Being An Eye Witness To The Unknown God

The latest chapter in Robert James Luedke's Eye Witness graphic novel series is hitting bookshelves on July 20th. The book is entitled Unknown God and is the fourth in the series coming out through Head Press Publishing. It tells the story of "forensic Archeologist, Dr. Terry Harper, (who) it appear(s)has safely made it back to U.S. soil, (until) he's assassinated by a sniper's bullet. Meanwhile, back in the first century, the Apostle Paul has been stoned to death in the village of Lystra. It appears the tale of the eyewitness has finally come to an end...if not for the power and mystery of The Unknown God." The book mixes the elements of a political thriller, adventure, Bible epic, and the supernatural very well. I interviewed Luedke back at Wizard World Con in Dallas, TX and he seemed like a genuinely cool guy. The artwork in the book is also top-notch and definitely in the classic style of Jack Kirby and the likes. After the jump, you can check out my interview with him and more info on Unknown God and the author.

Horror In Your Emerging Past

I’m not seeing anything too overtly religious in this trailer for writer/director Thomas Churchill’s upcoming indie horror film Emerging Past, but it promises to be “in the tradition of The Exorcist and The Omen,” so I figured we’d share about it a bit. There appears to be a priest in the film, but that’s about all I can see right now that gives it a religious tie. I guess we’ll see. The film is premiering at the Famous Monsters Convention in Indianapolis this July. It stars genre veterans Brooke McCarter (The Lost Boys), Stephen Geoffreys (Fright Night, 976-Evil), Steve Dash (Friday the 13th Part 2), and Tony Moran (Halloween) along with up-and-coming actress Krista Grotte. The soundtrack and score is done by G Tom Mac, who is best known for his song "Cry Little Sister" which was done for The Lost Boys soundtrack. There’s no real synopsis for the film. Just the tag line “When you can't see the future and the present seems to fade, you need to live for the past.” Click on the pic above to enlarge the poster for the film. After the jump, you can check out the trailer and G Tom Mac’s music video for the movie’s song "Soul I Bare."

Derrickson On Religion, Evil & Dark Cinema

Scott Derrickson recently did a pretty cool interview over on the Film School Rejects website. He talks about "religion, evil and dark cinematography" Derrickson directed the religious-themed The Exorcism of Emily Rose and the fifth chapter in the Hellraiser franchise, Inferno. Some horror fans found Inferno to be a bit preachy and not as good as the other Hellraiser films, including Pinhead actor Doug Bradley. He also directed the remake of The Day The Earth Stood Still. He has also been working on a film version of John Milton's Paradise Lost. That would be interesting to see. After the jump you can see some excerpts from the interview and then get the link to the whole interview.

Exorcist II: The Heretic (Warner Bros. Pictures - 1977)

Father Philip Lamont is struggling with his faith while investigating the death of Father Merrin, who was killed in the course of exorcising the Assyrian demon Pazuzu from Regan MacNeil. Although now seemingly normal, Regan continues to be monitored at a psychiatric institute by Dr. Gene Tuskin. In an attempt to plumb her memories of exorcism, Dr. Tuskin has hypnotized the girl, to whom she's linked by a "synchronizer" and is so overcome by "witnessing" Regan's memory of the event that Lamont has to rescue her. After a tour of the Georgetown house where the exorcism took place, Lamont returns to be coupled with Regan through the synchronizer. The priest is spirited to the past by Pazuzu to observe Father Merrin exorcising a young boy, Kokumo, in Africa. Learning that the boy developed special powers to fight Pazuzu, who appears as a swarm of locusts, Lamont journeys to Africa, defying his superior, to seek help from the adult Kokumo.

Directed by John Boorman.
Starring Linda Blair, Richard Burton, James Earl Jones, Louise Fletcher, Max von Sydow, and Kitty Winn.

The Exorcist (Warner Bros. Pictures - 1973)

A visiting actress in Washington, D.C., notices dramatic and dangerous changes in the behavior and physical make-up of her 12-year-old daughter. Meanwhile, a young priest at nearby Georgetown University begins to doubt his faith while dealing with his mother's terminal sickness. And, book-ending the story, a frail, elderly priest recognizes the necessity for a show-down with an old demonic enemy.

Directed by William Friedkin.

Starring Ellen Burstyn, Max von Sydow, Linda Blair, Lee J. Cobb, and Kitty Winn.

The Exorcism Of Emily Rose (Screen Gems - 2005)

Emily Rose was an average teenage girl who was the target of terrifying demonic forces that would ultimately shock a town and torment her soul. But was she, as many believed, possessed?

In an attempt to clear the clergyman who exorcised Emily, a skeptical attorney awakens to the discovery that powerful spiritual forces may actually exist.

Directed by Scott Derrickson.
Starring Laura Linney, Tom Wilkinson, Campbell Scott, Jennifer Carpenter, and Colm Feore.

Thr3e (Namesake Ent - 2006)

Enter a world where nothing is what it seems. Where your closest friend could be your greatest enemy.

Kevin Parson is alone in his car when his cell phone rings. A man calling himself Slater offers a deadly ultimatum: You have exactly three minutes to confess your sin to the world. Refuse, and the car you're driving will blow sky high. Then the phone goes dead.

Kevin panics. Who would make such a demand? What sin? Yet not sure what else to do, Kevin swerves into a parking lot and runs from his car. Just in case.

Precisely three minutes later, a massive explosion sets his world on a collision course with madness. And that's only the first move in this deadly game.

Directed by Robby Henson.
Starring Marc Blucas, Justine Waddell, Bill Moseley, and Priscilla Barnes.