Tag Archives: Nightmare Nostalgia

4K Restoration of “The Fog” Coming to Theaters For Halloween!

Merry early Halloween folks! A fully restored version of John Carpenter’s landmark horror gem, The Fog, is hitting theaters this October!

4K Restoration of "The Fog" Coming to Theaters For Halloween!

In its first-ever major restoration, John Carpenter’s THE FOG is back in a full 4K restoration from Studiocanal and opens October 26 for a limited run at the Metrograph in New York, Landmark’s Nuart in Los Angeles, and The Music Box Theatre in Chicago. Additional screenings will occur during the week of Halloween throughout the Alamo Drafthouse circuit and other specialty theaters.

Carpenter’s first post-Halloween venture into the H.P. Lovecraft-inspired, apocalyptic vein that he would continue to mine in films like The Thing (1982) and Prince of Darkness (1987), THE FOG depicts the seaside California town of Antonio Bay in the grips of an ancient curse and a creeping mist. Drenched in malevolent atmosphere and packing an ensemble cast that includes Adrienne Barbeau, Tom Atkins, Hal Holbrook and the mother-daughter duo of Janet Leigh and Jamie Lee Curtis, this is the director at his ingenious, chilling best, servicing a contemporary taste for gore while simultaneously evoking the spirit of Val Lewton.   

Out of theatrical release for years due to faded, unplayable prints, THE FOG can now be viewed again as it was intended, with the restoration of its breathtaking color cinematography by Dean Cundey (Escape From New York, Back To The Future (I-III), Apollo 13, Romancing The Stone), who deftly captured both the daylight beauty of the Point Reyes shore and the ghostly goings-on in the dark, eerie night.

The Fog has been our most requested title for as long as we have handled the Studiocanal library here,” according to Eric Di Bernardo, Rialto’s director of sales. “It is Carpenter’s most visually alluring film and we think it’s been worth the wait.”

Founded in 1997 by Bruce Goldstein, Rialto Pictures brings the finest of world cinema to screens across North America. From new restorations of enduring classics such as Carol Reed’s The Third Man, Jean Renoir’s Grand Illusion, and Akira Kurosawa’s Ran to genre mainstays like John Carpenter’s Escape From New York and Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead 2, Rialto Pictures offers an eclectic range of cinematic adventures appealing to any audience. Since 2012, Rialto Pictures has been the U.S. theatrical and non-theatrical representative of the Studiocanal library of over 2,000 international classics. Often featuring updated subtitles and renewed marketing materials, Rialto Pictures aims to engage moviegoers with cinematic history, preserve film culture, and highlight the continued relevance of classic stories through high-quality theatrical presentations.

First Official Images From “Creed II” Are Here!

Hot off the press from MGM Pictures and Warner Bros. Studios, the first official images of Creed II have arrived and Junior looks like he means business as he prepares for the fight of his life against Viktor Drago. You know, the son of that scary as hell Russian that killed his father back in 1985.

Vengence at its finest my friends.

Directed by Stephen Caple Jr., the immortal Rocky saga continues with Adonis Creed (Michael B. Jordan) stepping into the focal role with, of course, the legendary Italian Stallion, Rocky Balboa at his side to guide him through the squared circle along with the brakes of life.

Official Synopsis:

Life has become a balancing act for Adonis Creed. Between personal obligations and training for his next big fight, he is up against the challenge of his life. Facing an opponent with ties to his family’s past only intensifies his impending battle in the ring. Rocky Balboa is there by his side through it all and, together, Rocky and Adonis will confront their shared legacy, question what’s worth fighting for, and discover that nothing’s more important than family. Creed II is about going back to basics to rediscover what made you a champion in the first place, and remembering that, no matter where you go, you can’t escape your history.

First Official Images From "Creed II" Are Here!

Images via Warner Bros. and MGM

First Official Images From "Creed II" Are Here!

Written by Sylvester Stallone, Creed 2 stars Michael B. Jordan, Sylvester Stallone, Tessa Thompson, Wood Harris, Russell Hornsby, Florian “Big Nasty” Munteanu, Andre Ward, Phylicia Rashad, and Dolph Lundgren. Original Creed director Ryan Coogler has a chair as Executive Producer along with Michael B. Jordan and Guy Riedel. Sylvester Stallone, Kevin King-Templeton, Charles Winkler, William Chartoff, David Winkler, Irwin Winkler serve as producers.

Creed II drops everywhere in theaters Wednesday, November 21st. 

Creature Features: The Beautiful Practical Effects of 1988’s “The Blob”

Nightmare Nostalgia Presents Creature Features: An ongoing tip of the hat to some of horror’s greatest monsters throughout the genre that don’t seem to get the recognition they wholeheartedly deserve.

I don’t care how stubborn, or pompous this may sound: Computer generate all the damn monsters you want with the world’s greatest CGI program and programmer running it. It still won’t look better than practical effects and I certainly can’t appreciate it as much. The perfect example of such splendid monster-movie-magic is of course, Chuck Russell’s vision of the 1950’s Sci-Fi B movie, The Blob jello-molding it’s way into 1988.

 Creature Features: The Beautiful Practical Effects of 1988's "The Blob"

Thinking back to my childhood years, I clearly remember my first interaction with this glorious film, that at the time, I had no idea was a remake. In a pre-internet era and films relying on physical media such as TV spots and the good old-fashioned newspaper to get the word out. The one other way to draw unsuspecting fans into a film post-theater release, was the almighty VHS box art that would stare at you from the lined-shelves of the horror section like a haunted painting. This film, like many others of that time, sold itself to a tiny Patti with the cover-art alone that both intrigued and terrified me as a child. The simple showcase of what I later learned to be Paul’s fate displayed on the front of the rental, initially scared the shit out of seven-year-old me. I’m not entirely sure why, as growing up in a horror-loving-household watching Halloween at the tender age of two, this piece of art gave me the skeevies. I can distinctly remember only a few VHS horror art covers having that sort of effect on me. For almost 2 years, that pink, gooey man screaming at me through the art cover taunted me every time the parental units and I made a family trip to our local Action Video for the weekend rentals. And it wasn’t until I was allowed to ride my bike across the busy street by my damn self I was cut loose to roam the horror shelves of that mom and pop video store and rent freely on my own. Whatever I wanted. So of course, I gravitated to that jerkoff blobby Paul who has been tormenting the hell out of me. I had to see what this was about just based on this one picture alone. And now, 30 years later, it has become one of my all-time favorites.

Creature Features: The Beautiful Practical Effects of 1988's "The Blob"

 

Which brings me to the point here: That one image from the film doused in practical effects reeled me in and like many films before this gem in the ’80s, was balls-deep with beautifully done man-made monster magic. From Paul’s tragic demise to Vicki being eaten from the inside-out, The Blob is filled to the brim with dazzling and believable imagery that STILL looks better than a lot of modern day effects. The team responsible for igniting a fear of jello-molds everywhere was that of Tony Gardner, Chet Zar, and Bill Sturgeon of Alterian Studios. Who have since released some REALLY FUCKIN’ COOL behind the scenes stills on making that “extraterrestrial” man-eating glob that every fan of the film should take a gander at.

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LONG LIVE PRACTICAL EFFECTS.