This was supposed to be a list of horror movies appropriate for dates. Unfortunately, I kept coming up with reasons why each movie wasn't a good idea. While my rationale wasn't entirely realistic, it got me thinking about movies that open certain cans of worms. Pregnancy. Momma's boys. Infidelity. These seven flicks have got lots of relationship deal-breakers in them, and can lead to some date-damaging conversation, rather than sexy innuendo and rose petals to the bedroom. They might uncover questionable morals, or even some private kink that you just can't get into. And some will get just a little spoilery, but most of them are classics, so you probably know the gist already.

Either way, you've been warned!


Eraserhead (1977)

Henry Spencer (Jack Nance) is just a simple, nervous printer who thinks his girlfriend, Mary (Charlotte Stewart), has broken up with him -- that is, until he is invited to dinner with her and her family. He finds out that she has had an amazingly brief pregnancy, and has given birth to some sort of strange alien baby. Being the noble boyfriend, he marries her, and is quickly left with this weird, wailing tot when she abandons them. Henry starts to become unhinged, and that just doesn't bode well for baby.

While this may be a short film, Eraserhead is packed full of taboo dating topics. Pregnancy. Marriage. Accepting abnormal babies. Ditching the family when sleep-deprived. Infanticide. One minute, you're watching an eerie David Lynch movie, and the next, you're having discussions about what you'd do with alien babies, whether you'd be noble and marry the mother of your out-of-wedlock kid. Or heck, whether love would keep you with her even if it looks like she got horizontal with some other strange sort of being.

He's been pretty busy over the last few years spinning webs around Manhattan, but the big question has been: what's next for Sam Raimi? Sure, he's got a lot of possible flicks to produce, but there's been no solid word on scripts or directorial projects. Unfortunately, there's still no solid word, but in a recent interview with MTV, Raimi talked about all the projects and possibilities for his filmmaking future.

First up: Spider-Man 4. In June, Raimi was dreaming up a webbed world with even more villains, because I guess he didn't hear the complaints about the storylines in Spider-Man 3. That's been scrapped because Raimi won't be working on the story for the next installment: "It'll be a brand-new writer coming in with a brand-new story -- a fresh take on the Spider-Man series." Right now, they're looking for that writer. Raimi says: "We're hearing different versions right now and really enjoying the different stories. Hopefully, we'll hear one that sounds right for the fourth installment." Once that's determined, he'll see if he wants to direct.

Next: The Hobbit. Raimi, of course, really wants to do it, but he's deferring to Jackson. "Well, it really is Peter Jackson's project, and I wouldn't make any conditions." That being said, if Jackson won't, Raimi hopes he will be the alternate choice: "If [Jackson] didn't want to direct it, and he was producing it, then I would love to be considered for the project." Seeing that Jackson might be in talks for the film, I'm thinking the possibility of hobbits and Raimis is gone.

But what about Evil Dead? Raimi -- he's just sinister. He refuses to let these remake rumors ever officially die, leaving us in continuing anxiety. He says: "Maybe we'll make another one; it would be nice to at some point, if I could get together with Bruce and Rob, and we could get a story together and the financing. A lot of things would have to come together, but it would be nice." But he also mentioned the possibility of a new director and new approach, finishing off with: "I look forward to someone else reinterpreting it, or going back to the story with part four myself." If he wants to do it himself with Bruce -- awesome. If he doesn't... Mr. Raimi, the only way to go is to bring Evil Dead: The Musical to the screen.

But there's even more, so stay tuned for part 2!

There's been trouble in Bubba paradise for a while now. In June, Bruce Campbell knew nothing about the Bubba Ho-Tep sequel, Bubba Nosferatu. A few days ago, Paul Giamatti said that ol' Elvis was "waffling" on the idea. Now, it's time to put Bubba Campbell dreams to bed, because Bruce has out and out said he won't be involved. The actor recently appeared on Fangoria Radio, and said: "[Bubba Nosferatu] is dead to me. It sleeps with the fishes. Don Coscarelli is a very passionate filmmaker. We got to a few points [developing the screenplay] that we couldn't reconcile. I want to keep our friendship, so we parted ways. So, I'm not part of that project."

One would imagine that no Bruce would mean the end of things, but the director told Fangoria that he might recast the movie with someone else the fans would embrace, but recognizes the challenge in that. First, I don't think there is anyone who could make the fans not miss Campbell in the sequins. They could come up with an entirely different character and use the same theme, but what Bubba fan will be cool with a replacement Elvis? Second, what on earth is in that script that threatened Campbell's relationship with Coscarelli and made Ash walk? If he's that unhappy with the filmmakers vision, would we be any happier?

In case you were looking for more fan dreams to be quashed -- he's also kiboshed the other sequels right now. There will be no Freddy-Jason-Ash mashup: "It blows! You really think Ash would be allowed to kill Freddy and Jason off?" There will be no fourth Evil Dead for now: "Raimi still talks about it, but he's in no rush to do it with everything else he has going on. Sam jokes: 'Maybe we can do another Evil Dead when we're 70.'" And finally, no Evil Dead remake: "The feedback from the fans was 90 percent negative. It's going nowhere. The remake has fizzled fast at Sam's company." So, there you have it. Any new Campbell that you see for the time being will have to be via Burn Notice.

Just about every big-budget mega-movie gets its very own video game tie-in, from Harry Potter and Narnia to Spider-Man and Lord of the Rings. Used to be that 92% of these movie-license games were grade-A certifiable crap, but we've come a long way since then. (Nowadays it's only about 55%.) One of the newest (and lovably geekiest) trends in video games is the "retro" approach, which is what I call it when someone says "Hey, you know what old movie would make for a great video game? Mannequin!" before heading off to design a video game in which you're required to collect hundreds of dismembered mannequin parts while avoiding the affections of a harrowingly annoying homosexual stereotype and thwarting the nefarious schemes of a bizarrely prissy James Spader.

Fortunately, nobody's gotten it into their head to make a video game out of Mannequin, but there have been some really slick video games based on some really cool "old" movies. But let's get one turkey out of the way first:

Back in September, Karina reported the news that one Ashton Kutcher was rumored to be starring in the Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell-produced Evil Dead remake. Even an unconfirmed casting report was enough to send Campbell's legion of devoted fans into a frenzy, and the wave of Ashton-hate in the comments made it clear that no one was anything less than horrified at the possibility.

Everyone should be very pleased, then, by the interview Campbell recently gave Penny Dreadful. According to the Chin himself, there probably will be a remake coming someday, but given how busy Raimi is, it won't be any time soon. In addition (this is the good news), the film won't have anything to do with the character of Ash - really, it'll be more a reinvention than a remake, in which the evil book affects "a whole new group of people in a different situation." The goal of the film - when and if it's made - will be to leave the low-budget campiness of the original film behind in favor of "flat out, scary-ass, un-rated horror."

And that sound you hear is a zillion Evil Dead devotees exhaling for the first time in months.

[via Rotten Tomatoes]

Today is Ash Wednesday. Doesn't that mean we're all supposed to spend the day watching an Evil Dead movie, in which Ash Williams valiantly (and goofily) battles a variety of undead creatures? Shouldn't we reflect on the goodness of Bruce Campbell and Sam Raimi teaming up for three sometimes-scary, sometimes-hilarious films? I'm surprised none of the theaters in town are screening Evil Dead 2.

I know, I know, for most people this is not what Ash Wednesday is about, and I don't mean to be disrespectful. (I grew up Catholic and spent many Ash Wednesdays with a big smudge on my forehead, deciding what to give up for Lent.) But some of us will use any excuse to drag out the DVD collection and debate whether we should watch the director's cut of Army of Darkness or the theatrical cut. I prefer the theatrical cut myself—I love that S-Mart ending. The commentary track with Sam Raimi, Bruce Campbell, and Ivan Raimi is a hoot. Or are you a purist who prefers the less humorous horror of the original Evil Dead film?

Bruce Campbell is an icon of the B movie industry, and a film hero to many a geek. His role as Ash in the famous (infamous?) Evil Dead trilogy and his more recent performance as Elvis in the dark comedy Bubba Ho-Tep have cemented his place as the King (Elvis pun totally intended) of the B movie cult. Easily the coolest thing that has happened to me so far as a result of being a movie journalist has been the opportunity to land an interview with Bruce himself, to discuss two upcoming projects: Lucky McKee's The Woods and They Call Me Bruce, a joint venture between Bruce and Dark Horse. Bruce was a very good sport; friendly and willing to go out of his way to accommodate me in the midst of his currently very busy schedule. So with no further ado, allow me to present every fanboy's dream - Cinematical's Mark Beall Interviews Bruce Campbell.