“Uncaged” DVD cover & release date

Via Bloody Disgusting:

We’ve scored a first look at the DVD cover for Daniel Robbins’ werewolf flick Uncaged, which is being distributed by RLJ Entertainment. The cover is a side shot of the upper chest and lower half of the face of a werewolf, who is covered in blood and filth… Uncaged comes to DVD and digital on February 2nd, 2016.

My comments on the trailer and overall concept still stand, but if I was the sort of person to judge a movie by its key art, Uncaged would get top marks. That’s one mean, grimy looking werewolf.

Sep. 14th 2015

Side effects may also include murder fugues

Want to start the week with a “hell yes, people are making cool stuff” boost of energy? Check out the latest promo video for Hair of the Dog, the crowdfunding-in-progress werewolf/addiction feature film by Michael Butts, Scott Crain and Will Cassidy. It’s called “Side Effects”, and was “inspired by all the cheesy medical commercials that list all those crazy side effects.”

Every time I see a promo piece from this crew, I’m impressed by the production quality and the tone of the humour they’re extracting from the material. For a deeper look at the concept, read this interview Michael and I did back in June.

They’re looking to raise another $7,300 so they can get this thing shot, so if you have a few bucks laying around, consider chipping in instead of buying that tenth pumpkin spice latte of the month (typed while drinking my second of the month).

Sep. 14th 2015

COO MODEL’s “THE WERE WOLF” is the most amazing werewolf figure I’ve ever seen

Via Rich “Werewolf Fan” P: COO MODEL TOYS is a Chinese company that specializes in hyper-detailed 1/6 scale collectible figures. They’ve just posted prototype photos and specs for the second entry in their Monster File line, THE WERE WOLF.

This is the most incredible werewolf figure I’ve ever seen. It comes with 31 swappable parts, so you can display him in various stages of transformation by switching out his head, hands, legs, feet and clothing. There’s even a comic to give him some background and explain why he has a little doll as an accessory.

I can’t find much background on COO MODEL or the designer of this model, OUZHIXIANG. I can’t even tell you for certain what the first Monster File model was! According to this forum thread it might be Frankenstein’s Monster. It seems like the Monster File line is an imprint for COO MODEL to team up with designers and clothing companies like PopToys to create limited edition, hyper-detailed one-off models.

If you’re not in China and you want to get THE WERE WOLF, there are two US retailers taking pre-orders for an early 2016 release: Big Bad Toy Store and Hobby Galaxy. Expect to pay around $200.

For more photos and a detailed parts list, check out THE WERE WOLF’s product page.

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Sep. 12th 2015

Hippie werewolves vs squares! Elijah Wood confirms “Bad Vibes”

The guys on the Nerdist podcast conducted a fantastic horror-heavy interview with Elijah Wood in their September 2nd episode, number 726. Wood was there to promote his latest film, Cooties, but he also talked about his involvement in a film I’d assumed was long dead: Bad Vibes.

The last I head about Bad Vibes was in 2011, when news first broke about writer/director David Gebroe‘s weird horror movie about hippie werewolves hosting a love-in to kill or infect “the terminally unhip”. Now, Elijah Wood has confirmed that he’s involved, that photography begins this October in Austin, and that Ariel Pink is still writing all the songs.

Here’s a partial transcript of his comments on the film, starting around 1:13 of the podcast:

It’s a movie about – it’s set in 1969 – it’s about a feel-good sort of sunshine and hippie flowers sort of rock band that are very popular at the time. The lead singer of this band, a band called Sunshine Majesty, he sleeps with a groupie. The groupie gives him an STD. That STD is basically like a lycan disease. There’s a slight physical transformation, but the main thing is ideological, so he becomes a nihilist…. he starts writing this new sound, and it’s like this really gnarly discordant dark music. And the whole thing is about, like, killing “squares”.

This seems like such a weird and incongruous combination of elements, but to hear Wood talk about it (and his role producing and staring in “killing raving zombie children” horror-comedy Cooties), I can believe this will work, especially with Ariel Pink’s psychedelic music.

Sep. 9th 2015

New Theme

In what’s become an almost yearly tradition, I’ve just created a new theme for this site. This year I’ve reworked things to be as simple as possible.

My main goal with this revision was to focus on the stuff I like to write, and that you like to read: individual posts. That means removing a bunch of stuff, including

  • the jumbo photo header
  • featured posts from the home page
  • “related” links and the mini sponsor badge at the bottom of single post pages
  • category links
  • mandatory featured photos

The full text of each post is now visible on the homepage, too – no more “first three lines, then click to read more”.

I used to be a designer but I’ve recently come to the realization that I’ll only ever be moderately competent in that arena. Consequently I’ve been cribbing layouts and concepts from other, more talented folks. The outgoing design was pretty much a (credited) blatant rip-off of Tools and Toys. This one borrows pretty heavily from Daring Fireball, with a little touch of Lore.

If you find anything broken, weird or illegible, please let me know in the comments for this post, or on Twitter.

As always, thanks for reading!

Sep. 9th 2015

A young Scandinavian werewolf claims her heritage in “When Animals Dream”

The 2014 “Danish dramatic horror mystery” When Animals Dream is now available to buy or stream in North America. Everything I’ve seen and heard about it since it premiered at Cannes last year has been extremely compelling, and I’m really looking forward to seeing it. (more…)

Sep. 8th 2015

Granville Island Brewing’s limited edition “Growl at the Moon” brews & growler

Werewolves and beer have been an oddly consistent pairing over the years I’ve been running this site, but the brewery involved has always been on the other side of an international border. This time it’s different! (more…)

Sep. 4th 2015

“Snarling Werewolf” is the twisted fever dream of a werewolf costume

Pretend you have a bad fever and you’ve taken too much cold medicine. You put on a werewolf costume just as the dextromethorphan starts to make the room’s colours fluoresce and walls drip, and then you look at yourself in a mirror. You see the Snarling Werewolf staring back at you. (more…)

Sep. 3rd 2015

An American Werewolf in London & 14 other horror icons join Funko’s Mystery Minis line

I’m an incurable completionist and I’m not into gambling, so knowledge of Funko’s upcoming addition to its Horror Collection Mystery Minis series has been squeezing my brain all afternoon. They’re adding 15 new adorable monsters, and one of them is David Kessler from An American Werewolf in London.  (more…)

Sep. 1st 2015

Wes Craven passes away at 76

As reported by The Hollywood Reporter and many other sources, film director and horror impresario Wes Craven passed away at his Los Angeles home this weekend after a battle with brain cancer. He was 76. (more…)

Sep. 1st 2015