The Scary Bits: Pathetic Plugs and Sundance Scares

Looks like next month's Sundance Film Festival is offering four films that could accurately be labeled as "horror," which isn't a whole lot -- but of course it's all about quantity over quality. The quartet of creepy flicks are Paul Solet's Grace; Jonathan Liebesman's The Killing Room; Duncan Jones' Moon; and a Norwegian import called Dead Snow. All four sound intriguing enough, but I'm particularly looking forward to Grace and Moon, because I've been hearing stuff about both since, like, pre-production. Check out Dread Central for a handy little recap of these four movies, and of course keep your browser set to Cinematical once Sundance hits. Looks like it'll be Erik, James and myself causing all sorts of cinematic damage.

Shameless plug: Remember that British mini-series (I will forever call it a movie) that I raved about last week? Well, I penned a full review of Dead Set for my pals at FEARnet. Check it out. Plug for a pal: The gore-drenched Stacie Ponder recently tossed together a nifty horror-centric Amazon store, and I recommend it for purchases OR just as a solid little reference guide. Grab your PayPal debit card and click here. (I bought the Val Lewton box set and a new copy of Inside.) Doubly shameless plug: I sifted through almost ten years' worth of reviews, pulling only the horror ones. (Enjoy!)

One of history's biggest horror geeks, the ever-lovable Forrest J. Ackerman, died a few days ago at the awesome age of 92. (Good lord would I like to see nine decades' worth of new horror movies.) Known mainly for his stellar Famous Monsters of Filmland magazine, Ackerman did what every horror fan would love to do: Spend a long career surrounded by his favorite creeps 'n' killers. Check out the AP report at Shock, and of course we send our condolences to Mr. Ackerman's family.

Recently on Cinematical: Erik takes a look at that Dead Snow flick, the first full Friday the 13th trailer hits the scene, and Tim Burton and Johnny Depp consider Dark Shadows.

Final tidbit: Photos, synopses, and a DVD cover for Feast 3: The Happy Finish. Bring it on!