Not much to say other than enjoy Part Two of Horror’s Not Dead’s 2008 Retrospective, Festivus celebrating extravaganza.

Oh, and Happy Kwanzaa.

Part 1: January to March.
Part 2: April to June.
Part 3: July to September.
Part 4: October to December.
Part 5: Events. (coming)
Part 6: Awards. (coming)

Theatrical Trailers and Clips

• THE UNBORN - Clip
• THE BROKEN - Trailer
• KNOWING - Second Trailer

Studio News and Attachments

• Deceivers they be, Platinum Dunes does have an actual non-remake in the works.  A satanic cult yarn from Scott Kosar.
• NEW MOON, aka the sequel to TWILIGHT, has been fast tracked with Chris Weitz replacing Catherine Hardwicke, who happens to now be in the history books for highest grossing film made by a woman.
• THE UNBORN gets an international poster you most likely won’t be seeing in your local cineplex.
• Fangoria called it a few weeks ago, but THE WOLFMAN has officially been bumped to November.

Remakes

• Platinum Dunes swears they aren’t thinking about FRIDAY THE 13TH sequels until they see how it sells.  Platinum Dunes are liars.
• And, as of right now, they are not remaking NEAR DARK, but are working through A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET.

Indie, Foreign and Random News

• Why is it that if something involves a bug and a human it is forever deemd Kafka-esque?  The guy who made BOTCHED is now doing DEMENTAMANIA about a software engineer who starts hallucinating after a bug bite.
• Australia, home of giant crocodiles and 3D films about FLIES.
• Stephen King’s Top 10 list of ‘08 contains one true horror movie, THE RUINS, and one tangentially related, FUNNY GAMES.  And LAKEVIEW TERRACE…
• Whoopi Goldberg will star in an online series for FEARnet.com called STRANGE.

Theatrical Trailers and Clips

• NIGHTMARE - Trailer
• BITE ME - Trailer
• MEAT GRINDER - Trailer

In case you missed it, Rob “FAST AND THE FURIOUS” Cohen told BD that Paramount had finally horded together all of the proper licenses and that he would be producing a remake of THE MONSTER SQUAD.  The Internet, as it is wont to do, imploded with the soundless thud of nerds everywhere collapsing their weary heads against boards of keys.

Is this a surprise to anyone?  It shouldn’t be.  THE MONSTER SQUAD may have lingered in rights limbo for decades, but no one forgot about it.  The sales of the sweet Lionsgate disk proved that.  So from a fiscal POV, of course it makes sense.  All remakes make sense under the green monocle.  Yet the biggest reason no one should be surprised by the news is the very reason they are all so inflamed; THE MONSTER SQUAD is fuckin’ awesome.

You know why Rob Cohen wants to put together a remake?  Because the movie kicks ass.  I know it.  You know it.  And if you and I know it, Rob Cohen damn well knows it seeing as he produced the effin’ thing twenty-one years ago.