Horror Anthology

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Apr

2019

[Trailer] Scary Stories documentary is coming with a limited release and VOD

With the excitement of Scary stories to tell in the dark hitting theaters, horror fans have been waiting patiently with little teasers, posters, behind the scene pics. It is a treasure among fans.

Ok, the stories are great but it is the illustration that grabbed our attention, but for some people, not so much. Remember these were kids books with horrific details in the illustrations that would terrify any child.

Now a documentary The documentary called SCARY STORIES is headed our way in theaters will debut in select theaters via Wild Eye Releasing beginning this April. Following the limited theatrical release – which includes Los Angeles, New Orleans, Columbus, and Texas will be available on VOD in May with a DVD release set for July.

The film will feature over 40 interviews with family members of Alvin Schwartz to folklorists to even authors such as R.L. Stine.

April 26th starts the limited theatrical run. A VOD release will be on May 7th to a DVD release on July 16th which is perfect for fans who want to get ready for the Aug release of the movie. Below is the trailer for the documentary

Mar

2019

[RIP] Writer/Director Larry Cohen has passed away

Sad news to report in the horror community. Writer/director/actor Larry Cohen has passed away at the age of 77 it was confirmed early this morning. It is unknown on the cause of death, but he lived a full life by bringing so many classic films to the big and small screen.

For those unfamiliar with his work, he is best known for THE STUFF, It’s Alive and writing Maniac Cop, Captivity, Ceullar, and Phonebooth. The last film that he directed which was called, Pick me up as part of the Masters of horror anthology

So many films to learn the technique and craft. Thanks for the memories Mr. Cohen they will live on forever.

Feb

2019

Here’s the trailer for Twilight Zone (2019) and the premiere date!

It’s officially here the trailer for the Twilight Zone remake. This is the Third revival of the hit television show and even though we were told Jordan Peele will be serving as executive producer and will remaking his favorite episode “Terror at 20,000 feet” we still have to wonder what exactly we’ll be seeing.

The trailer doesn’t give us a whole lot to figure out, but like Jordan’s previous trailers there’s more than meets the eye on what we think we know. The trailer also gives us a slew of stars. Sanaa Lathan, Adam Scott, Kumail Nanjiani, John Cho, Allison Tolman, Jacob Tremblay, Erica Tremblay, Steven Yeun, and Greg Kinnear, DeWanda Wise, Jessica Williams, Lucinda Dryzek, Jefferson White, Jonathan Whitesell, Taissa Farmiga, Rhea Seehorn, Luke Kirby, Ike Barinholtz, and Percy Hynes-White, Ginnifer Goodwin, James Frain, and Zabryna Guevara, Tracy Morgan, John Larroquette, Glenn Fleshler and Chris Diamantopoulos. The series will premiere exclusively on the CBS all access streaming services April 1, 2019. I highly doubt this will be a gag but it’s real. Here’s the official trailer for the series

Jan

2018

MOVIE REVIEW: 10/31 (2017)

Some time back, actor/musician/producer/writer and now director Rocky Gray sent me a press release for a film he was working on called 10/31, he told me to always keep tabs with on it, because as he said, “I think you’re really gonna like it!” So for the past what seems to be eons now of awaited anticipation…and yes, bothering the hell outta Rocky (sorry bro, lol!), he sends me a screener of the film.

10/31 is an Indie horror anthology film that runs about 135 minutes and is pure enjoyment! First, as many of you know, I love Halloween- based movies. I mean I am a sucker for them! But that’s not to say that there hasn’t been a share of them that I also thought were pieces of shit! This, however, is not one of them!

10/31 is opened by the lovely and talented Jennifer Nangle who plays Malvolia the Queen of Screams, a horror host on a TV in a home on Halloween night, who sets you off on your journey of dark and twisted tales of Halloween.

This anthology film is full of horrific stories of terror brought to you by some of the newest and up and coming talent and features segments were directed by Brett Dejager – “Halloween Blizzard of ’91”, Rocky Gray – “The Samhain Slasher”, Zane Hershberger – “Trespassers”, John William Holt – “Killing the Dance”, Hunter Johnson – “Malvolia the Scream Queen”, and Justin M. Seaman (yes, who you all just recently saw on our live video podcast!) – “The Old Hag”.

Each story is different, original, and yet horrifying in their own ways, from stories of haunted homes, property owners, a new meaning of roller disco, and even Samhain!

The collaboration of these talented filmmakers really shines in this film. Each of them truly showing their own passion and twisted images of Halloween horror. Brought to life by some great acting which includes Jordan Phipps (Close Calls), Katie Wagrave (Bonejangles), Cindy Maples (Volumes of Blood: Horror Stories) and Chad Burns (Stargazer) to name just a few.

The amount of support and backing in the production, I must say, is very impressive with 20 producers on the film, some of them being a few of the segment directors as well as a handful of others including Nick Ford, Kirby Gocke, and P.J. Starks.

Was waiting for this release of 10/31 a pain in the ass? YES!! Was waiting for 10/31 worth the wait? HELL YES!!

10/31 is a fun, yet horrific downward spiral of tales darkness and horror of Halloween at is best!

Rocky, congrats my friend!

Keep it Evil!

Dec

2017

MOVIE REVIEW: Fun Size Horror: Volume One (2015)

We watch a lot of movies. Like, tons of them. Like, so many that a lot of my friends and family think I might have a problem. I don’t think I have a problem. I think they’re just jealous that I can sit around all day watching movies and stuffing my large, misshapen face with Twinkies while they waste their time doing tedious stuff like “work” and “taking care of their families” and “basic personal hygiene”.

So, it goes without saying that we watch a lot of shorts and anthologies around here. Mostly because we have short attention spans, and if one of the stories sucks, we’ve only wasted a few minutes as opposed to an hour and a half. Fun Size Horror: Volume One is exactly the kind of thing that we love around here. Twenty-one shorts with no central theme and in no particular order. A virtual grab bag of different types of horror, covering pretty much every genre of the horror field.

Most of the stories are solid, and a few are outstanding examples of the art it takes to tell a compelling and interesting story in only a few minutes. There are a few duds, but the ones that succeed more than make up for the ones that are lacking. And with pretty much all but one clocking in at five minutes or less, it’s no big loss for the ones that you don’t enjoy.

A lot contain dark humor or have darkly comic overtones. Or maybe they don’t. I chuckled a few times, but that might be more of a comment on my severely damaged sense of humor than it is on the content of what I was watching.

I’m not going to get into each individual story, but I will say that “Mr. Hendrix” and “The Creepy F*cking Kid in Apartment B” are the two best shorts in my opinion. And if nothing else, those two alone are worth checking out Fun Size Horror: Volume One.

Dec

2016

COMING SOON: 10/31/16 (2017)

By John Roisland

Red Letter Entertainment, Inc. brings you the directorial debut from Rocky Gray (composer of The Barn, Killing Floor 2),two time Grammy winning musician and former drummer for Evanescence.

A new horror anthology in the vein of V/H/S/ and Creepshow
brings an ensemble cast together to spin twisted tales of the macabre. The film is Executive Produced by P.J. Starks, creator of the critically acclaimed Volumes of Blood franchise.

Story line:
A video tape given to a group of teens by a sinister trick or treater turns Halloween night into a living nightmare.

The film stars Jordan Phipps, Greg Fallon, Samantha Anderson, Taylor Aulbach, Darius White, Micah Patterson, Kirby Gocke, Star McCann, and Alivea Lafavor.

So when can we expect too see the finished project? Good question! 10/31/16 is set to be released around August 2017.

When Rocky and I first met, i knew he was the drummer for Evanescence, I also knew he was a huge horror fan, it was because that, that i pursued Rocky to join the staff of House of Tortured Souls. And what an addition he has been, graphics for the website, logo images, and last but by no means least - the opening and closing music for our podcast House of Tortured Souls Live. All of which we have had many compliments over, and we thank you, Rocky!!

I was in awe of the work Rocky had been doing with scores and soundtracks, but when he first mentioned to me about him making his own film, the upcoming 10/31/16, I’m pretty sure my reply text to him was, “FUUUCK YEA!!!!! Keep me posted. I’d be honored to support and help you out any way I can!”

When Rocky told me he had sent me the trailer and press release for 10/31/16, I was thrilled and couldn't wait to get home and check it out ! As most of you know, I am a huge fan of horror anthologies, so when Rocky mentioned that's what his film was, I was super stoked!

Be sure to check out 10/31/16 online:

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Keep your eyes on 10/31/16 and on Houseoftorturedsouls.com for updates on the film and keep your ears open to House of Tortured Souls Live for the podcast with Rocky Gray.

A horror fan living the dream, give 'em hell, Rocky!

Keep It Evil...

Nov

2016

HoTS LIVE : MITCHELL ALTIERI

By John Roisland/Allen Alberson

Hello, boys and girls, and welcome to yet another great addition of House of Tortured Souls Live with special guest Mitchell Altieri! That's right. On this exciting pre-recorded episode, John and Allen welcome special guest writer-director Mitchell Altieri. Mitchell fills everyone in as he discusses the new upcoming horror comedy The Night Watchmen, starring Ken Arnold, Dan Deluca and Kevin Jiggetts that is holding its big screen premier next Thursday, 11/17/16. He also talks about his past movies such as The Hamiltons and The Violent Kind . Along with all this, Mitchell Altieri also talks with us about the pros and cons of independent vs high-end Hollywood production films.

Mitchell Altieri on House of Tortured Souls Live

On this week's episode of House of Tortured Souls LIve, John and Allen also discuss the upcoming remake of legendary horror film An American Werewolf in London as Max Landis, son of the original director, is now behind the camera. Your horror-fic hosts give mention on our artist of the month Corey Newman as well as welcome our newest member to the staff of House of Tortured Souls, Laura James who will be bringing us true horror in American history.

House of Tortured Souls Live also takes a moment congratulate the winners of our first annual Scary Story Contest. We also touch base on House of tortured Souls own Rocky Gray with his upcoming horror anthology film 10/31/16, as well as give you a sneak peek at our upcoming guests on House of Tortured Souls Live.

So give a listen and as always,

Keep It Evil...

Sep

2016

House of Tortured Souls Live Welcomes Billy Pon

With Special Guest Billy Pon

By John Roisland, Stephanie Roisland, and Allen (Dixielord) Alberson

&npsp;

During the Billy Pon interview about a minute and a half of audio was garbled, and some bits lost. It was either cut the entire section, leave it or try and piece it together and possibly lose or misinterpret the questions and response so I decided to leave it as is. Apologies to Billy Pon.

Hello and welcome to Episode III of House of Tortured Souls Live! This week we discuss the sneak preview release of what has become the most anticipated horror film of 2016. We could be talking about, the one and only, love him or hate him...Rob Zombie's 31. House of Tortured Souls own Jonathan Patrick Hughes was there to check out the release on the big screen as well as give you his thoughts in his written review online at www.houseoftorturedsouls.com. We discuss the return of American Horror Story 6 being brought back the Fox network September 14th, with the return of Lady Gaga. The Misfits reunion with confirmed legendary drummer (SLAYER/ SUICIDAL TENDENCIES) Dave Lombardo will begin at Riot Fest. House of Tortured Souls pays tribute to and remembers comedic actor Gene Wilder who starred in such great films as Mel Brooks' Young Frankenstien and Blazing Saddles, and who all know was the real Willy Wonka. . The House of Tortured Souls takes a moment to also celebrate the birthday of Asian horror Master Takashi Miike. In the studio for Episode III co-founder of House of tortured Souls Stephanie Roisland> joined us and gets you up to date on Fangoria Music release of The Horde mixtapes. House of tortured Souls is also proud to announce that one of our own, Rocky Gray is currently directing his own horror Anthology entitled 10/31/ 16 and Allen Alberson also gives us an in-depth look at the problems with distribution in film making as he discusses lost movies that have never made it. The House of Tortured Souls Live was also honored with our first in studio guest for Episode III, director of Dolll Boy and Circus of the Dead, Mr. Billy Pon aka Bloody Bill, who discusses the making of Circus of the Dead , problems with distribution companies, his own Haunted House in his home land of Texas all that while we try to get Allen a Pepsi!

Keep It Evil.

Oct

2015

MOVIE REVIEW: Tales of Halloween (2015)

By Amy Mead

TALES OF HALLOWEEN

One night. One town. Ten chilling stories.

Tales of Halloween is a anthology film in which a series of shorts are brought to us by ten directors well known horror directors. The ten stories are interwoven in that they all take place on Halloween night in a what is normally a quiet suburb but on this particular Halloween night, all hell has broken loose and the unsuspecting citizens are tormented by ghouls, monsters, and killers of all types.

The cops in this town have much more than they can handle this Halloween and there is a pretty good chance that there just may not be enough EMT's and coroners left to process the bodies by the time this night is over.

Sweet Tooth

Written and directed by David Parker

Starring Caroline Williams, Greg Grunberg, Cameron Easton and Hunter Smit

After teen babysitter and her boyfriend tell a scary story about a local urban legend to her charge, Timmy. they break the cardinal rule and eat all of Timmy's candy. Now they are fair game for "Sweet Tooth"...

The Night Billy Raised Hell

Written by Clint Sears

Directed by Darren Lynn Bousman

Starring Barry Bostick, Marcus Eckert, Sage Stewart and

After being goaded into playing a prank by his sister and her boyfriend, young Billy tries to play a trick on the devil himself and pays the ultimate price.

Trick

Written by Greg Commons

Directed by Adam Geirasch

Starring Tiffany Shepis and John F. Beach with a cameo by Rebekah McKendry

Two couples are watching a movie and passing out candy to the trick or treaters until things take a very violent turn. People are not always as they appear.

This one is the darkest of the tales and also my favorite .

The Weak and The Wicked

Written by Molly Millions

Directed by Paul Solet

Starring Keir Gilchrist, Grace Phipps, BooBoo Stewart and Noah Segan

A young man summons a demon to dispatch the three bullies who forever changed his life

Grim Grinning Ghost

Written and directed by Axelle Carolyn

Starring Lin Shaye, Alex Essoe, Barbara Crampton featuring an appearance by Stuart Gordon

A scary story told at a Halloween party soon becomes a frightening reality for one of the party-goers.

Ding Dong

Written and directed by Lucky McKee

Starring Pollyanna McIntosh and Marc Senter

And Hansel and Gretel thought they had it bad...

This Means War

Written and directed by Andrew Kasch and John Skipp

Starring James Duvall, Elissa Dowling and an appearance by Sean Clarke

What should be a friendly competition between two neighbors about who has the best Halloween decorations gets a little out of hand.

Friday the 31st

Written by Mike Mendez and Dave Parker

Directed by Mike Mendez

Starring Nick Principe

A deformed killer living in the woods meets his match when a tiny visitor becomes upset when his cries of "Trick or Treat" repeatedly go unanswered.

The Ransom of Rusty Rex

Written and directed by Ryan Schifrin

Starring Sam Whitwer and Ben Woolfe

and featuring an appearance by John Landis

Two kidnappers robbers are in for a surprise when their grand plan to abduct a rich man's kid and get the ransom goes horribly awry.

The Bad Seed

Written and directed by Neil Marshall

Starring Cerina Vincent, Pat Healy and Kristina Klebe

A hardened police woman tries to save the town from an overgrown man eating pumpkin bent on ravaging the entire town.

I am a big fan of anthology films and I was not disappointed with Tales of Halloween at all. There are so many things for the audience to love about this film. There are revered horror icons aplenty and the stories, although rather short, are a pleasant mix that range from funny and entertaining to creepy and gory, and all of them are a lot of fun to watch. I do however wish some of the stories were just a little bit darker.

The talent bank with the writers and directors alone is phenomenal but then you add in all the insane acting talent and you've struck gold.

In addition to Tales of Halloweens enormous star studded cast, with many cameos by many revered horror figures, (Joe Dante, John Landis, Barry Bostwick, John Savage, and many others) Tales of Halloween boasts quite a few homages to some of the old horror favorites, ranging from Adrienne Barbeau as the DJ helping listeners to usher in the witching hour, to a candy bar labeled "Carpenter's" rather than Hershey's, as well as many other nods to the genre we all know and love. If you are a fan of anthologies you are bound to enjoy Tales of Halloween. I know I sure did. It has definitely made its way onto my Halloween season must watch list, and I strongly recommend you see it for yourself as soon as possible. If you haven't yet, you are truly missing out on a fun watch.

I give Tales of Halloween 8/10 organic man eating pumpkins

Aug

2015

COMING SOON: Tales of Halloween (2015)

Are You Ready For Halloween?

By John Roisland

On October 16, 2015, Epic Pictures brings you an all new tale of terror - Tales of Halloween. Eleven directors and ten writers are brought together to each tell a tale of Halloween in an average suburban American town and then tie them all together to bring you one giant nightmare anthology!

Bringing these tales to the screen are such directors as Lucky McKee, John Skipp, Darren Lynn Bousman, and many other well known genre directors. Also on board are writers like Andrew Kasch, Dave Parker, and Mike Mendez. Bringing these directors' stories to life are a long list of Hollywood favorites. There are many talents bringing the stories to light, including Barry Bostwick (The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Helen Keller vs Nightwolves), Adrienne Barbeau (The Fog, Unholy), and John Landis (Quicksilver Highway, Attack of the 50 Foot Cheerleader). Genre favorites Caroline Williams (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, Stepfather II), Barbara Crampton (Re-Animator, From Beyond), and Lin Shaye (The Hillside Strangler, 2001 Maniacs: Field of Screams) are also in the film.

Tales of Halloween, a horror comedy classic in the making, has a run time of 92 minutes and is rated R for strong bloody horror violence, language, and brief drug use. BONUS: Watch for a kid trick-or-treating as "Snake Plissken", the main character from the John Carpenter movies Escape from New York (1981) and Escape from L.A. (1996).

With titles like "The Night Billy Raised Hell", "This Means War", "Friday the 31st", and "Sweet Tooth", Tales of Halloween promises to be quite the Halloween treat for horror lovers. So get the candy corn and popcorn ready because this Halloween flick looks like it has the potential to be pretty damn good!