Entries by Sean McLaughlin

Veteran Actor and Horror Legend Sid Haig Passes Away at 80

September 23, 2019 /0 Comments/in , /by

We at Horror News Network are mourning the loss of one of the great horror character actors ever, Sid Haig.  His wife, Susan L. Oberg, made the announcement on Instagram early this morning, revealing that he had passed away on Saturday, September 21st (screenshot below.)  The Fresno, CA native was 80.

Haig had a long and storied career in Hollywood, with nearly 150 television and movie credits dating all the way back to the early 1960’s.  For horror fans, he really began to hit his stride beginning in 2003, as he portrayed his most iconic screen character, Captain Spaulding, in Rob Zombie’s first feature film, 2003’s House of 1000 Corpses.  Zombie would go on to cast Haig in important roles in nearly all of his subsequent films, including House sequel The Devil’s Rejects (2005), the remake of Halloween (2007), and The Lords of Salem ( 2012).  Haig even reprised his role as Spaulding/Johnny Lee Johns for the upcoming film Three From Hell, which is due to be released on VOD in October.  Haig worked with the likes of Hollywood heavyweights from Lucille Ball to Robert Duvall, Pam Grier to Quentin Tarantino throughout his impressive career spanning six decades. read more read more

CT HorrorFest 2019’s ‘An American Werewolf in London’ Panel with David Naughton

September 19, 2019 /0 Comments/in , /by

On Saturday September 14th, CT HorrorFest 6 rocked the Naugatuck Events Center in Naugatuck, CT.  We were proud to present the An American Werewolf in London panel with the star of the classic horror film, David Naughton.  On the brink of the movie’s 4oth anniversary, staff journalist Sean McLaughlin had the honor of interviewing the veteran actor along with hosting an audience Q&A afterwards.

David Naughton played the role of David Kessler in American Werewolf, a young American attacked in the English countryside by a werewolf which leaves him afflicted with a bloody disease affected by the full moon.  The film earned a lot of praise from critics and viewers alike upon its release in 1981, and even an Academy Award for “Best Makeup” in 1982 given to legendary makeup artist Rick Baker. read more read more

‘IT: Chapter Two’ Scores Killer Thursday Night Box Office

September 6, 2019 /0 Comments/in , /by

America is still down with the clown.  Deadline is reporting that the much-anticipated continuation of the classic Stephen King novel, IT: Chapter Two, took home a Thursday-night haul of $10.5 million in around 3,700 theaters nationwide.  That figure is good for the second-best September horror opening in history.  Which film continues to hold the top spot?  The first IT from 2017, of course, which brought in $13.5 million.  New Line Cinema has to be very pleased that folks love being scared. read more read more

Netflix’s ‘The Haunting of Bly Manor’ Bring Back Henry Thomas, Kate Siegel

August 29, 2019 /0 Comments/in , /by

Looks like Netflix is bringing back yet another familiar face for the continuation of one of their most popular series.  Henry Thomas, who played the younger version of Crane family patriarch Hugh Crain in the streaming service’s critically-acclaimed show The Haunting of Hill House, will return on the next installment titled The Haunting of Bly Manor.  This news, along with the addition of Kate Siegel (who played older sister Theodora Crain) earlier today, was officially announced by series creator Mike Flanagan via his Twitter account over the last two days (see below.) read more read more

‘Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark’ Rakes in $2.3 Million in Preview Night Ticket Sales

August 9, 2019 /0 Comments/in , /by

Talk about starting off with a bang!  Lionsgate Films’ theatrical adaptation of Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark is off to a great start, pulling in $2.3 million in its Thursday night premiere run in just over 2,500 locations throughout North America.  Scary Stories faces strong competition in its opening weekend, with other strong debuts expected from Nickelodeon’s Dora and the Lost City of Gold and Disney’s The Art of Racing in the Rain also fiercely vying for teenage movie-goers.  The strong one-night ticket sales bodes very well for the film, which had garnered pre-release buzz in recent weeks among both the younger-skewing as well as hardcore horror audiences. read more read more

Remembering Rutger Hauer

July 25, 2019 /0 Comments/in , /by

Yesterday the entertainment world suffered a huge blow with the passing of Rutger Hauer at 75 years old.  The rugged actor was a Hollywood heavyweight, having starred in over 170 films and projects over a career that goes back to the late 1960s (including several movies currently in post-production.)  However, horror and sci-fans especially had a soft spot in their hearts for the actor.  His loss is certainly being felt already by movie fans around the world. read more

First Trailer for Shudder’s ‘Creepshow’ Series Unveiled at SDCC 2019

July 19, 2019 /0 Comments/in , /by

The hits just keep on coming from SDCC 2019.  Shudder just unveiled the first trailer for their upcoming series Creepshow, based on the iconic 1982 film by Stephen King and George A. Romero.  This time, Hollywood heavyweights and horror staples such as Tobin Bell and David Arquette will guest star in the twelve new tales set to hit our screens on September 26th.  And by the looks of this trailer, it will certainly be CREEPY.

The Creepshow series was first announced back in July of 2018, and the buzz continued to build since that time with the confirmed involvement of Greg Nicotero (overseeing the entire series) and Joe Hill (NOS4A2), among others.  While we had to wait a full year for the trailer, it looks to be well worth it.  We at HNN are hoping Creepshow is a worthy successor to earlier successful series using the same themes and format such as Tales from the Darkside, Tales from the Crypt and the original Twilight Zone (which the “new” Zone was not able to pull off.) And of course, what Creepshow project would be complete without the incomparable Adrienne Barbeau! read more read more

The Walking Dead Issue 193: The End of the Line?

July 2, 2019 /0 Comments/in , , /by

In a bit of shocking news around the horror comic and pop culture world earlier today, it was announced by Bleeding Cool that issue #193 of The Walking Dead will be the last.  While readers and fans alike were preparing for this day, it is coming much sooner than anyone anticipated…..as in tomorrow, July 3rd.  The sudden announcement regarding the ridiculously-popular comic’s demise came with zero fanfare or warning.  In fact, future issues had already been announced and release dates selected for both August and September of this year.   Truly wild stuff. read more read more

Mike Gingold Talks ‘AD NAUSEAM II’

July 2, 2019 /0 Comments/in , /by

Last year author Michael Gingold unleashed a cool and original book containing original newspaper clippings of ’80s horror movie advertisments called AD NAUSEAM, released by 1984 Publishing. Gingold, who is a writer and editor at Fangoria magazine and also a contributor to other outlets such as Rue Morgue, had saved the clippings from local papers during his youth. His foresite was every horror fan’s gain, as the book would go on to prove very popular on Amazon and other online retailers, providing a unique sense of nostalgia that brought us all way back to the day when cinemas and cinemas alone ruled the industry. As reported exclusively by Entertainment Weekly, Gingold is ready to take us on all on splatter-filled journey through the ’90s and early 2000’s with AD NAUSEAM II, currently available for pre-order on Amazon. read more read more

Cary Elwes Set to Join Cast of Blumhouse ‘Black Christmas’ Remake

June 20, 2019 /0 Comments/in , /by

It looks like it will be a Black Christmas this year for horror fans.  Blumhouse Productions announced today (and Deadline broke the news) that veteran thespian Cary Elwes will star in the remake of the 1974 seasonal horror classic.  He will join a cast that already boasts Imogen Poots (Green Room, 28 Weeks Later) and Eleyse Shannon (TV’s Charmed) among a slew of young actors and actresses.  Black Christmas is currently in pre-production but is expected to be released in time for the 2019 holiday season. read more read more