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Buy / Wait / Rent: August 2017 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 August 2017! read more

Ridley Scott Confirms Over 20 Minutes Cut from Alien: Covenant

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In a recent interview with Collider, Ridley Scott revealed that he cut just about 20 minutes from his latest film Alien: Covenant.

Scott cut the 20 minutes based on test screenings and in an effort to bring the film in at just over the two hour mark.  Scott actually appeared happy with the feedback from the test screenings and there were no signs that the director was told to trim the film by his producers (no Blade Runner-style creative showdowns it would seem). Scott asserted that sometimes a director “…thinks you know everything, but you don’t”. read more

Alien: Covenant Wins Weekend Box Office, But May Have a Tough Road Ahead

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According to current box office estimates, Ridley Scott’s Alien: Covenant narrowly beat out another set of “aliens” in the form of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 with a weekend gross of $36 million dollars.  Last week’s champ (Guardians) finished with just over $35 million at the weekend box office, ending their two week reign in the top spot.

While the win is a positive for the new Alien film, it did not bring in the estimated $40-$45 million that most tracking agencies predicted.  In fact, the much maligned Prometheus brought in $15 million more than Covenant with a total of $51 million in its first weekend in 2012.  Couple this with a summer packed with a new blockbuster or two every weekend until  mid-August, and Covenant may not last long at your local theater. read more

Fox Unveils Yet Another Promo Video for Alien: Covenant

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In 2012, Fox took a very conservative approach to marketing its $130 million project, Prometheus. Loosely based on it’s Alien mega-franchise, the studio put its faith in Ridley Scott’s ability to subtly thread connections between the film and the original source material. Before the movie launched, very little was known about the plot; and when it came out many fans ultimately yearned for more direct connections to Alien. All of that subtlety didn’t work out… the movie’s domestic box office totaled $126 million. Therefore, Fox has chosen to market this summer’s Alien: Covenant with the subtlety of a belly flopper shot out of a cannon! read more

Second Alien: Covenant Prologue Reveals What Happened After Prometheus

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In an attempt to generate interest for Ridley Scott’s Alien: Covenant and also serve as a bridge from his return to the world he created in 1979 (Alien) in the form of 2012’s Prometheus, Warner Brothers Pictures recently released a second prologue video (“The Crossing”) for the upcoming film.

The video features the only survivors of Prometheus,  Elizabeth (Noomi Repace) and android David (Michael Fassbender), as they attempt to locate their “creators”, but even David’s sweet, mellow voice can’t downplay his disappointment and horror when they reach their destination at the end of the clip. read more

Summer 2017 Horror Movie Preview

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Coming off of an unusually busy (and profitable) winter season, this summer’s slate of horror films brings some well-known franchises, properties, and directors, as well as some expensive and inexpensive gambles to your local multiplex.  These films will not only be competing with each other for horror fans’ dollars, but they will naturally also have to contend with the usual high profile tent-pole action and super hero films.  Let’s take a look at the upcoming releases and trailers below and please use this as your Horror News Network guide for the summer season: read more

FANtastic fun to be had on April 26th for “Alien Day”

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Everyone’s favorite planet, LV-426, will once again be the subject of mass celebrations on April 26th (4/26…get it?). For those not in the know, LV-426 is the name of the planet from the Alien films where the USCSS Nostromo landed and first made contact with the Xenomorph eggs.

In anticipation of Ridley Scott’s latest addition to the franchise, Alien: Covenant, tons of fan activities haven been planned including an interactive trivia challenge, a fan art contest, new merchandise reveals and even a live-streaming event to be broadcasted from Fox Studios in Los Angeles featuring cast members from the film! read more

Life Stumbles Out of the Gate, Get Out Continues to Add to Box Office Totals

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Although Life received positive reviews and benefited from a recognizable cast, the film had trouble finding any “life” at an incredibly competitive March box office and only returned an estimated $12,600,000 during its opening weekend.

Even though Life earned a 67% fresh score on Rotten Tomatoes, fans chose other options at the cinema, or stayed home waiting for the next installment in the Aliens series (Alien:Covenant), from which it appears Life borrows heavily from.  Fans gave the film a very low “C+” Cinemascore rating, which is particularly low for a film that scored much better with critics (Life’s score also happens to be one of the lowest of 2017 so far).  With a production budget close to 60 million dollars, the film will have to do markedly better at the foreign box office to turn a profit, no small feat for an R-rated sci-fi/horror film. read more

Fox Releases New Xenomorph-Centric Alien: Covenant Poster Image

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Fox Studios have been teasing fans with a steady drip of information on its upcoming film, Alien: Covenant over the past few weeks. Anticipation has been high due to the return of Ridley Scott as director and the fact that the film promises to put its famous xenomorphs front and center this time (after 2012’s Prometheus largely avoided them). Today, Fox released a new poster image which reinforces this commitment. Check out the entire image below:

The poster features every creature a fan of the Alien franchise could possibly want to see: alien warriors, facehuggers, an engineer (originally known as the space jockey!), and even some not-so-subtle patterning up top which looks a little like the crown of the alien queen! It sure seems like we’re in for a real monster fest with this entry in the 38 year old franchise. read more

Ridley Scott Interested in More Alien Sequels After Alien: Covenant

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In a conversation with Fandango, director Ridley Scott teased that more Alien films would follow his upcoming film Alien: Covenant (which is due out on May 19th. )

Scott confirmed that the sequel to Covenant is already written and titled (Alien: Awakening).  Scott also ambitiously stated that the series could extend to four films, confirming that ,”there will be more after this. I think that was the question. If this is successful, and then the next one, and then there will definitely be three more.” read more