Welcome back to the Week In Horror, fiends! Man, last week was quite good. For a taste, check out my interview with Larry Fessenden about his new take on the Frankenstein story, Depraved, HERE. Pet Sematary premiered at SXSW to rave reviews and I can. Not. Wait. For that one to open wide.
This week, though? Hang on to your butts.
Macon Blair (Murder Party, Blue Ruin, Green Room) has been tapped by Legendary to write and produce the long-gestating Toxic Avenger remake. Which means, now I give a damn about it. Lloyd Kaufman and Michael Herz will be on board as producers. No word on what direction Blair will take the film, but I feel like its in good hands. The 1984 original was the flagship title for Troma films with Toxie effectively becoming the company’s mascot. There were three sequels, a Marvel Comics series, and a kids cartoon with a toy tie-in. The original was a gory, hilarious, highly inappropriate superhero spoof that still holds up really well today.
NECA Toys already announced Ultimate Jason from the 2009 remake is on its way this year, but yesterday announced an Ultimate Jason from Freddy vs Jason. The pics they posted on Instagram look fantastic. The FvJ look for Jason is one of my least favorites, to be honest. For the most part, he moves around like a bargain brand Frankenstein, with the actor bringing none of the life to the character that Hodder, White, Mears, or Graham did. The figure though is quite a redemption for this version, including a Freddy scratched mask and a blood-covered mask.
Not expressly horror, but I think a lot of you will be into this; Murder In The Front Row: The San Francisco/Bay Area Thrash Metal Story premieres April 20th, though I don’t see a date for a wide theatrical release, DVD/Blu, or streaming, so stay tuned.
Murder In The Front Row: The San Francisco Bay Area Thrash Metal Story. In the early 1980s, a small group of dedicated Bay Area headbangers shunned the hard rock of MTV and Hollywood hairspray bands in favor of a more dangerous brand of metal that became known as thrash! From the tape trading network to the clubs to the record stores and fanzines, director Adam Dubin reveals how the scene nurtured the music and the music spawned a movement. Murder In The Front Row is told through powerful first-person testimony and stunning animation and photography. The film is a social study of a group of young people defying the odds and building something essential for themselves. Featuring interviews with Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer, Anthrax, Exodus, Testament, Death Angel, Possessed and many more! Narrated by Brian Posehn.
