Welcome to the FTS feature that brings you a bi-weekly helping of all things horror. If you are looking for things that go bump, bite and boo be sure to click through. Read all about the latest horror news, see new trailers, and read what other bloggers are talking about.


Most of Lady Gaga’s music videos aren’t far off from some form of horror so maybe it’s not all that  surprising that she’s set to show up in Robert Rodriguez new grindhouse film Machete Kills. The sequel to 2010’s Machete is currently in production and recently Lady Gaga showed up in a character poster for the film.
Find out more about Lady Gaga’s character La Chameleon in Machete Kills.

The 1976 Spanish horror film Who Can Kill A Child? directed by Narciso Ibáñez Serrador is a fantastic little cult film. The movie centers around a devilish plot involving an island inhabited by crazed, murderous children. I was mildly shocked to discover news that a remake is in the works and that the first set of stills from the movie actually look promising.
Read about the remake and see the stills from Come Out And Play. 

Speaking of remakes, who’s ready for a prequel to The Shining? I mean, Hollywood must know that everyone has been clamoring for that since 1980, right? Well WB currently has the rights and is said to be exploring the options. Get your pitchforks ready.
Read the details about the possibility of a Shining prequel. 


DEAD BEFORE DAWN
Directed by April Mullen. Starring: Devon Bostick, Christopher Lloyd and Martha MacIsaac.
I I think this looks fun, so sue me. The zomcom genre is a good start for a fun premise but the only concern I have with the film is what demographic it’s intended for. I can’t be certain but the trailer certainly gives off a very PG comedy vibe so I’m not sure what to expect. But plus one for Christopher Lloyd!

DERANGED
Directed by: Neil Jones. Starring: Craig Fairbrass, Natalia Celino and Victoria Broom.

So, I’m not 100% clear what’s happening in this trailer. I don’t understand why the four girls assemble at the isolated house to party or how ‘the guy from the bar’ fits in. This confusion isn’t sitting with me in a good way, like “ooh it’s a mystery, what is going to happen?” it’s more like the trailer is a muddled mess. Sadly, this looks like one of those movies where I will let other reviews dictate whether or not it worth the effort.

THE HYPNOTIST
Directed by: Lasse Hallström. Starring: Tobias Zilliacus, Helena af Sandeberg and Nadja Josephson .

Even though the English subtitles suck on this trailer, I can’t help but be won over by the mood of this dark Swedish crime thriller. Really anything labeled ‘crime thriller’ will have my attention. It’s also relevant to note that the movie is directed by Lasse Hallström, a notable filmmaker whose work includes What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, The Cider House Rules, and Chocolat.

SILENT HILL: REVELATION 3D
Directed by: Michael J. Bassett. Starring:  Adelaide Clemens, Sean Bean and Radha Mitchell.

Although it’s been some time since I have seen it, I specifically remember disliking Silent Hill. I actually remember laughing at it a lot. Don’t get me wrong, there are a lot of creepy elements in Silent Hill but most of them work much better in the game. I guess what I’m trying to get at is that Revelation 3D is a film I couldn’t care less about and the trailer didn’t change that for me.

PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 4
Directed by: Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman. Starring: Katie Featherston and Brady Allen.

Not gonna lie, I was hoping PA4 was going to be another prequel film that bridged the gap between PA3 and current day. It doesn’t matter though, I’m totally a sucker for this series and it’s simple story. I have liked all of the installments so far and even though there isn’t a whole lot happening in this teaser, I’m all set to have a Paranormal marathon and see this the day it comes out.


Eat Sleep Live Films has a post called Evil Never Dies that shares reviews for the first three Hellraiser films. All three reviews are spot on and reminded my of my favorite parts of the Clive Barker series. Read the reviews for the first 3 Hellraiser films @ Eat Sleep Live Films.

Vegan Voorhees is a site dedicated to reviewing and dissecting slasher films. One of the site’s hilarious monthly features is “Ridiculous Scene O’ The Month” which is pretty self explanator. For July, Hud picks a scene from a self professed guilty pleasure film The Hills Have Eyes 2 where a dog has a flashback. See the breakdown for the ridiculous scene in The Hills Have Eyes 2 @ Vegan Voorhees.

Cinematic Katzenjammer has a fantastic review up for one of my all time favorite zombie films 28 Days Later.  Nick takes a look at the 2002 Danny Boyle film and breaks down the good, the bad and the ugly. Read the review for 28 Days Later @ Cinematic Katzenjammer. 

Man, I Love Films funnyman know as Sir Phobos put together a bad ass list of the top scenes of people being eaten alive. With videos! Read the list of Top 10 Scenes of People Getting Eaten Alive @ Man, I Love Films.

Two Dude Review is celebrating Shark Week by review some scary shark related films. Joe tackles both Shark Night 3D and the 2010 film The Reef. Read his reviews for both films @ Two Dude Review.

3 Guys, 1 Movie runs a neat feature called Freaky Friday where they review “cult picks and movies from the edge.” In this awesome post, they reviewed the not so awesome 1956 film Forbidden Planet. Read rrclimber’s thoughts on Forbidden  Planet @ 3 Guys, 1 Movie. 

Flickering Myth, one of my favorite film blogs, has a review up for the Troma classic Class of Nuke ‘Em High.  It’s not a film I have seen personally, but it comes highly recommended by fellow FTS contributor Marc. Read the review of Class of Nuke ‘Em High @ Flickering Myth. 

Big Thoughts From A Small Mind  is asking his readers an important question: which is better, The Sixth Sense or The Others. Let him know what movie you think makes for a better ghost story. Read the great debate, The Sixth Sense vs. The Others @ Big Thoughts From A Small Mind. 


Love Hurts
By: Shariff Nasr

This is why I love shorts. Fun experimentation that’s easily digestible. I like the themes running through Love Hurts and the short itself is very well made. The color is lovely and so is the camera work. There’s a bit of blood and gore in the film so be sure to watch it in a place that safe to do so.

Do you have a link, short, or trailer you’d like me to discuss in this feature?
Send it over to lindsay@frenchtoastsunday.com and I’ll be sure to get to it!

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Lindsay is the site's founder and main contributor. She is also the individual on the FTS Podcast that speaks with an odd sentence structure, can't properly pronounce names and sounds like a 12 year old boy.

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13 Responses

  1. Jason

    I can’t wait to see Paranormal Activity 4. The first film wound up being my favorite film of ’09. Unfortunately, the last two films were somewhat ruined thanks to loud people in the theater.

    A group of us are debating whether or not to wait until an empty matinee showing presents itself instead of a packed theater… Tough call. Horror movies are way better with an awesome audience.

    And I’m with you on bridging the gap between three and now. Hopefully they mention and elaborate on the events of PA3.

    • David

      Paranormal Activity was definitely good, but best of 2009… no way! ’09 was a GREAT year for movies: 500 Days of Summer, Black Dynamite, District 9, Fantastic Mr. Fox, The Hurtlocker, Inglorious Basterds, The Invention of Lying, Sherlock Holmes, Taken, Up in the Air, and Zombieland! Oh yea… and Avatar (not a personal fave, but can’t ignore the visuals/industry impact).

      Even for horror movies I don’t know if PA was the best of ’09. I’d probably pick House of the Devil. The Collector, Pontypool and the surprising Jennifer’s Body & Pandorum (both semi-horror I know) were also pretty good.

      P.S.
      I’m an athletic nerd too! Really digging your content. I’ll be reading more.

      • Linds

        @Jason: Yes a fellow PA fan! I don’t think they’re perfect but they’re a lot of fun. I like the small mystery the movies have been weaving so far.

        I think you should attempt to see it with the big audience. It definitely sucks when there are bad apples in the audience but for the most part, I have found all the PA films to be the most effective in a packed house.

        This year we wanna do a marathon where we watch all three in chronological order where we watch 3 then start 2 and stop it when it gets to Katie’s story, watch 1 and then finish 2. I’m excited! haha

        I’m not worried about the missing gap in time just yet because I’m sure these movies will continue to make money for a few years.

        @Dave: I agree it wasn’t the top of 2009 but even though I really loved House of the Devil I can’t say with confidence that I liked it better than PA. I’d have to watch both again for a solid answer.

  2. Jason

    I totally agree there were better movies but for me, I based it on the experience. The first PA was by far the most fun I had in theaters that year. The audience was dead silent every single time it switched to the ‘night’ shot of their bedroom. And they all went nuts when something creepy happened. We did too.

    That’s why I found the other two were disappointing thanks to people having conversations around us. It wasn’t the same experience. Decent flicks but no where near the experience I had with the first.

    Also, thanks for mentioning 500 days! I picked up that movie a while back and haven’t had a chance to watch it yet! Forgot I had it.

  3. Nick

    Awwwwwwww yeah!

    Thanks for the mention! There’s so much good stuff to read in this entire post.

    • Linds

      No prob and I agree. I love going through the weekly horror roundup. Before writing this feature I had been greatly neglecting it.

    • Jess

      @Nick, can I just say that I cannot get over how amazing your logo/wordmark is? Every time I see it I adoringly sigh at its perfection!

  4. totheescapehatchrobert

    The Shining prequel could be interesting if they handle it right (although I guess that’s not saying much. If they handle it wrong, of course it’s going to be crap).

    I was really pleasantly surprised by the 3rd Paranormal Activity and this new one is actually what I suspected – a sequel to the 1st and 2nd films. I wonder if the daughter from the 2nd one is going to be back…

    All that being said, the trailer does look kinda lame… 🙁

    • Linds

      I know, I kind of agree about The Shining. Like, I’m sure a movie about the family that lived at The Overlook before has a lot of potential, it’s just…do something else. lol

      I am also curious about the daughter………………………… We shall see!

      Thanks for reading!

  5. Andrew

    The Skype footage thing is going to become more and more popular as time goes on; it’s the next logical step for found footage, I think. PA4 isn’t going to be the first movie to use it, though– found footage anthology horror flick V/H/S has an entire segment done through Skype, and there’s a neat little short on Youtube that follows the same conceit (and mostly works until it falls apart in the last fifteen seconds).

    Curious to see if PA4 uses Skype for its entirety or just for the one moment seen in the trailer.

    • Linds

      Very interesting point. I’ve seen/heard about the Skype segment in V/H/S but I haven’t seen the film yet. Have you caught it yet?

      • Andrew

        I have! Do a search over on Go, See, Talk! and you’ll find it; I’ve also got an essay about sexual/gender politics brewing for the film’s release.

        It played at 10:00 on a Friday during the Independent Film Festival of Boston this year, and while I missed my train home and had to crash at a friend’s house, it was worth it. Two of the segments don’t work– Ti West’s and the “slasher in the woods” segment, though I have no idea who directed that one– but everything else is terrifying gold.

        The Skype vignette is one of the film’s best. Definitely check it out when it hits theaters; I’d be surprised if it didn’t have a run at the Charles, unless their attitudes have changed since I graduated from college and moved back to Boston.

        • Linds

          Awesome! I can’t wait to check out both the write up and the film when I can get my hands on it.