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1989 was the year director J.R. Bookwalter’s debut feature, the zombie epic The Dead Next Door (which Sam Raimi not-so-secretly had a hand in), made its way out into the world – and it also happens be the year when his follow-up feature, the “dark, splatter-drenched” oddball comic book homage Robot Ninja (watch it Here) was released. Thirty-five years later, Robot Ninja has now received the novelization treatment and the result, Robot Ninja: The Official Novelization by Damien Casey, is now available from Encyclopocalypse Publications! Copies can be purchased at This Link.

Shot in Ohio for $15,000, with David DeCoteau credited as an executive producer, Robot Ninja features cameos by Burt Ward (best known for playing Robin in the ’60s Batman TV series) and legendary scream queen Linnea Quigley and has the following synopsis: Leonard Miller (Michael Todd) is a frustrated artist. His publisher (Burt Ward) and his agent (Mike Shea) are...

More than a year after Paul Reubens‘ death, thousands of the actor’s loyal fans gathered at his final resting place to celebrate his most beloved character.

Cinespia concluded its Summer 2024 season on Saturday at Hollywood Forever Cemetery with a special tribute screening of Pee-wee’s Big Adventure (1985), featuring surprise appearances from Reubens’ co-stars Diane Salinger and E.G. Daily, as well as the movie’s composer Danny Elfman and producer Richard Gilbert Abramson (who was also Reubens’ manager).

Fred Armisen kicked off the screening by introducing Tony Hawk, who recalled his friendship with Reubens after meeting at an event about 10 years ago. “He and I kept in touch, and he was the sweetest,” recalled Hawk. “I was honored to be the recipients of one of his ‘birthday bomb texts,’ where — you might have heard about it — it’s your birthday and you get texts nonstop all day, just memes from Paul Reubens.

An official Planet of the Apes RPG will be available for pre-order soon with exclusive items that won't be in general retailers. The game is created by franchise veterans, led by experienced writer Andrew E.C. Gaska, with rich lore and adventure. RPG includes a Core Rulebook, Sourcebook, Campaign Adventure Box, and a Miniatures Set, offering immersive gameplay.

An official Planet of the Apes role-playing game has been revealed, along with plenty of pre-order incentives. While the franchise has returned to cinemas with the latest in the rebooted saga, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, Magnetic Press' game pulls inspiration from the original five films in the franchise instead from the 1968 classic, Planet of the Apes through to 1973's Battle for the Planet of the Apes, with new lore and adventures added to the original storyline.

As per Magnetic Press' announcement of the game, Planet of the Apes: The Role-Playing...

Of all the movies debuting this summer, I am most looking forward to "Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes." This series has been on a roll since the 2011 reboot and I'm excited to see it take a new direction more akin to the original films

300 years after the events of "War for the Planet of the Apes," Ape-kind has entered its Bronze Age. They've also forgotten Caesar's first teaching — "Apes together strong!" — and splintered into different and warring tribes. The chimpanzee Noa (Owen Teague) must go on a journey after his people are attacked by apes from the kingdom of Proximus Caesar (Kevin Durand). The trailers for "Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes" have been teasing the state of this new ape-ruled world. Green forestry has reclaimed the land and the apes live in the shadow of decaying structures built by humans (think of how people in the...

A modern Planet of the Apes remake can show off more of the Forbidden Zone, adding depth to the world. Making the apes more sympathetic and complex characters can improve the story of a remake. Removing corny monkey puns and improving on ape costumes can enhance the tone and visuals of the film.

The Planet of the Apes franchise is going stronger than ever, causing there to be much speculation around the prospect of a Planet of the Apes remake, and here are 10 ways that a remake can improve on the original 1968 classic. 1968's Planet of the Apes is one of the most iconic sci-fi movies of all time, with its story, setting, and beloved twist ending making it a staple of pop culture history. Luckily, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes seems to be lifting a lot of elements from the original, meaning that it might be a remake.

Marvel's Beware the Planet of the Apes #1 introduces a new ape civilization called the Hominidae Empire in the Forbidden Zone. The Forbidden Zone has always been a mysterious location in the Planet of the Apes franchise, and this new comic offers a glimpse into its secrets. The Hominidae Empire poses a potential threat to Ape City, hinting at a possible conflict between the two societies.

Warning: contains spoilers for Beware the Planet of the Apes #1!

Planet of the Apes has revealed both the name and location of a new ape civilization. Marvel’s new Beware the Planet of the Apes may be a prequel to the original film, but it is also introducing new and exciting elements to the lore, namely new ape societies. In issue one, Cornelius and Zira head into the Forbidden Zone, where they make some shocking discoveries.

Beware the Planet of the Apes #1 is written by...

Where were you when the best Coachella set since Beyoncé happened? When Danny Elfman took the stage of Coachella shirtless on April 2022 to perform music from his band Oingo Boingo as well as the scores of “A Nightmare Before Christmas,” “Edward Scissorhands,” and — of course — “The Simpsons,” it set Twitter afire. The sometimes goofy, undeniably epic performance was a delight that reminded people of a universal fact: Danny Elfman rocks.

Elfman made his film composing debut in 1980 with “Forbidden Zone,” which was directed by his brother Richard Elfman and was based on the work of Danny’s experimental musical theater group “The Mystic Knights of Oingo Boingo.” The Mystic Knights were soon reformed into the (somewhat) more conventional new wave band Oingo Boingo, and their music found a fan in director Tim Burton, who recruited Elfman to score his feature debut “Pee-wee’s Big Adventure.” From there, a partnership was formed,...

Richard Elfman redefined underground cinema with his barely-categorizable 1980 film Forbidden Zone, a vehicle for his musical unit The Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo. He re-energized absurdist cinema with the musically-propelled sci-fi comedy Aliens, Clowns &- Geeks (2021). Directed and written by Elfman, the upcoming Bloody Bridget is another music-driven piece with a score by Ego Plum and Richard’s brother Danny Elfman.

For Bloody Bridget, Elfman is infusing new blood, and plenty of heart, into the vampire genre he thought he’d staked with the 1998 cult horror movie Revenant (aka Modern Vampires). Richard’s wife Anastasia Elfman plays Bridget, a dance horror choreographer who is sexually harassed and tossed into a legal wringer. Voodoo father Baron Samedi (Jean Charles) mistakes her for his wife, the Irish saint Maman Brigitte, and turns her into a “Valentine vampire.” Blood is just an appetizer for the main course. She “must feast on the hearts of evil-doers,...

Cult indie filmmaker Richard Elfman is back this year with brand new movie Bloody Bridget, a wild comedy-horror film that’s taking a bite out of the Fantaspoa film festival on April 22. While we wait for wide release information, Bloody Disgusting has been exclusively provided with the Nsfw teaser trailer today.

Additionally, Richard Elfman wrote up some words for the Bd readers.

“Be it music, film, stage or the written page, my life’s passion is to entertain,” Elfman writes. “But…in a manner that expresses an original and very personal vision. Of course I want my audiences to have some kick-ass fun, yet also to discover something new and different. In my long (and somewhat checkered) career, Bloody Bridget is the third film that I feel really proud of in terms of having my “Elfo Fun Stamp.” Forbidden Zone, Aliens, Clowns & Geeks and now Bloody Bridget. (And we really...

Many details regarding Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes are still under wraps, but one aspect of the film's production may have just given a huge story hint. With the conclusion of the Planet of the Apes reboot trilogy, many viewers have been wondering exactly where this new film will take the story that was seemingly completed in War for the Planet of the Apes. However, the production of Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is setting up the return of a huge element from the original film.

Although it was a reboot, Matt Reeves' Planet of the Apes trilogy differed significantly from the original sci-fi franchise. Starting with Rise of the Planet of the Apes, the trilogy explored the origins of the titular Planet of the Apes, showing how the apes evolved from normal primates to highly-intelligent beings able to overthrow civilization. While Caesar was the main focus of this trilogy,...

(Welcome to The Daily Stream, an ongoing series in which the /Film team shares what they've been watching, why it's worth checking out, and where you can stream it.)

The Movie: "Forbidden Zone"

Where You Can Stream It: Tubi, Kanopy, Night Flight, Plex, Flixfling

The Pitch: Back in 1972, one Richard Elfman, then only a lad of 23, founded a musical theater troupe on the streets of Los Angeles called the Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo. This was after performing music in Paris and being involved in numerous theater projects throughout his youth. The Mystic Knights were a massive band, consisting of 15 members, and dedicated to performing old songs from the 1920s through the 1940s. For an early glimpse of what kind of act the Mystic Knights performed, check out their appearance on "The Gong Show" in 1976. Richard is the one in the miniature rocket ship playing the train whistle.

Stars: Katie Parker, Rahul Kohli, Karen Gillan, Rose McIver | Written and Directed by Mali Elfman

After a video surfaces of a child playing cards with a ghost – released by “life Beyond’ a scientific study based in San Francisco and run by Dr. Stevenson (Karen Gillan) – leads to widespread acceptance of ghosts, people begin volunteering to commit suicide so they can be part of the scientific research and move on to the afterlife. An afterlife that is no longer terrifying given what Stevenson’s research has revealed. Two of those volunteers are New Yorkers Rose, a woman who’s seemingly trying to escape her current life; and Teddy, a man who wants to be famous – even if fame is found through dying. The duo, total strangers, find themselves at a car rental place. Both are denied a rental – Rose because she doesn’t have a credit card and Teddy because his...

Hello, everyone! To kick off this month’s horror and sci-fi home media releases, we have an eclectic array of titles coming out this week. In terms of recent genre films, Rlje Films is releasing both Lucky by Natasha Kermani and Simon Barrett’s Seance on Tuesday, and if you’re a fan of the original Transformers movie (like this writer is), Shout! Factory has put together an incredible-looking Steelbook to celebrate the film’s 35th anniversary as well.

Arrow Video is keeping busy with two different sets of genre classics with their Sergio Martino Collection and The Daimajin Trilogy, and Code Red is showing some love to Butcher, Baker, Nightmare Maker this Tuesday with a special edition Blu-ray release.

Other titles headed home on August 3rd include Night Feeder, Dead Again, It Wants Blood, and Tailgate.

Butcher, Baker, Nightmare Maker Aka Night Warning: Special Edition

Terror begins when a...

No one sets out to make a cult movie. Most filmmakers aspire to commercial heights even if they only have the budgets for a B-movie. They see films like Blair Witch realign box office accounting and apply all kinds of quantum physics to mimic the exponential multiplication. Very few achieve it, and the ones which do usually do it by accident, and certainly not with serious intent. Aliens, Clowns & Geeks is not afraid to be ridiculous. It joins the ranks as such brave films as Attack of the Killer Tomatoes, Killer Klowns From Outer Space, and Frankenhooker.

It is also so much more than these films, dripping with artistry, and yet considerably less, with masturbating aliens, pussy ping pong, and sphincter-pinching obelisks. Richard Elfman’s sci-fi comedy has an abundance of experimental fun and a happily reckless disregard for taste. It owes as much to Frank Zappa as it does to Frank Capra,...

The Notebook Primer introduces readers to some of the most important figures, films, genres, and movements in film history.Golden Eighties From a broad angle view, it seems as though all movies made in the 1980s could be classified as either action or musical. The neon glitz of the decade easily melds with the flamboyance of musicals, and it was a time when budgets soared, so lavish song-and-dance set pieces fit in nicely with the decadence. But 80s musicals also changed things up in the genre—sometimes focusing more on choreography, other times the songs. The burgeoning cult status of The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) also had producers scrambling for the ineffable weirdness that captured the imagination of an audience so intensely that they wanted to spend every weekend watching and mimicking what so delighted them on screen This resulted in odd choices that inevitably flopped, and took decades to gain a devoted following,...

Forty years after the release of his cult film Forbidden Zone, director Richard Elfman is going back into the edit bay to fix an uncomfortable problem.

“My 1980 cult film Forbidden Zone is getting a tweak,” Elfman says during our sitdown. “It had a few seconds of blackface that I regretted since its first screening.” Indeed, the director issued a statement previously denouncing the offensive image two years ago through Dread Central. Now he is finally able to rectify it for future generations, without changing the subversive intent of the film as a whole. “FX friends are presently helping me change the blackface to ‘clownface,’” Elfman says.

Forbidden Zone was made when offense was a calling card of underground filmmaking, a cornerstone of counterculture publications, and a seven-minute set for standup comedians. This is perhaps why Elfman’s film has been hit with accusations of homophobia, and branded as both anti-Christian and anti-semetic,...

John Williams is great and all, but there aren’t a ton of his iconic film scores that I might actually want to listen to while working out. For that, you need to turn to the rock stars, the guys who perform to 20,000 screaming people one night and then collaborate with David Fincher the next. They make the kind of scores that raise the eyebrows of writers at Pitchfork and inspire bedroom hipsters to go out and see an indie film that might otherwise never get an audience.

Trent Reznor

The Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor burst out onto the film score scene when he composed the icy, digitized beats for David Fincher’s “The Social Network” in 2010. He and his collaborator Atticus Ross won the Oscar that year, and he’s since had a wave of creativity on other Fincher films like “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo” and “Gone Girl.

Darren Lynn Bousman joins Josh and Joe to discuss his favorite over-the-top musicals of the 70s.

Show Notes:

Movies Referenced In This Episode

Repo! The Genetic Opera (2008)

Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977)

Sorcerer (1977)

Star Wars (1977)

Death of Me (2020)

Jesus Christ: Superstar (1973)

Pennies From Heaven (1981)

A History Of Violence (2005)

Requiem For A Dream (2000)

The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)

The Movie Orgy (1968)

Gremlins (1984)

The Room (2003)

Rocky (1976)

Hair (1979)

The Apple (1980)

Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (1978)

Tommy (1975)

Quadrophenia (1979)

Altered States (1980)

The Devils (1971)

Trapped Ashes (2006)

Apocalypse Now (1979)

Devil’s Carnival (2012)

Phantom of the Paradise (1974)

Rent (2005)

Wild In The Streets (1968)

A Hard Day’s Night (1964)

Willy Wonka And The Chocolate Factory (1971)

The Wizard of Oz (1939)

The Jazz Singer (1980)

Forbidden Zone (1982)

Eddie and the Cruisers (1983)

The First Nudie Musical (1976)

Chatterbox (1977)

Goldilocks and the Three Bares (1963)

Cabaret (1972)

Saw II (2005)

Other Notable Items

Final Draft

Paris Hilton

Elvira

Angelyne

The William Friedkin podcast episode

Leonardo DiCaprio

Jesus Christ Superstar...

Bulgarian-Kazakh production “Bullets of Justice” sashays its way to the silver screen with guns a-blazing. Cast as one of four films for the Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival’s (Bifan) “Forbidden Zone” — a segment dedicated to Bifan’s most extreme genre films — “Bullets of Justice” crosses every “forbidden” threshold imaginable. Set with a post-apocalyptic landscape where pig-based superhumans and normies are war with each other, “Bullets of Justice” compiles time travel, Cold War tensions, and crude sexual humor into one hell of a movie.

The story starts with “Army Bacon” — the Nazi “Ubermensch” dream realized, only in the form of hog hybrids (nicknamed “Muzzles”) with a taste for human flesh. As Army Bacon enslaves and fattens their human creators in America, the rogue human-humans have built a resistance front in post-Soviet lands. Within the resistance, one angst-driven hero stands out amongst the rest: Rob (Timur Turisbekov). Muscular, angsty, and of...

Tony Sokol Oct 9, 2019

Scifi comedy Aliens, Clowns & Geeks release date set for Mexico’s Dia de los Muertos celebration.

A cult classic in the making will debut at a tribute to a horror classic during a celebration of the dead. The upcoming science fiction comedy Aliens, Clowns & Geeks, which features Verne Troyer in his last role, will premiere at the Morbido Film Fest, Latin America’s premiere genre film festival. The festival takes place in Mexico City from Oct. 30 to Nov. 3 and includes immersive events that intertwine with Mexico’s Dia de los Muertos celebration.

Aliens, Clowns & Geeks is directed by Richard Elfman, who helmed the cult classic Forbidden Zone. Elfman's live theatrical pre-shows for that film are legendary and the tradition will continue. His wife Anastasia Elfman, who plays five roles in Aliens, Clowns & Geeks, will perform horror/burlesque at Morbido’s tribute to the 25th anniversary of Alejandro Jodorowski's horror classic,...

Tony Sokol Aug 29, 2019

Forbidden Zone director Richard Elfman pulls a movie with the key to the universe out of his butt in Hipsters, Gangsters, Aliens & Geeks.

In the pantheon of cult movies, Forbidden Zone stands at high midnight. Richard Elfman's 1980 Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo vehicle was a one-of-a-kind film careening down on a one-way street to an oddly predestined end. On the clock of Midnight Movies, his upcoming Hipsters, Gangsters, Aliens & Geeks runs sometime after 3 a.m., striking after the popcorn has been swept under the seats by the night crew. Independent to its core and featuring Austin Powers' Verne Troyer in his last role, the movie cannot be brushed aside by the barrage of blockbusters. Hipsters, Gangsters, Aliens & Geeks is the antidote to mainstream and a breakneck cure for the run-of-the-mill.

Shot in a fast-paced, classic screen-comedy style, the film is intra-dimensional, extraterrestrial and sonically grounded.

Forbidden Zone is not just a surreal musical-fantasy, it is an expression of wild, balls-out absurdity. Unabashedly politically incorrect, with something to offend everyone, its outrageousness is certainly not for everyone’s taste. Fine. But my 1980 cult film has nonetheless picked up a loyal and still growing audience. Occasionally detractors accuse Forbidden Zone of being […]

The post Forbidden Zone and Political Correctness appeared first on Dread Central.

Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone (1983) Director: Lamont Johnson          Cast: Peter Strauss, Molly Ringwald, Ernie Hudson So as we prepare to be buzzed for Ron Howard.s upcoming Star Wars prequel Solo, we here at Awfully Good Movies are piloting our Millennium FAILcon right into the galaxy of Spacehunter: Adventures Of The Forbidden Zone, starring Peter Strauss and Molly Ringwald! Out of the many... Read More...

After playing the Leatherface-loving horror fan known as "Chainsaw" in Carl Reiner's Summer School, Dean Cameron played a vampire rock star with some serious bite in Rockula, and with the 1990 horror comedy coming to Blu-ray on March 20th, Scream Factory provided us with three high-def copies to give away to lucky Daily Dead readers!

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Prize Details: (3) Winners will receive (1) Blu-ray copy of Rockula.

How to Enter: We're giving Daily Dead readers multiple chances to enter and win:

1. Instagram: Following us on Instagram during the contest period will give you an automatic contest entry. Make sure to follow us at:

https://www.instagram.com/dailydead/

2. Email: For a chance to win via email, send an email to contest@dailydead.com with the subject “Rockula Contest”. Be sure to include your name and mailing address.

Entry Details: The contest will end at 12:01am Est on March 26th. This...

Padraig Cotter Nov 8, 2017

As War For The Planet Of The Apes heads to disc, we examine the novelisation, which has some notable differences to the story...

Spoilers for War For The Planet Of The Apes lie ahead

Long before the arrival of VHS and DVD, it was tough for fans to relive their favourite movies once they left cinemas. Occasional television airings and novelizations were typically the only options, and for a time movie novelisations were a big thing. Of course, with the advent of home media, their popularity began to wane as watching a movie was always going to be preferable to reading it.

Novelisations tend to be mocked in fan circles too because many of them they were churned out to make a quick buck. There are plenty of examples of badly written paperbacks that just parrot the script, with little invention on the author’s part. That said,...

Andrei Tarkovsky’s bizarre philosophical science fiction epic may be his most successful picture overall — every image and word makes its precise desired effect. Three daring men defy the law to penetrate ‘the Zone’ and learn the truth behind the notion that a place called The Room exists where all wishes are granted. Plenty of art films promise profound ideas, but this one delivers.

Stalker

Blu-ray

The Criterion Collection 888

1979 / Color / 1:37 flat full frame / 161 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date July 18, 2017 / 39.95

Starring: Aleksandr Kaidanovsky, Anatoly Solonitsyn, Nikolai Grinko, Alisa Freindlikh, Natasha Abramova.

Cinematography: Alexander Knyazhinsky

Film Editor: Lyudmila Feyginova

Original Music: Eduard Artemyev

Written by Andrei Tarkovsky and Arkady Struagtsky, Boris Strugatsky from their novel Roadside Picnic.

Produced by Aleksandra Demidova

Directed by Andrei Tarkovsky

If the definition of film artist is ‘one who goes his own way,’ Andrei Tarkovsky qualifies mightily. Reportedly cursed with a halting career...

The ape-movie crossover that you never knew you needed is on the way. Boom! Studios is going to be unleashing a brand new, six-issue comic book miniseries that will bring together the King Kong and Planet of the Apes franchises in a crossover that is appropriately titled Kong on the Planet of the Apes. The series is set to release its first issue this November.

Kong on the Planet of the Apes is written by Ryan Ferrier with art by Carlos Magno. Empire recently debuted some details on the series, which will take place in the continuity of the original 1968 Planet of the Apes movie, as opposed to the more recent reboot of the franchise. Empire spoke with Ferrier about the series, who explained what we can expect in terms of story. Here's what he had to say about it.

"The short of it is that Skull Island still exists in the future,...

Author: Cai Ross

The original Planet of The Apes movies occupied a curious netherworld of critical opinion. With each film, the budget was sawn in half, leading to a successive pattern of diminishing returns that led to a cheapening of its esteem. The spin-off TV show was quickly cancelled, further dulling the lustre and few people even remember the animated series that finally put the Apes to bed until a rude awakening in 2001.

However, for all their child-pleasing capers (the family-friendly G rating was a mandatory stipulation from the studios), the Apes movies deftly juggled important themes and arguments about slavery, free-will, nuclear war, vivisection, racism and oppression, and man’s innate capacity for cruelty. In pure storytelling terms, the circuitous plot links the first five movies (and the new post-Rise cycle) into a pleasing, if relentlessly pessimistic, self-perpetuating full-circle.

Enormous box office successes in their early stages, they spawned...

With a seemingly endless amount of streaming options — not only the titles at our disposal, but services themselves — we’ve taken it upon ourselves to highlight the titles that have recently hit platforms. Every week, one will be able to see the cream of the crop (or perhaps some simply interesting picks) of streaming titles (new and old) across platforms such as Netflix, iTunes, Amazon, and more (note: U.S. only). Check out our rundown for this week’s selections below.

American Honey (Andrea Arnold)

European directors have often faltered when crossing the Atlantic. Billy Wilder and Wim Wenders found things to say where Paolo Sorrentino could not. American Honey is certainly the former. Based on a 2007 article from the New York Times, it’s a backwater American road movie directed by an Englishwoman, Andrea Arnold, and shot by Irishman Robbie Ryan. We spot a few cowboys and gas stations and even the Grand Canyon,...

Think the current presidential election couldn’t get any scarier? Allow Danny Elfman to fuel your nightmares, just in time for Halloween. Elfman, the award-winning composer known for his work on “The Simpsons,” “Corpse Bride” and “Forbidden Zone,” has now turned his attention to perhaps his most frightening subject matter yet: Gop presidential nominee Donald Trump looming ominously behind and around his political rival Hillary Clinton during the presidential debate. A video published on Funny or Die masterfully matches the images to the music, casting Trump in the same vein as famous movie baddies as Jason Voorhees and Freddy Krueger,...

Tony Sokol Mar 21, 2019

You think you’ve seen one-of-a-kind movies? Banana oil! Forbidden Zone, there’s nothing like it.

The world of motion pictures is loaded with brilliant films and original visions, but few are without precedent. Forbidden Zone is a one of a kind movie that is both highly intelligent and unafraid to be broadly stupid. It mixes the most nightmarish elements of hundreds of film moments, unintentionally of course, with some of the most emotionally stirring music ever to prop up celluloid. If it weren’t for the snatches of dialogue, it might be considered the greatest prog rock opera.

Forbidden Zone is a work of pure originality. It is a fever dream from the mind of a musical interloper that has no peer. Characterizations mean nothing in Forbidden Zone. Neither does storyline or continuity. The basic laws of physics don’t apply so why should the rules of cinema?...

These are the Eyes that Satirize! Everybody's seen their imagery but few know the story of these anonymous performance artists and their avant-garde music. Their highly creative songs and videos satirize the commercialization of art and music, and they've chosen a real 'you'll never get rich' way to stay clear of the commercial undertow. Theory of Obscurity: A Film About The Residents Blu-ray Film Movement 2015 / Color / 1:78 widescreen / 87 min. / Street Date April 19, 2016 / 34.95 Starring Jerry Casale, Les Claypool, Chris Combs, Jon Fishman, Matt Groening, Jerry Harrison, Penn Jillette, Jim Knipfel, Gary Panter, The Residents, Steve Seid. Cinematography Barton Bishoff, Don Hardy, Josh Keppel Produced by Barton Bishoff, Don Hardy, Josh Keppel Written and Directed by Don Hardy

Reviewed by Glenn Erickson

We've all seen the image: four tuxedoed men in eyeball masks with top hats and canes. These masked men are the avant-garde band and multimedia performance artists known as The Residents.

Network: MTV

Episodes: Ongoing (hour)

Seasons: Ongoing

TV show dates: January 5, 2016 — present

Series status: Has not been cancelled

Performers include: Ivana Baquero, Manu Bennett, Emilia Burns, Austin Butler, Poppy Drayton, Aaron Jakubenko, Daniel MacPherson, and John Rhys-Davies.

TV show description:

Set millennia in the future, this fantasy series follows three unlikely heroes, on their quest to thwart a demonic army.

When the Ellcrys Tree begins to fail, it signifies a threat to the Four Lands. It is said each leaf represents a single demon. As the leaves fall, creatures of darkness are released from the Forbidden Zone. If the tree dies, the world will end.

Raised by her grandfather, after the death of her parents, Elvin Princess Amberle Elessedil (Poppy Drayton), longs to prove herself. When she has a...

Curt McDowell and George Kuchar's comedy epic of oversexed sensationalists running amuck while trapped in a storm-battered house goes beyond strange. It's a legit experimental film but -- gasp! -- also 2.5 hours of hardcore porn and other forms of giddy depravity. A movie guaranteed to make conservative heads explode -- read with caution, please! Thundercrack! Blu-ray Synapse Films 1975 / B&W /1:33 flat full frame / 160 min. / Street Date December 8, 2015 / 39.95 Starring Marion Eaton, Melinda McDowell, George Kuchar, Mookie Blodgett, Ken Scudder, Bernie Boyle, Mark Ellinger, Laurie Hendricks, John Thomas. Cinematography & Film Editor Curt McDowell Makeup Mr. Dominic Original Music Mark Ellinger Written by Mark Ellinger, George Kuchar, Curt McDowell Produced by Charles Thomas, John Thomas Directed by Curt McDowell

Reviewed by Glenn Erickson

*Not your usual Savant review.* As a student in the 1970s I worked as an usher at a couple of Filmex exhibitions at Grauman's Chinese. I then volunteered...

This week on Off The Shelf, Ryan is joined by Brian Saur to take a look at the new DVD and Blu-ray releases for the week of November 10th, 2015, and chat about some follow-up and home video news.

Subscribe in iTunes or RSS.

Episode Links & Notes Follow-up Wireless Headphones / Bluetooth Transmitter Arrow Horror Box Set Twilight Time: Low Quantity Update Hardware Wars News Arrow’s February titles Disney Movie Club Exclusives: Treasure Island, Davy Crockett Moc titles MST3K Kickstarter New Releases Automan: The Complete Series Better Call Saul: Season 1 Broken Lance Code Unknown Deep in My Heart Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine Dr. Goldfoot and the Girl Bombs Forbidden Zone Galtar and The Golden Lance: The Complete Series Gosei Sentai Dairanger: The Complete Series Je t’aime je t’aime Justice League Unlimited: The Complete Series Mr. Holmes Passage to Marseille Queen of Blood Scorpio Selfless...

Long before he wrote the wild, dramatic score for Batman and the twisted song cycle that runs through the beloved Nightmare Before Christmas, Danny Elfman's original claim to cinematic fame was far quirkier than anything he'd ever dream up for Tim Burton: He portrayed Satan, dressed in a long-tail white tux, conducting an orchestra of goblins in a run-through of every "hidey-hidey-hidey-ho" in Cab Calloway's "Minnie the Moocher." The episode, in the campy 1980 cult hit Forbidden Zone, found the redheaded composer wiggling, shimmying and writhing as he...

This week on Off The Shelf, Ryan is joined by Brian Saur to take a look at the new DVD and Blu-ray releases for the week of October 27th, 2015, and chat about some follow-up and home video news.

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Episode Links & Notes Follow-up Apple TV: Which version to buy? Kino Lorber Studio Classics Cartoons Update / Original post Kino: Jacques Rivette’s Out 1 delayed until January Latest Thunderbean update Twilight Time: November Pre-order News Warner Archive Collection: Passage To Marseille Blu-ray Kino Lorber Studio Classics: Gorp, The Purple Plain, Stanley Donen’s Movie Movie Kino: Fantomas Blu-ray Collection Criterion: More Almodovar rumored Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase 2 Shout! Factory: Vincent Price Collection: Volume 3 Hammer Horror: The Warner Years Kickstarter Lobster Films / Buster Keaton Kickstarter New Releases Army Of Darkness The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms Dark Blue Deadly Bees Dr Terror’s House of Horrors Edgar Allan Poe...

No film buff wants to see a promising, or prominent filmmaker pull a disappearing act a la Terrence Malick, (though it seems he isn’t keen to repeat another lapse like the one between Days of Heaven to The Thin Red Line), but whether they’re dealing with unforeseeable professional (endless pre-production woes, writer’s block) or personal issues, sometimes there is a considerable time between projects.

With John Cameron Mitchell, Charlie Kaufman, Rebecca Miller, Patty Jenkins, Kenneth Lonergan and more recently, Barry Jenkins recently moving out of the so called “inactive” period, we decided to compile a list of the top ten American filmmakers who, for the most part, we’ve lost sight of and would like to see get back in the director’s chair again. Most of the filmmakers listed below have gone well over half a decade without a substantial movement in this category. Here is...

Reverse Shot opens its tenth annual Halloween series with a piece on Robert Eggers's The Witch. Also in today's roundup: The New Yorker and n+1 on Joshua Oppenheimer's The Act of Killing and The Look of Silence, Farran Smith Nehme on a dual biography of Marlene Dietrich and Leni Riefenstahl, Richard Elfman on his cult classic Forbidden Zone, an interview with Pedro Costa, an audiovisual essay on Chantal Akerman’s Almayer’s Folly, plus early word that Edgar Wright may direct Johnny Depp in a story by Neil Gaiman, while George Clooney may take on a screenplay written by Joel Coen and Ethan Coen. » - David Hudson...

Reverse Shot opens its tenth annual Halloween series with a piece on Robert Eggers's The Witch. Also in today's roundup: The New Yorker and n+1 on Joshua Oppenheimer's The Act of Killing and The Look of Silence, Farran Smith Nehme on a dual biography of Marlene Dietrich and Leni Riefenstahl, Richard Elfman on his cult classic Forbidden Zone, an interview with Pedro Costa, an audiovisual essay on Chantal Akerman’s Almayer’s Folly, plus early word that Edgar Wright may direct Johnny Depp in a story by Neil Gaiman, while George Clooney may take on a screenplay written by Joel Coen and Ethan Coen. » - David Hudson...

This week on Off The Shelf, Ryan is joined by Brian Saur to take a look at the new DVD and Blu-ray releases for the week of September 29th, 2015, and chat about some follow-up and home video news.

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Episode Links & Notes Follow-up Shirts Iron Giant Blu-ray Thunderbean’s Willie Whopper up for sale on Amazon News Agfa’s Something Weird Kickstarter Arrow Release Date Changes Hannibal Season 3 on December 8th Twilight Time October titles Up for Preorder Panic in the Year Zero (Kl Studio Classics) Dangerous Men (Drafthouse Films) X-Files Blu-ray Warner Archive’s October titles: Atom Ant, Wind Across The Everglades New Releases The Bear Black Coal, Thin Ice Christine The Connection Cinco De Mayo [Blu-ray] The Duke Of Burgundy Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films Five Films by Patricio Guzman Forbidden Zone Hans Christian Andersen’s The Little Mermaid The Honeymoon Killers...

Richard Elfman's (brother to composer Danny Elfman's) Forbidden Zone, is widely considered the most classic of cult classics. The Citizen Kane of underground movies if you will. It's a film where sexy Frenchy falls into an insane underworld ruled by a horny little king and his jealous queen. Where Chicken-boy comes to the rescue, only to have his head cut off by the soul-singing Devil himself--played by Danny Elfman and the Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo. I mean, come on!

Frog butlers, topless princesses and rioting school kids sing and dance in unforgettable musical numbers by Danny Elfman, Cab Calloway, Josephine Baker and other greats.

Now Forbidden Zone is hitting shelves on [Continued ...]...

If you’ve never seen Forbidden Zone, it’s one of those movies that truly defy any and all description. If you have seen it, you, like us, have been waiting for it to get the video release it deserves. That time… Continue Reading →

The post Forbidden Zone Dares You to Enter in High Definition appeared first on Dread Central.

Exclusive: Wilfried Van Baelen’s Belgium-based, post-production outfit, Galaxy Studios has finalised a three-film deal with filmmaker Richard Elfman (Modern Vampires).

The deal will see Elfman working with Van Baelen’s Auro Technologies, using new immersive sound format Auro-3D on all three of the films.

Richard Elfman’s first film under the Galaxy/Auro-3D deal will be a sequel to his 1980 cult hit, the musical/fantasy Forbidden Zone.

Composer Danny Elfman and actress Jenna Elfman are both attached to Forbidden Zone 2, with further names soon to be announced.

The Auro-3D format is currently on display at the Cannes Film Festival in an Auro-3D theatre specially constructed next to the Auro offices and lounge on the Hotel Majestic Plage.

“As Forbidden Zone 2 is wall-to-wall music - to be released along with a video game - Auro-3D’s immersive sound will really knock the ball out of the park,” said Elfman...

A pop-culture touchstone, a nearly all-purpose metaphor and one of the most beloved sci-fi franchises of the Seventies and beyond, the Planet of the Apes films do what all good what-if fantasies should do: hold up a mirror to humanity and reflect our own conflicts, issues and failings back to us through a wildly outrageous premise. The original 1968 movie mixes satire, social commentary, action and suspense, capped by a first-rate twist at the end. ("Damn you, damn you all to hell!")

'Dawn of the Planet of the Apes'...

Richard Elfman, brother of composer Danny Elfman, is making the rounds again to get Forbidden Zone 2 off the ground and into production. The first time I saw the film was on DVD and I couldn’t believe how crazy & inventive it was for the time it was made. While I’m not sure if the film really needs a sequel, if the creator wants one, why not help?

You might remember a piece that was used in promotion for the sequel from Syfy’s special effects show Monster Man with Sota FX. I’ll include that video as well even though I don’t think it is a great representation for the sequel nor do I know if it is current since that video was from 2011 – including an end title card of “Coming in 2012″. Also, in the IndieGoGo campaign the overall look of Princess Polly is different. Richard is looking...

Odd List Simon Brew Ryan Lambie 17 Feb 2014 - 06:24

Whether they're bleak, shocking or sad, the endings to these 22 movies have haunted us for years...

Warning: There are spoilers to the endings for every film we talk about in this article. So if you don't want to know an ending for a film, then don't read that entry.

It's probably best to start by talking about what this article isn't. It's not a list of the best movie endings, the best twists, the most depressing endings or anything like that. Instead, we're focusing here on the endings that seeped into our brain and stayed there for some time after we'd seen the film. The endings that provoke in an interesting way, and haunt you for days afterwards.

As such, whilst not every ending we're going to talk about here is a flat out classic - although lots of them are...

AFI Fest 2013 presented by Audi, a program of the American Film Institute, today announced the remaining sections and films that will screen in the festival’s World Cinema, American Independents, Breakthrough, Midnight, Cinema’s Legacy and Presentations programs. AFI Fest, which redefines Hollywood today as a place where icons and emerging artists bring audiences together to experience global cinema in the movie capital of the world, will take place November 7 through 14 at the historic Tcl Chinese Theatre, the Chinese 6 Theatres, the Egyptian Theatre and the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel.

World Cinema showcases the most anticipated and prize-winning international films of the year, the American Independents section features work by U.S. filmmakers, Breakthrough highlights work discovered only through the blind submission process, Midnight’s selections tend toward the macabre and Cinema’s Legacy highlights restorations and classic films.

This year’s program includes the return of several filmmakers to AFI Fest...

Festival top brass have announced the outstanding World Cinema, American Independents, Breakthrough, Midnight, Cinema’s Legacy and Presentations programmes.

The AFI Fest is scheduled to run from November 7-14 in Hollywood’s Tcl Chinese Theatre, the Chinese 6 Theatres, the Egyptian Theatre and the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel.

The complete programme includes 119 films (83 features, 36 shorts), representing 43 countries. Twenty-seven films are directed or co-directed by women as are 10 documentaries.

For the fifth consecutive year, AFI Fest will offer free tickets to all screenings, however only the Cinepass Express will provide priority entry to all regular screenings. For the complete programme visit the official site.

World Cinema SelectionsBaby Blues Kasia Rosłaniec (Poland)Bethlehem Yuval Adler (Israel)Borgman Alex van Warmerdam (Neth-Bel-Den)Child’s Pose Călin Peter Netzer (Romania)Closed Curtain Jafar Panahi, Kamboziya Partovi (Iran)The Congress Ari Folman (Isr-Ger-Pol-Lux)An Episode In The Life Of An Iron Picker Danis Tanovic (Bosnia and Herzegovina-France-Slovenia)Exhibition Joanna Hogg (UK)Gabrielle Louise Archambault (Canada...

August 2013 -

The cast of characters in writer/director Curtis Harrington’s autobiography Nice Guys Don’t Work In Hollywood: The Adventures of an Aesthete in the Movie Business (Drag City Incorporated, www.dragcity.com) is nothing short of amazing. A partial list of featured and supporting players includes avant-garde pioneer Kenneth Anger, director James Whale, Jean Cocteau, Shelley Winters, Robert Bresson, Forrest (Forry) Ackerman, Christopher Isherwood (who punched Harrington), Stanley Kubrick, Debbie Reynolds, Roger Corman and the cast of Charlie’s Angels. To call his CV eclectic is something of an understatement, and it’s doubtful that any other major or minor Hollywood figure’s career moved as Harrington’s did: from the resolutely experimental to the realm of low brow American television drama of the ‘70s and ‘80s.

Born and raised in California, Harrington was entranced by movies, art and literature at an early age. Among his early accomplishments,...