When Timothy Vance receives a call from a man claiming to be his long-lost father, he takes a trip to out-of-the-way Harbor Moon, Maine. But the man is nowhere to be found and unfortunately for Tim, the town doesn’t take very kindly to strangers. As he struggles to stay alive and learn the truth about his father, Tim discovers that Harbor Moon is protecting an incredible secret And it turns out that Tim may have more in common with its residents than he could ever imagine….

Now dig on the trailer:

Stay Bloody!!!

It’s like THE WALKING DEAD meets HOMEWARD BOUND, if either of those stories had a gorilla with a baseball bat.

Now that sounds pretty fun to me.  Check out the press release and some images from the comic (click on them for higher res):

ANIMALS VS. ZOMBIES IN “REX, ZOMBIE KILLER #1″

Get Ready for a Gorilla with a Baseball Bat!

January 27, 2012 – In April 2012, comic book publisher Big Dog Ink will release the hounds, as three dogs, a cat, and a gorilla with a baseball bat battle the walking dead in REX, ZOMBIE KILLER #1. 

In the wake of a zombie apocalypse, a hyper-intelligent Golden Retriever named Rex, a sign language-speaking gorilla, and a small pack of animals begin a perilous cross-country journey to find safety…and a home.

“I’ve always wondered what happens to pets when the zombies arrive,” explained writer Rob Anderson. “And I’ve always loved stories that show the heart and tenacity of animals, like WE3 and HOMEWARD BOUND / THE INCREDIBLE JOURNEY. In REX ZK, the animals are trying to make their way across California to an underground government bunker where the scientist who raised Rex is now in hiding. But Rex isn’t necessarily revealing everything he knows about the situation to his pack.”

“This is a story I’ve been wanting to tell since at least 2008, because it combines three of my big passions: animals, zombies and comic books,” Anderson said. “My constant writing companions are my dog and cat, and they’re well trained for the coming zombie apocalypse with their patented ‘play dead’ routine.”

The book was also a perfect fit for cover and interior artist DaFu Yu. “From an artistic standpoint, I love drawing monsters, and zombies fit in that category,” Yu said. “I’m already detail-oriented in my style, but I go a little crazy when I draw zombies!” 

Big Dog Ink Publisher, Tom Hutchinson, added, “This giant-sized one-shot is the latest addition to our creator-owned titles, and it’s a unique, high quality story at a special price. We’re very excited to add it to the BDI catalog!”

REX, ZOMBIE KILLER #1 is written by Rob Anderson (ANIMAL CONTROL: SPECIAL CREATURES UNIT, GREAT ZOMBIES IN HISTORY) with interior and cover art by DaFu Yu (GRIMM FAIRY TALES, WONDERLAND ANNUAL), colors by Kevin Volo, letters and design by E.T. Dollman, and edited by Paul Allor (CLOCKWORK).

The double-sized, 56-page one-shot ships in April at a special price of only $3.50, and will be available for pre-order in the February 2012 Diamond PREVIEWS catalog. (Order Code: FEB12 0806) The comic book will be in full color in standard comic book format. It is rated TEEN+ for mature themes and violence. Additional one-shots are planned for the future.

About Big Dog Ink

Founded in 2009, Big Dog Ink (http://www.BigDogInk.com) is the publisher of comic book properties such as PENNY FOR YOUR SOUL, CRITTER, and the upcoming werewolf/vampire horror series, URSA MINOR. Big Dog Ink’s new hit series, THE LEGEND OF OZ: THE WICKED WEST, charted in the “Diamond Top 300″ list in November of 2011.

For more information on REX, ZOMBIE KILLER, visit: http://www.RexZombieKiller.com

————————

CONTACT: 

ROB ANDERSON

Stay Bloody!!!

There's nothing remotely close to this level of destruction in the film!!

What is it about setting a volcano in the middle of a bustling downtown metropolis that’s so attractive and alluring to filmmakers?  The potential for a lot of casualties?  The mass destruction of popular landmarks?  We’ve already gotten a volcano erupting in downtown Los Angeles (1997’s VOLCANO starring Tommy Lee Jones) and a volcano in New York City (cleverly titled, VOLCANO IN NEW YORK, starring Michael Ironside).  And now we can add Miami to the list.  That’s right; this Saturday, January 28, 2012 at 9pm (ET/PT) the SyFy Channel wanted to ‘imagine better’ and placed a volcano right smack under downtown Miami in SWAMP VOLCANO.  Okay; first let’s talk about the title.  The screener copy that SyFy sent me is titled SWAMP VOLCANO, but in it’s listing on IMDb.com the title is MIAMI MAGMA (a waaaaayyyyy better title).  But I’m gonna keep calling it SWAMP VOLCANO since I’m positive that SyFy knows what its doing.  Right?  Right??

SWAMP VOLCANO stars Rachel Hunter (remember her?) as Antoinette Vitrini (I shit you not about her name), a rogue vulcanologist who has some pretty wild and crazy theories involving … you guessed it; volcanoes!!  She thinks, for example, that the entire Gulf was created by a big ass volcano.  Shunned by her peers and forced to research and prove her theories while working at a nice university with brilliant research partner, Brandon (Griff Furst), Antoinette seems to be getting closer to proving her theory.  But then some freaky things start happening around Miami that makes Antoinette realize that not only is her theory correct, but that the super volcano she’s been hypothesizing about is still active.  Throw in Brad Dourif as a money-hungry, evil, stereo-typical CEO of an oil company with a right-hand-man, Ray (Cleavant Derricks), who’s just as morally bankrupt, who are conducting an illegal drilling operation underneath downtown Miami, and you’ve got yourself a plot!!

Rachel Hunter as Antoinette Vitrini. Yup; that's her name.

All the typical SyFy characters are here.  The brilliant yet misunderstood scientist (Rachel Hunter); the evil big business guy (Brad Dourif); the lead character’s estranged ex-hubby who also happens to be a globe-trotting adventurer; the dumb and innocent little sister of the main character (Melissa Ordway) who gets into harms way; and the nerdy-hunky lab assistant who steps up to the plate when needed.  The plot is also one we’ve seen in many various forms.  And why wouldn’t we?  Our old friend Declan O’Brien wrote the script (you know him best from writing such epics as ROCK MONSTER and MONSTER ARK), and Todor Chapkanov (who directed HAMMER OF THE GODS, MONSTERWOLF, and WEATHER WARS for SyFy) directed.  And here’s the main problem with SWAMP VOLCANO/MIAMI MAGMA … it feels like something we’ve seen a million times before … because we have seen this a million times before.  The acting is decent enough and we only get some overacting and pandering from Melissa Ordway.  The problems lie not in the acting.  It’s mainly the script.  It’s so “been there; seen that” that you know exactly what’s gonna happen before the actors do!!

Genre fav, Brad Dourif, pops up as the evil Big Oil Boss.

But all this is forgivable as long and the destructive scenes are kick ass, right?  Well yeah; I could forgive some of the above sins but the problem is the destructive scenes are pretty friggin’ lame.  The destructive scenes here include an oil rig being blown up with CGI flames; a warehouse in downtown Miami being blown up with CGI flames, and a bunch of bimbo, bikini-clad babes running away from a “steam tsunami” … I’m not kidding here, folks.  Downtown Miami remains untouched and fares way better than New York City and Los Angeles in their respective films.  What’s one of my golden rules?  If you’re making a creature flick, you better have a bad ass creature.  This applies here as well:  If you’re making a destruction movie, you better fill it with scenes of shit getting destroyed (this is the formula that made Michael Bay a bazillionaire).  If the best you have is a bunch of sluts running away from a CGI wall of steam, then you better think about hiring a new writer!!

Whatchya looking at?

SWAMP VOLCANO isn’t the worst SyFy film I’ve seen, but it is pretty damn forgettable.  After you size up Rachel Hunter and determine whether she’s aged well (I think she has), there’s little else here to keep your attention.  You’ve seen SWAMP VOLCANO before and it was better done.  If you’re a SyFy Original Movie completist like me (hey, we all need out hobbies), then you’ll enjoy this one.  If you’re looking for a kick ass destruction/disaster flick with a high body count and a higher ‘dead city’ count then you’re gonna be disappointed.  But to end this review on a good note, Rachel Hunter also stars in the upcoming PIRANHACONDA.  Sweet.

SWAMP VOLCANO premiers this Saturday night, January 28, 2012 at 9pm (ET/PT) on SyFy (who else would air this??).

My Summary:

Director:  Todor Chapkanov

Plot:  2 out of 5 stars

Gore:  1 out of 10 skulls

Zombie Mayhem:  0 out of 5 brains

Reviewed by Scott Shoyer

THANATOMORPHOSE is written and directed by Éric Falardeau and stars Kayden Rose, Davyd Tousignant, and Émile Beaudry. Be sure to check out the official website for THANATOMORPHOSE. And just for your information, “thanatomorphose” is a French word meaning the visible signs of an organism’s decomposition caused by death. The official plot synopsis of the film is short and sweet:

According to Variety, Wan and New Line have both selected Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson to star in THE CONJURING (they are both in final negotiations).  The plot is inspired by the true-life story of the Perron family, who claimed they “lived among the dead” in the 1970′s as spirits both friendly and sinister inhabited their Rhode Island farmhouse.

I really like when they do the side by side comparison!!  Check it out and let me know what you think!!

Stay Bloody!!!

But The Greg Kihn Band had this hit, “Jeopardy,” that peaked in the #2 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 chart on May 7, 1983. For me, the early 1980′s was when I was just tits deep in horror films and seeing all the classics and what would become the new classics!! The Greg Kihn Band had some other hits, but “Jeopardy” was by far their best song and highest ranking hit. I was digging the song when I heard it on the radio, but when I actually caught the video for the first time I really loved it. At the end of the day, “Jeopardy” is about a guy getting married who gets some serious cold feet. He kinda freaks out as he realizes the finality of marriage and pretty much loses it as he watches the married couples around him fighting and bickering. He sees married couples wearing handcuffs and even sees his parents’ hands fused together, creating one bizarre-looking hand that could’ve come straight from the mind of Screaming Mad George from the set of Brian Yuzna’s SOCIETY!!

Things come to a head after he places the ring on his fiancé’s finger. When he lifts up her veil he discovers she’s a hideous zombie and this is when the shit hits the fan. Everyone else in the church suddenly becomes zombies and as the groom (Greg Kihn himself) runs down the aisle to get away, a huge tentacled thing comes outta the ground and grabs him. After seeing Stuart Gordon’s RE-ANIMATOR for the first time, the scene near the end where the body pumped full of the reanimation serum bursts open and has tentacles coming out of it … this always reminded me of that long, gross-looking tentacle in the music video, “Jeopardy” (even though RE-ANIMATOIR was made two years after the music video).

So if you haven’t seen this video before, then enjoy. If you have but not for a while, then enjoy it even more. This was a fun little trip down memory lane!! And if you’re curious, Greg Kihn is now the music director at KFOX in San Francisco. Thanks for a great song, Greg … but thanks for an even better video!! Here it is:

What do you think? Like it?

Stay Bloody!!!

During her interview, Weaver mentions that there was a lot of tensions between her and Fox studios for a long time. She wanted to do another ALIEN film but was basically pissed because the studio wouldn’t listen to her. Fox wanted to take the franchise to earth; Weaver hated the idea:

“Fox and I disagreed on how the franchise should continue. But I’m glad it’s Ridley doing it, and I’ll be as curious as anyone, or maybe more curious, to see it. I think he took my suggestion. Fox wanted to go to earth and I said: ‘That’s so boring. Who wants to see aliens on earth?’ I said ‘go back to the planet’.”

“I think he took my suggestion.” Wow. Obviously that fifth ALIEN film never happened, and now that PROMETHEUS is getting so much buzz and publicity she had to throw in her two cents. She’s like one of those little sucker fish that attaches itself to a shark and just hangs on for the ride!! Scott is pretty clear that PROMETHEUS is not a prequel to ALIEN. There may be a few elements in it that nod to that franchise, but this isn’t directly related. So it’s not even clear if the cast of PROMETHEUS is “going back to the planet” from the first ALIEN. I wrote a zombie short story back in 2001. Does this mean that Jonathan Maberry and Joe McKinney ‘took my suggestion’ and as a result wrote their own kick ass zombie novels? Aahhh … NO. This is an extremely stupid thing to say. I wish Weaver would just fade away, but she’s apparently coming out in a few new projects in 2012 (oh joy).

I’ll always love Weaver’s Ripley. She was a bad ass, strong female character that the genre sorely needed. But her recent comments are making her sound like a petty, jealous, and miserable old lady. Just shut up and act, Sigourney Weaver!!

That’s my two cents.

Stay Bloody!!!

I’m looking forward to this one.  Early buzz is pretty good.  Look for it hitting the streets on February 28, 2012.

Stay Bloody!!!

Sounds interesting and I’m always curious to see what kinda bizarre touch Burton and Depp add to all their films!!  Look for this one being released later this year on May 11, 2012.  Now dig on Depp’s Barnabas and other pics from the film.

Stay Bloody!!!