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Buy / Wait / Rent: July 2019 Blu-Ray Releases

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We sift through the new release heap so you don’t have to!

Welcome to Horror News Network’s Buy / Wait / Rent, a monthly article devoted to the most highly-anticipated horror releases on blu-ray. Here you will find the best home video releases of each month, along with our opinion on whether each film is a must-own on the first day of release, something you should wait to buy until it goes on sale, or something you’re better off renting for a one-time watch. And now, on to the notable new releases of July 2019! read more

‘Hellboy vs Lobster Johnson: The Ring of Death’ Artist Mike Norton: The Horror News Network Interview

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Ever since 2010’s Hellboy in Mexico, the series has incorporated elements of lucha libre, Aztec mummies, and other classic influences from “South of the Border” (and south of Heaven, for that matter).  Most of these adventures also imagine “Big Red” in Mexico during the heyday of wrestlers vs monsters on screen, so why not share a lost tale from this bygone era and thrown in Lobster Johnson to boot!

Mike Norton tackled the artistic duties on the new one-shot entitled Hellboy vs. Lobster Johnson: The Ring of Death and he shared some of his ideas about returning to Hellboy, as well as his critically acclaimed new series from Albatross Funnybooks, Grumble. read more

‘The Curse of La Llorona’ Weeps All the Way to Number One at Weekend Box Office

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The Curse of La Llorona didn’t have any problem scaring the competition away at this weekend’s box office, finishing first with a estimated $26.5 million.

La Llorona acted as perfect counter-programming to the new family and religious based films that entered theaters this weekend such as Disney’s Penguins (which couldn’t even crack the top ten) and Breakthrough (which finished in third place with an estimated $10 million).  The debut performance for “The Weeping Woman” is somewhat similar to Pet Sematary’s opening frame earlier in the month (which also brought in close to $25 million), although the film wasn’t as well-liked by critics, with a Rotten Tomatoes score of 32% (vs Sematary’s 58%).  On the other hand, when compared to Sematary’s C+ grade from Cinemascore, audiences seemed to prefer La Llorona slighlty better (director Michael Chaves’ Curse received a grade B- from the same polling service). read more

‘Hellboy’ Burned at Weekend Box Office

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Much to the chagrin of Hellboy fans, Neil Marshall, David Harbour, and Mike Mignola (to say nothing about the financial stake holders at Lionsgate and Summit Entertainment), the much-hyped Hellboy reboot failed to deliver at the box office, or in the eyes of critics and fans.

Expectations were gauged as cautiously optimistic for the latest adventures of Dark Horse Comics “Big Red” (especially when it was clear that Hellboy would be entering a crowded scene with the continued success of Shazam, Us, Captain Marvel, and last week’s Pet Sematary remake), but no one involved could have prepared for the anemic box office returns, as the film earned only an estimated $12 million in its first weekend of release. read more

‘Pet Sematary’ Climbs into Second Place at Weekend Box Office, ‘Us’ Passes $150 Million Mark

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The pulse for Pet Sematary has been running high over the past few months (and the film delivered a second place finish at the weekend box office to the tune of $25 million), but  just like the optimism of Dr. Louis Creed, the end result may not be what Paramount expected.

Pet Sematary’s debut is a healthy one for a horror remake, but all of the analytics associated with the film point to a sharp decline in ticket sales next week.  Sematary’s Rotten Tomatoes score has steadily fallen from the mid-80s to a current score of 61% fresh.  While this is an admirable number for any horror film, the fan metrics are more disturbing.  Only 49% of fans on Rotten Tomatoes liked the film (according to their Audience Score) and film-goers polled by Cinemascore gave the remake an ultra low C+.  With Hellboy opening next week, followed quickly by The Curse of La Llorona weeping into theaters two weeks later, Pet Sematary could easily drop 65% at next week’s box office, signaling an early exit from theaters. read more

Horror News Network’s Spring 2019 Movie Preview

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Spring brings warmer weather, longer days, and seasonal allergies to one and all, but it is also brings a healthy amount of horror films in the season of rebirth.  While the fall is the traditional season for all things that go bump in the night, there are enough horror films in April and May to satisfy fans of all persuasions, whether you are in the mood for some highly anticipated remakes and reboots (Pet Sematary, Hellboy), ghostly women (The Curse of La Llorona), super-powered, evil children (Brightburn), stalkers (The Intruder, Ma), or giant lizards (Godzilla: King of the Monsters). read more

‘Hellboy’ Red Band Trailer Unleashed

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Last night at the stroke of midnight, the red band trailer for the highly-anticipated Hellboy reboot was dropped.   The film is, of course, based on the iconic Dark Horse comic series from Horror Comic  Award winner Mike Mignola.  This time around Neil Marshall is at the helm, while David Harbour (Stranger Things) steps in as the anti-hero from the abyss, a role made famous by Ron Perlman back in the 2004 original.

The trailer, set to a symphonic version of “Smoke on the Water,” has all the grandeur, grit, and sarcasm that fans come to expect from the Hellboy universe, whether it be movies or comics.  While Mignola’s work always provides a weighty storyline, the teaser leads one to believe that the film follows that lead.  From the trailer it seems as though there story will be matched with epic battle scenes, and certainly enough blood and gore for horror fans. read more

First Trailer for ‘Hellboy’ Released by Lionsgate

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Hellboy fans got a Christmas present a little early this year, as the first trailer for April’s Hellboy (formerly titled Hellboy: Rise of the Blood Queen) was released today.

The trailer includes a lot of what fans of the original Guillermo Del Toro films enjoyed in terms of the humor and monster-smashing action, and also some surprises for those fans familiar with the source material (Mike Mignola’s long-running comic book series from Dark Horse).  Observant fans are sure to pick out vampire luchador action, as well as a quick image of Baba Yaga’s walking hut, among other nods to the original comic series.  It also appears that the B.P.R.D.’s offices have moved from Fairfield, Connecticut to a location in England. read more

‘Hellboy Winter Special 2018’: The Horror News Network Review

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There are two thing that you can count on during the holiday season: there will always be left-over fruitcake and the arrival of a jolly, red faced, barrel-chested icon.  I am of course talking about Hellboy and his annual Winter Special.

This year’s 2018 collection contains three seasonal tales featuring a classic Mike Mignola and Ben Stenbeck collaboration about a New Year’s Eve seance gone wrong, Fabio Moon and Gabriel Ba’s return to B.P.R.D.: Vampire with a new story entitled “Lost Ones”, and “The Empty Chair” starring Lobster Johnson by Tonci Zonjic. read more

New Photo Emerges of David Harbour in ‘Hellboy’

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Our friends at Empire revealed a new photo of David Harbour as the titular character in the upcoming Hellboy movie. The still shows Hellboy seemingly preparing for battle as he moves through some sort of tunnel.

“It was always a case of, ‘When in doubt, go back to the source material.’ Some of the stuff is pretty sick,” director Neil Marshall tells Empire in the January 2019 issue. “More violent and more bloody. We weren’t making it with handcuffs on.”

Milla Jovovich will play opposite of Harbour in the role of Nimue the Blood Queen, an evil sorceress who wishes to wipe mankind off the face of the earth. Other cast members include Ian McShane as Trevor Bruttenholm, Daniel Dae Kim as Ben Daimio, Sasha Lane as Alice Monaghan, and Penelope Mitchell as Ganeida. read more