Dead pulled me in and never let me go. If youʼre a fan of great effects and gore, you will love this. No bad CGI, 100 percent practical effects all the way. And it shows. It’s done so well, the makeup and effects department SHOULD be nominated for — and win — the Academy Award. But we all know how those Hollywood types respond to horror movies.

We discuss the Evil Dead remake in Episode 41 of the 40oz. Of Horror Podcast

Another thing that will remove me from a movie? Acting — or, I should say, the lack thereof. Again, Evil Dead comes through. Jane Levy is (to steal a Chad Butrum buzzword) phenomenal. The entire cast, for that matter, is excellent. And I think it helps having fairly new actors. Well, maybe new to me. I only knew one chick from Cloverfield, but even that didnʼt ruin anything for me. I felt the characters, and nothing was forced. They had very believable deliveries in the midst of, you know… the blood. Have I said that yet? Blood?

The dialogue was spot on as well. And I know that might sound weird, but think about it: How many times in a movie do you get annoyed when they bring up things that date it? Nobody mentioned Facebook or Twitter, no one was using an iPhone or iPad. Nothing to make you think, “Oh yeah, remember when?” Evil Dead has really made an effort to become another timeless classic. And in my opinion, it wins.

So, for whatever it counts — my rambling, that is — Iʼm gonna go ahead and give this a 10 out of 10. Perfection. Some may disagree. But, hey, that’s why the Internet exists.

Evil Dead: Stop what youʼre doing and go see it.

And the blood.

Evil Dead, in theaters April 5, 2013.

Are you going to see Evil Dead?

When it comes to remakes, the good ones are VERY few and far between. The Thing (1982), The Blob (1988), Dawn of the Dead (2004) are just a few of the 40oz. crew’s personal favs — ‘Dawn’  being one of the best, if not the best of all time. We’re all looking forward to Fede Alvarez’s remake of Evil Dead, but any true horror fan still has that sense of hesitation buried in the back of their mind.

Surely you can understand my pessimism as James and I sat down for a screening of the remake of William Lustig’s 1980 cult masterpiece Maniac.  My pessimism quickly turned to excitement almost immediately. The opening scene, which would make Dario Argento proud, set the tone right away and settled any hesitation I had.

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The first thing I noticed was the Score. A lot of people may not put a lot of stock in movie scores, but often it can make or break a movie. It was contemporary, yet had that nostalgic, 80’s electronic feel that will give classic slasher fans the warm & fuzzies.  Not just the score, but everything about this movie just felt right. Even the small things such as the graphics of the opening title sequence and the atmosphere had that dirty New York City feel, ala the original Maniac or Basketcase.

And the acting was spot on.

I was one of the many who questioned the casting of Elijah Wood in the lead role of Frank.  I mean, could Frodo be taken seriously as a sociopathic serial killer?  The answer is an astounding YES.

Wood virtually carried the entire film on his back, while the whole time you’re seeing things from his point of view. When first hearing about the first person perspective aspect of the movie, I was a little nervous. However, I now feel that it made the movie that much better. You see everything how Frank sees it — which really pulls you into the story.  Even when he is having his anxiety attacks, as a viewer, you begin to feel a bit anxious yourself. And I’d like to think it’s a wink at Argento films where you just see the killer’s hands —  just one example of the many homages to old school horror, even a few to the original film.

Maniac was more of an update than a remake and it was done right. It wasn’t so much of a remake that it didn’t relate to the original story, but it wasn’t so little of a remake that it didn’t update the story at all. It was the perfect mix, which is how a remake should be.

Maniac is one of the good ones folks…. Dare I say the best remake since 2004’s Dawn of the Dead?  Or even better?  That’s for you to decide, but don’t miss out on this flick.  It’s one of the few that keeps the hopes for the future of horror alive.

What did you think of Maniac?