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‘Halloween’s’ Voice of Dr. Loomis Colin Mahan: The Horror News Network Interview

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Casual fans of  horror movies, and Halloween in particular, always assume that the hardcore fans love Michael Myers or Laurie Strode the best.  But real fans love one man and one man only when it comes to the original Halloween films: the maniacal and hysterical Dr. Loomis (played by the inimitable Donald Pleasence).

When news of the remake started to circulate through the horror community, many fans wondered if the legacy of the great actor and his portrayal of Loomis would be honored.  Thankfully, Loomis’ voice made it into the film, but was the audio captured from a previous film or outtakes?  As it turns out, the recording of “the good doctor” was performed by voice actor and comedian Colin Mahan.  In this exclusive interview, Mahan discusses how he landed the job, the pressure involved in recreating the classic voice, and how comedy and horror are not too far apart on the entertainment spectrum. read more

‘Overlord’ Finishes Third at Box Office; ‘Venom’ and ‘Halloween’ Continue to Add to Totals

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Bad Robot’s long-delayed and rumored about World War Two zombie tale Overlord finished third at the weekend box office while the break-out hits of October, Venom and Halloween (2018), continued to pad their already impressive totals.

Overlord, once rumored to be the fourth installment in the Cloverfield franchise, finished third with a modest $10.1 million dollar debut.  The hard-R tale of mad zombie science run amok may have been too much for the average movie-goer (who gave the film a mediocre B Cinemascore rating), but Overlord did score high with critics (the film currently has an aggregate rating of 81% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes).  The film will certainly earn back all of its production costs ($38 million) once international sales are included, but don’t expect Overlord to perform much better over the coming weeks with continued competition from tent-pole pictures from all of the major studios. read more

‘Halloween’ Crosses the $150 Million Mark at Weekend Box Office

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Although Halloween (2018) fell from the number one spot at the box office, the film did manage to cross the $150 million dollar mark with another strong weekend.

Halloween finished fifth overall with just over $11 million at this weekend’s box office due to some strong competition from three new films, including the ghost of Freddie Mercury in the Queen bio-pic Bohemian Rhapsody (an estimated $50 million dollar), Disney’s The Nutcracker and the Four Realms ($20 million),the R-rated comedy Nobody’s Fool ($14 million), and A Star is Born (which as of now, narrowly defeated Halloween with $11.1 million). Halloween also pulled in some very strong mid-week numbers, performing especially well (naturally) on Halloween with $5.5 million in receipts. read more

Opening Title Revealed for ‘Halloween in a Box’

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Today HNN Productions revealed the opening title sequence for their documentary Halloween in a Box. The film which chronicles the history of costume manufacturers Ben Cooper Inc, Halco, and Collegeville is written and directed by Rob Caprilozzi and narrated by Nick Banks.

“Halloween is a perfect time to give fans a small glimpse of what they can expect in the film,” said. Caprilozzi a long-time fan of Ben Cooper, Inc. costumes “I had the chance to meet with the former presidents, and employees of the big three Halloween costume manufacturers and now is the perfect time to tell their story.” read more

Counting Down the ‘Halloween’ Films from Worst to First

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Hi everyone and Happy Halloween! On this, the most joyous of days, I figured that it would be appropriate to discuss the films that take their name from this most sacred of holidays: the Halloween franchise! Lists like this always stir up tons of emotions and cause arguments that may or may not result in fisticuffs but I’m going to throw caution to the wind and rate the franchise from worst-to-first.

Let’s begin, shall we?

Halloween: Resurrection (2002)
Where to begin with Resurrection? How about we start with Busta Rhymes beating up Michael Myers with kung-fu? Nah…let’s get even sillier than that: Michael Myers gets his penis electrocuted…there it is. In this follow-up to the successful resurgence of the franchise with H20, the studio brought on original Halloween II director Rick Rosenthal to work on a god-awful script by Sean Hood and Larry Brand; they basically lifted the piece from The Curse of Michael Myers where the Howard Stern-like DJ wanted to broadcast from the actual Myers house and jammed it into this film – but instead of a live radio broadcast, Busta Rhymes hosts kids in a reality TV show in the Myers house. Whatever. The only saving grace here is that Jamie Lee Curtis is amazing with her ten minutes (even though her story is confusing as hell too); I suggest watching H20 and then the first ten minutes of this and then shutting it off forever. read more

‘Halloween’ Slashes Through the Competition Again at the Box Office

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For the second week in a row, Halloween (2018) dominated the box office, earning a estimated $32 million dollars in its second week of release.  The latest in a long line of Michael Myers’ films currently sits at over $126 million in sales, and with a few more weeks of slim competition on the horizon, Halloween has a chance to cross the $200 million mark domestically.

Halloween only dropped 58% from last week’s debut, which was less than anticipated, as most horror films see a steeper decline in the 60-65% range.  The success of Halloween has sent many rival studios scrambling to fast track their own slasher properties, with rumors (unsubstantiated at best) running rampant about the return of Jason Voorhees.  Don’t be surprised if “news” of the return of Freddy or Leatherface is far behind, as Hollywood chases the latest trend at the box office. read more

‘The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina’ Season Two has Begun Filming

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Ahead of its first season premier, The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina season two has already begun filming according to Kiernan Shipka, star of the Netflix series.

She said she is currently on set for the show’s sophomore season even though the first won’t begin streaming until Friday, October 26.

Shipka said in a recent interview, “We went straight into the second season from the first and it’s been really so exceptionally fun to film, especially given the fact that I feel like we’re already in such a rhythm from coming out of the first season that to jump right into the second one was really, really fun and just a great opportunity to keep the momentum going.” read more

‘Halloween’ Chops the Box Office to Pieces With a $77.5 Million Dollar Debut

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Expectations were high for the long-awaited reboot of John Carpenter’s Halloween, and it is safe to say that the film didn’t disappoint at the box office with a $77.5 million three-day debut.  The total was the second largest October opening weekend of all-time, coming less than $3 million shy of the record set by Sony’s Venom (early reports had the film beating Venom, but that slippery symbiote held on to his title, at least for now).

With a $10 million dollar production budget, Halloween (2018) was a major success for Universal and Blumhouse, and the film is sure to add to its total over the next few weeks with little horror competition on the horizon. Halloween (2018) fared well with critics (currently 80% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes) and a good, but not great B+ Cinemascore with fans.  The horror community has been less than impressed with the film, which could add up to a larger drop-off than expected next week (look no further than HNN’s John Evans, whose 2000 word plus review gives you every reason to wait to see Halloween at home at best, and perhaps skip it at worst). read more

‘Halloween (2018)’: The Horror News Network Review

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Halloween fans are used to being disappointed. However, after decades of false starts, inconsistency, and mind-bending retcons, our love of the original 1978 masterpiece has remained steadfast and our optimism for an effective follow-up has never been affected by a long line of attempts which never quite hit the high watermark that John Carpenter established with Halloween and arguably maintained with 1981’s Halloween II. Halloween (2018) was supposed to change everything. Directed by David Gordon Green and based on a script by Green and Danny McBride- the duo known for dark and complex non-horror titles such as Eastbound & Down and Vice Principals– the early hype for the film focused on a concerted effort to return to the franchise’s roots, both thematically and narratively. This mission was reinforced by another return of Jamie Lee Curtis as the iconic Laurie Strode, a guest appearance by Nick Castle as The Shape, and John Carpenter’s direct involvement in the franchise by acting as executive producer and providing music for the new film. And then came the trailer- a nearly perfect study in the recreation of the visual and auditory style of the original movie- which resulted in a fever pitch of anticipation for fans who were eager to believe that it was finally happening… he was finally going to come home in style! Unfortunately- and it brings me no pleasure to say this- the greatest moments of the film were all featured in that fateful trailer, and the new Halloween movie suffers greatly due to baffling choices with both story and character. There are fleeting moments in the film which will inspire even the most orthodox Halloween fan, but those moments are earned by the legacy of the franchise rather than the merits of the movie itself. read more

Burger King Prepares Nightmare King Burger for Halloween Season

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Burger King has a long history of giving nutritionists nightmares, but those calorie conscious folks have seen nothing yet!  Burger King announced today that for a limited time, customers will be able to purchase an official “Nightmare King” at participating locations.

According to a report by the New York Daily News, “The Nightmare King” consists of  “…a quarter-pound of flame-grilled beef, a white meat crispy chicken fillet, melted American cheese, thick-cut bacon, mayonnaise and onions on a glazed green sesame seed bun.”  If you’re worried about the looks of that neon green bun, your heart can rest at ease, because the chain did reveal “…that the green bun is made with ‘all natural coloring from watermelons.'”  The report did not indicate if the bun also tastes like watermelons, so you’ll have to see for yourself. read more