Table of contents for Issue 174 Jan/Feb 2017 in RUE MORGUE

Baskin writer/director Can Evrenol began shooting his new movie Housewife in Istanbul this past January. In an email interview, the Turkish filmmaker promises that his English-language follow-up to Baskin, which debuted during Midnight Madness at the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) and earned him a Best Director award at Fantastic Fest that year, will also be “a cult film shown at midnight.” Where Baskin followed a group of male policemen as they explored a portal into Hell, Housewife is centred around Holly, a young woman whose mother murdered her father and sister when she was just seven. Two decades later, Holly is losing her grip on reality when she meets Bruce O’Hara, an “international celebrity psychic guru spiritual leader” who wants to help her overcome her childhood trauma. The…

1 DAWN OF THE DEAD (2004) VIVIAN HAS A BITE IN THE BEDROOM 2 BURIAL GROUND MICHAEL’S GNARLY NIP RIP 3 THE GIRL WITH ALL THE GIFTS FERAL FLESH-EATERS GO SAVAGE IN SUPERMARKET 4 COOTIES PLAYGROUND FACULTY FEAST 5 NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD TROUNCED BY KAREN’S TROWEL 6 THE CHILD FACES RIPPED BY ROTTING RUGRATS TORTURED TAGLINE DEATH MACHINES (1976) “THE KILLERS OF THE FUTURE ARE READY NOW” FINAL WORDS “I LOVE YOUR PERFUME! WHAT IS THAT? CHARNEL?” THIS MONTH’S CAPTION CONTEST WINNER IS EVELYN JOHNSTON Drop by our Facebook page every month for a chance to have your Final Words!…

YOU’D BE FORGIVEN IF YOU FEEL THE WHOLE ZOMBIE THING IS A LITTLE PLAYED OUT. As The Walking Dead chews through its seventh season and rotters are the number one go-to monsters for indie filmmakers looking for a quick and cheap way to break into Hollywood, the stories have become familiar if not painfully repetitive. A parade of diminishing returns. Narratively speaking, we’ve become fixated on death as the end point: being eaten by the undead, becoming one of them, being murdered in a lawless world and – in the grand scheme of things – the end of the entire human race. But what about another form of life altogether subsuming us, changing us, replacing us? And what happens after all that? What happens ten years later? How about twenty?…

THE CHILLING FLOOR ABATTOIR Starring Jessica Lowndes, Joe Anderson and Lin Shaye Written by Christopher Monfette Directed by Darren Lynn Bousman Momentum Pictures After contributing three perfectly adequate sequels in the Saw franchise, the spirited splatterpunk musical Repo! The Genetic Opera and a serviceable remake of Mother’s Day, one could be forgiven for failing to raise their expectations in anticipation of Darren Lynn Bousman’s latest. Be that as it may, this writer is happy to report that – despite some bungled scenes and sluggish pacing – Abattoir is the filmmaker’s best effort to date. Derived from an unpublished graphic novel, the story concerns Julia Talben (Jessica Lowndes), a real-estate journalist who longs to work LA’s crime beat. After her sister, brother-in-law and nephew are brutally slain in their own home…

UNKIN DEST CUTS THE EXORCIST III (1990) Blu-ray Starring George C. Scott, Brad Dourif and Ed Flanders Written and directed by William Peter Blatty Scream Factory There’s been an image from The Exorcist III floating around online for years of a priest with his own head in his lap. It’s shocking, grisly and not in the finished film – a promotional shot released before the theatrical cut of the movie was locked, presumably censored for being too graphic. It’s the scene us diehard fans of the film have clamoured for. Alas, it’s nowhere to be seen in Scream Factory’s special edition Blu-ray of EIII, as either part of the deleted scenes or on the second disc containing the director’s cut. That’s not to say Scream Factory’s Blu-ray special edition isn’t…

During the 16th century, astrologer John Dee served as advisor to Queen Elizabeth I, however, he is far more notorious for his many occult philosophies and practices. Along with accomplice Edward Kelley, Dee was determined to use the supernatural to acquire knowledge. Most notably, he directed his efforts to communicating with “angels,” reportedly through the use of mystical objects such as a black speculum (an obsidian Aztec relic in the shape of a hand-mirror). Dee’s exploits form the basis of The Shadow Glass, a miniseries that uses these mysterious events as a springboard for a more chilling tale. “I enjoy reading about people who slip through the cracks of conventionality,” explains writer and artist Aly Fell. “There was a ‘perfect storm’ situation for me concerning Dee and Kelley. I love…

SIX SCARY STORIES Curated by Stephen King Cemetery Dance When Stephen King’s British publisher, Hodder, commissioned him to judge a short story competition to promote his 2015 short story anthology The Bazaar of Bad Dreams, a panel of judges whittled the 800-plus entries down to six, which were then met with King’s scrutiny. He selected a winner with “Wild Swimming” by Elodie Harper, but found himself lamenting that the other five finalists wouldn’t get their deserved publication, so he proposed an anthology to Cemetery Dance and the diminutive (but deadly) Six Scary Stories was born. King’s top pick begins the volume, with the tale of a “wild swimmer” (a person that travels the world in search of untapped swimming holes, apparently) who visits a remote village in Lithuania and dares…

When I discovered horrorcore artists such as Necro and Mr. Hyde several years ago I instantly fell in love, despite not being the world’s biggest hip hop fan. But I always avoided Detroit’s Twiztid – probably because of their association with Insane Clown Posse and the fact that I’m not into the whole juggalo thing. I knew they dressed like scary clowns and the press releases that fill my inbox seem to promote them as some kind of horror act, so when I opened an email asking me to cover their 12th album, The Continuous Evilution of Life’s?’s (out this month on their own Majik Ninja Entertainment label), I took it as my opportunity to delve into what the dastardly duo is all about. Listening to the new album I…

HAMMER FILMS UK - 1967 This year, Hammer’s production of Quatermass and the Pit celebrates its 50th anniversary, and its themes of science versus superstition, and us versus them, resonate as strongly today as they did a half century ago. Penned by Nigel Kneale (The Stone Tape, The Woman in Black TV movie), the Quatermass series was first broadcast on BBC television in the 1950s, starting with Quatermass and the Pit (1958), and became a huge hit. The Quatermass Xperiment (RM#69) was the blueprint for almost every body horror film that followed, while Quatermass and the Pit is a yardstick for alien invasion stories. Released in the US as Five Million Years to Earth, and directed by Hammer veteran Roy Ward Baker (Scars of Dracula, The Legend of the 7…

THANKS FOR THE mostly great work Rue has put out over the years, but RM#173 is the last issue I buy. I just can’t bring myself to spend another dime supporting a magazine that has seemingly devolved into the personal soapbox of Dave Alexander. It’s not about your political ideology, it’s about being forced to read it as part of a magazine I bought to escape reality and catch up on the latest horror news. It’s about seeing the letters section turn into the paid equivalent of an Internet argument over the last few issues, while in your editorial in RM#173 you complain about flame wars. Doesn’t your staff choose what letters to print? And now, you essentially tell paying readers don’t read it if you don’t like it, while…

It’s shaping up to be a busy year for Mick Garris, with the director of The Stand unveiling several forthcoming projects that will appear across several media platforms. Having spent the last few years writing prose and helming episodes of TV shows such as Pretty Little Liars and its supernatural spin-off Ravenswood, as well as two installments of the recently cancelled 1980s-set horror series Dead of Summer, the congenial 64-year-old announces his overdue return to film. “It’s a short time commitment, comparatively speaking,” he says of why he’s been working in television as of late, “and you are surrounded by eager, talented people doing great work. It’s telling stories in the visual medium, using all the latest technologies and staying at the front of the curve.” More than a decade…

1 HANGING BAT NIGHTLIGHT $25 A bat by the bed keeps the boogeyman at bay. This Hanging Bat Nightlight – featuring a bat cast in resin in front of a translucent moon – will watch over you while you sleep. They’re hand-painted, 6” tall and include a 4w bulb – your beacon in the endless dark. 2 FRIGHTENSTEIN PINS/PATCHES $12 / $7 The castle lights are growing dim, it’s time for a Frightenstein patch or pin… Ghoulish Gary Pullin presents official Hilarious House of Frightenstein swag: pins of The Count, The Wolfman and Igor, and a patch of the show’s iconic logo, revamped for the modern monster. 3 SPIDERWEB FOIL COFFIN BAG $52 Because carrying your valuables in a cremation urn is unwieldy, check out this Spiderweb Foil Coffin Bag,…

SOMETIMES WHAT HAPPENS BEHIND THE SCENES OF A STORY IS AS INTERESTING AS THE STORY ITSELF. Case in point: The Girl With All the Gifts, which began its life as a work of short fiction and later bloomed into a novel and movie – simultaneously. But first, let’s set the stage. Author Mike Carey (The Devil You Know, and comics Lucifer and The Unwritten) met director Colm McCarthy and producer Camille Gatin when his agent set up a meeting; Gatin had the rights to a young adult sci-fi novel and needed a screenwriter. Carey proved the right fit. When the option on that book lapsed, Gatin felt it would be a shame if the trio didn’t attempt to launch another project. “What else could we do?” she asked, and Carey…

THIS ISSUE: LANCE DUCKS DOWN UNDER CHOP’TIL YOU DROP LEGEND OF THE HILLBILLY BUTCHER MVD Visual Maybe it’s the nightmares about zombie Colonel Sanders, but here’s something about the American South that makes me cringe. Nevertheless, I’ve decided to face my fears by watching three movies set down yonder. This first one revolves around Carl Jessup, better known locally as the Hillbilly Butcher. It seems that Carl’s dad killed his wife and then committed suicide, passing on the family business to Carl who now hunts trespassers on his property to turn into ground round. Sounds promising, so it’s a shame the director fucked with Legend of the Hillbilly Butcher by giving it a faux retro, faded, scratchy look so distracting and ugly, it’d make a freight train take a dirt…

IF YOU’VE LISTENED TO NORTH CAROLINA’S THE MOUNTAIN GOATS, YOU’VE EXPERIENCED JOHN DARNIELLE’S OBTUSE-YET-DETAILED SONGWRITING ABOUT THE HORROR GENRE. Darnielle – who is The Mountain Goats, sometimes playing with others under the moniker, sometimes alone – has taken inspiration from Lon Chaney Jr. in the Indestructible Man (“Rotten Stinking Mouthpiece”), a stuntman playing Michael Myers (“Michael Myers Resplendent”) and H.P. Lovecraft, as a metaphor for paranoia (“Lovecraft in Brooklyn”). Not surprisingly, his latest novel, Universal Harvester (out February 7 from Farrar, Straus and Giroux), is unconventional right from its title, which references more than the long-running farm equipment company. “It’s a really ominous-sounding phrase to me, just because…you know, what happens in a harvest?” Darnielle ponders. “Everything gets cut down. That’s for the good of everybody, of course – you…

THE DEBUT ALBUM BY BLACK METAL OUTFIT HAXXAN SEEMINGLY PROMISES SOMETHING MONSTER-THEMED WITH ITS TITLE LOCH NESS RISING, but the name is actually a reference to a very different kind of horror icon, famed British occultist Aleister Crowley. He was dubbed the “other Loch Ness monster” in a 2000 BBC documentary detailing the dark rituals he performed in his manor on the shore of the home of the Scottish cryptid. The man behind HaXXan is none other than vocalist Killjoy, known to Rue Morgue readers and in the extreme metal underground as the brainchild behind the bands Necrophagia, Wurdulak, Ravenous, and others. “My mom had a set of Aleister Crowley tarot cards (which I still have),” says Killjoy of his introduction to the dark mystic. “That piqued my interest at…

You’re 90 percent sure the kid shuffling around in your backyard is a zombie – what do you do? Ensure the doors are locked, and windows closed and latched, too. Then I’d sit and watch her/it until I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt, at which point I’d call my friends. COLE GUION Keep calm and call Rick Grimes. BEV MRAVUNAC Let a neighbour approach her first… just to be safe. COLIN BAXTER Bury it again. SJ CROMPTON Round her up. Zombies got to be big bucks. TYLER BEGLEY Take car. Go to mum’s. Kill Phil. Grab Liz. Go to the Winchester. Have a nice cold pint. Wait for all this to blow over. WILL HORNING…

Fleshy computers, tentacled monsters and pregnant men are just a few of the dystopian delights awaiting viewers of Galaxy of Horrors. Out March 7 on VOD and on disc May 2 from Raven Banner Entertainment, the upcoming sci-fi/horror anthology film is the brainchild of Justin McConnell, the founder of Little Terrors, a monthly horror short film festival that has run in Toronto since 2011. (Disclosure: Little Terrors is co-sponsored by Rue Morgue, and founder Rodrigo Gudiño and editor-in-chief Dave Alexander are executive producers of Galaxy of Horrors.) It follows last fall’s release of Minutes Past Midnight, the first Little Terrors anthology. “I’m personally a huge fan of the sci-fi horror subgenre,” says McConnell. “Films like the Alien series, any of the [Roger] Corman space monster flicks, The Thing… I just…

On November 11, 2016, Facebook experienced a glitch wherein it began declaring tens of thousands of active users dead and converting their pages to memorial pages. Bonnie Zacherle, creator of the My Little Pony toy line, is the niece of horror host “Cool Ghoul” John Zacherle. In the early 1900s, the energy drink RadiThor was introduced; its ingredients consisted of radium dissolved in water. Advertising of the period suggested it would also cure other ailments such as male impotence. It, of course, slowly poisoned its users. Musician Dave Navarro (Jane’s Addiction, Red Hot Chili Peppers) has a strong interest in true crime, which he attributes to his mother’s murder when he was fifteen years old. In 2015 he made the documentary Mourning Son about her death. The scenes inside the…

WOMEN ARE KICKING ASS ALL OVER THE GENRE, and 2016 saw them roar louder than ever, at least onscreen. As far as our list goes, tough, resourceful female protagonists made a mark (and other wounds) in films such as 10 Cloverfield Lane and Don’t Breathe, while I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House, The Witch and Iranian chiller Under the Shadow offered specifically female-centred narratives. Then there was The Girl With All the Gifts, which presented a person of colour as its truly original protagonist; she won us over as much as Eleven, the breakout character in the Netflix series Stranger Things. And while we look forward to seeing more female creators exciting horror fans in 2017, we were thrilled to honour two of the greatest: author…

HORROR AUDIENCES HAVE BEEN TRICKED BY ALLEGED FINAL CHAPTERS BEFORE, but Paul W.S. Anderson promises that the latest in his Resident Evil franchise is its real-deal conclusion. “This is not Cher’s Farewell Tour!” he says with a laugh. Instead, it’s a farewell to Alice, the kicker of zombie ass now played for the sixth time by Milla Jovovich. Resident Evil: The Final Chapter (opening January 27 from Screen Gems) is the endgame that Anderson says he’s had at least partially in mind from the start of his series, adapted from the popular survival horror video game franchise spawned in the mid-’90s. “There are ideas incorporated in this that I had when we made the first movie,” he says. “And of course, who knew back then that this would become such…

IF ONE FILM HAD TO BE CHOSEN FROM LEGENDARY PRODUCER ROGER CORMAN’S LENGTHY CV AS THE MOST IMPORTANT OR INFLUENTIAL, there’s a strong argument to be made for Paul Bartel’s Death Race 2000, about an annual event in which costumed racers (including David Carradine and Sylvester Stallone) attempt to kill each other and innocent bystanders in the name of national TV entertainment. Released at a time when Americans were anxious about the future of their country, it became a cult phenomenon. The current political climate has made it ripe for a remake, and Corman answered the call with Death Race 2050. Directed by G.J. Echternkamp and starring Manu Bennett and Malcolm McDowell as a Trumplike “Chairman,” the film – out this month on home video from Universal – promises a…

SOUNDTRACK BLACK MIRROR:MEN AGAINST FIRE Ben Salisbury and Geoff Barrow LAKESHORE RECORDS/INVADA RECORDS Ben Salisbury and Geoff Barrow’s music for Season Three of Black Mirror features a highly distinctive amalgam of synthetic and organic sounds extracted from vintage and orchestral elements. The suite of material gradually evolves from breathy statements and wayward drones to sterile, industrial echoes and pulses, and the album’s electrified midsection eventually morphs into gentle orchestral waves that distill and dribble into a deep, murky sonic pool. It’s music that allows one to melt into a dimension where paranoia tickles the subject through pulses, soft beats and tonal clouds, and although the subtleties of the score might belie its intricacies, both short and epic tracks offer musical statements that evolve with slow-burning precision, or bleed in and…

NOW PLAYING> SLAYAWAY CAMP, HIDE AND SHRIEK SLAYAWAY CAMP Windows, Mac, Linux Blue Wizard Digital What do you get when you mix a retro gaming aesthetic, ’80s slasher movies and a Sokoban-style sliding puzzle game? Well, you get Slayaway Camp, but the darkly hilarious game by Blue Wizard Digital offers more than the sum of its parts. While many horror games of 2016 played off a retro-’80s vibe, Slayaway Camp mashes all the right buttons for slasher fans with incredible attention to detail (the DOS-quality pause screen cracked me up) and countless movie references that’ll tickle VHS-era slasher fans with copious amounts of pixilated blood. You play as Skullface, a psychotic masked murderer with an itch that only killing kids, cops and grannies at a summer camp will scratch. Skullface…