Gregory Nicotero
In this Shudder Original series, master filmmakers and genre experts celebrate and dissect the most terrifying moments of the greatest horror films ever made, exploring how these scenes were created and why they burned themselves into the brains of audiences around the world.
A rivalry between a jealous astronaut and a brilliant scientist encounters an unexpected complication in outer space.
Severin Films chief David Gregory and House Of Psychotic Women author Kier-La Janisse query a global roster of more than 60 horror writers, directors and scholars that include Eli Roth, Joe Dante, Mark Hartley, Mick Garris, Ernest Dickerson, Joko Anwar, Ramsey Campbell, David DeCoteau, Kim Newman, Jovanka Vuckovic, Luigi Cozzi, Tom Savini, Jenn Wexler, Larry Fessenden, Richard Stanley, Brian Trenchard-Smith, Brian Yuzna, Gary Sherman, Rebekah McKendry and Peter Strickland in a candid discussion of the very best portmanteaus in fright film/TV history. The film leads us from the very first examples of the anthology film in early cinema, right up to the present day - without forgetting of course the endearing impact that the likes of Vincent Price and Peter Cushing had in creating some of the most memorable classic films ever made.
A detailed look into the making of Tales from the Darkside: The Movie.
Two animated tales of terror: “Survivor Type,” a man determined to stay alive alone on a deserted island no matter what the cost. “Twittering from the Circus of the Dead,” a teen's family road trip includes a visit to the gravest show on earth.
In the holiday themed, hour-long episode, “Shapeshifters Anonymous,” fearing he is a murderer, an anxious man searches for answers for his “unique condition” from an unusual support group.
Los Angeles, 1969. TV star Rick Dalton, a struggling actor specializing in westerns, and stuntman Cliff Booth, his best friend, try to survive in a constantly changing movie industry. Dalton is the neighbor of the young and promising actress and model Sharon Tate, who has just married the prestigious Polish director Roman Polanski…
Fifty years after its release, the special effects makeup team behind Planet of the Apes reflect on making the iconic film.
An exploration of '80s horror movies through the perspective of the actors, directors, producers and SFX craftspeople who made them, and their impact on contemporary cinema.
A feature documentary about the enduring appeal of the character King Kong, and how he has inspired so many of the great filmmakers and artists since 1933.
Fanarchy explores the rise of fan culture and ways in which fans are threatening the Hollywood system by becoming a creative force in their own right. With affordable technology at their fingertips, fans are producing more new content per month than studios or networks combined. Whether it's an original idea or a personal spin on a favorite film or TV show, fans are taking the reins and blurring the line between amateur and professional. Written and directed by Halifax’s own Donna Davies, Fanarchy exposes the burgeoning media landscape and the issues that complicate it – copyright, intellectual property and the concept of originality in a remix culture.
What did the world look like as it was transforming into the horrifying apocalypse depicted in "The Walking Dead"? This spin-off set in Los Angeles, following new characters as they face the beginning of the end of the world, will answer that question.
Tom Savini is one of the greatest special effects legends in the history of cinema, but little is known about his personal life until now. For the first time ever a feature length film has covered not only Tom's amazing career spanning over four decades, but his personal life as well.
An in-depth, feature length documentary on the surprisingly tumultuous creation of cult classic Army of Darkness.
The Frankenstein Complex takes a historical as well as a creative perspective, with a mix of fascinating scenes behind the camera, film clips, and dozens of interviews with all the big names in the industry. In addition to the many wonderful anecdotes, the film also offers a wealth of beautiful test material, while along the way showing how the art of filmmaking has changed over the years. An affectionate ode to monster makers throughout history.
Documentary about the making of George A. Romero's Monkey Shines.
The definitive zombie culture documentary, brought to the screen by the makers of THE PEOPLE vs. GEORGE LUCAS.
A group of student activists travel from New York City to the Amazon to save the rainforest. However, once they arrive in this vast green landscape, they soon discover that they are not alone… and that no good deed goes unpunished.
A short documentary celebrating the tenth year of The Walking Dead. Features the creators of the comics and tv show discussing the cultural phenomenon The Walking Dead.
Four Navy SEALs on a covert mission to neutralize a high-level Taliban operative must make an impossible moral decision in the mountains of Afghanistan that leads them into an enemy ambush. As they confront unthinkable odds, the SEALs must find reserves of strength and resilience to fight to the finish.
Features the story of two lone survivors of a massive walker-attack searching for an aid-station as one of them bleeds out from a wound.
Taking inspiration from Peter M. Bracke's definitive book of the same name, this seven-hour documentary dives into the making of all twelve Friday the 13th films, with all-new interviews from cast and crew.
Retrospective on The Nightmare On Elm Street Series.
It follows the story of a young man named Chase as he seeks shelter in a storage facility commanded by a malicious employee named B.J
With the help of a German bounty hunter, a freed slave sets out to rescue his wife from a brutal Mississippi plantation owner.
Take a look at Tarantino's career from the beginning, with interviews from co-workers, critics, stars and master filmmakers alike as well as a tribute to his greatest collaborator, Sally Menke. Produced for the 'Tarantino XX' Blu-ray collection
Nightmare Factory, directed by Donna Davies (Zombiemania), is the story of how one Pittsburgh boy’s fascination with monsters drove him to the very top of the Hollywood food chain. In 1989, Greg Nicotero, much to his parents’ chagrin, quit medical school and headed for Hollywood to pursue a dream of making monsters. Together with gore masters Howard Berger and Robert Kurtzman, Nicotero went on to create KNB EFX Group, one of the most prolific makeup effects studios in the world. After twenty years as the “go to guy” for the world’s most successful horror/sci-fi films, Greg Nicotero is the first one directors like Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez call.
The web series tells the origin story of Hannah who wakes up after a violent car accident to find both of her children missing. She is also known as "Bicycle Girl", the walker whom Rick Grimes killed in the first episode.
After suffering a violent plane crash, a group of oil drillers is stranded in the most remote wilderness of Alaska, far from any chance of being rescued. Exposed to the icy cold and extreme living conditions, the few survivors, led by Ottway, an experienced hunter, will endure the tireless persecution of a pack of huge wolves.
A post-apocalyptic tale, in which a lone man fights his way across America in order to protect a sacred book that holds the secrets to saving humankind.
IN NEED OF A MONSTER FOR YOUR MOTION PICTURE? LOOK NO FURTHER THAN THE UNITED MONSTER TALENT AGENCY.
As a seasoned homicide detective, Thomas Craven has seen the bleakest side of humanity. But nothing prepares him for the toughest investigation of his life: the search for his only daughter Emma's killer. Now, he is on a personal mission to uncover the disturbing secrets surrounding her murder, including corporate corruption, government collusion and Emma's own mysterious life.
Sheriff's deputy Rick Grimes awakens from a coma to find a post-apocalyptic world dominated by flesh-eating zombies. He sets out to find his family and encounters many other survivors along the way.
After a young man's premonition of a deadly race-car crash helps saves the lives of his peers, Death sets out to collect those who evaded their end.
In Nazi-occupied France during World War II, a group of Jewish-American soldiers known as "The Basterds" are chosen specifically to spread fear throughout the Third Reich by scalping and brutally killing Nazis. The Basterds, lead by Lt. Aldo Raine soon cross paths with a French-Jewish teenage girl who runs a movie theater in Paris which is targeted by the soldiers.
After denying a woman the extension she needs to keep her home, loan officer Christine Brown sees her once-promising life take a startling turn for the worse. Christine is convinced she's been cursed by a Gypsy, but her boyfriend is skeptical. Her only hope seems to lie in a psychic who claims he can help her lift the curse and keep her soul from being dragged straight to hell.
A retrospective documentary about the groundbreaking horror series, Friday the 13th, featuring interviews with cast and crew from the twelve films spanning 3 decades.
A group of teenage girls heading into the city hook up with a gang of drug-addled ne'er-do-wells and are brutally murdered. The killers find their way to the home of one of their victim's parents, where both father and mother exact a horrible revenge.
This documentary delves into the art of make-up effects with industry legends Dick Smith, Rob Bottin, Tom Savini, John Landis, Frank Darabont, Joe Dante and many others with a strong focus on Greg Nicotero and Howard Berger of KNB Make-Up EFX. Written by Kevin VanHook
The evolution of the zombie from its roots in Haitian voodoo to its coveted role as the world's most popular monster: from being a clumsy corpse to becoming a cannibal killer and the main agent of every infectious pandemic, the zombie has come a long way in seventy years. A look at the rising tide of zombie culture examining why something so dead has so much life in viewers' nightmares and at the box office.
This 16-minute featurette focuses on CafeFX, the team behind the CG work in The Mist (as well as Del Toro's Pan's Labyrinth). They discuss a wide array of points, from matching models with the KNB creature crew to documentaries that inspired the designs. It's great to see a lot of the work-in-progress materials (grid assembly, texture work, etc), as it helps to appreciate exactly what pops up on screen. Furthermore, it also discusses a lot of the "mist" effects that play off of their environments
The horrifying yet delicious and chewy Gingerdead Man causes murder and mayhem on the set of a horrible low budget movie set. It will take the determination of the studio's young new owner to save both his company and well as the lives of his young new friends. Including a terminally ill young boy whose final wish it was to meet the studios stars - The Tiny Terrors.
Scene 35 can best be described as the point in which the muck hits the fan. It's a scene with unbridled chaos involving CG effects, creature models, stunts, coordination, dramatic character portrayals ... just about anything that could possibly go wrong in a scene. This feature shows how it came to be, how Darabont infused some last-minute ideas into its assembly, and how it wedged in as one of the stronger parts of The Mist.
Behind the scenes documentary on the making of the film.
Tribute to Universal make-up artist Jack Pierce who created some of the studio's most famous works including Frankenstein's Monster, the Wolf Man, the Mummy and countless other creatures. Rick Baker, Tom Savini, Howard Berger, Bob Burns, Scott Essman, Kim Newman, Gregory Nicotero and others discuss the work of Pierce and his enduring legacy.
Whenever a solid "brain trust" around creature assembly exists, then the process behind crafting these monsters must've been interesting. This 13-minute featurette captures the process of crafting the concepts for the monsters, from the models assembled for the primary ideas to the separation of computer and realistic tangible effects. KNB effects did some really strong work here, even in the small ways that purely give actors inspiration for their performances.
30 Even Scarier Movie Moments was a two-part miniseries on Bravo which counted down 30 more of the most frightening scenes in horror cinema, or any other genre. This is also a two-part sequel to 100 Scariest Movie Moments. The list mostly consists of movies that didn't quite make the first list, or popular movies that had come out since.
Katherine Morrissey, a former Christian missionary, lost her faith after the tragic deaths of her family. Now she applies her expertise to debunking religious phenomena. When a series of biblical plagues overrun a small town, Katherine arrives to prove that a supernatural force is not behind the occurrences, but soon finds that science cannot explain what is happening. Instead, she must regain her faith to combat the evil that waits in a Louisiana swamp.
After three decades, Jaws continues to intrigue, thrill and frighten viewers. This documentary focuses on the many ways Jaws has helped to shape common elements of pop culture.
Cast and crew, as well as some famous fans, recall the insanity that was the making of the ultimate experience of grueling terror that is The Evil Dead.
After a violent storm, a dense cloud of mist envelops a small Maine town, trapping artist David Drayton and his five-year-old son in a local grocery store with other people. They soon discover that the mist conceals deadly horrors that threaten their lives, and worse, their sanity.
The sound of flapping bat wings, an empty coffin, glistening fangs, tiny punctures on the neck, the sensual taste of blood, a blank reflection, fear of the cross, and death from daylight. These are the creatures of the night, and as legendary (but fictional) vampire hunter Abraham Van Helsing exclaimed: "Gentlemen, we are dealing with the undead!" Perhaps the most enduring film genre of all time, vampire films continue to haunt us on the big screen. Why are we fascinated with the myth of these immortal souls? Could it be the living forever part, or perhaps the fact that they have an unearthly sexual attraction to both males and females? Whatever it is, audiences around the world can't seem to get enough of them.
Two doctors find their graveyard shift inundated with townspeople ravaged by sores. Among the wounded is Cherry, a dancer whose leg was ripped from her body. As the invalids quickly become enraged aggressors, Cherry and her ex-boyfriend Wray lead a team of accidental warriors into the night.
A group of young film students run into real-life zombies while filming a horror movie of their own.
Austin's hottest DJ, Jungle Julia, sets out into the night to unwind with her two friends Shanna and Arlene. Covertly tracking their moves is Stuntman Mike, a scarred rebel leering from behind the wheel of his muscle car, revving just feet away.
This historical and critical look at slasher films, which includes dozens of clips, begins with Halloween, Friday the 13th, and Prom Night. The films' directors, writers, producers, and special effects creators comment on the films' making and success. During the Reagan years, the films get gorier, budgets get smaller, and their appeal wanes. Then, Nightmare on Elm Street revives the genre. Jump to the late 90s, when Scream brings humor and TV stars into the mix.
Based on Wes Craven's 1977 suspenseful cult classic, The Hills Have Eyes is the story of a family road trip that goes terrifyingly awry when the travelers become stranded in a government atomic zone. Miles from nowhere, the Carter family soon realizes the seemingly uninhabited wasteland is actually the breeding ground of a blood-thirsty mutant family...and they are the prey.
Chrissie and her friends set out on a road trip for a final fling before one is shipped off to Vietnam. Along the way, bikers harass the foursome and cause an accident that throws Chrissie from the vehicle. The lawman who arrives on the scene kills one of the bikers and brings Chrissie's friends to the Hewitt homestead, where young Leatherface is learning the tools of terror.
When two ecologists break-in the laboratory of Dr. Belmont, they find a box with a subject and they decide to set the experiment free in the woods. During the transportation, the box opens and releases the mutant Tasmanian Devil that devours the two activists and escapes to the woods. Meanwhile, Dr. Belmont's son Hunter travels in a van with four friends to film a horror movie in the cemetery in the woods, while Belmont and his associate Dr. Christine Kollar seek their deadly experiment called Precious.
A documentary that follows the evolution of the 'Halloween' movies over the past twenty-five years. It examines why the films are so popular and revisits many of the original locations used in the films - seeing the effects on the local community. For the first time, cast, crew, critics and fans join together in the ultimate 'Halloween' retrospective
The world is full of zombies and the survivors have barricaded themselves inside a walled city to keep out the living dead. As the wealthy hide out in skyscrapers and chaos rules the streets, the rest of the survivors must find a way to stop the evolving zombies from breaking into the city.
Everyone always knew that Max had a wild imagination, but no one believed that his wildest creations -- a boy raised by watchful great white sharks and a girl with the force of a volcano -- were real. Now, these two pint-sized action masters will show Max that even an ordinary kid has what it takes to be extraordinary.
Chronicles the work of cult director John Carpenter through interviews with him and his associates, with emphases on the earlier work.
Documentary of the making of George A. Romero's zombie classic Day of the Dead.
An assassin is shot by her ruthless employer, Bill, and other members of their assassination circle – but she lives to plot her vengeance.
The incredibly spoiled and overprivileged students of Camden College are a backdrop for an unusual love triangle between a drug dealer, a virgin and a bisexual classmate.
Carmen and Juni think their parents are boring. Little do they know that in their day, Gregorio and Ingrid Cortez were the top secret agents from their respective countries. They gave up that life to raise their children. Now, the disappearances of several of their old colleagues forces the Cortez' return from retirement. What they didn't count on was Carmen and Juni joining the "family business."
Arthur and his two children, Kathy and Bobby, inherit his Uncle Cyrus's estate: a glass house that serves as a prison to 12 ghosts. When the family, accompanied by Bobby's Nanny and an attorney, enter the house they find themselves trapped inside an evil machine "designed by the devil and powered by the dead" to open the Eye of Hell. Aided by Dennis, a ghost hunter, and his rival Kalina, a ghost rights activist out to set the ghosts free, the group must do what they can to get out of the house alive.
Melanie Ballard is a hard nosed police chief in the year 2025. She and a police snatch squad are sent to Mars to apprehend dangerous criminal James Williams. Mars has been occupied by humans for some time and they have set up mining facilities. The mining activities on Mars have unleashed the spirits of alien beings who gradually possess the bodies of the workers. It soon turns out that catching the dangerous fugitive takes a back seat as the alien spirits begin to rid their planet of the 'invaders'.
This documentary provides film fans with an in-depth, behind-the-scenes look at the making of the horror comedy about a man who must lead a medieval army to victory against a horde of undead in order to return to his own time. Includes interviews with star Bruce Cambell, director Sam Raimi and other members of the cast and crew, who discuss what it was like to be a part of the making of this cult classic.
A group of friends including Brady Turner, Claire and Duncan McKay go out on a boat trip on a lake in Southern California, but their joyful weekend turns into horror, when a giant killer crocodile searching for its stolen eggs, picks off anyone who gets in its way. Can they all escape in one piece or will they slowly and painfully fall to the mammoth reptile.
An ordinary man makes an extraordinary discovery when a train accident leaves his fellow passengers dead — and him unscathed. The answer to this mystery could lie with the mysterious Elijah Price, a man who suffers from a disease that renders his bones as fragile as glass.
When contact is lost with the crew of the first Mars expedition, a rescue mission is launched to discover their fate.
The Djinn having been released from his ancient prison seeks to capture the soul of the woman who discovered him, thereby opening a portal and freeing his fellow Djinn to take over the earth.
Two investigative reporters for a tabloid magazine track down across country "The Night Flier", a serial killer who travels by private plane stalking victims in rural airports. One of the reporters, Richard Dees, begins to suspect that "the Night Flier could perhaps be a vampire"
Seth Gecko and his younger brother Richard are on the run after a bloody bank robbery in Texas. They escape across the border into Mexico and will be home-free the next morning, when they pay off the local kingpin. They just have to survive 'from dusk till dawn' at the rendezvous point, which turns out to be a Hell of a strip joint.
Darkman and Durant return and they hate each other as much as ever. This time, Durant has plans to take over the city's drug trade using high-tech weaponry. Darkman must step in and try to stop Durant once and for all.
During a routine case in L.A., NY private investigator Harry D'Amour stumbles over members of a fanatic cult who are preparing for the resurrection of their leader Nix, a powerful magician who was killed 13 years earlier.
Based on the true story of a Russian serial killer who, over many years, claimed victim to over 50 people. His victims were mostly under the age of 17. In what was then a communists state, the police investigations were hampered by bureaucracy, incompetence and those in power. The story is told from the viewpoint of the detective in charge of the case.
A decent-looking lad called Dennis Skinner rents an apartment in a couple's house, Kerry and Geoff. At night he roams the streets with a goodie-bag filled with knives looking for victims to skin, constantly followed by the hobbling, wobbling junkie Heidi who was mutilated by him and is now looking for revenge. Dennis is attracted to Kerry and wants to show her the real him.
A man is accidentally transported to 1300 A.D., where he must battle an army of the dead and retrieve the Necronomicon so he can return home.
In 1957, Evan Rendell flees after his father is lynched for killing multiple patients in his effort to find a replacement heart for his ailing wife. After 35 years, Evan escapes from a mental institution and returns to town for revenge, killing off residents one by one. When Jennifer and her friends break into the Rendell house out of morbid curiosity, Evan notices Jennifer has a heart condition similar to his mother and decides to make her his final victim.
Cindy and Lucy are eighteen and going away to college. As a ritual they must rid themselves of the dirt of their small home town (Allburg) by swimming in an abandoned church crypt. They jump in and begin talking about sex when Lucys crucifix falls into the water and drifts down to land on Czakyr's (an ancient vampire) head, apparently waking him up. Some time onwards a school teacher from a nearby town, Mark, gets directed to Allburg to help Lucy and her grandmother, who are suspected to be in trouble. Lucy becomes the target of a town turned vampire because of her 'virgin blood'. Mark, Lucy and an old wino shack up in an abandoned building outside of town but eventually get lured back to Allburg by the locals. There, with a giant glowing cross spearing the front of their Toyota, they take the town on and battle Czakyr.
When young Poindexter "Fool" Williams breaks into the creepy, immense old home of his family's greedy and uncaring landlords, he uncovers a disturbing scenario underneath the stairs.
A couple encounters a perverted gas station attendant who threatens them with a shotgun. They take a deserted path in Texas to seek help, but only meet up with a cannibalistic clan interested in helping themselves to fresh meat.
The first segment features an animated mummy stalking selected student victims; the second tale tells the story of a "cat from hell" who cannot be killed and leaves a trail of victims behind it; the third story is about a man who witnesses a bizarre killing and promises never to tell what he saw and the "in-between" bit is the story of a woman preparing to cook her newspaper boy for supper.
Presumed dead after a shoot-out with the Haddonfield police, Michael Myers is secretly nursed back to health -- and returns a year later to kill again and once more targets his young niece, Jamie. Jamie is now recovering in the local children's hospital after attacking her stepmother and losing her voice. Her mental link with her evil uncle may be the key to uprooting her family tree.
Detective Lucas McCarthy finally apprehends "Meat Cleaver Max" and watches the electric chair execution from the audience. But killing Max Jenke only elevated him to another level of reality. Now Lucas' family is under attack, his sanity in question, and his house haunted. Aided by a disreputable college professor, can Lucas reclaim his mind, house, and family? Features Lance Henriksen as the Lucas McCarthy and Brion James as Max Jenke. One of the few movies featuring these actors as main characters.
Ash Williams and his girlfriend Linda find a log cabin in the woods with a voice recording from an archeologist who had recorded himself reciting ancient chants from "The Book of the Dead." As they play the recording an evil power is unleashed taking over Linda's body.
EC Comics-inspired weirdness returns with three tales. In the first, a wooden statue of a Native American comes to life...to exact vengeance on the murderer of his elderly owners. In the second, four teens are stranded on a raft on a lake with a blob that is hungry. And in the third, a hit and run woman is terrorized by the hitchhiker she accidentally killed...or did she really kill him?
A group of scientists have developed the Resonator, a machine which allows whoever is within range to see beyond normal perceptible reality. But when the experiment succeeds, they are immediately attacked by terrible life forms.
A documentary detailing the career of makeup artist Tom Savini, including clips from the various movies he's worked on.
A one-man army comes to the rescue of the United States when a spy attempts an invasion.
Trapped in a missile silo, a small team of scientists, civilians and trigger-happy soldiers battle desperately to ensure the survival of the human race. However, the tension inside the base is reaching a breaking point, and the zombies are gathering outside.
Nasty old Mr. Killup uses Halloween to taunt kids. This year, he's in for a surprise, from which even his long-suffering son Michael cannot save him.
