In honor of the 41st anniversary this week of National Lampoon’s Animal House, the uproarious frat comedy that is still vibrant, raunchy, refreshingly un-PC, and hilarious as ever, Universal Pictures has released a “Best of Bluto” video that compiles some of the most memorable scenes by John Belushi‘s iconic and slovenly character.

Watch the 10-minute compilation video here below (note – it contains explicit language).

King Cohen
The Wild World of Filmmaker Larry Cohen
Written and Directed by Steve Mitchell
Featuring Larry Cohen, Martin Scorsese, J.J Abrams, Joe Dante, Mick Garris, John Landis, Fred Williamson
Dark Star Pictures
Release date: August 3, 2018 (NYC premiere)

Who is Larry Cohen? If you don’t recognize his name, I promise you’ll recognize his films. The now 77-year old has been working in the industry since the late 1950s and evolved from writing noir and western television to become a prolific genre filmmaker. His most prominent works include Black Caesar (1973), It’s Alive (1974), God Told Me To (1976), Q (1982), The Stuff (1985), and Phone Booth (2002). In all he has over 80 writing credits and 20+ directorial efforts. But more than his films was his renegade and rogue filmmaking style. A writer who became a director and producer, Larry Cohen was the consummate hustler and true triple threat. His life and career are now the subject of a phenomenal documentary, King Cohen: The Wild World of Filmmaker Larry Cohen, written and directed by Steve Mitchell and put out by Dark Star Pictures.

Another day another story about a remake. News of these remakes are not entirely unexpected as the well of original stories has practically run dry. Most would agree that today’s remakes are poor if not nauseating reflections of the original.

So just imagine how An American Werewolf in London fans are feeling when they heard that Max Landis will write and direct the remake. More on the story below.

National Lampoon’s Animal House (1978)
Blu-ray | DVD
Directed by John Landis
Written by Harold Ramis, Douglas Kenney, Chris Miller
Starring John Belushi, Tim Matheson, Karen Allen, Tom Hulce, Mark Metcalf, James Daughton, Kevin Bacon, Stephen Furst
Universal Pictures
Rated R | 109 Minutes
Original Release Date: July 28th, 1978

If you are bored with the recent crop of 3D animation, superhero films, remakes, sequels, reboots, and reboot-quels, then perhaps you should step back in time and enjoy the classics. Turner Classics runs its TCM Big Screen Classics series where classic films head back to theaters for a few days at a time. This week, it’s the John Landis comedy National Lampoon’s Animal House starring John Belushi, Tim Matheson, Tom Hulce, Karen Allen, and more.

I went to the Sunday night showing of the film. Check out a retro review of this classic here below.

Tales of Halloween
Directed by Darren Lynn Bousman, Axelle Carolyn, Adam Gierasch, Andrew Kasch, Neil Marshall, Lucky McKee, Mike Mendez, Dave Parker, Ryan Schifrin, John Skipp, Paul Solet
Written by Axelle Carolyn, Andrew Kasch, Neil Marshall, Lucky McKee, Mike Mendez, Dave Parker, Ryan Schifrin, John Skipp, Clint Sears
Starring Booboo Stewart, Lin Shaye, Adrienne Barbeau, Barry Bostwick, Grace Phipps, Caroline Williams, Adrianne Curry, John Landis, Barbara Crampton, James Duval, Clare Kramer, Adam Pascal, Austin Falk, Robert Rusler, Kristina Klebe
Epic Pictures Group
Release Date: October 16th, 2015

Horror is a genre that lends itself to anthology probably better than any; whether it be short story compilations from the greats of the genre, from Lovecraft and Poe, to Barker and King, or classic cinematic anthologies like Trilogy of Terror and Tales From the Crypt. These have paved the way for a new generation of short story style scare films. Collections like Trick ‘r Treat (2007), and the more recent V/H/S and ABC’s of Death series have provided fans of blood and gore a wealth of fun times. If you’re a fan of any of those above mentioned films, then Tales of Halloween is definitely worth your time and money.