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.

Beware Of The Secret Sorcery

Television and non-fiction writer Shawn Patrick Williams will have his first published work of fiction coming out on July 1st through Destiny Image. It is the first book in a series entitled The Secret Sorcery. The actual title of this volume of the series is The Deception Begins. The book is "an amazing drama between two teens who find themselves caught up in a real life supernatural battle, but it shows real life biblical principles that are put into practice to defeat the forces of darkness at work against them." Williams also states that he wrote the book "based on my real life experience in night clubs, living on the streets as a drug dealer, my occult involvement, and how God delivered me from them by the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit."

After the jump, you can read a synopsis of the book and some more info on it and the author.

Sean Bean's Black Death Has Overtaken U.K.

There's no word yet as to when we can expect to see this over here in the States, but the new film Black Death has been released in the U.K. and features Lord of the Rings's star Sean Bean, David Warner (The Omen, Doctor Who, Sweeney Todd), and Carice van Houten (Repo Men, Valkyrie). The movie centers around "a knight and a monk who investigate reports of people rising from the dead." According to a review done by U.K. film blog Hey U Guys, the film is very "overtly about faith, religion and superstition but (it) very cleverly constructs a narrative in which both sides represented in the film are held up to scrutiny." It is also compared to (the original) The Wicker Man. After the jump, you can check out more excerpts from the review and some info on the movie.

The Omen (20th Century Fox - 2006 Remake)

U.S. diplomat Robert Thorn substitutes an orphan for his own stillborn baby in order to spare his unknowing wife. But after a series of grotesque murders and dire warnings, the Thorns come to the horrifying realization that their child is the son of Satan! As stated on Amazon, "David Seltzer's original screenplay wasn't even rewritten (as would normally happen with a Hollywood remake), but when viewed with fresh eyes, or by anyone who's unfamiliar with the original, it retains most of the serious, intelligently plotted chills that made Richard Donner's horror thriller a box-office sensation."

Directed by John Moore.
Starring Liev Schreiber, Julia Stiles, Seamus Davey-Fitzpatrick, Predrag Bjelac, and Carlo Sabatini.

Evil Behind You (Given the Boot Prod - 2006)

Lisa Williams and Debra Reynolds were both enjoying evenings out when something went very wrong. Neither girl can recall what has happened as they awake locked in a dark observation room. Debra's husband, Tony and Lisa's boyfriend David are both handcuffed to operating tables and there is no explanation. No one will respond to their calls for help and there is no way out of the room. The abducted couples are unwilling victims of a scientific experiment. As the guys recover from the anesthesia, the girls attempt to comfort them. But something strange is happening to them. The men are fighting to maintain their minds. The reasons for their abductions are unknown and they must solve the mystery soon, because their confinement isn't the biggest problem. They are sensing something that is more than flesh and blood. Something else seems to be in the room with them. The longer they stay, the "more real" it appears to become. But is it real or an after effect of their surgery? Every minute that passes increases the danger.

Directed by Jim Carroll & Jason Kerr.
Starring Hilary Kennedy, Gwendolynn Murphy, Manuel Velazquez, Jim Garrity, and Gerardo Davila.

Our Moment Of Silence For Dennis Hopper

I know I'm a bit late on the news, but I wanted to address the death of Dennis Hopper on May 29th. I was out of town for a wedding at the time. Hopper was 74 and had been battling prostate cancer. Our condolences to his family and friends. Hopper was a legend and that is putting it mildly. He was never afraid to be in everything and anything he wanted to be in filmwise. You're talking about a guy who was in cult films like Easy Rider to Hollywood megamovies like Waterworld to iconic movie franchises like Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Crow, and George Romero's "...of the Dead" films. Not only was he in those, but he also was in some religious-themed horror / thrillers such as Reborn, The Crow: Wicked Prayer, and Michael Angel (The Apostate).

An Invitation To Your Next Nightmare

Comic book writer and novelist Robin Parrish has a new supernatural thriller entitled Nightmare hitting bookshelves on July 1st through Bethany House. Some may be familiar with Robin through his other novels like Offworld and the Dominion Trilogy (Relentless, Fearless, and Merciless. It sounds like a legitimately cool idea for a book. I read the synopsis for his other book Offworld and it sounds pretty fascinating as well. Allan Heinberg, who is the Executive Producer for Grey's Anatomy has called Parrish "a keen-eyed, passionate pop cultural savant, whose writing is as incisive and insightful as it is entertaining." After the jump, you can check out a synopsis for Nightmare and a bio for the author.

Molly Hartley Haunts The U.K. On June 14th

Well, I don't know what the hold-up was to getting this put out in the U.K. but The Haunting of Molly Hartley is FINALLY hitting DVD on June 14th. I never got a chance to see this film, but it's been described as a "Carrie for the Gossip Girl generation" and another entry in the "teens-in-satanic-peril" category. It's another one of those films where the parents sell the poor kid's soul to the Devil for some reason and now they're coming to the age where they are to be given up to him. After the jump, you can check out a bit more synopsis for the film and see what kind of special features you can expect on the DVD.

Occult Dangers Addressed In New Film The Scarf

There's a new Christian suspense / thriller coming out on DVD on Tuesday, July 13th called The Scarf. It's being touted as "A teenage sci-fi thriller for the MTV audience in your home." Those types of descriptions for Christian films always scare me. The trailer, which you can check out after the jump, looks like the film is definitely indie but well-made. The movie was directed by Kyle Lawrence and written by John Martens. It's been nominated for the International Christian Film Festival, International Film Festival Ireland, International Film Festival South Africa, and the International Youth Film Festival. You can check out more info on the film after the jump.

Sir Quinlan Reveals To Us The Swords Of Valor

Chuck Black's fifth chapter in his The Knights of Arrethtrae series entitled Sir Quinlan and the Swords of Valor will be released on October 10th through Multnomah Books. The bold print teaser states that "Two friends face the Dark Knight’s deadliest scheme, but only one knight has the courage to overcome." It will be coupled with the release of the sixth chapter in the series entitled Sir Rowan and the Camerian Conquest. We'll cover that one tomorrow. After the jump, you can check out the description of the book and a little bio about the author of the series.

The Inkubus Is Coming For You

There's more demon-filled horror entertainment coming our way from Verdi Corrente Productions, which is a film production company based in East Greenwich. The film just wrapped production and is entitled Inkubus. Robert Englund (Freddy in the Nightmare on Elm Street movies) plays the title character. The film "tells the story of a skeleton crew working the final shift at a soon to be demolished police station. The night takes a gruesome turn when a demon, Inkubus, calmly walks into the station holding the severed head of a murdered girl. Inkubus toys with the crew, allowing himself to be restrained, and begins to proudly confess to his litany of crimes, some dating back to the Middle Ages. Why? Inkubus has a score to settle with the one detective (William Forsythe) that almost put him away some thirteen years ago. To their dismay, the cops quickly become pawns in Inkubus' brutal crowning achievement of murder, gore, and mayhem. They ultimately realize it's his world, they only die in it." After the jump, you can check out more of the press release about this planned franchise.

Solomon Kane Up For Battles In The U.K.

It was announced the other day that the adventure / horror / supernatural movie Solomon Kane will be released on DVD and Blu-ray in the U.K. on June 28th. DVD Active made the announcement that Entertainment in Video was going to release the Michael J. Bassett directed film overseas after it has been making the festival rounds over the past few months in the U.S. According to IMDb, "Solomon Kane is a fictional character created by the pulp-era writer Robert E. Howard. A 17th century Puritan, Solomon Kane is a somber-looking man who wanders the world with no apparent goal other than to vanquish evil in all its forms. His adventures, published mostly in the pulp magazine Weird Tales, often take him from Europe to the jungles of Africa and back." After the jump, you can check out a more detailed story synopsis and info on the DVD and Blu-ray special features the U.K. packaging will have. I'm not entirely sure how far into the religious aspect of the character the movie will get into, but I still felt it was appropriate to cover here.

Take A Sneak Peek At The Last Exorcism

The official trailer for the Eli Roth-produced The Last Exorcism has finally hit the net. It actually looks pretty promising. There is definitely a disturbing vibe to the trailer. It does look like a mix of regular cinematography and the old stand-by shaky cam style that is so popular right now. I'm hoping that it won't have too much shaky cam to it, as that causes me great pain and dizziness when watching movies made in that style. Check out the trailer above and let us know what you think.

Don't Go Into The Hell House!

There's a new graphic novel entitled Hell House coming out soon through Dallas, TX-based Viper Comics. Viper is the company that has released Dead@17 creator / writer / artist Josh Howard's first few books. They include Dead@17, The Lost Books of Eve, and Sasquatch. This book looks to be a ton of fun. There's no solid release date for it yet. It's written by Chad Feehan and Ryan Dixon and the art was done by Tsubasa Yozora. After the jump, you can check out a bigger picture of one of the book covers and a synopsis about it.