A while back I was reading about a video game called Slasher Vol.1: Summer Camp from Gun Media, an Evolve-style online co-op game inspired by Friday the 13th in which you either play as one of the characters trying not to be killed by a mask-wearing serial killer…or you play AS the mask-wearing serial killer. Though not a very big fan of these online only co-op games, I was very interested in learning more about it as a huge fan of horror and especially the Friday the 13th flicks. Then came word early this year that another Evolve-style co-op game was coming that was actually based on Friday the 13th and featured Jason Voorhees instead of just being inspired by them. At the time it was revealed that a game developer was working on the game, but it wasn’t revealed who.

Well, as it turns out, these two projects are now one in the same. They’ve not only put together a Kickstarter campaign to help raise funds for the game, simply titled Friday the 13th: The Game, but they also have alums of the franchise working on the game as well including Sean S. Cunningham, Tom Savini, Harry Manfredini, and my personal favorite Jason (who I’ve had the honor of personally being “choked” by like so many other fans have) back as the character for the first time in 14 years, Kane Hodder. You can read much more about the project and watch the Kickstarter video and announcement trailer below.

Three decades ago, one day shy of Independence Day, horror fans from sea to shining sea poured into their local theater to get a jump on celebrating America’s birthday the only sensible way they knew how – by taking in a viewing of Day of the Dead, the relentlessly grim and gruesome capper to George A. Romero‘s legendary Trilogy of the Dead.

Maniac
Netflix | Amazon | iTunes | SEN | Vudu | Xbox | YouTube
DVD | Blu-ray
Directed by Franck Khalfoun
Starring Elijah Wood, Nora Arnezeder, Jan Broberg
IFC Midnight
Originally Released: May 26, 2012

In 1980, a little horror film following the slasher-motif was broadly panned by critics – but it was the horror fans who saw the true value of the original Maniac! The short-sightedness of the critics was discounted as the movie developed a strong cult following among horror fans, and while it was no box office success, it served as an extremely important part in horror history, with groundbreaking effects work from Tom Savini, and a psychological depth in the script by initial Maniac, Joe Spinell.

32 years later, and we have a new Maniac on the scene in the form of Elijah Wood in a performance that shatters his previous “nice boy Frodo” image and reputation. A remake in structure, but tribute at heart, Maniac follows the tale of a tormented young man named Frank, indulging in serial killing activities.

As we journey through the story, the tale is shown in the first-person observation, immersing us in the psychological torment of the main character – and see that it is only through killing that Frank begins to feel free from the mental and emotional scars bestowed by his dead mother.

Remakes. I’ve never been entirely opposed to their existence. Several of my favorite movies were technically remakes. I just feel that there should be a statute of limitations when it comes to when a certain film is remade….as in, not more than once a decade.

George Romero‘s Day of the Dead, one of the most gruesome horror films of the 1980s and possibly the last truly great zombie movie the director ever made (Land of the Dead had moments though), is being remade. Those of you with photographic memories will remember fondly when Day got the redux treatment just five years ago under the direction of Steve Miner (Friday the 13th Parts II and III in 3-D) with a cast that included Mena Suvari, Nick Cannon, and Ving Rhames.

In 1981, maverick Pittsburgh filmmaker George Romero, still hot off the smashing worldwide success of his full-color zombie horror epic Dawn of the Dead, made the most personal movie of his career: Knightriders. An intimate and action-packed story of a traveling troupe of artists, actors, and stunt riders who engage in jousting matches on souped-up motorcycles, Knightriders was the first major screen role for future star Ed Harris and overcame lackluster box office and initial audience reception to become a cult classic that continues to endure as one of Romero’s finest movies more than three decades later.

British home entertainment outfit Arrow Video has granted Knightriders its first release on Blu-ray in the entire civilized this month and is celebrating the occasion in high style by giving the movie a full restoration and some new in-depth supplements. (A new Knightriders Blu-ray will be out this July for the U.S.)