I remember when ALIEN first came out. I visited my uncle in New York City, where he worked for 20th Century Fox, and we attended a showing at the Gotham Cinema, on Third Avenue near 59th Street. Although I'd already read the graphic novel adaptation, the movie scared the hell out of me. It was 1979, which was a very good year for horror.

While some fans prefer James Cameron's sequel, ALIENS, to Ridley Scott's original (based on an original screenplay by Dan O'Bannon), I've always preferred ALIEN, which I consider the perfect haunted house movie--and a perfect movie by any standard. ALIEN III was pretty shoddy and ALIEN: RESURRECTION was horrid, with each sequel getting farther and ... (more…)

Harlan Ellison recently filed a lawsuit against Paramount Productions over the STAR TREK franchise. I'm unfamiliar with the charges in the lawsuit, and am frankly uninterested; I take it as a sign of Ellison's good health that he still pursues legal actions against powerful corporations in the name of creators' rights. This is the man who previously won a lawsuit against ABC for "appropriating" elements of the short story "Brillo" (which he co-wrote with Ben Bova) for their short-lived cybernetic cop series FUTURE COP, starring Ernest Borgnine, and against James Cameron and Carolco Pictures for lifting various elements of his short stories, and an episode of THE OUTER LIMITS that he ... (more…)

In perhaps their dumbest move since canceling FARSCAPE, The Sci-Fi Channel is renaming itself "SyFy" beginning July 7th. I think their "Sci-Fi Original Movies" have already done enough harm to literacy in America without confusing the spelling of already silly terms like "sci-fi." At least if they were showing repeats of FUTURAMA they could call themselves Si-Fry. Can you imagine if the network had to apply for federal bailout money and the treasury department asked them to explain this spelling? (more…)

He cursed and smoked in THE BAD NEWS BEARS. He threw rocks in DAMNATION ALLEY. And he cheered on cyclist pal Dennis Christopher in BREAKING AWAY. He was nominated for an Oscar for LITTLE CHILDREN. And he owns the WATCHMEN for his portrayal as Rorshcarch. Now comes word that Jackie Earle Haley is a lead contender to replace Robert Englund as Freddy Kreuger in Platinum Dunes' latest franchise remake, A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET.

I don't find Haley as interesting a choice for this role as I did Billy Bob Thornton, but it's hard to argue with the choice. I'm more curious to see whether or not Platinum will allow Freddy to remain a child killer; all references to his hobby were deleted in a ... (more…)

This is not a political commentary, but I've filed it under "editorial" just in case it offends anyone--blame me, not the Zone.

Congratulations and good luck to President Barack Obama, 44th President of the United States. Whatever your political beliefs, we all need for this man to succeed in these difficult times.

Also, best wishes to Senators Robert Byrd and Ted Kennedy.

'Nuff said. (more…)

Numerous interests and responsibilities--like having a toddler in the house--have resulted in me seeing fewer movies at the multiplex and on DVD, reading fewer books, and watching less TV, so my year-end list grows more scant each time around (and yet I read more short stories in '08 than in any previous year in my life). Last year I selected Fear Zone's Finest Fears of 2007. For 2008, I've delegated that awesome responsibility to numerous FZ columnists. But I can't resist putting in my two cents. Without further ado, my take on the year '08:

FAVORITE GENRE MOVIES

There was no single horror film I saw this year that set the bar the way THE MIST did last year, so my favorite films tended ... (more…)

The box office numbers are in, and we now know the top 10 grossing films in the United States for 2008:

1. The Dark Knight - $531 million

5. Iron Man - $319 million

2. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull - $317 million

4. Hancock - $228 million

5. WALL-E - $224 million

6. Kung Fu Panda - $215 million

7. Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa - $175 million

8. Twilight - $167 million

9. Quantum of Solace - $164 million

10. Dr. Seuss's Horton Hears a Who! - $155 million

This breaks down to four children's films; two comic book adaptations; two action franchise chapters; one non-comic book superhero flick; and just one horror film: TWILIGHT.

When TWILIGHT came out, I predicted it might become the top ... (more…)

Watching a sneak preview of TWILIGHT taught me one thing: I am not a teenage girl. This is not a criticism of teenagers in general or girls in particular; I am simply not a member of the audience that author Stephanie Meyer and the filmmakers who adapted the first novel in her phenomenally successful series of novels targeted, fired on, and scored a bullseye.

I attended this screening with my 14-year-old nephew (he's not a teenage girl, either). Upon entering the packed auditorium 30 minutes before showtime he said, "Am I the only dude here?" I cleared my throat. Having passed on the SEX AND THE CITY movie, I don't remember seeing such a high female-to-male ratio in my life. The ... (more…)

It doesn't matter if you're a Democrat. It doesn't matter if you're a Republican. It doesn't matter if you're an independent, or if you belong to a third party, or if you're undecided, or if you worship space aliens. If you're a United States citizen, it's your duty to vote in today's election. In other countries, people lay down their lives for the right to vote.

In 2000, a co-worker of mine at a stock footage agency in New York City, who graduated from Columbia University, told me he didn't believe in voting, "because it never makes a difference." He could not have been more wrong.

Do you need a horror entertainment spin to get you off your duff? Here it is: the economy is only ... (more…)

"Horror is not a genre, like the mystery or science fiction or the western. It is not a kind of fiction, meant to be confined to the ghetto of a special shelf in libraries or bookstores. Horror is an emotion."

--Douglas Winter



If you're a creator of horror, science fiction, or fantasy entertainment you've no doubt encountered artistic discrimination at some point in your life, and if you're a fan of those genres you've no doubt been the target of dismissive attitudes. You know, that snobbish attitude people show toward "This Thing of Ours," be it horror literature, cinema, TV or music. Most of us learn at a very young age that there are plenty of people out there who not only dislike horror,... (more…)