Being a fan of Sam Raimi from the first time I watched Evil Dead I was very excited to find out that he was finally making another horror film. I imagine most of today’s generation know Raimi for his Spiderman films and little else. Of course he started in horror and became a very well known director for his wicked sense of humor and visual style. When Drag Me to Hell hit theatres I quickly started hearing good things from horror fans and confused and negative comments from Spider Man fans. After finally getting the chance to watch the film I’ve found they’re both right.

Drag Me to Hell is about a young woman named Christine who works as a loan officer, has a great boyfriend and she’s holding out hope for a job promotion. However her boss, Played by the great David Paymer, informs her that the assistant managers position is between her and her back stabbing co-worker Stu. In order to show her boss she can make hard choices, Christine denies an extension on the mortgage of an old gypsy lady who in turn puts a curse on Christine. From this point on the film follows Christine as she tries to rid herself of the curse while fighting off evil demons while trying to make a good impression at work and with her boyfriend’s parents.

Drag me to Hell has moments of wicked splatter-stick comedy I expect from a Raimi horror film and moments of outright terror. However the comedy bits often don’t go far enough and feel like Raimi was trying to restrain himself some. For someone who has never seen the Evil Dead series I can see how they would think Drag me to Hell is stupid or silly. The film sometimes feels like it can’t decide whether it should be funny or scary. The attack by the old gypsy goes from being laugh out loud funny to serious in the blink of an eye and this is a common theme throughout.
This is a PG-13 movie and it is pretty light on the gore we’ve come to expect from a Raimi horror film. However he still manages to put his star Alison Lohman through a lot of abuse using, body fluids, mud, and water.

However, even with its sometimes unevenness Drag me to Hell is still a lot of fun which is a lot more than I can say for most horror films this year.

Everything you've heard is true! Michael Dougherty's long awaited, studio mishandled Trick R' Treat is the best Halloween Movie to come out in 30 years! How this movie went direct to DVD and is not in theatres right now scaring the crap out of huge audiences is still a mystery. Did the studio really not no how to market this Halloween gem or was there another reason? I doubt we'll find out anytime soon. But what is clear is that they mishandled one of the most original horror films I've seen in years.

By now you probably know that Trick R' Treat is a horror anthology like Creepshow or Tales from the Crypt by way of Pulp Fiction. Its a simplistic way of describing it but is somewhat accurate. There are 4 intertwining stories here featuring serial killers, monsters, urban legends, and even people with no Halloween spirit who get their comeuppance. All the stories have the common thread of being in the same small Ohio town on Halloween night with each story affecting the other in some way. Then of course there's the child like character of "Sam" that makes its appearance in each story as if directing the action.

A lot has already been written about the stories of Trick R' Treat so I won't go too far into talking about them other than to say that they all work and work well. Dougherty has crafted a very polished story that gives a fresh take on a horror anthology. The character of Sam that makes an appearance in all the stories is the closest thing the film has to a host but he has his own story where he is the main character as well. The stories themselves look at Halloween from several different age perspectives. There's the spooky Halloween legend that brings together 5 young trick or treaters, the sexually charged Halloween tale of 4 college girls looking for dates, the middle aged man passing the traditions onto his son and finally the old man who hates Halloween and the demon that comes to torment him.

Trick R' Treat is a Halloween movie where Halloween is the focus, not something happening in the background while a slasher kills teenagers. The stories all involve the rules of Halloween or the legends surrounding the holiday. I was reminded of being a kid at Halloween and tramping through darkened streets begging for candy dressed as a zombie or ghoul of some kind. There's something that's almost magical about Halloween when your a kid and Trick R' Treat captures it better than any film I've ever seen. However don't be fooled into thinking this is a kids movie because its not! It has violence, buckets of blood, dead kids, and even nudity.

Michael Dougherty, a fellow Ohio native, has created what will become, a Halloween masterpiece! Beautifully shot and directed by someone who truly loves the holiday, Trick r' Treat is a Halloween fans wet dream! I suggest instead of going out and seeing another horrible installment of the Saw series this Halloween you stay home and watch a true holiday horror film that will live on long after people have forgotten the saw movies.

Alice Cooper wants to keep Halloween Alive! Find out how you can help by watching the following video:

If you were on the fence about them rebooting Freddy like they did with Jason then this should force you to pick a side. The trailer for the Nightmare on Elm Street Remake has been released online! Check it out below:




After watching it a couple times I must say this film looks slick, atmospheric and does a pretty good job of making Freddy Scary again. I had my doubts but this looks to be at least visually entertaining if nothing else. Nightmare is being directed by Samuel Bayer and will be release in April 2010.

Back in 1996 a TV show called Millennium shocked American Audiences with its dark take on crime in our society and where it might be leading us as we neared the Year 2000. Retired FBI profiler, Frank Black, tracked down the darkest and most terrifying killers each and every week. He worked with a mysterious consulting firm call The Millennium Group who weren't content to "Sit back and hope for a happy ending."

The show was created by Chris Carter (The X-Files) and it ran for just 3 seasons on Fox. The show still has quite the following, due in no small part to the fact that it really was ahead of its time. There have been many TV shows since that owe a lot to Millennium, not just for their content but for their look and direction. The show was dark, rainy, and almost devoid of color at times. It explored some of the darkest areas of the human psyche and even thrilled us with the occasional supernatural twist.

Now a small grass roots campaign has been started to bring back Frank Black in some capacity, whether its a new Millennium Movie or TV series, or a new take on the Frank Black character and the themes the show explored. Being a fan of the show from when it first premiered I was excited to learn more. I recently had the chance to speak to Mark Hayden who along with several others is working to get the word out that it’s time to bring the character of Frank Black Back.

HauntedHouse.com: Millennium has been off the air now for 10 years. Why do you want to bring Frank Black and Millennium Back?

Mark Hayden: To be honest with you the campaign has focused its efforts in a return for Frank Black, hence our name. We are not looking for the show's resurrection, but a continuation of its characters in a new form. We don't believe the show Millennium, as it was, necessarily has a place in today's television, but Frank Black and his supporting characters are strong enough to step beyond the confines of the old show and into a new one. Millennium was largely about the fears of the upcoming millennium - and one could argue that a new show set in the turmoil of the 21st Century would be an appropriate thematic evolution. In essence, we believe Frank Black was a unique character that is due a return in some form - as do his creators. BacktoFrankBlack is about giving the fans a voice.


That said, I don't want to do disservice to any facet of the body of work that is "Millennium", its unrivalled cinematography, the richness of the writing and the many stellar performances from a gifted cast, it's truly difficult to single out a particular highlight.

HauntedHouse.com: How much contact, if any, have you had with show creators, cast, staff etc? Mark Hayden: I have to say this has been a most rewarding and unexpected pleasure with regards to the campaign. When we began we were merely a bunch of hardcore devotees, a collection of fans who contributed to the Millennium fan community who responded with gusto to Frank Spotnitz's unintentional call to arms. As we approach our first anniversary we are in the privileged position to be supported by Lance who is actively involved in the campaign and has been since very early on. We have spoken to so many of the cast crew, interviewed them, corresponded with them, invited them on to our podcast and so on that it would be a fairly substantial list to write here save to say Lance, Frank Spotnitz, Klea Scott, Peter Outerbridge, Kristen Cloke, Mark Snow and many other fine souls have supported and contributed to our cause and we are indebted to them for their time and generosity.

We have also been successful in gaining the support of others in the wider industry including movie directors, Brett Hart and Dietrich Johnson and authors such as John Kenneth Muir and M. R. Sellars. I'm slightly worried now that I am missing so many people from the list but each and every one has provided beyond the call of duty and helped us achieve prominent coverage from Fangoria radio, in the pages of Rue Morgue, Black Magazine, SciFi Now and so many other notable media outlets and we couldn't have done it without them.

HauntedHouse.com: I know I’ve heard Chris Carter speak about bringing the show or character back over the years. Has there been any word From Carter whether or not he supports the campaign it and if he’s interested in still bringing the character back?

Mark Hayden: Chris Carter has continually signaled his desire to see Frank Black return and his interest in this shows no signs of diminishing. We know he is aware of us, his personal assistant Gabe Rotter passed information to him on our behalf and Frank Spotnitz also spoke of talking to Chris about the campaign and we remain hopeful we will be able to bring word from him in the near future but we are also respectful of how busy a man he is. As he recently commented, no matter where he goes or what he does a Millennium movie is always mentioned by his fans and followers, Lance echoed a similar sentiment, so we know he is aware of the pervading and growing passion that exists for such a project. As Frank Spotnitz noted, the future of this project is really in the hands of the fans. If we can demonstrate the groundswell of support that exists to 20th Century Fox then the movie the cast want to see, the fans want to see and Chris Carter wants to make can, and will happen.

HauntedHouse.com: What is your “IDEAL” outcome for your campaign?

Mark Hayden: Ultimately a 'Frank Black' movie, we know this is what Lance has wanted for some time although he has expressed interest in an outing on HBO for example. He is eager that any return for the franchise is free from sanitisation and he feels HBO would be a natural home for the vision he has of the character's return. That said, We're not here to dictate such industry based decisions. Be it a film, a TV show, a stand-alone movie, an audio play - we would support any return. Simple as that!

HauntedHouse.com: How can anyone get involved?

Mark Hayden: We suggest foremost that fans write a letter to FOX. We supply a template for any letters at our website. You could sign our internet petitions, one for Frank Black's return, one for the return of a Millennium movie. You could join our Myspace social profiles, or visit our affiliates! Use our stationary, avatars or flyers! Use our handy banner pack to spread the word and add some Frank Black to your message board signatures! Spread the word to other message boards! Be vocal, be polite, but speak up for Frank!

Whilst we are, primarily, a campaign and mindful never to lose sight of our goal we realise we have an unprecedented opportunity to bring Millennium facts and fun to the fans in ways that have not been possible since the time of the show's heyday. We offer a number of exclusives that serve to entertain, inform and more importantly, keep the campaign vibrant and full of fun and facts for our followers including exclusive merchandise, regular interviews, a stunning podcast, competitions and much, more besides.

With new interviews being arranged on a regular basis, the unveiling of fan videos, the sharing of tattoos and every madcap scheme from Millennium themed fun posts, paper dolls, fan profiles, video montages and much, much more we are sure fans will agree we offer the most interactive, oft updated, info filled Millennium experience in existence.

With a dedicated team working on all cylinders to keep the content vibrant we aim to encourage our supporters to stay with us for the long haul. We certainly aren't going anywhere. At least not until we bring Frank Black back!

HauntedHouse.com: Thanks so much Mark for your time and Good luck with the campaign!

If you’re interested in learning more or getting involved please visit www.backtofrankblack.com

In case you haven’t already found it elsewhere you should check out the new Halloween 2 poster, which isn’t titled H2 in this one, on the left. The general consensus seems to be that this is a pretty badass poster but I have to disagree. I’m not loving it at all. Brutality alone does not a good poster make and the very photoshopped sky and rain the background is pretty dull. The poster for the first film was better and the posters for Halloween 4 and 5 were much much better than both of them. In any case there It is for all to see. The movie comes to theatres this August. Below I’ve assembled a little retrospective on the much better Halloween Movie posters.

The Poster for Rob Zombies First does a better job at capturing the "Shape" feeling.

This Original Poster From Halloween 2 is creepy and captures the what made the originals good. Its not overbearing or violent but mysterious and spooky. Also that "All NEW" lets you know that the movie is ALL NEW and not a remake. Maybe they should try that with the new poster too?

The poster for Part 4 may be my favorite after the original. Its creepy, its classy and it captures the feel of the movies better than any poster previous.

Last and still the best is the original Halloween One sheet from 1978. You just can't top this classic of movie marketing genius.

The old saying, "You can't go home again" has always held true. Many have tried, college drop outs, artists, teeny bopper parents and even presidents but none have succeeded. Sometimes it is a catastrophe like Spielberg's excrutiatingly mediocre sequel Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Other times it can be not a little less painful like Marilyn Manson's latest record, The High End of Low, which finds Manson making up with writing partner Twiggy Ramirez and returning to 1998, or at least attempting to.

The High End of the Low is a decent album that tries to fit itself somewhere between Holywood and Mechanical Animals but never quite makes it. Back in the late 90's Manson was still public enemy number one and had no trouble courting controversy. However around 2002 He split up with his long time writing partner Twiggy Ramirez and replaced him with KMFDM collaborator Tim Skold. That partnership ended with the excruciatingly bad 80's goth pop-esque "Eat me, Drink Me".

High End of The Low is a nice try but too little, too late. Songs like Pretty as a ($), We're From America, and Arma-Goddamn-motherfuckin-geddon try to be the hard rock anthems that Manson has been very good at in the past but they just don't ever seem to reach the level of Beautiful People or Rock is Dead even.

The album opener, Devour doesn't really start things off on the best footing since it sounds like somehting left over from Eat Me, Drink me. Then there is the hevily repetive Four Rusted Horses and the overly long I want to Kill you Like in the Movies that clocks in at 9 minutes. There's and abundance of songs that are more aimed at humanizing the monster. But does anyone in this country still think Manson is the antichrist? The songs that do try to capture that evil and scary sound from Antichrist Superstar seem like imitations and bad ones at that.

While High End of the Low is definetly a return to the Manson of the 90's, it falls short of offering anything new. Manson had some great albums where he was able to re-invent himself over and over again, but now he may be running out of lives. Perhaps it really boils down to what kind of fan you are as to whether you like this record. Fans of AntiChrist Superstar, Portrait, and Holywood will probably appreciate the effort but delete it from there playlist after a few listens. Fans of the later Albums such as Mechanical Animals and Golden age of the Grotesque may like what they find here.

I guess for me I just like my Manson scary, mysterious, and very evil and The High End of Low Fails on all 3 counts.

5.5 out of 10