Following the massive success of his breakout film “Halloween” in 1978, director John Carpenter inked a two-film deal with AVCO Embassy Pictures for his next two follow ups. Because he was known for the horror genre after creating one of the most iconic slashers in history with Michael Myers, Carpenter was expected to follow that up with another terrifying film. The inspiration for his next film came during a trip to England with his producing partner and then girlfriend Debra Hill when they vis...
Feb 03, 2022•1 hr 17 min
The buzz is back as a new trailer for "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" has arrived and Rewind of the Living Dead reacts to the first footage from the upcoming sequel... Music courtesy of Andrew Scott Bell and Karl Casey @ White Bat Audio For more Rewind of the Living Dead, visit our website or follow on social media: https://www.rewindofthelivingdead.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/rewindofdead Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rewindoflivingdead Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rewindoflivingde...
Feb 01, 2022•24 min
Hardcore film fanatics probably already know the name Sono Sion from his many works in Japan where he’s been hailed as “one of the most idiosyncratic artists of his generation.” From films such as “Suicide Club” to “Love Exposure,” Sion had a reputation for grotesque violence, extreme eroticism, surreal images and complex narratives. In 2018, Sion planned his first overseas production with an English language film that would star Nicolas Cage, who described the project as “the wildest movie I’ve...
Jan 25, 2022•1 hr 11 min
As far back as 2011 just after the release of “Scream 4,” there were talks about a fifth film in the series being developed by director Wes Craven and writer Kevin Williamson. Unfortunately, a lukewarm response to the fourth film put those plans on hold and then sadly Craven passed away in 2015 after he had directed all four films in the “Scream” franchise. It wasn’t until 2019 when Spyglass Media Group acquired the rights to “Scream” and then four months later it was announced that the same cre...
Jan 18, 2022•1 hr 54 min
By the mid 90s, the horror film industry was on life support without much interest from studios to invest in high profile projects. That all changed after executives started hearing about a script from writer Kevin Williamson called ‘Scary Movie.’ Written over three days while he was holed up at a friend’s home in Palm Springs, Williamson took inspiration from films such as ‘Psycho’ when setting up his opening scene and from there he managed to blend together a perfect mix of horror and comedy t...
Jan 10, 2022•2 hr
There was a lot to like about the horror industry in 2021, especially with a return to theaters and the chance to share some of these moments with an audience again. From the return of the “Candyman” franchise through director Nia DaCosta to the inventive release schedule surrounding the “Fear Street” trilogy on Netflix, there was no shortage of new as well as recognizable titles that were released throughout the year. While there was plenty of choose from, what really ended up as the best of th...
Dec 31, 2021•1 hr 21 min
First time filmmaker Rose Glass came up with the idea for her debut movie back when she was still in school in 2014 and it started out as a love story between a woman and the voice inside her own head. According to Glass, she was fascinated by the various conditions that people can develop while interacting with the voices in their heads. The idea eventually evolved to a story about a woman who has conversations with God, which she wanted to explore in order to better understand the stories behi...
Dec 28, 2021•1 hr 11 min
Holiday themed horror is fairly commonplace these days but back in the 1970’s, it was still almost taboo to crossover a beloved holiday with a truly horrific act. Canadian screenwriter Roy Moore decided to tackle that very subject when he wrote a film based loosely on the urban legend called “The Babysitter and the Man Upstairs,” which told the story about a girl receiving a phone call warning her to check on the children she was watching only to discover the assailant was calling from inside th...
Dec 22, 2021•1 hr 25 min
Friends since kindergarten, David Charbonier and Justin Powell had been lifelong horror fans but after a script they wrote together kept getting rejected by studios and production companies, they decided to write a story that they could potentially fund themselves. They quickly discovered that writing a movie that centered around a pair of 12 year old boys wasn’t going to be as easy as intended so a production company eventually came on board after reading a treatment of the script. The fledglin...
Dec 15, 2021•1 hr 23 min
In this special edition of Rewind of the Living Dead, Damon and Patrick react to the new trailer for the upcoming "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" sequel as well as comments about how this movie ties together with past films. They will also react to the news about the new "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" game coming out along with legendary horror actor Kane Hodder portraying Leatherface. Music courtesy of Andrew Scott Bell and Karl Casey @ White Bat Audio For more Rewind of the Living Dead, visit our website...
Dec 11, 2021•38 min
Rumors about a “Ghostbusters” sequel have persisted ever since “Ghostbuster II” was released in 1989 including a version penned by Dan Aykroyd that involved the original team traveling to an alternate hellish landscape where the boys in grey would literally battle with the devil. Numerous other versions took shape over the years but each one seemed to stall out after original cast member Bill Murray stated that he just wasn’t that interested in coming back for another sequel. The death of Harold...
Nov 23, 2021•1 hr 33 min
Fascinated by the paranormal, Dan Aykroyd originally came up with a concept for a movie after reading a story about quantum physics and parapsychology that gave him the idea about trapping ghosts. He was also interested in creating a modern comedic ghost film following in the footsteps of icons such as Abbott and Costello as well as Bob Hope. He wrote the script with plans to star alongside his friend John Belushi and he pitched the idea as “three men who chase ghosts” and basically compared it ...
Nov 16, 2021•1 hr 35 min
Vampires have always been a huge staple in horror but a script that first began circulating in the mid 80s that envisioned child-like characters more in the same vein as Peter Pan, who never grew old and could never die but were far from the bloodsucking fiends best known throughout cinema. The film was essentially capitalizing on the popularity of “The Goonies,” which had come out two years earlier and Richard Donner, the same director for that movie, was initially attached to this one as well....
Nov 10, 2021•2 hr 17 min
Originally inspired by a creepy poem by Ed Justin that also served as the basis for the Misfits song of the same name, the DeLaurentis Entertainment Group began development for a film about a vengeful spirit conjured to exact justice for those who have been wronged. The studio eventually brought the project to famed creature creator Stan Winston — best known for his work in films such as ‘The Terminator’ as well as ‘Aliens’ and ‘Terminator 2,’ which earned him several Academy Awards — in order t...
Oct 27, 2021•1 hr 16 min
When David Gordon Green and Danny McBride kicked off production on 2018’s “Halloween,” the duo had already thought about shooting a pair of films back-to-back but they ultimately decided to wait until the first film came out to discover how audience felt about the movie before shifting gears into a sequel. Once “Halloween” opened to rave reviews and became a box office smash, producer Jason Blum gave the greenlight on not only a second film but a third in the series to complete a new “Halloween”...
Oct 18, 2021•1 hr 19 min
In this special episode of Rewind of the Living Dead, we react to the new "Scream" trailer, which reunites the original cast including Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox and David Arquette as they go up against a brand new Ghostface. Plus we discuss the new trailer for the upcoming film "Black Phone," which stars Ethan Hawke as a terrifying serial killer and he's teaming up with "Sinister" director Scott Derrickson again for this new horror film. Music courtesy of Andrew Scott Bell and Karl Casey @ Wh...
Oct 16, 2021•14 min
The “Halloween” franchise has been one of the most active in horror history with very little time passing between sequels and remakes ever since the original film was released in 1978. After Rob Zombie found success with his version of “Halloween” in 2007 and a subsequent sequel in 2009, a third film was ordered but the rock star turned director didn’t want to return for another film. There was talk about a movie called “Halloween 3D” that would have kept the same characters from Zombie’s films ...
Oct 12, 2021•1 hr 24 min
Following the buzz around his first film “Assault on Precinct 13,” director John Carpenter was sought out by a pair of producers named Irwin Yablans and Moustapha Akkad to make a movie about a psychotic killer who stalked babysitters. Carpenter agreed to do the project so long as he had complete creative control over the film. He then got to work on the script with his girlfriend Debra Hill with the original title of the film as “The Babysitter Murders.” The script reportedly took only a couple ...
Oct 05, 2021•1 hr 31 min
The term “cult classic” can be seen as a compliment or an insult when it comes to a movie because many times that designation means the film is so bad that audiences can’t help but enjoy it but other times that just shows the dedication fans have to a particular work of art. For director Frank Henenlotter, arguably his greatest success was also his greatest shame. After he was inspired to write a script following a simple idea about a monster living inside a basket, Henenlotter ended up with his...
Sep 22, 2021•1 hr 3 min
In the era of modern horror films, few directors are as revered as James Wan after he terrified audiences with films such as “Saw” and “Insidious” and eventually creating a massive franchise based around “The Conjuring.” Of course, Wan’s talent eventually landed him blockbuster movie credentials after he directed the first “Aquaman” movie but as he was preparing to shoot the sequel, he decided he wanted to return to his horror roots and create an entirely different kind of film. Inspired by the ...
Sep 14, 2021•1 hr 25 min
Following the release of the novel “Red Dragon” in 1981 by author Thomas Harris, a film adaptation was put in the works just a few years later with Dino De Laurentiis serving as producer. The search started for a director capable of adapting the material and David Lynch was initially offered the job but he ultimately turned it down. That’s when Michael Mann stepped into the role after he had found massive success as a showrunner on the hit series “Miami Vice.” Mann didn’t change a lot from the o...
Sep 07, 2021•1 hr 20 min
Originally based upon a Clive Barker short story called “The Forbidden,” director Bernard Rose optioned the tale for a film called “Candyman” that was first released in 1992. The movie did solid enough business at the box office to deliver two forgettable sequels but more importantly was the chord it struck within audiences to turn the movie into a bona fide cult classic. Talks of a sequel or a remake were rumored for years but then in 2018, Academy Award winner Jordan Peele entered talks to cre...
Aug 31, 2021•1 hr 21 min
Ever since Ned Beatty was told to “squeal like a pig” in “Deliverance,” tales of survival have been fodder for many writers and directors across the globe with films such as “The Hills Have Eyes” becoming horror classics. In 2003, a film called “Wrong Turn” was released from director Rob Schmidt with a story and script from Alan McElroy. The movie told the story about a group of teens in the wrong place at the wrong time after they encounter a group of backwoods cannibals. The first film was suc...
Aug 25, 2021•1 hr 16 min
The rise of slasher films in the 1980s has been well documented but months before Freddy Kreuger started haunting the dreams of the Elm Street children, Jason Voorhees was going on his fourth rampage through a group of teenage kids dumb enough to stay near Camp Crystal Lake. Following the release of “Friday the 13th Part III, which was rumored to be the final film in the series, Paramount decided to do one more movie to finally kill off Jason once and for all. The studio hired Joseph Zito, who w...
Aug 13, 2021•1 hr 31 min
R.L. Stine — an author nicknamed “the Stephen King of children’s literature” — penned a series of over 100 books in his “Fear Street” catalog and much like his beloved “Goosebumps” series, there were plenty of attempts to eventually adapt his stories into a film or television show. In 1997, Hollywood Pictures retained the rights to the “Fear Street” franchise with the intention of making a series of “Scream” like movies after the success of those films from director Wes Craven. The project linge...
Aug 02, 2021•1 hr 9 min
Long before he was directing epic battles on “Game of Thrones,” Neil Marshall was a just a film school graduate looking for some kind of way to get involved in the industry. After he completed school, Marshall and a friend were both toiling away at various jobs including editing before eventually working on a small film called “Killing Time.” It was during production that Marshall decided it was finally time to make their own movie and he pitched his friend on a simple concept — “what about sold...
Jul 28, 2021•1 hr 14 min
Back in the early 1980’s, horror legend Stephen King was working on a calendar with illustrations that would tell the story of a year long saga involving a small town being terrorized by a werewolf. As the collection started to come together, King realized that his writing didn’t really fit in the vignette form needed for the calendar. That’s when he decided to adapt the material into a short novel with illustrations from famed comic book artist Bernie Wrightson. In 1983, the 127-page book was p...
Jul 19, 2021•1 hr 11 min
Back in 1969 while working as a production assistant on the film “Kelly’s Heroes,” future director and writer John Landis was traveling through Yugoslavia when he was witness to a gypsy funeral where a body was being buried with the utmost precaution to prevent the dead from rising from the grave. That sparked an idea in Landis’ mind after he realized that he would never be able to actually confront the undead and he wanted to write a script that reflected a young man going through that same ord...
Jul 12, 2021•1 hr 14 min
When comedian and writer Mishna Wolff was invited to take part in the Women’s Film and Television Fellowship at Ubisoft Film and Television, she was more than happy to attend but one of the perks that came along with the invitation was a stack of video games made by the company. One of those games centered around a whodunit set in a medieval town where a group of villagers are tasked with trying to find out which one of them is a werewolf in disguise before all of them are eaten. Wolff enjoyed t...
Jul 03, 2021•1 hr 13 min
Growing up in Texas with a religious upbringing that usually involved reading the Book of Revelations and the Old Testament in the bible, writer Brent Hanley was inspired to write a movie based on some of those same kind of themes. A huge fan of Alfred Hitchcock and Stephen King as well, Hanley crafted a story about a single father with two sons, who is visited by an angel one day and he’s informed that he’s been tasked by God to become a demon slayer. While one of the boys is more than happy to...
Jun 27, 2021•1 hr 1 min
