Books

IFC Films Releases Trailer for Upcoming ‘Mary Shelley’ Movie Starring Elle Fanning

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The story of the summer of 1816 and the challenge which led Mary Shelley to write her classic novel, Frankenstein, is just as interesting and incredible as the novel itself. The fateful storm on Lake Geneva that spawned a writing competition between Shelley, her future husband Percy, and Lord Byron has inspired readers and storytellers alike (see Chuck Palahniuk’s Haunted) for decades, and now IFC Films has a fresh new take on the legend in the form of a feature film.

Mary Shelley stars Elle Fanning (The Neon Demon, The Beguiled) as Shelley, and features Maisie Williams, Bel Powley, Douglas Booth, Joanne Froggatt and Stephen Dillane in key roles. The film will dramatize Shelley’s journey from creating the text to struggling to get it published in the sexist and censorship-happy world she lived in. IFC Films have just released a new trailer for the film today, and you can watch it below: read more

AMC To Produce Series Based on Joe Hill’s ‘NOS4A2’

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Horror writer Joe Hill has just received some very welcome news, only days after receiving some bad.  While Hulu ultimately decided to pass on a small-screen adaptation of his novel Locke and Key, AMC did agree to produce a series based on arguably Hill’s best novel, NOS4A2. Fear the Walking Dead show-runner Jami O’Brien will front the project and Tornante Television (Michael Eisner’s company) will co-produce along with AMC Studios.

The announcement is both a big win and a big gamble for AMC.  While the jury is still out on new show The Terror, the network has not seen many hits outside of the zombie genre.  Partnering with a hot name in the horror literary world like Joe Hill is sure to energize both camps and fuel the fire for another TV hit.  AMC will give NOS4A2 a 10-episode run, following on the heels of the show being one of their “scripts-to-series” developmental projects last summer.  Two current shows which followed the same model were The Son and Lodge 49.  The network hopes the combination of Hill and O’Brien will give this series more mainstream appeal and staying power. read more

‘The Meg’ Trailer Swims to the Surface

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Just when you thought the megaplex was safe from Jason Statham, the trailer for the prehistoric shark tale The Meg gets released!

The film features the aforementioned star of The Transporter series as a disgraced, yet knowledgeable U.S. Navy deep sea diver, along with Ruby Rose, Rainn Wilson, Cliff Curtis, Bingbing Li, and Jessica McNamee.  The Meg is based on Steve Alten’s Meg: A Novel of Deep Terror (originally released in 1997).

The Meg (which will be released on August 10 and is surprisingly rated PG-13) has not had an easy road to the silver screen and the history of the property since the novel’s release rivals Amityville: The Awakening.   Originally, the film was slated for a 2008 release date and was to be made by New Line Cinema, which acquired the rights from Alten. Some of the diverse names connected to the project ranged from Jan deBont to Guillermo Del Toro, but New Line never made the film and the rights reverted back to Alten.  read more

‘Nocturnals’ Creator Dan Brereton: The Horror News Network Interview

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If you are a fan of monster comics and monster artwork , Dan Brereton should be no stranger to you.  Whether it is through his beloved creator-owned titles The Nocturnals and Doc Horror, his work on Batman and Superman mini-series, or his cover artwork for Rob Zombie albums, his distinct style is one that has captured fan interest for nearly 30 years.

While the artist continues to work in all aspects of the comics medium, in recent years, Brereton has taken his popular art books and comics directly to his fans through a number of wildly successful Kickstarter campaigns.  Brereton took some time from his busy illustrating schedule to speak to us about his latest Nocturnals Portfolio project as well as many aspects of his long career, and a number of exciting future projects. read more

James Wan and Roy Lee to Remake Stephen King’s ‘The Tommyknockers’

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In an exclusive report by The Hollywood Reporter, James Wan and Roy Lee (the producer of It, Bates Motel)  are poised to remake Stephen King’s The Tommyknockers.  Wan and Lee are also joined by Larry Sanitsky, who executive produced the original 1993 TV miniseries adaptation of The Tommyknockers.

Sanitsky described the story as “…an allegorical tale of addiction (Stephen was struggling with his own at the time), the threat of nuclear power, the danger of mass hysteria and the absurdity of technical evolution run amuck. All are as relevant today as the day the novel was written. It is also a tale about the eternal power of love and the grace of redemption.” read more

‘The Terror’ Episodes 1 + 2: The Horror News Network Review

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It seems like the 19th century is television’s era of choice these days with shows like TNT’s The Alienist and FX’s Taboo leading the way back into the bizarre past.  Fans of these programs (as well as naval dramas which also originated in the 19th century) will undoubtedly enjoy AMC’s adaptation of Dan Simmons The Terror, as the first two episodes of the series welcome viewers to a world of icy despair and desperation. 

The series is produced by Ridley Scott and based on the harrowing true-life account of the H.M.S. Erebus and H.M.S. Terror, which disappeared without a trace on a mission to discover the Northwest Passage nearly two centuries ago (and if you are looking for more on the “true story”, Nova recently featured an examination of the discovery of the remains of one of the ships, which occurred in 2014).   read more

‘My Friend Dahmer’ Director Marc Meyers: The Horror News Network Interview

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Serial killers have been a staple of horror films ever since Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho.  Unfortunately, most films use the serial killer as a generic madman and we rarely get character driven stories that explore the genesis of someone with an abnormal psychological make-up.  Recently, there have been more attempts to tell more realistic, and yet no less harrowing, tales of people afflicted with madness such as David Fincher’s Netflix series Mind Hunter.  Another of these current films is the restrained, thoughtful My Friend Dahmer by director Marc Meyers.  Myers was able to take some time to speak to us about his film, the challenges in adapting a successful graphic novel, his phenomenal cast, and what it was like peering into the dark soul of Jeffery Dahmer. read more

‘American Gods’ Artist Scott Hampton: The Horror News Network Interview

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Hot on the heels of the second story arc of Dark Horse Comics’ adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s American Gods entitled “My Ainsel”, Horror News Network was able to interview series artist Scott Hampton about his work on the project, the challenges in adapting a novel to a comic book, and his previous work with Clive Barker.

Horror News Network: You have worked on a number of projects with Neil Gaiman. How is American Gods different from some of the other projects?

Scott Hampton: American Gods is so dense and textured with so many colorful characters and such an amazing story arc it feels like a singularity to me. read more

Cover Art and Release Date Revealed for R.L. Stine’s Next ‘Return to Fear Street’ Book

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While most people know R.L. Stine for his beloved Goosebumps series of books for children, Fear Street is where it all began in 1989! The literary franchise was aimed at older kids than the target audience of Goosebumps, and many of its memorable titles served as a gateway between the “kid’s stuff” and the more grown-up works of Stine’s contemporaries. This summer, Stine will be returning to Fear Street in the aptly-titled franchise, Return to Fear Street! The new series first hit store shelves in 2014 after a 15 year hiatus following the end of the original series. The next book will be called, You May Now Kill the Bride, and it will be available in bookstores on July 24th, 2018. read more

‘Horror Noire’ Author Robin R. Means Coleman: The Horror News Network WiHM Interview

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Professor Robin R. Means Coleman, the author of Horror Noire: Blacks in American Horror Films from the 1890s to Present, grew up in the right time and place to become a horror fan, namely Pittsburgh in the 1970s.  It would have been almost impossible to avoid being bitten by “the zombie-bug” in this era in Pittsburgh, when some of the greatest and most influential horror films were being created in and around the city by the legendary George Romero.

Luckily, Means became a horror fan due to this influence, because if she didn’t, none of us would be able to read her critical dissection and history of the role of Black actors, writers, and directors in horror films.  Horror News Network had the pleasure of interviewing Means Coleman about her book and recent developments in the genre, most significantly, Jordan Peele’s smash success of 2017, Get Out. read more